"Thank you all for coming," I said, greeting the various dignitaries from around the world.
"Your words are wasted on us! Hero Alaster, obviously if you were the one calling then we made our way here post-haste!" One of the dignitaries said with a wide smile.
"Indeed! Since it was the first hero calling, of course, we would show up!" Another continued.
I put on a fake smile when I heard those two kissing up to me. It was kinda funny to see them being so obvious yet being clueless as to how shameless they were really acting.
After a small round of greetings, I sat everyone down and prepared to lead the meeting. It was high time that I established an international Adventurer's Guild for the world. Since I had saved Evelyn from becoming Kazaream and then Kagali, Yuuki is probably never going to exist in this world and will never reform it into an actually halfway decent organization, so I'll have to pick up the slack. Besides, I never really was one for ruling over others, so I didn't want to establish my own kingdom but being Guild Master would allow me to gather information from a worldwide network, which would help me with numerous projects in the future and give me enough political clout to be able to move freely.
"Once again, thank you all for coming so quickly. It is truly heartwarming to see so many countries coming together under a shared and unified goal." I started. "I know many of you are curious about the so-called, 'international project' that I proposed when I sent out the various letters that I did."
"Yes, we of the Namrium Kingdom are most curious about that." The Namrium representative, the crown prince, said in response to my declaration.
"Seconded! We in Sarion may be a new and small nation right now, so we are most curious as to why you would call for our participation." Said one of the Elves that Slyvia had sent to the meeting.
I nodded in acknowledgment of their comments and began to speak again. "In recent years, the number of monster attacks globally has dramatically increased. Yes, while the efforts of the military of many nations have kept the monster at bay, and strong men and women like myself, the Crown Prince of the Nasca Kingdom, and the Queen of Sarion have all helped in eliminating the strongest and most dangerous of these creatures, the fact of the matter is, the attacks keep going up."
No one seemed to object to my statements and no one said anything when I paused, giving them time to raise their opinions, however, many of them nodded in affirmation, so I continued.
"Long and arduous military campaigns to rid the wilderness of monsters are expensive and unpopular with the people as well, yet it is a 'necessary evil' as it were," I commented
"Then are you suggesting that we form a united front against these monsters in a sort of Crusade?" Lucia asked. As the First Princess of the Nasca Kingdom, she was the representative.
It also helped that Veldanava was living nearby so she could stop by and see her boo before and after the conference.
I shook my head at what Lucia said before turning to the rest of the crowd who were curious about what I would say next if that wasn't what I was going for. I smiled and continued my pitch. "No, that is not what I am advocating for. Such a task would be very difficult and not all of the countries here are on friendly enough terms as to let large numbers of foreign troops enter their borders to conduct such a multi-national operation. It would also serve as a perfect opportunity for a coup, as if someone from country A gained the favor of the army while they were inside country A, they could use that force to overthrow the government with their support." I speculated.
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. Nothing I said was wrong. Most of the countries here were absolute monarchies. While it was easy for the people in power to rule this way, it also meant there were few protections and fewer steps needed for a successful coup. No one would allow foreign troops within their borders if they knew this was one of the dangers. Even if all the countries here guaranteed to not engage in such activities, each representative knew that the opportunity would be too good to pass up in the field to weaken your enemies and expand their own influence. It was a weird version of Mutually Assured Destruction but instead of Nukes, it was with Coups and Civil Wars.
"That is why I am saying we will not allow for official military forces to cross borders to fight these monsters. No. We need something else. Something new." I declared, "Ladies and Gentlemen, What I propose to you all today is the creation of an international organization that will fund the extermination of monsters for us." I said, allowing a pause for everyone to speak among themselves and their councils.
I allowed this minor chatter to continue for a minute before I raise my hand, drawing their attention back to me and continuing my pitch.
"I know most of you have started hearing about the term 'Adventurer' coming up more and more often. The seemingly rowdy bunch of men and women who go wherever they want in search of battle and glory. Even I, technically, would be considered an 'Adventurer' as I do not belong to any one country's citizenry, however, this has caused numerous problems, as I am sure you all know."
"I agree. Adventurers tend to cross borders without paying duties or tolls on their passage. It is a significant loss of tax revenue for us." Said one of the representatives for the Gracia Kingdom.
