"I think I'm going to be sick." Joren clutched his stomach as he and Glenn walked to a different part of the building.
"That's not surprising. It was probably your first time seeing the insides of a human. A part of the reason why I had you hunt and butcher wild animals and mana beasts was that you can get used to the sight of blood, gore, and guts."
"Yeah, I kind of figured. But animals and people are not the same."
"True, but it gets better. At least you didn't kill the guy, you probably would have had a mental breakdown. Taking a life isn't easy." Glenn patted Joren on the back which only made him want to vomit even more. They strode along, passing many rooms and people on the way until reaching a door with a sign that read "Register Now".
"Why is the Registration room in the back of the building? Shouldn't it be in the front?" Joren asked a valid question because normally, you would register in the front of the establishment before having access to the building.
"It's because of the Mercenaries. All they want to do is relax, eat, and drink once they come back from a job. At first, the bar and diner were at the back, but after many fights, drunk people, and lots of damage, they decided to put the important things in the back and put the bar in the front." After finishing his explanation, they walked into the Registration room.
"Hello, how may I help you today?" A beautiful young lady spoke. She had on a white dress shirt which was covered by the red dress vest she wore. A red dress skirt reached her knees and on top of her blond hair sat a red hat.
"Hi, we're here to register him as a mercenary," Glenn spoke.
"Will this be his first time registering or has he registered before with our establishment or any other?" The receptionist asked
"This will be his first time."
"Okay, please fill out this paperwork." She handed him a piece of paper and an ink pen.
On the paper, there were a bunch of questions that needed to be answered. Name, age, if you have mana, the level of your mana, if this is your first time being a mercenary, if you're in a mercenary squad, the name of said squad, and so on.
Joren answered as many questions as he could only stopping when he made it to the mercenary squad questions. "Uncle, are we a part of a mercenary squad?"
"Hmm? Ahh, yeah we are. Write down 'Scorching Flame Mercenaries' it's our name."
"Scorching Flame? That name...is trash, to be honest." Turning back to the paper, Joren filled out the answers.
"Hey don't blame me for that name! It was Pantera! We were all drunk back then and she said that whoever wins in a drinking contest gets to name our squad. She won and chose the name 'Scorching Flame'". He put his hand on his face and sighed tiredly while shaking his head.
Once he finished the paperwork he handed it in to the receptionist and she pulled out two things, a thin small metal slab in the form of a rectangle and what looked to be a needle.
"This metal plate will be your identification and mercenary card. You can use it at checkpoints and at any Guild to prove your status as a mercenary." She handed the plate to Joren alongside the needle. "Use the needle to draw blood and put said blood on the plate, only then will you fully be registered."
Grabbing both items, he did what he was told and drew his blood by pricking his index finger. As he pressed his bloody finger onto the plate, he felt his mana get sucked by the plate as it started to glow.
"What the-?"
"It's okay, this is just the way to accurately confirm that you are the true owner of the ID. It stores your mana signature on it so if someone steals it and tries to go around posing as you, the authorities will know that the person is an imposter." Glenn explained
Calming down, he nodded and let the plate drain his mana until the process was done, and after 15 seconds, it finally ended.
"Phew, that was a weird feeling. Usually, I'm the one forcing my mana out, not the other way around." Joren stretched his shoulder feeling the mana return to his arm.
"You'll get used to it. Now that you're done, let's go. We need to meet with our client." Joren nodded at Glenn's words and made their way out of the Guild.
They traveled along the main road passing by many street merchants, vendors, and the occasional pickpocketers who were horrible at pickpocketing. Or maybe it was because Joren's senses were higher than normal since he could use mana. People expected him to have some coins on him because of the way he was dressed, but they probably didn't expect him to have mana.
After many twists and turns, seeing different parts of the Town, the nice flourishing areas, and the poor rundown areas, they finally made it to their destination. An average-sized building white building with stung-together beads that acted as a door and curtains for the window.
Walking in, there were a few customers roaming around looking at all the goods out for display inside a box of glass. The store wasn't empty but it wasn't bustling either and from what it looked like, this was a jewelry store.
"Well sir, if you don't have the money to buy this necklace then what the hell are you doing here?! Are you trying to waste my time?! Get out right now!" A man shouted in the back of the store
"P-Please! I can pay you back in installments, I promise! I need this necklace for my fiance, she really wants a necklace like this." another man pleaded.
"Do you know how much this necklace costs? It's THIRTY GOLD COINS! A commoner like you doesn't see that much money in their lifetime, so how do you expect to pay me back? Get out now!" The man snapped his fingers and two guards appeared, dragging the customer out of the building
"No! Please! I will pay for it, just give me some time! I promise! Don't do this!" He begged and pleaded but to no avail
"If we catch you roaming around here again," The guard slightly pulled his sword out of his sheath only brandishing a bit of the blade "There will be consequences"
"Eeek!" The man got up and ran away.
