Episode 74: Troublesome Matters
“Excuse me, are you perhaps Cladfield-sama?”
“My name is Holland.”
“Ah, my apologies. It seems I mistook you for someone else.”
On the way back from the academy, after seeing Young Lady off in the carriage and being asked to do some shopping as usual, I was about to head home when a portly middle-aged man called out to me, so I ignored him.
“Eh? Wrong person? Are you sure? Just a moment!”
“Tch.”
It seemed someone knew my face.
“Please wait, Cladfield-sama! I would very much like to have a word!”
“If it’s not about Hair Cleansing Liquid, I’ll listen, you know?”
“Now, now, don’t say that.”
Recently, this type of person has been increasing. This is a result of Master and Madam actively promoting the Hair Cleansing Liquid.
Special scents have even been developed for the Queen and Princess, and the Cybarossa House’s Hair Cleansing Liquid has become a nationally recognized major enterprise.
And it seems they want to talk about the Hair Cleansing Liquid with someone from the Cybarossa House, so merchants and nobles are sidling up like this. The maids are complaining that they can’t go shopping casually anymore because of the increase in these types of people.
In fact, when the maids go shopping, they need to be escorted by knights or soldiers.
…But I do wonder if it’s really a good idea to ask me to do the shopping.
“I would very much like you to put in a good word with the Lord and his wife.”
“…It’s such a pain.”
They’re no different from malicious salespeople. They’re even worse because there aren’t detailed laws.
“Now, now, don’t say that.”
And their second words are always “now, now” or “well, well.” That’s how they come at you.
It’s really troublesome.
“Cladfield-kun, wouldn’t it be a good idea to listen to what they have to say?”
“Zair-sama… If you pay me about 500,000 Wica, I’ll listen to what you have to say, though?”
“Gunu!”
There are even those who try to talk to me by using the noble children in my class like this. In that case, I’ll solve it with money.
“I-Isn’t that a bit too greedy!?”
“I’m also a Fifth-Rank Adventurer, you see. Considering it as a request, it’s not a particularly high amount, you know?”
In reality, hiring a Fifth-Rank or higher Adventurer for escort or other purposes is not uncommon to cost over 1,000,000 Wica, depending on the length of the engagement. That’s because they are treated as first-class within the framework of Adventurers.
“If you absolutely insist, please issue a designated request through the Adventurer’s Guild.”
Of course, the Adventurer’s Guild won’t accept a designated request that’s just for “I just want to talk.”
Even if they try to circumvent that, I can just refuse. Designated requests don’t necessarily have to be accepted.
Thanks to Iserina-san, I’m not short on money, so there’s no need to take on individual requests, and I’m currently under contract to protect Young Lady. I can use that as a reason to refuse additional requests.
Well, the request isn’t actually going through the Guild though.
“I’ve heard, but you’re tough… even though you’re small.”
“I’m curious who you heard that from. And the ‘small’ part is unnecessary.”
I’ll get bigger eventually, so just leave me alone.
“More importantly, Zair-sama, what are you doing in a place like this without any guards?”
“Hmm? Well, my father told me to help him and find out the secrets of the Hair Cleansing Liquid.”
“Whoa!?”
“Is it okay for you to tell me that? Also, it’s dangerous, so let’s go back to the academy. I’ll accompany you.”
Although it’s within the Noble District, it’s not like there’s no traffic. It’s not good to leave Zair-sama unattended. Not good at all.
“By the way, what happened to your guards?”
“Ah, now that you mention it… where did they go?”
“I hope it hasn’t turned into a big commotion.”
“Eh? Ah, that’s…?”
The portly middle-aged man who seems to be a merchant is fidgeting. It seems he’s realized that this is an abnormal situation.
“You could have been mistaken for a kidnapper, you know?”
“Ki!? I would never do such a thing!”
“I’m telling you, the ones who will be making the judgment are the knights and the nobles above them, you know?
“T-That’s certainly true.”
There are times when commoners won’t be listened to no matter what they say. Such scenes are commonplace at the academy.
“For now, let’s go back to the academy. Zair-sama, is that alright with you?”
“Eh? Well, since I finally don’t have those annoying guards around…”
“Are you okay with him and me being treated as kidnappers?”
