Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 118

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!

Enjoy~

Chapter 118 – The Territorial Capital of Malta and the Commercial Guild

Horio-san knew both of the gatekeepers, so he was able to enter with his face identification.

As for me and Amanda-san, we were able to enter the city of Malta easily by showing our guild cards.

When we entered, I was surprised by the scenery.

“(Wow, the ground is paved with stone. The atmosphere of the city is definitely different, including the outer walls.)”

Unlike Bezart, which had a strong overall brown image with a lot of earth and wood, the city of Malta, as seen from the carriage, had a lot of stone and looked a little more modern.

In short, it was a well-organized and beautiful cityscape.

The clothes of the people walking around there also seemed to be of higher quality than in Bezart, and I felt that there was a big difference between Bezart, which was a rural town, and the urban city of Malta.

“(Wow… Horio-san casually mentioned that it was the territorial capital, but it’s like a world from a movie…)”

While I was thinking such thoughts and looking at the scenery outside the window like a tourist, the carriage stopped after a while at a place facing the main street, and Horio-san called out to us.

“Well, we made it to the Hunters’ Guild, but what are you going to do now?”

“Well, it’s still light out, so why don’t we finish our business at the Commerce Guild first? Is that okay with you, Loki-kun?”

Even if I’m asked, I don’t think I have the right to refuse.

I have no choice but to go, so I tell Amanda-san that I agree.

“Well then, I guess this is where we part ways. Thank you for covering the night shift, Loki. Take care of yourself and work hard, but please be sensible.”

As he said this, I looked up at Horio-san, who patted me on the shoulder.

I think I’m the one who should thank him.

I never thought I’d get such useful information while traveling.

The information I received was real-world information that only someone who actually lives in this world could understand―I can only be truly grateful.

“Thank you for teaching me so much! I hope we meet again somewhere!”

As I watched Horio-san enter the Hunters’ Guild with a hand raised in the air, I also confirmed something that’s been bothering me with Amanda-san.

Even though the carriage moved at a speed close to walking, it took about half an hour to get around the city.

Just from that, I could tell that the size of the city was different from Bezart, so I wondered if Amanda-san knew much about Malta.

This is the first time both of us have visited Malta!

In such a situation, it was inevitable that we would get lost.

“Have you been to Malta before, Amanda-san?”

“Of course. If you want to buy something nice, people from the surrounding area, not just people from Bezart, come to Malta first.”

“That’s good to know. I was afraid we’d get lost.”

“Don’t worry, everything is in the center of the city, so you won’t get lost. Let’s go!”

It seems that whether in Japan or in another world, people who live in the countryside go shopping in the prosperous city.

Even if it’s just the next town, the time it takes is the same as traveling overseas, and you have to camp overnight, too.

This is the story.

If a bicycle were invented here―I guess it’s still impossible to avoid camping overnight.

It would be quite amusing to see a large number of people riding bicycles at full speed on rough roads with leather bags or baskets on their backs.

Maybe what this world really needs is asphalt?

Hmm… I have no idea how to do this…

Imagining such a shopping scene in the future, the two of us went to the Commerce Guild.

▽ ▼ ▽ ▼ ▽

It’s about 10 minutes away from the Hunters’ Guild.

We both look at the three-story building facing the main road.

“(I see. So the trademark of the Hunters’ Guild is ‘Equipment,’ and the trademark of the Commerce Guild is ‘Coins.’)”

If you look at the sign above the entrance, it’s very obvious.

At first glance, the image of what looks like a circle is easily recognizable thanks to the gold coloring.

Amanda-san doesn’t come to the Commercial Guild very often, does she?

Even standing next to her, I can feel the slightly tense atmosphere.

And for some reason… I’m feeling a little excited.

I find myself increasingly curious about the atmosphere and conversations within the merchants of this world. As a former salesman, the prospect of this exchange piques my interest.

“Well, I’ll be off then. Loki-kun, can I borrow the sword that Paisa-san made? You can get a room while you’re waiting.”

“Huh? Even though we came here together, I don’t have to go?”

Has Amanda-san gone crazy?

Then what’s the point of coming with her?

Then she leaned close to my ear and spoke in a low voice.

“First, I have to show and explain to the higher-ups here what a ballpoint pen is. If you were there at that time, Loki-kun, there’s a good chance that they would suspect you of being an Otherworlder. You have a skin color that’s almost never seen in this country. And if they suspect you… they’ll probably try to contact you.”

“Is that so…”

“If you want to team up with the Commerce Guild and become a successful merchant in this country, I won’t stop you. But considering our past interactions, I don’t think that’s what you want, is it?”

“Hmm? This country? I thought the Commerce Guild was an independent organization that had nothing to do with the country… but isn’t that the case?”

“It’s a fine line. Like the Hunters’ Guild, it’s an organization that transcends national borders, but its relationship with each country is much closer than the Hunters’ Guild’s. When something new and advanced comes out, the usual procedure is to present it first to the royalty of the country where it was registered, so you should expect some information to leak out.”

