Chapter 205 - Chapter 204: Forbidden Work
The second day of the month of Water, the fourth week.
Mika was at the Adventurer's Guild after finishing his after-school special training.
He had been spending quite hectic days with moving and such, but finally, things had settled down a bit.
He cleared away the kiln he built in the garden and made a new one at his moved house.
The "Iron Wall" that had been reinforcing the floor beneath the house for the refrigerator was also removed.
These turned out to be more difficult than expected.
Items made by Mika's magic move according to Mika's will.
But it seems there is a time limit?
The "Stone Bullet" used to build the kiln and the "Iron Wall" under the floor could not be moved by Mika's will.
Therefore, manual clearing was necessary.
The "Stone Bullet" of the kiln was fine, but the "Iron Wall" under the floor was troublesome.
It was too big to pull out as is.
He cut the iron block little by little with "Air Cutter" to make iron plates, then pulled them out one by one.
Since it turned bright red from friction heat, he had to spray cold water with "Water Splash" while doing it, which was incredibly laborious.
Moving the refrigerator to the new place was also too heavy, so he asked the blacksmith's master to arrange the move.
He also asked him to take the cut iron plates.
So, he decided to reinforce the floor beneath the new house with "Stone Bullet".
Because stone is easier to break.
With all that, things finally settled down a bit, and he was able to visit the Guild.
He was led to the usual reception room, drinking tea in a relaxed mood, when Yunressa entered with a somewhat troubled look.
"It was tough, Mika-kun."
"Indeed. It's a real nuisance, truly."
It seems he had worried Yunressa quite a bit.
From being imprisoned by the Church until the imprisonment at the Royal Castle was lifted, every day felt somewhat heavy in the chest.
Well, the heaviness in the chest is still there now too.
But it seems Yunressa is troubled by something more than that.
She seems to have something hard to say.
"Is something wrong?"
Since Yunressa seemed troubled, he turned the water towards her.
Then, Yunressa bowed her head.
"I'm sorry, Mika-kun."
"Wait, wait, what's wrong, exactly."
When Mika asked in a panic, Yunressa began to explain.
"......Salvage of magic bags is forbidden."
"I'm sorry..."
It seems that due to pressure from the Royal Palace (somewhere), the Adventurer's Guild can no longer accept requests for the salvage of magic bags.
Items they were holding will be returned to the clients, and they will not accept any in the future.
(...They are interfering with people's livelihoods.)
He was forced to do it over forty times without reward, and it was all cancelled for just one medal.
He had somewhat prepared for that and could endure it, but he never thought they would reach out to the Guild...
It was quite irritating.
(Well, I can't blame them for worrying.)
If they stole from the Royal Palace or ministries and had it salvaged, secrets would be stolen freely.
Until now, the wall of mana registration meant that even if stolen, it couldn't be sold for money.
But if salvage was possible, the situation was different.
Neither the Guild nor Mika could know who the true owner was.
There might be people bringing in stolen magic bags.
(Originally, it was a service assuming the owner was absent. They accepted regardless of whether it was obtained legitimately or illegitimately.)
Thinking about it carefully, this response is unavoidable.
It is irritating, yes, irritating.
"Well, it can't be helped. I can guess who said it."
"I'm sorry..."
It seems Yunressa cannot say it from her mouth.
It's obvious, though.
"Regarding curses, is exclusion and custody still okay?"
"Yes, it seems nothing was said about that specifically. It seems orders came directly to the headquarters."
"Then it's not something you need to apologize for, Yunressa-san. There's nothing you can do about it."
"That is true, but..."
Mika gathered his feelings and smiled at Yunressa.
But Yunressa had an expression full of regret.
"Tomorrow, we will perform exclusion on the cursed items in custody, so please prepare."
It had been nearly a month with no income.
He had savings so life wouldn't be immediately difficult, but he still couldn't settle down without earning properly every month.
As a former salaryman...
"Understood. As usual, starting in the morning."
"Yes, please do that."
As they talked about work, Yunressa's mood seemed to lighten, and her expression softened somewhat.
After the meeting ended, Mika told her his new address and left the reception room. Rosalinde, walking in the lobby, waved her hands vigorously.
It seems she had just changed some notice board postings.
"I heard it, Mika-kun! You're going to crush the Church! Sister, I'm impressed!"
"The gossip is too harsh! I'm the victim!"
People around were looking at him and started whispering.
Rumors were already spreading, and as always, he didn't read the air, or rather, what should he call it.
"You've heard the Church was doing crazy things, right? I was just caught up in it."
"Oh, it seems the Pope's office was amazing. There were piles of solid gold decorations... ...I wonder if one or two are left?"
