Freedom Association
We proceeded into Brumund’s Royal Capital.
The pedestrians appeared bright and cheerful with no gloominess in sight.
And as you’d expect from such a remote country, there were many people geared up.
However, smelling the air of a downtown area after so long was pretty exciting.
I have no idea what meat this is, but it’s strangely delicious.
The sauce. This sauce could come in handy for research. Though it is unfair to the chef, eating something lets me learn its recipe.
So I made a mental note of the required ingredients for this meal.
I am advancing further in, guided by the trio, with a specific store in mind.
Normal tool stores and magic tool stores are very different than what people from my world would imagine.
And it is one of these magic tool stores – I’ll simply call it tool store from now on – that was our destination.
I am planning to sell medium grade medicine today. However, even if I want to sell it at 15 silvers a piece, I need to first know the price of low grade medicine.
If we turn them in to the guild, we can make ten silvers per bouquet.
So if you’re planning on becoming a permanent harvesting adventurer, you shouldn’t expect to become rich quick.
Which would mean that harvesting requests tend to stick around for years. It’s a lengthy process.
So, we entered the store.
A store you’d expect to be run by some elderly witch.
I looked around, quickly evaluating the goods. Sadly, I didn’t see any rare items.
Why? Simple: the neighboring Farmas Kingdom has stopped allowing goods to come from the Dwarf Kingdom.
And since high quality potions no longer arrive from the Dwarf Kingdom, they have no choice but to sell the inferior stuff made by the local pharmacists.
Hmm? Do I smell an opportunity…?
In comparison, abysmal potion [Quality: Low, Effect 15%] is sold for 1 silver coin.
And with such shortage of material, adventurers who come across medical herbs will quickly find a buyer even if their guild doesn’t accept it.
It’s always in demand, it seems.
Next, Illusion Flowers.
The effects of these items are,
Hallucinogens: Used to amplify〈Hypnotism-type Magic〉. Taking it normally will induce hallucinations. Leads to addiction.
Bewitching Perfume: Amplifies the effects of〈Hypnotism-type Magic〉by up to 30%. Increases resistance to〈Hypnotism-type Magic〉by up to 30%.
That would be for quality item, of course; normal one would increase the effects by only 20%.
However, addiction is bad. It’s probably similar to our world’s hallucinogens. Though I doubt they sell it to just anybody.
If I harvest and analyze some more poisonous plants, of course. Eating the plant would be a bad idea, but I wouldn’t get poisoned if I absorbed it into my stomach.
But I digress.
The effects of these items is easy to dispel, but surely they cost a lot?
「Haah? Hallucinogens and Bewitching Perfume? You can’t get such amazing items here.
Rather than in a small country like ours, you should be looking elsewhere!」
The store’s granny told me.
Chances are the fact that she has even heard of such medicines is impressive.
In fact, the medicine sold here is made by her. She’s pretty learned, it seems.
「Ah, my bad. The thing is, I happen to have gotten my hands on some of those, but aren’t sure if it’s actually the real deal.
I even borrowed a gold coin to buy it, so I’m curious!」
I said, trying to deceive her.
「What did you say? Show me. I’ll check if for you.
I won’t charge you, so rest easy!」
The granny replied.
I have quite a few more bags like this. The hallucinogen is fine like sugar, but red in color.
The granny took it from my hands and used〈Identification Magic〉on it.
「Oh my! It’s real! Aren’t you lucky.
But production and sales of this item is forbidden to amateurs.
If you want to pawn it, however, I’d be happy to buy it from you for two gold coins!」
She said, surprised.
Moreover, you can also make some Bewitching Perfume from it. All you need is to dilute the extract with water.
I mean, I knew magic items were expensive, but for them to be so expensive! Well, it’s my profit, so I don’t complain.
Doesn’t she have any good items…?
And then I found it, 『Dummy’s Guide! Easy to understand 〈Elemental Magic〉theories!』– a magic book titled thus.
Well, I can read some, and even simply reading letters is practice. So let’s buy the book.
「Aha. So, little girl, you’re aspiring to be a magician?
Kids who want to enroll in an academy study from this book.
But you know, you can’t become a magician just from reading this book, are you sure you want to buy it?」
A magic academy! How wonderful. I want to go check it out someday.
Someday, I’ll use『Great Sage』to get all the magic in the world…
「Yeah, no problem. How much is it?」
Ah, well. Unfortunately, it isn’t cheap. Magic is a rich-man’s hobby.
Just this book costs a single gold coin; too much, right?」
I wonder… since I’m wearing the mask, is the granny guessing by my voice?
Well, it’s too late now. And since it’s a pain, I’ll leave it as is for now.
It’s been a year since I was born, but my soul is at least 38 years old; in other words, it’s hard to figure out my age. In any case, I’m a child at heart.
An enigmatic boy wearing a mask. Don’t fret, there’s plenty of delusional idiots calling themselves heroes and demon lords, so I’d fit right in.
Magic is for the rich, huh. There’s probably plenty among them that are incapable of learning magic, too.
