The Story of the Golden Spoon in Another World

Chapter 9: Adventurer’s Guild – 1

—–CROW—– 

“The next item on the agenda…”

In a spacious meeting room.  

My father, seated at the head of the table, listened with his usual stern expression.  Beside him sat my brother, Aidan, and myself.

“And as planned, the recruitment of soldiers is proceeding.”

“Mm.”

If nobles possessed such overwhelming power, were soldiers even necessary?  

Such a thought was natural. 

In fact, I had asked the same question.

Actual warfare itself was no different from wars in my previous world. Soldiers formed the front lines, and knights acted as the heavy hitters.  

If the soldiers were the infantry, the knights were the tanks, artillery, and air defense.

And the nobles?  

They waited.

They were akin to a nuclear deterrent.  

Especially the direct descendants of a noble family, whose power, with a bit of exaggeration, could be considered a nuclear weapon in this world’s context.

If they were to step in when a war turned unfavorable, it would give the other side justification to use their full force.  

Moreover, even if civilians were harmed during the war, the blame would fall on the family that initiated the escalation.

In such cases, even the royal family couldn’t intervene. 

To do so would be to infringe on the rights of the nobility.  

It would give other noble families, not directly involved in the war, a reason to interfere as well.

I knew there were other reasons, but I didn’t care.  

I wasn’t going to war.  

I would be crazy to join the army.  

Of course, I wouldn’t be starting as a common soldier, but still.

“This next item concerns additional…”

More than that, my biggest concern at the moment was none other than my libido.  

Under the guise of sex education, I was being tortured.  

From Charlotte to Neria… I had experienced intimate contact countless times, yet I hadn’t even taken off my pants.  

Because Lena had forbidden it.

“Absolutely not.”

Lena’s gaze, as she said those words, was an impenetrable wall.  

I couldn’t defy her, especially since my father had given her full authority in this matter.  

As a result, for the past few days, I felt like I was becoming a Buddha, my patience tested to its limits.  

I had even considered taking care of it myself.

“Masturbation is also forbidden.  Wasting your seed is a disgrace for a nobleman.”

“But…!”

Was she trying to kill me?  

In the end, unable to relieve my sexual frustration, I had endured until today.  

At daytime I received basic instruction on my duties and responsibilities, and at night, I endured sex education.  

It had only been a few days, but it felt like an eternity in hell.

“Then, as previously discussed, several matters will be entrusted to the second son, Leoric.  I expect everyone to cooperate fully.”

“Yes.”

The meeting was over.  Feeling all eyes on me, I stood up naturally at my father’s words.  

I met the gazes of the vassals.  

As I lowered my eyes, I saw them bowing.

Remember, Leoric.  Nobles are at the absolute top, and those called vassals are merely tools.

* * *

A modestly sized office.  A high-quality, antique desk and chair.  The bookshelves were mostly empty.

“I should fill these up.”

The office felt too bare for a space I would be using regularly.  Well, my father probably hadn’t intended for it to remain this way.  Turning around, I saw two figures waiting near the entrance.  Charlotte and Neria.

“Charlotte.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Charlotte and Neria had become my personal attendants after that day.  Although their duties were still mostly menial tasks, like before.  They had been following me around, attending to my needs, ever since that day.  Now that I had an office, they would be waiting here unless something else came up.

“Have the servants move the books from my study to here.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“And Neria.”

“Yes.”

I surveyed the room.  I opened the door by the window, revealing the garden.  The sunlight at this hour, the south-facing balcony, the bright scenery… perfect.

“Find a table that suits this space and prepare a tea set as well.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

As soon as I finished speaking, they bowed and withdrew.  They hurried out of the room with quick steps.  Their skirts fluttered, revealing their stocking-clad legs.  The image of their naked bodies, which I had seen frequently during the recent nightly lessons, flashed through my mind.

“Ah, my mind is filled with impure thoughts.”

I had been holding back because I didn’t want to antagonize my brother, but now there was no need.  Thanks to the training these past few days, my healthy body was on the verge of exploding.  I could almost feel the sperm wriggling to life in my lower body.  If this continued, I would probably have a wet dream. Damn it.

“Young Master.”

“Hmm?”

A table and chair had been placed by the window.  And the tea I always drank was prepared at the perfect temperature.

“Thank you, Neria.”

“You’re welcome, Young Master.”

I sat in the chair on the balcony as Neria finished setting out the tea and snacks.  This too was a skill.  Once Neria finished her service as a maid, she would be a highly sought-after bride for those below the castle walls.  She might even become the wife of a high-ranking knight or merchant.  Having finished her preparations, Neria stood silently a step behind me.

