Chapter 17: Medieval Guilds were Started as Organizations to Protect the Common Interests of Their Guild Members, and then were Promptly Accused of Witchcraft.
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There’s nothing for it. I would feel bad if those guys from the Dark Wyverns came back right afterwards so I accepted. In exchange for a room I would be a deterrent for bad bugs.
I’m actually grateful to Maryiste. I had made up my mind last night that I wanted to help the oneesans at The Queen Mary’s, but to tell the truth, I really want to go on adventures. Maybe it’s because I’m always made to go at Masaki’s pace in netgames – VRMMO and MMOs alike – but I really want to try adventuring while making my own decisions.
And, well, in the back of my mind I’m worried that this really isn’t a game and Masaki and his friend Seimei got sucked into it too. If I go on adventures and travel around, there’s a greater chance I’ll run into them. Since (Friend Chat) is completely useless.
If it weren’t for Maryiste’s consideration of me, I probably would have unknowingly tossed “adventuring” aside to help the oneesans. I most likely wouldn’t have noticed it until later, when I’m filled with regret.
After Solyana told me how to get to the Guild I left in a hurry. Niera hadn’t mentioned what time we’d meet, just “in the morning”. I’m not sure it would have mattered though, since I have no idea how to tell time here.
I got there without too much incident ... so I’d like to say, but the winding staircase I took to the second level of the city was a different one than the one Solyana told me to take. It took me a bit of wandering around until I finally hailed a shopkeeper preparing his stall and got directions.
The Guild Hall is carved right into the center of the main mountain the city resides around. As I walk up to the doors it feels like going into a large cavern.
“Juuuun!”
Ah. It’s hard to miss Niera. She’s waving at me from the lobby of the Guild Hall.
“Good morning Niera.”
“Oooh, you changed clothes, good thinking. Which inn are you staying at?”
“Ah, this shirt? An oneesan at the place I’m staying at leant it to me. But I’m not staying at an inn; it’s a brothel. They lent me a room when it got too late.”
Well, I guess I’ll be staying there longer for now.
Niera’s quiet for a moment. Her eyes have gotten really wide... It’s a little unnerving. I’m not a guy so it shouldn’t have been that offensive to have stayed at a brothel ... right? Maybe? I feel like I’m beginning to get confused on what’s ok and not ok to do nowadays.
Niera finally says,
“Jun, don’t tell me that you’re after that kind of thing after all... ouch!”
Lor came out from behind her and smacks her lightly on the head. He’s not wearing the sling anymore; he has his arm wrapped up still, though.
I’m grateful to him for coming and stopping Niera. I don’t know if she’s referring to the oneesans or the customers, but either way I’m 100% not ready to explore that side of my femininity so I really don’t want her to continue talking about it.
If she were in our world she’d be the type to read the celebrity gossip news and bad romance novels, definitely.
Lor sighs and lectures Niera.
“If you think about it properly there have been reports of the night district getting rougher lately. It’s more likely that Jun-san here got wrapped up in some trouble with the brothel.”
... Correct answer. Am I that easy to read?
“Erm, yeah, that’s what happened. Anyway the shop I was at was clean and the oneesans were polite, so I thought it wasn’t so bad.”
“Hm... The Queen Mary’s then, probably.”
Lor-san ... Niera and the other girls nearby are giving you disgusted glares. You’re right, but I’m not sure I want to confirm it and completely drop your reputation with the women here.
“A-ah, Niera, you said something about an ID that I needed?”
For his sake let’s move the situation along.
“Oh, that’s right. It’s best to get an ID Plate made as soon as possible. With your skills you should probably be fine, but there are some people who like to take advantage of people without IDs.”
“Basically, it’s easy to make someone disappear if they don’t have an ID registered anywhere. If you go missing and someone wonders about it, there will be a record that you existed, the last times you were around, that kind of thing.”
Lor supplemented her explanation.
So it’s like that, huh? Even if it seems like being able to go around unmarked is a great freedom, especially compared to our world, there’s also great dangers that go with it.
“Oh, ok.”
“Then let’s go!”
I’m getting deja vu as Niera grabs my hand and drags me to a counter. Please don’t make me get into a coffin-sized scanner. Or maybe I’ll wake up somewhere I don’t know again. It wouldn’t be so bad if I woke up and found myself back home, I guess.
