Read Novel Full Vol 16 Chapter 16
Vol 16 Chapter 16
TN: Please read my translations only on my website since I never give my permission to any site to host my translations. And if you like my translations, please support this site on Ko-fi and Patreon to read several chapters ahead!
Thanks toTbird90677 for the Ko-Fi and this chapter~
(17/20)
Chapter 16 – I Didn’t Run Away
When I arrived in the port city of Toyen and went to the Merchant’s Guild to get an ID card, I could not join because I did not have enough money to pay the admission fee. The receptionist explained the guild in detail, and I was able to get some information, but I was a little worried about the future.
“Then it’s hard to do big business if you don’t open up.”
The guild gave us some information about inns, and we finally settled on the cheapest one.
I shared the information with Dorothea-san and the others, and they seemed to come to the same conclusion as me.
If I had just opened up and done business, I could have made a lot of money right away, but considering the Toyen way of doing business and my personality, it was difficult to make the decision to open up easily.
I really want to avoid the standard of loud voices and forceful business negotiations or anything like that.
“Then I guess we’ll just have to do a bunch of steady small businesses or sign up with the Mercenary Guild to make some money?”
Dorothea-san gave us a rough idea of what to do, and it is true that those two options are promising.
With Dorothea-san’s talent, there are other ways to make money, but the problem is that they don’t understand the language.
“Aside from business, it’s hard to be a mercenary.”
“Huh? Why?”
Ilma-san’s words surprised me. Why? Even if we don’t have a full team, it’s not like we’re taking on high-level requests, so it’s possible for us to do it, right?
I may not be of much use in battle, but I’m at a high level, and I have the ability to summon ships, so I can at least protect myself.
And Dorothea-san and the others should be able to handle requests of a certain difficulty level with ease.
“I don’t know if I should say this myself, but we stand out no matter how we do it. And when we go to a place like the Mercenary Guild, a place where rough people gather… you know what happens, right?”
That was it. I had been thinking about the business practices of Toyen, but Ilma-san was right; we also had to deal with standing out in this area.
Even when we came to this inn, we attracted a lot of attention.
“We can usually handle most things ourselves, but since we don’t understand the language, I don’t think we can handle it carelessly. If we leave it to Wataru, the request will be granted, but there will definitely be trouble.”
Yes, Dorothea-san is right, there will be trouble.
In a group of rough mercenaries, there’s a guy who doesn’t look like much and three incredibly beautiful women. And it’s me in the middle who looks like nobody.
I can assure you. There’s no way we wouldn’t get into trouble.
If that were the case, there would be less trouble if I, a merchant, hired three beautiful women as my guards.
Even if I did that, I’m sure there would be a lot of envy and jealousy, wondering why such a shabby-looking guy is keeping Dorothea-san and the girls all to himself.
Still, there would be less friction between merchants and mercenaries, two different genres, than the same mercenary.
“Then, for the time being, we’ll do good business and make money, right?”
If possible, I want to have enough money. And I want to change my accommodation.
I could only afford a cheap place, so this time, I rented a room for four people. It would be a treat to sleep in the same room as Dorothea-san and the others, but it’s a little hard to include that reward.
The room is a shabby room with only four beds. It seems to be kept clean to some extent by daily life magic, but it’s hard for me, who was spoiled by the Ship Summoning.
And the biggest problem of all is that there is no place for me to release what I am crazy about. I have a room full of things that drive me crazy, but I can’t even let them go by myself, which is hell, and I can’t wait for an outburst.
“Yes, and learn the language.”
Ilma-san, who probably gives me the most trouble, also gave me an extra task: learn the language. Yes, it would be much easier to get around if everyone could understand the language.
Normally, it’s not easy to learn a foreign language, but everyone is smart enough to do it. They are high-level, you know.
Still, it’s a big adventure on an unknown continent! I was excited about it, but it started modestly. It reminds me of when I first fell into this world.
＊＊＊
“It’s not that I can’t eat, but it’s hard to keep eating like this.”
Dorothea-san muttered a bit bitterly after eating yesterday’s dinner and today’s breakfast. Me, Ilma-san, and Marina-san nodded in agreement.
I was not the only one, but Dorothea-san and the others were also spoiled by the Ship Summoning, so they ate the grilled fish, fish soup, and hard, crumbly bread. There is something difficult about hard, crumbly bread.
I understand that it’s a cheap inn and the food is accordingly cheap, but that doesn’t mean that I want to keep eating it.
I ate the food at the inn out of curiosity and to experience the culture of this country, but from now on, I will have to live on my own food.
When I can afford it, I will go to a restaurant with a good reputation and experience only the best of the culture.
And besides the food, we discovered a troubling problem.
