We've been waiting for you!　Everyone.

　On that day, we visited the guild for the first time in a long time, and what greeted us was Diora-san with an even brighter smile than usual.

　You can't help but notice that Haruka looked a little quizzical at Diora's appearance.

I'm not sure what to say. ...... We didn't make an appointment, did we?　What can I do for you?

"Yes, a few things. First, there's a milk bottle. They're in that room over there, and I'd like you to pick them up when you leave.

All right. Just fill them up and bring them to me, okay?

Yes. Next, I'd like to inform you that the results of the appraisal of the tin staff and the jewel that you requested earlier have come back.

　After saying that, Diora left her seat for a while, and brought out the tin staff and pearls that she had left with me before, and laid them out on the counter.

I'll let you know. This one is classified as the 'Charisma Tincture'. It is a magical tool that subtly increases your charisma when you speak with it.

"...... subtly?

Yes, subtly. For example, there is a difference between a person in commoner's clothes and a person in priest's clothes.

　It's a hard analogy to understand, but I get what you're saying.

　A young man saying, "This is really safe. It's really safe. It's a really safe drug! There is a huge difference between a young man in a suit saying, "This is a drug that has undergone proper clinical trials and has been scientifically confirmed to be safe" and a gentleman in a suit saying, "This is a drug that has undergone proper clinical trials and has been scientifically confirmed to be safe.

　Even though neither of them has shown any evidence.

By the way, it's a magic tool in demand in temples. You seem to be able to make a reasonably good case for it.

Even if you're not very good at it?

Badly. It's not that dramatic.

　It's a very realistic and dreamless magic tool, because it doesn't have the effect of 'everyone will follow it'.

　It's a very realistic and dreamless tool that doesn't have a 'make everyone follow you' effect.

...... What should we do?　We don't seem to have much use for it.

I'm sure you'll be able to figure out how to use it.　It's no use having all that cash.

I guess. In our case, we don't have much trouble with cash, but we don't need to have it either.

　Some adventurers who move from place to place save their money in jewels for convenience of carrying, but if they don't do it well, the jewels and cash will diminish each other.

　In our case, we have a magic bag that allows us to carry a large amount of gold coins without difficulty, but conversely, we can carry bulky items in the same way, so there is no need to convert them into cash.

　Like the tin cane in this case.

I understand. Then you can take this one home with you. The other pearl, this one is called the 'Gift Pearl'.

　The effect of the Pearl of Beneficence (Gift) that he explained to me was particularly strange compared to the other magical tools that I had acquired so far.

　If you hold this pearl in your hand and put magic power into it, you will get some kind of benefit. That is the effect of this pearl.

　The gift could be the ability to use a weapon, a skill in cooking or blacksmithing, or a change in appearance such as height or strength.

　Among them, there was even a gem that could change one's gender.

　Just like the skills we have been given by the gods, they are truly what we call "gifts.

　It's a wonder that is distinctly different from any other magic tool we know of in this weirdly realistic world.

So, what are the benefits of this?
"I'm sorry, sir. I'm sorry, sir, but we don't know that much about it.
What?

　When I asked for details, I was told that the Adventurer's Guild could only reliably examine the basic parts of the item, and that I would be lucky if they could examine the details.

　I guess the guild can't afford to spend that much money for a single gold coin.

　Incidentally, it seems that you can ask for a detailed appraisal for an additional fee, but the time and cost required will be greatly increased, and if you're not careful, the fee will be so high that you won't make much profit even if you sell it. It's like a tool shop that's a real rip-off.

　However, it seems that the guild is not really ripping off the customers, as they will have to rely on outside experts to investigate.

Only a high-ranking priest can find out what kind of benefit you can get from the Gift Pearl. You can ask them to look it up for you at .......

Do I have to pay an offering?

Yes. Yes, and it's quite expensive. If you want, I can refer you to someone.

No, I'll just take it home and see what I can find.

All right. Just a word of advice, don't use it without checking. Not all gifts are appreciated by all people.

I'm sure you're right.

　The fear of mine skills is something we know all too well, or should I say we know all too well.

　It may be because we said what we wanted to say, but Adversus showed us a lot of very bad mine skills.

　Well, it's only natural that if you get a convenient power from someone who calls himself an "evil god" right from the start, it's not going to be good for you.

