Chapter 283

I was currently near the entrance to the noble district, which was reached by going down the main road from the guild in the east district. This entrance was made of a great gate and high walls, much like the actual entrances for the city. Imperial guards stood watch on both sides of the gate.

“Excuse me, I’d like to go inside.”

“Ah, Mister Asagi. Of course, you may.”

As I had been first-runner up in the Imperial Sword Tournament and visited the Emperor multiple times, they knew my face. I could get in by that alone.

“Thanks.”

Though, I showed them my status card, anyway. After all, rules were rules. And so he did look at it as well.

And then I entered. I could reach the imperial castle if I kept walking straight, but that wasn’t why I was here today. 

The client was a noblewoman. Not only that, but she was apparently of House Carteraza. That was one of the eight Great Houses that built the empire. I learned this while accepting the quest; apparently, each house was ranked. House Carteraza was the fourth highest. I had my suspicions about the client, judging by the middle name and family name, but hadn’t expected her to be quite this important.

“Uhh, House Carteraza…”

I had accepted the quest because it had seemed interesting, but otherwise, I preferred to keep my distance from nobles. The whole business of authority complicated politics was not for me. Of course, that stance seemed rather pointless, when I’d been fraternizing with the Emperor, recently. But then again, the Emperor himself had said he had no intention of ‘binding’ us. So that could actually help in keeping other nobles at bay. The whole thing had bothered me at first, but I was starting to be fine with it.

After walking for some time, I reached a particularly large house that one might expect for one of the eight Great Houses. The guild had given me a map, which confirmed that this was the right place. As it was so large, I spent some time gaping in amazement. Then the gatekeeper coughed.

“Oh, sorry. I’m here because of a guild request…”

“You’re the Adventurer. Please show me your status.”

“Right. Status open.”

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Name: Asagi Kamiyashiro

Race: Human

Job: Adventurer(Rank: A)

Alias: Silvergreen

LV: 91

HP: 867/867

MP: 835/835

STR: 475 VIT: 494

AGI: 958 DEX: 491

INT: 468 LUK: 39

Skills: Jack of all Trades, Master of None(-), Legs of the God Wolf(-), Eyes of the God Wolf(-), Single-handed Sword(9/10), Shortsword(6/10), Spear(5/10), Bow(2/10), Greatsword(7/10), Presence Detection(8/10), Presence Block(6/10), Night Eyes(6/10)

Magic: Ice Magic(9/10), Water Magic(8/10), Fire Magic(2/10)

Quests: Mansion Security

Party: Daniela Villesilf

Equipment: Armor

Head – None

Torso – None

Arms – None

Legs – None

Feet – Accel Panther Boots

Weapons – None

None

Clothes – Wind Dragon Shirt

– Wind Dragon Trousers

Accessories – None

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

“Indeed. You may enter.”

“Thank you very much.”

He opened the gate and I walked through. There was a long walk from the gate to the house…

I viewed my status as I walked. The Reserentrible Labyrinth Disaster. My level had gone up by 2 points because of it. Things had been going slow ever since I got close to 90. Previously, every major trial had given me a good boost. Maybe this was the ceiling for me. I doubted people with cheat skills had the same problem…

There was no protagonist allowance for me. What I did have was Jack of all Trades, Master of None and my own abilities. I had done well enough for myself… But how long would that last?

With such thoughts in my head, the trip to the house didn’t seem too long. There was another gatekeeper there. Well, maybe he was a butler.

“Are you Mister Asagi?”

“Yes.”

“Please come this way.”

He knew who I was. Perhaps the first gatekeeper had a way of contacting him. The butler pushed the door open and led me inside. Once I was through the giant doors, a housekeeper appeared. Or should I say, maid? She led the way. The butler walked behind me. We walked through a long hallway that was lined with candlesticks. The flames swayed as we moved past them. It was very quiet. And yet, Presence Detection told me that there were a lot of people here. We might get in trouble if we were too loud. And so I kept my mouth shut and tried to walk quietly. Maybe this was just normal behavior in the house of a noble.

“…”

I could hear the butler holding his breath behind me. I guess I was right. Hehe. This wasn’t too hard after all…

And so I erased any sounds from my footsteps and walked with a smug expression on my face. Then the maid suddenly stopped. There was a door to her side.

“This is the room.”

She stepped back and bowed her head. Then the butler stood on the other side and slowly opened the door. I nodded and then entered the room.

“Excuse me.”

I said as my foot went in. But there was no one there. Uh, this was embarrassing…

“…The master will be here shortly.”

“Ah…of course. Thank you.”

The maid said from behind me. Right. This was the waiting room. They could have told me that in advance. Embarrassment that could have easily been avoided was somehow worse.

