64 - Seventh "Guest"

"Hmm. This is the report from Balan.

A corner of the labyrinthine district at the top of the cross section in the northern part of the border city of Shields. In a room of a house still under renovation, Helian reached for the next document.

His new room is a little too spacious for Tsukasa Misaki, who had been living in a six-tatami room, but unlike an inn, he has his own privacy.

Although it is not as secure as the bedroom in a castle, it is still the private room of the master (Helian). No outlaw would enter without knocking. Therefore, for the first time in a long time, Helian was able to spend time without worrying about acting.

"......Well, I guess that's what most of us expected."

In his hand is a recent report from Baran, one of the documents brought by those who came from their home countries as reinforcements. It contains a summary of the activities of the Seventh Corps, which was dispatched to RATESTWOOD. In the "special notes" section, the movements of the Commander of the Seventh Corps and other things were written.

Robin, the Commander of the Seventh Legion, is a [mix] born between a curious dwarf and a dwarf, the people of engineering. He was born with a high aptitude as a craftsman unit, and both of his parents were excellent craftsmen, making him a demon with a promising future.

In fact, Robin has created many inventions and equipment. As an example, some of the decisive battle-grade armaments used by the Commander of the Legion, such as the armor worn by Balan, are the work of his creations.

In addition, more than 60% of the equipment used by the deputy corps commanders, or so-called "corps leaders," are Robin's creations. Of course, other craftsmen of the Seventh Corps are also working diligently, but the performance of the equipment created by Robin is rarely surpassed. This fact alone gives us a glimpse of the depth of Robin's technical capabilities.

He is not suited for mass production, but when it comes to irreplaceable one-of-a-kind items, he is a genius unrivaled by any other. This is Robin as a unit of craftsmanship.

However, as if to say that it is the price to pay for that, his character is variously bad. He is a prankster, hedonistic, and egotistical, and his character traits are so impressive that they are enough to make your eyes glaze over, and in fact, he seems to be getting into trouble early on at his new assignment at LATESTWOOD. The details are unknown, but it seems that there are already victims of the prank.

......We are very sorry, but this is still a choice we have made after much consideration as to who to send. After considering the current situation and the future prospects, he was the only choice.

"Hmm?"

As I was apologizing to the local residents in my mind, there was a knock at the door of my room.

The knocking in a calm tone gave me an idea of who the visitor might be. I gave my permission to enter, and as expected, Levee showed her face.

"Excuse me, sir. ...... how are you feeling?

"No problem."

He answers quickly.

This is the third time today that Lieve has asked me about my health. Lately it seems like she asks me every time we see each other.

I think that I am worrying too much, but I am sure that I am still in a semi-sick state, only able to be active for a few hours a day. In addition, the other day, on my way back from the Count's mansion on the frontier, I had shown my pathetic appearance in front of Levee, and so I have not been able to speak out too strongly.

I would like to go out and see the town or sell my face a little, but every time I try to go out, I am met with silent appeals. Although I was not directly stopped in words, my amber eyes spoke eloquently. And ears and tails, too. It is good and bad that they can easily perceive our feelings. Thanks to this, I was kept in a state of mental semi-house arrest.

It's not surprising that I have only visited a part of the Labyrinthine District, a corner of the Commercial District, and the residence of the Count of the Frontier, even though I have been in the ...... border city for a good number of days now.

So, what can I do for you?

Yes. Mr. Helian has a visitor.

"A guest?"

Who could it be?

The only thing that came to my mind was Zion, whom the frontier count had mentioned might visit in the near future, ...... but now that I think about it, it could have been some kind of a social call.

No one else comes to mind.

"This is Mr. Biegel and his companion."

"Biegel, ...... the adventurer from the Dungeon Stampede?"

Rieve mentioned the name of a mature adventurer he had met during the Dungeon Stampede. After that, he had accompanied me as a guide when I explored the labyrinth.

"Yes. He asked me to express his gratitude for the other day's visit to his camp.

I would never turn away a guest who has come all this way. Send him to the reception room. ...... Oh, no, I'll take it from there."

An unexpected guest, but just right, if you ask me. Let's hear what you have to say about the nearly completed ground floor store.

I put away the papers in my hand and head downstairs with Lieve.

"Hey, isn't that Biegel and Jeff!　Long time no see. How are you?

"Hey, Gardi's husband!　As you can see, I'm doing just fine."

"Thank you for all the help you and the leader gave me back then. I'm glad to see you're doing well.

On the first floor, Gardi, Biegel, and his friends greeted each other.

I had never heard of him before, but it seems that he is an adventurer named Jeff, the man who had accompanied Biegel during the labyrinth search and is a member of Biegel's clan. Gardi mentioned their names as a matter of course, and they continued to make small talk.

He is a guy with good communication skills. ...... I envy him.

"Oh, young master..."

Biegel, his skinhead shining, raises his hand and says, "Hey. In his opposite hand, he holds a cylindrical object wrapped in paper.

"Long time no see, young master. I heard you've been in bed since then.

Yes, I'm sorry for worrying you. As you can see, I am feeling much better.

