Chapter 24

The first destination would be the academy.

“You're back. Is there something else you need?” Menela asked.

John kept his face straight, knowing the truth behind her face. Menela glared. He averted his gaze.

The store owner had given them the list of places they needed to visit, along with the types of furniture they ordered and their numbers. John and Leyla would need to visit these spots, then note down the type of furniture they received and the amount. That way, the store could figure out which shipment went where.

“We're here to check the wrong furniture orders.”

“Finally. We've ordered three study desks and three study chairs for our inventory, oh, and a new sofa for my office.”

John didn't remember the office sofa having any damage, but what they used the furniture they ordered for wasn't his business.

“What we did receive is five chairs, a beauty desk, and no sofa, including the one you took.”

Leyla wrote the list down on paper.

“Also, why are you the ones sent here? Aren't you working with Ellie?”

“The dungeon exploration is paused,” Leyla answered.

“Again?”

“We killed one of the monsters, and it unleashed poison.”

It was a good thing John didn't attack the other monsters on the earlier levels. Maybe their exploration would be paused for even longer if they needed to deal with multiple poisons.

“Ah, yes, that does pose a hurdle…”

It was hurdle after hurdle, and the fact that they had yet to find anything reduced their motivation even more. At this point, John would be happy to find even an old boot or an empty can.

“Why is she so insistent on finishing that dungeon?” Leyla complained. “We haven’t found anything.”

“Hmm? Oh, it’s not Ellie who’s insistent.”

John remembered someone she mentioned often. “Her boss?”

“Quite the troublesome noble, if I do say so myself.”

“You’ve run into them?”

Menela nodded. “Quite a man, that’s all I can say. While we currently follow his rule, that was not the case a couple of years ago.”

“Oh?” John murmured, intrigued. Menela seemed to notice this.

“Back then, we headmasters of Tettorokata academy were the ones in control. That’s why the town was called Tettorokata. It’s built to support us.” She let out a sigh. “We used to be given the rank of baron, but an incident happened, and the control of the area was given to him. My former professor, also the previous headmaster, lost his job, and I was called in to replace him.”

Their current ruler was called Karejo Ardes. John wasn’t keen on facing some big-shot noble. They could be really troublesome, especially for him. Since he and Leyla were transported here, they didn’t have any noble blood or family connection to speak of. One could call them lower than commoners.

John didn’t have any knowledge about politics, either. While he didn’t doubt it would be important, he was occupied with the search for the chairs.

After noting down the furniture that had been missing, they went to their destination.

“As I said, I don’t whoam… have any job to offer you.”

The next destination would be the treasure hunters’ guild. It wasn’t necessarily the second point listed on the list, but it was the only other place that they knew. Looking around the city for the second place would take a while, so John and Leyla decided to head there first.

“We’re with the furnishing company.”

“... I sent my complaint ages ago, and they’ve sent their staff now? Not just that, but they sent you? Did you betray me?” Ellie looked annoyed. It wasn’t clear what caused her annoyance. Was it really because she thought they had changed sides and given up on the quest, or was it because they woke her up when she slept?

“We’re helping them with this. We’ll be back to the dungeon soon, don’t worry.”

“Oh, I see… Well, come here.” She showed them to the storage room. “We ordered a new bulletin board to replace our old one.”

“Oh, I thought you were going to let that old board collapse before you replace it.” John glanced at the old bulletin board back in the reception room.

“I would have, but the boss complained about it looking ugly.” She groaned. “Getting a new one makes a lot of paperwork, even more paperwork with this mess up.” She glared at John and Leyla.

“You know it’s not our fault.”

The two of them hadn't even arrived when the mess-up happened.

“But yeah, as you can hopefully see with your own eyes, this is not the bulletin board.”

The furniture in front of them was a large wardrobe.

“Oh, that and the chair.”

“... The chair?”

“The white chair you wanted.”

John rechecked the list. The list given to him had the detailed size and color of each furnishing, and it didn’t mention anything about a white or gray chair. If they weren’t from the furnishing company, then how did they end up in the guild and the academy? Did someone else move them there?

“... How did you get it? The white chair, I mean.”

“... I stole it from a noble.”

Both John’s and Leyla’s eyes widened.

“You didn’t actually think I was serious, did you?” she sighed. “Although, to be fair… that does sound fun.”

John wasn't sure how fighting a noble could be considered ‘fun’.

“Anyway, I got them with the delivery, of course. They were sent here with the bulletin board.”

“I- I see…”

“But if I gave it to you, then I’ll be forced to pay your company the fee. That’s why I’m not giving it to you unless you complete the quest.”

