а∨天堂入口

I heard you guys wanted more. Well, here it is. Enjoy the read.

Translated by: airsblue Edited by: mranon

Bounty

Next morning. After having breakfast, I jump to the merchants guild. I ask the three of them to do the dishes and cleaning. I don’t want people at the guild to find out that Sherry is a master smith. And about the possibility of fusion once I get the monster card.

“Here, Caterpillar Monster Card.” “Indeed.”

I had already confirmed that it’s the real thing before receiving it. Still, I don’t know when Luke will try to pass me a fake.

I wonder what I will do if he does that. Since Luke has relationship with the order of Harz duchy knights, I don’t think he will try to do that. Does he know that I’m trying to claim indemnity?

Well, considering the procedure, it is more troublesome to produce a fake. Still, I should better verify the card with the guild temple sometime, so that Luke doesn’t get any strange idea. Also, I would like to check the guild temple for once at least.

“And here, these are wanted posters of bandits. The order of Harz duchy knights entrusted me with these. They wish for you to be careful.”

Luke hands me the papyrus. Although these are wanted posters, there’s no portrait drawn. Only a description is written in Brahim language.

Are these bounties assigned by the order of Harz duchy knights? Even though they have already been defeated. It looks like I made them waste their money.

I receive both the monster card and the wanted posters, and return home. I pass the misanga and the monster card to Sherry.

“What is that?” “Wanted posters of pirates.”

I take out the wanted posters. Sherry glances at the posters from the side and reads.

“It is for Heinz the bandit and Simon the mad dog.” “Simon the mad dog, you say?”

Roxanne cries in surprise.

“Do you know him?” “Yes. He is a famous pirate from wolfkin tribe. I heard he is quite strong and is second to none in using one-handed sword. However, I heard that he was defeated by someone when I was a kid, so he doesn’t seem to be invincible. I would really like to fight against him sometime.”

Actually, you have already fought against him. Still, she says terrifying things so calmly.

“Well, it is impossible now. They are the same thieves we defeated in Haruba’s labyrinth earlier.” “The thieves from the other day?” “Most likely.” “That reminds me, one of the thieves was a wolfman. If so, was he Simon the mad dog? Then, this rapier…”

Roxanne looks at the rapier in her hand.

In comparison to his name, the weapon of Simon is shabby. May be he was hiding better weapons somewhere else? Or was he only an ordinary pirate? Even Kobou made mistakes with his brush huh?

“Don’t think about it.

“To defeat Simon the mad dog, as expected of Master.”

Assuming the pirate we defeated was Simon, he was defeated by magic. That would be a foul play. Rather, I should say that I am lucky I didn’t fight him with sword.

In the meantime, Sherry fuses the monster card. She successfully creates a Sacrificial Misanga.

“You did it, as expected of Sherry.” “Thank you.”

Sherry hands over the Sacrificial Misanga. I receive it.

“This is for Sherry to wear. Where do you want to wear it?” “I will put it on my foot.” “Got it. Show me your foot.”

I tie the Sacrificial Misanga around Sherry’s ankle. Small and delicate feet. She is so cute.

There’s more thread left even after I bind it. It is so because her foot is small.

“The order of Harz duchy knights seem to be quite troubled. They are not gonna check Intelligence Card when they pay the reward money.”

While I was folding the misanga around her ankle to tie it fittingly, Sherry voices her opinion.

“You think so?” “It is written in the posters.”

They are not gonna check Intelligence Card? If my job will not be verified, I can immediately turn in the thieves’ Intelligence Cards. But why?

“They are not gonna do the verification?” “I don’t think so. If they do that, other thieves will not bring the Intelligence Cards next time.” “Oh, so this is in order to make other thieves bring the cards?” “The one, who knows best where a thief is and what he is doing, is a fellow thief. If you pay them appropriately, they will kill anyone, even a thief. It is a technique that was used in the past when a strong thief appeared.”

Using a snake to bite a snake? Indeed. Only a thief knows thieves’ ways best. Let a thief kill another thief. It is more efficient.

In other words, the current bounty system, which doesn’t allow rewarding a thief, protects thieves from betrayal of fellow thieves. If a fellow thief’s card can be encashed, then this will prevent thieves from forming groups. They will kill each other quietly for reward. It will cause them to doubt each other. It will definitely help reduce the number of bandits.

