Sitting in my room, I felt my Sonic Eagle start heading my way from Reginston, so I opened a Gate for it to travel through. The letter named some parties and individual adventurers that are; heading to or would be heading to the dungeon, so I sent the letter as is to Alisha after feeding the eagle some bread and a small fish. I didn't know any of these adventurer names or party names, but Alisha should know who they were.

Trying to think of something to do, I really wanted to start the tanning process of the bear skin because it would take a long time. I considered dismantling the remaining monster, but I didn't have time to go to the guild, and dismantling monsters inside my dimension home would be hard to clean up after the fact. The only thing I could think to do was use the venom sac from the Assassin Snake to make some medicine or poison, but I already had better medicines, and I had no use for poison.

While still trying to think of something to do, I felt Jay's presence nearing the inn and decided to go chat with him. I walked downstairs to wait for Jay and there was a messenger there delivering a message for Jay and me. As it turns out, the duke wanted to see us tomorrow, just after lunch, like on the first day. I used this chance to have a message delivered to the duke regarding the message I received from Reginston.

About that time, Jay came walking into the inn, and I welcomed him back before moving to a more private location to discuss details. Once there, I first told him about the message from the duke, and he seemed excited that we were finally moving forward with the meeting. I then told him about the new dungeon discovery and what was currently happening inside the dungeon, and how the guild was reacting.

I warned him that this information had not been officially released yet, so he shouldn't make any big moves. He should just stock up on potions at the Gale store and prepare to open a branch when they build a dungeon town. He managed to keep his calm by thinking about all the work he would have to do to prepare for a new branch while continuing with plans for the new district here at the capital. Lastly, I told him about the stew.

A bit later, only shortly before dinner time, the adventurers that escorted us here came back, so I told them about the stew as well. There seemed to be a heavy mood around them, and I could guess what happened, so I went with them to a spot that wasn't blocking the other guests before asking them directly. I was right; since they were both B-rank parties, they were asked by the guild if they could head to the new dungeon.

Since they are still in the middle of the escort quest, having been hired for the round trip, they were unable to accept. It was because of this situation and not being able to help that they were in a heavy mood. In order to lighten the mood a bit, I informed them of the A-rank party that had already arrived and the adventurers heading there from Reginston. I also let them know that we probably wouldn't need to stay here much longer.

I couldn't give the two parties a definite answer about when we would be leaving though, because I didn't know what Livia and Jay planned to do. It seemed like Livia was only sticking around because I had gotten her involved in the decision-making of the district I had proposed. The meeting tomorrow with the duke should put an end to the part Livia needed to be involved in, however, Jay may decide to continue to stay. If that happened, I would have to either leave with Livia or hire my own escort in order to be allowed to travel back.

We then had a delicious dinner of bear stew and sides. I was quite impressed by the quality that the cooks here can produce. The escorts that Livia hired asked her about her plans going forward. It turns out that she was planning to leave the day after tomorrow. I think the team was hoping to leave earlier, but at least they would still be able to help with the dungeon.

The next morning, I woke up early, finished my morning routine, and had breakfast before heading out to look for some materials. I didn't spend a long time looking around because I needed to make sure I would be ready to meet with the duke after lunchtime. Even with my skills and knowledge, I had a difficult time trying to figure out how to build a magic tool that would accomplish what I wanted without being too inefficient.

When it was time to eat lunch, I had gotten an idea worked out and drawn up the design, but I didn't have time to build it. Jay and I had a quick lunch, changed, and got on a carriage heading toward the duke's manor. On the way, Jay asked me if I thought the duke would agree to my proposal. I told him it was highly likely to go through, but there was a possibility of needing to make some small changes.

Like last time, we were led to a waiting room for a short while before being led to the room where the duke and his wife were waiting. The only difference this time was that Amelia was in the room with the Sonic Eagle I had left with her. After some light greetings, we sat down and had tea brought to us. Before the meeting started, Amelia gave me the Sonic Eagle, which I gave a few pets to before un-summoning it.

"Before we talk about the district proposal, I heard about the reward you requested for dealing with that magic tool yesterday. While I can't give you exactly what you asked for, I can provide you with some unrefined ore and pass along your request to the king," The duke said while looking at me.

I was then handed a small bag with the ore in it. According to the Detailed Appraisal, it was about 40% mithril, with the rest being a slew of different metals. I gratefully accepted it and stowed it and the bag inside my item box, not wanting to take it out or mention what it was in front of Jay. After that, the meeting got started in earnest.

