48 - Seventeenth "Facial Discussion"

--Commercial District.

A doorbell rings to announce the arrival of a customer at one of the stores lining the shopping street.

It is not a store that handles a large number of customers, but a small store that caters to each customer individually. The owner himself welcomes the new customer in place of the waiter who has unfortunately retreated to the back of the store.

The owner himself greets the new customer by saying, "Welcome!

The customer says, "Hi," and looks around the restaurant with a curious look. Their gazes darted around like little rats, not pausing for a moment. Even though there were not many interesting items on display, the customers looked here and there as if they were looking at something unfamiliar.

The customers seem to be a pair. The young man enters first, followed by a brown-skinned young woman. The owner had seen many people and subspecies, but the woman's appearance caught his attention. Her beauty was that striking.

The first thing that caught his eyes was her large and protruding breasts. The twin dunes, which were tightly pressed into the clothes that showed the lines of her body, must have attracted the attention of people of both genders. Her slender waist and large buttocks give off a fresh scent, and her face, with its hard eyes, is also an unquestionable beauty.

The man, on the other hand, is ordinary. He has no significant features, and is disproportionately mediocre compared to the woman. He looked younger than his companion, although he was not clearly visible through the deep hood. He did not seem to have the capacity to carry around such a beautiful woman. Nevertheless, she was following him, perhaps because of his position as a young man.

Her fine but plain clothes did not suggest that she was an aristocrat. On the other hand, she is wealthy. As you can guess, the woman is a chaperone and the young man is some kind of a merchant's son, in other words, an unmistakable candidate for a client.

The shopkeeper spoke to her with a big smile on his face.

"Can I help you?

"N...... no, I'm just looking around. Never mind."

"I see. Well then, if there's anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask.

The shopkeeper, seeing in the young man's words and actions a sense of disgust, quietly backed away.

This is not the time to be pushy. This is not the time to be pushy. So we should wait for the right opportunity and not immediately take a bite of the meat that is placed in front of us.

After a while, a young man who had looked around the restaurant approached me.

The owner of the restaurant. I would like to ask you, does this store also buy?"

"Yes. We accept both buying and selling. Please come to this counter."

The young man sat down in the chair at the counter I showed him. The woman stood behind him. The owner hid his good nature under a smile.

The young man places a large cloth bag on the counter. Untied, it was filled with stones of different sizes. The stones, all of which shimmer with a particular color, are all magic stones, ores that contain magic power.

"Wow, well, well, well... ......"

He mutters in a tone of admiration, but the emotion in his voice is genuine. The quality of the stones varied, but there was one green magic stone among the many spread out among the stones that contained a very high quality of magic power. It needs to be evaluated in detail, but the purity of the stone is extraordinary.

Moreover, the stone was small in size. Generally, the size of a magic stone is proportional to the amount of magic power it contains, but there are rare magic stones that contain compressed magic power. This green magic stone is exactly the same, but to the untrained eye, it is hard to tell the difference. It is mixed in among dozens of magic stones placed randomly.

"It is a magic stone, isn't it? You want to buy them all at once?

"Yes. I'd like to ask for a valuation.

Yes, sir. Please wait there for a moment.

The owner guides them to a table for business negotiations and returns to the counter with a package in his hand.

He has a clerk bring from the back of the store the largest standard scale in the store. He throws the magic stones into the scale, which is filled with water beforehand to prevent the stones from being chipped. Since the amount of stones was quite large, the weighing was done in two batches.

"Thank you for your patience. No, the distribution of magic stones has been slow recently, so thank you very much. Since you brought in a large quantity, I have colored it ...... and will buy it for nine gold coins and thirteen large silver coins."

It's true, I colored it. It is about three large silver coins more than the value simply calculated from the amount and size of the magic stone. The one high purity magic stone that is mixed in is worth no less than ten kingdom gold coins if it is put out to the right place, but if neither of us was aware of the other, it can't be helped. This is just a simple assessment based on the quantity and size of the magic stones. There is no problem in terms of the rules of the guild of commerce.

What is your assessment of the wrapped cloth?

"Huh?　Cloth, is it ......?"

"Yes. I would like to sell this cloth with it.