“Err… then why do they check the cards and don’t use this method instead?” “Certainly, I think it is better to hand over the prize money regardless of who brings the Intelligence Card. But the Empire’s laws prevent rewarding thieves since it will financially benefit them.”

Sherry seems to be in favor of rewarding thieves with the bounty. After all, it is rational. Especially, if you think about the current security standards of this world.

However, it may only be effective for a short period of time. I’m not sure if it will work in long term. Back in Edo period in Japan, they allowed gamblers to take control roles as well. I wonder if it went well. They said that such special treatment caused the formation of gangs. I have heard that the origin of foreign mafia was a self-controlled aid organization in Sicily.

Even if the knights don’t have enough power to deal with thieves right now, what will happen in the future when they do? This may lead to undesired custom. In that case, it will be better not to pay bounty to the thieves.

Next morning. I head to Bode with the Intelligence Cards. I can encash these cards immediately if there is no verification of my Intelligence Card.

The thieves have already been defeated. The more the time passes, the more the inconsistent information may spread. The sooner it is done, the more difficult for inconsistencies to arise. I hope that it will not be suspicious to claim the bounty only a day after the wanted posters were out.

My Explorer job just reached Lv 41. Most likely, the higher the level goes up, the more the experience points will be needed to level up. Right now, Miria is Diver Lv30. She has caught up with Roxanne’s Lv31 Beast Warrior and Sherry’s Lv31 Master Smith. However, I don’t believe the experience points needed to level from Lv1 to Lv30 are the same as the experience points needed to level from Lv30 to Lv31.

Or perhaps there is an range of levels? Even if I defeat a Lv16 monster on 16th floor of the labyrinth, I probably won’t even receive half as much experience as defeating a Lv40 monster.

I don’t completely understand the mechanics of leveling up. Even though I have selected Hero job, it is still at Lv37. It is certain that the pace of leveling up differs for each job.

In any case, it seems It will take quite some time to get Explorer job to Lv50. It is not a good idea to wait until I get Adventure job. It is better to get over with it quickly.

It’s also useless to bring Heinz’s Intelligence Card to anyone other than the order of Harz duchy knights. Also, I will get to hear from the Duke as to why the bounty was assigned to Heinz the bandit. If there is a story behind it, might as well hear it.

Having taken the worst-case scenario into account, I warp to Bode’s adventurers guild through the guild wall. I enter the city of Bode and head to the Duke’s castle. If they ask to check my Intelligence Card, I can make excuse that I am still searching. I hand the Intelligence Cards to a knight I know.

“Please wait a little. I will go and call the leader.”

The knight head to the back. Not calling him would have made me happier. Am I asking too much to just receive the reward?

I also considered aiming for a time when the Duke and Gozer wouldn’t be around. But it will lead to more troubles later on. If I went to Bode at an inappropriate time, and got myself involved in an incident, I might get arrested. If I appear at usual time, take usual attitude and behave as if there is scheduled appointment, wouldn’t it look like there is nothing special going on?

After a while, Gozer appears.

“Michio dono, have you perhaps brought the Intelligence Cards?” “I was attacked the other day.” “Actually, we found a place yesterday on 12th floor of Haruba’s labyrinth where protective cement was used.” “Oh, it was probably the same place.”

Apparently, they have already found the location where the thieves set up ambush. Just in time. I am glad that I brought the cards today.

Also, it was correct decision to come here at usual time. If I brought the cards at inappropriate time, they would have thought that I came here immediately after defeating the thieves.

“Is that so? I found it strange when we found the location of ambush but there were no thieves around. So I thought that they had already been defeated.”

Gozer explains. That is exactly what happened. That’s great. This will also serve as an evidence that I visit the labyrinths in the territory of Harz duchy, as I promised with the Duke.

“Leader.” “How did it go?” “One of the cards belongs to Heinz.”

The knight comes back, and speaks with Gozer. So it really was Heinz the bandit’s gang.

“There is no mistake?” “Yes.” “Well then, Michio dono, please come inside.”

After having confirmed with the knight, Gozer invites me inside.

“Okay.”