“Mmm!? I wouldn’t want that.”
“It’s possible, you know. That’s why I’m saying this.”
While restraining the urge to drag him away by force, I also get Zair-sama to agree.
It’s a bit forceful, but Zair-sama also accompanies me, and when we return near the academy… as expected, the knights were causing a commotion.
It’s only natural that the merchant, whose face isn’t known, would be suspected more than me, who belongs to the academy. Please ask Zair-sama for testimony, I don’t know anything.
“Hmm, I had heard that things were getting troublesome.”
“Yes. The maids can’t even go outside without guards anymore.”
I was accosted by a merchant, and Zair-sama was involved in the process. I had to report it, so I went to report to Knights Order Commander Worgen.
I was told that the detailed situation should also be reported to Master, so it became a report to Master, but it seems that other fellow servants are also being approached by merchants in a similar way.
“I wonder why they don’t imitate it? It’s not that difficult, though.”
In the first place, this is such a world. Information leaks happen as a matter of course.
“It seems that similar things have been made, but they haven’t been successful. Besides, there are actually very few people who know what is used, how it is used, and how much is used. The factories are separated, and the final process is done at the Lord’s mansion.”
It seems that the work of liquefaction is done at this factory, and extraction is done at that factory, with things being made in separate places. Furthermore, the people working at each factory are mostly people without much education, that is, people who can’t read or write, so it’s difficult to take out information.
They’re using people who can’t give out information and are dividing the work. It’s quite well thought out.
“Well, that means people who are obviously from outside the territory try to get hired.”
“That’s obviously a spy.”
“We can tell whether they’re from within the territory or not, you know.”
Our territory is rural, so the connections are strong.
“Well, we’ve already taken measures, but it would be troublesome if information were leaked before that. Well, Cladfield-kun is the only one who has proper information, though.”
“I only vaguely remember the recipe, though. I wasn’t measuring exactly every time I made it.”
“His ability should be fine, but it would be troublesome if others were targeted.”
“Is the number of guards sufficient?”
“Yes. We’ve also increased the frequency of patrols by knights and soldiers. We’ve also seen an increase in suspicious people… but we can’t possibly detain all the people who are monitoring the mansion. And things like last time haven’t happened.”
I stopped Ryuga’s rampage, so we’re not arresting people now.
“I wonder what that was… I think it was the work of House Runesil’s political enemies.”
“We weren’t noticed, and those who were attacked didn’t see their faces. I think quite skilled people were involved.”
It’s not a multiple offender, it’s a lone offender.
“It doesn’t seem to be a royal spy either. An existence that had never been rumored before suddenly appeared. Moreover, they infiltrated His Majesty’s private room without anyone noticing…”
“Honestly, if we were targeted by someone of that level, there’s nothing we can do. What about Cladfield?”
“I’m not a specialist either.”
Ryuga is too strong for me to handle.
“A specialist. For security-related matters, the Knights Order… but they’re busy with matters in the north. Otherwise, an Adventurer?”
“I can’t trust them. Besides, there will be problems with coordination.”
“That’s right. I’m against it too. In the first place, the top Adventurers are all specialists in hunting Monsters.”
Since the neighboring country is either a desert, a sea, or beyond a mountain range, there’s no war, so there aren’t any mercenaries. The image is that a specialist in dealing with people = Knight.
“Should we call for reinforcements from the territory? But we’re also having them guard the factories, so we don’t have enough people.”
“Honestly, it’s tough. Bringing in poorly trained soldiers won’t be of any use.”
“How about asking the Adventurer’s Guild to patrol around the mansion?”
“It’s not a good idea to increase the number of people even more when there are already more people. Besides, patrolling is the job of knights and soldiers. It could create backlash from them.”
“Things don’t go well, do they?”
After that, there were various discussions about countermeasures, but no quick solutions came out. Well, it’s quite difficult to attach guards to each and every servant.
It seems we have no choice but to ensure the escort team handles the shopping as much as possible, and to thoroughly enforce that everyone, including the escort team, refrains from acting alone. I’ve also been told not to go out much.
I was told to be patient until I can fend off any interference from others. Master seems to be up to something on his own.