Me, Dorothea-san, Ilma-san, and Marina-san, the three of us, except for Ilma-san, have one thing in common. Yes, we are all slime lovers.
It’s not that we’re always together, but there are times when we don’t see each other for a day because Rimu sometimes follows Carla-san on her luxury liner gastronomy tours and stays overnight.
However, not seeing each other by chance and not seeing each other for a certain period of time are completely different in terms of feelings.
The quality of the beds is not good, the food is not good, and I don’t get to have fun with Rimu, who is so healing to me. On the second day in Toyen, our tension was low.
I want to feel Rimu’s softness.
“Look, don’t be lazy just because you’re a bit away from Rimu-chan and the others. We’re going to exchange money today, right? Dorothea and Marina, you have to be strong. You are Wataru’s guards.”
Ilma-san, who is not dependent on the slime, said devilish things to us, who were filled with sadness.
But what Ilma-san says is not wrong. Even if we stay here, we will not be able to meet Rimu, so we should start moving.
After exchanging glances with Dorothea-san and Marina-san, we somehow managed to lift our spirits and prepare to leave.
By the way, Ilma-san’s motherly behavior is fresh.
She is charming and mischievous but surprisingly serious at heart. I knew that, but it is a new discovery that she turns into a mother when her surroundings are ruined.
It’s fun to see a new side of people when they act differently than they usually do.
While I was thinking about how I would like to be pampered by Ilma-san one day, we left the inn and went to the Merchant’s Guild.
When I entered the guild, I could hear people shouting at each other and doing business. The guild seems to be full of energy from this morning.
I wait for the reception desk to open, just like yesterday. I found the receptionist who gave me a polite explanation yesterday. I want to go to her desk this time because it will save me from having to explain what happened yesterday.
“Thank you for waiting. How can I help you today?”
I feel terribly uncomfortable having a male receptionist sitting in front of me. Yesterday, I wanted this situation, but today, I don’t want it at all.
Even if it wasn’t the receptionist who explained the situation to me, I still wanted to talk to another beautiful receptionist.
So why was I offered this seat today and not yesterday? Only two male employees out of more than ten? Was it a conspiracy of the Creator God-sama?
“I’d like to apply for a change and pay the admission fee to the Merchant’s Guild with the proceeds.”
I would like to request a change, but there is no way that it would be granted, and I don’t have the courage to ask for it.
I took a ruby out of my pocket and placed it in front of the male employee.
“Oh… please wait a moment.”
The male employee puts on gloves and looks at the ruby in his hand. He seems to be able to judge the ruby.
“It’s a pretty good quality ruby, isn’t it? Where did you get it?”
Why do you, a shabbily dressed man, have such a jewel? That’s what you want to say, isn’t it? I understand.
“My father got it from the ruins a long time ago. He gave it to me as a down payment when I wanted to become a merchant.”
A jewel that a mercenary father gave as a parting gift to his son, who was leaving the village to become a merchant. I think I was able to answer the question without hesitation because I had thought about the setting properly beforehand.
It would have been a good idea to keep a low profile by repeatedly doing small business, but since I was afraid of doing business in this city and the living environment defeated me overnight, I decided to exchange the jewelry for cash, where I could get a certain amount of money at a time.
With this money, I will upgrade our accommodation, and while sightseeing, I will gather information about this city and country and study the language.
“I see. Do you have any identification?”
“No, I only have the ticket I was given when I entered Toyen.”
When I showed the ticket, the male employee took the time to check it thoroughly. I don’t think there’s much to see on the ticket, so he’s probably thinking about something while pretending to check it.
It’s kind of scary.
“I understand. We’ll be willing to pay you two million sigs.”
According to Camille-san’s estimate, this ruby is worth three million.
I don’t necessarily know if the price is the same because they’re from different continents, not just different countries, but I feel like I’m being ripped off. Or, since the price negotiation starts here, it is possible that he offered a lower price.
Should I negotiate a slightly higher price… but there is a possibility that 2 million is fair. It is hard to do business without knowledge.
“I understand. I’ll accept it.”
It’s not that I was afraid to negotiate intensely. I was just afraid that I would get too heated in the negotiation and lose my temper. That is not why I ran away.
When I was convinced of that, I accepted the employee’s price. Hmm?
“…Very well. Then let’s go through the admission process at the same time.”
“Are you sure you want to do that?” The staff member looked at me for a moment with such an expression on his face.
Apparently, this staff member was not a bad person.
He was in charge of a counter in a Merchant’s Guild that was involved in such intense negotiations, so there was no way he would just reveal information to me.
The fact that he gave me some time was probably to give the new merchant a chance.
And if I didn’t take that chance, am I a failure as a merchant?
But, well, I can get by with two million sigs for now, so I’ll just call it good enough for now.
…I never ran away from it. I just chose to keep a low profile.