Is this a good request?
Yes. I was hoping to find something that would be rank appropriate.

　After an hour or so, we came out of the reference room and, as Toya had suggested, asked the receptionist for advice.

We came out of the reference room in about an hour, and as Toya suggested, we approached the receptionist.

Yes. You remember me, don't you?

Of course I remember. Rank 5 is rare here, but it's a party that stands out above all. And that was yesterday.

　Not that I was aiming for it, but the person I approached was the receptionist I asked about the location of the inn yesterday.

　She smiled and turned her gaze to Haruka, me and Toya.

　I'm sure Natsuki and Yuki have a good enough appearance to stand out, but I guess they're not as bad as the rest of us who stand out from the crowd.

How much work do you do, by the way?
"How much ......?

　We look at each other and think.
　We looked at each other and thought, "How much should we take on if we can get paid?

We've made a lot of money over the winter, haven't we?　We averaged no less than 300 gold coins a day.

"Three hundred?

　The receptionist raised her voice at Toya's words.
　It's not as if there is such a job, so Haruka corrects him.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.　Some of them haven't been redeemed yet, but I'd say five or sixty.

...... That's in gold coins, isn't it?

Yes. But in Kergu, you caught a bounty hunter and got 1,000 gold pieces.

It was you who caught him?

Yes, by accident. We got lucky.

...... Why don't you just have fun and live happily for a while?

　The receptionist's answer was throwaway.
　No, well, in a way, that's what adventurers do.
　You've got a lot of money.

Why did you come here in the first place?　If you can make so much money, there's no need to move to another city.

"No, I'm here on business. No, I had to wait four days for a client.

"Then let's wait for that long.

　Yes, that's an acceptable argument.
　However, four days is still too short a time, in terms of days.

"Well, then, is there any place in this pining that would be good to see?

The Adventurer's Guild isn't here to give you sightseeing information. ...... But I found something good!

　The receptionist looked a little troubled by Toya's recklessness, but she quickly thought of something, got up, went to the bulletin board, and came back with a request form in her hand.

"I know it's not much for a rank 5 adventurer to ask for, but I think this is kind of nice, don't you?

　We all look at the request form on the counter.

"...... to investigate a water source?

"Yes. This is a place that is usually off limits. I heard it's a very scenic and beautiful place.　I've never been there, though.

　"I've never been there," he said, "but I've been asked to investigate the cause of the water pollution.

　The location of the investigation is a few hours away from Pining, and the fee is 15 gold coins.

　Moreover, this is a request with a rank 3 restriction.

　It's not a high rank, but it's cheap compared to the market price for a restricted request.

　However, it has the added value of allowing you to see places you normally wouldn't be able to.

　Even so, it is still not a request for a rank 5 adventurer.

The ale made with this water is very popular, but there seems to be a problem with the water lately. We need to solve the problem before the brewing starts, but we can't take care of it.

Because the fee is so low?

Well, ......, yes.

　The receptionist averted her gaze at Haruka's blunt words.

If water is important to you, I think you should pay a fair commission. ......

You need to be paid fairly for your work. Dumping can be a problem for others.

　Yes. If you accept a job at an unreasonably low price, it will eventually turn out to be detrimental to the industry as a whole, and even to the person who orders the work.

　It is impossible to continuously sell a product that costs 100 yen at 100 yen, so the only way to reduce the cost is to lower the quality.

　In the case of adventurers, you can either cut corners on your work or use low-level adventurers.

　In other words, the reputation of the adventurer's guild will be damaged.

Of course, I'm well aware of that, but this brewery has a very good reputation, so I thought I'd do something about it.

　I'm sure you're aware of that, but this brewery has a great reputation, and I'd like to do something about it.

"Because the ales are good?

Of course that's part of it. But even if the reputation of the ale increases, this is a good place that stubbornly does not raise the price and provides it at a price that the common people can drink!

　The receptionist's words became more forceful.

　The receptionist's words were full of energy. She may have been one of the beneficiaries.

You're a craftsman. You're not very good at business.

I can't deny that. In recent years, various costs have risen, but they are not reflected in the price, which seems to put a lot of pressure on the business. ......



That's what you're getting for your fee?

Yes.

