Chapter 28: The Exiled Marquise is Strong 4
Reporting to the Little Girl that the Monsters had been subjugated, we left the village.
Normally, we would have collected the Magic Stone Fragments, but we left them there as an apology for riddling the fields with holes.
The village chief would probably handle that part well enough.
While not as valuable as Magic Stones, Magic Stone Fragments are still worth a decent amount of money. Golden Ogres are large Monsters, so the fragments from three of them should be more than enough compensation for the fields.
Well, there wasn’t much left from one of them, though.
“Still, was it really alright to leave the village chief like that?”
“You mean about the request to the Adventurers Guild?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Once the village was out of sight, Erica asked me about the village chief’s lie.
“There’s no proof, so there’s not much point telling the Adventurers Guild.”
“What about the testimony from that girl’s father?”
“He only said that because it was us. If the Guild questioned him, he’d just feign ignorance.”
What the village chief did was an act that betrayed the goodwill of the Adventurers Guild.
When the Adventurers Guild becomes aware that dangerous Monsters have appeared, they proactively issue Subjugation requests.
That’s because it’s part of the Adventurers Guild’s philosophy.
The Adventurers Guild’s principle of subjugating Monsters for the sake of the powerless may be an ideal, but it’s not just empty words.
“Besides, if we started pointing fingers, there’d be no end to it.”
Life in farming villages isn’t easy.
There are many villages and settlements doing similar things.
The Guild knows this too, so even if we reported it, they’d probably just let it slide.
Many adventurers and Adventurers Guild staff come from such farming villages themselves.
“If that’s what you say.”
Perhaps she didn’t feel strongly about it, as Erica concluded the conversation with that.
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Having unexpectedly ended up staying overnight in the village and failing the request, this should normally be considered a complete failure.
“Um… this is… uh…”
At the Adventurers Guild counter, the female Guild Staff member stared dumbfounded at the three Golden Ogre Magic Stones before her.
Incidentally, she was the petite female staff member who handled our adventurer registration.
According to the name tag on her chest, her name seemed to be Lana.
“They’re Golden Ogre Magic Stones.”
Yes, normally it would be a failure, but we have three Golden Ogre Magic Stones.
Just the amount the Guild will pay for them should be reward enough.
“Aren’t those Emergency Subjugation targets?!”
The Guild Staff member, Lana, exclaimed.
You can usually tell the strength of a Magic Stone harvested from a Monster just by looking at it.
A Guild Staff member should be used to seeing them, so what was she so surprised about?
“We’d like you to buy these.”
For now, I stated our business.
The Adventurers Guild handles the purchasing of Magic Stones and materials obtained from Monsters directly from adventurers.
The Guild makes money by selling those Magic Stones and materials to Merchants; it’s the Guild’s main source of income.
“How can you be so calm?! It was three of them! Three Golden Ogres subjugated by two Rank 1 adventurers?!”
For some reason, she sounded angry.
“N-No way…”
Lana recoiled, her face contorting as if she had just witnessed some unspeakable evil.
“Are you going to demand a special promotion to Rank 7 for subjugating three Golden Ogres?!”
“We are not.”
Is she still going on about that?
“More importantly, about the request we accepted…”
I glanced towards the Magic Stones.
“I think it’s probably going to be withdrawn.”
Just from that, Lana’s expression turned into one of understanding.
“That must have been difficult for you.”
She offered sympathy but didn’t press further. She probably understood the situation but had no intention of making an issue out of it.
“I have relatives in that village, so I’ll thank you personally as well.”
“In that case, give us a better price for these. My Sword got ruined.”
“That’s a separate matter,” Lana smoothly deflected.
“However, if you’re buying a new Sword, I know a good shop I can recommend.”
I guess that’s good enough compensation. After all, we’re newcomers to this city.
A recommendation from a Guild Staff member probably wouldn’t lead us to a bad shop.
“Alright then, please proceed with the purchase.”
“Understood.”
As Lana prepared the Magic Tool for appraisal and the necessary documents, she asked hesitantly.
“You really aren’t going to demand to be made Rank 7, right?”
I just shrugged in response.