Paena spread a map on a counter some distance away from the two. She slid her slender fingers on it.
“Please take a look. This here is Gimuru. And over here is Kereban. The path the missing person is using is over here…” [Paena]
“…It’s the same road we used during the training.” [Ryouma]
“It’s near. The difference is that in this route, one has to take a left turn at the foot of the mountain.” [Paena]
If it’s like this, then even I know the way. It’s a route that exits from the southern gate and uses the mountain road.
The route we used went around the mountain from a position a little lower than the mountain, but this route crosses the peak.
“This route is right in between two towns… There is an inn town here. They built the roads wide to make it easy for people and carriages to pass through. Whether it’s on foot or on carriage, the roads here are easy to use. Because of that there are a lot of people that use the roads. Monsters don’t frequent it too, so it can be considered safe. That’s why the odds of something bad occurring are really low.” [Paena]
“But it’s not completely zero, right?” [Ryouma]
“That’s true. But just as I’ve mentioned earlier, it’s not an uncommon road. If anything happens, a passerby is sure to see it… And in the case of an accident or a monster attack, a broken carriage should at least be left behind.” [Paena]
“I see.” [Ryouma]
But the person in question is missing. And the last time he was seen was three days ago… When it comes to jobs like this, responding quickly is really important.
“So, what’s wrong with the job?” [Ryouma]
“Umm… Jobs related to looking for missing people cost a lot of money. No one knows how long it will take before the person is found, and in the first place, there isn’t even any guarantee that the person will be found… Because of that, in order to make it easier to find the person, a lot of people need to be mobilized.” [Paena]
“But that comes with a price.” [Ryouma]
“Yes… Especially since this is a mountain. In order for a search to be done, at least 20 people will be needed. If possible, even twice that number would be preferred. The people also need to be paid daily as long as the search is ongoing. As such, this type of job is very expensive to the clients…” [Paena]
Back in my previous world, it costs about 1,000,000 yen a day to dispatch a search and rescue team to save people in case of a mountain climbing incident. It’s so expensive that ‘Mountain Insurance’ is a thing. I guess it only makes sense that it would be just as expensive over here.
“Umm… If the needed personnel were to be supplied at the cited amount, it would cost 97 suits a day regardless of results. Moreover, there’s also a contingency of 3,000 suits to be paid out in case the driver or carriage is found, or if the cargo is successfully secured in good condition… And then there’s a two day limit.
There’s a chance that things can get really dangerous when searching the mountains if the weather suddenly changes, so considering the workload, the pay isn’t actually very good for adventurers. One of the jobs of the guild employees is to protect the profit of the adventurers, so unless the client is able to pay a good enough amount, we can’t accept their request… I really want to help that customer, though.” [Paena]
The difficulties of being hired.
“…He doesn’t have any money at hand right now, but… Given time he can prepare the money.” [Ryouma]
“If the client wants to pay later, then they need to provide some kind of collateral or undergo a review—” [Panea]
Payments sure are complicated even in this world…
“Paena-san. I don’t know about others, but I ( ・・) doen’t mind taking that job on.” [Ryouma]
Fortunately, I’ve already completed most of my errands yesterday, so there’s no need to rush the rest.
Besides, it’s not that far. I can reach it easily with Dimension Magic. I also have my rimel birds so i can search from the sky too. If something really did happen, then completing the job as quickly as possible is best. I’m also concerned for personal reasons.
“…I’ll go talk to senpai one more time. Senpai!” [Paena]
As she said that, she went to Maelyn-san and came back in less than a minute. She brought with her the male dwarf and Maelyn-san.
“Boy, are you really willing to look for Pedro?” [Guts]
“I am Ryouma Takebayashi. I may be young, but I’m still a D Rank adventurer. I should be of some help. If you give me the job, I’ll do my best to complete it. I can’t promise results, though.” [Ryouma]
“I know. As long as you’re willing to search, I’m plenty grateful.” [Guts]
“Ryouma-kun” [Maelyn]
Maelyn-san called me. When I approached her, she whispered to my ears.
“I just want to let you know. It’s not a good thing to say, but… These sort of jobs usually aren’t rewarded even if you work at it. There are people who regret it later. Besides, it hasn’t been proven just yet that something has happened.” [Maelyn]
Yeah, those things happen, I’m sure, but still…
“Thank you for worrying about me. But it’s alright. And if it turns out to be nothing in the end, then we can just think back to it and laugh.” [Ryouma]
“…I understand. We’ll accept the request to hire a person to look for the traces of a missing person. You’ll have to go to Kereban through the inn town and investigate if there is anyone that fits the bill of the missing person. You’ll basically be searching along the road and act accordingly if you find anything.” [Maelyn]
“Thank you very much.” [Ryouma]
Since I’m the only one being hired, I can do whatever I want when I get to the site.
“Make sure to prepare properly And don’t push yourself, alright? Now take out your guild card.” [Maelyn]
As she said that, she started processing the documents.
While she was dealing with the papers, the man called Guts talked to me about the appearance of the missing person.
“..It’s done. Please sign here to confirm the contents and conditions of the job.” [Maelyn]
“…It’s all correct. I’ll leave it to you.” [Guts]
“I understand. I’ll do my best.” [Ryouma]
And so, I took on the job to look for a missing person.
Two hours later.
After getting back my card and leaving the guild, I went to the store once, did some preparations, and then left town.
I was able to quickly cross the distance thanks to my Dimension Magic, so it was still early when I got to the boundary between the mountain road and the plains.
From here on, the road will be flanked by trees and bushes.
“The road is wide enough to fit three carriages… It’s big, alright. The condition of the road is good too.” [Ryouma]
In any case, let’s take a walk and search.
“Dimension Home.” [Ryouma]
I ordered the rimel birds to come out.
The road was brightly lit by the sun, but there were also places that were hard to see because of the trees and the bushes. I’m grateful that I have the rimel birds to search from above.
“I want you guys to fly above my head while lining yourselves up like the number ‘8’. If you spot anything in the forest, be sure to cry out.” [Ryouma]
“KURURURU!” [Rimel Birds]
The six rimel birds spread their blue wings and flew into the sky.
They dazzled even more beautifully than usual as the light of the sun fell upon them.
“If not for the situation at hand, I would love to just enjoy this sight…” [Ryouma]
Beautiful sceneries like this sure love to appear when I can’t enjoy them…