Secret Agent Chapter 114 - The Receptionists' Wily Ways (Patreon)

“Haahhhh?!”

Stacy immediately reacted, smashing the stunned silence before it could form between Zack Adder and Belinda the receptionist.

“What?” Maurine asked defensively.

Zack’s mind raced almost against his will, doing mental math.

Maurine had lent out twenty cards, Belinda eight, and Stacy five. Thirty-three in total, at eight lindra each after the Guild’s cut. Two fortin and sixty-four lindra on the first day.

*ding!* The skill [Calculation] has been acquired!

“Maurine, those are still Jack’s cards that he made! You can’t just lend them out to anybody!” Stacy insisted protectively.

Belinda’s perpetual smirk turned to a lopsided frown. “Rosa told us to only lend them out to trustworthy Adventurers who would bring them back.”

Maurine crossed her arms across her chest and frowned back. “No, she said to do that only if we were going to hold off on collecting the rental fee. Everyone I lent to paid up front, and I even got them all to make their mark acknowledging they would be penalized contribution points if they failed to return the cards in good condition.”

Stacy and Belinda both turned to look at Zack, to see how he would react. Quickly, he nodded.

“That’s perfectly fine.”

“But, if they don’t get returned…” Stacy said, still worried.

“Look, they’re going out with Adventurers in the forest, right? They’re not books sitting in a library. They’re going to get a little beat up and eventually need to be replaced. Or they’ll go missing. When that happens, I’ll make more and replace them.”

None of the three receptionists seemed completely able to wrap their head around the idea of the information cards being somewhat replaceable. But Maurine was quick to understand that Jack, the creator of the cards, approved of her handling of them.

“So you’re fine with me continuing to lend them out to anyone who asks, collecting the rental fee up front?”

“Yes,” Zack answered clearly.

Maurine lifted her chin and looked down her nose at the other two receptionists. “There you have it.”

“And I’m also fine with how Stacy and Belinda are handling it,” Zack added. “I’m leaving it up to your best judgment as receptionists.”

Stacy and Belinda perked up when they heard that, and Maurine scaled back her haughtiness.

“So, as long as we’re consulting…”

Zack asked them about recommendations for future information cards. There were a few other, less commonly collected plants for which a card would be helpful, but those plants were several days’ journey from Fortinium, and so the rental period would have to be extended.

Rather, it seemed that Zack and Henrietta had covered almost every plant for which it made sense to make an info card already.

Info cards didn’t make sense for monsters, which were easier to identify and needed to be fought right away. The Guild put some effort into ensuring that Adventurers were prepared for all the local monsters.

Stacy pushed the D-Rank Exam Guide into Zack’s hands.

“For most Adventurers, I’d have to explain it all myself. But you can read! Way less work.”

She was a little too honest sometimes.

“I’ll be sure to come to you if I have any questions.” Zack waved the book side to side in front of himself before setting it down on his lap.

“Of, of course!” Stacy stammered. Belinda giggled a little maliciously, her smirk back in place.

Zack also asked about artist jobs in the city, and the receptionists were able to narrow things down for him.

“Not the Adventurer’s Guild,” Stacy said.

“It’s gotta be the nobles, right?” Belinda said. “The Royals in the Castle, and the other nobles. They love sitting for portraits and such,” she claimed confidently.

“Or the Church,” Maurine added. “They’ve got all those paintings and statues in the Grand Cathedral, and the statues in the churches…”

“Do they hire artists, though?” Zack asked.

Maurine shrugged.

Maybe Zack could make another delivery to the Hawkeye estate and see if they were interested in hiring an artist.

Otherwise, he was sure Cori would know all the opportunities.

She had known offhand about a gambeson sitting in some pawn shop, after all.

“One last thing,” Zack said. The conversation had moved well past the information cards, and the receptionists were on the clock, so to speak. It was quiet at the receptionist windows for now, but the evening rush would be on them soon. “Banking.”

Maurine answered before the others could. “Of course, as an Adventurer, the Guild will be happy to bank your funds for you, although we only offer depository and withdrawal services here, at the Guildhall.”

“What about for non-Adventurers?”

All three shook their heads.

“I was asking for my artist. She’s not an Adventurer and most likely won’t register. Does the Guild have any banks they recommend or recommend against?”

Stacy leaned in and spoke softly. “All the banks are run by the same family, you know?”

Zack nodded, “I’ve heard.”

