Chapter 86 – Play (6)
Roden and the others were heading to the permanent residence located in the center of downtown Varmela.
The warriors Roden and Marill are wearing light armor, while the wizards Loxia and Marill are wearing short robes. In particular, Roden also put on a pitch.
“I’m meeting the lord in person, uncle. Would it really be okay to dress like this? I’m not the type of person who knows much about etiquette when dealing with nobles, but I’m worried that it might be a big disrespect…”
It was not unreasonable that Roxia, who was feeling anxious inside as she got closer and closer to the meeting place, began to have such a question.
As it was the road to the lord’s house for the purpose of talking with the lord, there was no need to wear any equipment. Wearing armor to enter such a place might seem distasteful in some cases.
Snug.
A voice a little thicker than usual came out through the gap between Roden’s helmet, where he placed his hand on Loxia’s head.
“It’s okay. In the first place, since the lord wants to meet the four of us as adventurers, it’s better to pack our equipment like this than to dress up in clumsy clothes.”
According to his experience, if he had been a noble of the type who was strict about formality, he wouldn’t have invited the adventurer to the lord’s house, much less meet him in person.
“We agree with what Roden oppa said. Aristocrats generally don’t expect much from adventurers about etiquette or attire.”
“Of course, if the equipment is too dirty, it will be rude… For now, there’s no problem. And the greeting method when meeting the lord… You just have to follow what we taught you yesterday, so don’t worry too much and eat at ease, Roxia. “
The armor and robes of Roden’s party, which had been cleaned or washed the day before, were as clean as new without any irritating dust or stains.
“Yes, sister.”
Afterwards, focusing on walking rather than talking, the four of them slowly passed the street corner leading to the mall.
In order not to be late by any chance, we set off with plenty of time, so there was no need to hurry.
The sight of children running and playing in groups of threes and fives, the sight of merchants raising their voices competing and selling goods, the sight of a group of adventurers each carrying heavy backpacks passing by, and the sight of middle-aged women hanging out laundry in front of their houses naturally combine to make the streets lively even today. Is overflowing
Every time I saw such a lively scene from Roden’s point of view, who had a potion shop nearby, I thought that I had settled very well in the Barmela Margrave, located in the western part of the Principality of Haron.
“Come to think of it, the lord of Barmela has a fairly good reputation.”
Her twin sisters each nodded at the words Roden, who was looking at the street, muttered quietly.
“That’s right. Compared to the surrounding territories, he tends to collect just as much tax as he needs, and he’s paying a lot of attention to security as a standing army.”
“Rarely among the lords, the adventurer’s guild is provided with heavy financial support as needed to prevent damage from monsters in advance, so the territories have no choice but to like it.”
Loxia, who was the first and last person to live in human territory, could not find a suitable comparison target, so she just listened to the three people’s evaluation of the lord.
Most of the story was nothing but praise.
… After a while, Roden’s party arrived at the permanent residence with a medium-sized garden.
The two-man guard guarding the entrance, who was resting comfortably with his spear slanted across the wall, stopped Roden and his party for a moment.
“A party of adventurers who came at the call of Lord Barmela.”
“It’s like the time we arrived, and I thought there were two warriors and two wizards, but as expected, you guys are the adventurer’s party. We’ll finish it soon, so just take out the dog tags.”
“Okay.”
The gatekeepers had also heard that a customer was coming around this time today and the general impression of their clothes, so the passage was not too difficult. Except for Loxia, he takes out the dog tags of everyone else and checks their names.
The garden connecting the entrance and the permanent residence was spread out in a straight line, so there was no need to ask for directions.
When you slowly passed more than half of the garden, appreciating the singing of grass insects. An old gentleman with his head half-naked, in a stylish house suit, slowly approached Roden and his party from the other side.
“You came earlier than the promised time. I was watching you and the head of the household as you passed through the entrance. Follow me.”
When Roden went in and out of the City Hall in front of the Yeongjugwan to pay taxes once a month, the old gentleman with the impression he remembered passing by from time to time was a man in charge of the count’s butler.
After briefly introducing himself, the butler turned his back and took the lead in guiding the party to the place where the lord was waiting.
Inside the mansion, which also serves as the permanent residence, the corridors are decorated with portraits of men presumed to be the heads of the past.
In addition, flower pots decorated with statues or rather expensive looking flowers caught the eye in the middle.
“Wow…”
Stepping foot into her aristocratic abode for the first time in her life, Roxia let her exclamation slip away involuntarily, her eyes twinkling.
