Chapter 249 - Gnometree (3)

The job Shahvin described was remarkably simple.

“Just deliver this letter to Baron Nertobin.”

The task: delivering a letter.

The reward: three million stones.

There was just one condition.

“Oh, and you must deliver this letter directly to the baron himself before he leaves Gnometree.”

That explained the whopping three-million-stone reward for a mere delivery. There were practically no explorers who could enter Gnometree. Unless you were a farm laborer, this district was effectively reserved for nobles.

“I understand the job. Now, I'd like you to explain the circumstances.”

It already smelled like easy money, but rather than get ahead of myself, I calmly went through the things I needed to check.

What was this letter?

Why pay such a large sum to hire someone when they could just send it to the baron once he returned to the city?

Shahvin answered my questions without hiding anything.

“I can't tell you what the letter says. As for why we're commissioning this job, it's because we're certain the baron won't read our letter even if we send it to his home.”

The administrative agency had something it absolutely needed to tell the baron, but he was ignoring them. So, after learning that he was vacationing in Gnometree, they had devised a way to put the letter directly into his hands.

“Gnometree is essentially a resort for nobles. Besides, they're only allowed to bring three guards. All you need to do is approach him naturally and hand over the letter, so it should be less of a burden for you too, Mr. Bjorn.”

Well, that was true.

I nodded in understanding. A noble visiting another noble's home in the city was certainly a hassle. You had to stay for dinner and exchange greetings with the family. A quick visit just to hand over a letter was effectively impossible.

'Then is the condition about delivering it in Gnometree for my sake?'

The thought occurred to me, but that couldn't be the only reason. They wouldn't have made consideration for me an actual condition.

“Well, what will you do?”

Shahvin left the decision to me, and after pretending to think it over a little longer, I answered.

“I accept.”

Three million stones for delivering a single letter, in times like these when there was nowhere to make money?

There was no reason to turn it down.

'I'd been planning to visit Gnometree anyway.'

“Oh, just so we're clear, my job ends when I hand over the letter, whether the baron reads it or not.”

“Yes. As long as you fulfill the terms of the commission, there will be no issues with your payment. You needn't worry about that.”

Okay, that took care of my last concern.

I signed the contract Shahvin had brought and received the letter I was to deliver. That concluded our official business. After another hour or so of casual conversation, we wrapped up our gathering of friends, and I returned home.

Then...

“Misha, pack your bags.”

“Huh?”

“Let's take a trip.”

I began preparing for our vacation.

* * *

I settled on three days and two nights. It wasn't too far for a day trip, but I needed time to find the baron once we got there.

Besides...

'There's somewhere else I need to stop by.'

Honestly, I would have preferred a leisurely six-day, five-night stay. But the Labyrinth would be opening soon.

Well, my companions and I had already agreed to skip this expedition...

'Still, it'll be much better to see for myself how much fighting power the royal family commits this time.'

“G-Gnometree!! Wow! I never thought I'd see the day I got to go there, nyah!!”

The suggestion of a trip had come out of nowhere, but once Misha learned our destination was Gnometree, she excitedly packed her bags.

Incidentally, I was allowed to bring three people. So I decided to bring Aynar and Erwin as well and make it a family(?) vacation.

“I-Is it really all right for me to come somewhere like that?”

“What are you talking about? Don't come if you don't want to.”

“I do want to! I'll go pack! How long did you say we'd be staying?”

Despite her initial show of reluctance, Erwin quickly got up and went to her room to pack. Her face looked brighter than it had in a long time.

Then again, there'd hardly been anything to be happy about lately.

“Hey! I told you to stop fooling around and pack properly, nyah!”

“I wasn't fooling around...”

“You think you're done just because you packed some underwear, nyah? What about your toothbrush? Your towel? Huh? Are you going to ask to borrow mine every time, nyah?”

With Misha helping Aynar pack as well, preparations went smoothly. Early the following morning...

“We will escort you to the entrance.”

