Chapter 8

On the day of Aila's first mission, after returning from the forest, she went to the Adventurer's Guild to exchange items, and ended up achieving the highest total purchase amount ever.

Until now, she would spend the whole day from morning to evening in the forest, defeating around 100 monsters, and earn about 2 to 3 large silver coins (approximately 200,000 to 300,000 yen) from the rewards for successful quests and selling monster materials. However, today's earnings amounted to 5 large silver coins, nearly double her usual amount.

This wasn't simply because the party had grown from one to two people. With more people, movement becomes slower, and breaks increase. Despite this, the earnings increased because the number of monsters defeated per unit of time was higher.

"Aila moves quickly and is really quite useful."

When I muttered this at the inn, Aila started crying again.

"S-Sorry. Did I say something that upset you?"

As I nervously apologized, Aila said,

"It's the first time anyone has said I'm useful."

She was crying, but she was also happy. Aila is really cute.

For the next few days, we hunted at the "Slime Spring" and enjoyed our monster-hunting and our affectionate life together. We no longer had to worry about living expenses, and we were thoroughly enjoying our time.

After about 10 days of this happy life, during which we had leveled up several times, a job request for the two of us came to the Adventurer's Guild.

"Escort for a merchant?"

At the guild's reception, I asked Riri for the details of the request.

"Yes, it's a request to escort a merchant from here to the village of Vereo, a three-day carriage ride away, and then back to Bret. They want us to guard the merchant during this time."

"Why us?"

It seemed odd that a novice adventurer, who had only been registered for less than a month, would be specifically chosen for this job. It felt like there was something more to it.

"Actually, the merchant specifically requested a small party that includes an adventurer with a 'Blessing.'"

"Why such a request?"

I understand why they want someone with a 'Blessing.' If you need to quickly find a skilled adventurer in this city, where you have no connections, it makes sense to choose someone with a 'Blessing.' However, why specify a small party? It feels suspicious.

"It seems that the number of people allowed into the village is limited."

"What's that about?"

"The merchant is buying a specialty product from the village called 'Jade Silk.'"

"'Jade Silk'!?"

Aila seemed excited.

"Is it that good?"

Both of us looked at her, and she sighed as if it was unbelievable.

"'Jade Silk' is silk infused with magic, made by feeding silkworms a special feed created by melting jade with magic."

"Wow, really? You know a lot."

"'Jade Silk' is a highly popular item, especially among women. A single piece of clothing made from 'Jade Silk' is said to be worth several gold coins."

That's several million yen per piece. Impressive.

"Why is it only made in Vereo Village?"

If there's demand, why not increase the supply?

"The manufacturing method is a closely guarded secret, and it's said that no one outside the village can even feed the silkworms with jade."

So, they can't even make the feed for the silkworms. No wonder it can't be made elsewhere. It's a market monopoly, and this country probably doesn't have any anti-monopoly laws.

"That's why a large group can't just storm in. The merchant's previous adventurers all died while on other missions, which is why this request came in."

I see. The merchant needs a skilled, small party to replace the previous guards. It makes sense. Aila is looking at me, hoping we'll take the job. She probably wants to see the 'Jade Silk.' I can't resist that look.

"Riri, can we meet the client?"

"Yes, of course. In fact, they want to interview us before officially hiring us."

"So, we need to impress the client to get the job."

If the client doesn't like us, we can back out. The reward for the job isn't bad. We get 2 large silver coins upfront, and 8 large silver coins as a success reward. Additionally, we get extra rewards for each battle with monsters during the escort, and we can keep the materials from the monsters we defeat. The extra rewards are negotiable, so we can try to earn as much as possible.

"Alright, I'll go for the interview."

"That's great. Thank you, Hibiki."

Riri sighed in relief.

"You were in a tight spot, weren't you?"

I asked, curious.

"Yes, I've already introduced several parties, but they were all rejected."

I see. It makes sense that they wouldn't choose a novice adventurer like me first, even if I have a 'Blessing.'

"So, we might be rejected too. By the way, how many parties have been interviewed before us?"

"Four. You are the fifth. We're running out of registered adventurers with a 'Blessing' to introduce. Please do your best to pass the interview. I'll contact the client, so please go to the mansion around noon today."

I was a bit anxious about whether the client, who had rejected experienced senior adventurers, would even consider a novice like me. Still, I headed to the client's mansion.