Chapter 137 - Chapter 136: Ten Thousand Wishes
The third day of the third week of the Month of Fire.
Peak summer.
On such a damn hot day, Mika had come to a blacksmith's shop inside the Blacksmith District where the heat haze shimmered and swayed.
From all around, the sound of metal being struck echoed: Gakin! Gokin!
"It's hot~~~..."
This was a certain blacksmith's shop within the Blacksmith District.
Mika had stopped by the Blacksmith District after school.
He had consulted with Yaroibarov, asking him to "tell me of a skilled blacksmith," and had been introduced to this blacksmith.
The master of this blacksmith's shop seemed to act as the head of a group of skilled nearby blacksmiths, accepting work even without making it himself.
It seemed the master took proper responsibility for the finished products, so it came with a quality guarantee.
The master himself was said to have trained and guided promising successors, creating a group of skilled craftsmen.
As Mika wiped the sweat from his forehead and the back of his neck, an old man with a short but sturdy build came through the heat haze.
"Even so, with those specifications, this price is probably too tight. I'll need three gold coins added."
"That's fine. Please prioritize quality."
"Hahaha. I wasn't worried since it was a referral from Yaroibarov, but you're surprisingly generous for someone so small."
The master spread the blueprints on the counter while speaking.
"These days, various ores have gone up in price. If it were before, I could have taken this order even at this price."
"I set my own budget arbitrarily. Please don't worry about it. As long as the goods are solid, I have no complaints."
Mika climbed onto the wooden stand prepared before the counter and looked at the blueprints.
"This thing called a 'fork' is simple; once the mold is made, you just pour the metal in. Keeping the strength of the thin tip part is a bit troublesome, but if we can use Crestan steel, there's no problem."
There, the master made a worried face.
"But, is that okay? Cutlery made of Crestan steel is ultra-high-end stuff meant for wholesale to royalty and nobility. The unit price per item drops as you make more, but with an order this size..."
"Please don't worry about that. As long as you hand over the mold, we can make additional pieces later."
Mika had decided to make the forks himself.
He had thought the rods used for eating would eventually evolve into forks, but there was no need to wait for someone else to come up with the idea.
If he made them from scratch himself, he would have to bear the cost of the molds entirely, but as long as the financial issue was cleared, he still wanted the forks.
It would be a considerable expense, but this was for delicious and enjoyable meals.
"Understood. Then, let's do the Crestan steel knives and spoons as a set along with the forks. Ten of each will be fine, right?"
"Yes. Please."
The master spread another blueprint over the fork design.
"And, regarding this one... You call it a 'cooler box,' right? This one, too, the budget isn't enough. As I said before, ore prices have gone up. For this, the budget will more than double, you know?"
"Oh my... Double?"
That was a painful expense.
"We need a lot of ore. Lalkan steel to prevent corrosion, Teraga steel for insulation. If we try to meet various wishes like making sure no water leaks, we need a certain thickness. Plus, the size is quite large. We have to use layered structures, so it takes a lot of effort."
The master stroked his chin while explaining.
"So, the total amount..."
"Isn't it close to four million Rats? Depending on the purchase price of the ores, you should prepare for around four million five hundred thousand Rats."
Kuh... Four million five hundred thousand Rats.
Over three million Rats for a cooler box...
This was a considerable expense.
What should I do? It would be convenient if I had one, but it's not absolutely necessary.
Naturally, there were no refrigerators in this world.
I thought, "If there's [Enchantment], couldn't we make one if we tried?" but it seemed no one had thought of it yet.
Mika didn't know how to do [Enchantment], so thinking of making a substitute, the cooler box came to mind.
Mika could create ice however much he wanted.
The melted ice would become water created by Mika, so he could just float it and toss the whole thing outside.
Then, he would just set up new ice in the cooler box.
He could preserve the freshness of food without much trouble.
I thought it was for delicious meals... but honestly, this price makes me hesitate.
If it were a real refrigerator, he might pay this price.
But it was just a cooler box.
"Excuse me. I'll cancel the cooler box."
"Well, I think that's best too? I don't know what you plan to use it for, but this is a bit too expensive."
The master put away the cooler box blueprint.
"Then, regarding the cooler box, I'm afraid I'll have to charge you for the design fee."
"Yes, that's fine."
"Then, for today, I'll take a deposit of one million five hundred thousand Rats. Well, it won't exceed that. I can't guarantee it, though."
"It's fine. Since it was a referral from Mr. Yaroibarov, I trust you."
"Ah, I must thank that guy. He introduced a high-class customer who can just drop such a large amount of money."
Saying that, the master wrote out a receipt while smiling.
"Here you go. Now, show me your card."
Mika showed his card, settled the payment, and received the cooler box blueprint and the receipt.
"Alright, I'll get started right away. I'll call you around next week. If that's fine, the cutlery should be ready the week after."
