Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

Paltima was once renowned as a fortress city; however, its remnants had significantly faded.

The enormous and solid city walls that had once surrounded the entire city had vanished, and the number of stern guards and burly knights or soldiers had also decreased substantially.

This change was attributed to the stabilization of the Derin Viscounty in the Rangar region, which was, naturally, a bordering area.

Consequently, Paltima, known as the borderland and gateway of the Rangar region, experienced a reduction in its military scale, shifting instead toward an increase in commercial trade.

“There are so many people. Is the Rangar region really that profitable?”

While walking down the street after leaving the lodging, the atmosphere of Paltima city resembled that of a bustling marketplace.

Observing this, they acknowledged anew how financially lucrative the Rangar region was.

‘Well, I suppose so. Monsters equate to money, and places with monsters become money-making sites.’

Monsters, in essence, were invaluable, with their bones, blood, and various by-products acting as essential materials that aid significantly in modern life.

Especially for mana stones, although extraction was possible in places like mines, the concentration of mana contained in stones obtained from monsters was considered top grade.

And it wasn’t only the monsters themselves that were lucrative.

The lands where monsters existed were completely undeveloped territories, filled with untapped resources.

For instance, most of the Humbleton Barony consisted of mountainous areas, and the scale of the veins discovered during the development of the mountains after expelling the monsters was enormous.

Even with only a part developed, if they expelled all the monsters and discovered more veins, their efforts could likely be recognized with a promotion.

Moreover, the majority of the Derin Viscounty consisted of fertile black soil known to grow crops on its own, producing vast amounts of produce.

Now, about 30% of the food supply in the Rondel kingdom was said to be produced in the fertile soil of the Derin Viscounty.

Thus, while the Rangar region was a monster haven, it was also known as a treasury of resources, regarded as irreplaceable despite the risks.

“All the profits must be monopolized by the Miles Viscounty; how much could they be earning?”

Christian couldn’t help but think this way, seeing the numerous merchants visiting Paltima.

Aira’s maternal family, the Miles Viscounty, had nearly monopolized all the commercial rights with the ruling family of the Rangar region, the Worden family, making the profits unimaginable.

However, relying solely on the family’s power, the Miles Viscounty had not taken over all interests.

Instead, the family had normalized previously abusive merchants who deceived and exploited the closed-off people of Rangar by stepping up.

Moreover, it wasn’t a complete monopoly, as some goods were evenly distributed to smaller trading companies to prevent any backlash, contributing to the bustling commerce.

As Christian looked around, he soon halted in front of a large building. His eyes naturally rested on an impressive sign.

『Unified Mercenary Guild Office』

“It’s bigger than I expected.”

It was an integrated mercenary guild office operated jointly by the continent’s three major mercenary guilds and their branches.

The office was established through mutual agreement to peacefully share prime spots not within the operational rights of the three major mercenary guilds.

Soneta in the north.

Nerobella in the central region.

Taiyu in the south.

In some ways, rondel Kingdom was under the influence of the expanding central mercenary guild, Nerobella. However, that wasn’t entirely the case.

Rondel Kingdom was traditionally a knight-centered kingdom with strong royal power, so the influence of such large mercenary guilds wasn’t significant.

The guilds merely handled tasks that were burdensome or troublesome for knights and soldiers.

Thus, the mercenary guild office established here was only a place to arrange suitable work for the subsidiary guilds under the three major mercenary guilds.

“Well, even so, there are quite a lot of people.”

Perhaps because it was a prime money-making location, the mercenaries didn’t seem to lack skill, and though they appeared rugged, they seemed well-disciplined.

This might be due to the strict Paltima garrison, as notorious or criminal mercenaries were not allowed entry in the first place.

“All right.”

After gazing at the Unified Mercenary Guild Office for a moment, Christian quietly moved and entered.

Upon entering the building, it was filled with numerous mercenaries sitting across tables, resembling a waiting room.

Although they momentarily glanced at Christian, that was all.

‘The atmosphere isn’t as bad as I thought?’

Due to the nearly vanished presence of “mercenaries” during Christian’s active days, he hadn’t encountered anyone who called themselves such.

Only someone claiming to be the Mercenary King, Nemea Robran, had crossed his path.

The mercenaries gathered here had rugged faces and scars from their rough work, but that was all there was to it.

“What brings you here?”

As Christian stood, briefly glancing around, someone approached and quietly asked. It was a young female receptionist with a gentle demeanor.

