Helios Orb Chronicle – Chapter 450

A previously unknown dragon species, the Red Dragon, has descended upon Kobaldia, the imperial capital of the Retysentia Empire.

Furthermore, it’s an A-rank, which is a high-ranking monster, and there’s a high probability that Abaricia, the Divine Nation, has enslaved it.

The Federal Heavenly Empire is in a state of flux, holding daily meetings to devise countermeasures, as they must be wary of airlifts and aerial attacks from Abaricia.

I’m in a similar situation, frantically attending meetings with His Majesty Reinhardt and the Order’s Guild several times a week at Amagi Castle.

However, even if an invasion from Abaricia is all but confirmed, my usual work doesn’t disappear.

In fact, precisely because of such a situation, my daily work becomes even more important, and I can’t afford to cut corners.

My current job is to assist and act as a proxy for Hilde, Yuri, and Rika-san, so there’s no way I can cut corners.

Today, due to the increase in visitors, each guild has decided to officially establish branches in Prada, and we’re having a meeting for that.

The branch offices are already operational, but since they are just branch offices, they are small. This time, the Grand Masters are enthusiastically making them about one-third smaller than Feel.

The Trader’s Guild, in particular, plans to establish a branch office in part of the port as a gateway to Amister.

Construction has already begun, so the meeting will likely focus more on inspection.

Only the Priests’ Guild has established a small temple and the Priests’ Master has already taken office, so it seems they don’t need to do anything special.

“Welcome, H.R.H. Yuriana and Lord Yamato. We are honored by your visit.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“The construction seems to be going smoothly, doesn’t it?”

Yuri and I were first greeted by Break, a male ogre who will be appointed the Butler’s Master, at the Butler’s Guild.

While the demand for butlers in Prada is low, they are employing several for the management of the governor’s mansion, and as a gateway to Amister, the number of butlers visiting as attendants to nobles is increasing.

However, you can reach Emosion in less than a day from Prada, so in a way, it’s even livelier than Feel.

The number of registered members isn’t high, so it’s the smallest in scale, and there’s no training facility as the General Academy will open in the spring. Nevertheless, the number of visiting butlers is increasing, so it seems to be the minimum size necessary to accommodate them.

It might become cramped in the future, but for butlers, that level of inconvenience doesn’t matter, and there’s also the reason for opening quickly.

“We heard it’s scheduled to be completed in a week, but based on this progress, it seems there will be no problems.”

“Yes. Although we cannot increase the number of registered members due to the lack of a training facility, Feel, which is ruled by H.R.H. Yuriana, is nearby, so those who do not enter the General Academy will be directed there.”

Ah, they were thinking of that too.

Indeed, not all aspiring butlers can enroll in the General Academy, and it’s simply impossible.

There are a minority of individuals who are solely set on becoming butlers, and they will likely register directly with the Butler’s Guild without enrolling.

In that case, they would enter the Butler’s Guild training facility, but Prada has not built such a facility.

Therefore, those who wish to register as butlers will be sent to Feel, the capital of the territory, for talent development and expansion.

It takes about three hours by boat from Prada to Feel, and it’s safer than traveling by land because Hunters and Orders are on board as escorts. Even if trouble occurs along the way, it’s less likely to escalate.

“Those who wish to become butlers will go to Feel? As the lord, I am grateful. Even if they don’t become my subjects, the increase in butlers will bring vitality to the town.”

“I hope so.”

Feel is not a particularly large town, but many butlers are employed in the management of noble villas and vacation homes.

Naturally, no butler is looking after multiple estates, and their usual work primarily involves maintaining and managing mansions, so there isn’t much work unless it’s summer or winter.

However, since Yuri became the lord, children of nobles dispatched as civil servants have begun to hire butlers, increasing their workload with errands and tending to mounts. Consequently, the Butler’s Guild in Feel, while pleased, has been experiencing a shortage of personnel.

Therefore, if the number of people in Feel’s butler training facility increases, the number of butlers will increase in a few years, which will alleviate the shortage of personnel in the Butler’s Guild to some extent and facilitate operations.

They will also be able to coordinate with the Prada branch within the same territory and dispatch personnel to each other.

As a result, the town will become more vibrant, the economy will improve, and tax revenue will increase.

I might be mistaken, but I think this is generally the correct understanding.

“After all the guild branches are completed, we plan to hold a social gathering with the district governors. We would be honored by your participation.”

“Thank you.”

A social gathering?

It’s scheduled for early February, but depending on Abaricia’s movements, it might be postponed.

Mana, Flam, and I are scheduled to attend, but absence might be unavoidable in some situations.

However, it’s a social gathering with the guild masters of Prada, so even if it’s troublesome, I want to participate.

I’m on friendly terms with the guild masters of Feel, so I hope to build good relationships with the guild masters of Prada as well.

After a little more conversation, Yuri and I headed to the Crafter’s Guild.

The Crafter’s Guild is about the same size as the Butler’s Guild. This is because if Prada were to become too large, it would reduce the number of people visiting Feel.

Therefore, it was decided that the Crafter’s Guild in Prada would prioritize the lives of the people of Prada.

I appreciate them thinking of the Esmeralda Baronetcy, but guilds also tend to avoid having peripheral towns develop more than the capital, and Yuri told me that most noble territories do something similar, to a greater or lesser extent.

I guess I should earnestly study territorial management from now on.

The majority of the Crafter’s Guild building is already complete, so we just ended up inviting them to the social gathering.

Oh, the Crafter’s Master is Veil, a Lamia. She was originally from the blacksmithing division in Feel.

She is also one of Richard’s disciples and is Aiver’s senior apprentice.

I’ve met her several times, and honestly, I never thought she’d become the Crafter’s Master.

However, being a Lamia, she has a lot of magical power, and her production of Jade Silver and Blue-Gray Iron in Feel’s blacksmithing division is top-notch, with her skills receiving the endorsement of Richard. For this reason, the Grand Crafter’s Master, who is her senior brother, directly appointed her, and it seems she couldn’t refuse.

Becoming a Crafter’s Master makes it difficult to dedicate time to one’s own work, so not many people actually want to become one.

“That Al, he’d better watch out when I see him next.”

As I heard that parting taunt, Yuri and I headed to the Hunter’s Guild.

I didn’t know this either, but Veil is the younger sister of Catherine, one of the wives of Ed, the grandfather of the Grand Crafter’s Master. So, she’s Ed’s aunt.

Therefore, they still maintain a cordial relationship, and such exchanges are commonplace.

Well, I’ve heard that Aiver can also get into shouting matches with her, so this is still more realistic.

And the Hunter’s Guild here is the second largest guild in Prada, about slightly smaller than Feel.

Since you can access both Veil Lake and the Nadal Sea from here, many Hunters stay here for a while before heading to their destinations, and quite a few regular requests are forwarded from Feel.

The opposite shore is the Mylight Mountains, and there are many Abnormal Species and Catastrophe Species, so it’s helpful for us to have Hunters stay for even a short period.

“However, lately, some Hunters coming to Prada are heading towards Memoria, so currently, few consider it their base.”

This is the reason for the worried expression of Raiza, a High Harpy who will be appointed the Hunter’s Master.

Prada was originally a village, so the only registered Hunters were villagers.

Although it’s a village facing the Nadal Sea, the port was only recently established, and there’s the issue of having few children in Prada.

Flam, Raus, and Rebecca are from Prada and often visit when they have free time, so there’s no problem with their combat capabilities. However, whether there are Hunters who consider Prada their base is another matter.

“We understand that it’s difficult, and for now, we’re getting by by placing requests with Hunters from Feel, but it’s clear that we’ll eventually run out of people. Therefore, we will consult with the Hunter’s Master of Feel and have Hunters from Feel dispatched regularly.”

“With Lord Yamato and the others here, we can handle some issues. We are developing Prada as a port town and are even considering large-scale fishing in the future, so we may ask for escorts to be dispatched from Prada.”

“Of course.”

We, Wing Crest, are based in Feel, so naturally, we will cooperate if anything happens, but we are a bit short on numbers.

While we are one of the larger Unions, our combat strength is un paralleled in past history, but we still only have about 30 people, so it’s difficult when a large number are needed.

“Even with Wing Crest here, you are busy individuals, so we will inevitably need more people. It will be difficult, but please lend us your strength.”

“Of course. Hunting monsters is the very reason for the existence of the Hunter’s Guild. We will need the strength of Wing Crest as well, but we will strive to do our best not to trouble you as much as possible.”

I appreciate both Yuri and Raiza being considerate.

Unlike other towns, the Esmeralda Baronetcy is surrounded by Mylight, and Retisencia’s use of Demon Crystals has made it easier for Abnormal Species and Catastrophe Species to appear.

High Hunters who use Alloy might be able to handle it, and even if they can’t, they can at least escape.

However, for Normal Class, even escaping is difficult.

We are also monitoring the situation in Mylight, but we are away for considerable periods. It must be difficult, but please cooperate.

“Thank you. And regarding future…”

“Excuse me for interrupting! Hunter’s Master, a horde led by an Orc Queen has appeared on the opposite shore!”

“What!?”

Just as Yuri was about to bring up the social gathering, an urgent report came from a staff member.

The opposite shore of Prada has undergone revetment construction to widen the lake mouth, making it several times wider than before.

There is also a barrier, so Prada is safer than before. However, the barrier is less effective against Catastrophe Species, and it’s not impossible for such a Catastrophe Species to leap across a lake mouth about 100 meters wide. Therefore, the Order’s Guild is in charge of monitoring the opposite shore.

However, the Order’s Guild Prada branch is still under construction, so the number of dispatched Orders is not very large, and they may be overwhelmed by a horde led by an Orc Queen.

“They’re showing up as soon as I mention it. It’s unusual for a horde at this time of year. Did they form a settlement at the foot of the mountain? Yuri, I’m going for a bit.”

“Yes, please be careful.”

I casually said to Yuri, as if I were going for a stroll, and left the Hunter’s Guild under construction.

“Ah, Lord Yamato! Are you going alone!?”

“Yes. It’s a horde, but we’ve wiped out the settlements in that area before, so there shouldn’t be more than 50, right?”

“Is… is that so?”

“Ah, yes. According to the report from the Order’s Guild, there are about 30 of them.”

That’s about right.

Previously, I requested many unions with Ancient Class to hunt in the Mylight Mountains, and we culled over 3,500 Orcs.

Moreover, Prada was also under development, so we focused our hunts in that direction. Therefore, even if new hordes or settlements formed, we predicted their numbers would not be large.

“With that many, I can handle it alone.”

“I understand your feelings, but Lord Yamato is also the first Element Class of Helios Orb and has a record of defeating Demise Species. Therefore, you don’t need to worry about such a small number.”

Raiza and the staff member are dumbfounded. A horde led by a Catastrophe Species, even if only about 30, would normally be a great disaster that could destroy a town.

However, for me, they are no longer a threat. I’ll go and hunt them quickly.

If I were to let my guard down for a moment, and Mako-san found out about it, it would be a disaster, so I have to be careful about that.