Read Novel Full Chapter 158
Chapter 158
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Chapter 158 – Country’s Situation
With time to spare before lunch, I began to explore the city at my leisure for the first time in a while.
Starting tomorrow, I will continue my solo journey.
Depending on the situation, I may have to sleep outdoors or eat my meals on the hunting grounds.
I checked the quality and price of portable bedding and picked up a metal pot.
I found it surprisingly interesting to look at things that had previously been outside my area of interest. I also enjoyed shopping in a different world and visiting stores I wouldn’t normally go to.
Well, there was the problem of how much I could carry, so I didn’t really buy a lot of things; I just looked around.
And while I was wandering around, I found the armor shop, which was one of my goals.
My current situation is almost the same as having no armor, so I wondered how much good armor would cost.
I knew the sizes would be a problem, but I still went into the shop with the intention of making a quick decision if I found something that suited me.
Unlike Bezart, the armor shop here in Malta seems to be a specialty shop that only sells armor. When I entered the shop, I saw a full set of armor and shields lined up on three shelves.
There were about five times as many items as at Paisa-san’s place, and even though I didn’t know the prices or the performance, I was already getting excited and breathing heavily.
It’s that feeling you get when you play an RPG and wonder what kind of powerful equipment you’ll be able to buy when you get to the next town.
However, when I looked at the inventory items on display, I noticed something.
“(Hmm, the most expensive ones are around 10 million beeke? They’re not much different in price range from Paisa-san’s place, are they?)”
Considering the size of the city, there are more expensive ones.
I expected to find some armor made of rare materials.
Most of the armor on display is around 200,000 to 2 million beeke, and only a few items over 5 million beeke are on the top shelf by the counter.
The result was a great disappointment, and I found myself scratching my head, wondering if there were any other shops in Malta that specialized in high-end armor.
“Excuse me, but is the highest quality item in this shop this armor that costs around 11 million?”
A child dressed in what looked like peasant clothes asked.
I’ve gotten used to it by now, but I felt like I wasn’t being taken seriously, and I got a response back.
“That’s what happens with stock items.”
“So if I want more than that, I have to place an order?”
“Boy, you should think about that when you’ve saved up 50 or 100 million beeke. You can’t even buy the materials without a deposit.”
“I see. By the way, what kind of materials can I buy here? I’d also like to know the price range.”
“No, did you hear what I said? You’ll have to think about such things when you’ve saved up the money. How much do you have now?”
“Most of it is in the guild, but I think it’s around 100 million beekes.”
“…Show me your guild card.”
“Huh?”
“You’re a hunter, right? Show me your guild card.”
“I’ll exchange it with the guild master, so it’s still rank D…”
When I show it to him while saying this, he laughs at me with a sneer.
“I thought so. D-rank, well, it’s not bad for your age, but there’s no way a kid could have saved up 100 million beeke. How long have you been a hunter?”
“…..”
If I say a few months, he’ll laugh even more.
Even if I lie, I can only get away with saying I’ve been a hunter for a year or two.
“Geez… if you’re going to lie, at least think of a better lie. If it’s armor worth 2-3 million beeke, I’ll listen to you seriously.”
“(Oh no, not this pattern again…)”
I want to complain about the way he talks to his customers.
But really, it’s not surprising that he thinks that way.
A 13-year-old kid who hasn’t even started to change his voice claims to have 100 million yen.
Even when I say it myself, it sounds like a joke that’s too boring to be true.
I’m sure a lot of people would think, “Go play that somewhere else.
If I don’t have proof to convince them, then I’ve lost.
I left the store feeling like I was half kicked out, and I thought to myself that it’s really hard to be a kid.
Since Raran-san was going to check it out anyway, I thought I might as well put on a mask and try to fool them a little.
With that in mind, I continued my search around town.
By the way, I swore to myself that I would never go back to that store.
▽ ▼ ▽ ▼ ▽
“I guess this iron-like card doesn’t really impress me…”
It was just after noon.