"Indeed. They have often crossed into our country to hunt monsters and then carry their spoils to another country where they could sell the valuable monster materials for far more money! It's like mining a country's materials and then not paying taxes off the sale by leaving!" The Representative for the Kingdom of Arcadia commented with a built of venom in his voice.
I nodded at that. "Yes, Adventurers are causing many problems for all of our countries right now, however, even when they are caught and punished to make an example of them, the lifestyle is heavily romanticized to the general public, so more and more are showing up. Furthermore, as much of a nuisance as they are, they provide a valuable service for many countries, as local-level mercenaries. I know many of your kingdoms' lords will hire Adventurer Teams to deal with monster-related issues rather than mustering up a troupe."
"Yes. If we hire Adventurers then we don't need to arm or shelter them. We don't have to pay extra fees to them if they are injured as we do with regular soldiers. We don't have to pay their salaries even outside of wartime. And for the countries without a professional military, that run a conscript system, then we also don't have to worry about pulling laborers away from contributing to the economy to fight off a monster invasion." Lucia commented.
"At the same time, Adventurers bring their own equipment and rations. They contribute to local economies by paying for inns and buying supplies in places that otherwise wouldn't have much business, propping up the economies of villages and towns that are outside of the main economic hubs for us. Plus if they are killed in battle, while it sucks they didn't accomplish the mission, we don't lose anything, since Adventurers often don't pay taxes anyway or leave the countries they don't like. " Another commented.
"Then again, though. They can safely run away from a threat if it is too much for them and we lose our initial deposits." Said the representative for the Ul Republic.
After hearing them chattering among themselves for a bit and getting on board with the pros and cons of adventurers, I smiled. "Exactly!" I said, drawing their attention back to me. "Adventurers are troublesome because they do not have to follow any sort of rules or regulations, but they are also an invaluable service at the local level when it comes to monster hunting. Because of these reasons, as well as to combat the threat of monster attacks, I propose the creation of an International Adventurer's Guild!" I declared.
Everyone was stunned for a bit before looking at one another hesitantly. Lucia was the first to speak up. "Master Alaste- I mean, First Hero. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we believe an idea like that is intriguing, but we aren't sure how such an organization will work."
I smiled at her statement before explaining myself, gesturing to some of the elves who were helping me with this presentation. "Ladies and gentlemen. What's being passed out to each of you is a prototype of a magic item that I will refer to as an Adventurer's Guild Card." I said as the various representatives we given cards by the elves who were helping me. They also made sure to place down a small Crystal Orb in front of them that sat on a pedestal with a small slot in the front big enough to place the card into.
"Now, I ask that each of you place the card you have just received into the slot on the base of the Orb," I said and everyone did as they were told. Everyone in this room knew that they were far weaker than me and I wouldn't go about such a roundabout way of harming them. If I really wanted to hurt them or mind control them or something, then there really wasn't anything they could do to stop me, so such a roundabout method didn't make any sense.
Of course, Lucia and some of the other representatives just knew me personally and trusted my personality.
Once everyone placed their cards into the orbs, they all glowed softly before, before their very eyes, their cards were magically imprinted on with a sort of 'status' plate. The letters glowed a soft blue color against the backdrop of the white metal plate.
The plate didn't give any actual numbers, but it did give them a disaster rank and EP value as well as a list of that person's name, age, birthplace, and species. It also gave a number of quests completed, failed, or abandoned. At the top along with a letter ranking signifying their 'Adventurer Rank', was a small glowing green star near the Rank.
"Each of these cards can be used to register an adventurer. It will give basic information without specifying a person's skills and can be used to identify a person. Furthermore, if you would all pass your cards around to someone else please." I said, gesturing to them.
Each of them did so with a bit of hesitation, as they wanted to inspect the card a little more but reluctantly gave it away to one of their councilors.
"What is this!?!" One of them asked in shock before turning the card toward me. "It disappeared!"
"That's right. There is a security mechanism so that Adventurers cannot steal another's card to impersonate them. Only when holding the card themselves can their information be shown!" I smiled and silently thanked Velzard for making these.
She loved to tamper with stuff like this as the little artificer she was. /1\
"Then you mean you want the Adventurer's Guild to register them? What's to stop people from just not doing that?" One of them asked, receiving the card back.