I felt a look from Levee standing next to me, but I ignored it for now. I am actually not feeling too bad, partly because I haven't done much activity yet today.

"But well, the merchant was serious, wasn't he? Well, no, I didn't have any doubts, but it didn't seem to me that the young masters were merchants."

"Haha ...... well I am aware that I am a young man. I'm just a little bit grateful to have been given such a magnificent building in a prime location.

"No, that's not what I meant, but ...... it's okay. Oh, this is a little early for a pre-opening celebration. It's not much, but please give it to me.

Biegel hands me a cylindrical item. When he opened the wrapper, he found a bottle filled with liquid. The crimson liquid and what appeared to be a label on the bottle indicated that it was alcohol.

I felt a gleam in the eyes of Gardi, who was looking at it from the side.

Then his partner, Jeff, opens the bag on his back and begins to lay out the contents on a brand new table. The bottles were identical, just as they should be. Then, a total of nearly twenty bottles are lined up on the table. From the design on the labels, they appeared to be of a high quality in their own way.

"Well, well, well. Thank you for taking the trouble, Mr. Biegel.

"No problem. I'm thanking you for saving my life before. And don't call me Mister Biegel. Like I said before, it sits on my ass."

"Leader Leader. You shouldn't be wearing your ass in front of a woman. It shows where you come from.

"Shut up. Don't be so self-conscious in front of a beautiful woman."

Biegel and the others engage in rambling conversation, to which Helian replies with a wry smile.

He seems to be on the same wavelength as Gardy.

Gardy is giving me a heated stare, but I guess it's not right to drink in the daytime. No, it's fine with me, but I'm sure that Levee will get angry. If we ask permission after nightfall, he won't complain.

"By the way, Mr. Biegel. If you don't mind, may I ask you to take a look at the products you plan to use for your business?　I'd like to hear from some adventurers."

"If it's okay with us, it's fine, but ...... we can only give you the usual opinions, right?"

"I'm not an expert in business and neither is the leader. The best we can do is to sell loot to the guilds.

Biegel and the others told him no, but Helian replied that he was fine with it and led them to the back of the store, to a room where the goods were temporarily stored.

+ + +

"...... what the hell is this?"

The first thing that Biegel muttered in an exasperated tone at the opening of the meeting was, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

There were bundles of brightly colored cloth, containers filled with potion, and some kind of bonework-like artifacts on the walls, but it was some accessories that caught Biegel and Jeff's attention.

The fineness of the workmanship on the accessories, such as necklaces and earrings, was so fine that even the uninitiated eye could consider them to be magnificent, but they were surprised by the raw materials they saw.

I thought I had a good night's sleep. Apparently, I'm still sleepwalking. To my eyes, the ingredients of this necklace look like something I usually see ......."

"......Yeah, maybe I'm not sleepwalking, Reader. I see the same thing. It's a magic stone. It's a very high purity stone.

Biegel is looking at a necklace that seems to have been carved out of a high purity magic stone. Except for the chain, all of the ornaments were made from the magic stone, and they emitted a mysterious shine peculiar to magic stone.

"What do you think? I wonder if it would be a good sale item for the connoisseurs."

"...... Well, it will be. I mean, they only sell to the well-to-do who can't afford it. You're good, but there's no demand.

A pure magic stone is valuable by itself. It often contains compressed magic power and can be used as an excellent catalyst as it is. It can also be used as a medium for granting magic by processing it and incorporating it into weapons. It can also be used as fuel for long-lasting magical tools, and is in demand not only by adventurers but also by the nobility.

However, this accessory, which seems to have been carved out of high purity magic stone, cannot be used for either of these purposes. The size of each piece is very small because it is carved with the highest priority on design, and the strength of the piece has been significantly reduced because it is processed into too complicated a shape.

Although there are processing techniques such as cutting that give direction to the flow of magic power, such techniques are not used for this stone, and it is only processed as an ornament by carving and shaving. The complex shape of the stone, combined with the fact that it has been processed, makes it too fragile to withstand the release of magic power. If it were to be used as a catalyst for magic, it would be shattered into pieces after a single use.

In other words, it has no value as a magic stone.

On the other hand, the workmanship and decorations themselves are excellent, and the unique luster of the magic stone makes it an excellent ornamental piece. However, accessories made from high purity magic stones for ornamental purposes are only popular among a certain group of customers, the wealthy and well-heeled enthusiasts, who buy rare and popular items with no regard for their practical use.

Biegel's answer is a simple illustration of this.

I mean, what kind of craftsman could have done this? It makes me cry to think of how many uses there would have been for it before the processing.

"Is that still your assessment?"

"Yes, it is. If I had been a bad guy, I might have gotten a better price before the process."

Biegel is right that this necklace has little utility as a magic stone and is not in demand by the usual clientele. They will be as disgusted as he is, and swear at the craftsmen.

However, its value as an ornament will increase. This is because they are too valuable to be made. In the first place, magic stone itself is a material unsuitable for complicated processing, and considering the value of magic stone itself, it is unlikely that such a processing would be done. Therefore, this is a rare and extravagant ornament that was made after a daring and wasteful act.

And these accessories were made to be processed for this purpose.