We set off for Gnometree, receiving the utmost care from our knight escorts.

It was well past noon when we arrived.

“Baronet Bjorn Jandel. Your identity has been verified. This way, please.”

At the gate, we underwent a simple identity check before passing through.

Oh, the knights didn't follow us in. Gnometree had a rule allowing no more than three guards.

'I feel a little bad about this.'

The knights had actually wanted to fill all three slots themselves. But I had firmly refused and given those places to Misha, Erwin, and Aynar.

Having knights around would make it difficult to move freely. Besides, this wasn't somewhere I needed to worry much about assassins in the first place.

“If anything threatens your safety inside, do not hesitate to use that whistle. Gnometree's militia will come to your aid.”

Security in Gnometree was the tightest in the city after the royal palace, so the knights merely expressed their regret rather than forcing me to cancel the trip.

“Wow...”

Once we passed through the double gates, the scenery of Gnometree was magnificent enough to leave even me spellbound.

A road stretched straight ahead. Expansive green vistas opened up on either side, and the breeze wrapping gently around us carried the scent of unripe grain and fruit.

“Oh! Look over there! Elves, nyah!”

We continued taking in our surroundings as we rode along in the carriage. Most of the people we saw were elves working the fields. They were farming specialists, after all.

The elves sent members trained in specialized spirit magic to Gnometree in exchange for enormous subsidies.

'Man, I'm jealous...'

The vast wealth flowing in from Gnometree was also why, unlike the barbarians, they could offer their people interest-free loans to pay their taxes.

“Erwin, how many years do your people offer loans for, nyah?”

“Three years for us.”

“Wow, I'm jealous, nyah. Ours only went up to the second year, nyah. They don't exactly hound you to repay them, but after that, you're on your own, sink or swim, nyah.”

For the record, every race except barbarians and humans had a tax-loan policy like this. Elves weren't the only ones making money this way.

The dwarves had secured an official contract with the royal family in recognition of their unique architectural and metallurgical skills. They had probably built and maintained all those windmills and waterwheels we could see, too.

Oh, and as for the Therianthropes...

[MOO!]

“M-Misha! What in the world is that strange-looking monster?!”

“Oh, you've never seen one before, nyah? It's an animal called a cow, nyah.”

“A cow?”

“You know, that meat you said tasted the best, nyah. Oh, though I've never eaten the real thing either, nyah...”

Therianthropes excelled in livestock farming. Not only did they have a natural affinity with animals, but some of their special-powers Spirit beasts could accelerate livestock growth and breeding.

'Even so, the dragonkin are the ones making the real money.'

If the other races were all part of the laboring class, the dragonkin were a little different. You could essentially consider them landed nobles. After all, the agricultural district of Gnometree itself had been built on their tribe's sanctuary.

'... Why are barbarians the only ones with nothing?'

The more I laid it all out, the more deprived I felt, but what could I do? Fighting was our one and only racial trait.

RATTLE.

Soon, the carriage reached the mountain near the center of Gnometree, circled around it, and headed east.

Some time later...

“We have arrived.”

The coachman assigned to us at Gnometree's gate announced that we had reached our destination: a residential district called Kiarbis, a historic resort for nobles that had existed even in the game's setting 150 years in the past.

“This way, please.”

With the help of the man serving as both our coachman and guide, we headed to our lodgings first. The administrative agency had reserved them in advance...

'Nice.'

They were far better than I'd expected. For starters, we had an entire detached villa to ourselves, along with no fewer than five servants.

How much did a night here cost?

“Please have your meal first. It is ready for you.”

I was hungry anyway, so we ate first.

Then...

“There's a hot spring...?”

The moment a servant mentioned the outdoor hot spring, I went straight there to soak away the fatigue of the journey.

'Ahh, yeah. This is the life.'

I'd have to come back in winter, even if I had to pay out of my own pocket. After enjoying the hot spring for about an hour, I came out to find Aynar waiting for me alone.