But Belinda smacked Stacy on the shoulder. “That’s just a conspiracy theory, and it’s not true anyway.” She turned to Zack. “Different banks handle different kinds of business. It’s called finances.” She said the word with special pronunciation, and not a small bit of pride in knowing the word. “Merchants and craftspeople and Adventurers and nobles all need different services, after all.”

Maurine nodded along. Zack furrowed his brow.

“And the Church?”

Stacy waved a hand dismissively. “Nah, they don’t do banking at all.”

Zack paused. Huh. He had fully expected the Church to be involved in banking. That time he had hacked the Vatican bank…

Kompromat for decades.

Not that his Russian employers had been given the full, accurate records…

“Are you sure?” he asked.

The receptionists shared looks between themselves.

“Right?”

“I think so…”

“I’ve never heard of anyone banking with them before…”

Well, Zack figured it made sense. Sister Paula wouldn’t have asked him about a bank account for Henrietta if the Church already offered that service.

“So, for a craftswoman, then…”

Stacy and Belinda both turned to Maurine.

“My husband banks with the Strozzi. They’re pretty good, I think…”

“Do they have a deposit guarantee?”

“A what?”

“Like, if I put money in, do they guarantee to be able to return the money I deposited?”

An expression of anxiety suddenly swept over Maurine.

“I, I don’t know… I’ll ask my husband tonight.”

So there wasn’t anything like the FDIC deposit guarantee, then.

“Well, I’m sure it’s fine.” Zack tried to reassure Maurine, but she was growing pale.

Stacy either ignored this or didn’t notice. “Well you should just keep your money with the Guild, Jack! We keep it totally safe. No thief has gotten away with stealing from our Guildhall in decades!”

“Ever,” Belinda corrected quickly. “No thief has ever gotten away with stealing from our Guildhall.”

“But what about—”

“No, they caught him. They even got the money back.” Belinda turned a serious look to Zack. “The Guild can send the best Adventurers after thieves, so if you just want your money kept safe, you can’t beat the Guild. We just don’t do loans.”

Zack felt his shoulders relax when he heard that.

“Okay. For now, I’d like to keep all the money from the information cards in an account with the Guild.”

“Sure thing! I got it,” Stacy rushed to claim responsibility.

There. That had Henrietta covered, at least temporarily.

“Girls!”

Rosa’s sharp voice called out from the front.

“Oops, back to work,” Belinda said. Maurine put on a professional expression, but she was still a little pale and distracted. Stacy pointed at the exam guide book she had given Zack earlier.

“Just, like, read that and tell me when you’re ready for the exam.”

“You don’t mind if I take it with me?”

“Well, I trust you. But if you lose it, it’s a hundred contribution point penalty, okay?” She smiled at him brightly.

“I’ll be very careful with it,” Zack answered seriously.

Belinda giggled. “If there’s one Adventurer who we know will treat it carefully, it’s the one making information cards.”

“Girls!”

They all left Rosa’s office, and the din from the Guildhall was noticeably louder.

The Adventurers were arriving back from their day’s quests.

It was getting to be about time for Zack to head back to the Rose Theater. Technically he didn’t need to be back until much later tonight, for the afterparty, but he didn’t want to leave Emily to scramble by herself at the concession stand, not with so many important people in attendance. Making them wait in line felt like a bad idea.

But on his way out he saw a familiar face, and that person recognized him, and made a beeline in his direction.

***

Nate had been crushed when he learned that not only were thurgenrat tail rewards dropping from three lindra, but they were going straight down to one lindra per tail.

Now he would have to work thrice as hard to make the last two fortin his family needed.

Thurgenrats were getting scarce, too. Yesterday when he went out with a party, like always—because he had promised his mother he would only adventurer safely—he had barely collected thirty tails total.

Now it wasn’t just that it would take three times as long to make the money. No, because his parents and his younger siblings needed to eat, too. So every day he wasn’t really making as much money as he thought. They had to spend money to live, too.

Honestly, if his mother wasn’t so darn good at telling when he was [Lying], he’d just go out on his own, maybe even go in the forest where there were still some thurgenrats…

He’d just have to keep going.

Too bad that lazy, scary snake [Tamer] hadn’t come back. Sure, it was leeching off his snake’s kills, but he had said he was fine with it! And he had even paid right away. It was the best deal he’d ever gotten…

Now that he thought about it, it was the best deal he’d ever gotten in his entire life.

How discouraging that was.

Still, his level had reached six, and he was getting pretty darn good with a spear. He was getting close to D rank, too…

He’d definitely reach D rank if he had to kill two hundred more thurgenrats.

He was waiting for Lang and the rest of the usual party to show up. Jerry, Vera, and Ewan. Ewan had stuck around.

