After sharing the information he obtained with Arche and Roberdyck, Hekkeran returned to the content of the commission.

"The maximum duration is three days. The aim is mainly to explore the inside of the tomb. The important part to note is, it's suspected that we might encounter monsters during the investigation, but the type of monsters that we might encounter are currently unknown. From the looks of thing, this commission really seems to be just a simple investigation."

It was very common for monsters to use abandoned ruins at the outskirts of human civilisation as their lairs. As such, the "survey" tasks given to workers tend to be regarded as a reconnaissance by fire.

"The most important aspect about this commission is that it seems like the tomb is unexplored."

The moment that was said, the atmosphere surrounding the group changed.

Two hundred years ago, during the time of the Demon Gods' unrest, many kingdoms perished. It wasn't just human kingdoms that were destroyed, countries composed of demi-humans and other heteromorphic species perished as well. The ruins of these civilizations often contained many priceless treasures—the possibility of finding magic items was also high.

Finding these treasures was a dream shared by both adventurers and workers alike.

As such, unexplored ruins were something that adventurers and workers all wished to find. And suddenly, here it was, right in front of their eyes.

Having confirmed the excitement within the eyes of his comrades, Hekkeran passed the ball to the two that went out for intelligence gathering.

"Finally, the provisions required for the trip to and from the site will all be

covered by the Earl. That is all the information that I've gathered. Next, Arche, Roberdyck, tell us the findings of your investigation."

"—In that case, I'll start. Earl Femel's standing within the palace isn't very good. There are rumors that the Blood Emperor is giving him the cold shoulder. Also, from what I've gathered, it seems that he isn't in need of money."

"Regarding the ruins discovered within the territory of the Kingdom, both Arche-san and I have tried researching the past history of recorded civilizations. So far, we are unable to find any records of ancient cities being built near the site of the ruins. If it indeed is a tomb, we should have been able to find clues left behind in books... Truthfully speaking, I can't figure out why there would be a tomb built at that location. Only a few small villages exist near the area, perhaps it would be better to search for information there?"

"It can't be helped. We've been ordered to keep this operation has secret as possible. The client wishes for as few witnesses as possible, in other words, we shouldn't be making any unnecessary movements."

"—Of course, that region belongs to the Kingdom. If things gets exposed, we might end up becoming enemies of the Kingdom and the Vaiself family."

Exploring the ruins discovered in a different country, this kind of borderline illegal work was the reason why workers were selected instead of adventurers.

"So in other words, what we're doing is just plain old dirty work?"

"Although it can be seen that way, there's still a slight delicate issue."

"That's right. If the Empire's workers are caught inside the Kingdom, the Earl will definitely get dragged down along with us."

"Which brings us to the main question."

"Where did this information on the discovery of the ruin come from?"

"Yeah. No matter how I think about it, it's strange."

"Is that so? Isn't it fairly close to the Great Forest of Tob? Perhaps it was discovered during logging."

"—Weird. Take a look at this." Arche opened up the map and pointed towards a circular spot. "Although the details aren't very clear, but spots like this..." Sweeping her tiny finger along the map, Arche indicated their objective.

"—There's also a village here. However its size is really small. Perhaps it's better to describe it as a hamlet. I don't believe a village like that is capable of creating such large clearings within the forest."

"That's correct. The chances of these clearings being excavated by such a small village is highly unlikely. Especially if the forest is inhabited by many dangerous monsters... It's much more likely to think that it was done as a government project, but I can't see any reason why the Kingdom would want to excavate that part of the forest. In the end, we're still lacking information.”

The four of them became more troubled after this. Should they accept the request or not?

Unlike adventurers, who had the backing of an entire guild, it was absolutely necessary for workers to properly investigate all details regarding the offered work before deciding. First, they had to thoroughly investigate the client's background and his connections, then the work location. Finally, based on the details gathered from the description of the job, a decision is made on whether or not to accept it.

Even after having done all of that, sometimes it still wasn't enough. If one wasn't capable of doing this, then they should quit being a worker. No matter how good the payment for the job might be, it would be better to reject it if you couldn't wash away the dirt that ended up staining your hands.

"...I've confirmed the payment already, this was given for the initial deposit—"

Hekkeran placed a metallic plate on top of the table. The surface of the plate was inscribed with countless different small glyphs and runes. Although he was given the plate, he would have to return it if they decided to reject the commission.

"I've already checked it with the Imperial Bank. The sum has already been credited to my account, it can be converted into cash any time."

The metallic plate was a type of guarantee that was used by banks within the Empire, in a similar role as a cheque.

In order to prevent counterfeits, the plates were made with great care and delicacy. Although it the creation process was extremely long, and would definitely incur additional fees for people to use, the advantages still far outweighed the drawbacks.

In other countries, this sort of thing was usually handled by the Adventurer's Guild; however the metallic plates used in the Empire were guaranteed by the government itself.

"From the looks of things, it doesn't seem like a trap... well, I knew they were dead serious the moment they paid the deposit."