I follow him inside the castle. I was escorted to a location I had never visited before.

“Are you alright after fighting with Heinz’s gang?” “Somehow.” “To be able to defeat Heinz’s gang, I am really surprised. It really is a great accomplishment.” “Well, I managed to defeat them somehow.”

Gozar and I talk as we walk through the castle’s corridors. Unfortunately, there was no Intelligence Card for the pirate who exploded. That pirate must have been the strongest in Heinz’s gang. It would have been better had his Intelligence Card remained intact.

“The person who defeated Heinz is Michio dono?”

Gozar brings me to a room where the Duke of Harz was waiting.

“It appears so.” “Oh, as expected of the person I have taken notice of. Are you alright?” “Yes.”

To even defeat a formidable foe, my impression to the Duke seems to have improved even more.

“Last is Elmer’s. No card of Simon?”

There is a white box inside the room. The intelligence cards were placed inside the box. There was a knight who was reading the contents of the Intelligence Cards.

There is nothing written on the Intelligence Cards regarding how or when they died. Is this device used to read the cards?

“Simon’s Intelligence Card is not there? But Heinz’s card is there, right? Great job, Michio dono. By the way, had Heinz’s job advanced to Bandit?” “Heinz’s Intelligence Card is there, right?”

Gozer repeats after the Duke. I did bring the bandit’s Intelligence Card with me. Apparently, it was Heinz’s. Then the pirate was Simon.

“Yes, Leader. Heinz’s Intelligence Card is here.” “And there is no Intelligence Card of Simon?” “That’s right.”

Gozar talks with the knight.

“Do you have any idea where he could be, Michio dono?” “There was one thief the card of whom I couldn’t collect. He was quite strong.”

I can’t say I killed him. It may lead to the question as to how I managed to kill such formidable pirates. And I have no evidence to show that I killed him.

“So Michio dono didn’t kill Simon? Was Simon perhaps on another errand alone? Or may be they split up? Or could he be hiding somewhere else?” “There will be no threat to Selmar territory if it’s only Simon who escaped. I will not allow him to have his way in my territory.” “That’s right but…”

Gozer seems to be troubled. He is concerned about Simon’s whereabouts since it is his responsibility as knight leader to maintain peace and security. You don’t need to be worried, Gozer.

“This is the bounty.”

The knight standing next to the box operates it. Money comes out of the box. Does this device also serve as a safe?

“Is this the first time you are seeing where the guild temple money comes from, Michio dono?”

The Duke questions me. Was it showing on my face?

“It is, yes.” “It belongs to the knights guild’s temple, and a knight is appointed to carry the duties here. It is possible to conduct the ceremony to change the job to Knight right now, if Michio dono wishes to become a knight. Want to give it a try?”

I try to use Appraisal on the box. Certainly, it belongs to the guild temple. Is this place the guild temple?

It’s easy for me because I have Job Settings, but in general the job change ceremony is performed in the guild temple. To become a knight, it is probably necessary to visit the temple of the knights guild.

“No.” “Well, you rarely find an adventurer who intends to turn into a knight. Also, it takes years of training as a warrior before you can become a knight. There’s no substitute to years of training. If Michio dono could become a knight just like that, I would be in a bind.”

The Duke laughs. It was a joke, it seems. Humor has never been a strong point of mine.

The condition to become a knight is to level Warrior job up to Lv30 after all. I select Warrior job when I want to use [Rush]. Currently, it is at Lv29. A little more to Lv30.

“Here it is.”

The knight hands the money to the Duke in a drawstring bag.

“You can exchange Intelligence Card for reward in any of the knights guild’s temple. This really is a convenient device.” “I see.” “But it is less than I thought.”

The Duke questions as he checks the bag he received from the knight.

“It may indeed be less. Although Heinz the bandit rampaged badly in Selmar territory, Simon has yet to be taken care of.” “It does seem to be less. I heard that some members of the order of knights were done in by Simon alone. May be they assigned more bounty to Simon, Michio dono.”

The Duke seems convinced by Gozer’s explanation. He passes the money to me. Like they announced, there doesn’t seem to be any verification of Intelligence Card. I am disappointed that I couldn’t collect Simon’s Intelligence Card for the reward.

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