(As I thought, there will be a demand for them as a product for the connoisseurs. (As one would expect, there is a demand for these products for the well-heeled, and if they become the talk of the upper class, they will eventually spread outside of the city).

Helian does not intend to do business extensively in a thin-margin format.

At least for the time being, we will only sell a few magical items, medicines, and what might be called luxury goods as a store in the Labyrinthine District.

I have already half given up on my personal goal of practicing negotiation through business transactions, which is the reason why I came up with the idea of becoming a merchant. But be that as it may, there were several advantages for a merchant named Helian to sell his name other than gaining [dominance].

One of them is that it is a to other players. The merchants' association also has the role of raising a "I'm here" signal to other players who may have moved to this world.

This is why I use the name "Helian" instead of an alias. The possibility of being transported to a different time axis has newly emerged, and I am hoping that other players will make some kind of contact with me in response to the name [Helian]. This is one of the actions that we have taken in relation to the short-term goal we have previously set for ourselves .

However, we cannot distribute items made in Alkimaira just to sell our name. It would be a fool's errand to give away our country's technological advantage without a plan. That's why they are trying to push out items that are neither poison nor medicine - one-of-a-kind luxury items favored by the wealthy. Depending on the situation, the management of the Chamber of Commerce may be in flux, but for the time being, this is the policy we plan to adopt in running the Chamber of Commerce.

"Ah, young master. May I ask where you got this?　What he's doing is a fool's errand, but his skills look top-notch. Just recently,...... specifically, during my last labyrinthine search, I think I saw a first-rate great axe and bracelets."

Biegel's question snapped Helian out of his previous thoughts as he glanced at him searchingly.

It was a good question for him personally, but he dared to show a gesture of contemplation for a while. Then, after a pause, he answered.

"I bought it in the land of the half-elves in the Great Sea of Trees. It seems that an eccentric traveler has recently settled there, and perhaps he is the one who processed it.

"...... Oh, if you say it's a latestone, that means it's a magic stone from the Abyssal Forest, and it's been processed. Not only is he eccentric, but he's also a daredevil.

"I don't know the details of the story either, but I hope we can keep in touch in the future. The people at Latticewood have all been very kind to me."

I try to recommend Ratestwood to Biegel, who frowns at me. But Biegel's furrowed brow deepens even more.

I wonder if he too has discriminatory feelings toward half-elves. ......

"......Biegel, do you also have feelings about half-elves?"

"No, it's not like that. As you know, there are many different races of adventurers in the Seals and we've been living here for years. I'm not going to get into race issues now."

Biegel's answer was unexpected, but in a good way.

I was relieved to hear this from one of my few acquaintances in the city.

"But I'm interested in the craftsman who made your husband's great axe and Miss Bingel's bracelet. ...... There are Noblewood elves in the Great Sea of Trees, aren't there? They'll attack you without question if they see you're human. Although the frequency of encounters has decreased since the establishment of LATESTWOOD, I don't want to go too close to the Great Sea of Trees.

...... Noblewood.

Is this where the name comes from?

"--Master Helian."

Just as I was beginning to think that he would haunt me forever, Levee whispered the name in my ear.

Sensing the sound of warning in his firm tone, he drew the letter in the void, out of Biegel's sight, with his right hand forming a sword symbol. Following the motion, the pre-registered is activated, and several are projected in front of his eyes.

"............!"

The store was surrounded. The store was surrounded by white dots of light (unkown) that were scattered around the store at 360 degrees. There were no less than twenty of them. Moreover, many of them were hidden in the shadows and concealed from view. They are clearly not ordinary passersby or residents.

(Enemy attack...... No wait, who is it? Who would attack Helian, a newbie merchant? We haven't even started our business yet. There's no reason to get attacked (......)

I can't think of any reason. But it is true that we are surrounded. You put your unanswerable thoughts on hold and give to get ready to intercept.

Biegel and the others, perhaps sensing the tension in the air, turn doubtful. For the time being, he tries to get them to move away... and there is movement in the white spot of light (Unknown). A lone figure approaches from the street in front of the entrance to the ground floor store. He is alone, as if he is very confident.

However, as soon as the Unknown reaches the door of the store, it rings the doorbell without kicking the door down. He looks at Gardi and Levee, and then instructs Gardi to respond. Levee is in charge of her own security.

Tensions were running high as Gardi opened the door of the store ...... in one gulp and let out a groan when he saw his visitor. He scratches his cheeks and then steps back to expose the visitor to the eyes of Helian and the others.

And there he was,

It's been a long time, Mr. Helian. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to come to thank you. I apologize for not informing you in advance, but may I have a few minutes of your time?"

A white blouse and an elegant tiered skirt in navy blue.

In both hands is a square box that appears to be a souvenir.

Above all, she has distinctive black hair and eyes.

Zion Gardiner, the daughter of the Count of the Frontier, is standing there with a cheerful smile on her face.

It seems that the words of the Count of the Frontier were not a social comment .......

Helian released the order to prepare to intercept the white spot of light surrounding the restaurant - the Unknown - or the guards that the Count had placed on his daughter, and invited Theon into the restaurant.