Wizard Stone - Chapter 713



Only Krnovel

713. Each person’s interest (2)

“The kids?”

“Not us?”

As expected.

All the mercenaries have expressions asking if that’s true.

“Shouldn’t we choose?”

“Why do you think so?”

“No, because we are the ones evaluating it… … .”

“You guys are the ones doing the evaluations, but wouldn’t it be a bit much if you guys were the ones making the choices? From the students’ perspective, it would be like a mercenary they disliked picking them and giving them the worst evaluations.”

“You don’t like us?”

“… … For example, for example. Anyway, that’s what I think. At least they should make the choice.”

“Well, if that’s what you think… … .”

As expected, they had somewhat unpleasant expressions. It seemed like they had already chosen students they liked.

For example, kids like Kina, Barbara, and Panum who seem like they would listen well.

Most people will probably choose them, except for Tali. It’s going to be a tough choice.

Of course, the opposite was also true.

“Don’t be too disappointed. You have a choice, too.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“There’s no rule that says all students have to choose different mercenaries. They might all flock to one mercenary, right? In that case, I’ll let you choose one of the students. I’ll even give you a prize.”

“Prize? What prize?”

“The prize is the prize. The person who gets the most votes will get three gold, the second place will get two gold, and the third place will get one gold.”

“really?”

“Three golds?”

I was worried that it might not be enough, but it seems that I was worried for nothing.

No, on the contrary, they were overflowing. Some even asked what would happen if they were all chosen, as if the daily gold alone was enough.

There were also questions like, “What if there are multiple first place winners?” and “What if it all goes to just one person?”

It was a question we all expected.

“Probably nothing you’re worried about will happen.”

“why?”

“how?”

“When the students choose you, they will write down their ranking from first to third. First place is three points, second place is two points, third place is one point, and so on.”

“How are we going to choose then? Are we going to go first, second, and third in that order? If we lose to first, we go to second, and if we lose to second, we go to third?”

“I know right.”

Of course, except for the chosen mercenaries, no one will know who wrote who and in what order.

It’s not good to know that you’re not the first priority.

“Anyway, we’re going to do it like this, so don’t worry about overlapping.”

“… … What if it overlaps even after doing that?”

“Even if we do this, if they overlap, we’ll just give them the same amount of overlap. If there are multiple first place winners, we’ll give them all three golds. The same goes for joint second place and joint third place.”

“really?”

“Oh. So, try to get chosen by as many students as possible.”

Certainly, the power of gold was great.

As soon as the conversation ended, the mercenaries’ behavior changed.

In the past, they only treated the students they liked well, but now they have started to treat as many students as possible well.

Of course, Gordon was included among them.

This would solve the problem that Dread had been talking about to some extent. Since I would soon be seeing the mercenaries more often than the students anyway, this seemed like a better option.

And it was the same for other students.

Except for Kina, students who had not made any effort until now suddenly became active.

Until then, you could only hope to be paired up with a good mercenary, but now you can choose to be paired with the mercenary you want, so it seems like that’s why.

Of course, there were still some passive students.

It’s not that they’re not interested, but it feels like they have a hard time talking to them. In particular, it’s harder for female students from noble families to be aware of what others think.

That is why we started receiving separate applications.

If you write your name on the application form, you can have a private interview with that mercenary, and as expected, Eredin was the most popular.

It seemed likely that Eredin would take the three golds unless something unexpected happened.

However, I had no idea who would take second place.

Tally also has more requests than expected, and Denzel, Marcos, Moriu, and… … .

“Milla?”

“Yes. Is it possible to become a mercenary?”

“No, it’s not like that… … .”

If it had been a boy, I would have said yes firmly, but the person who applied was a girl. And she was the one who had caught my eye because she used Fire Arrow the best.

So, I suddenly became curious.

“Can I ask why you want to see Mila?”

“Oh, because I’m a fan of his.”

“Him? A fan?”

