It was puzzling. Even if the upper echelons of the Guild (Ouranos, in other words) were limiting information on the new monster species, for information not to be shared even within the organization—especially considering how many people had already witnessed the violas during the Monsterphilia and the event on the eighteenth floor—it wouldn’t make sense to try to cover things up.
Sure, there wasn’t any pressing reason to involve the branches outside the city, but still…
“And yet this monster was spotted. Does this not call for an investigation and preventative measures on your part?”
“We can just leave it to Njörðr Familia. Even if we did try to look into it, that lot’d likely tell us to mind our own business—that the waterfront is their jurisdiction. It’s the same every time,” Rubart spat out, his words evidence enough as to the shaky relationship the two groups shared.
As obvious as it may have seemed, there was no reason for the Guild to hold sway over familias outside Orario. And the fact that they had no legal right to force Njörðr Familia to do much of anything surely made them an annoying lump they’d rather be rid of.
Riveria, however, knew the fishermen would be no match for the violas—their strength was simply too great. Unfortunately, her words were getting her nowhere.
“What’s more important right now is that gaggle of Amazons that made port. We’d like you to do something about them.” Rubart’s brows arched in irritation.
What’s “more important right now”…? Riveria couldn’t believe what she was hearing. But even as she shot him a one-eyed look of disbelief, the branch manager continued.
“While they haven’t caused too much trouble yet, we’ve already been getting complaints from our citizens. Terribly hard to approach, it seems. Words just don’t get through to them! And apparently they’ve even been running off with merchandise without paying…”
“You are the ones who permitted them entry to the port, yes?”
“Well, yes…but…it’s a little more complicated than that,” Rubart continued somewhat ambiguously. “The city has an autonomous government that operates separately from the Guild.”
“And the city granted the Amazons their port entry permit?”
“Yes,” Rubart replied with a disgruntled nod. “Meren used to be nothing but a tiny fishing village constantly threatened by monsters. But after Poseidon Familia set up camp and Orario’s prosperity helped it develop, it really flourished into the ‘Gateway to the Dungeon City’ it is today.”
It was a well-known story—Poseidon Familia deciding to use Meren as its base—and it made sense considering how many aquatic monsters appeared offshore. They’d plugged up the hole in the bottom of the lake and, ever since, had been monitoring and maintaining the giant lid while upholding peace on the water’s surface. Then, once the Leviathan Seal had been put in place fifteen years ago, Poseidon and his followers had left the port city with the assurance that the seal could never be broken, off to quell the threat of sea creatures all over the world. Njörðr Familia stayed behind, supplying the city with their fish.
Though Riveria already knew much of what Rubart was telling her, she listened in all the same.
“The Guild invested in the city early, even going so far as to help it expand…but after all these generations, the head of Meren’s still never given up its autonomous government.”
Of course, what Rubart failed to mention was that any city would resist being commandeered if given the chance.
“You probably know this already, but Meren isn’t just a company under the Guild’s patronage. It’s also an entry point for people and communities all over the world, so there’s that to think about, too.”
“Yet this gives you no trouble with Orario?”
The neutrality of the large-scale port was one of its key factors. After all, a controlling government would only lead to decline. Though Meren focused the majority of its efforts toward Orario, there were still many ships that used the port as a relay point on their journeys to other destinations. There were also the shipments of cargo destined for its surrounding cities and towns to consider. If the Guild started being fastidious about who could use the port, their clientele would simply move their business elsewhere.
Even from an outsider’s perspective, preventing the Guild’s unilateral reign over Meren was in everyone’s favor.
“Well, a compromise was reached, and it was decided that the government would be split in two. To put things simply, all matters related to Orario, trade included, are to be handled by this branch office…”
“And everything else is taken care of by the city?”
“Exactly,” Rubart confirmed, face still sour.
At the time, the decision was heavily influenced by the support of Poseidon Familia, which still acted independently despite cooperating with Orario, and Njörðr Familia, which was acting as a good neighbor.
All in all, it was just as complicated a situation as the branch manager described.
“True, we didn’t actually raise any objections to Kali Familia being granted a permit, so I suppose we are partly responsible…but it was the city that fought tooth and nail to get them in here, thanks mostly to that bastard Murdock,” Rubart finished with a curse, a disgusted look on his face.
At the end of all things, Njörðr Familia was loyal to the city of Meren.
While the relationship between them and the Guild wouldn’t necessarily be called antagonistic, given the Guild branch’s history of conflict with the city, they certainly weren’t the best of friends. Riveria was already well aware of this, at least.
“At any rate…it feels like we’ve got some wild animal prowling around the city.”
“…”
“Which is why the Guild, as your administrative body, is asking for your cooperation.”
As Rubart laid down the law, Riveria could do nothing but sit in silence, one eye now almost perpetually closed.
“So please! We promise we’ve no ill intentions…If you’d be ever so kind as to hear us out!” Alicia pleaded, holding in her urge to cringe as she forced an ingratiating smile.
“Go away,” was the curt reply from the elderly gentleman in question.
They were in Meren’s west town, at a building that seemed to have been built to glower at the Guild Branch Office in the east—the Murdock estate, home to generation after generation of Meren’s governors.
