Chapter 9

Before hiring a bodyguard, I tried not to go out of the house much, and during that time, I bought various items through mail order.

The items I bought are all rare in this world, so it's easy to imagine that they would fetch a decent price if sold.

While I was gathering items inside the house, Leesia, wearing plate armor, was swinging around a large shield and an axe, training and wreaking havoc.

Thanks to her, the once-flat garden was now dotted with several holes.

Perhaps because she had been jumping around the garden from morning till night, Leesia's level had gone up. When I checked my own status, I was surprised to find that my level had also increased.

It seems there is no announcement when you level up.

Name: Grose Handler

Occupation: Tamer Lv.3

Information: Human, Male, 20 years old

HP: 174 (C)

MP: 550 (EX)

Strength: 38 (C)

Endurance: 33 (C)

Magic: 28 (C)

Agility: 33 (C)

Dexterity: 172 (S)

Charisma: 142 (S)

Luck: 100

Active Skills: [Appraisal (S)], [Disguise (B)], [Magic Item Creation (E)], [Tame (E)]

Passive Skills:

Magic Skills: [Space-Time Magic (E)]

Unique Skills: [Mail Order (E)], [Navigator]

Criminal Record:

Dexterity and charisma are impressive, but the MP growth is insane! The 'EX' growth is formidable!

Name: Leesia Organ

Occupation: Attack Guardian Lv.3

Information: Ogre (Mutant), Female, 15 years old, Servant

HP: 900 (S)

MP: 56 (E)

Strength: 162 (S)

Endurance: 172 (S)

Magic: 12 (E)

Agility: 66 (B)

Dexterity: 24 (D)

Charisma: 24 (D)

Luck: 5

Active Skills: [Guard of a Hundred Weapons (E)], [Axe of Destruction (E)]

Passive Skills: [Body Reinforcement (D)], [Axe and Shield Technique (D)]

Magic Skills:

Unique Skills: [Bond]

Criminal Record:

Leesia's growth is also incredible. It's not for nothing that she has 'S' growth.

Moreover, [Body Reinforcement] and [Axe and Shield Technique] have both upgraded from E to D.

"Isn't Leesia's skill rank increasing too quickly?"

"It seems she gains a lot of skill experience points due to her intense training."

"Indeed, the amount of exercise she gets is more than I can handle."

I changed my mindset and checked the items I had prepared.

The items I prepared were 500 kilograms of white sugar and red wine with wine glasses, as requested by Umbrella.

According to Inus, most alcoholic beverages in this world are of poor quality, so I added red wine to the items.

In Japan, selling alcohol would be quite troublesome, but in this world, it seems there are no issues as long as you are registered with the Merchant Guild.

And when it comes to wine, you need glasses to serve it.

Would you drink wine from a metal cup? Or a wooden one? It's fine, but since we're at it, preparing beautiful glasses that highlight the wine's deep red color would increase the item's value.

I'll add value by bundling them together.

In the evening, after Leesia finished her training, drenched in sweat, I urged her to take a bath.

"I don't need a bath as a slave."

"I don't like it. If you're going to be around me, stay clean. Besides, Leesia is not a slave but a servant."

"Mu... Alright, I'll take a bath."

While Leesia was in the bath, I started cooking the Kaukau meat I had bought.

I arranged Kaukau meat soup with consomme, Kaukau meat steak, and fluffy hotel bread on the table.

Just as I finished, Leesia came out of the bath, wearing only a T-shirt with nothing underneath.

"Hey, you can't come out dressed like that!"

"Why not? These are the clothes I received from my master."

"Put on some underwear and pajamas properly!"

"It's fine, isn't it?"

Leesia twirled around without caring about the part of her T-shirt that was showing.

N-no! My rationality is at risk!

"If you don't dress properly, there will be no dinner tonight!"

"Wh-What! That's not fair! The food you make is delicious!"

Hearing my words, Leesia ran to her room to change.