The door closed and I was left alone in the room. Presence Detection told me that the maid was walking away while the butler remained in front of the door. As for the surrounding rooms, yes, there were people inside. Being in such a house for the first time had made me nervous, but I did think that I had a decent ability for adapting. And now that I felt accustomed to the place, I could perform as usual. That was when I noticed it.

“I’m being monitored.”

“Oh, you noticed then.”

“!?”

Someone entered my detection range out of nowhere. I frantically turned around to see someone peeking at me through a crack in the door. A woman with red hair. Elves tended to have eye-catching hair color in this world…but this person had human ears.

“Are you the Adventurer who accepted the request?”

“Yes. I’m Asagi Kamiyashiro. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I am Camila Dee Carteraza. The one who hired you. Oh, hmm… Hehe. Is this really a coincidence?”

“Excuse me?”

The person who opened the door and walked in was about as typical a noblewoman as I could think of. But not necessarily in a bad way. She just looked like a woman who was raised with a lot of money and had a good education. She was now looking at me and laughing. So…this young noblewoman had a Presence Block skill that outranked my Presence Detection…?

She slowly approached and then sat down in a chair before gesturing for me to do the same. I obeyed and sat on the opposite of the table.

“Yes, we’ve met before. A short while ago.”

“We have?”

“Yes. At the auction house.”

I didn’t remember seeing a woman with red hair like hers… It seemed like the kind of thing that I would remember.

“Well, I was disguised. So you probably didn’t notice.”

“I see.”

That explained it. And this person had a high-level skill. The disguise would have been very advanced as well.

“Well, this request of mine is actually related to the auction…”

“What do you mean?”

“Due to buying that item of yours, I’ve been attracting some unwanted attention.”

“What? You’re talking about…”

The item I had put up for auction was the Automata.

“Come in.”

“Yes. Excuse me.”

Miss Camila gave the order, and a different maid from before walked into the room. No, this one wasn’t human. In fact, it was the Automata I had unearthed in the ancient elven ruins.

“It’s moving…”

“Of course, it is. It runs on magic.”

That was true. However, I never did give it a try. I put it for sale first. That would have been harder to do if I got attached to it. Well, I was also scared about what would happen if it did move.

So, this was the reason for the request. I suppose it was related to me in a way. But I still wasn’t responsible.

“Of course, it is a coincidence that you’re here. Don’t look so mortified.”

“…I’m sorry. I’m sort of dreading what you’re going to say next.”

“Hehe. It is quite simple. Thieves are trying to steal her from me. I want you to capture or kill them.”

Kill them? How dark.

“I didn’t accept an assassination request.”

“Well, I did say, ‘or.’ It’s not like that is my preference, you know.”

Still, there was an intensity in her eyes. I had taken this request half out of boredom, and it had taken a less than desirable turn.

Miss Camila then gave me the details. From what she said, people started roaming the area around her house, shortly after she had bought the Automata. And there were quite a few of them too. It was as if they were taking turns to monitor the house. She had then determined that they were after the Automata, and so she sent out the request.

“Seems pretty reckless to mess with one of the eight Great Houses of the city.”

“It is not a surprise, since they are also nobles.”

“What?”

“Nobles can be thieves too. It is they who were not able to buy it that are now roaming around my house.”

“Ah, I see…”

Yes, the bidding had been quite enthusiastic. It was a matter of thousands of pieces of gold. The people who weren’t able to buy it would have been very angry. And so, they were scouting about her house and planning to steal it…

“Obviously, things become complicated when dealing with other nobles… And so I thought of a plan. I can just hire an Adventurer.”

“We’re not disposable tools, us Adventurers.”

“Oh, of course, you aren’t. We nobles see Adventurers as brilliant tools.”

“…”

I was a little taken aback, but it was just the way they saw things, I suppose. Well, she was certainly different from the people I was used to dealing with. It was stimulating in a way.

“Alright. I will do what I can.”

“Hehe. I’m counting on you. Here is an advance payment.”

She snapped her fingers and the Automata placed a leather pouch right next to me. I could tell it was gold from the sound it made. It looked hefty too. But it was probably pocket money for a noble.

“I will pay you double that amount if you catch them. If you kill them, I will pay even more for your silence. Are we in agreement?”

“I’m not going to kill anyone. I’ll return tonight.”

“Don’t disappoint me, Silvergreen.”

I accepted the money and got to my feet. On my way out, I glanced over to the Automata. Then the butler led me to the entrance.

Boredom and curiosity had brought me here, and the results were very unexpected. A scheme involving one of the Great Houses. A quest relating to the Automata.

How was I going to explain this to Daniela…