The young man points to the cloth that was used to wrap the magic stone.

If you follow his fingertips and look at it, you will see that the cloth is made of very fine fibers.

"Excuse me for a moment. --Ceres.

When the young man said no, the woman standing there took the cloth in her hand.

The young man nodded his head, and at the same time, the woman holding the cloth produced a fire from her hand, which soared to the ceiling.

The phenomenon lasted for a moment.

The flames faded away like a phantom before the astonished shopkeeper's eyes.

From its sudden appearance and disappearance, it was clear that the flames were caused by witchcraft.

The woman's right hand, the point of ignition.

The shopkeeper sees in his vision a piece of cloth on which the woman's right hand was ignited, and the cloth on which it was placed is reduced to ashes.

However,

"...... not burned?"

No, on the contrary, there was not a single scorch mark on the cloth. The cloth is terribly flame-resistant. Moreover, upon closer inspection, the cloth was of a very fine fiber quality and had a velvet-like color and sheen. Although I had been focused on the green magic stone, this is no ordinary piece of cloth.

As you can see, it is a cloth with extremely high resistance to heat from flames. It was given to me by the people of the forest, so I don't know its value, but it seems to be a rare item.

Well, it is indeed a curious item.

There are many materials that are just not flammable, but I have never seen a cloth that has been exposed to so many flames without a single scorch mark on it.

It can be used for underwear under armor, for shields with flame protection, or even as a gift ......, taking advantage of its rarity.

But that is not the problem.

The problem is that no chanting was heard from the woman who created the fire.

In other words, this woman is a high-ranking magician who has mastered the rare technique of exercising magic without chanting, or what is called "no chanting.

If that's the case.

If she is such a high ranking magician...

He must not have been aware of the existence of that one magic stone that was mixed in.

"----"

Gently look at the woman.

Our eyes met.

At that moment, you feel a chill run down your spine like an icicle.

The woman's blue eyes were shimmering with icy fire.

"By the way, the sword on the wall. By the way, that sword hanging on the wall... it's a magnificent piece of work. It's small, but it's inlaid with four high purity magic stones. How extravagant!

The man said this without thinking as he looked at a small sword - a decorative sword he had acquired as a foil when he remodeled his store.

Why is he bringing up such a subject at this time?

Even a child can understand the logic.

"I'd like to wear a sword like that on my waist someday. ...... Now, is this cloth good enough to buy?　As you can see, it is a very rare fireproof cloth, and as you can see, it is very pleasant to the touch. I would like to sell it together with the magic stone if it fetches a reasonable price.

"......Yes, please wait a moment. It is a very rare item and we would appreciate time for a detailed evaluation. ......"

"Would you be willing to do a quick assessment, as you did with the magic stone?"

No, no. We do not want to make any mistakes in the valuation. I am very sorry, but I would like to take a moment of your time. ......"

He bowed his head to hide the sweat beading on his forehead and accepted the red cloth reverently. He immediately takes it back to the back of the store.

The shopkeeper, away from the eyes of the customers, considers how much he should add to the price. The value of the cloth is high enough for the fact that it is a high quality cloth that never burns, but he has to add the difference in the valuation of the magic stone to the price. The question is not how much the cloth is worth, but how much more can be added to settle the situation.

I remember the woman's gaze.

The shopkeeper starts to recalculate the value desperately, aware that his forehead and back are covered with a profuse greasy sweat.

+ + + + + +

When I left the store, I was greeted by the dazzling sunlight.

My eyes were stinging, perhaps because I had been indoors for so long. I shook my head to shake off the dizziness and began to walk.

"Well, that's what I get for my first day. ......"

After three business meetings so far, Helian muttered to himself.

The first two meetings were used as a practice session to conduct preliminary research on market rates and to confirm basic transaction methods, and the third meeting was set as the main meeting, which went fairly well, I thought. As for the magic stone, I was able to sell it for 10% more than the market price (the rate) that I had checked beforehand.

It was nothing to mention that I did. I used negotiation cards, just like I did with other kings (players) in [Tactics Chronicle]. This time, Helian has prepared a high-quality magic stone hidden in a large number of magic stones, a rare cloth with a very high flame resistance, and a skilled magician who can use magic without chanting.