“yes.”

The schoolgirl took out a pouch from her bosom, telling him to wait a moment, and to her surprise, it was a magical item.

Countless small pieces of desks, beds, chairs, etc. came out of the pockets.

“stop.”

“There’s still more.”

“You don’t have to take out any more. I think this is enough to tell you how much you like Mila’s pieces. Show the rest to Mila.”

“Oh, then… … .”

“Call me right away.”

Roy sent his servant to call Mila, telling her to wait a moment.

After a while, Mila came into the living room with a frown on her face.

“Were you working?”

“Yes. What’s going on?”

“There’s a student here who wants to see you.”

“It’s different.”

“It’s Mila.”

There was no need for any further explanation. Just looking at the expression on the face of the schoolgirl who seemed to be in love and the pieces lying on the table, I could tell what was going on.

Even if I exaggerated a bit and said that I came to Arpen just to see Mila, I would believe it.

The schoolgirl was quite excited.

On the other hand, Mila remained calm until the end of the story, which at first glance seemed familiar.

“Are there a lot of people who come here like this?”

“I guess so. Of course, there aren’t many people who like my sculptures as much as I do. But somehow, I feel like I know more about them than you do.”

“Yeah, it looks like it. But since you’ve already seen it, give me something.”

“That’s what I’m going to do. I’m planning on showing my latest work to that friend first.”

“Latest?”

“There’s something new I’m working on these days.”

Mila told me to wait a moment, then took out her pocket and started taking out pieces of a kettle, teacups, and pot.

It was a type of sculpture I had seen before, only smaller.

It was so small that I couldn’t even see the patterns engraved on the surface.

“Is this a tree in the forest?”

“that’s right.”

“How did you get it?”

“The lord saved me.”

“Pyrene?”

“Yes, but there aren’t that many.”

“Well, it’s not easy to get it here from the forest.”

What bothers me more is that it was Florence who brought it to me.

Are you concerned about the people around you because your contract is almost over?

“So that’s why you made it so small? Because there weren’t many trees?”

“That’s true, but I also wanted to try it. I couldn’t do it until now because the wood wasn’t very good. I’m thinking of painting it later.”

“Color?”

“Yes. I’m not the one painting it. I’m looking for someone who knows a little bit about painting or dyeing. I think it’ll look better if it has some color.”

I think it would be better if that were true.

Especially for food in pots, I thought it would be more vibrant if there was color.

“But it seems like you’ll have to do more hands-on work. Even if the person you hired does the painting, you’ll still be the one giving instructions. There will also be pieces you’ve already made.”

“I’m already so busy, so I’m thinking of hiring some people.”

“You’re saving people?”

“Yes. Hadel said she found out. She said there are some friends who are interested in this.”

“Hadel? Oh, the one I saw in the capital?”

“that’s right.”

To be exact, he is one of the elf group that receives money from Mila.

It seemed like they still kept in touch often, as their names came up naturally.

“How much money do you pay these days?”

“It depends. If you earn a lot, you pay a little more. If you earn little, you pay a little less.”

“How much did you pay recently?”

“This is gold.”

Roy’s mouth opened wide.

“You paid that much?”

“I earn a lot of money. I also run a business.”

“You get paid every time a piece of furniture exactly like that is made? Is that money?”

“Yes, it is increasing.”

Roy scratched the back of his head. Earning a lot of money is something to celebrate, but paying out this much gold is a bit problematic.

No, maybe more. Maybe I paid less recently because my income was not good.

“They… wouldn’t be spending their money on the wrong things, would they?”

“For example?”

“Well, they use it to eat, or buy clothes, or something.”

“That’s okay. As long as we save the elves properly.”

“Do you think I’m doing well?”

“yes.”

“okay?”

Well, then.

After saying that, he didn’t ask about Hadel and money anymore. As long as he could save the elf, the rest was just trivial matters.