“Neria, could you hand me the documents on the desk?”

“B-but…”

Neria hesitated for a moment, glancing at me nervously.  She probably thought it wasn’t a task for a maid.  Well, she wasn’t wrong.  Servants usually didn’t handle documents.

“Well, as you know, Neria, I’ve officially started working, but I don’t have any assistants yet.”

“Understood.”

While Neria’s troubled expression was amusing, after I repeated my request, she finally brought me the documents.  Come to think of it, could Neria read?

“Can you read?”

“Pardon?  Ah, yes.  Brahms, at least.”

Brahms.  The language of this country.  But since it was a mixture of various dialects, the language itself was a jumble.  This southern region, having been under Brahms rule for a long time, was relatively better off.

“Is that so? Alright.”

“Yes.”

After she bowed and returned to her waiting position, I smiled at her and looked over the documents.  …There wasn’t anything particularly important.  My father would handle all the crucial matters, and even if he was away at war, the system would continue to function.  My job was to take over some of my brother’s responsibilities.  Mainly managing public order within the city.

Among the documents, a few things caught my eye.

“The Adventurer’s Guild.”

Here comes the fantasy again.

* * *

“Adventurers, you say?”

The clerk who had come to assist me. A man with short, blue hair.  He looked to be in his late twenties.

“Yes, adventurers. What exactly do they do?”

“Hmm. Let me see.”

What was his name again?  Che… Che…  Czech?

The blue-haired young man pondered for a moment, then, as if his thoughts had coalesced, began to explain.

“Well, they’re basically errand boys.”

“Errand boys?  I thought they were adventurers. How boring.”

“Haha.”

Sensing my disappointment, Czech gave a wry smile.

“Of course, I’ve heard there are some who live up to the name ‘adventurer.'”

“Really?”

“Yes.  Exploring the Great Mountain Range is quite a famous tale.  There have been adventurers who succeeded.  But aside from a very small minority, most of them are swindlers or the like.”

Well, that made sense.  Wasn’t it similar on Earth?

“Adventurers are nothing more than thugs, but they do have their uses.”

For example, escorting, guarding, monster subjugation, and serving as mercenaries in war.  In other territories, they were sometimes hired as scouts when manpower was short, but that never happened in the Franz territory.

“Monster subjugation, huh?”

“It’s nothing compared to what we do.”

“Is that so?”

Czech spoke with a firm expression.  His words were laced with pride.

“They can only handle small monsters at best.  The magic power of adventurers is nothing compared to even the lowest-ranking knights.”

In this world, magic power was also a basic requirement for adventurers. Even a tiny amount made a huge difference compared to having none, so even the lowest-ranked adventurers possessed some magic.  However, as Czech said, their power was insignificant compared to knights, let alone nobles.  Even first-rate adventurers couldn’t compare to knights.  It wasn’t impossible, but only the most renowned adventurers reached the level of a knight.

“I’m not happy that they’re not fulfilling their duties as magic wielders, but with that level of magic power, they’re useless anyway.  Moreover, their methods are crude and unrefined.”

A sneer formed on Czech’s lips.  Whoa, harsh.

Magic discrimination was a fundamental part of this world’s social structure.  Well, it was a world where the social hierarchy was based on magic power, so it was only natural.

“Then what does managing the Adventurer’s Guild, which my brother was in charge of, entail?”

“Ah, that’s simple.”

They were magic wielders, after all.  Even if the knights could easily suppress them if they went on a rampage, the damage to commoners and ordinary soldiers would be significant.  One way to prevent that was the Adventurer’s Guild.

“We do conduct inspections at the city gates, but it’s difficult to catch everything.  That’s why the guild manages them.”

“Hmm. The guild isn’t exclusive to Franz, is it?”

“No. To be precise, the guild itself exists throughout the continent.”

According to Czech, while the guild existed continent-wide, they weren’t interconnected.  Strictly speaking, each territory’s guild was under the control of that territory’s noble.

“So they just share the name ‘guild,’ but they’re not actually connected.”

“That’s right.  They only share information about adventurer identification and their records.”

Even that information exchange was mostly limited to a single region.  It couldn’t be helped, since there was no internet.

And my brother had been in charge of managing that guild.  There were other guilds as well, but…  Areas that required specialized knowledge, like commerce, were only subject to final approval anyway.

“Then let’s go take a look.”

“Pardon?”

“Let’s go to the Adventurer’s Guild.”

I was curious.  Adventurers in a fantasy world.

—–CROW—–