There had been a minor hiccup, but the rest of the journey went smoothly.
This was because their overall travel speed had increased noticeably.
Watching the horses surge forward, brimming with vitality, Lorentz felt a mix of admiration and anxiety.
‘The effect is certainly incredible… but there won’t be any side effects, will there?’
Normally, cargo carriages weren't very fast. No matter how swift a horse, it couldn't run freely while pulling a massive load.
But after eating the mysterious herbs, the horses galloped ahead with light steps, as if they had never been sluggish.
They were still slow compared to a single rider or an unburdened horse, but even so, the speed was enough to give the coachmen a hard time controlling them.
He had a gut feeling he could make a fortune if he could commercialize such an effective herb, but at the same time, he was plagued by the worry of what would happen if the horses suddenly keeled over and died.
If dozens of horses were wiped out, even the Halder Company would suffer a significant blow.
Lorentz’s gaze shifted to the window.
There, he saw Adelaide, who was running despite there being a perfectly good carriage, and beside her, Micks, panting heavily and struggling desperately to keep up.
-Since we’re traveling together, how about we chat for a bit!
-Oh, I’m sorry. I have to keep running.
-Then I’ll run with you!
Recalling the conversation they’d had before setting off again, Lorentz buried his face in his hands.
Separate from the parental urge to cheer on his son’s romantic pursuits, his cold, merchant’s eye told him, ‘This is already a lost cause.’
-The-the Young Master has collapsed!
Hearing the shout from outside, Lorentz sighed.
Lorentz’s wish for his son to have a wide range of experiences was coming true, just not in the way he had imagined.
*
Fortunately for Lorentz, the disaster of the horses that ate the suspicious medicine dying en masse never occurred.
They were so energetic despite the long journey that a few of his staff joked that if a man took it, he’d be amazing at night.
His son, upon returning to the carriage, let out a silent scream of shame, but Lorentz didn’t think much of it. It was normal to accumulate embarrassing memories at that age.
All he needed was a thick blanket to kick in frustration during the night.
“Witch, Witch! We’ve arrived!”
At Adelaide’s words, the person who had been holed up in the carriage for the entire trip, refusing to come out, finally showed signs of emerging.
Unable to contain their curiosity, not only Lorentz but also his staff focused their gazes on the carriage.
“I know, so stop rushing me. Do you think reapplying a protection spell to a new staff is easy?”
“Ah, sorry.”
With a grumble, a girl appeared.
Her deep black hair and blue eyes created a stark contrast with her exposed, fair shoulders.
Lorentz thought to himself.
‘Her fashion sense doesn’t seem to be the best.’
Her natural beauty was striking enough to pull it off somehow, but the crow-like dress and various accessories could hardly be called refined, even as a pleasantry.
It looked as if a country girl, who had never really dressed up before, had tried her best to look fashionable with secondhand knowledge.
‘…Well, she doesn’t seem to be royalty or from the Lion Duke’s bloodline. Is she a high-ranking female mage from somewhere, or perhaps her apprentice?’
When thinking of a powerful mage, the Magic State in the north came to mind first, but it was unlikely that someone from the Lion Duke’s bloodline would treat a mage from the Magic State so respectfully. It seemed more plausible that she was a high-ranking noble from the Empire or another nation.
‘No, even if she isn’t a noble, that wouldn’t be so bad. It’s easier to negotiate with someone on relatively equal footing than with someone who holds all the power. Setting everything else aside, just obtaining the knowledge about that herb would make this a profitable venture.’
Just before speaking to the witch, Lorentz briefly considered what tone to use. Acting confident as the head of his company wouldn’t be bad, but since she was traveling with the Lion Duke’s bloodline, it seemed best to maintain a polite demeanor for now.
His quick calculation complete, Lorentz addressed the witch.
“We’ve been traveling together for quite some time, but this is the first time we’ve properly met. I am Lorentz Halder, head of the Halder Company.”
“Dorothea.”
It was a short reply. He couldn’t tell if she had no surname or simply wasn’t revealing it.
“A pleasure to meet you, Miss Dorothea. The herbs you provided were remarkably effective. Thanks to you, we arrived quickly.”
“We both got something out of it, so no thanks are necessary.”
It was a cold attitude, but Lorentz hadn’t built his career as a merchant for nothing.
“Haha, I see. Ah, are you planning to enter the labyrinth right away? If it’s all right with you, I can help with the registration process.”
“Registration?”
Dorothea asked, puzzled.
“Isn’t this unclaimed land?”
Not all land on the continent is under the rule of a specific nation.
Remote mountain regions difficult for people to traverse, lairs of powerful magic beasts, or areas with little to gain from occupation were often either claimed as territory in name only or simply left abandoned.
The land where the Taros Labyrinth was discovered was no different.
There was no suitable water source nearby, making it unfit for a village; the high concentration of mana in the air led to frequent magic beast appearances; and its geographical location wasn’t particularly advantageous.
If the entrance to a new labyrinth hadn’t been discovered by chance a few months ago, it was a land that no one would have ever paid attention to. So, Dorothea wasn’t wrong.
“It was like that until recently, but quite some time has passed since the labyrinth was discovered. Now, staff dispatched from the Imperial Adventurers Guild are managing entry.”