Since Christian clearly didn’t look like a mercenary, he was naturally perceived as a potential client aiming to commission a task, evident in her kindness.

“I’m here to place a commission.”

“If it’s about a commission, could you follow me this way?”

Led by the receptionist, Christian entered a room on one side of the office and soon found himself facing a man seated at a formal desk.

After the receptionist dragged a chair over for him to face the man, Christian naturally sat down to speak with him.

“I’m Voltaire, the head of the Paltima Unified Mercenary Guild Office.”

True to the Unified Mercenary Guild Office, the head seemed to have been a former mercenary—an imposing middle-aged man.

Yet, despite his fierce appearance, there was no intimidating aura about him. Responding to his polite greeting, Christian also greeted him courteously.

“I’m Christian of the Worden family.”

“… Worden?”

Voltaire was startled, his eyes widening.

“Well, I knew you were an esteemed guest, but to think the Count’s son would personally come…”

“You know my father?”

“Yes, I’ve met him several times due to business matters.”

“I see…”

The crucial clients for the Paltima Unified Mercenary Guild Office were, without a doubt, the noble families of the Rangar region.

Since the Worden County was leading these noble families, it wasn’t strange for the head to have met the Count Worden.

“But, how come you’re visiting us, young master? From what I hear from merchants, the Worden County has been quite busy?”

Voltaire’s gaze changed. He pondered if the plan was to recruit mercenaries sooner than expected, considering the large-scale monster subjugation was assumed to be some time away.

If so, that was undoubtedly the most important commission for the Paltima Unified Mercenary Guild Office, which naturally roused anticipation.

However, Christian merely smiled blandly and shook his head.

“That is not within my jurisdiction. It’s something my father handles. My visit pertains to a personal commission.”

“A personal commission?”

Although Voltaire was slightly disappointed it wasn’t a large-scale subjugation commission, he quickly regained his composure.

After all, it was a commission bound to come in eventually, so there was no need to rush.

More than that, Voltaire was intrigued by the idea that a direct descendant of the Worden County had traveled so far to assign a commission in Paltima, prompting him to listen attentively to the rest of Christian’s words.

“I’d like you to find someone.”

“Hmm, a person search?”

It wasn’t all that unusual to commission a person search at a mercenary guild.

By requesting cooperation from mercenary offices in various regions, one could easily acquire information, and given mercenaries’ tendency to wander, they had met many people.

Voltaire, too, deemed it not too difficult and took out a paper and pen.

“Yes. She’s a young woman in her early twenties, characterized by her deep red hair and nearly jade-colored eyes.”

“Do you know her name?”

“Nemea Robran. She’s likely an active mercenary.”

“If she’s a mercenary, finding her won’t be too difficult.”

Having facial characteristics and a name made the search significantly simpler. Although her profession wasn’t sure, if she were indeed a mercenary, finding her wouldn’t be too challenging, as Voltaire mentioned.

“If the person you’re searching for is a mercenary, merely contacting the headquarters to cross-check personnel details should quickly conclude the search. If she isn’t, it might take a bit longer.”

The three major guilds implemented a mercenary registration system.

The subsidiary guilds did the same, and the place managing these personnel details was the headquarters of the Unified Mercenary Guild Office.

This system allowed large entities, like countries or domains, to select the mercenaries they desired to hire, making various processes more convenient.

“Is it an urgent commission?”

“It’s not that urgent. However, I would prefer to receive results within two months, if possible.”

“Two months…”

If they could find her directly through the headquarters of the Unified Mercenary Office, the commission could conclude within a week.

But if not, direct searching efforts were necessary…

“Very well. We’ll strive to find her within two months. But this will entail additional costs; is that acceptable?”

“Yes, that’s fine. How much is it?”

At Christian’s nod, the head, Voltaire, held up three fingers and spoke.

“It’s 30 gold coins. You’d need to pay half upfront and settle the remainder upon completion of the commission.”

The sum of 30 coins wasn’t a significant financial burden; therefore, after paying half as an upfront commission fee and completing a simple contract, Christian left the Unified Guild Office.

As he leisurely headed back to his lodging, Christian quietly muttered to himself.

“When I get to the capital, I should invest some funds with professional information dealers to search more thoroughly.”

Unlike the mercenary guilds, there were professional entities dedicated solely to buying and selling information.

He planned to search through those channels as well.

Of course, there could have been positive connections…

“Those bastards, what could they be up to now?”

He also needed information about those who might be secretly preparing some mischief.