Just like the first day, Roman and the others were guided to Tamara’s room and confirmed something once they were seated.
“Are the adventurers here not thinking about other requests?”
Judging by the reactions of the receptionist and Tamara, they were surprised that they possessed proof of subjugation for requests other than the ones they had received.
Their attitude suggested that adventurers active here were not accustomed to taking on multiple requests.
In response to Roman’s words, Tamara let out a sigh, shook her head left and right once, and then replied, “At least I didn’t know about bringing items other than the requested materials.”
“Um… is there perhaps a rule like that?” one of their companions, looking anxious, interjected.
If there was a rule or an unspoken agreement that disallowed bringing parts from monsters other than those specified in a request, then they had unknowingly broken it. Adventurers sometimes followed such unwritten agreements to avoid trouble. For example, the person who first accepts a request would have priority.
However, Tamara shook her head left and right again. “No, I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
Hearing this, not only Roman and his group but also Arisa showed surprised expressions.
“I imagine you sometimes encounter monsters other than the requested ones during subjugation…?”
“Ah, in that case, they’re just left there,” Tamara replied.
Everyone except Tamara and Riku wore expressions of “What a waste.” This was almost unthinkable in Amamiya Tower or on the Central Continent. Of course, some monsters had parts that couldn’t be sold for any money. However, most monsters had parts that could be exchanged for funds. Even if some parts were practically worthless, it was natural to bring them back if there was space in one’s luggage.
“…” Roman muttered, looking stunned. “I can’t believe it.”
The other members nodded in agreement.
“Is that so? Wouldn’t parts from monsters other than the requested ones just be a hindrance?” Tamara, who considered this natural, and Roman’s group were clearly at odds.
At this point, Arisa’s expression became as if she had suddenly thought of something. “Perhaps the reason why this branch doesn’t have a Material Purchase Counter is because of that…”
At Arisa’s muttering, Roman and his group looked startled. On the Central Continent, and certainly in Amamiya Tower, Guilds typically had Material Purchase Counters for monster materials. If one possessed materials from monsters other than those from a request, they would sell them at that counter.
Arisa, having grasped a certainty from Tamara’s expression, voiced it. “Perhaps here, monster subjugation is just a form of hunting.”
“Hunting? What do you mean?”
“In other words, it means they’ve been ruled to only hunt specific prey within a defined area.” That’s why they only subjugated monsters for their requests and didn’t bring back materials even when ambushed. It wasn’t so much that they didn’t bring them back, but perhaps they genuinely believed they shouldn’t. After all, without a place to sell unnecessary materials, adventurers would naturally lean towards not carrying anything superfluous.
“There’s no specific rule stating that, but it’s possible they’re acting that way unconsciously. I don’t know if this is only in this vicinity, though.”
“Hmm. I see. A difference in mindset. That makes sense.” For adventurers active on the Central Continent, monsters were essentially living resources for earning money. Therefore, they were extremely sensitive to information about monster materials that could be exchanged for currency. In contrast, here, they only subjugated monsters according to their requests, meaning they only brought back what was necessary. Arisa’s analogy of “hunting” referred to this. In hunting, one often competed for the size of the prey caught, and smaller prey might be left behind on the spot.
***
“It’s hard to believe the difference in mindset is this significant.” Tamara could only let out a sigh at the vast disparity.
“But isn’t that a bit strange? Adventurers have always traveled between the Central Continent and other continents. I would think some adventurers would have noticed this by now.”
“That’s true. However, each region can have its own unwritten rules, so it’s possible they simply assumed this was one of them,” Tamara replied to Roman’s question. If one accepts something as a long-standing custom, it’s possible they wouldn’t even question it. Especially if they’ve been active in the same place for a long time, these things wouldn’t seem questionable.
“We naturally assumed bringing back materials other than the requested ones was standard, and we did so this time, but adventurers here don’t think of it that way, is that it?”
“Yes. Even though it’s not explicitly forbidden.” It’s a common human tendency to act the way others do if everyone else is doing it.
“Um… My parent also taught me that it’s important to bring back necessary materials, but is that not the case here?” Riku, who had been silently listening to the adults’ conversation until now, spoke up. Of course, the “parent” he referred to was Kousuke. Kousuke, seeing adventurers from the Central Continent for the first time, had also assumed that was the standard worldwide.
“That’s right. Whether the Central Continent is special or the East Continent is special, I don’t know,” Arisa said. However, she suspected that the higher-ups in Crown might be aware of this. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have built a building specifically without a Material Purchase Counter. The basic structure would have been reviewed at the design stage, even if it was outsourced to a local guild. It was unlikely they wouldn’t have noticed. However, Arisa wasn’t so ignorant as to mention this at the moment. If they chose to neglect it, there was probably a good reason. For example, waiting for people on the scene to notice, as they were doing now.
“Ah, I see. There might be another reason,” Arisa said, clapping her hands, drawing everyone’s attention. “Unlike the Central Continent, here, you have to go to remote areas or forests like this one to find higher-ranked monsters, right?”
“Ah, yes. So, monsters found in areas accessible to low-ranked adventurers don’t have many lucrative materials?”
“Yes. Moreover, as you move up in rank, it might be more profitable to take on multiple requests and only extract the necessary parts rather than bothering with extra materials.” Tamara let out a groan, as if compelled by Arisa’s words. “…I see. That’s certainly true.” On the Central Continent, there was a considerable number of mid-tier adventurers. So many, in fact, that there could be fierce competition for lucrative requests. In contrast, in the Kingdom of Ayrica, there weren’t enough adventurers of that caliber to cause such competition, so there was no need to earn money by collecting materials beyond what was requested. In short, there were only adventurers who completed the requested subjugations. Worse, there might not even be enough people. In fact, that possibility was greater.
“I never thought that just one request would reveal so many problems.” Tamara muttered, letting out a deep sigh. Their original purpose for bringing them here was different, but they had immediately discovered a mountain of issues. As Branch Manager, Tamara had to solve these problems. Thinking about it, Tamara couldn’t help but let out a big sigh. This story revealed the gap between the Central Continent and the East Continent. Although Riku made a casual remark, the common sense of adventurers that Kousuke had previously considered was strictly limited to within the Central Continent. The issue of how things were on other continents was, of course, being investigated by higher management. The reason they hadn’t tried to improve things with a top-down approach was that they believed it would be better to have people on the ground take direct action. Especially since it involved matters of common sense within that region.
