I Became the Hero While Paving a Flower Path for My Niece - Chapter 70

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Joker Laying Flower Paths Became a Hero – Episode 70
“Hello!”
Leo and Jake entered with spirited greetings, and the mercenaries in the guild looked at them with curiosity, while the receptionist nodded in acknowledgment.
“Here, have this!”
Jake rushed over to the receptionist who had been kind to him and handed her a snack.
[Still a mercenary, but I haven’t taken on a single commission yet.]
I’d completed Jake’s request to find his brother, but since it wasn’t properly registered as a commission, it wouldn’t count toward my rank adjustment.
To raise my Mercenary Rank, I needed to take on commissions regularly, but there had been so much work at Caldis Lordship that I hadn’t had the chance.
‘I’ll have to work hard once I reach the Royal Capital.’
Just then, the receptionist addressed Alex.
“Your name is Alex and you’re a 5th-rank Mercenary Mage, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
[Huh? Did I tell him that?]
No, I didn’t think I had.
The receptionist confirmed Alex’s name and pulled out two sheets of paper. They were Request Forms.
『Requester: Brodell Count’s Family
Commission: Finding a Missing Person.』
『Requester: Brodell Count’s Family
Commission: Monster Subjugation.』
Both had completion stamps and the Count’s Family seal, with only Alex’s signature space left blank.
“You handled the work entrusted by the Brodell Count’s Family, I hear? Normally you’d need to register it properly first, but since they’ve already paid the commission fee, just sign here.”
The receptionist continued.
“It’s only two commissions, but since the Count’s Family is the requester, it should help quite a bit with your rank adjustment.”
[Oh!]
[Did my brother arrange for these to be registered as mercenary commissions on purpose?]
It certainly seemed that way.
He appeared to have specifically requested the Mercenary Guild to make my work official commissions.
[Now that’s thoughtful!]
Alex smiled and gladly signed.
“Um, me too!”
Jake, who had been quietly listening with Leo, suddenly shot his hand up.
“I made a request to Alex too! I can pay the commission fee!”
Once he heard that it would help Alex, he couldn’t help but raise his hand.
The receptionist chuckled at Jake’s enthusiasm and pulled out a blank Request Form, filling it in with his pen.
『Requester: Jake
Commission: Finding a Brother』
“Sign here.”
Standing in front of the Mercenary Guild in the crisp dawn breeze, grubby Jake looked anything but wealthy.
Yet the receptionist, who held Alex in high regard for accepting and completing such a request, decided to give a completion certificate at his discretion.
“The commission fee is 1 Kuper.”
“I have 1 Kuper!”
Just as Leo mentioned receiving an allowance, Milo had recently given Jake one as well.
“Here it is!”
Jake, who had paid the commission fee with his own money and signed the completion certificate, looked proudly at Alex and Leo.
“You’re the best, Jake!”
“Thanks.”
[Thank you!]
Leo wrapped his arms around Jake in a warm embrace with a bright smile, and Alex gently ruffled Jake’s hair.
With three commissions completed in quick succession, Alex stepped up to the bulletin board to search for new work.
He was looking for commissions that he could take Leo and Jake on and that wouldn’t take too long.
“Is there anything suitable?”
There were commissions related to lower-tier dungeons some distance from the lordship, and there were merchant guild requests as well.
[They all take time.]
That’s when a familiar name caught Alex’s eye as he read through the requests.
『Requester: Adela of Blue Tower Magic Tool Shop
Commission: Organizing inventory.
Note: Preference for someone with at least some knowledge of magic.』
[Adela—isn’t she the staff member at Blue Tower Magic Tool Shop?]
[The one who became 3rd Circle just two days ago.]
“Looks like she’s already preparing to head back to the Blue Tower.”
Fair enough.
Now that he’d reached Third Circle, wanting to head home made sense.
[But why commission someone to organize belongings?]
[Shouldn’t it be enough to just grab his own things and leave the shop inventory alone?]
Alex found it odd too, but the commission seemed perfectly suited to the task at hand. Besides, Leo and Adela had met before.
“Uncle, did you find the request form?”
“Yeah. Adela asked if I could help her organize some things.”
“Adela?”
At the mention of someone he knew, Leo’s face lit up.
“Who’s Adela, Leo?”
“She’s a shop worker at the magic tool store. And she’s a mage!”
“A mage!”
Jake’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“Then let’s go.”
“Yes!”
“Okay!”
Alex pocketed the request form and led the two children toward the Blue Tower Magic Tool Shop, where Adela would be.
