Chapter 9

Near the west gate of Bret, on a main street, was the client's merchant house.

‘Crest Trading Company’

“Is this it?”

The city of Bret is located at the center of the Anger continent, with the capital of Anger Kingdom, Angera, to the west. The eastern side is treated as the border of the Anger Kingdom, and the frequency of monster attacks and their habitats is clearly higher on the eastern side. Therefore, the western side of Bret is mainly the area for nobles.

In other words, the Crest Trading Company probably focuses on business with nobles. Since the ‘Emerald Textiles’ are also said to be high-end products, I don’t think I’m mistaken.

“Master, the guards are glaring at us.”

Aira, on the verge of tears, complained. She probably has never set foot in the western district where nobles live. Out of anxiety, she clung to my sleeve and wouldn’t let go.

“It’s fine. I’m here, and I’m sure you’re probably stronger than them, Aira.”

I checked the guards' parameters, but they weren’t very high, and their levels were only Lv2 and Lv3.

Besides, if they had such strong guards, they wouldn’t have requested help from the Adventurer's Guild. For now, I’ll ask the guards to announce us to the master.

“Excuse us, we’re from the Adventurer's Guild. Is Mr. Crest at home?”

The client was named Crest from the Crest Trading Company, so he must be the master here.

“What do you want with Mr. Crest?”

Guard A looked down at us with a domineering attitude, while Guard B glared at us with only his eyes.

Why are they so aggressive?

“We have received a request from Mr. Crest to the Adventurer's Guild. We’ve come to confirm the details of that request.”

The client is a major merchant who has dealings with nobles, so it’s best not to be too rude. I should yield unless it’s something I absolutely can’t compromise on. Right now, the only thing I can’t compromise on is Aira being treated unfairly. With a Japanese-like approach, Hibiki politely addressed the guards.

“We haven’t heard of such a visitor. Go away.”

Guard A, as expected, tried to intimidate us and drive us away. I decided to persist a little longer before giving up and continued talking.

“Since we came here unexpectedly, perhaps the message hasn’t reached you yet. Could you please check for us?”

While thinking that I would leave if they refused, I politely asked them to announce us to Crest. However, Guard A said without hesitation, “I don’t know. Come back later.”

“...I see. Then we’ll take our leave for today.”

With that, Hibiki turned to leave, facing the guards.

“Wait a moment. Are you the adventurer introduced by the Adventurer's Guild?”

A well-built man in his 40s, dressed in fine clothing, stood at the entrance of the merchant house.

“I apologize, but I’ve been watching your interaction with the guards. You, an adventurer, are as polite as a noble. In contrast, my guards...”

The man glared at Guard A, who quickly changed his expression.

“I’m sorry, sir!”

“Enough. I will deal with you later. You almost cost us a connection with this excellent adventurer.”

“S-Such a thing!?”

“Silence. Stand there until I say otherwise!”

With that, the man gestured for Hibiki and Aira to enter the house.

The inside of the house was filled with expensive furnishings, but they were arranged subtly to avoid being tacky, showcasing the owner’s good taste. The two of us were led to a reception room and sat across from the man on a sofa.

“I am Crest of the Crest Trading Company. First, I apologize for the rudeness earlier.”

“No need to worry. He was just doing his job.”

“I appreciate your understanding.”

“More importantly, I would like to discuss the details of the request.”

Crest nodded.

“The request is to escort our cargo wagons to Vereo Village, which takes about three days. We will stay in Vereo Village for up to two days to purchase goods, and then return to Bret. This is the escort request.”

The round trip to Vereo Village is six days, plus two days of stay, making it a total of eight days. It’s my first long journey, but I should be fine.

“I understand the request. There are a few things I need to confirm, but first, the most important one. We are based in Bret. We have no familiarity with Vereo Village or the route.”

Crest showed a slight sign of thought but nodded. It seems there’s no problem.

“I have someone from Vereo Village in my company. She can guide you, so there should be no issues.”

“Understood. Next, I understand that you have disqualified four groups of adventurers. Have we met your standards?”

I don’t want to go through all this only to be disqualified. I need to confirm this early.

“Of course. An adventurer who can behave like a noble and possesses a ‘Blessing’ has no problems at all.”

Incidentally, half of the four groups of adventurers who came before me were disqualified for arguing with the guards. Asking adventurers, who are often rough, to behave like nobles is quite unreasonable. The guards were probably placed there on purpose. It seems they absolutely don’t want any trouble in Vereo Village. Despite appearing kind, Crest, a major merchant with dealings with nobles, is quite shrewd.

We agreed to depart early in the morning two days from now, with an additional reward of one large silver coin (about 100,000 yen) per battle with monsters. I also instructed that the reward be given to Aira if I die.

During this agreement, Aira, who hadn’t spoken at all, looked troubled.

“What’s wrong, Aira?”

When I spoke to her, she suddenly looked relieved and hugged me modestly.

“I’m glad. You’re back to your usual self, Master.”

“Huh?”

It seems she was taken aback by my different way of speaking while talking to the guards. Apparently, Aira felt uncomfortable with my overly polite attitude. I tried to explain to her that sometimes it’s necessary to consider the other person’s position and adjust my behavior, but she didn’t seem to understand. So, I taught her that night in bed.

“Sometimes, you need to be humble!”

The next morning, I saw Aira talking to Riri about this. How I taught her is a secret.