Volume 6 Chapter 3 Card Issuance And Job Hunting
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
After bringing back 2 young girls from my father-in-law’s place, our Blackdagger family was thrown into a whirlwind of busyness.
The bureaucrats, especially, were facing a huge backlash due to the backlog of work after the New Year festivities, but when I hinted at increasing the workload for my mother-in-law and her right-hand woman, Helga, the complaints from the subordinates stopped immediately.
Thanks to my mother-in-law’s strong directive and Helga’s offer of a raise, it seemed the female officials had resigned themselves to the situation.
I could hear them grumbling things like, “Looks like we’ll be staying at the castle again,” or “At this rate, I won’t be able to get married,” and “I’m saving money, but I have no time to spend it,” but everyone was diligently getting to work.
Today, due to a misfortune during the New Year festivities, the card distribution ceremony that had been postponed was set to take place in the garden in front of the Estfort castle.
I was heading to the garden with Milly to participate in the ceremony.
”Am I supposed to approve each card one by one? My father-in-law was my guarantor when I got mine.”
”Not at all. Kent didn’t have a card since he was a ‘Lost One,’ so he got his at the castle, but in a city like Estfort, the heads of each town or street handle the approvals and registrations. Today’s ceremony is more like a showcase.”
”How many adults are there this year?”
”Hmm, about 6 hundred, I think. That’s around 2% of the population.”
Estfort had a population of over 30 thousand.
With 2% becoming new adults, it meant a city with a much younger generation had emerged compared to Japan in my previous world.
I felt the reality that Estfort was a city of the future.
The Estfort Academy, built on the site of the former garrison, had also started accepting students from Abyss Vena, leading to a continuous increase in the number of students.
By the way, we charge tuition from students who aren’t registered as residents, but even so, it’s cheaper than hiring a private tutor, making it popular among the middle class in Abyss Vena.
”Six hundred people, huh… Is everyone coming?”
”That’s right. If you come, you’ll get free food, plus you’ll have a chance to make connections with the influential people in town. Unless someone is sick or injured, I think everyone will participate. It’s also a place to look for jobs.”
For this ceremony, various shop owners, the merchant guild, our prime minister, HR representatives, Ms. Suzy from the Hunter Guild, the Magician Guild, clinic officials, construction representatives, conscription officers from the Estfort army, and the head of the Red Valkyrie Hunting Group, Giuliana, among others, came together from Hunting Groups that had relocated to Estfort.
Their purpose for participating was to acquire talent.
The attendees weren’t shy about their interest, looking at the 6 hundred newly adults with the hungry eyes of wolves.
In the kingdom, many express hesitation towards employing minors.
This is because, without a card issued, their card information cannot be checked.
Consequently, minors can only be given simple physical labor.
Once they become adults, card checks can be done, allowing for hiring based on their suitability, so during this time, card issuance ceremonies across the kingdom resemble job fairs.
”I didn’t know, but it’s quite an important ceremony, huh? My mother-in-law was super excited about it. By the way, this year there are no [red], 6 for [purple], 80 for [blue], 180 for [green], and 334 for [black].”
”Huh? You can tell?”
Milly was surprised.
The territory information on my menu screen had been updated to include the new adult data, listing only the numbers for Estfort.
By the way, the residents of Godard village currently only accept adults, so there are no minors, and Rintblum is a developing town that primarily consists of adults.
Also, regarding the girls’ territory, since I’m merely their guardian, it seems the territory information only comes to me in paper form.
”The territory information is displayed on the menu screen. It showed the rough numbers.”
”Huh? What’s a menu screen?”
Milly looked even more astonished.
”Huh? It’s a function where you can see various useful information and statuses, but… could it be that only I can see it…”
”W-What!? Kent had that kind of ability!?”
No way!
Could it be that this menu function is exclusive to ‘Lost One’?
”What can you confirm… about that menu screen…?”
”Um, first, there’s my card information, then the card information of everyone in the Hunting Group, the card information of those who became s*x slaves, and also the card information and territory information of those who became contract dragons… and it has descriptions of the jobs and skills I’ve acquired, plus there’s a space to store items, though it’s not very convenient… is it just me?”
Milly was trembling with excitement as she listened to me.
And she was looking at me with a reverent gaze.
”Kent… there’s no one with that kind of ability… you really are amazing. As expected of my master.”
”Eh, no, it’s not that great…”
It seemed I had been granted an ability that people in this world didn’t possess.
It was a fact that reminded me I was a person from Another World.
”But, let’s keep that conversation just between us. If it’s known that Kent has such an ability, especially since he’s already seen as dangerous, the counterfeit organization connected to Gwain will definitely come to kill you.”
Milly urged me to keep quiet while being mindful of our surroundings.
I personally thought this menu screen ability wasn’t that impressive, but it seemed that the ability to read card information was quite valuable in this world.
Lina’s [Person Identification] Skill and my mother-in-law’s [Talent Discovery] Skill are precious skills.
Because the only way to check card information is through ‘Authentication Stone (Job Check)’ or ‘Ability Grasp Stone (Skill Check)’.
Moreover, according to my father-in-law, card information can be forged.
I don’t know how widespread the forgery of card information is in the kingdom, but if you collude with a lord, you can also forge cards through the exercise of authority.
For example, even someone who is [black] can register as [purple] with Lord authority, but in reality, due to being [black], there are cases where they cannot acquire a job, even if there are open slots by the time they take 3 jobs; such individuals are suspected of being forgers.
In recent years, the number of forgers has increased, and there are even Lords who secretly sell card colors, making it a serious domestic issue for the kingdom.
Therefore, my ability, Person Identification, and Talent Discovery Skill are valued as skills that can detect forgers, but they have become a nuisance to forgery organizations, leading to threats against my life.
”I, I understand. Keep it a secret between me and Milly. That said, a large-scale forgery organization exists, huh? Is my father-in-law involved?”
”My stepfather keeps his distance. He only forged Kent’s, but hasn’t forged anyone else.”
”I see…”
In this world, card colors are incredibly important for determining one’s life──many parents wish for their children to have good card colors, and it has become common among the wealthy, especially Nobles, to resort to bribery for their children’s card forgery.
The high ratio of [purple] holders among the sons of Nobles and large merchant guilds indicates how deep the forgery has penetrated, it is thought.
”Well, we have my mother-in-law and Lina, and I can see through forgers, so it’s fine for us. Other places must be struggling, though. If someone hired as [purple] turns out to be actually [black], that would be shocking. Could it be that Skills are also forged?”
”Skills, huh… Yes, they are forged. But they aren’t considered as important as card colors, so there are fewer forgeries.”
Certain jobs have specific required Skills listed in their employment conditions, which sometimes leads to forgers appearing, but it’s said to be a mere fraction compared to card color forgery.
”In that sense, my ability, Person Identification, and Talent Discovery Skill become really important skills.”
”Yes, that’s why both Lina and my mother don’t publicly declare they possess Skills. They keep it as an inside matter.”
”It’s because their lives are at stake. I’ll keep this to myself as well.”
”Please do.”
Thus, I discovered that my menu ability is a specialized ability for ‘Lost One’, and I learned the true nature of the kingdom’s card information.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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