In addition, as a young and naive man, he dared to have his own reputation lowered and intentionally made a low appraisal. In this way, he added the case in which he falsified the valuation of the magic stone to his bargaining chip as a favor, and the store owner was forced to take away the initiative from him.

The outcome of the negotiation was obvious. Thus, the negotiations ended peacefully, with the shopkeeper getting a large amount of magic stones and rare and valuable cloth, and Helian getting a little more money than the market price.

Incidentally, the magic stones were collected by exterminating the demons that roamed around the latestone woods, and the unburnable red cloth was woven by the Alkimaira female spider, Arachne, using her own threads. As an alkimaira, the consumption of resources is zero.

And the act of selling a large amount of magic stones is itself one of the aims of this project.

(The labyrinth, an important source of magic stones, is unstable. ) The distribution of magic stones is slowing down now that more adventurers are staying at the fortresses in the border area. Then, even this amount should be able to affect the price of magic stones on the market.)

However, the large amount is only within the range of an individual. Even if the market price fluctuated, it would be a fraction of a small copper coin.

However, it is not zero (・・・・・・・・・).

And that is the point.

"Tactical Window": Open. Select: base information (base status)."

Check the information of the base in the area with the floating in front of your eyes.

If you select the tab on the "Control" page from the window, you will see the default information of the total acquisition rate of "Control" for each force.

Since the Sixth Legion does not engage in espionage activities, it is currently impossible to quantify the 【Controlling Power】 gained by the Hellian. Currently, we can only confirm the situation roughly with a color-coded pie chart, which is extremely inaccurate. However,

"You're right."

If you look carefully, you will see that the color that indicates Alkimaira's [dominance] is indicated by a thin line in the pie chart.

Probably not even a hundredth of a percent, but at the same time, this means that the Alkimaira's [dominance] is not zero.

(Twenty-four hours have not yet passed since I arrived in this town. (Twenty-four hours have not yet passed since I arrived in this town. And yet, the fact that I have gained [dominion] in this way means that ......)

This is a proof that the company was able to gain control of the local economy by exerting influence over it through the market price of the magic stone.

This confirms a new means of gaining control.

"...... But, you have a strange structure of territories (regions)."

Helian mutters as he stares at the .

The referred to now is for the border city of Shields, but for some reason there are two regions in the city. One is the Labyrinth Region. The other is the entire city except for the Labyrinth District.

As for the latter, the first power has more than 90% of the control. This is probably due to the frontier counts.

On the other hand, in the labyrinthine area, the first group occupies more than 50%, the second group 40%, and the remaining 10% are numerous unknowns. The first group is probably the frontier counts, but the second group is unknown. I wonder if the adventurers' guilds or some other guilds are counted as one of the forces.

Except for special cases, cities were counted as a single territory (region) in most cases, so it is very rare to find a territory structure in which a city is divided like this. It seems that forts located in the boundary area are also treated as a separate territory (region).

"Young master. Don't you have to sanction the shopkeeper?"

Celes, who was following him, uttered a disturbing line.

Her blue eyes glaring at the store are lit up with a clear hostility.

"Is it the valuation of the magic stone?　Don't worry about that. He was just a merchant trying to get the most profit out of me, and that in itself is not evil. It is true that he was a little dishonest, but he did not violate the law (rules).

Besides, the price of dishonesty has already been paid. The weight of the wallet in his pocket is the result.

Still, Celes is not happy about the owner's attempt to cheat her master. She is in a bad mood to the extent that she is about to burn the place down if we give her permission. This was easier to understand than in the case of Levee, who was in fully humanized form.

But we cannot let his anger burst out here. Helian decides to divert the conversation to another topic.

"More importantly. We've been to three stores now.

Celes, who is also in charge of research, has the skill of .

Although it depends on the rank and direction of the skill, as well as the "rating" of the object to be appraised, Celes should be able to determine whether or not the object is a magical tool at least at a glance.

"I didn't find much in the store before. The only enchanted item was a sword hanging on the wall.

I am referring to the small sword that was displayed ostentatiously behind the counter.