Roden, who had a splendid past, didn’t have much luxury for a county’s mansion.
Finally, her twin sister is surprisingly unresponsive.
Anyway, the head butler stopped in front of the large door.
“The head of household is beyond this door. Before entering here, I’ll store your weapons for a while.”
It was a natural action. Roden’s party obediently handed over the sword and staff to the approaching servants.
Sigh, the butler slowly opened the door and spoke out.
“My lord. I brought a party of adventurers.”
“Good job.”
A calm and solemn voice is heard.
The butler bowed his head to the lord and left as he closed the door silently.
On the other side of the luxuriously long dining table, I see a middle-aged man sitting.
His well-maintained blond hair, straight back hair and sharp-edged suit attire revealed his neat personality.
The stylishly tamed, W-shaped mustache catches the eye at once… He is a middle-aged man with the impression that an old lion comes to mind.
As an aside, there are only five people in the room, including the lord and Roden’s party, probably because the enlisted men and servants have been handed over in advance.
“Thank you for accepting the arbitrary invitation. I wanted to meet the adventurers who solved Yeongji’s trouble in person.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Count. Thanks to your mercy, I am Titus, one of the adventurers active in the adventurer’s guild of the Barmela Margrave.”
Roden, who brought up his name as an adventurer and greeted him as a representative, knelt down on one knee while looking at the lord, put his elbow on the knee that had been erected at a right angle, and bowed his head softly to show his respect.
It is a common etiquette used by people of a lower status than nobles, such as commoners and adventurers, to show their respect.
While lowering his head, Roden, who rolled his eyes in the helmet, quietly looked at his party.
Roxia, who had become a bit nervous, copied her movements properly even though she was hesitant, and compared to her girl, her twin sister held her posture as naturally as breathing.
Thinking back to how they had taught Roxia the day before, they told her in great detail, such as how much to bend down and where to place her hands.
… Like I’ve seen many places.
“Adventurers, you don’t need to be too strict with your manners, so sit comfortably. And now, I’ve called you as the lord, so just call me lord.”
“I understand. Lord.”
“Oh, by the way, I told the chef a little while ago, so soon the meal will be ready.
The information reported to the guild has been heard by the lord, but he seems to want to hear the situation at the time directly from the mouths of Roden and the others.
Within a few minutes, dishes and refreshments that truly fit the term delicacies from the land and sea were spread on the long dining table.
“Thank you for your generous hospitality.”
Roden’s party, who had a meal with the lord, explained the things he had experienced in the swamp area, starting with the visit to the Lizardman’s village as he requested.
For reference, in the case of Roden, who was wearing a helmet, he enjoyed his meal without any problems by removing only the part that covered his mouth.
“…That’s how, thanks to the help of the local Blackscale Tribe, we were able to find and eliminate the Mosquito Queen.”
“Hmm, hmm. Certainly, the number of mosquitoes has drastically decreased since your report came up, and the personnel dispatched to the location also said they found traces of the nest and the obelisk. You did your best in many ways. Thank you for telling a vivid story. “
“I just did what I had to do.”
With a satisfied smile at Roden’s answer, the lord looked at the silver dog tag hanging around his neck before opening his mouth.
“Titus. Actually, this is the main topic. Instead of living as an adventurer, don’t you want to swing your sword for our family?”
Not everyone is like that… A silver grade or higher adventurer is evaluated as a knight who can freely handle mana, and from the gold grade area, he is evaluated as a knight commander who can handle aura.
However, in the case of gold-class adventurers, they only exist in name. It is safe to say that there is practically no
There are very few people who have reached the point where they can handle Auras after going through many real battle experiences and crossing the edge, and most of them stop being adventurers the moment they can handle Auras.
If he had acquired such skills, why would he continue to be an adventurer?
If you have enough strength, there are many things that can make you much more money than getting a request from an adventurer’s guild.
To give you a few examples…
Whether it’s setting up a swordsman’s guild in a well-established city center, or forming an independent mercenary group and acting as a mercenary leader… A typical example is the case of becoming a vassal knight after receiving an offer from a noble from the time of silver rank, just like now.
Roden decided to express his polite refusal.
“…Thank you very much for the offer. I’m sorry I couldn’t respond. Lord.”
“Is that so? It’s a pity.”
Youngju’s words and actions were completely different. His expression is that of a person who anticipates that the other person will reject him. Yeongju continued talking casually as he sliced the thick meat.
“Hey, Roden, you’ll always be busy running the potion shop, so you won’t have time to act as the family’s knight. I can understand you enough, so don’t worry about it.”
“…”
