It is late at night in the city-state of Leytin.
　It is already past twenty-four o'clock and there are hardly any houses with lights on.
　Darkness and silence reigns in this city that is bustling during the day, except for the watchtower with its sleepless guard and the tavern where the drinking continues all night long.

　An avenue runs through the center of the city and leads to the castle in the center.
　The buildings that lined the boulevard were home to the headquarters and branches of well-known merchant associations.

　As one would expect from the midnight hour, the ground floor shop space is completely dark, but most of the merchant associations use the aerial floor as their offices and employee quarters.
　Many of the rooms that are thought to be offices have lights on in them.

　In one such building, two men are in a room at a trade association.
　The starlight coming through the window is awfully weak, and the only light that illuminates the room is from a flickering lantern.
　A man in his mid-thirties was sitting on a chair looking at papers spread out on an office desk. He has long dark brown hair that reaches his back and is tied up with a cord so that it doesn't interfere with his paperwork.

''You're saying that the Litte Trading Company took over the loan to the Lovell Trading Company?

　The man who had finished reading the papers at hand said grimly.

''Yes, sir. I received a call from the Lovel Chamber of Commerce the other day that they will pay off the remaining balance in a lump sum. I had them look into it, and it seems that the Litte Chamber of Commerce has moved on.

　The older man, who was facing the desk in the middle of the room, replies.

'You've got to be kidding me!'

　The long-haired man slammed his fist on the desk in frustration.

You know, that's not really the point of destroying the Lovell Trading Company's sales channels!

　The man's anger is understandable.
　In exchange for renouncing his claims, he took Ellie Lovell as his mistress, and his plan to slowly take over the Lovell Trading Company with no heir left has collapsed.

　The amount of money he spent to take over the Lovell Trading Company and get his only daughter, Ellie, was not a small fortune.
　It's an investment in the Lovell Trading Company, which is one of the most established firms in Leytin.
　You can't complain about a person who says he or she is going to repay the amount of money he or she lends knowing that the Lovell Chamber of Commerce doesn't have the capacity to repay the loan ahead of the deadline.

'We didn't expect the Ritte Chamber of Commerce to support us.

　The old man stated matter-of-factly.

I'm sure the company is sailing well, but if you take over the Lovell Chamber of Commerce's debts, the business could be in trouble. I knew that the chairman of the Ritte company and the daughter of the Lovell company are childhood friends, but I expected that they would not intervene. ......

Of course. The Ritte Company's lass ...... is called Marida, I believe. I'm sure it's not the only thing that irritates you, but it doesn't dull your sense of smell as a merchant. I didn't think she would be drawn to emotion and endanger the Chamber of Commerce ....... Maybe she was more of an emotion-driven type than I thought.

　The long-haired man folds his arms and ponders.

'What can I do for you, Lady Juris?

...... It's annoying, but I can't dwell on that right now.

　The long-haired man known as Juris exhaled deeply, suppressing a look of frustration.

''I'll leave bringing the Rovel Chamber of Commerce under my umbrella for another time. The Ritte Chamber of Commerce should have tilted its stall quite a bit due to this matter. The order is reversed, but you can absorb it first from the Litte Trading Company, or you can bring it under your umbrella along with the Lovell Trading Company, depending on how you want to do it.

　It looks like he revised his plan in his mind and saw the potential for success.

"If Ritte's little girl is the kind of person who gets carried away by compassion, it makes it easier to do things in the future.

　Julis smiled wryly and asked the old man as if he suddenly remembered.

'As I recall, the Litte Chamber of Commerce had a bell on it, didn't they?　Does that still work?

Yes, sir. The bell is still attached. It's a very ambitious bell, so it could be used as a needle in some cases.

'Well, ......, then keep it that way for a while. You won't have time to work on it for a while.

Yes, sir.

　Juris is right, the plans we've been working on for some time are coming to a close.
　He can't devote himself to anything else right now.

　Once he's pulled himself together, Juris checks the progress with the old man.

"How is the hoarding of materials going?

Wood and stone for repairs, catalytic ores for repairing armor, medicinal herbs for remedies, everything is not on schedule, but it's going to be fine.

Good. Keep going and make sure the country and the rest of the Chamber of Commerce don't find out. How many mercenaries do you have left?

''I'd say that's about half of it. After all, when you are a renowned mercenary, there are many people who cannot be satisfied with high rewards alone. Yesterday, "Jiyuun," "Dragon's Peak," "Spiritual Guidance" and "Red Three Swords" arrived, and this evening, "Byakuya's Bright Star" arrived from Tria. About two more pairs should arrive tomorrow.

I would have liked to have called the 'Sword and Sorcerer' that's been bandied about lately, though.

I know the lodgings that the 'Sword and Sorcerer' usually uses, but he's rarely in town and I couldn't contact him.

It's all right. That's one less person to worry about. Don't worry about it too much. It's less than we had planned, but we have enough men, don't we?

''Yes. All of them are skilled mercenaries who are well known in various places. They're not like the half-wits who hang out in the taverns of Leytin, so I'm sure they'll do a satisfying job.

How do you confirm the effects of 'Magokou'?

''We had them try it out with mercenaries, and it seems to have worked well. We tried it in a secluded forest, and it succeeded in luring the demons that normally live in the mountains.

　As a result, they were losing their territory in the forest and driven beasts were appearing in the plains, causing damage to travelers and surrounding villages, but the first man didn't dare to talk about it.
　He didn't think the man named Julis would be happy about it if he said it.
　It was obvious that he would return it.

'Okay, no change in plan.

　At Julis' words, the older man bowed deeply and resigned his room.





　When they arrived in Laitin, Ted and his friends spent the night at the inn.
　The next morning they left Aldis and went to the dealership in Zimbalil.