Alicia and Narfi were there to collect information but hadn’t even made it inside; they were presently being barred entry at the door by a Mr. Borg Murdock, the current head of the family.
“I have nothing to say to you, Guild dogs.”
Borg was an aging human man with a tuft of white hair protruding from his chin. With no sign of a sagging belly, instead he boasted a physique that could rival any of the fishermen’s on the wharf. His eyes were sharp, and though he lacked hair on his head, by simply adding a cap to the picture, one could easily picture him as a ship captain from the old stories.
“Gods’ honest truth, we’re not here on Guild business. We’re here about the giant flower creatures that appeared in the lake yesterday…as part of an investigation. If you have any relevant information you could give us, we would be ever so appreciative,” Alicia pleaded.
“…”
Borg was silent.
Simply looking at the elf for a few moments in all her innocent sincerity, he finally opened his mouth.
“…Go away.”
He said nothing else.
Then he turned around and disappeared inside the manor. Alicia and Narfi could do nothing but make their own exit back through the gate, at a loss as to what to do.
“I’ll admit, I had higher expectations for that interaction, considering he’s the governor and all…but apparently that was asking too much,” Narfi mused, scratching at her cheek in dumbfounded astonishment.
Alicia sighed. “I’ve heard the city and Guild don’t exactly see eye to eye on things…but to think it was this
bad! Guess we’re outta luck. No point in beating a dead horse.”
Faced with a feud that had been around longer than either of them had been alive, the girls had no choice but to leave the mansion behind.
“…”
From one of the windows of the mansion, Borg watched them leave, eyes narrowed with acrimony.
The sun, having reached its peak, had already started its afternoon descent toward the western horizon. Aiz, Lefiya, and the rest of the reconnaissance groups were making their way back toward the pier.
They didn’t have to go far past the commerce area with its trade ships, passenger ships, and fishermen’s dhows to reach Njörðr Familia’s fishing pier. The merchants and travelers dressed in their foreign clothes gave way to fishermen and women, all bustling about in their work. This rare type of familia—neither adventurers nor merchants—was still novel enough to the group of girls that they couldn’t help but scan their environs in wonder.
Most of the trawlers wore nothing over their broad chests or donned a set of short sleeves and long pants. Everyone was going about their own business, from the burly dwarf who passed by with an unbelievably large fish on his shoulder to the group of harpoon-wielding prums currently maneuvering their boat out to sea. Some were hard at work hauling great nets full of fresh and saltwater fish alike to shore—everything from giant dodobass to shiny red shrimp—while still others were grilling up their catches of fish and clams for an afternoon snack. The smell of salt and sound of popping oil were enough to draw in the eyes (and appetites) of Lefiya and the others as they walked along, none of them having taken their lunches yet.
And among all the crunching and the munching of seafolk ingesting their freshly caught fish, they caught sight of Tiona and Tione.
“M-Miss Tiona? What are you two…doing?” Lefiya asked, somewhat taken aback.
“Got hungry while asking these folks for info. They said we were free to have a bite, too, so long as we paid up, so…here we are!” Tiona responded, her mouth currently full of enough grilled fish to rival the surrounding workers’.
It would seem Tiona and Tione’s luck collecting info had been about as good as Aiz and everyone else’s. The others in their group, already having eaten their fill, were taking a load off nearby.
“…How is…Tione doing?” Aiz whispered discreetly as she threw a glance at the Amazon in question.
“Mmmn…still a little testy, but I think she’ll be fine. We made sure to keep away from Kali and crew this morning, and I kept an eye on her to make sure she didn’t get into any trouble.”
The atmosphere around Tione had been tense since the night prior, and the others in her group, hume bunny Rakuta included, had found it hard to truly relax. Currently, Tione was masking her irritation with food, asking for seconds, thirds, and fourths—“More”—with stern glares daunting enough to elicit stammers of surprise from their brawny mealtime companions.
“Usually it’s her keeping tabs on me…” Tiona laughed awkwardly. Even she could see the irony in the role reversal.
“What about you? Are you okay?” Aiz asked.
“Me? I’m fine! You know me—thinking’s not my strong suit,” the young Amazon responded with her usual smile, almost as though completely indifferent to the entire situation. Perhaps it was just Aiz’s imagination, but something about the innocent smile was different than usual—strained. But she wasn’t about to press any further.
“Geez…you girls can eat! Even for adventurers! I guess first-tiers really are in a class all their own,” one of the particularly strapping men gushed as he watched the two sisters stuff their faces together with the other fishermen around the grill. He was a human man nearly two meders tall with a crop of black hair above his jet-black eyes. “What about that skinny little thing over there, huh? The Sword Princess? Can she eat like you two?”
“Nah, she never eats as much as us. Really likes her Jyaga Maru Kun, though.”
“And you are…?” Aiz turned her eyes in the young man’s direction.
“Me? I’m Rod. The captain ’round these parts,” Rod boasted warmly.
Aiz was silent a moment as she formulated her words. “Mister Rod, then…do you and the others in your familia fish a lot?”