"Do you intend to sneak in...?"
You'll get caught, seriously.
Rosalinde's usual carelessness made him feel a little relieved.
Rosalinde somehow knew that Mika had been summoned to the Royal Castle.
Sharp ears, really.
This is why rumor-mongers are...
"One job was also forbidden. It's really annoying. Sister will treat you, so cheer up! Hey, let's go drinking today!"
"I can't drink! Regarding the magic bags, well, I think it can't be helped."
"Really? You're actually a bit annoyed, aren't you? By the way, I am annoyed!"
Rosalinde's blunt way of speaking is really nice.
Though it's troublesome when the target turns to herself.
"If you call it a dangerous skill, I think that's true. Well, I was a bit irritated at first. But thinking about it, it's natural, isn't it?"
"Haa~ Mika-kun is an adult."
Rosalinde placed her hands on her waist and said with admiration.
Rosalinde (you), try to become a bit more of an adult.
After such small talk, he headed home.
The newly moved house was in District 2.
It was the district next to District 3, where he had lived until now, separated by the East Main Street.
From now on, Kistil and Nerisfeene's shopping would be done on the East Main Street, not the Southeast Main Street.
In other words, they were moving their living circle.
Actually, they should have moved to the opposite side of the Royal Castle, a large move, but that would cause trouble.
Mika's schooling.
If he wasn't careful, it could become ten kilometers one way.
Therefore, he chose to move to the next district, but instead moved the living circle.
Kistil and Nerisfeene were accumulating information (data) about which shops had good quality and which were cheap through their daily shopping.
Whatever they did, the two seemed to be having fun, so Mika felt reassured.
The new house was near the center of District 2, slightly close to the Second Wall.
A residential area about three hundred meters in from the East Main Street.
It was a bit noisier than the previous high-class residential area, but rather, the previous place was too quiet.
It could be called a very ordinary residential area where children played in vacant lots nearby.
The new house was larger than the previous one.
The plot and the house were both large, but it was still a 3DK.
Still, the floor plan was quite different.
First, unlike the common layout where the dining kitchen was immediately upon opening the entrance, there was a normal hallway.
The room on the right of the hallway was the dining kitchen, storage, bath, toilet, etc.
On the left side were Mika's, Kistil's, and Nerisfeene's rooms.
Hallways crossed in a cross shape in the center of the house, with the northwest corner being Mika's room entirely.
Kistil's and Nerisfeene's rooms were lined up in the southwest corner.
Southeast was the dining kitchen, northeast was storage, bath, toilet, and so on.
It seems they had looked around quite hard.
They said they searched for a house with a solid sewer system and a well in the garden as absolute conditions.
They decided after viewing six houses during the inspection.
He must thank Trys well for accompanying them.
Moving to the new house increased the distance from the Academy a bit.
Probably more than one kilometer further, but with "Physical Enhancement", it wasn't a big difference.
He didn't know if this made it safe, but he would have to watch the situation for a while.
The knights of the Fifth Knights Order were not stationed permanently in front of the house, but were asked to watch the surrounding area from a slightly distant spot.
Even in high-class residential areas, not many houses had guards standing at the gate, so if guards were assigned in such an ordinary residential area, it would stand out super much just by itself.
So, although he thought the efficiency was poor, he had them patrol the vicinity frequently with a few knights.
■■■■■■
The next day.
Mika came to the Adventurer's Guild to dispel the cursed items in custody.
"Alright, let's work hard."
When Mika pumped himself up, Fee, perched on his left shoulder, sparkled brightly.
For some reason, Fee had come along for Mika's work, which was rare.
"Stay in stealth mode properly. If you're caught, you'll be exterminated."
Mika warned her, but Fee began to float around the reception room, fluffily...
Rebellious phase?
"Tch... well, whatever."
Mika turned his gaze to the cursed items placed on the table, about eight of them.
There were small swords with decorations, necklaces covered in gems, and dresses neatly folded in wooden boxes.
"Which one should I start with? Should I clear the ones with strong curses first?"
Bikaaaaaa!!!
"Gyah!?"
When Mika muttered, Fee suddenly shone brightly.
He almost ended up purifying it himself.
"Wait!? Don't mess around!"
When Mika complained to Fee, the light subsided.
But he soon noticed an anomaly.
A black mist seemed to ooze out from the cursed items on the table.
Like steam from dry ice, black mist was coming out.
"What is this!?"
Disgusting!
The black mist disappeared quickly, but the only time it seemed to continue coming out until the end was from the dress stored in the wooden box.
Could it be...
Mika tried touching them one by one to check the strength of the curses.
As expected, the dress housed the strongest curse.