On the way, he spotted the Zenor Tower Magic Tool Shop nearby.
Since the shop rarely opened its doors anyway, no one noticed Colin’s death despite the door being firmly shut.
[The Count’s family will notify Zenor Tower, won’t they?]
“Probably. Though revealing exactly how he died might be awkward….”
Money would likely smooth it over anyway.
They could always claim he’d died of illness or accident, after all.
Past the Zenor Tower Magic Tool Shop, the Blue Tower Magic Tool Shop came into view. A sign reading “Closed” hung on its door.
“The door’s shut, Uncle?”
At Leo’s words, Alex checked the request form again.
『Reference 2: Map』
“There’s a back entrance through the alley beside the shop.”
“I see.”
Following the map sketched on the request form, Alex led them down the alley beside the shop and found the back door.
It hung slightly ajar, as if left open intentionally.
“Pardon the intrusion.”
Alex pushed the back door open and stepped inside first.
[Wow….]
[This is a disaster.]
Alex wore an expression of distaste as he surveyed the scene before him.
From the entrance itself, all manner of objects were stacked like mountains.
“Whoa….”
“Wow….”
Behind Alex, Leo and Jake craned their necks curiously, their eyes widening at the sight they’d never witnessed before.
[Is this all shop inventory?]
[This is exactly what it feels like to step into the house of someone who can’t throw anything away.]
He understood the feeling well.
“You two stay here.”
Leaving the boys at the entrance, Alex carefully twisted his body this way and that as he navigated deeper inside.
Crash!
Just then, a loud sound of heavy objects falling came from within.
“Are you alright, Adela?”
As Alex hurried further inside, he spotted Adela standing to the side, having narrowly dodged the fallen items.
“Oh? Oh my! Alex, what brings you here?”
Adela, now covered in dust, eyes gleaming, looked up at him.
“How fortunate! I’ve been wanting to repay you for helping me reach Third Circle. Just wait a moment!”
[Though technically he figured that out himself.]
[But if she’s offering, I should accept!]
“Here it is. These are from our Blue Tower stock, so they should be useful!”
Adela retrieved a box she’d prepared beforehand.
It contained magical supplies perfectly suited for a Second Circle mage like Alex.
“I’ll make good use of them.”
With the box in hand, Alex produced the request form.
“I came because of a commission. You posted a request with the Mercenary Guild, didn’t you?”
Adela’s face brightened at his words.
“I’m so relieved you’re willing to help, Alex!”
If Alex—who didn’t just know a little about magic but was exceptionally skilled—lent his assistance, everything would be sorted out cleanly and without incident.
“What needs organizing?”
‘I think I can guess.’
Alex had anticipated this, but asked anyway.
“These things here, and those over there too.”
And just as he’d suspected, Adela pointed to the items stacked beside them and the things that had been piled up along the path where Alex had walked in.
Alex turned slowly, surveying front, back, and both sides.
It was as though he stood surrounded by small mountains.
‘As I thought.’
“All of this… it belongs to you?”
“Yes! That’s right! I’ve been collecting things for my research.”
‘All of this?’
“All of this?”
“Yes. This one supposedly collects Mana, and this is a Magical Power Quality Enhancement Potion. And this is a Dream Study Pillow that lets you study magic even while sleeping. And then this one is—!”
Adela explained the items with a smile.
The way she rattled on suggested she remembered everything in this mountain of objects.
‘She believes in this superstition?’
‘I can see how desperately she wanted to reach the Third Circle.’
Among the items Adela described were some that looked like the work of con artists, and others that were folk remedies whispered about among common folk.
‘Though there are a few worthwhile pieces mixed in.’
‘…True to form for a mage.’
‘I thought she was ordinary, but clearly she’s not.’
Alex found himself agreeing with Ibek’s assessment.
Looking at the objects crammed into the bedroom, living room, and kitchen, he understood why the key word that had helped Adela reach the Third Circle was “omission.”
‘When am I going to organize all this?’
‘Should I just leave?’
Should he?
Leo and Jake were outside, after all.
He didn’t want to drag them into this dust-filled place.
“Oh, if there’s anything here you need, you’re welcome to take it, Alex.”
“Where should I start?”
Alex rolled up his sleeves quickly.
He had money, and he’d receive compensation from the Count’s family as well, but magical supplies were harder to come by than gold.
‘Alex! Let’s search through this quickly!’
‘I wonder if there’s anything useful!’
Ibek was excited too.

