“There’s another perk. Do the job, and you also gain access to the school’s facilities.”
“Why would I want access to those? I’ll probably have nothing to do there…”
“Nothing to do there? Are you mad, man? It’s the school for adventurers we’re talking about. You know they have a transfer gate there, right?”
“The heck is that supposed to be?”
“What? You don’t know what a transfer gate is?” Azu asked in surprise, which reminded Renya that he hadn’t told his friend about being a Wanderer.
“Yeah. See, I’m actually what you’d call a Wanderer.”
“Oh? I see. That certainly explains why you haven’t heard of transfer gates.”
This time, Azu didn’t seem very surprised, which caught Renya off guard. Seeing a hint of disappointment on Renya’s face, the mage explained,
“True, Wanderers are indeed rare, but they’re not unheard of. We’ve seen enough of them to confirm they exist. They might be otherworldly, but they’re still basically human. No reason to make a fuss when they’re the same as us, right?”
“That’s such a you way of looking at it… Anyway, what’s the deal with this transfer gate in the school?”
“Transfer gates are mana crafts made in the shape of a gate. They come in pairs, and each gate is connected to the other, allowing you to travel between them regardless of how far they’re separated. They’re a marvel of a thing, but each gate can only send you to its designated pair, and on top of costing a fortune in manastones for each use, they can only handle transporting one person at a time. As a result, they’re not very prevalent. The Adventurers School, though, has set up a network of transfer gates with other schools to facilitate travel between them.”
“Hm?”
“Once you gain permission to use them, you can go almost anywhere in the human territories with transfer gates. In fact, there’s even a gate that sends you straight through the Miasmal Forest and the demon lands, popping you out on the western side of the continent where the elves live.”
“Wow. That’s pretty cool.”
Despite the one-person limit, the existence of such a transportation network meant he could not only traverse the human territories much more quickly but also jump all the way over to the elven territories. With a ticket to the transfer gate as a reward, what was once an unappealing job now seemed very much worthwhile.
“It’ll only take you half the day. Your compensation will consist of the transfer gate’s usage permit I just mentioned, as well as one gold that I’ll pay you out of pocket. I’ll try to ask them to give you a discount on the gate’s usage fee, but you’ll have to pay that yourself. Sorry.”
“You’re really trying to sweeten this deal, aren’t you?”
The extreme generosity of Azu’s offer told Renya two things. One, Azu really wanted him to say yes. Two, there was no room for failure, and the mage’s earlier silence suggested he wanted to avoid explaining why. Of course, that had nothing to do with him; those were Azu’s problems.
“What do you think? Will you do it for me?”
“It’s not a bad deal, and the work itself sounds like something I can do alone. All right, why not? Sign me up.”
Upon hearing his approval, a look of relief washed over Azu’s expression.
“You’re a lifesaver. This definitely makes my life easier. Give me a few days to work out the timing. Is that okay?”
“Sure. I’ll leave my schedule open, so try to let me know early.”
Now that Renya had taken this job, he couldn’t afford to accept any others. If the scheduling took a long time, he’d be forced to stay jobless for the whole duration. That would be inconvenient.
“I’ll head back to the school now and sort it out right away. I’ll let you know when things are decided.”
Once he gained Renya’s consent, Azu said a brief goodbye and made a beeline for the school.
“He was trying to help somebody else when he lowered his head, right? He seems like a very nice person,” remarked Frau as she cleaned away the guest’s leftover tea. “Mr. Azu must care a lot about the person who’s in trouble. That’s probably why he was in such a rush to head back.”
The fairy’s words tipped him off, and Renya nodded in newfound comprehension. That would also explain why Azu minced his words regarding his reasons.
That damn Azu. Oh well. We’ll probably see each other on the day of the job. I’ll take my sweet time grilling him for answers then.
Renya took a sip from his cup. The tea was a tad cold, but the grin spreading across his lips was anything but.
The National Adventurers School in Kukrika was located at the very edge of the residential district. It was one of the city’s largest establishments, laying claim to a massive tract of land second only to the military in the central district. Surrounded for some reason by tall fencing and a deep moat, the front gate represented the only viable method of entry. At first, the exteriors of the school reminded Renya of a prison. When Azu led him inside, though, his opinion changed; now, it felt like he had entered a fortress. Upon divulging his thoughts to Azu, the mage explained that the Adventurers School was built as a military facility that would function as a simple fortress for the city during emergencies.
“Using students as troops? I question the sanity of whoever thought of that,” muttered Renya in disgust.
Azu looked at him in shock. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what part of his statement drew so much surprise.
“Well, I just thought that you of all people would have nodded approvingly and said something like, ‘Yeah, you have to make use of whatever you can.’”
He had a point.
“Ah, hm. I guess that does apply to me most of the time… I wonder what makes this so different? Maybe it’s because even I have the common sense to recognize that students should be focused on learning.”
“You? Common sense? Man, what is this? Is the world coming to an end?”
“Okay, for the record, I’m pretty sure I’m the one with the most common sense in my party, worldly knowledge notwithstanding.”
“I think that says more about your party than you… and none of it’s good.”