I smirked. "The Adventurer's Guild will not just be about registering adventurers. It will also be a place for them to congregate and receive quests. We will create a system in which anyone can come to the guild and make a request. They will pay the total amount of the payment up front and only when the adventurer's completed the task, will they be paid. This will prevent anyone from skimping out on payments after the adventurer completes the task. It will also give a place for them to congregate so it will be easier to hire them if you want to do so directly, though you may have to pay partially upfront as opposed to the regular system. You won't have to worry about waiting for a competent adventurer to come to town either, as you can look at their ranking to see if they are suitable for a given task.
If you need stronger monsters subjugated, like an Ogre camp, then you won't have to just guess if the first adventurer you find will be strong enough for the job and waste your time and money when they run away or get killed. You will be able to see their qualifications based on their rank and number of quests completed as opposed to the number abandoned. Furthermore, Adventurers will be able to sell their spoils to the guild which will pay them for it based off of their quality. The guild can pay the taxes and keep the resources local so the economy doesn't suffer." I explained
"That all sounds nice, but what will they get out of this, other than convenience? If no one signs up, then his will be a big waste of time." One of them asked me.
"Good question. Adventurers who are part of the guild will be given several perks. For example, Free Healing Magic for injuries. Basic Training on how to properly dispose of monsters, proper foregoing techniques so as to not drain a region dry of resources, etc. We can also team up with local specialists, like armorers and innkeepers to do promotions and help the economy. Like inn keepers giving a free meal to adventurers who stay in their inns, guaranteeing customers of a certain genre while keeping them out of other inns who'd like to cater to merchants, for example. Armorers can advertise discounts on fixing banged-up armor or weapons." I explained.
"I see. It's a good plan, but what's to stop us from just creating our own national adventurer's guilds and ignoring yours?" One of the representatives asked with an evil smirk. If I didn't satisfy his curiosity, I knew that that's exactly what he was going to do, steal my idea and implement it in only his own nation.
"Easy, in exchange, the entire international community will give Adventurers concessions that make country guilds unfeasible." I replied.
"What do you mean by that? Furthermore, why would we give concessions at all?" He asked me back.
I smirked. "So that powerful adventurers won't be used against you."
Everyone looked a bit confused by what I said. "If every nation created its own guild, then that means if one country gains a powerful adventurer, then they will probably recruit them into their military via conscription for a war. There are obviously major problems with this approach, don't you agree?"
"What do you mean?" One asked.
"If I were to be registered at a national guild in Country A, then that means they would be able to use my power to fight in wars by drafting me, correct? However, as I would resist such cooersion, they'd be forced to arrest or blackmail me into joining. I'd have to fight my way out of the country in the first case, or be filled with animosity in the second case, meaning I could plan a coup or just flee to another country a the earliest chance I'd get and plot my revenge, which would dramatically weaken Country A against monster threats that I could and would have otherwise normally dealt with. If I were a popular adventurer and this coercion got out, then the country would also lose some degree of influence over its people and internationally lose face.
However, if the Guild were international, then we can have a rule that no one country can draft adventurers for the purposes of fighting a war against other countries. There would be no reason for me to leave if I had settled down in Country A and so that's where I'd stay. This allows me to continue contributing to Country A's security and economy.
There would need to be a few rules, at the very least, that are required to keep any one country from gaining too much power over adventurers, but we can establish those at a later time. Some suggestions I have for them are Freedom of Movement across borders for free for people registered in the Adventurer's Guild, Immunity from Drafts, No special taxes, and a universally accepted currency so adventurers don't shy away from countries whose currency is weaker to get higher profits in rich countries." I commented.
Everyone nodded in acknowledgment of my comments and we began to wrap up the meeting. This may have been an international affair, but we weren't setting policies, so no one really tried to play politics today. Everyone agreed to take my proposal and the Guild Cards and Registration Orbs back to their countries to debate them with their rulers and we decided to reconvene in 4 months to decide on whether or not to proceed with the project.
.~.~.~.
/1\:
Velzard was the one to create the Demon Lord Rings that allowed telepathic communication to anywhere in the world, so in my AU, she is responsible for the creation of the Guild Cards too.