"Please do."
Saying that, Mika left the blacksmith's shop where the heat haze shimmered.
"It's cool~~~!"
The faintly flowing breeze rapidly cooled the massive amount of sweat, stealing the heat trapped in his body.
Working all day in such heat, he wondered how he didn't collapse.
Was there a skill like [Heat Resistance]?
"I'm home."
"Oh, welcome back, Mika-kun."
When he returned home, Kistil was taking in laundry in the garden.
"A letter came from the Guild. I left it in your room."
"Thanks. I'll take a look."
Entering his room, Fee was floating near the ceiling in the dim, unlit room, playing with something like a mirror ball.
What are you doing, you?
You're pulling off some fancy tricks...
But with this, his eyes were flashing and he couldn't read the letter.
"Fee, stop that. It's hard to read."
As Mika took the letter and warned her, Fee floated down gently and landed on his shoulder.
She then shone light on the letter in Mika's hand like a spotlight.
Fee had already become a roommate.
Haa... he sighed.
"...Tak."
Mika opened the letter in his hand.
The letter from the Guild had arrived just two days ago.
He wondered why it was arriving so consecutively and checked the contents.
There was the usual wording:
"Designated Request."
But different from usual, underneath that, written in hurried characters:
"Urgent request."
A single line.
He had never been written to like this before.
Had something happened?
If I just go to listen, won't it be too late?
It was summer, so it was still bright outside.
He tried to stay home at night as much as possible, but if he went now, he could return before it got dark.
Mika left the house with Fee on his shoulder.
"Kistil. I'm going to the Guild for a bit."
Saying that, he brushed off Fee from his shoulder.
Fee floated up... and landed on Kistil's head.
When Mika pointed silently, indicating "let her in," Kistil smiled wryly.
"Have a good trip. You're leaving Fee-chan to watch the house."
When Kistil said that, Fee jumped lightly.
It seemed she had no intention of entering the house obediently.
Mika gave up and headed for the Guild.
"Thank you, Mika-kun. Sorry for the sudden request."
"No."
Guided by Yunressa, they entered the more luxurious reception room.
Really, what is this?
Soon, Chirensta arrived, and Yunressa hurriedly attended to Mika, asking for tea.
Usually, Yunressa explained designated requests.
It was rare for Chirensta to sit in on this.
"I didn't think you'd come on a weekday, Mika-kun. This might be the will of the gods."
Chirensta said this with a serious face while looking at Mika.
Will of the gods or not, I came because I was called...
Looking at Yunressa sitting next to Chirensta, she had a somewhat awkward expression, her gaze fleeing.
Could it be that Yunressa was the one who added that "Urgent" wording?
Mika let out a light sigh.
Well, it didn't matter.
There must have been some reason they had no choice but to do so.
The proof was Chirensta.
Chirensta, who usually didn't sit in, had come out specifically.
In other words, there was certainly a reason for that.
"So, is there an important request?"
Deciding not to dig too deep, he decided to listen to the details for now.
Glancing at Yunressa, she looked plainly relieved.
You owe me one.
He muttered that in his heart.
Well, Yunressa usually treated him well.
Owing one, two, three, or four favors was practically nothing.
"This case is originally outside the conditions you, Mika-kun, specified. So, I'm taking a risk by talking to you. First, I want you to understand that."
"......? Outside the conditions?"
So that means...
"Is it a request from outside the Capital?"
"Yes. It will be in the Earldom of Latajis."
"The Earldom of Latajis?"
Where was that?
"From a place you, Mika-kun, would find easy to understand... well... do you know Yaunasun? The capital of the Viscountcy of Orcosa."
"Yes, I know Yaunasun. I went there often during my return visits."
Thanks to that, I was able to earn money.
"The Viscountcy of Braikosloa is west of the Viscountcy of Orcosa, and the Earldom of Latajis is further west. This request is a case in Runesarm, the capital of that Earldom of Latajis."
"Runesarm...?"
What was that?
Did he hear about it or not?
"In terms of distance, it's not much different from going to Sarbengeal. So, if you take a shared carriage, you can expect it to take about eight days."
"Eight days..."
Then, if he flew, it would be a distance of five to six hours.
Of course, assuming he didn't get lost.
"...Why such a distant request?"
For Mika, it was a distance he could cover in half a day, but Chirensta and the others didn't know that.
Still, why request such a distant job, especially with Chirensta coming out to explain personally?
"......We want you to rescue the Saintess, Mika-kun."
"Rescue? The Saintess...?"
It seemed quite different from usual requests.
But why did a request like "rescue" come to Mika?
Chirensta moistened his throat slightly with tea and explained the details of the request.
A few years ago, a Saintess appeared in Runesarm.
That Saintess possessed the power of [Purification], a [Blessing] that could purify the surroundings just by being there.
The Earldom of Latajis had several mines, and the economy was very prosperous thanks to the ores mined there.
