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

Chapter 255

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Chapter 255 – Material Exchange

Various monster materials are lined up in rows in front of me.

I show each one to Zeo, ask him to identify it, and record the results in my notebook.

“What are these huge tusks?”

“They’re tusks from a Girimekara.” [T/N: The black elephant is called a Girimekara. It is a mythological being from Buddhist and Hindu traditions, especially in Southeast Asian cultures such as Thai, Khmer (Cambodian), and Burmese mythology.]

“What are these blue wings?”

“They’re feathers from an Ice Hawk, I think.”

“What about this poisonous tail?”

“That’s the tail of a manticore.”

“Oh, so it’s a manticore after all.”

Why am I doing this?

I went there without thinking, trying to sell the materials for money. I ended up making a mistake and crying my way back home.

It was like being confronted with the harsh reality of this world without the internet.

▽ ▼ ▽ ▼ ▽

To prevent the loss of stored materials, I took them outside every time I returned to base.

After all, it’s just us and the goddesses, so there’s no need to worry about theft.

I thought I was being careful and keeping waste to a minimum by leaving the usable, fluffy skins as they were and only taking parts that could be used as materials or magic stones from large creatures, such as elephants. However…

If I returned to base dozens of times a day for ten days or more and my magic consumption became noticeable, then of course, the base would be littered with monster corpses.

Carla was recklessly dismantling the corpses and saying dangerous things like, “You can make a blood pool with this!” Even if I shared some with the upper plateau, there wasn’t enough meat to consume, and the materials just kept piling up without being processed.

“Enough already! Turn them into money.”

After Zeo-sensei scolded me, I made up my mind. I stored so much that my magic power decreased rapidly, and then I teleported back to town for the first time in a while.

Incidentally, I chose the royal capital of Falmenta as my destination because I could deposit the money I had exchanged there.

As expected of a guild with all members being F-rank.

The only person at the dismantling site was an old man with a hunched back. It felt less deserted and more like the dismantling site wasn’t operational.

Thinking this might be difficult, I approached the old man, who was silently writing in the back, and asked him a question.

“Um, can you buy this magic stone?”

I held a large magic stone in my hand, slightly smaller than a fist.

The old man’s eyebrows twitched, and he asked anxiously, “Did you find this magic stone around here?” I answered, “No,” as if it were obvious.

There was no way it could have been from anywhere nearby.

The old man seemed relieved.

He asked to see my guild card, examined it closely, and then asked,

“From which monster did you get this magic stone?”

…No, I don’t know. I’d like to know myself.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one else was around, I asked him various questions. He explained that they could buy materials from monsters not found in the area, such as those from other hunting grounds. However, they didn’t know how much to pay for them, so converting them into cash would take time.

He also told me that if the materials were unfamiliar, they would have to call in an expert appraiser. The higher the material’s rank, the more expensive it would be to convert it into cash.

If the monster’s name is known, the material’s reliability can be determined by comparing it with the appraisal results, so there’s no need to check each one individually. This makes a big difference in the fee.

Incidentally, even if I use Appraisal, I can only tell that it is a “magic stone.”

When I asked about that, I was told that most items have a “grade,” and monsters are particularly affected by theirs.

In other words, it’s a “rank” system with grades like B or A. However, the grade and the Appraisal skill level are closely related. The higher the material’s grade, the higher the required Appraisal level, which is why it costs more money.

In my case, my Appraisal level is 2, so I can only properly appraise items with a grade of 10 (G rank) or 9 (F rank).

Man, I’m pretty pathetic.

Additionally, I understand that, depending on my Appraisal level, the content I can view changes even if I clear a grade. I feel like it’s really deep, and it’s not very useful unless it’s a high level.

According to this old man, most things in the world are grades 8–10, and there aren’t many situations in everyday life where you need to worry about grades.

He laughed and said the only people who care about such things are nobles and royalty who spend money on luxury items and furnishings. I realized he was right.

As long as it works, the grade of a desk or chair doesn’t matter.

“By the way, is it okay to bring a whole monster?”

When I asked this serious, potentially provocative question, the old man shrugged and pointed his staff toward the sky, spinning it in a circle before returning it to its original position.

I felt like he was provoking me back.

I was curious, so I used a skill. For some reason, this old man seemed pretty strong. I felt like I’d be fine if I ended up not being able to dismantle it.

So, even though I went all the way to the capital, I decided to put the money-making operation on hold for now.

There were so many materials that I didn’t want to waste time appraising each one individually. I buried all the materials in the ground near the capital and came back the next day.

I managed to retrieve some bandit-related loot that I had buried underground and was able to buy or capture some items on everyone’s wish lists.

Since the amount of materials couldn’t be handled in a single trip, it wasn’t a waste after all.

Now, with materials packed to an unknown multiple of my usual capacity, I set off once more.

Considering the amount of magic power consumed, it’s a race against time.

If I store the materials, the magic power consumption will be determined at the beginning and then decrease by a certain amount every minute, corresponding to the amount stored.

If I quickly perform the combo of storing, teleporting, and immediately retrieving the materials, I should prevent my magic power from running out and losing my possessions.

It should amount to a significant sum, so my hands are sweating from the tension.

“…Alright, let’s go.”

With Zeo and Carla watching over me, I fixed my gaze on the monster materials and corpses spread out before me. I began storing everything, determined to retrieve everything left at the base.

▽ ▼ ▽ ▼ ▽

Clatter, clatter.

