Chapter 13

"Next is the military outpost, right? This way."

Erika walks to the left again, so I follow her.

"By the way, do you always deliver directly?"

"There's no one there, and it feels awkward to ask them to come pick it up."

I would tell them to come pick it up...

But, since it's a favor, Erika is probably right.

We continue walking and arrive in front of a two-story building smaller than the town hall.

"Is this it?"

"Yes, we do the procedures here."

Erika nods and enters the outpost, so we follow her. The inside of the outpost isn't very large, and there are only a few people at the reception desk with no customers.

Well, there aren't many people who need to visit a military outpost, so it can't be helped.

But, it's still better than my place.

"Rutts-kun~"

Erika goes to the reception desk and calls out to a brown-haired man familiarly.

"Hm? Erika?"

The man stands up and comes over to us. He is tall and has a well-defined face.

Could he be her boyfriend?

"Good morning."

"Ah, good morning. And who is this?"

Rutts glances at me while asking Erika.

"Zig, who started working here yesterday."

"I see... I'm Rutts Lindner, a soldier in this town. Nice to meet you."

Rutts extends his hand, and I shake it.

"I'm Siegfried Alexander... Lindner?"

Wasn't Erika also a Lindner?

"Oh... we're cousins."

I see...

That's why she was so casual with him.

"Rutts-kun, I brought the potions for delivery."

Erika places her bag on the counter.

"Ah, that's quick... let me check them, then bring them out."

Rutts says this, and Erika starts taking the potions out of her bag while Rutts checks each one.

"They all seem to be of good quality. Just a moment, I'll get the documents."

Rutts goes into a room in the back.

"That's good... I wasn't very confident about the potions."

Erika lowers her voice.

"Really? I checked them in the warehouse, and there were no issues. Of course, the bricks were fine too."

"I've always left potion-making to Leonora because she's good at it. I'm better at making things like bricks."

Ah... I remember, when I helped her study yesterday, she was indeed weak in alchemical reactions and chemistry.

"Of course, it's ideal to be able to do everything, but if you have colleagues, it's not bad to divide the work like this."

"Yes... the problem is that we only have three people."

That's true...

We really need to address this soon...

While we're talking in low voices, Rutts comes out of the room and walks over to us. However, he's accompanied by a man with a beard who exudes an authoritative air.

"...A noble?"

"...Lieutenant Esmarch."

A lieutenant...

He's quite high-ranking.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Erika. Can you sign here?"

Rutts places a paper on the counter and points to it. Erika signs the paper.

"Here."

"Thank you. Now, about the next request..."

Rutts glances at the lieutenant.

"Ahem... Your work on this request was appreciated. The potions were of high quality, and we are satisfied."

The lieutenant, with his arms crossed, says this in an authoritative tone.

"Thank you."

Erika, being in front of a high-ranking official, bows her head timidly and thanks him.

"However, we would like to order about 100 magic stones."

"Magic stones... what's the deadline?"

"One week."

Huh?

"Eh? One week? That's a bit..."

"Is it difficult? It's an urgent request, you know?"

"Well... we don't have enough manpower right now."

"Then that's fine. If it's too much, we'll ask a civilian. If you can't handle urgent requests, we'll reconsider our relationship."

Ah... Erika can't handle this.

"Erika, let me take over."

I place my hand on Erika's shoulder.

"Eh? Please, go ahead."

Erika steps back timidly, and I step forward.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Siegfried Alexander, who was assigned to the Riet branch yesterday. Nice to meet you."

"Hmm... so you're the new recruit."

I'm not a new recruit, but whatever.

"Yes. About the request, I have a few questions. Is that okay?"

"Of course."

"First, I heard the deadline is one week due to the urgency. That's quite tight. Could you tell me why it's so urgent?"

"The reason is confidential."

Well, that's to be expected.

"However, I need to know if this is a matter of the town's survival. Ordering 100 magic stones makes me think a war might be starting."

Magic stones are used as boosters for casting spells and are often found in the wands of mages.

"No, it's not that. It's just a simple drill. I can't give you more details, but the schedule is tight."

You could just reschedule.

This is clearly harassment.

"I see. Understood. Also, the price will double for an urgent request, especially with a one-week deadline. Is that okay?"

"How much would it be?"

"It will be at least double. 2 million El."

When I say this, the lieutenant frowns.

"Isn't that too high?"

"Urgent requests are like that. Especially for 100 magic stones in one week. If you don't like it, you can ask a civilian. It will be even more expensive."

If it's just double, that's a good deal.

Civilians will overcharge you.

"Can you really prepare them? Failure is not an option?"

He wants you to fail.

"We can prepare them. But, can you provide the materials?"

The materials for magic stones are magic stones.

"Are you saying we should prepare them?"

"Of course. Do you think we have 100 magic stones in stock? If you want us to prepare them from scratch, we'll have to source them from the market, which will add to the cost. Of course, this will be an estimate, and it will be more expensive due to the urgency."

The lieutenant's frown deepens.

"...Understood. We'll prepare them."

"Then please deliver them today."

"Today? That's impossible."

Huh?

"Why? It's an urgent request, right? Time is short, so gather the people and prepare them. Or is it not that urgent? In that case, I recommend extending the deadline."

"...Rutts, prepare them."

He's passing it off to his subordinate.

"Please provide a certificate. We will use the magic stones you provide to make the magic stones. If the quality is poor, it will be a problem."

Nobles often complain about quality after the fact.

"Rutts, use the available people."

The lieutenant says this and hurriedly returns to his room.

"There are no available people..."

Rutts mutters.

"You have a tough boss. Well, since that's the case, I'll leave it to you. Erika, let's go back."

"Y-Yes."

We leave the outpost, leaving Rutts, who looks unhappy, behind.

Thank you for reading.

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