　Ted and his friends had come all the way to Leytin because they had received a request from the trading company.
　The request was to go into the mountainous region to collect materials.
　They want to collect the flowers needed to create a special healing potion.

"It's probably because it grows wild quite deep in the mountains. We can only ask people who are solid and competent. The chances of encountering dangerous beasts and demons are very high.

　With a friendly smile on his face, the long-haired man who calls himself Julis explains.
　His soft demeanor and polite language, as well as his unflappable attitude, even when the other party is a ruffian, give the viewer the impression of a cheerful and good-natured young man.

The reason I asked the members of Byakuya no Meisei to come all the way from Tria is because I expected them to have the ability to do so.

　After visiting the Zimbalil Chamber of Commerce at their request, Ted and his friends were shown into the parlor on the second floor.
　The three of them were seated side by side on a richly decorated sofa, facing the young chairman of the Zimbalil Chamber of Commerce, who was sitting across the table from them.

'I'm glad to hear that. I hear you're not only calling us, you're even calling the 'Dragon's Spire' and the 'Red Three Swords'?　That's very generous of you.

　Ted's expression was grim.
　It was nothing if they came all the way from a long way away to say that their skills were bought and that they had been asked to be appointed. A party of mercenaries active in other cities had been approached as well.

　In short, Ted and the others weren't the only ones expected to be special. They were simply called in as part of the many others.
　I don't think I'm going to be happy about being called a part of that.

Please don't be offended. You need more than one material. It is true that we have requested other parties to do so, but that is not to belittle the power of the 'Midnight Star'. And we don't have much time to spare. We can't make it in time unless you go to multiple locations and collect them all at the same time.

Well, we're professionals. As long as you pay us well, I'm not complaining. And I get paid in advance for my round-trip transportation.

Thank you. I was just saying--

But I haven't decided if I'm gonna take the job yet.

　It's a very good idea to be able to have a good time with your friends and family," said Ted, interrupting Julis, who was smiling all the time.

I'm sure you'll be able to tell me whether or not to accept the request after I explain the details to Leytin.

'Yes, that's right. It's no problem if you make a decision within three days of hearing your request. Even if you don't accept the request, please be assured that we will cover your travel expenses to Leytin.

　Hearing those words, Ted sat back down on the couch.

'All right. Then let's hear the details.





　--An hour later.
　Ted and the rest of the "Midnight Sun" leave the Zimbalil Trading Company building.

　On the way to the inn, Ted opened his mouth about the request he had just heard.

''What do we do now?　The compensation is unquestionable. The conditions aren't bad either.

　The conditions offered by the Zimbalil Chamber of Commerce were pretty good, to say the least.
　The petals of the flower called 'Blue Tulip' were to be collected.

　A hundred gold coins as a success reward for successfully collecting the petals.
　Each petal would be bought for five gold coins. If you can find a cluster of petals, you can earn 200 or 300 gold coins.
　The deadline is ten days.
　There was no penalty for failure. There is no need to return travel and expenses.
　Accommodation and other expenses during this period are owned by the Chamber of Commerce.
　Moreover, if you get injured while carrying out your request, you'll be able to receive a healing spell at a clinic with the Chamber of Commerce's contacts. It's also free.

''You don't look very happy for that, do you?

　Orphelia, with her hood covering her red hair, laughs teasingly.

''No way.''

Yeah, I guess so. What's with the face?　A stiff face with a poker face is just unseemly.

　Norris asks from the side to Ted, who frowned at Orphelia's words.

'Are you going to take this request, Ted?

"I don't like .......

　Ted murmured as he turned away to avoid their gaze.

I'm not complaining about the pay. I don't like my client. I don't like my client.

The client?　But I'm talking about Gimbalil and Company, one of the biggest stores in Laitin.　And the chairman named Juris didn't seem like a strange man either: ......

　Orphelia held her index finger to her lips as she thought of Julis, whom she had just met.

'Haha. I guess I agree with Ted.'

Is that what you're saying, Norris?

Because don't you think it's funny?

What?

'I don't know what you need to collect materials for, but you're bringing in a lot of parties from far away like we are, right?

Yes. You said there were too many things to collect and too wide an area to leave all the collection to one party.

'Yeah. So if you leave it to one party alone, you might save on the request fee, but it would take a lot of time. That's why they said they gathered competent parties from all over to collect at the same time: ....... If they have the time to wait for us to arrive in the first place, wouldn't they at least send out a request to Leytin's mercenaries for a no-no?

'It's ......, you said, "It's a dangerous place, it's dangerous unless you're a competent mercenary.

'But maybe some of the parties will get lucky and succeed in collecting it?　Just because you go deep into the mountains doesn't mean you'll run into a demon. It's a contingency fee anyway, so even if you fail, it won't hurt the Chamber of Commerce, right?　If it were me, I'd send out requests to the local mercenaries along with bringing in competent parties from far away.

Surely that's part of it in terms of insurance: ......

"And you know what? And you've got three days to decide whether or not to accept the request. ...... I think that's a very long-winded thing to do.

'Well, that being said, ....... How come Ted isn't keen on it?

　When asked, Ted stops and begins to cross his arms and growl.

'It's hard to put into words. What do you mean, you can't see the will?　I don't get the sense that he really wants us to fulfill his request.

'Yeah, I know, I know. It was kind of like, 'It doesn't matter if we're asked or not,' right?

　Orphelia looked troubled by the opinions of both men.

''If the two of you say so, do you want to decline this request?''

Well, there's plenty of time to respond. Let's spend the night thinking about it. Let's talk about it tomorrow and decide.

　Orphelia and the others agreed with Ted's suggestion, and the three of them stepped forward again towards the inn.