The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character-Chapter 11: New Adventurer Bern (9). Preparing a Gift

When Bern and Blanca submitted their completion report to the guild, the initial reaction was as follows.

“Goblins kidnapped and intimidated humans to extract their skills? Their numbers exceeded 200, and every single one of them was armed with armor and weapons? On top of that, their leader had intelligence comparable to a human and was planning to absorb human civilization? And you’re telling me that two adventurers wiped them out completely? Blanca, did you secretly change careers to a playwright?”

It was understandable from the guild’s perspective. Adventurers often exaggerated their exploits, but this was beyond anything reasonable.

However, Blanca adamantly insisted that if they doubted her, they should go and verify it themselves. She even went as far as to declare that if she was lying, she would willingly work as a receptionist for the rest of her life. The guild officer, swayed by her conviction, decided to send out investigators—just in case.

“...Shit. I’ve never seen this many goblin corpses piled up in one place. If we’d been a few days late, they’d be rotting, and it would be a nightmare.”

“There are huge burn marks deeper inside. Looks like at least a hundred were wiped out in a single strike.”

“There are also signs that people were held captive and forced to live here.”

At first, the investigators were half in disbelief, half dumbfounded. But the deeper their investigation went, the more serious their expressions became.

It was already rare to see nearly a hundred goblins maintaining a single, unified force without splintering into smaller groups. But the fact that this group was not only equipped with weapons and armor, but that some of them had custom-made gear, made it impossible to dismiss.

The veteran investigators quickly realized—this could have easily escalated into a kingdom-wide disaster.

The investigation report, which was unusually severe for a Rank 2 quest, reached the Eastern Branch Head, who immediately cursed upon reading it.

“So they let things fester until it got this bad, then tricked us by disguising it as a simple goblin extermination request?”

The branch head immediately confronted Baron Atra’s territory. At first, the barony tried to claim they had no knowledge of the situation. But when the guild continued applying pressure, they snapped back with a shameless retort: “It only got this bad because you didn’t handle it quickly enough.”

Thus, another page was added to the long and bitter history of hostility between the Adventurers’ Guild and the nobility.

Of course, this was just a battle of pride «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» among the higher-ups.

For those beneath them, what truly mattered was their immediate payment.

“We can’t give you any more money.”

Seeing Blanca’s face darken, the guild officer quickly added,

“If you had reported the situation first and waited for the guild to renegotiate with the client before taking action, you would have received a reward appropriate for the work done. But this time, you resolved the issue before any renegotiation took place. So naturally, we can only pay according to the original terms.”

“Let’s set aside the official reasoning for a moment. What’s the real issue?”

“...Baron Atra pulled in other nobles. Now he’s outright refusing to pay any additional rewards, standing firm with a ‘come at me if you dare’ attitude. Damn, I wanted to split him in two on the spot. Even the External Affairs guy was grinding his teeth.”

If one were to compare the military strength of the Eastern Guild Branch to that of Baron Atra’s territory, the guild had the advantage.

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After all, what kind of military power could a noble who couldn’t even manage his own land and had to outsource his problems possibly have?

But if the guild resorted to force and tried to “collect” the debt from the barony, they wouldn’t just be fighting Baron Atra—they’d be making enemies of the entire noble class of the kingdom.

The nobles of Birka were undoubtedly corrupt and ruthless, but precisely because of that, they were extremely sensitive to anything that could threaten their authority and the status quo.

“Well, in the end, those bastards will be in trouble if they can’t rely on us for future jobs. Sooner or later, they’ll throw some underling under the bus, say, ‘I had no idea things had gotten so bad,’ and propose a half-baked compromise. Just wait it out.”

“No, that’s fine. How long are we supposed to wait with no guarantee?”

“...Are you telling me to open the guild’s coffers and pay you out of pocket? At best, I could consider writing off the debt you owe to the guild.”

“I don’t need that. Just acknowledge it officially.”