　If you are lured by a mysterious voice and ask for power, you will be doomed in the end.

　I don't know if the being who created this pearl is a god or not, but considering the fact that only priests can check its effects, it's not unlikely.

　This time, there's no way to avoid it with [help], so there's probably no one among us who would take such a gamble.

　I'd like to think that they don't have any robbery skills, but even their attractive appearance would be a problem for me and Haruka if we got it.



I'd like to ask two things of you next. The first is a request to collect milk from Red Strike Ox.

The first is a request to collect milk from Red Strike Ox. ...... Come to think of it, we don't get a lot of requests from the guild, do we?



　Diora knows that there are no requests worthy of our rank in Raffan, so she doesn't have anything to say, but the only way to use our guild is to freely buy what we hunt.

　It's been a year or so, and I can't even count the number of requests I've actually fulfilled.

　I've done very little in that area, so there's no reason not to help out when I can.

"All right. I've just got some in stock.
Oh, no. It's a bit large. The bottles I'm giving you will be a little over a hundred.
A hundred?　That's a lot of ...... to collect, but will you be able to buy them?

　The size of the bottles you made is close to the size of the bottles I made, so if you have 100 bottles, you can probably collect enough to milk 40 cows. It may seem a little difficult, but it's not impossible.

　The problem is the price.

　A bottle of regular Strike Ox milk costs about 10 gold coins. Red is "ten times harder", so if you deliver 100 bottles, that's 10,000 gold coins.

　Our house is about a thousand gold coins, so 10,000 gold coins would be enough to build a mansion.

　The price of 10 gold coins is low considering the quality of the milk we deliver, so it would be more than that if the price is reasonable.

There is no problem with the payment. We already know who we're buying from, and they're noblemen.

　When I asked him about it, he told me that it was a gift from Viscount Nenus to his neighbor, Baron Diaz, as a congratulatory gift.

　As expected of a nobleman. The amount of the congratulatory gift was incomparable.
　A congratulatory gift worth 100 million yen. ...... Do aristocrats do that kind of thing?
　No, I'm sure they do.
　I can only say that there is a difference in values between them and the common people.

But isn't 100 bottles too much?　Even if you and your wife drink one every day, that's enough for two years.

"Haruka-san, it is impossible for a nobleman to give only a limited amount at a time like this. If you want to drink it yourself, you can do so, but if you want to give it to someone else, you have to have enough to waste. You know, Haruka-san, when you are invited to someone's house and there is only one bottle of wine on the table, it would be difficult to drink, right?

...... I don't drink wine, but I can understand. I don't drink wine, but I can understand why. It's hard to reach for sweets when there are only a few.

　I see. It's true that you can reach for a large amount of potato chips, but when there are only a few left, you somehow hesitate.

　Even the last piece of fried food tends to be left over.

　Regardless of Diora's example, considering the aristocracy's virtue and power relations, it may be necessary to show that you are capable of preparing more than enough food.

But Viscount Nenus didn't have any money, did he?

Even if he didn't have any money, a nobleman would provide money if he had to. Even if he had to borrow money. It may be difficult for the common people to understand.

　In response to my question, Diora sighed and shook her head.

　I wonder if it's like looking for the cheapest restaurant, even if it's only one yen.　It's obviously a waste of time.

　...... Or maybe not.
　It's like comparing Japan's defense spending to the cost of repairing your neighborhood street.
　If you have hundreds of billions of yen to buy a ship, you should fix the road in front of your house.
　Well, that's nonsense. It's not worth comparing.
　Move big money when necessary, but save where you can.
　Viscount Nenus must be a very capable man.

"I don't have much time, but would you accept my offer?

"Yes. I'm indebted to Diora. But do noblemen send food to each other?　I thought they avoided such things for fear of poisoning.

I thought they avoided that kind of thing. I'm not sure what to make of it, but I think it's a good idea.

　Diora-san laughed and waved her hands in the air.
　You're right, you're right.

　But if you think it's okay to kill even if you're found out, and even if it leads to a conflict, you can't say it's impossible.

　If this is not the case, then the nobles in this country are not on such bad terms with each other.

However, it would be nice if there were no feuds among the nobles. As a commoner living in this country.

"I don't want to get involved in conflicts. Peace is best.