"I have spoken to my advisors and the merchant's guild regarding your proposal. After hearing their opinions on the matter and giving your proposal some serious thought as well, I decided to move forward with your proposal. However, I was informed that the indoor stage was an absolute must for maximizing earnings and potential, so we'll need that added in," The duke said in a formal manner.

Since he had accepted my proposal, we had to hammer out the details regarding my pay and a few other things. Jay somehow got the duke to approve of him getting the first pick of where he wanted his store, and he chose one of the best locations, having apparently given it a lot of thought. I was also told that the king wanted to buy my magic circuit idea independently from this deal, so I had to work out the details of that with Emily.

After reading over a contract detailing how much I was to get paid and what work would be expected of me, I signed it along with the duke. I then pulled out a sheaf of papers and handed them over to the duke before pulling out a few more pieces of paper and handing those over as well. I then pulled out some larger, rolled-up pieces of parchment and handed over those.

"That is all the diagrams, drawings, and detailed reports for the proposed new district. I even wrote down which materials were best to use based on what is readily available around the capital. With this, I have fulfilled the terms of the employment contract. Thank you for your business." I told the duke while pulling out another piece of paper and writing down my magic circuit method and the recipe for the circuit filler.

"This is what the king wanted. The design of the circuits changes based on the design of the building, so I cannot give any specifics on that, however, the base of the design is still the same. You can copy the designs from the documents for the arenas if you want," I said to Emily while handing her the paper I had just finished writing on.

"Hold up, even if this is all the designs and everything else, your job isn't done until the new district is finished." The duke said in the kind of tone you would use on a kid trying to trick you.

"What are you talking about? I only signed a contract to be the architect designing the district, which I have already done. Overseeing the construction is the job of a foreman or something, which would require a whole new contract, one which I am not willing to sign. I won't even enter into negotiations for the position, hire someone else," I replied firmly.

The duke just stared at me, looking stunned, there was no way for him to argue, after all. I had made sure of what I was signing before doing so. While the duke was still struggling to find something to say, Jay looked at me an apologetic look before speaking up.

"I will be staying for at least a month, probably until the construction of the new district is complete, so I'm not sure how you plan to return." Jay's words caused a glimmer of hope to appear in the duke's eyes, but I was about to destroy that hope.

"You do realize that would be a breach of contract with the adventurer's guild for your escorts, right? So it seems like there is a free B-rank party now, plus Livia was planning to head back to Gale tomorrow, so I could just ride with her. Worst case scenario, I could just summon another Griffin and fly back to Gale." I replied calmly.

"I will have to talk to the party and pay the penalty to terminate the contract," Jay said, having already thought of that.

"Wouldn't it be cheaper to sign the quest completion form and have them escort me back instead? Their party will be heading that way regardless." I offered a better solution.

"I'm all for saving money, so I may as well, as long as they agree, that is." Always the shrewd merchant, he jumped on the idea of saving money.

"Wait, wait, wait, if you leave, who would check to be sure your magic circuits get drawn correctly? If the magic circuit were to fail, that would be your failure as the architect." It seems the duke thought he had found a way to force me to stay.

"That is why you are supposed to hire magic tool craftsmen and dwarven craftsmen who are both excellent at detailed work. If it is absolutely an issue though, then you can send a message to me through the merchant's guild, and I will return for a short period to make sure the magic circuits are completed properly before leaving again.

You will, of course, have to make sure to only contact me when the base for the arenas are complete, and the magic circuits are either; ready to be installed or have been installed, and you just want confirmation from me before filling the circuits. That is the most I am willing to compromise. Frankly speaking, I didn't have to come to the capital in the first place." I made my position clear.

At this point, Emily was staring at him with an icy glare, and Amelia looked down since I un-summoned the Sonic Eagle. With him not getting any support and his wife glaring at him, the duke finally gave in and accepted my compromise. After this, I told Amelia I would bring a pet with me next time if she could convince her parents to let her keep one. I also mentioned that it would be up to the animal whether to stay or not.

"Really?!" She looked up at me, clearly surprised.

"Yes, really, I have no reason to lie about that," I said with a bit of confusion, not understanding why she seemed so surprised.

"I can tell you don't understand, but let's save that for later. I'm sure there are going to be some people that want to meet you about this magic circuit method. Would you be willing to meet with them? Also, regarding what we have heard about the dungeon and your involvement in the matter, it is likely my father and younger brother will want to meet you," Emily said to me with a gentle smile and a hint of concern.