Blanca held up three fingers.

“Bern, promote him to Rank 3. He’s earned it.”

“Hold on. Before starting this job, you asked for permission to accept Rank 3 requests alongside Rank 2 ones. And that was under the condition that you complete three more quests.”

“The nature of this request changed, so the rewards should change too. If you need an excuse to justify it, this achievement is more than enough.”

“That guy hasn’t even been Rank 2 for a full week.”

“The guild values performance, not seniority. Isn’t that what you always say?”

“...Tch.”

The officer grimaced, but eventually sighed in defeat.

“Fine. But there will be no monetary reward. Even if Baron Atra comes crawling back later, none of it will go to you.”

“That’s fine.”

“Haah. Get out of here. Just talking to you is exhausting.”

The officer waved them off like he was swatting away flies. Blanca, however, didn’t seem particularly offended as she left the office.

As she stepped into the guild’s main hall, a man standing near the entrance immediately bent at a perfect right angle and greeted her.

“Welcome, ma’am!”

The surrounding adventurers murmured amongst themselves at the scene, while Blanca’s face turned red with irritation.

“I told you to just call me Blanca! What the hell is with this ‘ma’am’ nonsense!?”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“A leader is a leader, and a superior is a superior. You saved my life and even healed my ankle—how could I possibly address you informally?”

The man’s name was Renya—one of the former slaves Bern and Blanca had rescued.

Even back in the cave, his quick speech and rapid change in attitude stood out. He had been an adventurer who happened to be in the village when the goblins attacked. Unlike the other freed slaves, who took the supplies gathered by the goblins and set off in search of a new home, Renya clung to Bern and Blanca, insisting they let him work for them, even if only as a porter.

Blanca was wary of Renya’s sycophantic nature and wanted to turn him away, but Bern insisted on taking him in.

And his reason for doing so was truly absurd.

"That type has a keen sense for danger. If we keep him around and observe, it’ll be useful when he picks up on anything suspicious."

How else could one respond to, "Let’s get ourselves a canary for the mine too!"

"Did everything go well? My lord said he would order food at the restaurant in advance, and asked me to guide you there when you’re done."

If only he would stop with this damn "ma’am" nonsense. And besides, isn’t he older than me?

With a deep sigh, Blanca followed Renya’s lead as they walked.

The restaurant they arrived at wasn’t the most luxurious, but it was still on the pricier side. There, they joined Bern, who had already secured a table, and started their discussion.

"The negotiation was a success. The guild officer works fast, so by tomorrow, your Rank 3 adventurer certification should be issued."

"Good work. Renya, how did it go on your end?"

"Yes, sir! I successfully completed my affiliation transfer! I’m no longer part of the Southeastern Branch—I now belong to the Eastern Branch! I look forward to serving you! I will dedicate my life to your cause!"

"Wow."

"Yeah, sure."

Blanca cringed as if her entire body curled in on itself, but Bern remained unfazed.

As a crown prince, he had experienced all sorts of flattery and sycophantic gestures. Compared to the subtle manipulations and theatrics of the aristocracy, this kind of overt bootlicking was almost refreshing, like watching a child put on a performance.

"Was there any issue regarding the supplies the goblins had gathered?"

"Not really. There wasn’t much discussion about it. From the start, we were entitled to take the byproducts, so even if anyone brought it up, it wouldn’t have mattered."

At a glance, it seemed as if the two adventurers had gained only recognition for their achievement without much monetary reward, but in reality, that wasn’t the case.

The Goblin Lord had scoured the surrounding areas, practically plundering them in his quest to build his own kingdom, amassing a massive stockpile of resources.

While things like meat and oil were cumbersome to transport and sell, leather was a different story.

By bundling the leather into large stacks, Bern could carry a significant amount on his own.

The money earned from selling it in different locations wasn’t enough to completely change their lives, but it was a solid sum—a respectable fortune.