First of all, there was nothing the person who said he would give three golds to the mercenaries could say.

There was also a need to think a bit about where to live.

If the trees of the Great Forest were to become an important element in Mila’s sculpture, it seemed that there would be problems in moving the territory.

I need to think about it.

How much money Mila will give, whether Hadel will rescue the people properly, and whether the trees in the Great Forest will be a problem for moving the residence.

Honestly, I don’t know.

But one thing was clear: I had included Mila in my application.

That was clearly a wrong decision.

As word spread that he could be a human being as well as a mercenary, requests for various types of people began to come in.

Shugel, Byuk, Irina, and even Nop.

I almost panicked, but I wasn’t there because I was writing a letter to Vivian.

Of course, I have no intention of allowing it even after I return. Naturally, the same goes for Schugel and Bück.

I also plan to handle the application for Irina in a different way. I was planning to introduce her anyway.

The very next day, I went to see the ogre.

The reaction was beyond words. It was beyond words, but I asked anyway.

Because I remembered the request to tell the story of the first day’s ogre hunt.

“How was it?”

“It was good.”

Badam laughed as if asking the obvious, then began to tell me one by one what he liked.

The story started with the Ogre and ended with the Auror, passing through the Whip of Fire.

It was better than I thought. If I had known this would happen, I would have taken him sooner.

“What about the students?”

“Of course you wouldn’t like it?”

“It seemed that way, but I’m still curious about the specific impressions.”

“Well, I’m not sure about that.”

“Haven’t you talked about it?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I won’t interfere in any way.”

“… … Even if you don’t intervene, you should evaluate it. Shouldn’t you ask what’s okay and stuff?”

“You can ask me when it’s over.”

“her…….”

For a moment, I almost shook my head without realizing it.

I said I wouldn’t intervene, but I didn’t think it would be this bad. I didn’t think I wouldn’t talk to the students either.

To this extent, it wasn’t that they didn’t interfere, but rather that they were just not interested.

Are you by any chance against this type of graduation exam?

“Then even if I ask, you won’t tell me?”

“What are you talking about?”

“So far, what is it like? I don’t need to intervene or evaluate, but it’s okay to appreciate it.”

“… … I think it’s good. I like the purpose and the process. No, I think it should be expanded even more.”

“enlargement?”

“Yes. The more pores, the better, right?”

“… … That’s it? What’s the current situation?”

“Actually, I’m saying this in a sanitized way. In my view, it’s almost on the verge of rot. It almost seems like the term “total chaos” came from here.”

What a total mess in the pores.

It seems that Bidam is very interested in the situation of the kingdom, but at the same time, he is very pessimistic.

I was thinking of a small snake and poked the stick, but suddenly a huge python popped out.

It feels like things have suddenly gotten a bit bigger than intended.

“… … I didn’t think that far ahead.”

“Is that so? I thought it would be similar to mine since I heard you also support the Alcon business.”

“I don’t know where you heard that, but that’s not true either.”

Roy briefly explained the conversation he had with Alcon and the instances when he was turned down.

I didn’t really want to spread rumors, but I needed to make it clear that it wasn’t true.

“I see. So, are you willing to provide the funds?”

“Of course. As I said, I am not against the business. I also think that Alcon’s business will be helpful to the wizards in the kingdom in the long run. As you said, the more breathing holes the better. However, as I said, I did not think of it as a total crisis. Do you think it is that serious of a crisis?”

“Well, if you look at the kingdom as a whole, maybe not to that extent. But if you look at the school alone, it’s definitely like that.”

“What exactly is wrong with it?”

“Everything is bad. Outrageously expensive tuition, classes that aren’t worth the money, professors who only do research that doesn’t make money, and students who sign sponsorship contracts that are like slave contracts to get in. Nothing is right.”

… … It is a mistake.

Now I see that the situation didn’t just grow from a snake to a snake; there was a snake itself to begin with.

The snake was a badam.