"If those people want to meet me, and it is fine for them to learn about this method, then it would be easiest to have them meet me when I come back to help install or confirm the installation of the magic circuits before the finalization. As far as your father and younger brother go, I don't even know who they are, so why would they want to meet me about that?" I responded and asked the obvious question.

"It seems that we neglected to inform you. Her father is the king, and her younger brother is the crown prince, so that should explain why they would want to meet you," The duke informed me while Emily stared with wide eyes, having obviously not considered that I wouldn't know who her family was.

Like Emily, I was also stunned when I heard this for multiple reasons. First was that she was a royal by blood. The fact that a royal married a duke is not at all surprising, but I found it surprising that someone who gets so lost in magic tools and such that she forgets about guests is a royal. Second was that she doesn't speak up more even though she must have an equal or better education than Reinhardt.

Lastly, they all just expected me to know her family history like they expect every commoner in every town to know the history of the duke's family. I don't even know my own family tree, so why would someone else expect me to know theirs? I would much rather spend the time finding out about my parents' families, but since they don't speak of it, I haven't asked. My thoughts had gone off-topic, leaving the room uncomfortably quiet.

"I see. I had not considered that possibility. Well, as long as they aren't trying to force me to accept some award or something, I guess I don't have a problem meeting them. I will decline in advance if they were wanting to hire me for anything." I answered, not wanting to make things any more awkward, though I think I somewhat failed, considering the bitter look on the duke's face.

"That shouldn't be a problem, my father is very kind, especially towards children, and I'll warn my brother ahead of time," Emily said while smiling, however, when she mentioned warning her brother, I felt a chill down my spine, not unlike being hit by a brief but large amount of killing intent.

"I appreciate your help in that regard," I said with a light bow, trying to hide my inner thoughts of how frightening that sensation was. I had avoided using Detailed Appraisal on the duke's people in case they had some way of detecting it, and I now suspected Emily had some kind of unique ability, making me want to use detailed appraisal even less.

"Right, if you're going to leave tomorrow, you should probably go speak with Livia and get ready," Jay said, sensing that a change of topic was necessary.

"You're right, I really should do that. You should also head back to talk to the adventurer party before it gets too late. I'll help convince them of the plan I suggested as well," I responded to him, wanting to give him an out as well.

"Leaving already? We still have time you know, perhaps we should talk about the new district more?" The duke seemed to not want to be left alone.

"Nonsense, we have already discussed everything that can be discussed in advance. Perhaps you should talk with Amelia about her potential pet, I assume you would need to set rules, expectations, etc. Oh, I suppose I will give you something in celebration of everything working out so well. This is an alcohol made from Royal Honey. It's a little stronger than most wines I have seen, so please enjoy it responsibly." I said as I placed a jar of mead on the table.

"Alcohol made from Royal Honey?! I wasn't aware you can make alcohol from honey and have no clue why someone would make alcohol from something so expensive." The duke replied, flabbergasted.

"It's called mead and, of course, you can make alcohol from honey. I have made a few batches so far, but that one falls right in middle for alcohol content, according to appraisal, so it should be good to drink after dinner. Also, I didn't have any other kind of honey, and it requires a fair amount of honey to make mead. Besides, better honey should make better alcohol, right?" I replied like it was obvious.

If he freaks out this much over mead, I could only imagine how he would react to properly distilled alcohol. I've seen some strong wines, but nothing even close to 30% alcohol content or higher. After the duke calmed down about the mead, we were able to say our goodbyes and leave to return to the inn. On the way back, I expected Jay to try to buy some mead, but apparently, he isn't much of a drinker, and his store doesn't stock alcohol.

Back at the inn, the adventurers and Livia were away at the moment, so Jay went to go deal with preparations for the new stores, and I went back to working on the magic tool. Since I was able to make the design before I went to the Duke's, I was able to make it relatively quickly. It still took a little over an hour to complete due to the intricacies of the magic circuits, but the end result was worth it.

When Livia got back, I went to see her and told her about the situation and asked if it was alright for me to travel back to Gale with her. Fortunately, she had no problems with that and even seemed a bit happy about it because she wouldn't be bored on the return trip. Of course, I didn't mention that I had made a magic tool that I was planning to use on the way back to Gale, so it should be fun seeing her reaction.

A little bit later, the Spirit Wind Travelers came back, it seemed they had been out doing an in-town quest today. I quickly informed them of Jay's plans for staying and my suggestion to have them escort me back instead after having Jay sign the quest completion form. They didn't seem too thrilled with this idea, wanting to head straight to the dungeon instead, until I bribed them with free use of fast mounts that I would summon for them to use.

