Chapter 443: Policy
“Right now, in the case of death, the Guild’s record simply turns black,” the Butler interjected softly.
“Oh, so you’ve improved the spell?” Haulon said, sounding a bit surprised.
Well, that makes sense. If it exploded or caught fire every time, the Guild would be in flames.
“There aren’t many requests where the Guild steps in to enforce a Covenant, but since they are stored for a long time, there are quite a few records. If they all burned, it would be a disaster,” Retze explained to Haulon, or rather, to me?
It seems that there are two types of Covenants: those that are discarded after the request is completed and those that are kept for long-term storage. The long-term ones are apparently a hassle, as they are attached to a backing sheet, making them look like books!
Preventing Spirit pranks must be tough. They say the abundance of paper is thanks to Spirits, so I guess the trouble is unavoidable.
“Then, the fact that the Covenant was broken must be known to Kanum’s Guild. What do you think the cause might be?” Haulon mused, twirling his spoon.
“You know that the Guild and the Lord of the Fortress City are involved,” the Butler said.
“I’d like to say they’re just imagining things, but at this hour, they’re probably asleep. The night watch will inform the Guild Master in the morning,” Retze said, gazing at his empty bowl of corn soup. Looks like he wants to eat more after just a little bit.
I quietly added some bread, liver pâté, and a mentaiko dip. Gentle on the stomach cheese. This sickly meal of soggy pasta is a no-go.
By the way, is Kanum’s Guild really okay? Aren’t they a bit too lax? Well, the only important thing in Kanum is the investigation of the Demon Forest. The occasional Spirit-related incidents or something like what happened with Dean’s sister are the only other concerns.
I’m not complaining about the Guild, the Temple, or the Lord being a bit ambiguous, as it gives us some freedom.
“The problem is with this Emerald Lady. Gene, you must have broken her Covenant too, right?” Chris said, glancing at the girl who was sound asleep.
“I did,” I replied, overcoming the obstacle of her chest.
The fact that Chris refers to her as Emerald means she must be Spirit Possessed, able to see Spirits, or have some ability related to them—there’s definitely a presence there, isn’t there?
“Then, she should be fine in the Fortress City. It seemed like she had some restrictions, but that was from the moment we met,” Chris continued.
“Well, several Adventurers have died in the Fortress City, so she might be mixed in with them,” Dean said, ever the optimist. Or rather, a bit tipsy.
I think the commotion is coming from the Lord’s house, not the Guild. I remember something about his sister being a hostage.
“Wouldn’t it be better to hand her over to Kanum’s Guild and call it a day?” Haulon glanced at the girl.
“We’ve gone this far to protect her, so that’s not happening. I’ll have a little chat with her, and depending on the situation, I might have to give the Guild in the Fortress City a heads-up,” Dean said cheerfully.
“Well, that might turn the Fortress City, including the Lord, into our enemies, but if that happens, just pretend you don’t know me. But please send me from here to Kanum,” he added with a smile and a wink.
He seems to know that the Lord is behind him, but his attitude remains unchanged. That’s impressive.
“I was protecting her because it was during a request,” I added with a sullen voice, letting out a resigned sigh.
“It seems you protected her to the point where Ash got seriously injured. That’s a bit of a loss,” I chimed in.
“Ugh…” Ash’s face looked a bit embarrassed, but his frown was deeper than usual. Has he been through a terrible experience? His expression had just started to soften recently.
“For now, let’s use [Teleportation] to go to a country that has nothing to do with this and find an inn. We can listen to the story afterward. I’ll take a look at Anoma by morning,” Haulon sighed, looking like he wanted to do something about the Spirits.
The Fortress City might be in turmoil for another reason too. The Spirits in the Temple tend to slack off, so Adventurers returning from the Labyrinth can’t shake off the effects of defeating Demon Beasts. Before the Adventurers fleeing from the Demon Forest arrive, there must already be an incident.
Since the town relies on the Demon Forest, it might be in trouble even for those who aren’t Adventurers. I almost recalled the faces of the townspeople who laughed at the executions, but I quickly stopped myself.
I should remember the face of the kind lady at the stall in the Fortress City who gave me extra food. I should probably envision a gentle world.
“You wouldn’t want to show this place, would you? What if someone asks? We could say that I have a friend in the Forest who called for me,” I suggested.
“I think that’s wonderful! Gene, you’re the Sage of the Forest! Why not come up with a pseudonym?” Chris agreed with a radiant smile.
“The Sage of the Forest… then I’ll be Oran,” Wutan chimed in.
When you think of the Sage of the Forest, you think of an orangutan. The night forest conjures images of owls, but this time, the “Bird of Light” seems to have possessed an owl with the same wings. I’ll leave the owl to that.
“Oran, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Oran it is!”
“Yeah.”
“Oran, huh? I’ll remember that too,” Dean said, taking a swig of his drink. Whatever makes him happy, his smile is brighter than before.
“Oran, huh?”
“…”
“Is something the matter?” the Butler asked Retze.
“I just… want to pinch his cheeks,” Retze replied.
“Why!?” I asked, surprised by Retze’s response.
“Because every time someone says Oran, you stretch your neck a little toward them. It must be a name associated with something troublesome, right?”
“Hey, Retze, save that keen observation for something else!”