When I went to see Guild Master Orlando-san as planned, it seemed that he had already prepared the materials, and in exchange for the ‘D’ rank card I had so far, he gave me a guild card made of iron with a ‘B’ written on it.
As always, this card looks very cheap.
It’s so thin and flimsy that it looks like it could be split in half with a little effort.
“If you wish, we can turn the card into a material of the appropriate rank. Since it’s a B rank, it’s made of mithril, so it should be possible with about 500,000 beeke.”
“Huh. Is that the price even for a card of this size? Assuming I get it, what will happen when my rank increases to A?”
“If you don’t request it, you’ll get an ‘A’ rank card made of iron.”
“I know that. What about the old mithril cards?”
“The cards have to be exchanged… they’re not returned, so they’re secretly melted down and turned into guild funds.”
“Isn’t that terrible…”
“Hahaha! That’s why not many people change the material of their cards unless they reach A or S. The rules set by the headquarters are also terrible!”
He says it like it’s someone else’s problem, but I’m sure Orlando-san is the type who would melt the materials and laugh heartily.
There’s even a possibility that he approached the headquarters and suggested that they make more money this way.
“Hah. It’s fine as it is. Thanks for the promotion.”
“Loki is probably better off the way he is. I didn’t say anything at the time, but you took their attacks on purpose, didn’t you?”
“I wanted to see how much damage I could take.”
“Well, as far as I can see, you took almost no damage.”
“I felt some pain, though.”
“And that move you made when you approached Raran―Loki would probably pass the A-rank promotion test in a heartbeat. Even if you put money on the card now, it would be wasted money.”
“I agree. Right now, I don’t want to be limited by the requests, so I’m thinking of becoming S-rank.”
“S-rank is like the ultimate goal for a hunter. So, will you be moving to another city soon?”
“Yes. So I was hoping you could make me a letter like the one Yagov-san made for me before.”
“No problem. I said I’d do anything. I’ll have it ready by tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you. I have one more question.”
“Hmm? Is it an A-rank hunting ground?”
“That’s right. I thought I’d like to know the approximate location.”
Of course, I won’t go there right away.
There are a lot of things I have to do first, like filling out the map and visiting the nearby hunting grounds or even going to the capital.
I also promised Feeril, so for now, I want to travel safely and steadily improve my strength.
But after that…
Where should I go next?
The next high-level hunting ground will probably be the guide.
“Hmm. To be honest, I don’t really want you to go there… It’s further beyond the eastern neighboring country of Waltz Kingdom. The closest A-rank hunting grounds are here, in Freyville Kingdom.”
“What do you mean you don’t want me to go there if possible?”
“I want promising hunters to be active in my place, you know? It’s good for Malta, too.”
“That’s hard to hear for a hunter who values freedom.”
“Well, that’s the official reason. If I’m being honest, I don’t want you to turn against me. That’s all.”
…What does he mean by turning against him?
We’ve already made peace and done business, so I can’t imagine a situation where I would suddenly become Orlando-san’s enemy.
“Is there any reason why you would become my enemy? At the moment, I have no plans to become your enemy at all.”
“Hmm… those who felt that Malta, which has a B-rank hunting ground, wasn’t enough, naturally aim for the next A-rank hunting ground, right?”
“I would do the same.”
“But I’ve heard a rumor that some of the hunters who went there were hired as mercenaries by the independent soldiers of the enemy country. The guild doesn’t get involved in politics, but you can understand that as a citizen of Lagreath, it’s a little unsettling to think that the people who are generally considered to be the strongest are being lured by money to turn against us, right?”
“Hmm? So, is this country and the neighboring country actually at war?
“Don’t you know anything? It’s just a stalemate right now, but the situation has been quite tense for the past few years, you know?”
“Hee~… So the Kingdom of Waltz is recruiting and conscripting people along the way, is that it?”
“That’s probably true, but the Kingdom of Waltz and the Kingdom of Freyville are allies. It’s also possible that people hired by the Kingdom of Freyville are sent to the Kingdom of Waltz. As long as they aren’t regular soldiers, they can be flexible.”
