episode_0081

The next day, it was chaotic.

Until Hade came to find Vespians, there were things that needed to be taken care of in advance.

First, I had to go to the merchants who had formed an alliance with Matap and sell the cargo at the top of Reville.

The shops commonly used by adventurers naturally tried to haggle for the highest price, taking advantage wherever possible.

Items like monster byproducts or crude weapons didn’t differ much in price no matter where you sold them, but with loot like this, it was important to choose the right place to sell.

“Um… Guests, did you happen to plunder this from some top?”

Even the merchants allied with Matap were making awkward expressions, suggesting that this might be looted goods. But what about the merchants near the guild, who considered preying on adventurers as the joy of life?

“This is a bit awkward. If you’re thinking of disposing of looted goods or contraband, you should look somewhere other than our store…”

Just making a suggestion like this, advising to find another shop if you want to dispose of contraband, would make you a conscientious merchant belonging to the top 1% in terms of integrity, like the man in front of me.

Most of the merchants in the guild district would offer ridiculously low prices, and some would even subtly threaten to report you to the guards if you refused their proposal.

Since these items were rightfully obtained loot, there wouldn’t be any real trouble if they were reported to the guards, but the very fact that the guards would investigate was a hassle for us.

That’s why we had come to see the merchant introduced by Amy instead of dealing with those guys.

“Don’t worry. I’ll vouch for it.”

Of course, along with Amy.

“On the name of Matap, these items are legitimate goods without any issues.”

Amy, who came with me to see the merchant, shrugged lightly, showing him a mark proving her affiliation with Matap.

It was a much more reliable guarantee than my hundred words.

“Hmm… This is the mark of Rayfield’s authority. In that case, there shouldn’t be any problem.”

The merchant, having heard Amy’s guarantee, leaned forward and carefully examined the mark. Seemingly satisfied, he nodded.

“Rayfield?”

“My mentor. Also my guarantor who recommended me to the Tower.”

Amy whispered quietly in my ear.

The high wizard of the Tower, Milena Rayfield.

She was said to be Amy’s mentor and guarantor, recommending children with magical talent like Amy to the Tower and becoming their mentor and guarantor.

Of course, she was a mentor and guarantor in name only, providing little more than an adventure scroll to her accepted disciples.

“…If that’s the case, why bother taking on disciples?”

“Well, I don’t know either. Is it for the tuition fees? To increase faction members? Maybe just caprice?”

Nevertheless, as such a person, she might be lacking as a mentor, but her reputation and credit were high, making her a convenient name to use in such situations.

“Alright. I’ll purchase this and this, and all of these. As for these weapons… they seem hardly worth buying.”

While Amy and I chatted, the merchant, after some consideration, selected the items he would purchase from the list we presented.

I had hoped he’d buy everything… but perhaps he wouldn’t fall for such a foolish act.

Items with questionable value, much like the crude weapons left by bandits, were promptly rejected. It seemed that such odds and ends should be quietly sold off in the guild district.

“Do you intend to sell those horses too? If so…”

“Just two. I’m holding onto the other two for now.”

Having roughly sorted out the items for purchase, the merchant asked if we intended to sell the pack animals that had pulled the carriage.

As horses were quite valuable, I had originally planned to sell them all, but Freida and Amy suggested leaving two behind, to avoid the inconvenience of having to rent a carriage separately each time we took on a commission.

Upon hearing that, we decided to just keep the two horses with us. Unlike horses, the carriage was in such a dilapidated state by the time it arrived in the city that it needed to be repaired and used or a new one had to be purchased.

“Is that so…? Well then, I suppose two gold coins would suffice as payment.”

Two gold coins.

In other words, it meant giving two hundred silver coins.

Divided by four, that’s fifty silver coins per person.

Considering the cost of living in this world, it was honestly a bit of a bargain, but still, from the merchant’s perspective, it was a reasonable deal.

If he set his mind to it, he could easily procure similar items at a much lower price.

After all, isn’t that what merchants do?

They offer bribes to those in power to monopolize distribution, buy goods cheaply, and sell them for more than four times the price to make a profit.

That’s why the items we needed to purchase would easily require five gold coins, but when we sold them, they plummeted in value to a mere two gold coins.

In truth, two gold coins were quite generous. If it had been another merchant, they would have tried to haggle down to just one gold coin.

If it weren’t for the support of the Matagi, this merchant probably would have done the same.

If the profit was so excessive that it was unbearable, adventurers like us should either give up and become merchants or join a merchant association…

“…That’s an absurd idea. It’s just a joke.”

It was nothing more than a complaint mixed with humor, and in reality, it was an entirely impossible idea.

There were two conditions for joining the merchant association.