Ahhh…

I can sort of imagine it.

First of all, the majority of people who come in and out of the Malta Commercial Guild are probably merchants who are based in or around Malta.

If this is the case, merchants and researchers would be happy to report to the government on the presence of excellent and useful human resources, and if the interests of the Commercial Guild are considered, it is obvious that the upper management would want to keep people from other worlds around who are a treasure trove of ideas.

So the plan is to give the king a bunch of reasons and then bind these otherworlders with titles and honors?

If the otherworlders refuse… what will happen?

I don’t want to think about it too much.

“Hmm, it seems like it would be better to do what Amanda-san says. I’ll hand over the bestowed sword to you as well. There’s just one thing I’m not sure about. Is it okay if you register my name with the Commercial Guild as a consultant fee or something?”

That’s what I’m worried about.

If registering my name is going to cause me a lot of inconvenience, then I don’t want my name registered at all.

I can make money by hunting, and even if I want to make money as a merchant, I can do that when I’m stronger.

“Don’t worry. Your name, or rather your Business Identification Number, will only be listed as one of the profit distributions, and there will be no mention of you as an advisor or originator. So if there’s any possibility of things developing in the future that you find troublesome―although the Guild Master and I think it will be fine―it will be when you withdraw money, right?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“If things go well, a large amount of money will be saved in the Commerce Guild as Loki-kun’s share without you even noticing it. Of course, if the commercialization of the ideas you got on this journey is successful, that amount will be added to it. If that happens, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone took an interest in you, depending on the amount of money. Well, you could just withdraw the money in another country.”

“I see. So even if they try to find me after I withdraw the money, they won’t be able to catch me because I’ll have already gone somewhere else?”

“That’s right. And even if that happens, it’ll be years or decades in the future. We still can’t produce enough to sell explosively.”

“That’s true… you’re right.”

Then there’s no problem.

The handicap of not being able to choose a profession is incredibly painful, but even so, in this world where effort is rewarded, I’m confident that in a few years, I’ll be strong enough.

Even if someone attempts to use brute force against me as an Otherworlder, I am confident in my ability to defend myself.

What I’m afraid of now is that in this situation, where I’m still a new D-class adventurer, they’ll take drastic measures.

But even if they trace my name back to the pen, how will they know that I’m ‘Loki’?

There’s no register at the inn, and even when you enter the city, you show your guild card, but there’s no sign of it being recorded.

For better or worse, it’s a world with a low level of civilization and lax rules.

If that’s the case, it’s probably okay to think of it as a mysterious savings account that might have accumulated some money after a few years.

“Yes, I understand. It seems like it will be okay.”

“Then, while you’re waiting for the review to be finished, why don’t you go and walk around and look for a place to stay? If it’s decided that the business registration is okay, then I’ll make the business registration card for you at the reception desk afterward.”

“Then I’ll make that card first. I’d also like to ask about a place to stay.”

“That’s fine. I’ll see you on the first floor.”

In this way, even though we joined the Commerce Guild at almost the same time, we each went to a different counter.

Of course, I went to the one with the pretty lady.

As I expected, there were more men than women, but I didn’t care.

I won’t make the same mistake again… I do not intend to make that mistake… but why do I feel a strong look from the empty counter next to me?

I know I shouldn’t look, but I can’t help but look over and make eye contact with a woman about 50 years old.

The old men in front of me… yeah, they’re definitely not looking.

I can feel a strong determination on their backs that they definitely want to be served by the beautiful lady.

“(Well, it doesn’t matter. Someone much more beautiful will descend tonight.)”

With this thought, I quickly slip out of the line and face the lady.

“I want to make a Commercial Card.”

“Oh, you look like a hunter, don’t you? So, are you going to be a peddler or a street vendor when you travel? For now, please write your name here.”

From here on, the process was similar to the Hunters’ Guild.

I wrote my name and age on a wooden board, and when asked what kind of business I wanted to do, I wrote ‘peddler’ because the old lady had given me a hint earlier.

I think if I could travel around with an oversized basket on my back, I could actually do things like peddling.

Then, in exchange for the 20,000 beeke, which was the initial cost, I was given a brown card.

The card itself was quite hard, and the material looked like copper.

The card had my name and a 9-digit number on the bottom right, like a credit card number.

I could understand what Amanda-san meant by ‘business identification number,’ but,

“Could it be that the material and color of the card is used to divide the ranks?”

The receptionist waited for this question and explained it to me.

To summarize, young merchants who do not have a store or small producers who only deliver their crops are classified as “Copper,” the lowest rank.

From there, merchants with their own shops and medium-sized producers are ‘Silver,’ medium-sized merchants with several shops in the country and large-scale producers are ‘Gold,’ large-scale merchants with shops in several countries are ‘Mithril,’ and if they are nobles with titles, it seems that most of them have ‘Platinum’ cards.

There are good and bad things about each rank.

The Copper rank has no annual registration fee but has higher guild and brokerage fees.

The Silver rank costs 300,000 beeke per year, but the guild fee is lower than the Copper rank.