The fact that it was displayed so ostentatiously seemed to indicate that it was not for sale, but for display as a foil. When we secretly checked with Celes inside the store, she told us that the magic stone inlaid in the sword was of a slightly higher standard than the ordinary items on the market.

"What is the magic grant (enchantment)?"

"It is an amplification effect of cutting power. It is not a constant activation type, but an optional activation type, and the number of times it can be used is limited. However, the weapon itself is too fragile to be used as a material, and it is likely to destroy itself before the number of times it can be used as a material reaches the limit.

"...... number of times limit, but self-destruction?"

I must say that it is not a perfect magic weapon. I mean, it is out of the question when it is made of materials that cannot withstand "enchantment". If Alkimaira were to put this on the shelves, it would be laughed at by its peers. And then you are set to start a fistfight in the middle of the street.

However, the fact that such a thing is displayed for all to see means that .......

"It seems that this world's magic technology is a few generations behind Alkimaira's level."

[In the Tactics Chronicle, this kind of weapon was useful at best until around the 30th year of the Chronicle of the Holy Demons. At that time, when weapons made of bronze or iron were the mainstream, the fact that a weapon had been given magic was valuable, but weapons with a limited number of uses, or weapons that would destroy themselves prematurely due to their durability, were avoided. This is not surprising considering the cost of making such weapons and the scarcity of magic-imparting weapons at that time.

There were some countries that dared to use weapons with magic that were not suitable for the materials they were made of, and adopted the tactic of treating them as consumables from the beginning, but this was an extravagant tactic that could not be imitated in the financial situation of Alkimaila at that time. This tactic was also discontinued as the manufacturing technology of the weapon itself progressed.

"It's just..."

"Hmm?　What is it?"

"It was engraved with a formula I've never seen before. No, I understand the effect itself, but the way it's put together is too different from ours. The result is the same, but the process is different, or the starting point is in the opposite direction, even though they are aiming at the same destination. ......"

Ceres's hand spins the wheel frustratingly.

"I looked over the report that came from your lab, and you said something similar about the magic that Rattestwood is using."

"Yes. I mean, the magic they use is strange, isn't it? The amount of magic power they put into activation is too small, and the composition of their techniques should not be worth mentioning, but for some reason they are successful in their manifestation, and it doesn't make sense. The construction of the formula is fundamentally different, and I even feel as if I'm studying a different subject.

Another discipline. I don't know much about composition and formulas, but it seems that there is a considerable difference from the magic that Ceres knows. It seems that the mechanism of magic is so fundamentally different from what Ceres knows.

"Is it a sense that the technology tree is ...... ah, no, the form of magic you are using, or should I say the tree itself, is branching off in the middle?"

I asked him if the system term "technology tree" would not be understood.

This is a common occurrence when the initial civilization pattern is different from the civilization type. For example, the king (the player) of the country located next to the player's country had chosen an oriental civilization, so his affinity with Alkimaira was low, especially in the field related to magic. Because of this, there were no bonuses for cooperative play such as joint research, and the effect of technology trade was not good.

Incidentally, if a civilization has some affinity to the Civilization Pattern, it may sometimes evolve like a missing link. One example is that Alkimaira became the catalyst for a period of rapid economic growth by capturing a country that had been developing remarkably.

"Well, it's not so much a ...... as it is a different trunk to begin with. ......"

"--What?"

"If the branches and leaves were different, we could go back to the tree map and investigate from there, but everything is so fundamentally different that ...... that's why we haven't made much progress in investigating the Abyssal Forest. ......"

"Hmmm ......"

This is not the first time this kind of story has been told.

This world, similar to [Tactical Chronicles], is not exactly the same, however, and some differences from the game have been found between the time of the transfer and today.

For example, there is a substitute called "magic stone", but in [Tactical Chronicle] it is a crystalline substance excavated from mining resources or created through alchemy, while in [Tactical Chronicle] it is an ore collected from labyrinths, magical beasts, etc.

The difference in the construction formula of magic as described by Celes is one of the many differences.

If I ask for a detailed explanation, it would be full of technical terms and I would not go into it too deeply, but it seems that there are other things, not limited to magic, in which the result (output) is similar but the process is different.