(I thought maybe only strong curses produced black mist, but maybe weak ones are just invisible...?)
Mika looked up at Fee.
"Could it be, Fee, can you see that black mist?"
When Mika asked, Fee shone brightly once.
"Is it still coming out?"
When Mika pointed at the cursed item and asked, Fee shone brightly again.
(...A detector.)
He never thought black mist would come out from cursed items he couldn't tell without touching.
And that Fee could see that black mist.
"Fee, from now on, after school every day, come to the Academy. Help me with the dispelling work."
With a detector and "Auto-Dispel", it seemed one cursed item could be cleared every day.
Both the laborious tasks of identification and dispelling would be completed instantly.
Certain victory.
At Mika's command, Fee dimmed her light and looked dejected.
It's no good to be depressed.
"By the way, you came to the Academy before, so why didn't you come to work? If you did, you could have earned money more easily."
To keep silent while having such a convenient function.
"Could it be that you can also see that mysterious thing sticking to me?"
When going to dispelling work, "something" would come along somewhat.
Nerisfeene could see it with the effect of "Blessing", but Fee could see it too.
But even when Mika asked that, Fee kept her light dimmed.
It seems there are things that can be visualized and things that cannot.
"Well, just being able to see curses is helpful."
He didn't need to visualize them specifically; just being told this is cursed would be helpful.
Magic bag salvage was forbidden, but curse-related work seemed to speed up.
If things went well, he might earn more than before.
However, if that happened...
"Before long, cursed houses might disappear."
Well, if not limited to the capital, there would still be plenty.
He would think about accepting such properties eventually.
Mika shrugged his shoulders and turned his gaze to the cursed items placed on the table.
"For now, let's work hard on the work right in front of us."
Muttering that, he started with the dispelling of the dress stored in the wooden box.
Around noon, he left the Guild for lunch.
He somehow managed to use "Auto-Dispel" and finished dispelling everything.
Currently, Guild staff were performing [Appraisal] and confirming the completion of the request.
That was the plan to come out for lunch in the meantime.
When he returned after eating lunch, the procedures would be finished.
"Oh, young master."
As Mika stretched lightly, a voice called out from the side.
Gaeras and Kaerya were walking side by side.
Kaerya was holding kebabs wrapped tightly in both hands, walking while eating.
No, no, no, eat one by one.
"Both of you, the Guild?"
"Yes. We came to see if there were any requests. Young master too?"
"I was clearing the custody items. Now they are checking them."
When Mika said that, Gaeras nodded.
"Speaking of which, I heard it, young master. You got a medal, didn't you?"
Yes, he said, lowering his voice slightly.
"...How do you know?"
Mika hadn't told anyone.
He wasn't wearing it.
It was currently left inside a magic bag.
Mika looked at him with a suspicious gaze, but Gaeras just touched his ear a little.
Well, if he belonged to the Information Broker Guild, it wasn't strange to know...
"Well, never mind. For now, I'll go get something to eat."
"Oh. You haven't eaten yet?"
Mika nodded weakly to Gaeras.
"Then, how about this?"
Saying that, he pointed at Kaerya's kebab.
"It's a stall that recently opened, and they don't seem to put much effort into advertising. Probably it will become popular soon, so if you want to eat, do it now."
"Oh, if Gaeras-san says so, it must be true."
It was Gaeras's endorsement, a gourmet.
Guided by Gaeras, they entered a large road within District 3.
Gaeras and the others would have to go back the way they came, but was that okay?
The stall's location didn't seem bad, and indeed, no one was lined up.
Even at lunchtime...
He ordered one and tried eating it.
It had quite a volume, and when he bit into the mild sauce, plenty of meat juice overflowed; it was truly delicious.
"As expected, Gaeras-san."
Mika gave a thumbs-up to Gaeras.
He also sent one to the owner, and the owner returned it.
Good vibes, old man.
And Kaerya, who had been eating with both hands until now, had ordered two more.
How many does she intend to eat?
"Young master, have you heard about the Church?"
While eating, Gaeras asked Mika.
"Munch munch... What kind of story? Honestly, I haven't heard much. I'm taking a stance that I'm no longer involved."
After finishing one kebab, Mika ordered another one.
Talking while eating next to the stall, buying from the stall next door when he got hungry... nostalgic.
Reminded him of buying snacks during student days.
Gaeras lowered his voice and put on a solemn face.
"The story of the woman who plotted?"
"I heard that."
Mika took the kebab that came out and bit into it.
Yeah, this is delicious too.
"Actually, it was known to some extent behind the scenes that the Church was rotten."
"With how flamboyantly they acted... munch munch."
"But, regarding the upper echelons, I didn't know much."
"Why?"