The Gold rank costs 3,000,000 beeke per year, but the guild fee is lower than the Silver rank.

The annual fee for the Mithril rank is 30 million beeke, but the guild fee is even lower than for the Gold rank.

When you reach the Platinum rank, the annual fee is 100 million beeke, but the guild fees are completely free.

These seem to be the main fees, and there are various other benefits for higher ranks, but apparently, anyone can become a member of the Mithril rank as long as they pay the fee.

And at that rank, you are considered a merchant.

In other words, it determines whether you are considered a mid-level merchant or a large-scale merchant, so many merchants are said to be desperate to increase their rank as long as they can pay the annual maintenance fee.

In short, your rank is your status in this world.

If you have a Commercial Card, you can request various things from the guild, such as a list of potential locations if you want to rent a shop, negotiate prices with the landowner or lord who owns the land, find a builder or renovator, and get help in purchasing goods. You can do business without this card, but if you want to run a smooth business, registration is almost essential.

It seems that the only people who can get by without it are merchants who can buy goods independently or who only sell items they’ve made themselves, or people like me who are hunters and also work part-time to make a little extra money while traveling.

And after hearing all this, I’ve decided that I’m happy to stay at the Copper rank.

I have no intention of opening a store and doing business or buying a large amount of goods and doing something with them.

I would like to increase my hunter rank, but since I don’t want to be a merchant, I don’t care about my merchant rank.

However… if the Commerce Guild has what I need, I might change my mind.

“The Commerce Guild also deals with information, right?”

When Paisa-san managed to bestow the same skill twice, he said that if we registered the results, we might get requests for nominations, and other bestowers might use it as a reference.

And paying a reward for useful information could also be seen as buying and selling that information itself.

“We do that too, but… Oh, is that why you signed up?”

“No, that’s not it. I have my own basket, so I also do peddling, but if there’s information I want, I’d like to buy it.”

“I see~ it looks like that basket is going to be full. So what information do you want?”

When she said that, I wondered what I should check.

I thought about whether it would be okay to check.

“(Is it a bit risky to check something that people in this world are unlikely to ask about? But if I ask anyway, there’s a chance they won’t look at me suspiciously…)”

“What I want to know is if there are any high-level bestowers living in Malta. Also, could you find out the requirements for acquiring Spatial Magic?”

“We can look into the matter of bestowers. However, there aren’t many bestowers registered with the guild, so we don’t know if there are any high-level ones. As for Spatial Magic, the answer is that the acquisition requirements have not been clarified.”

“I knew it~”

“Don’t be so disappointed. It’s a magic that all merchants dream of learning at least once. Everyone wants to learn it, but it’s only been confirmed to be used by people from other worlds. That’s why they say it’s a magic that only people from other worlds can use.”

This answer was a pure disappointment.

If I could have learned this here, I would have spent all my money, or if that wasn’t enough, I would have stayed in Malta until I had enough.

However, the way the old lady talked, it seemed like she would easily judge me as not being from this world if I asked about the existence of Spatial Magic.

It was a long shot, but I’ll leave it at that.

“I have always been fascinated by Spatial Magic. If that’s the case, can you tell me the results right away? I’d like to know the cost and how long it will take to get the results.”

“Well, if you come tomorrow, I should have the results ready. The fee for examining a skill holder in this city is 100,000 beeke. If you want to use an intermediary, the fee per person is 500,000 beeke for the copper rank.”

“What if the investigation is not only in this city but in a larger area?”

“If you want to extend your search to the entire Kingdom of Lagreath, the fee will be 1.5 million beeke, and it should only take two weeks to find all the registered bestowers in the guild. The commission fee will remain the same, but since guild members cannot accompany you to other towns, you will have to go there in person and negotiate with the bestowers. Please be careful, as the commission fee will not be refunded if you are denied at that time.”

Hmm, as expected from a copper rank.

The commission fee seems quite expensive, but since this is a world where you can’t do a quick search on a computer, I guess there’s no choice but to just accept it…

And with 1.5 million beeke, I don’t have enough money on hand.

I haven’t yet decided whether to use the letter I received from Yagov-san in Malta, so for now, I’ll just have to do the research in Malta.

“I don’t have enough money for 1.5 million bees, so can you do a search just for Malta? I’ll come back tomorrow and check the results.”

When I tell her this, the old lady starts writing something on a wooden board and gives it to me, so I sign my name at the bottom to accept the request.

Then, if I pay 100,000 beeke in advance, the request is complete.

I look around, but I still can’t see Amanda-san.

I think she’s in the middle of explaining something.

“Then please come to our place after the bell rings tomorrow at noon. If you come too early, there’s a chance it won’t be ready.”

“I understand. And I would be grateful if you could make this free… is there an inn with a bath in this town?”

“Haha, of course, I wouldn’t charge you for it.”

While being told this, I went to the place I was told about, secretly worrying that I might have to pay hundreds of thousands of beeke for one night’s stay.

If you like my translations, please support me on Ko-Fi and subscribe my Patreon to read several chapters ahead!