「And if the Core amasses a lot of magical power?」
「If that was possible then we wouldn’t have to go through so many hardships. We had assembled several dozens of human magicians to channeled their power into the core, but even with that there wasn’t much change.」
「Then, how does it store magical power?」
「The core drains it from veins within the ground, the atmosphere, and apparently from any Demonic Beasts and Adventurers inside of the Dungeon. In addition, even if it isn’t much, Dungeon Masters have other means of filling it with magical power. Otherwise, the maintenance of the labyrinth would be impossible」
Vast amounts of magical power should be necessary to summon things like a Demon normally, after all.
「Therefore, it’s important for Demonic Beasts to inhabit the dungeon. If they don’t, then magical power isn’t accumulated, and to a certain degree the Core can’t do its work. As for Aressa’s dungeon, it’s set up to generate items at periodic intervals. The request also includes the retrieval of those.」
「Subjugating the Demonic Beasts: alright?」
「It doesn’t matter. They’d multiply again soon enough. Rather, thinning them out so they don’t become too numerous is also part of the job. If left alone for too long, evolutions might occur… And that would be dangerous.」
The completion fee is quite good, too. There’s just one problem, though. That is, in the details 「For several Parties」 is written. To work together with idiots like the ones who attacked us: no thank you.
「Ah, in regards to the parties, arrangements have already been made.」
「What types of people?」
「This commission serves simultaneously as a Rank Up examination to Rank D, so at present 9 Rank E adventurers are divided into 2 Parties, and a 3-person Rank C Party serves as the examiner. I can pledge for their background, but for their nature… You’ll have to confirm for yourself.」
I’d hate to cast the request away, but… What shall we do? We’re fine even if we don’t take it, after all.
「Next, in the case you accept the commission I would need to receive a written Oath.」
「Written Oath?」
「Oath Magic[E1] makes it possible to bind a target through a written pledge.」
「Like a Contract?」
「Yes. However, in contrast to a Contract which is from one person to another, a written vow is able bind several. In exchange, the bond is frail.」
「Hm.」
「The content of the vow would be barring the disclosure of the request’s contents. In the case this Oath is violated, your Guild Card would contain a remark about your violation. At worst, measures of decreasing one’s Rank, or even Expulsion would occur.」
Oath Magic, huh? Somehow, it gives me a bad feeling. Binding someone through magic, no matter what it’s for, reminds me of slavery.
『Fran. What now?』
「Nnー?」
When Fran showed a troubled expression the Guild Master, somewhat panicked, placed a small bag on the table.
「Now, now. I put a personal bonus for you as well, so…」
Hmm. A personal bonus from the guild master, huh? From that we can expect something, but…
「Please, take a look.」
As he turns the bag upside down, around 20 magic stones roll out.
「These are?」
「Something like my secret savings. They are magic stones I obtained while I was still in active duty, and each one of them is from a Demonic Beast of Threat Level D or above.」
So it seems. Selling the magic stones would be fine, but they can also be used for producing armor. In other words, this reward is better than gold.
Still, the Guild Master’s eyes seem as though they’re probing for something… Did he realize that we desired magical stones? Fran doesn’t sell her magic stones, so perhaps he’s begun suspecting us of something based off of that?
「Why magic stones?」
「Well? Are they to your liking?」
If anything imprudent is said here, I have a hunch that our side will gain the disadvantage. Of course, even if it’s exposed that we desire magic stones, the purpose will still be unknown. With that in mind, we ought to finish it here.
「Not bad.」
「Right?」
(How about Teacher?)
『I’m sorry to say, but I don’t know what Skills they hold. At best, I’m able to know which Demonic Beasts they’re from. The extent of their magic power is also hard to guess.』