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The receptionist is a pleasant looking oneesan.
“Hi there, Lor, Niera. Is this the girl you want to register?”
“Yup. You should have all the paperwork...”
As Lor confirms things with the receptionist oneesan I suddenly had a thought. I was all for going with the flow ... but what is “the Guild”? I’ve been thinking it’s like an rpg’s Adventurer Guild, but to assume that kind of logic on game knowledge is dangerous.
After all, this is most likely not a game.
I ask Niera.
“What does the Guild do? Hm... well they’re kind of something like the government of the Unaffiliated territories ... I guess?”
Niera tilted her head and ended up asking a question instead. Lor sighs.
“Well, that’s not wrong, but it’s not right either. Strictly speaking, the Guild was started as a neutral organization to act as a go between for people with requests and people who take requests. It was because some countries tended to think if you did them a favor you were allying yourself with them, which causes all sorts of political messes.
Since the Guild often got requests to control order in Unaffiliated territories and negotiate between the Unaffiliateds and other countries it became an organization that isn’t entirely unlike a government.
Well, it doesn’t take taxes or impose any regulations on shops or housing or whatever. People who work for the Guild get paid on commission, so rather than being employees they’re more like quest-taking adventurers themselves.”
From Lor’s explanation I understood that the Adventurer’s Guild that’s in rpgs is what the Guild started out as. And it still runs as a place to take quests and make a living without settling down.
“Then ... I’d like to register as an adventurer?”
I turn back to the receptionist oneesan.
“Okay ... since you’re Niera and Lor’s recommendation I’ll deduct 10% from the fee.”
She chuckled lightly but ... is that ok? The Guild makes money strictly on business so can they really afford to make any discounts like that? Maa... I guess if they think of it like an investment in future dealings ...
The receptionist oneesan opened a small drawer. It contained several small trading-card like cards.
For a second I thought they were made of dark grey hard plastic but of course something like that doesn’t exist here.
The receptionist oneesan pulled one out and held it in front between her and me.
“『Record Information: Questioner Voice Registration』”
A strange, almost imperceptible humming when she said that. She turns to me after making sure whatever it is just activated.
“Okay then ... answer my questions. Is the person in front of me the adventurer who is to be registered and not a proxy?”
“Yes.”
When I responded to her question the entire card lit up.
“What is your name?”
“Jun.”
“What is your race?”
“Human.”
“What is your gender?”
“... Female?”
“What is your age as of this moon cycle?”
“200 months.”
“That’s it.”
The oneesan smiled as the card shimmered vibrantly before it died down. Every time she asked a question a row on the card would light up. Every time I answered, patterns would appear on the card within the lit up row.
But really, I almost answered “male” for gender, and “16 years” for age. I’m glad I did the math for my age on the wagon ride over to Nyl. Though I’m not 100% sure the months are the same length. There are still twelve months in a year, at least.
“Now, 『Register Mana Reading』.”
The card glows dimly in response as she hands it to me.
“Please channel enough magic to activate a small spell through this card. It will mark you as its owner and allow only you to activate it.”
I do as she asks, being careful to only put in enough magic to light Lor’s training paper to green. I had been trained hard to be able to fine tune my magic channeling so there was no problem there.
“What if you can’t use magic?”
I couldn’t help asking as I handed it back.
“Then we would need to use a different type of card that requires a drop of blood to react. It’s rare for someone who is unable to channel enough Magic Power to use the Guild Card to want to become an adventurer though.”
She accepts it then says,
“『Guild Card: Activate』.”
Nothing happens but she seems satisfied as she hands it to me.
“Please activate the card and confirm that everything is accurate.”
“『Guild Card: Activate』.”
The card lit faintly and patterns appeared on the surface. I worried about not being able to read ... but surprisingly I could. Aah... I see. It’s the same strange phenomenon as my (Status) screen where the words might not be words, but as long as I don’t try to analyze them I can read them. I suspect it’s somewhat related to how (Translate) works, but ... well, let’s leave it for now.
The card reads:
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Name: Jun Race: Human
Age: 200 Gender: Female
Rank: C Class
Current Requests:
Special: