**Side: Mako**
Yamato is visiting Amagi Castle today to report on his investigative findings regarding the sea routes to the Gradia Continent.
It’s also my turn to teach at Memoria General Academy after a long time. Not only as a healer but also as a hunter. I’ll be teaching specialized courses for second-year students and regular classes for first-year students, so my schedule is pretty packed.
Still, the first-year students and those in the Healing Department listen attentively, making my job both easier and more rewarding.
The problem lies with the hunters in the Knight-Hunter Department. We’ve already had three labyrinth practical trainings and two monster subjugation trainings in the forest west of Memoria. With more students reaching level 30, some of them seem to be getting resentful about feeling their identities being threatened.
While a few are facing reality, I worry that those who are escaping it might not only fail to become great hunters but could even lose their lives before they even graduate. I’ve heard they’re becoming more isolated lately, and I fear they might do something rash out of desperation. I doubt they’d do anything so foolish in front of me, though.
“Huh? What’s this… a newspaper? Wow, this is actually pretty well done.”
As I was walking through the school grounds, thinking about this, I saw a student pinning a piece of paper on the school bulletin board. Curious, I went to take a look. It was something like a newspaper, listing promising second-year students, their brief profiles, and the reasons they were considered promising, all in bullet points. I figured it was probably the work of students from the Commerce Department, and their insight is quite good.
“Let’s see… Yep, the profiles for the Healing Department are mostly accurate. For the Knight-Hunter Department… it’s problematic that Raus is listed first, but it’s not entirely wrong.”
As I read through the profiles of the students introduced, the ones from the Healing Department were similar to my own evaluations, and I had even taken a particular interest in some of them. Other teachers also recognized them, so it was clear they had done their research. However, in the Knight-Hunter Department, Raus was at the top, followed by Rebecca and Carol, and then Sir Yuri and Aria. Only those who had already surpassed level 30 were listed. While they might be considered promising, if Sir Yuri and the other four weren’t excluded from the evaluation, the assessment wouldn’t be accurate. The students from the Commerce Department must not have realized this, but the teachers know the situation, so I can’t help but think they should have stopped them.
Well, I’ll talk to the Commerce Department teachers about it later. I’m not very familiar with the other departments, so I can only say “oh, so this kind of student exists.” However, since they’ve done proper research, I think this is fine as is. It can serve as a benchmark for students who achieve excellent results. Of course, to prevent it from being a one-sided evaluation, they need to thoroughly verify their research and exclude personal speculation or conjecture. However, I also feel that a bit of personal opinion might be acceptable, so this is something that the Commerce Department should thoroughly review. If they do, they might even be able to establish it as a Newspaper Guild someday. In fact, if they truly intend to do so, wouldn’t it be faster to establish it if myself, Yamato, and Sayuri shared our knowledge from Earth?
While it’s crucial to be vigilant against rumors or false reports, as well as information manipulation by those in power or guilds, and leaks of confidential information, the transmission of information is important. If they can secure a surplus of paper and means for mass printing, they could deliver newspapers to every household, perhaps not daily, but every few days. Until now, information was only disclosed orally by Lords, magistrates, or Guild Masters, and then posted in bullet points for a certain period at the entrance of the Guild or the Order’s Guild office. By charging advertisement fees for simple requests from each guild or new products, they could make it profitable. Of course, that alone wouldn’t cover the costs, but the Trader’s Guild has theatrical troupes and writers among its members, so they could also create and sell books featuring them. This would make it more like a Publishing Guild than a Newspaper Guild, but perhaps that’s a better fit.
Yeah, it doesn’t sound bad. I should consult Yamato about it when I get home.
“Hmm? There’s another article here… Whoa…”
Just as I decided that and was about to leave, my gaze fell upon a small section in the bottom right corner of the article. Upon reading its content, I let out a huge sigh because it was about the problematic students of the Knight-Hunter Department. Three hunters were named: all of them were level 30-31 at the time of enrollment, yet their levels haven’t increased at all. Over a year has passed since enrollment, and even three months since the Guild classes began, yet they show no growth. The article harshly criticizes these three individuals who still behave arrogantly within the academy. While it’s factual, it’s merely an embarrassment for the three who were named, and there’s a real possibility they might storm into the Commerce Department because of this. I don’t know what the student from the Commerce Department who wrote this was thinking, but even if it’s true, demeaning them to this extent amounts to defamation. I believe they don’t understand that they are not only making themselves, but the entire Commerce Department, a target of criticism. The worst possible outcome, a conflict between the Hunter’s Guild, Ritter’s Guild, and the Trader’s Guild, cannot be entirely ruled out. I need to hear their side of the story immediately and resolve this before it escalates into unnecessary trouble.
I had planned to head to the Healing Department building next, but I decided to change my plans and head to the Headmaster’s office instead.
**Side: Mana**
Today, I was swamped with work as the Lord’s assistant in Feel. Since Prada Port opened, the number of visitors to Feel, the capital of the Esmeralda Baronetcy, has been increasing. Feel boasts one of Amister’s premier magic silver mines, and its output of crystal silver is particularly high, attracting many hunters and ritter seeking weapons made of jade silver. There are also those who desire blue-gray iron, but since Feel doesn’t produce adamantine steel, it’s always in short supply, despite being handled. I feel a bit sorry about that. If we go out to buy it, it could affect trader traffic and income, and it might reduce the number of people visiting Valentia, the origin of adamantine steel, so we can’t do that. We’ll take a request if it comes from one of the guilds.
Anyway, the reason I’m busy today has nothing to do with alloys. What happened was that Raid, who was hunting in Mylight, stumbled upon an orc settlement and, to my surprise, fled, leaving behind a fellow hunter. Furthermore, the hunter who was left behind was severely injured by the leader, a high hunter, who attacked him with a sword, preventing him from escaping. The reason this came to light is that Falcon’s Beak, which has now established a solid base in Feel, found the settlement around the same time and was able to rescue the hunter being attacked. However, possibly because an Orc King and an Orc Princess were paired up, there were several Orc Princes, over twenty rare Giant Orcs, more than fifty of the superior Grand Orcs, and over a hundred regular Orcs. Even Falcon’s Beak, with its four Ancient Classes, took time to annihilate them, and they couldn’t apprehend Raid, the hunter they had rescued.
El, the leader of Falcon’s Beak, can use traveling and returned to Feel immediately to report the situation. That hunter Raid has been wanted for attempted murder. This is a heinous crime, the first since the Feel incident three years ago, so I ordered the Order’s Guild and personally apprehended Raid in Mylight. Following interrogation using knight magic hearing, and with testimonies from Falcon’s Beak and the victim, Raid was made a criminal slave for attempted murder. To harm and sacrifice one’s own comrade is a heinous act that is unforgivable, not just for a hunter but for any human. I had no intention of showing leniency towards them. The leader and one other were high class, so their heads were displayed in front of the Hunter’s Guild as a warning. This shows how serious the crime was. However, since the effect of slave magic is weak on high-class individuals, criminal slavery equaling a death sentence is, in my opinion, always a problem. If a criminal slave of high class were to act out, the damage could be greater than from many monsters, so it’s understandable, I suppose.
After finishing the aftermath, I returned to Alka to find everyone, including Yamato and Mako, back. My sister, Yuri, who is also the Baroness of Esmeralda, had also returned. I handed her the report compiled by the civil official, explained the incident, and we had dinner. Then, we moved to the living room and reported on our respective days. A post-dinner report session in the living room has become a habit for us as a couple, as we all have work.
The most discussed topic from the report session was Yamato and Mako’s reports today. Mako praised the newspaper created by the students of the Commerce Department, but she also stated that its content could cause significant problems. Her explanation was convincing. Apparently, the students from the Commerce Department hadn’t considered retaliation at all and had added their own subjective opinions to the researched content, which nearly led to retaliation. When Mako went to speak with the Commerce Department teachers, the students from the Commerce Department rushed into the faculty room. This time, the students from the Commerce Department were also deemed to have lacked consideration, and the hunters who came for retaliation received no punishment. Mako explained that their impulsive actions were actually evaluated positively, so I hope there won’t be a next time. However, I find the newspaper interesting, and I also agree with Mako’s idea of a newspaper. Perhaps I should report this to Big Brother and consider establishing a new guild.
Yamato’s report concerned the progress of the sea route survey and development to the Gradia Continent. He also mentioned the Wing of Order, an airship owned by the Order’s Guild currently under construction.
“Rider’s Guild?”
“It’s a provisional name. I thought it might be good to separate it from the Crafter’s Guild and Trader’s Guild as a guild for all mounted entities, including magical beasts and beast carriages.”
I’ve also considered that. Until now, the Crafter’s Guild raised magical beasts and beast carriages and built beast carriages and ships, which the Trader’s Guild operated. However, a portion of the fare for public beast carriages and regular ships operating in towns is paid to the Crafter’s Guild. This is because all beasts of burden, beast carriages, and ships are considered to be on loan from the Crafter’s Guild. The Trader’s Guild would want to purchase them, but doing so would eliminate the Crafter’s Guild’s income, which would affect the raising of magical beasts and beast carriages. So, Yamato’s idea was to make it independent as the Rider’s Guild and entrust them not only with raising magical beasts and beast carriages and building beast carriages and ships, but also with operating public beast carriages and regular ships. Well, Yamato also didn’t know that rental fees were paid to the Crafter’s Guild, so it would be a result-based fee.
“Certainly, if we make it independent as the Rider’s Guild, they can handle everything from construction to operation. That would likely allow for a reduction in usage fees, leading to more people utilizing them than before.”
“The income of the Crafter’s Guild and Trader’s Guild will decrease, but personnel will also transfer, so it might not be a major problem.”
Given the precedent of the Scholar’s Guild, I agree. Mako’s proposed provisional name, Editor’s Guild, could also be considered a non-profitable department for the Trader’s Guild, so making it independent should be fine. Of course, just like with the Scholar’s Guild, the details need to be thoroughly worked out, and discussions are just beginning, so it’s unclear if it will actually be established. However, there are merits, and the demerits can be managed with proper countermeasures, so I might discuss it with Big Brother soon.