They were quick to agree once I told them that we would be using my summons to get back to Gale and that I would then summon their choice of Griffins or Pegasi to ride to the dungeon from there. Either way, they would be able to get there faster using my method than borrowing horses from the guild or renting them. I also reminded them that it would be wise to pick up some potions in Gale before heading to the dungeon.

For dinner that night, I suggested we all go to the Yamada restaurant as a way of celebrating the completion of our tasks in Parth. I also sent a message in advance to Alma to have her reserve enough seats for all of us. Until it was time for us to go to dinner, we all went about preparing to leave tomorrow. I mainly used my time to search for things to buy in the capital that I hadn't already picked up.

When we got to the Yamada restaurant, Alma ended up joining us in celebrating our successful trip to the capital, even though she didn't know what business we had completed here. Since she joined us, I asked her about ordering more cocoa, saying that for now, I would be willing to purchase up to 5 small gold coins worth. I, of course, ordered the new dishes, mainly for the cheeseburger, and broke out a jar of mead for the adults to enjoy.

The dinner was very warm and festive, with everyone in a good mood, though the adults had some help with that. I didn't forget to 'accidentally' let slip that there may be some good opportunities for food-related businesses in the capital in the near future. I, of course, mentioned how sausages in buns, as well as hamburgers and cheeseburgers, were excellent food cart items as they could be eaten without a plate while walking around or something.

By the time we got home from dinner, everyone but me was a fair bit drunk, so everyone went to bed early. I did mention for them to drink some water before going to bed, but I'm pretty sure a potion would cure a hangover anyway. In the morning, only a few people had hangovers, one of them being Sieg, so I decided to let him suffer for a bit as a learning experience, of course, it definitely had nothing to do with him being the complainer type of drunk… Totally… Absolutely… Maybe…

In any case, it was finally time for us to head back to Gale. I had only been gone for about ten days, but it had felt like quite a while with everything that had happened. Even though I knew I would have to come back again this spring or summer at the latest, I was still glad to have finished what I came here to do. It wasn't entirely a bad trip, I did enjoy it for the most part, but I was ready to go back to my normal life if you could really call it normal.

About 10 minutes after we left the town, I asked to have to carriage pull over, although Livia was confused by my request, she allowed it. There I had the adventurers and carriage driver help me, they unhooked the harnesses from the horses while I summoned some Wind Riding Horses. I summoned 10 of those horses in total to carry adventurers and pull the carriage.

While they connected the horses to the carriage, I installed the magic tool I had been working on. Once I had it firmly attached to the carriage, I turned it on and tested it out. The magic tool seemed to work as intended by reducing the weight of the carriage and limiting vibrations. With this tool, the Wind Riding Horses should be able to run at full speed without the carriage falling apart.

I gave a cushion to the carriage driver that would cover the front seat in its entirety, explained the function of the magic tool, and told the driver to let the horses run. They seemed uncertain about it at first, but after we got going, our speed increasing steadily, they began to understand. At this rate, we would be able to make it to Gale, by late morning tomorrow.

I had to use magic on the horses that were previously pulling the carriage a few times, but overall, it was a much more pleasant trip than the previous one. When we stopped for the night, I pointed out on the map where we were, explaining how if we travel at the same pace tomorrow, it would take us about 3 hours to get to town. Just like I had said, the next day, after about 3 hours of travel, we could see the town wall.

We had to slow our pace from there, so as not to alert the town guard and cause a ruckus. Arriving at the gate, we were quickly let through, where I had the adventurers dismount so I could un-summon the horses they were riding. When we got to the merchants guild and the remaining summons were unhooked from the carriage, I un-summoned them as well, before saying goodbye to Livia and heading to the guild with the two parties.

While they completed the process of turning in their quests, I was talking with Revna about what had happened. It seems that some more adventurers had left this morning for the dungeon, so by mid-afternoon, there should be about 30 adventurers there in total. I told her about the two parties that were going to be heading there on flying mounts I would summon for them, and she went over to process the formalities for their parties accepting the emergency quest.

From there, we went back outside the city, where I summoned 6 Griffins, per their request, which pushed my limits, causing me to need to drink a potion, but I would be fine. I also gave some potions to the two parties, telling them they could pay me back in materials from the dungeon as long as they survived. After saying our goodbyes and wishing them all luck, I saw them off, telling them to be careful. I was finally back, and with nothing left to do, I started walking home.

ShadowWolfGuild

This marks the end of volume 1, thanks for following along this far.

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A special thanks to Yeuromain and Gareth for the support