Bored, he looked up at the request board, at all the posted requests he couldn’t take because he couldn’t read.

“Hey, Nate!”

Stacy, the prettiest receptionist, called him over by name.

A smile rose to his lips unbidden and he hurried over, his day brighter already.

“What’s up, Stacy?” he said, coolly.

But she seemed set on giving him bad news.

“Did you hear? The reward for thurgenrat tails has dropped.”

His good mood dissipated like morning mist under the harsh summer sun.

“Yeah, I heard…” he sighed.

Stacy grinned and beckoned him closer, and despite himself, his heart pounded in his chest.

“Hey,” she whispered, her voice a little breathy. “You’re going out with Lang’s party, right?”

“Yeah,” he whispered back, trying desperately to suppress the redness in his cheeks.

“Check this out.”

Nate leaned in, excited despite himself, and…

She pulled out a weird piece of paper.

It was paper, right?

But it was shiny, and stiff.

And depicted on it was a cluster of mushrooms, blue in color with green and purple spots.

“This is a Spotted Blue Button. It’s a kind of mushroom,” Stacy explained. “The guild will pay ten lindra for each one that gets brought in.”

“What?! Seriously?!” Nate half shouted. But Stacy didn’t seem to mind. Instead, her grin widened, showing off her white teeth.

Then, she flipped the paper over, showing him the back. It was covered in pictures, and she explained what they meant.

They were instructions!

“...so you just follow this card, and bring the buttons back carefully, and you can make way more money than hunting thurgenrats for their tails. Plus, there’s good contribution points.”

This was the biggest lucky break in Nate’s life.

He almost wanted to fall to his knees and [Pray] to the Goddess, because surely She was looking out for him.

Just when things were looking dark…

Maybe She had heard his prayers about how expensive healing was.

“Can… can I really?” Nate asked hesitantly.

“There’s a catch.” Stacy’s grin faded, and a look of professional seriousness took its place as she explained the rules.

Be careful with the card. Absolutely return it in good condition before sunset. If it gets messed up, bring back the pieces.

And the cost. Ten lindra, and a penalty of ten contribution points if the card were lost entirely.

Nate gulped. Three lindra was all the pocket money he’d brought today, to pay for his food.

“But, I trust you, Nate.” Stacy’s smile was back! She trusted him! “I’ll let you borrow the card now, and you can pay the rental fee at the end of the day. If you collect even one Spotted Blue Button, that’ll cover everything.”

“Deal!”

Nate was sold.

He wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass him by!

If he found twenty, no, twenty-one of these mushrooms…

He’d be done today!

“Also…”

Stacy told him to bring the rest of his party her way before they set out. In the end, Lang agreed to changing up the day’s plan. Instead of going out to thin the thurgenrat swarm, he’d be providing oversight for their gathering just inside the forest.

Lang was super strict about it, though. Only one person gathers at a time. Everyone else was to keep their eyes out for thurgenrats.

*ding!* The skill [Observe] has been acquired!

Nate even picked up a skill while he was looking for signs of approaching thurgenrats.

To his surprise, and relief, the rest of his party got different cards and gathering targets. So there was no competition between them.

Every bunch of Spotted Blue Buttons he found was his and his alone! He carefully stored them in the gathering bag he’d been given, immediately closing the flap as soon as the mushrooms were safely inside. And he left the stalks the way the pictures said.

Stacy had told him there was no money for the stalks, anyway.

And on top of that, they were killing more thurgenrats than yesterday!

The day passed in a flash, and in the late afternoon he and his party returned triumphantly to the Guildhall.

They were rich!

He rushed through sharpening his borrowed spear and hurried to be the first inside, to collect his reward.

And who did he spot but the lazy snake [Tamer]!

And without his scary snake today!

Nate was feeling great. Magnanimous, even, though he didn’t know that word.

He was gonna share a tip with his one-time party member.

About these awesome new cards.

Artemis note:

Next week the posting schedule will be changing from 4 chapters per week to 3 chapters per week, posted on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Time got away from me and I need to prepare The Legend of the Meta-Defying Smith Who Saved the Kingdom Volumes 2 and 3, Sarah's Story, and Lily Beloved of the Gods for publication.

Patreon will remain 20 or 10 chapters ahead of Royal Road, depending on tier.

There's plenty more story after this point! [The Learn] is my primary writing project right now but I really need to wrap up the manuscripts for previous stories, hopefully as fast as possible.

Thanks for your understanding and as always, thanks for reading and for your support!