Back inside, Glenn and Joren witness the whole scene. Glenn looked as if this was a normal occurrence but Joren was taken back a little. 'Could they threaten their customers like that? That's against the law, right? Wait, medieval times! I literally just blasted a hole in someone's chest, that's like, super illegal but also really normal here. Sigh, I gotta use this world's logic, not my old world's.'
"Seriously, people these days. If you don't have the money, don't come looking to buy something. I don't understand those dirt-licking bastards." The man walked out from the back and came face to face with Glenn.
"Glenn, my friend! You're here!" The man held his arms out for a hug
"Heh, nice to see you again Paul. I told you I'll be back didn't I?" Glenn reciprocated the hug
"Haha, yes, yes, you did. Come to my office, we have much to talk about in private." As he was about to turn away, he looked at Joren. "Who is this young lad?"
"This is Joren, my nephew I was telling you about. He'll be joining me from now on."
"Ohhh! So this is the one you kept rambling about. You look better than what Glenn described you to be."
Paul was bald and short. About 5'5 and looked to be around his early 40s. He was dressed in a dark blue toga with a golden sash around his waist. On his fingers were golden rings and golden bracelets clanked together every time he moved his arms. Joren thought he was pretty short since he was 5'8 while only being 13 years old.
"Thank you, sir." Joren bowed slightly showing great respect to the merchant. Did he have to? No. But since it looked like this guy was loaded with money, he thought it was best to be as respectful as possible.
"You have good manners I see. That's good. Come along, we shall talk in my office."
After a short walk and many guards later, they all arrived at Paul's office. It was a fairly large room decorated with couches, paintings, and jewelry. A desk was at the far end of the room where a ton of papers were stacked together.
"So what's the reason why you asked me to get out of retirement Paul." Glenn sat down on one of the couches motioning Joren to do the same.
"My goods are being ransacked. Every time I send a convoy it ends up getting robbed or completely destroyed. I tried changing the companies I work with but the same thing keeps happening." Sighing, he sat down in his chair behind his desk and rubbed his eyes tiredly.
"Did you offend anyone lately? I know you have a habit of doing that."
"Who do you take me for huh? I've been doing honest business for the past 7 years. All debts are paid and all past animosity has been resolved. I even send gifts to solidify my sincerity. I'm losing money, Glenn. I hate losing money." Paul spoke
"Did you change the routes you take? Sometimes bandits roam certain roads so they can steal from wealthy merchants." Joren asked
"Yes I changed routes but it still happens every time. I'm at my wit's end. The Nobles who purchase from my store are starting to not do business with me. I've had to reimburse all of my clients every time the convoy was robbed. I only have one more chance at getting the shipment to its buyer and if it fails, I'll go out of business. Please, Glenn, you gotta help me."
Glenn sat there on the couch with his hand on his chin thinking whether this job was a good one to take or not. Although he didn't mind taking it, he worried about Joren and didn't want his first job to be so risky.
"Have you tried hiring mercenaries prior to contacting me?" Glenn asked
"Many times. After the first three convoys were ransacked, I asked the Guild for mercenaries and they also failed three times. I couldn't keep asking for them because that money out of my pocket was being wasted when I hired them."
"What happened to the people who were transporting the goods?" When Glenn asked this question, Paul fidgeted slightly
"Most of them died. While some did survive, they were gravely injured. Some had mental trauma while others were forced to retire. I know this is a dangerous request but please help me out. You're my last hope." Paul got up from his chair and ran to Glenn, holding his hands in a pleading way.
"I don't know. I want to take my nephew with me but I don't want his first job to be one so dangerous."
"Was everything official business?" Joren spoke up once more
"Huh? Do you mean the convoys? Yeah, they were." Paul said turning his head to Joren.
"If it was official business, then that means you had like some logo or something that will tell people that the convoys belong to your company right?"
"Yes. Where are you going with this?" Paul asked
"Well if it was official business, then that means people knew about it. But even if people knew, that wouldn't explain how they were able to know all the routes you've taken. Sure bandits are everywhere, but that doesn't mean every convoy would get wiped out. So the only explanation would be that there is someone in your company that's tipping off the bandits, giving your travel routes to them." Joren explained.
"I thought of that as well but I couldn't find anyone that would be a spy. Even if a random bandit happens to know our travel routes, that doesn't explain how they know every single one." Paul stood up, walking back to his desk.
"Make it unofficial business then. No documents, no banners, no convoy, nothing to show to the world that we're moving goods from your company. We'll pose as typical mercs doing typical business." Joren continued to explain what they could do the disguise the goods they would be transporting and the more he explained, the brighter Paul's face got.
"He's a genius! Glenn, why have you been hiding such a bright child away from me? He'll be a good business partner when he gets older."
"That could work. But are you sure? We could still run into those bandits and be robbed by them, or worse. I'm not willing to take that chance with you with me." Glenn continued to ponder on what he should do.
"Well, I have to start somewhere. One day, my life will be in danger. It happened already, it will probably happen again. You said you wanted to prepare me for the real world, so let's prepare."