“From an amateur’s point of view, I think the Kingdom of Lagreath should just get the people before that happens.”
I think it’s a bit presumptuous of me to say that when I just turned down their offer.
But I guess it’s more efficient that way.
“Of course, there are people who do that. The guilds have even been approached by the state to work together. But Freyville has money… because of the greedy business practices of those dwarves, I don’t think this country has much of a chance if it comes down to a money fight.”
“Dwarves… can I ask you to tell me a little more about that?”
I have no intention of getting involved in a conflict between countries.
However, the word ‘dwarves’ caught my attention.
I’ve landed in another world. If I’m going to be here, I might as well see some dwarves.
The situation that Orlando-san, who didn’t know about my circumstances, told me about seemed to be much more complicated than I expected.
First of all, in terms of the political structure, there is an alliance between the two countries of the Kingdom of Waltz to the east and the Kingdom of Freyville further east, the Kingdom of Lagreath here, and the country to the West of the Kingdom of Lagreath, which I couldn’t keep track of because there were too many country names, and the country to the northwest.
In other words, it seems that the three Western countries are in a stalemate with the two Eastern countries, and the only place that could become a battlefield is the border area between the east of the Kingdom of Lagreath and the West of the Kingdom of Waltz, where there have already been several minor skirmishes.
And the Kingdom of Freyville, which I was interested in, is a mountainous region in the north, and it is said that it is also called the Dwarf Kingdom because many dwarves live there.
Since it has a high-level hunting ground within its borders, it has a stable supply of high-level monster materials, although there is some bias.
In addition, the mountainous region seems to also produce high-quality and rare minerals. Equipment made from these high-quality materials is popular with high-level hunters and nobles from surrounding countries and is always traded at high prices.
They also seem to export other minerals, so the Freyville Kingdom, which has an advantage in resources, is said to be blessed with a good financial situation.
By the way, it seems that Orlando-san doesn’t really understand why the Freyville Kingdom, which has such national power, has formed an alliance with the Waltz Kingdom, and he speculated that it might be to use it as a shield to prevent an invasion from Lagreath.
After hearing all this, I asked him why they weren’t cooperating with the reincarnates rampaging through the West.
When I asked him this simple question, Orlando-san, who had been so talkative, suddenly began to mumble, and his speech became unclear.
So, I didn’t press the issue any further.
I thought to myself that it seemed like the fault was on the Lagreath side and that the Kingdom of Lagreath, like the Kingdom of Waltz, was just being used as a shield by the countries to the West and northwest.
I had some thoughts, but after all, I’m just a complete novice who came from peaceful Japan.
If I get involved in things I don’t understand, I’ll just get myself into more trouble, and then I’ll get all emotional…
My train of thought stopped for a moment, and as soon as I understood what I was thinking, I let out a sigh and put my hands on my head.
“(Oh no… I’m already thinking that I don’t want the people of Bezart to die… I’m hopeless…)”
It’s not just Bezart.
Even the people of Malta, with whom I had some contact, I don’t want them to die in a war.
“(I shouldn’t have asked unnecessary questions.)”
It’s too late to regret it after I’ve asked.
I’d be happy if I could make some good equipment with the materials I get from the A-rank hunting grounds and the local minerals after visiting the dwarves.
But what if a real war breaks out?
“I’m too busy killing monsters to take part in a war.”
I can’t imagine myself taking part in a war, and if I’m only thinking of myself, I don’t think there’s any point in taking part.
Orlando-san was relieved by this answer, so I think it will be all right for now.
I told him that I would come back tomorrow morning to pick up the letter, and when I walked out of the guild, it was still light.
When I looked up at the sky, it was a clear blue sky with not a single cloud in sight, unlike my troubled heart.
“Hah…”
I let out a long sigh.
If I had time, I’d do what I had to do first.
I made my way to the church in the southern part of the city where the statues of Ria and Ril were enshrined, twirling the cheap wooden mask I’d bought that day in my hands.
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