Chapter 13 - Strategy Meeting
I arrived at the adventurer guild with the old man. When we went inside, Dia was drinking tea while looking bored.
"Welcome, Priest and Fell-chan. Did you come here to talk about the escort request?” (Dia)
"I made some changes and it became this kind of request, what do you think?" (Priest)
"I'll check it." (Dia)
The old man put the request form on the counter, and Dia checked it while drinking tea. I thought it was bad manners, but putting that aside, I had a bad feeling about this.
"《Omnidirectional Barrier》" (Fell)
Dia suddenly spat out her tea. The old man dodged it, but I blocked it with a barrier.
That was close....
"O-O-One large gold coin!?" (Dia)
"First, I want Fell to search for the nun in Leanne town. That's the request fee. I'll pay the escort fee separately if she found her." (Priest)
Dia slowly put the request slip on the counter and then grabbed me by the collar with both hands over the counter. Just as I wondered what she was doing, I was pulled towards her with an incredible force. Her face was so close.
Get away from me! Guh, I can't shake her off.
"Fell-chan, let's calm down!" (Dia)
You are the one who needs to calm down.
"Find the target no matter what. Anyone who gets in your way, even if they're a god, you can beat them up. Show no mercy. I, the guildmaster, permit it." (Dia)
Dia’s eyes were dead serious that I was a little scared.
"I don't need that kind of permission, but well, I will try my best." (Fell)
"It's not enough to just try your best. If you're an adventurer, then bring the results." (Dia)
Dia's words are not wrong, but I don't want hear that from her.
"I'll use all the means possible to support you to the best of my ability." (Dia)
I'm not sure about that. I feel like it might cause unnecessary problems, instead.
"Let's work hard together, and get the reward!" (Dia)
The reward is mine, right? And the commission belongs to the guild, remember?
Talking to Dia just tires me out, so let's ignore her for now. Since I've accepted the request, I'll head to Leanne town tomorrow. I need to report this to Maou-sama and let Via know.
"I will definitely complete the request, so just leave it to me.... Old man, is there anything else?" (Fell)
"I haven't told the church over there that a demon is coming. I got the feeling that they are related to the disappearance of the nun. If they knew that an adventurer, even if you weren't a demon, was coming, they might take some kind of countermeasures, so I didn't tell them. It's a lot of trouble, but I will be counting on you." (Priest)
"I understand. Without the nun, some people will have their marriages delayed. I'll find and bring her over as soon as possible." (Fell)
"Thanks, that's very reassuring." (Priest)
The old man left the adventurer guild with a smile on his face.
“Now then, since it's almost lunch time, let’s invite Via-chan over for a strategy meeting!” (Dia)
Dia seems more motivated than I am for some reason. The power of money is scary.
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Dia brought Via with her without giving her any choice.
Dia usually slacks off at work, so when she does her job full of energy like this, it feels weird.
"I'm scared of Dia-chan." (Via)
"Don't worry. I feel the same." (Fell)
"You two, stop chatting! First of all, the important thing about searching someone is...." (Dia)
I wonder if she'll give us any useful advice. Let's hear it.
"Find someone who can use search magic. That's where we start." (Dia)
Well, I guess she is not wrong.
"I can use search magic. I used it to find the bandits' hideout before, remember?" (Fell)
Dia Immediately turned her head towards me.
Scary. She reminds me of the angels. She won't shoot heat rays from her mouths or anything, right?
"Fell-chan.... I always believed in you! The request is already 80% success with this!”
I don't care about your belief, but 80% success?
"I've heard that you can specify the criteria for search magic, so let's check the nun's profile on the request form!" (Dia)
That's right. I don't even know what the person I'm looking for looks like. I wonder if something useful is written in there.
"Well, first of all, her gender is female." (Dia)
Of course, it's a nun, after all.
"Her name is.... Rose Garden? That sounds like a fake name to me." (Dia)
Rose Garden? That certainly does seem like a fake name. According to the World Rules, names rarely have meaning in themselves. Even if they do, they only have one meaning. This name has two meanings: rose and garden. It's clearly a fake name. Too bad, it's easiest to search someone by their name with search magic.
"Just like us, she is 18 years old." (Dia)
“Oh, maybe we could be friends?” (Via)
Since she is a nun of the Goddess Religion, she might be hostile towards me, a demon.
"That's all for her basic information. Next is the notes section...." (Dia)
What's going on? Dia suddenly stopped.
"Dia-chan, what's wrong?" (Via)
"It's written in big letters in the notes section that she's a troublemaker." (Dia)
Come to think of it, I think the old man also said that the nun was a troublemaker. I think everyone in this village is like that, though.
"Well, I will just read what's written here. First...." (Dia)
From what Dia read, she is the second daughter of a certain noble family. At the age of ten, she sold off the furniture in her house without permission and donated the money to the townspeople. After almost being disowned, she was sent to a monastery and then she converted to the Goddess Religion there.
At the age of twelve, she stole money from the monastery and donated it to the people in a nearby village. She was not excommunicated and remained in the monastery.
At the age of fifteen, she destroyed the statue of the goddess and sold the jewels that were set in the statue's forehead and donated the money to the people in a nearby village. She was put on trial for heresy, but was cleared of all charges.
At the age of sixteen, she was summoned to the Holy City. She served at the church over there for about half a year, but then stole the donations money and donated it to the people in a village a little ways from the Holy City. What happened to her after that is unknown.
“Does she like money that much? That’s a problem.... H-Hey, why are you both looking at me with half-closed eyes?” (Dia)
"But she didn't spend the money on herself, right? It says that she donated it to the people in a nearby village." (Fell)
Dia suddenly sighed.
Don't sigh in front of me. I feel like my happiness is slipping away, too.
"You're a demon, but you're surprisingly pure, aren't you? That's just a camouflage! In order not to be labeled as a bad person by society, she donated a small portion of the stolen money and kept the rest for herself. I'm sure of it!" (Dia)
Your heart is just polluted. You should trust the others a little more.
"I feel like you're looking at me with pity and mercy this time." (Dia)
"Don't worry about it. That being said, such information can't be used as a criteria for search magic. So far, we only found out about her gender and age. Her name seems like a fake, so it's no use." (Fell)
"Fel-chan, it's okay. You can perform more detailed search with my magic tool. Even if she is using a fake name, I think you still can locate her." (Via)
Seriously? What kind of magic formula would it take to do something like that? I'll have you to teach me later.
"Vaia-chan.... I always believed you! With your magic tool, the request is as good as a success!" (Dia)
Dia held Via's hand with both hands and smiled. Then, she looked at me, but her smile had disappeared.
"Fell-chan, I'm disappointed in your search magic." (Dia)
Okay, let's take it outside!