But one day, "unclean beings" began appearing in one of those mines.
The cause was clear.
It seemed they had hit a place that looked like an ancient underground tomb, the Catacombs, during mining.
The Catacombs were filled with "unclean beings."
Unluckily, they had also broken something that looked like an altar, and since then, "unclean beings" had begun wandering the mining site.
Since the economy wasn't supported solely by that mine, the Earldom wouldn't collapse immediately.
However, the people working at that mining site had lost their jobs.
Learning that people were struggling without jobs, the Saintess offered to purify the mine herself.
Despite the Bishop of Runesarm trying to stop her, saying it was too dangerous, she broke free and went to the mining site herself.
The Bishop then had the Church Knights Order accompany her, making them the Saintess's guards.
The mining site was in a terrible state.
It was said to be overflowing with "Wraiths," "Skeletons," and "Moving Corpses."
The Saintess purified the overflowing "unclean beings" one by one with her [Blessing], [Purification].
Protected by the knights of the Church Knights Order, she advanced deeper and deeper into the mining site, finally reaching the Catacombs.
But a tragic accident happened there.
The altar in that Catacombs was cursed.
Uncleanliness and curses were different things, and the Saintess's power of [Purification] had no effect.
A curse erupted from the altar, attacking the Saintess and the knights of the Church Knights Order.
The Saintess sacrificed herself to protect the knights, and she is currently said to be at the back of the mining site, at the cursed altar.
"This seems to have happened about three months ago."
"......Huh?"
Three months ago?
Mika blinked his eyes.
"Um... the request was about rescue..."
Impossible!
She's dead!
Mika's thoughts were clear. Did Chirensta understand what he meant? Chirensta's face turned grave.
"Well, I understand what you, Mika-kun, want to say. But the life or death of the Saintess has nothing to do with the completion of the request."
"Nothing to do with it?"
What did that mean?
"Of course, if the Saintess is alive, we want you to rescue her no matter what. But if she has already passed away, we want you to rescue even her corpse from the mining site."
......I see?
"In the worst case, the Saintess might have turned into a "Necromancy-type" monster. In that case, we want you to defeat her with your own hands."
So that's it.
Finally, he could see the wish of the Client.
In other words, it's about the salvation of the Saintess's soul.
He wanted to do something about the Saintess's corpse or soul being trapped in an unclean place.
That was the gist of the request.
"Whatever state the Saintess is in, we want you to break the curse of the altar. If the Saintess is alive, rescue her. If she has passed away, bring back her corpse. ...If she has turned into a monster, we want you to give her a peaceful sleep with your own hands."
Chirensta looked at Mika with serious eyes.
Yunressa also had an expression as if she was holding back sadness.
If it has come to this, I think I want to do something about it too...
One way took five to six hours; a round trip would end the day.
Suppose he went on the afternoon of a Saturday and spent a whole day on a quest on Sunday.
He would leave there in the middle of the night and return to the Capital in the early morning.
Even with such a forced march, spending one whole day on Sunday would be the limit.
"The reward for this request is three million two hundred seventy-four thousand twenty Rats. If you accept, the full amount will be paid in advance to your account, Mika-kun."
"......Eh?"
Yunressa explained the reward.
But something was wrong.
"What is this, three million two hundred... eh, twenty Rats? Also, full payment in advance is strange. What is this!?"
It was a very high reward, an absurdly specific amount, and full payment in advance.
"The Client is one of the representatives, but this reward is entirely a donation. More than ten thousand people want to help Saintess-sama... they are donating..."
Saying that, Yunressa choked up and shed tears.
Replacing Yunressa, who covered her face with both hands and cried, Chirensta continued the explanation.
"For this request, the Guild is currently adjusting to not take any commission fees. It is still being adjusted, but we will definitely make it happen."
Chirensta looked at Mika with serious eyes.
"By treating it as an 'Emergency Quest', exceptional measures like this can be taken. Ah, the amount I mentioned earlier is after tax. ...Even for an 'Emergency Quest', taxes are applied to the reward."
This time, with a request from ten thousand people and the rescue target being a Saintess, the Guild seemed to be showing consideration.
Mika crossed his arms and pondered.
......Or rather, what happens if I turn this down? Will I be hated by ten thousand people?
Suddenly, such a nasty image floated into his head.
The Guild was even going out of its way to set things up with special treatment, and he would be a heartless person who rejected it?
Would the name "Dispeller" be dragged through the mud?
Well, nicknames don't matter that much...
Ten thousand people were praying for the salvation of the Saintess's soul.
Mika was not so insensitive as to dismiss it with "there is no soul."
He didn't think it was just self-satisfaction, but there were many people who truly mourned the Saintess's death.
And if a curse was involved, indeed, he might be the only one who could do something about it.
Then—
"Understood. I accept."
Mika made up his mind.