　I don't mind that type of craftsman, but it's a little tricky when the effects of it fall on you.

　However, we're not struggling financially. .......

What do you think?

"We have some time, and if the scenery is good, we might as well go sightseeing.　It's out of town.

I don't see any reason to object.

If it's that kind of work, we can take Mary and the others with us.

Yeah.

　It's not as if I'm actively in favor of it, but no one is against it.
　Haruka and I looked at each other and nodded.

"All right. I'll make an exception.

"Thank you very much!　That's really helpful. If we lose that brewery, ......

　The receptionist looked seriously relieved.

Is that the kind of ...... thing you're talking about?

"It's a rumor. They are craftsmen, for better or worse,........ If you can't get good quality water, there's a good chance you won't be brewing. So, it's time to go to .......

　We don't usually drink ale, so we didn't know about it, but if you ask me, the ale made in this pining is not famous enough to be accepted in other countries, but it is known as a regional brand.

　There was a good reason why Mitya had heard of it.

　And among the many breweries in Pining, the brewery in question was one of the best in quality.

　However, the brewery is run by craftsmen who care about quality.

　In order to make a good product, they are very particular about the ingredients and the water, but if they cannot get the right ones, they will not brew.

　In the past, when branding was not so advanced, it would have been possible to get away with it, but nowadays, "pining ale" has a certain degree of fame, and many people seek it out.

　Inevitably, other breweries will increase their shipments, which in turn will increase their purchases of raw materials.

　The result is a shortage of raw materials, which leads to higher prices and a shortage of labor.

　Even so, other breweries steadily improved their performance by adjusting the quality of raw materials, changing the production area, and reflecting the changes in product prices, but the brewery in question stubbornly continued its old ways.

　But the brewery in question stubbornly continued with its old ways. Naturally, it lost out on raw materials, lacked manpower, and ran out of money. .......

　The reason why the brewery still exists is because of the support of the general public and their old relationships.

He may be an excellent craftsman, but he's a terrible manager. I feel sorry for the people involved.

　The receptionist also sighs at Natsuki's disgusted words.

...... can't deny it. You can't deny that is a great place to drink good ale at a reasonable price, and that's a big part of why people support it.

I don't think it's worth it if it goes under.
Even if we do it at a reasonable price, it won't be worth it.

　That's true.

　Even if we save some money, it's only temporary.
　Unless we change the way we do things, we are likely to go out of business soon.

　I think you should at least raise the price to match the quality.

That's not for us to think about. "That's not for us to think about, because it's your choice if you want to ruin a long-established business.

"Well, you know, ....... I think it's a shame.

　"I would like to see a long-established sake brewery or a long-established Japanese sweets shop remain, but I would never buy anything from them.

　When I was in Japan, I was a minor, so the former was a matter of course, but even for the latter, I never had a chance to buy and eat expensive Japanese sweets, and for my palate, sweets from convenience stores were enough.

　It's just nostalgia, and I have no desire to pay for it.

It's probably going to be under the umbrella of some brewery, but it's a shame to lose that taste. ......

Since it's a long-established brewery, it would affect you a lot if it went under?

Yes. But if you accept the job, I think we can make it through this year, so maybe something will turn around.

I don't think so. ......

　Natsuki laughed at the words that she herself did not seem to believe.

　If the problem lies with the management, there is nothing that can be done about it unless that is changed.

I know, but... --Now, let's move on to the job description.

　The receptionist smiled back and, as if to change her mind, went on to explain the nature of the job.

　The purpose is to investigate the water source used by the brewery.

　The source of the water is a pond deep in the forest, which is off-limits to the public, and we need to find out the cause of the strange odor in the water.

　We were given a map of the area and a permit allowing us to enter the forest.

　The deadline is within one month.

　However, in exchange for the low fee, the contract said that even if the cause of the problem could not be found as a result of the investigation, the request would not fail and could be cancelled.

　Of course, in that case, we would not get any remuneration, but from our point of view, it did not matter much.

　We don't want to work for free, but we're not experts, and we're investigating.

　If we had been told to find out the cause of the problem, we would not have accepted the request even if the fee was a little high.


　And so, the next day, we set out with Mary and Mitya to investigate the water source, half as sightseeing.