But that chair wasn't sent by the company…

How did it end up here, then? There must be a mix-up somewhere. John thought about asking for more details when he returned.

•••

“This is the last one.”

It was late in the evening by the time they arrived at their last destination. A noble’s mansion. John looked at the list. The Arjes family owned this mansion. John recalled his conversation with Menela earlier in the day. He gulped. He had seen ‘Lord Arjes Mansion’ in the list, and he wasn’t keen to enter.

They had been on the receiving end of so many complaints during the trip, and since this was the count, he was sure to give them an earful.

“Let’s get this over with,” Leyla said, heading for the gates. One of the guards halted them. Leyla told them that they came from the company, the guard’s expression souring upon hearing their origins.

“Please wait, someone will be with you shortly.”

“Alright.”

Thus, they waited outside the gate. After a few minutes, a girl in a maid uniform left the front doors and walked toward them.

“Are you from the furnishing company?” she asked, staring at them without an expression on her face. She didn’t look surprised, happy, angry, or annoyed. It was as if she lacked all emotion.

“... Yeah?” No one mentioned the name of this company. Every time John came up to them, they always mentioned ‘The Furnishing Company’. At first, John thought they didn’t remember the name, but now, maybe that really is the name. Who would be stupid enough to name their company this?

But this company did make a major screw up, so maybe the name wasn’t that surprising.

“We’re here to note down the mistakes,” Leyla said.

“Come in.” She spoke in such an impassive voice that puts text-to-speech and AI voices to shame.

The guards opened the gate, and one of them followed John and Leyla as they entered the building. The three-story mansion looked massive. It had grand architecture, its external walls were kept clean. The maid took them away from the main building and into the gardens. Next to the main building was a small stone building with a wooden door and a pond a bit further away. John could see some fish swimming there.

“This way.” The maid redirected his attention to the small stone building. The wooden door had been reinforced with steel parts.

The maid unlocked the door. Inside was a staircase heading underground. She lit up a torch and took it before leading the two deeper. They arrived in what looked to be some kind of prison. It had metal bars blocking sections off the room, and two desks at the end of the small walkway. One desk had nothing on it, while the other was filled with various things. He noticed a magic wand among them.

Isak said I’m not allowed to use it…

John wouldn’t use this particular wand. He didn’t want to make trouble with a noble. But he did want to get his own wand. Isak’s serious expression popped up in his mind, and he quickly shook his head to send him away.

Fine, fine, I won’t use a wand.

“What is this place?” Leyla murmured.

“Our storage room is full at the moment, so we kept the furniture here.”

John approached the desk. Unlike the chair at the academy, it didn’t look as dusty. Maybe this room had better ventilation.

“You made a whole lot of trouble for us,” the maid said curtly. “You're lucky master is out right now, or else you might receive quite the beating.”

Beating? It's not even our fault!

Was she joking? Or would the count really go violent on someone they didn't even know just because of an issue like this? John glanced at the prison cells behind him. Why would a noble need them?

He didn’t want to stay there any longer. John silently wrote down the furnishings before heading back.

•••

“That was exhausting…” Leyla groaned. The two walked side-by-side through the town. The skies above had turned dark, the clouds preventing the stars from showing their shine.

It had ended up much more difficult than they had anticipated. The work itself wasn't difficult. All they needed to do was write down the furnishings that had been sent to the wrong address. Almost all of them, though.

Out of almost sixty items, roughly only twelve manage to end up in the right spot.

They would have finished much quicker had they just written the notes down and then left. Instead, they were forced to listen to the complaints of everyone involved. Some were quick, a few sentences to voice their disappointment with how messed up things became and how long the process took. Others went on and on, forming a never-ending train of words.

It was much more exhausting compared to when they worked at the restaurant. Back then, they didn't need to deal with angry customers. People ordered to see Leyla's teleport, so they didn't mind waiting.

“I kind of regretted taking this.”

“... Same…”

They weren't prepared for customer service work. The pay that looked decent now looked tiny thanks to the trouble they went through.

“Unfortunately, we’ve already agreed to take the job.”

They couldn’t ask for a pay raise. John and Leyla sighed. They still need to get through town, back to the store itself. John hoped it wasn’t too late. He didn’t want to wait until tomorrow to complete the task.

His stomach growled. It hadn’t been filled since they began the quest.

“Want to grab something to eat?”

“Of course.”

They arrived at the store just in time. The owner gave them their pay, and they went to a nearby restaurant for some well-deserved food.