Either pay a substantial amount of financial support or inherit the profession of a parent who was already a member of the association.

For a penniless outsider without connections, it was a dead end.

Naturally. Unless it was my own family’s pie, who in the world would try to share someone else’s?

So, well, there’s nothing to be done. We can only be grateful for receiving even two gold coins properly.

“Oh, please take half of it in silver. I need to distribute it to my party members.”

“That’s nothing, it’s not difficult. Here, take this.”

The middle-aged merchant laughed as he took out a gold coin and a hundred silver coins from the storage cabinet behind the sofa, put them in a leather pouch, and handed them to us. He said it was a good deal.

Of course it’s a good deal. If we just resell the items we handed over, we’ll make a net profit of at least three gold coins.

◆◆

“Alright, each of you gets fifty silver coins.”

After taking out the money from my pocket and leaving the building, I divided each person’s share between Freide and Kikel, who had been waiting outside, and Amy, who had been standing next to me.

“Fifty? That’s a bit much for my share, isn’t it?”

Kikel asked with a smirk.

It might be a bit excessive to give fifty silver coins even to someone like himself, who was still just a rookie, unlike Freide or Amy, but it was a rare declaration of conscience among humans to refuse even if more money is offered.

“We’re in the same party, so it’s a bit unfair to treat everyone differently, don’t you think? If you think it’s an undeserved reward for a rookie… then consider it as high expectations.”

I smiled and suggested that they accept it without refusing.

“In my opinion, Kikel, once you solve the body temperature issue, you could aim for the rank of a rookie. If it’s too burdensome, you can use that as a stepping stone to upgrade to a rookie as soon as possible.”

It was a suggestion to use the money I gave him to secure plenty of ignition stones and become a reliable force.

“…Haha!”

Kikel, who had been silent for a moment, suddenly raised his head and burst into laughter.

“Thank you! I acknowledge you like family! I’ll treat you like a sister! Permission granted to speak freely!”

Kikel, expressing gratitude for the recognition as family, said that from now on, he would treat me like a sibling.

Perhaps, by giving him fifty silver coins, he had decided to treat me like family, not just because of the gratitude he received.

Well, for me, it wasn’t a bad story. It was honestly a bit cumbersome to speak respectfully only to him while using informal language with the other party members.

“Right. No, I’ll do that. Actually, it’s more convenient for me too.”

So I nodded and immediately let the words out. With a much friendlier voice, even mixing in some jokes.

“So, should I start calling you Kikel oppa now?”

Oppa. It’s funny even after I say it. It’s a word I wouldn’t even think of saying under normal circumstances.

“Heh, Hilde? That’s a bit…”

Frida, who had been listening quietly, expressed her disapproval with a disgusted look on her face. I don’t know why. Did she think it didn’t suit me?

Well, it was just a joke, so whatever.

Saying I’d call him oppa was just a joke, I had no intention of actually calling him that.

If I did, I’d feel as awkward as a blue robot raccoon.

“Wrong! There’s no right or wrong! Call me by my name, Kikel!”

But Kikel, who had actually heard my joke, shook his head firmly in a decisive tone. He couldn’t allow himself to be called oppa; he insisted on being called by his name.

“Oh… is that so. Did I suddenly act too familiar?”

I nodded my head with a somewhat bewildered expression.

Even if we are like siblings or whatever, calling each other oppa among colleagues seems a bit excessive, doesn’t it?

It made me feel awkward, but it was an understandable response.

“Different! Not oppa! Call me nuna!”

…I couldn’t understand the immediate response that followed.

“What, nuna?”

I asked, dumbfounded. Nuna, what’s that all of a sudden? How much of an age gap is there for that kind of talk…

Wait a minute.

Did I ever ask Kikel’s age?

Come to think of it, I hadn’t. I just assumed he was older than me based on his manner of speaking and rough appearance.

But nuna.

Could it be that this lizard man was younger than me?

“Hey… Kikel, how old are you right now?”

“…Are we actually the same age?”

Amy, too, seemed quite surprised by the fact that Kikel was younger than me, turning to look at Kikel and asking. Her face seemed to ask if he really was the same age as her, judging by his appearance.

And then.

“Haha! I’m fourteen years old!”

Kikel burst into laughter as he revealed his age.

“……”

“……”

“……”

The three of us couldn’t laugh. The answer was beyond belief.

Amy and I are the same age. She’s much younger.

Unbelievably so.

“…Fourteen?”

“Yep! That’s right! So, I’m your little sister, Hilde!”

Fourteen years old.

Younger or not, she’s just a child.

Goodness, have I really been treating a fourteen-year-old like a soldier?

Have I really been using a fourteen-year-old as a shield in front of monsters?

Truly, it was a shocking realization that I couldn’t hold back.