　As long as you don't get involved with us, you can do whatever you want, but if the ruler does something crazy, it won't affect the common people.

　Even this and that in the old days of the Viscount of Nenus have been affected by the unreasonable crackdown on the common people.

Hmm, unfortunately, that's not to say there's no conflict.　We don't have many around here, but we do have small conflicts now and then.

Any foreign wars?

We don't have any countries at war or clear enemies, but we do have virtual ones. Tensions are not that high.

　That's what I'm talking about, Mr. Adversus.
　He chose not only a safe area but also a country to fly to.
　He is a god with a sober mind.

　There's a high possibility that we, who have been living our lives fluently, would have died if we were sent to a war-torn country.



　First of all, the country we are in is called the Kingdom of Rainium, and it is a relatively large country in this area.

　The political situation is stable, and there is no extreme poverty or discrimination based on race, making it a relatively easy country to live in.



　To the east of the Kingdom of Raynium is the Principality of Austianum, which is allied with the Kingdom of Raynium and has a strong relationship with it through intermarriage.

　The situation of the country is similar to that of the Kingdom of Rhenium, but it seems that the religious power is a little stronger than that of the Kingdom of Rhenium.

　However, it is not a religious country, so even if we were to go to this country, it would not be so cramped.



　I heard that there are some magnificent temples in this country, so if we were going on a sightseeing trip, this country would be our first choice.



　The slightly larger country to the south and southwest is the Iupiklisian Empire.
　This country is the virtual enemy of the Kingdom of Rhenium.

　Although they do trade with each other and do not directly confront each other by force, they are not to be taken lightly.

　In the event of a confrontation, they do not rush to the use of force, but rather, they are willing to have a little discussion at first.

　However, there seems to be discrimination against subhumans in this country, and as an elf, I don't want to get involved with this country.

　It doesn't look like you're going to be suddenly captured and turned into a slave, but it doesn't look like a country where you can enjoy sightseeing.



　To the southeast is the Kingdom of Fegley, whose political situation is somewhat unstable.

　It has a friendly relationship with the Kingdom of Lanium, but it's more like they're not fighting each other.

　Although this country has not yet reached the point of civil war, it is rife with infighting, and disputes between nobles are commonplace.

　It is said that the Kingdom of Rhenium only sends envoys to each other as a ritual, since it would only cause trouble if they were to get involved. Trade is also said to be almost nonexistent.

　Normally, a country like this would be destroyed by invasion from other countries, but fortunately or unfortunately, its land is unattractive and its people are troublesome, so the cost of invasion is not worth it and the country is left alone.

　The people of this country, from the point of view of other countries, have an electorate that has no basis in fact, and discrimination against sub-humans and people from other countries is severe, and even among its own people there is a class mentality that is difficult to deal with.

　It seems that the Iupiklisian Empire once invaded and occupied a certain area, and tried to develop it by investing capital, but due to the low level of the people, only the capital was consumed and it failed badly, and they abandoned the land and pulled out.

　The best way to use slaves in the Kingdom of Fegley," he said, "is to expel them. Their mere existence has negative effects and they are completely useless. If you have food to give to slaves, you should sell it and hire imperial people even if it is only one tenth of the number.

　Because it is such a country, the people's standard of living is low, and it is not suitable for tourism, in a way different from the Iupiklisian Empire.



　And the rest. The area from the west to the north of the Kingdom of Rhenium is a blank zone, so to speak.

　There is no country that can establish diplomatic relations.

　There is a possibility that we can reach some country if we keep searching, but it's not easy and costly when demons exist.

　There are many places in the country that need to be developed before doing so, so there is no reason to do so.

　Our base of operations, the town of Laffan, is located in the northwestern corner of the Kingdom of Raynium, facing a blank area.



　Incidentally, I knew the name of the Kingdom of Raynium, but I only learned about the rest of it when I asked Diora.

　It's not that I don't have interest in this kind of information, but it's not something that can be easily learned.

　Ordinary people don't have the opportunity to learn these things, and in some cases, they don't even know the names of their own countries.

　In fact, Mary and her friends did not know the names of other countries, and even the name of the Kingdom of Rhenium was vague.

　The fact that Mary and her friends were able to explain the names of other countries, even the name of the Kingdom of Rainium, was quite impressive.