Mika licked the sauce off his finger while asking.
"They stayed shut in. They never came out at all. Only those they permitted could go up to the upper floors of the Great Cathedral. Even if they were living in luxury inside, they couldn't be seen from the outside. Their mistress's rooms were also prepared on the upper floors."
"Mistress... Well, I understood vaguely, but didn't know the specifics?"
When Mika said that, Gaeras nodded.
"However, the woman who plotted stirred up the lower ranks. Because of that, people whose greed was straining started getting restless and making mistakes here and there."
Mika nodded while biting into the kebab.
"And the one with the most straining greed, the most important one, also got blinded. By a huge sum of money."
"They just destroyed themselves, fools."
It seems the outcome of this incident was that Mika was almost caught up in that self-destruction.
What a nuisance.
Mika bit into the kebab in his hand with a crunch, crunch, crunch, and chewed vigorously.
Then he ordered an addition from the owner with just his hands.
"As for the woman who plotted, the original cause, she is definitely not proper."
"Gulp... puh. That's obvious. Did you hear how much was paid?"
Three hundred million Rats for Mika's neck.
To stir up the subordinates, nearly twenty million Rats were scattered.
There was no way it was proper.
"It's said to be from the Seven Duchies Federation, but that's probably a cover. The man of the trade union thought to be an ally also hid. Probably that was a cover too."
Mika took the kebab from the owner and bit into it.
While Kaerya was ordering a refill, it seemed another customer had arrived.
Mika and Gaeras moved apart slightly so as not to be in the way.
"Munch munch... Hey, doesn't the border checkpoint mean nothing? Villains just pass through."
"There are low-quality knights among the lower ranks. Especially in the Domain Armies. Also, there are means of entering from outside the roads."
The Royal Capital's Knight Academy gathered people selected from across the country.
And after graduation, most joined the Kingdom Army.
Those at regional Knight Academies also often desired the Kingdom Army if they were excellent.
And while some chose the Domain Army, the quality of the Domain Army was, frankly, incomparable to the Kingdom Army, that was mostly the case.
The Domain Army of Marquis Leventein's territory, however, had a high awareness of border defense, so their training and morale were not inferior to the Kingdom Army.
But such Domain Armies were very few.
Even if bordering other countries, the Trade Union and the Seven Duchies Federation were friendly nations.
It seems that even with low-quality knights, it didn't become a major problem.
"Could it be that has been revealed?"
When Mika said that, Gaeras nodded.
"It seems to be unraveling like pulling a radish from the ground due to this incident. The Church, which was the spiritual pillar of the people, is tilting, and a big axe will fall on the Domain Armies too. Regional lords, depending on the person, might not escape unscathed."
"It's falling apart already. Saying this might be rude, but won't this country be destroyed?"
The last words were whispered like a true whisper.
With rumors of invasion by Gronoir, if it was like that, it would be over.
Gaeras grimaced at Mika's words.
"Yes, I understand why you become pessimistic... But this was the last chance. Surely."
"Chance?"
Mika asked while biting into the kebab.
"If they pretended nothing was wrong on the surface and rushed straight into war, what do you think would have happened?"
"What would... happen..."
Thinking they were fully prepared, but actually falling apart.
Agents entering through other countries.
Once the war started, the Church's upper echelons would flee everywhere.
The rear, which was supposed to support the front lines, would be the most vulnerable.
"Here, drain all the pus. Even if covered in scars, at least the treatment is done. I think that is far better."
"Well, that might be true, but..."
If you reached out your arm to support it, but that arm was rotten, that's a different story.
It's not that he didn't understand that even with rough treatment, a state where treatment was applied was better...
"Let's have them investigate seriously for a bit."
Saying that, Mika stuffed the last bite into his mouth with a wide open mouth.
"Investigate? Investigate what?"
Mika raised one eyebrow at Gaeras, who asked back.
While doing so, he chewed vigorously.
"Gulp, haa..."
Mika took a deep breath and licked the sauce off his finger.
"Escape to another continent."
Gaeras looked around and checked if anyone was listening.
"Young master, don't say such things lightly..."
Gaeras warned Mika in a whispering voice.
For the sake of it, Mika also expanded his mana range and confirmed that no one was listening before speaking.
"Well, I'll expect the King and Marquis Leventein's skills."
When Mika said that, Gaeras made a troubled face.
"Yes. There is no other choice."
While nodding along with Gaeras, Mika looked at the kebab stall, and several people were already lining up.
He thought about getting another one, but well, if he was eight parts full, this would do.
With that, he started walking towards the Guild again with Kaerya and Gaeras.
It was a rather depressing afternoon.
But the kebab was delicious.