Though they do seem to have a printing press, I wonder why there’s so few printed books?
「No problem. I’ll buy the book for 1 gold. However, I wonder why it’s so expensive?」
Though the Ghost Researchers have the copying machine, it rejects magic manuscripts.
By the way, this book I wrote myself when I was younger, so please take care of it!」
「I see. I didn’t know, so thank you. I’ll treat it with care.」
I said, handing over a single gold coin. Transaction complete.
「Doesn’t look it, but she’s rich, huh… but still a child, right?
What are parents doing handing their kids this much money…」
She grumbled to herself, while handing over the book.
From now on, whether I stop by the magic academy or another royal capital, I will buy every magic book in sight! So I decided.
After thanking the owner, I left the store. It was a time well spent.
After leaving the store, I stop the trio.
「You guys… you understand, right?」
「「「……….」」」
The trio each handed me 10 Illusion Flower bouquets.
I’d much rather process the Illusion Flowers myself. It would be wasteful to hand them over to the guild.
During my conversation with the trio, they looked as if they wanted to ask something.
「Wait a minute! Rimuru-san, when had you processed the Illusion Flowers?
There have been people who died from the poisonous gasses that the plants let out!」
I see. So it really was such a dangerous plant. I guess the price is fitting.
「Fufufu. Processing such a weed is simple for someone like I!」
「As expected of danna. I wouldn’t be surprised at anything now.」
「Me too. Danna is someone who can do anything.」
Three jealous idiots.
And, considering that we have researched the cost as desired, we headed for the Freedom Association.
We reached Brumund’s Freedom Association Branch.
It’s a stately building made of stone.
The Lizardmen would make use of windows designated with magic to light their houses, but this is different. It depends on natural light.
So I was under the impression that people didn’t build high-rise houses in this world. Well, whether you can consider 5 stories “high-rise” is a different story.
When we entered, I noticed that they are somehow regulating the temperature; it was pleasant inside.
I guess they are keeping the temperature constant with magic. Surprisingly advanced, I must say.
Maybe if there were no monsters or demon lords, this world would be a true magic society.
Since the demon lords exercised restraint, the humans bought them off by handing over fertile land; so when power shifts in favor of humans, an invasion into their realms is a legitimate possibility.
True, monsters are stronger right now; but no one knows what the future will hold. I guess I need to implement some real foreign policy to protect the rights of my city.
By seeing a human city, by learning something about humans, I can better prepare against possible future threats.
Thus, I decided to see more and more things.
Now then, I shouldn’t stand in the doorway.
There’s a desk like one you’d see at an airport–where you surrender your baggage, with a plate that reads: Sales Counter.
All in all, there are three counters separated from each other.
The Sales Counter I just mentioned.
Counter specific for adventurers.
The room is separated into these three sectors.
The general counter is used by beginners and Freedom Association members who live in the city. That’s where you go to register or retire from the guild.
An adventurer is a Freedom Association member who either goes foraging, subjugating, or hunting on request. Some take on different types of tasks, but most people still refer to them by the generic term–adventurer.
For example, there’s a specialized division called the Magicians Guild. To be affiliated with them, you need to be able to use some kind of magic; however, affiliation with them does not guarantee usefulness to the Freedom Association.
So, what are the merits to becoming an adventurer?
Leaving the city or even crossing the border is far easier for an adventurer. Of course, this may not apply during wartime, but this allows for greater mobility.
The origin of the name “Freedom Association” comes from adventurers who wanted to be able to freely move between countries.
This was explained to me by the three idiots on our way to the counters.
After receiving this explanation, we proceeded to the back.
「Hey, we’re leading our guest to the backrooms, so let us pass.」
「Yeah, Guild Master’s guest. Treat him with respect, please.」
After that exchange, we were let through.
And in the background,
「Cabal-san is so cool~!」
「Fools! To not understand Gido-san’s greatness…」
「「「But, who is that kid? Why treat her with respect?」」」
I heard the people in the background say this, but couldn’t really understand them.
We stopped in front of a room in the back. The room was guarded by two soldiers, who opened the door on Cabal’s signal.
Similar to the one that Bester drew. One that allows travel both ways.
It can be used to travel up to the fourth floor; the fifth floor is accessible via a different circle.
Now that I think about it, there are no windows passed the fourth floor. Probably to prevent break-in.
We entered the room.
「Welcome, “One who commands monsters”!
I am this Branch’s Guild Master Fuze.」
A short man with a vigilant face extended his greetings.
He’s plenty strong and seems rather capable. But if anything, it’s the aura about him.
He seems to be a rather gutsy individual.
「I am Rimuru Tempest. Ruler of the new Monster Country “Tempest” of the Jura Forest. Pleased to make your acquaintance.」
After finishing our introductions, we started our questioning.
Since our meeting lasted long into the night, I decided to stay in one of the Freedom Association’s rooms.
P.S. Sadly, although I had plenty of money left and finally arrived at a human city, I couldn’t venture into a new “frontier” for now.