“That we do. S’bout all we’re good at, really. We fish the lake, a’course, but even all the way out to the sea, too. I’ve probably spent more of my life on the waves than here on land.”
Fishing was Njörðr Familia’s be-all and end-all. As burly as these men of the sea happened to be, neither they nor their patron deity had any delusions of grandeur or bones to pick with other familias.
In fact, they seemed more like an organization of fishermen than a true familia.
“Most men in this city grow up to be fishers. Guess it’s thanks to Skip Njörðr.”
“Are there any fishermen in the port who don’t belong to Njörðr Familia?” Lefiya asked curiously.
“You probably could if you wanted, but no one does. The Skip’s a great guy, and his blessing comes in real handy. Gives you more strength than the average trawler,” Rod replied, glancing toward one of the storehouses where a slender young human was lugging around a giant net all by himself. No doubt, a Status was carved into his back, as well.
“If your goal is just to make a livin’ with fishin’, you’ll do it a lot faster at the feet of the Skip. And even if it’s sailin’ on the high seas, you’ll have a much easier time with his blessin’, especially given how many monsters are lurkin’ out there,” the Njörðr Familia captain explained. In today’s day and age, even fishermen needed the power of the Falna, if only to give them a better chance at defending themselves. Out on the ocean and surrounded by water, a man had no one to rely on but himself. “And besides, well…we all love Skip Njörðr! He’s taken care of us since we were knee-high to a minnow…and he’s been protectin’ this city for centuries, all the way back to the time of our fathers, and even our fathers’ fathers, may they rest in peace.”
Njörðr had been in charge of the fishing in Meren for so long, no other familias had ever even tried to set up their own fishing gigs—which was one more reason why Njörðr Familia’s grip on the city’s fishing industry was so strong. The love, respect, and trust Rod and the other fishermen had for their patron deity was all too evident in the intrepid captain’s smile.
“Do you ever hunt monsters purposefully, Mister Rod?”
“Hmm? Ah…sometimes! Every once in a while we’ll get a request from the folks here in among the orders of fish.”
Then what the townsfolk had told them earlier had been correct.
The fishers here, what with the help of the Falna, would probably have no trouble taking care of the type of monsters that appeared on the surface—weakened from generations of breeding and never having stepped foot in the actual Dungeon. They were strong enough to take out their fair share of sea pirates, after all. Rod himself had already reached Level 2, what with his many years spent on the open ocean and the countless battles he’d seen. And from what Aiz could see, there were at least a few others in the group besides him whose strength could easily rival a low-level adventurer’s.
So long as things didn’t get too crazy, they’d be able to deal with any trouble themselves, meaning the times they were forced to send for help from Orario were few and far between.
“In all your experience on the lake and ocean, did you ever see…a large flower-type monster?”
“You mean that thing from yesterday? Didn’t get to see it myself, as I just pulled into port this morning, but…you sure that thing wasn’t an aqua serpent?” Rod asked, lacing his thick arms across each other.
Aiz and the others nodded.
The captain’s brows furrowed. Out of all the fishermen, he was easily the most acquainted with Meren’s waterfront. “I do have an idea. I’ve often seen it when I’m fishin’ in the lake and ocean. A real long thing, like a snake, almost…swimmin’ in the water below the ship…”
“…!”
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“Even I thought it was an aqua serpent at first, but—” Rod started before cutting his words short and quickly raising his head. “This thing you’re talkin’ about’s never attacked us. Not even once!”
He looked around at the rest of his men, who all nodded in agreement, both at never having been attacked and never having gotten a good look at the creature in question.
Befuddlement crossed the faces of the group of girls.
“…? Hey, what’s that little bag hanging from your waist? I’ve noticed most of you fisher guys have one,” Tiona suddenly said.
True enough, there was a similar bag—a little bigger than a typical adventurer’s pouch—tied around the waist of every fisherman walking along the dock.
“Ho-ho! You’ve got good eyes, little missy.” Rod laughed. Grabbing ahold of the bag, he held it aloft for the group to see, almost like a child showing off his favorite toy. “This here’s magic dust! Sprinkle a little of this beauty on the water, and monsters won’t come close!” he announced proudly.
“What?!” Tiona (and the rest of the girls) blurted back in surprise. Bewildered as to what could be inside, she took the bag from the captain’s hand and worked the stubborn tie open.
“Hey, hey, careful now!”
“Huh—? Bwwwwwooooaaaagh, that stinks!” she cried out, reeling back and away from the pungent smell wafting out of the bag.
It was strong enough to elicit cries of disgust from Aiz, Lefiya, and the surrounding girls, all of them quickly bringing their hands to their noses.
“Why didn’t you say something?! What is this stuff?!” Tears forming in her eyes, Tiona attempted to peer into the bag. The others followed suit, doing their best to hold out against the overwhelming odor.
“Is it raw? Seems like a bunch of different things all ground up into powder…”
“And that color! Gives me the heebie-jeebies!”
Reds, yellows, blacks—all variety of different colored powders appeared to be mixed together, which almost looked like the crumbled remains of something dead when paired with the rancid smell. Tiona’s face curled in on itself like a dried prune as she surveyed the mysterious glittering dust.
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria, Vol. 6 Page 9