It seems she really enjoys the food I prepare. To control Leesia, it's best to win her over with food.

After dinner with the changed Leesia, she was eating with tears in her eyes.

While it's delicious, I don't think it's worth crying over.

However, in this world, it's rare to have such delicious meals, so I can understand her exaggerated reaction.

After that, Leesia was in charge of cleaning up, so I left the dishes to her, took a bath, and went to bed.

There's no entertainment, so once the sun sets, there's nothing to do but sleep.

That's why I naturally wake up when the sun rises in this world.

"Hey, why is Leesia in my bed?"

"For the night's pleasure."

"I don't need that!"

"Do you not want to embrace me, Master?"

"Not now!"

Well, I'm actually welcome, but it feels awkward, so let's do that later, yeah, that's it.

"Hmm, 'Not now,' huh? Understood, I'll take my time."

"Eh!"

Is Leesia nitpicking my words?

"I'll come again tomorrow."

...With those words, Leesia left the room. It's tiring to sleep before bed.

The day of the appointment with the Adventurer's Guild arrived.

Leesia went to morning training after breakfast.

I tried to keep track of the accounts so far.

I was happy with the substantial income thanks to the silk fabrics, but the expenses were also high, especially the cost of purchasing weapons and armor.

I prepared the best weapons and armor within my budget.

It would be counterproductive and uninteresting if someone got injured or died because I skimped on weapons and armor. They are for survival, after all.

"Shall we head to the Adventurer's Guild?"

"Understood."

We had an early lunch and headed to the Adventurer's Guild.

When we entered the Adventurer's Guild and told the receptionist our business, we were told that the adventurers were already gathered and were led to a separate room.

I entered the Adventurer's Guild right at noon, but I thought that if they were late, they wouldn't be hired. It seems all the adventurers had gathered before the time.

In a room of about fifteen tatami mats, there was a reception set, so I sat on the sofa at the back and waited for the adventurers.

Interviews were conducted in units of parties for parties and individually for individuals.

The first to enter was a party of two men and three women.

The leader was a woman who was larger than me and Leesia, carrying a large sword.

"We are 'Dawn Thunder.' We are all D-rank adventurers. I'm the leader, a swordsman named Kimberly, and the members are Aisha, the scout, Lumina, the mage, Borgon, the shield user, and Quit, the priest, in that order."

According to the information from the guild, 'Dawn Thunder' has the skills to soon be promoted to C-rank.

While their language is a bit rough, I think that's normal for adventurers, so I'll prioritize their character over their language.

"What are 'Dawn Thunder's' selling points?"

"Well, our party has a balanced composition, and we're confident we can handle most things."

I asked various questions, but the answers came only from the leader, Kimberly.

The other four didn't answer at all, so I asked Borgon, the shield user.

"May I ask Borgon, how many times have you handled escort missions?"

"..."

"I'm sorry, Borgon is not very talkative. I'll answer for him."

"Ah, no, then let Lumina answer."

"..."

"Four times. All of them have done it four times."

Something seemed off. I didn't want to, but I used [Appraisal (S)] to confirm, and it turned out that everyone except Kimberly was a slave.

In other words, the four were Kimberly's slaves.

"Can slaves register as adventurers?"

"Yes, they can."

"Understood. I'll inform you of the results after interviewing everyone."

After that, I interviewed two more parties and five individuals.

I decided to hire the three members of 'Arms of Ars' and an adventurer named Sera.

'Arms of Ars' is a trio of a ranger, a mage, and a young female knight.

While 'Dawn Thunder' was superior in terms of skills, achievements, and party composition, they didn't allow their slaves to speak, which made me think they might treat their slaves poorly, so I decided not to hire them.

The individual I hired was also a woman, but I didn't intentionally hire only women.

My hiring criteria are based on character, so I can confidently say I made my decision based on character! I can confidently say that!

"Please come to my house tomorrow morning."

The three and the one received the request letter from the Adventurer's Guild and left.