“It’s not their land. By what right?”
“In an empty land, when the strong and loud insist they are right, that itself becomes their right.”
Dorothea’s brow furrowed.
“Hold on. I’m going to check for myself.”
*
To state the conclusion first, Lorentz’s words were true.
“Halt. You cannot enter without a silver-rank or higher adventurer’s badge issued by the Empire.”
Near the labyrinth entrance, the sight of guild staff questioning newcomers from a proper-looking guard post left Dorothea dumbfounded.
“And how do you get this ‘badge’?”
“Well, obviously, you have to register at one of the Adventurers Guilds across the Empire and then build up your achievements one by one.”
“There are four ranks: Stone, Bronze, Silver, and Gold! Stone rank is for all the riffraff. You only get recognized as a proper adventurer from Bronze rank up! At Silver rank, you can get treated as well as a knight!”
The guild staff prattled on, spouting unasked-for information with needlessly confident faces, oblivious to Dorothea’s growing irritation.
As if that wasn’t infuriating enough, the Tin Knight chattered away excitedly, grating on Dorothea’s nerves.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ is impressed by the staff, remarking that they are like tutorial NPCs!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ points out the lack of originality, saying the ranking system sounds very familiar!]
Ignoring the nonsense from her side, Dorothea asked again.
“This isn’t Imperial land, so why should I listen to some Imperial Adventurers Guild or whatever?”
At Dorothea’s question, they sneered openly.
“It was an Imperial citizen who first discovered this place and commissioned the Guild to conduct a detailed investigation. Naturally, the right to explore it belongs to the Empire.”
“Many adventurers have been found dead inside the labyrinth. A good number of them weren’t killed by monsters, but by other people. The Guild decided to manage this place to prevent such tragedies. To stop the unskilled from wandering in and triggering dangerous traps, and to prevent those of unverified character from backstabbing other adventurers!”
“If you want to enter, just go through the proper procedures at the Guild. I don’t see what the problem is.”
“…”
Dorothea said nothing more and turned away.
Adel, who had been watching from a step back, cautiously asked.
“Uh, um. Should I try asking them?”
“Don’t bother.”
During their conversation, the guild staff had been feigning indifference while sneaking glances at Adel.
The staff looked a little surprised when they saw her golden hair and violet eyes, but they didn’t act servile or change their tune.
It was proof that they had enough power not to tremble just because they were dealing with the Lion Duke’s bloodline.
The Adventurers Guild might be a rival faction to the Lion Duke, or conversely, another bloodline could be part of the Guild or backing it.
Dorothea fell silent, lost in thought.
This situation was different from when she had mercilessly blown away the Colombo bandit group or counterattacked Franka.
Her opponent was a massive organization, and overpowering them with brute force was impossible.
Well, perhaps if she unleashed the Tin Knight and all the magic she herself avoided using due to prying eyes, she could annihilate all the staff at this labyrinth, but the fallout would be enormous.
However, she had no intention of meekly following their orders either.
Dorothea went back to find Lorentz.
Lorentz, as if he had been waiting, explained his plan.
“The Adventurers Guild may be acting like the masters of the labyrinth, but strictly speaking, they don’t hold all the rights. It’s companies like ours that supply the various goods adventurers need to explore inside. In other words, even without a Silver-rank badge or what have you, you can explore the interior as much as you like by borrowing our company’s name.”
“What about the items we find inside?”
“You can keep all of them. There’s only a limit on the number of people we can lend our name to, based on the company’s size. There are no restrictions on the treasures you acquire.”
“The price?”
Lorentz gave a wry smile inwardly.
She was a girl who truly liked to get straight to the point.
“I’ll put it on your tab as a debt.”
“I refuse.”
Dorothea replied instantly.
“There’s nothing more frightening than an intangible debt. If you want to make a deal, make it something we can settle right here and now.”
“Is that so? Hmm. That gives me something to think about.”
Lorentz hid his disappointment behind a calm expression.
In truth, the right to explore the labyrinth wasn’t that valuable to Lorentz.
His plan was to give her something he had no use for as if it were precious, thereby indebting her to him or fostering a favorable disposition toward his company in the future, but she had flatly refused.
Lorentz decided to be a little bolder.
“In that case, I would like the recipe for the herb you showed us. Which plants to gather, what process to use for refinement—everything. If that’s too difficult, a regular supply of a fixed amount would also be acceptable.”
“I’ll give you the recipe. While we’re at it, I’d also like to entrust you with selling the treasures we find here. How about it?”
“It’s not impossible, but considering the commission fee, you’d profit more by selling them yourself.”
“It’s a hassle. I’ll let you take a reasonable brokerage fee, so just give me a promissory note instead. Carrying around gold coins is too cumbersome.”
“Well, if that’s fine with you, Miss Dorothea, I have no objection, but…”
Lorentz was puzzled.
He couldn’t help it; Dorothea, who had never even set foot in the labyrinth, was already speaking as if she had secured immense treasures.
Treasure hunting wasn’t supposed to be that easy.
“Ah, I should also buy spare weapons for this guy and Adel, plus food, lamps, and oil. If you have a one-person handcart, give me one of those too. And—”
After that, Dorothea proceeded to order various other items.
From within her clothes, a magic key with a black luster shone quietly.