I peek out from the back door leading to the dismantling site while pulling a large wagon.

It’s still early in the morning.

Even if there are hunters around, they’d only come to get their baskets. The old man who taught me a lot the other day is the only one there. He’s cleaning the counter and the floor.

I look into the back. Hmm.

As expected, there are no remains of yesterday’s materials.

The space is a similar size, but unlike Malta’s, it’s much tidier.

“Old man, I brought the materials.”

“Oh, you’re the ones from the other day. You said you’d find out the names of the monsters. Did you find out?”

“I found out everything. I brought a lot, but is it okay if I carry them in?”

When I asked, he guided me with the tip of his staff like an old lady.

Then let’s get started.

I moved the materials one after another to the counter with a thud, thud, thud, thud. The old man sorted them and placed them on the workbench in the back.

He was more agile than I expected.

This old man is definitely not normal.

“These are the eyes and skin of the A-rank monster called Catoblepas.”

“Hmm.”

“And these are the horns of the A-rank monster called Humbaba. I didn’t know what they could be used for, so I brought six heads just in case. This is an A-rank monster called Kyuki. It’s intact, with the magic stone still inside.” [T/N: Kyuki is the flying tiger and comes from Chinese mythology.]

“Oh.”

The rest are the horns of a B-rank monster called ‘Unicorn’ and the tusks of an A-rank monster called ‘Girimekara.’”

“I see.”

“Hmmm… This is the poisonous tail of a ‘Manticore,’ right?”

“That’s right.”

“…Um? Are you performing an Appraisal right now?”

There’s been something strange about this old man since earlier.

When I showed him the materials, he nodded as if he understood everything.

Could he be an appraiser?

“No, I just think there’s something mixed in that I defeated in the past.”

“Oh, is that so? Does that mean you’re at least an A-rank hunter?”

“That was in the past. I retired long ago.”

“No, even if that’s true, why are you—”

As I said that, I realized I had made a mistake.

I had messed up for the first time in a long time.

I thought about it, but there was nothing I could do now that I had already said it.

I think my anxiety showed on my face because the old man looked at me, shrugged, and started laughing.

“What are you misunderstanding? In any country, being entrusted with the royal capital is an honor.”

“Eh, but this dismantling site is pretty boring, isn’t it? There aren’t any good hunting grounds nearby, and you’re the only one here.”

“You’re right; the dismantling site is boring. That’s why I work here as well as do other jobs.”

“Huh? Yeah. Hmm…”

“There are even monsters I don’t recognize mixed in here. No wonder that old woman, Neival, dotes on you. Come on, bring them all here. There are more, right?”

“Eh? Oh, yes.”

Huh?

If he’s doing double duty, that means he has other responsibilities besides overseeing the dismantling site, and he is also in charge of the royal capital.

Oh my…

Could the old man be the guild master of the royal capital, Falmenta?

Since he’s been entrusted with this responsibility, he might be the head of the hunter guild, which is also in the royal capital.

If he knows about my connection to the old lady, then he must know that I’m from another world.

Why hasn’t he asked me where I hunted the monsters or any other details?

I thought I would be asked, so I had prepared answers. Now, I’m starting to feel uneasy.

Does he think that anything goes because I’m an otherworlder? Or, could he already know about my Spatial Magic?

When I teleported back to the material storage area near the capital and loaded the materials onto the wagon, there were more people at the dismantling site each time.

Large materials were transported to other locations. A woman appeared to count the materials, and the number of wooden boards increased.

Behind me, people sorted magic stones and threw them into baskets and wooden boxes as they were handed over.

The old man just watched the scene with a smile, laughing “hohoho.”

The work proceeded smoothly, and the materials in the storage area disappeared in no time.

Then, once everything had been unloaded…

The dismantling site was as clean as when I arrived. The old man was already wiping the counter with a neat cloth.

“What a wonderful amount of materials! You are indeed the most promising one right now.”

“…Don’t you want to know where I found them or how I brought them here?”

“Why would I need to know?”

“…”

“Our job is to serve the community and enrich people’s lives. If monsters of this caliber appeared near the royal capital, I would ask you all sorts of questions. But that’s not the case, is it?”

“Y-yes.”

“Then it doesn’t matter where you hunted them. These materials will be used to save lives, create essential items, and provide food for people. Plus, the boy and the guild will prosper, so everyone’s happy, right?”

“H-happy… Well, I guess you’re right.”

“So, you can bring them again, okay? There won’t be an appraisal fee next time, and the purchase price will be clear if it’s the same material. It may take some time, but we can also research which parts of the material are in demand.”

“Oh… Could I ask you about the specific parts of each monster’s body that can be used as materials? If I know, I’ll take that into consideration next time.”

The old man then told me which parts of the monsters he knew could be used as materials. We agreed that he would pay me once the appraisal was complete. He handed me one of two wooden boards with the same information written on them.

Since this was a special case, it would serve as a receipt for the materials.

Hmm, I have no idea how much it will be.

Well, now I can bring materials from around the base without hesitation. Although it’s a disadvantage because it’s difficult to move the guild’s storage function from the royal capital, at least my income will be stable.

Finally!

“Are you the guild master of Falmenta?”

When I asked, he shrugged and laughed, “Hoho.”

“I am Orgu, the Grand Master of the Hunter’s Guild of the Kingdom of Lagreath. Nice to meet you, Loki-kun.”

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