Helping with Adventurer Party Management - Chapter 142

A few days later, Sara and I visited Jilboa of the Sword Fangs Legion.

Of course, it was to express our gratitude for the recent matter.

“That was a rough time,” Jilboa said, offering a wry smile as he personally brewed some tea. It seemed he was aware of the trouble he had caused.

“I’m not very fond of that Nicolo priest. I thought you and him would get along,” he added.

“Well, yes,” I replied. I do get along with that type, as communication is key. However, in this case, the problem was that communication was perhaps too effective.

When I asked how Jilboa knew Nicolo, he explained that the Sword Fangs Legion had been receiving more requests from the church recently. This was due to the church’s commitment to development projects. The church was clearing monsters around water sources, creating reservoirs, and constructing water mills along rivers. For these projects, the church needed to eliminate the monsters around these areas.

“The banks of water sources and rivers are often difficult to traverse. We had avoided such requests until now. But since all our members started wearing these special Guardian Shoes, the situation has changed,” Jilboa said, pointing to his prized special Guardian Shoes. “These Guardian Shoes are quite something. The marching speed has clearly increased, and they grip the ground firmly even on slippery rocks or moss-covered stones in rivers. Therefore, we can swing our weapons more effectively, and the formation with shields remains stable. There are no more trivial injuries from falls. Investing in your shoes was a good call,” he added with a smile.

“I see. But there’s still a long way to go,” I replied with a shrug. Although production of the Guardian Shoes was going smoothly, they were still expensive, and it would be a while before they reached mid-level adventurers.

“By the way, how did the meeting with the priest turn out?” Jilboa asked.

I recounted the general outcome. He might have heard reports from Kiriku, but Kiriku probably didn’t fully understand the details, so I gave a direct report.

The discussions were dense and covered many topics. I mentioned the following: the fact that the report-writing was discovered, the growing enthusiasm for development among the nobles, the church’s visit to provide funds to the count, the success stories of the town’s adventurer guild inspiring growth dreams for the kingdom and potentially increasing the flow of copper coins to adventurers, and that I had been invited to become a cleric and had turned it down. 

“What, you turned it down?” Jilboa said, somewhat surprised.

“I’m just not suited to being a cleric,” I said, trying to hide my embarrassment with a bit of a grumble. I couldn’t bring myself to repeat the stern words I had used with Nicolo.

“Your heart wasn’t moved a bit?” Sara said, grinning as she playfully nudged my shoulder.

“Although not immediately, I managed to secure cooperation from the church for the adventurers. Specifically, the church near the adventurer guild will provide treatment for adventurers, offer blessings before adventurers set out, and allocate land on the church’s grounds for a communal cemetery for those who die on their quest,” I said.

Upon hearing this, Jilboa straightened his back, closed his eyes for a moment with a contemplative expression, and then deeply bowed to me. “Kenji, you’ve done well. This will surely save many of our comrades’ souls.”

I was surprised and almost denied Jilboa’s words, but the faces of fallen comrades from past adventures came to mind, preventing me from uttering any denial.

“Yes, their souls will surely be saved,” I said. I hoped so, and thought it was fitting for a world where magic exists that gods might be real.

In the end, Nicolo, the priest close to the cardinal, kept his promise. Within a few days, it was announced that church land would be provided as a communal cemetery for adventurers, demonstrating the strong bond between the town’s adventurer guild and the church both internally and externally.

Although the noble in charge of the adventurer guild showed displeasure at the church’s interference, they tacitly accepted the support for adventurers as it would benefit the expansion of their business. The nobles also announced they would consider supportive measures.

Since Nicolo kept his promise, I had to keep mine as well. While focusing on the Guardian Shoes project, I also prepared texts for Nicolo and his subordinates, and that’s how this month came to an end.