* * *
Before they began organizing in earnest, Alex brought Leo and Jake in from outside.
“Leo, hello?”
“Hello, Adela! This is Jake, my friend.”
“Hello.”
Leo and Jake greeted her, then gazed around with wonder. They had never seen so many things piled up in one place.
“What are you doing, Adela?”
“I’m organizing things because I’m moving.”
“You’re moving?”
Adela smiled widely at Leo’s surprised expression.
“That’s right! I reached the Third Circle, you see. Do you know what the Third Circle is?”
“I do! A mage stronger than my uncle! My uncle is Second Circle!”
“Ouch!”
Alex, standing nearby, winced at Leo’s blunt answer, while Ibek chuckled.
“Ha, well, I reached Third Circle thanks to Alex. That’s why I’m heading back to the Mage Tower.”
“I see. That’s good?”
“Of course it is! It’s wonderful!”
Leo’s face lit up with a broad smile.
“Congratulations, Adela!”
“Congratulations!”
Jake quickly offered his congratulations as well.
“Thanks. Maybe Leo and Jake will run into you when they travel with their uncle and visit the Mage Tower Federation.”
Adela smiled as she continued.
“If Leo and Jake see anything you like, just say so. I’ll get it for you as a gift.”
“Wow! Thank you!”
“Thank you so much!”
A mage’s belongings, no less.
Leo and Jake both hoped there might be something interesting.
And so Leo and Jake took on the task of cleaning the small room.
“There’s nothing dangerous in here, so you just need to tidy everything up.”
[So there are dangerous things in other places?]
It seemed they’d need to be careful with the rest.
Alex opened the closed window wide to let dust escape easily, then pulled out a handkerchief and tied it around Leo and Jake’s noses and mouths.
“If you get tired while cleaning, you can take a break, Leo, Jake. Just let me know if you’re thirsty or hungry.”
“Okay!”
“Yes, we will!”
[Though it looks like they’ll probably end up playing halfway through.]
Alex laughed in agreement with Ibek’s observation.
With Leo and Jake safely settled in the small room, Alex began in earnest to organize the luggage.
“Let’s start from this side. Put the magical supplies in this box, medicinal herbs in that box, and anything ambiguous in this one.”
[I think we’re going to run out of boxes.]
Indeed.
Gloved, Alex carefully sorted through the items, taking care not to topple the small mountain of miscellaneous objects.
[There’s nothing here worth taking.]
[Adela must have pretty easy ears.]
Adela seemed to be the type who bought something immediately whenever anyone recommended it.
Besides, aside from the magical materials, nothing was particularly expensive.
[Maybe she’s a shopping addict?]
[Could be she just bought whatever was cheap because of the stress from reaching Third Circle.]
Now that she was tidying everything up, it seemed she’d gotten over it.
[Oh, this is decent.]
[This would be good for making Mana Stone Powder.]
Alex picked up the object in front of him and examined it.
Adela, who was carelessly tossing discardable items into a box beside him, spoke.
“That’s a stone mortar. I bought it because they said if you put a lowest-grade Mana Stone in there and grind it, it becomes low-grade Mana Stone Powder, but it didn’t work.”
[Who falls for that…]
[Anyway.]
[We don’t have a mortar, right? Let’s take it. The size is perfect too.]
“But don’t you have a pestle?”
Any wooden stick would work, but it seemed like it should have been sold together.
“Hmm. It should be somewhere here….”
Adela glanced around at the jumbled items as she spoke.
[I figured as much.]
[Might be faster just to make one.]
It seemed that was what they’d have to do.
Starting with the stone mortar, Alex was able to discover several useful items.
Not only tools necessary for magical research, but practical things like thread and needles for daily life.
“They said you can draw magic circles on clothes if you use that thread and needle.”
[As if. It’s just ordinary thread and needle.]
[Ibek. Was she really supposed to reach Third Circle?]
[Isn’t she going to get kicked out of the Blue Tower?]
Right on.
When Alex had nearly finished clearing Adela’s belongings, he discovered a pouch containing soft soil.
“I bought this because they said if you sprinkle this soil in a pot, you can cultivate ordinary plants into Mana Plants. But I couldn’t manage to grow them, so they died.”
[Let’s take this.]
…Does it really have that effect?
Alex looked surprised and activated Mana Detection, but he felt no mana at all.
Ibek chuckled quietly.
[It’s just quality soil.]
[I have a use for it.]
He’d startled me for nothing.
Ibek wondered what this soil would be used for, but decided to keep it for now.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————