Every time I investigate something, I feel that I have more things to think about, and I hate it, but I have no choice but to solve them one by one steadily.

"......" Let me change the subject. It is not only human race in this city, is it?

"Oh, yes. I was surprised, too. It seems that most of the citizens are human, but I've seen beastmen and dwarves in the streets.

"Yeah. Interestingly, most of them are armed.

There are only a limited number of armed professionals in the city.

There are the Boundary Knights, the official fighting force of the Boundary City, the vigilantes who protect the city, the mercenaries who wage war for a living, and those who take on any kind of work, including combat - the adventurers.

I was surprised to see an adventurer with an elf.

"Yes. Yes, but when I looked at him, he looked at me in obvious disapproval. My beastmen companion also stared at me as if to say that we were not for show.

"I've heard that in other cities closer to the kingdom, they are treated as 'merchandise' in some places.

In fact, Latestwood residents said such cities are more common. This is evident from the fact that Leifa was willing to give herself up in the case in question.

In light of this, this border city would be classified as rather heterogeneous compared to the general cities of the human race. Regardless of race, regardless of rank, if a person is useful as a human resource, he or she is valued and utilized. Such a disposition seems to exist in this city.

Perhaps it is because this is a city that opposes the existence of demons, the common enemy of mankind. I have heard that the human race is a creature that can unite if there is a common enemy. If this is the case, it would make sense that this city has a low level of discrimination. ......I am a little disgusted with myself for having such a twisted idea in my head.

Anyway, this boundary city has a certain affinity with RATESTWOOD and ALKIMAIRA in the sense that . Perhaps it was fortunate for me that the first human city I visited was the border city of Shields.

"--Well. I should go back to my lodgings."

It was already around fifteen o'clock in the morning when I started my activities. This is only our second day in town, so there is no need to rush. Since we have achieved a good result for the day, we can call it a day for now.

We head for the inn, browsing the stalls along the way.

After all, there are many interesting things in this town. Although I was wary, I walked through the commercial district with a fresh feeling as if I had come on a trip abroad.

On her way home, Helian stopped in front of a stall. She noticed that Ceres was staring at something. She followed her gaze and saw some hay hanging from the eaves of the stall. Some kind of medicinal herb or spirit plant.

"You want some ......?"

"What? Oh, no, I mean, it's an unusual material. I've never seen this herb before, so I was a little intrigued by it, not that I want to try mixing it up or experimenting with it. ......

Celes replies quickly, waving her hands about. In other words, she wants us to use them as research materials. The vegetation in this world is not unlike that of [The Tactics Chronicle]. It is likely that his intellectual curiosity as a researcher has been aroused.

Herrien, accurately guessing Celes's inner feelings, asked the old man about the price, and received ten bunches of the hay, or herbs, in exchange for a few silver coins.

He could have negotiated the price, but it was not right for a boss to bargain with his subordinate for a product he was buying for him. He hands the herbs to Celes, who is about to say something impatiently.

"Your work is done for the day when you return to the inn. You may examine to your heart's content in your assigned room. Your actions will be of benefit to the Alkimaira."

"...... Yes, are you sure?"

"Of course not. You'll only get me in trouble if you turn me in now. And what you do with your spare time is your own business. Even if you're on duty, you can't be on your toes all the time.

This is not enemy territory, but it is not our territory either. This is an expedition to an unknown world. In such a place, we are forced to adopt a fully humanized form, which we are not accustomed to, and we must be in an environment that causes more than a little stress in this current situation where we are acting in a covert manner.

Experiments and research are a kind of hobby for Ceres. If this kind of thing is a distraction, I do not deny it. There is nothing better than to have them get in good physical and mental condition so that they can fully demonstrate their performance.

Thank you very much.

Ceres bows her head. Then, she carefully clutched the herb she had been given, and a look of delight came over her face.

Helian feels a smile on his face as Celes walks next to him with a relieved look on her face. It was an honest expression of emotion, which was hard to believe that she had "twisted" in her character traits. I guess you have to be in direct contact with someone to understand their feelings.

（It would be helpful if Rieve were as easy to understand as this.)

Helian thought of this new aspect of Celes as a surprise.