"I heard you have debt with the guild. Why don’t you pay that off first? If you’re short on money, I can contribute my share as well."

At Bern’s suggestion, Blanca firmly shook her head.

"No. That won’t do. If we had agreed from the start to allocate a fixed percentage of our earnings as party funds, that’d be one thing. But money transactions between party members need to be handled strictly. Plenty of promising parties have fallen apart because they didn’t."

To Blanca, Bern was a lifeline she absolutely couldn’t afford to lose.

Just because she was struggling now didn’t mean she should start fraying the rope she was clinging to with a knife. Only an idiot would do that.

"As long as I show I’m making steady repayments, the guild won’t pressure me too much. In fact, they’d prefer I take my time so they can keep collecting interest."

She didn’t mention that before meeting Bern, she had been unable to meet even the minimum required payments—forcing her into working as a receptionist.

She didn’t want pity.

And for that, she needed to strengthen herself.

"Since we’ll only be able to officially accept Rank 3 quests starting tomorrow, let’s take the rest of the day off after eating and meet in front of the guild tomorrow morning. That work for you?"

"Understood."

"Yes, ma’am! Now, let’s dig in before the food gets cold!"

Even as they ate, Blanca’s mind wasn’t focused on the meal in front of her—it was preoccupied with planning for the future.

"Buying a proper magic tool is impossible with this amount. Even spell scrolls are cutting it close. ...Mana potions? They’re practical, but they’re consumables. Maybe I should just save up more."

She failed to notice.

As she was lost in thought, Bern was watching her with an unreadable expression.

***

After parting ways with the others.

Returning to his room at the inn, Bern sat in silence, deep in thought.

Then, a voice whispered from the shadows.

["What a commendable woman. She has a man right beside her who could solve all her problems if she just asked, but instead of relying on him and begging, she struggles to keep up on her own. Why don’t you go and comfort her? Hm? Maybe if you embrace her properly, she’ll feel truly at ease? Even if it’s just your clone, it can still do everything at night, so don’t worry."]

"...You’ve been quiet for a while, and now that you finally speak up, this is what you have to say?"

Even at Bern’s sarcasm, Lucidra was unfazed.

["Well, what else would a demon say? Should I tell you two to take a nice, wholesome morning walk together instead?"]

"Oh, that actually sounds good. A mage can’t just rely on spells—they need to train their stamina too. For once, you’ve said something useful. I’ll look forward to more advice like this in the future."

["......"]

Lucidra’s form was unseen, but Bern could easily picture the expression she was making.

Most likely, something akin to someone biting into a bitter insect.

"By the way, would you be interested in making a deal with me?"

["...A deal? You? Since when?"]

Even after teaching him the Clone Magic, Lucidra had persistently tried to tempt the crown prince into various contracts, only to be met with an iron wall of resistance each time.

But now, he was suddenly bringing up contracts himself. More than intrigued, she was suspicious.

"Do you know of any spells or techniques that would be useful for a mage?"

["Of course I do. But do you really need to negotiate for that? You already know quite a lot yourself."]

"The spells I use were all exclusively developed by the Empire. If they were ever leaked, it would cause massive problems. Blanca could even be put in danger because of it."

["Ah, so you want to borrow my power instead? What’s the price?"]

"The mana and souls of monsters I slay as Bern the adventurer. You get to consume them. The percentage you receive depends on how useful and low-risk the spell or technique is."

["Wait, hold on. I can already devour mana and souls on my own—I don’t need your permission. And now you’re offering it as payment? Not even in full, but as a percentage?"]

"What are you talking about? If I don’t create a channel with my Clone Magic, you’re stuck, unable to leave the Imperial Palace. Or should I start charging you a toll fee from now on?"

["...You know, if you treated me even half as nicely as you treat that adventurer girl, I might actually consider helping you out more."]

Lucidra grumbled, but realizing that Bern wouldn’t budge, she let out a sigh.

And then, she spoke.

["How about Soul Drain?"]