“Bjorn, what takes you so long to wash?!”

“Where are Misha and Erwin?”

“They're both still in there. I don't understand it at all. It's just warm water, as far as I can tell...”

Aynar apparently hadn't discovered the true appeal of hot springs.

Honestly, these barbarians.

“Whatever. Just relax for a bit, then hang out with them when they get out.”

“Huh? What about you?”

“I should get to work soon. Why, want to come along?”

“Oh, no... I'll rest here!”

She recoiled at the mention of work and backed off. I chuckled and left the villa.

First, I took a walk around the area.

'This really is luxury incarnate.'

Perhaps because it had been designed as a resort for nobles from the outset, lavish amenities were everywhere: hot springs, riding grounds, fishing spots, and so on.

In the modern world, I might have asked what was so extravagant about that, but things were different here.

'They don't just stuff their faces with real meat. They play with it, too...'

Ninety-nine percent of this city's population ate meat and bread made from magic crystals. As Aynar demonstrated, some had never even seen a real cow before coming here.

But here? They even had places where pheasants and deer were released for people to play at hunting.

'Well, that's enough sightseeing...'

Letter in hand, I headed for my destination. There was no need to wear out my shoes finding out where the baron was staying. No titled nobles in this city stayed in rented accommodations like mine. Most spent their vacations in villas they owned.

“You may enter.”

After I reached his villa and had my arrival announced, permission to enter came shortly afterward.

Whew. At least he wasn't telling me to get lost.

“I'd been hoping for a chance to speak with you, so this is excellent timing. Haha, a pleasure, Baronet Jandel. But what brings you here so suddenly?”

“Oh, I have something to give you.”

“Something to give me?”

When I handed him the letter I'd brought, the baron immediately opened and read it. Then an odd expression crossed his face.

“Those bastards at the administrative agency must be getting desperate, asking you to do something like this.”

“I wouldn't know. I don't have the details.”

“Hmm, and yet you agreed to this favor? What could possibly prompt someone like you to do so?”

The baron muttered as if he couldn't understand it.

The honest answer was that I'd jumped at the offer of three million stones, but that didn't sound particularly dignified, so I gave him a vague excuse.

“I owe them a debt.”

“Haha, you could simply pretend to have forgotten all about that later.”

Wow, was this how nobles thought?

I was impressed, in the worst possible way, but I couldn't exactly say that to his face.

“A warrior never forgets a kindness.”

“Hmm... I suppose that's true? Haha! How amusing. A noble whose trustworthiness, at least, is guaranteed? You may find quite a few nobles wanting to befriend you.”

With the letter delivered, the baron invited me to stay for a meal, but I declined and left. In the tiny world of noble society, making friends indiscriminately was bound to have repercussions.

'Anyway, that takes care of the job.'

It had been so easy that I almost wondered whether it was right to accept three million stones for it.

Now the rest of my stay was free.

'I'll visit that place later, once it gets darker...'

I headed back to our lodgings, reviewing the rest of my plans.

That was when I spotted a familiar crest among the knights accompanying some young noblemen.

Cold sweat poured off me the instant I saw it.

'House Aifreia.'

The family of that man whose face and identity GM had borrowed to meet me, even going so far as to knock him unconscious personally.

'... Surely not. He's the youngest, right? It must be his older brother.'

Even if my hopes were wrong, the principle still held. Quantum mechanics had proven it. Until you opened the box, no one could know. Whether there was a cat or something else inside could only be established after “observation” took place.

Fortunately, I hadn't checked inside the box yet.

So...

'Let's get out of here.'

I keep my eyes fixed on the ground and pick up my pace.

It happens at that very moment.

“W-Wait! Aren't you Baronet Jandel...?”

Apparently, he's recognized me after all. A familiar voice reaches me from behind.

“P-Please stop for a moment! I-I heard that wicked mage who impersonated me caused you a great deal of trouble. I simply must apologize...”

It was the (real) Hans I.