The adventurers who were not hired complained to me, but if they did, the Adventurer's Guild would intervene.

"Kimberly, doing that will lower your evaluation."

"Tch, I understand."

Although she said she understood when pointed out by the staff, she was not convinced.

Since she didn't attack, Leesia just observed. I like people who can read the room.

The next morning, the four arrived at my house right after sunrise.

I thought it was a bit early, but in this world, 'morning' seems to mean right after sunrise.

I was already awake, but I hadn't changed clothes yet.

"Welcome. I'm sorry, but I was just about to change. Can you wait in the living room for a moment?"

I welcomed the three from 'Arms of Ars' and the one into the living room.

Leesia was already training in the garden, so I left her be.

After changing, I served the four a cup of tea with a few drops of lemon and a bit of sugar.

"Let me introduce myself again. I'm Every, the leader of 'Arms of Ars' and a ranger."

Every, with short red hair and a tan, seemed lively.

"I'm Lira, a mage."

Lira, with blonde hair and emerald green eyes, seemed a bit nervous.

"Whitney, a knight."

Whitney, the smallest of the three with blue hair, was wearing mail armor. She was quiet, as I had noticed yesterday.

"I'm the last one. I'm Sera, a D-rank solo adventurer. I'm a hunter and good at scouting."

Sera, with short brown hair and sharp eyes, used a small bow.

All four seemed to be in their teens, but in this world, adulthood starts at fifteen, so it might be better to treat them as adult women.

"I'm Grose Handler. Please call me Grose. I'm a merchant now. The noise outside is Leesia, my servant."

I sighed, looking at Leesia through the window.

"Here, please enjoy it while it's hot."

The four took a sip of the lemon tea I served.

"Delicious!"

They all said it was delicious in unison, which made me happy.

"By the way, are you all done with breakfast?"

The girls looked at each other and shook their heads.

So I decided to prepare breakfast for them as well.

The menu was bread rolls, scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, corn chowder, and a fresh vegetable and seaweed salad.

"Can someone please call Leesia from outside?"

"I'll go."

Every stood up from the sofa and went to call Leesia.

Since breakfast wasn't a complicated meal, I could prepare it quickly.

"Can you set the table for me?"

I asked the remaining three to help with the food.

When Every and Leesia came inside, I had them sit down. Leesia sat next to me.

"Please enjoy. There's more bread and corn chowder if you want seconds."

I took the first sip of the corn chowder. It was hot!

I burned my mouth a bit, and the others laughed at me.

Everyone started eating their breakfast.

"Delicious!"

Despite the simple meal, they all said it was delicious.

"That's great. Please help yourselves."

"Master's cooking is the best!"

"What's the crunchy thing on top of this salad?"

Every held up some seaweed with her fork and asked.

"That's seaweed."

"Seaweed?"

"It's like a vegetable from the sea. It keeps well when dried, and you can eat it like this after soaking it in water. It's also said to be good for beauty."

"Beauty!"

"Wow, the sea? We're inland, so we can't get sea products. Do you eat such rare things every day, Grose?"

Lira, the mage, reacted to the word 'beauty' and secretly took the seaweed from Every.

"Not every day. Today is a bit special."

"Oh, for us?"

"Maybe as a welcome gesture."

I hadn't really thought about it that way.

"This corn chowder is also delicious. I've never had it before."

"It's made from the kernels of a plant called corn. I eat corn chowder almost every day."

Sera seemed to enjoy the rich taste of the corn chowder.

I also like it, and in Japan, I used to eat instant corn chowder and bread for breakfast every day.

"The bacon is delicious."

"That's the meat of an animal called a pig, smoked. It's flavored with wood chips, so it has a good aroma as well as taste."

The quiet Whitney happily munched on the bacon.

The breakfast was well-received by them. They all said it was delicious, and all the bread rolls and corn chowder were eaten.

"I'm full, very satisfied."

The four were rubbing their stomachs and drinking coffee after the meal.

Even when they were full, they asked for more coffee.