23 Episode 22: I was grateful to the Duke's boy.

It would be a waste of time to continue talking about the suit, so I quickly get to the point.

'Relic, why don't we start by talking about how we found the ruins?

Yes, by all means, please tell us about them, they are ancient ruins that the scholars in King's Landing couldn't find even if they twisted their heads around. I can only sleep at night if I don't stop wondering how they found it.

If you can sleep at night, why not?

Well, if you are a monk of the duke's family, you don't have to work to earn a living, and it may be a natural slow life for you to take a nap after sleeping twice or three times. As a former company employee, I'm just jealous.

Relic was curious, waiting for me to explain.

I don't think I'll be able to meet your expectations, but I'll tell you what I'm going to tell you.

'I have a map of the area around Onen, thanks to my skills, and I was looking at it, and it says 'Ancient Ruins' on the edge of the forest.

I went to try it out and found a suspicious rock wall at the bottom of a sheer cliff.

I retrieved it in the item box and it happened to be the entrance to the ancient ruins.

I tried to explain to Relic how I got to ......, but once again, when I tried to put it into words, it felt very haphazard.

Will I be able to convince him?

Lerik's response to ...... was surprisingly positive for us.

'Isn't it great!　I can't tell you how wonderful it is to find ancient ruins that easily!　Ugh, I wish I could have been there!　If you see Mr. Ko in the lobby of the inn, you can talk to him: ......!　That's so frustrating!　That's so frustrating!

Relic looks sincerely disappointed.

'So you went inside the ancient ruins?'

'No, we decided to block the entrance and go back. It's a place of great archaeological significance, and I didn't think it would be a good idea for a layman to set foot in it.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!　Is that true?　Wow! Thank you so much!　Thank you!　A big, big, big thank you... ugh!

Relic got up from the couch, grabbed my hand and buzzed me around.

'The hardest thing about doing archaeology is that people don't really understand the value of history!　It's not too bad for the adventurers, but it's bad for the mercenaries to find the ancient ruins. It's not uncommon for the inside to be ransacked and all the historical materials to be auctioned off and then scattered abroad ....... Well, thank you so much, Koh!

I didn't think it was possible for such a ridiculous thing to happen ...... that ancient ruins would be vandalized, but that's probably because I'm Japanese.

I understand the value of history through school classes and museum visits, but there doesn't seem to be any such thing as compulsory education in this world.

But it seems that there is no compulsory education in this world, and if an adventurer or mercenary finds an ancient ruin, it may be natural for them to run for short-term gain.

I'll be sure to prepare this thank you, Ko-san, so please look forward to it. I'm still a man of the Duke of Huberg's family, so I will definitely keep my promise!

All right. I'll look forward to it. ...... By the way, I need to talk to you about one thing.

'Yes, yes, yes, what is it?　I owe you a debt of gratitude, Ko-san, so I'm honored to be of service to you!

Relic was very happy that the ancient ruins were still intact, but he remained high all the time.

Alright.

I guess now is the time to make a business offer.

Actually, there is more to what we were talking about earlier. I think it's probably some kind of defense mechanism for the ruins, but the Orihalcon Golem appeared and attacked us.

'Yeah!　Isn't that a bad idea!　If we're not good, this whole area will be a wilderness!

No, it's okay. I've already taken it down.

...... Ko, is that true?　Orichalcong golems are a level of existence that an army can operate on.

I'm not lying. Take a look at this.

I took out one of the Remnants of the Orihalcon Golem from the item box.

The guild's reception room was fairly spacious, so it was easy to lay the golem down on the floor.

The golem was in two halves in the center.

It's the same shape as when I defeated it earlier.

''Fuaaaaaaaaaah!　O, o, orihalcon golem!　That's the real thing!

I'm telling you.

"Uh, I'm sorry I doubted you.

Relic rubbed his head against the floor, almost jumping up and down.

'So, so, so, then!　You know, this Orihalcon golem has a magic laser cannon in its eye, right!

Yeah. They actually shot at me.

'Ohhhhhh!　It's an insanely rare thing in existence with a magic laser cannon!　Let me buy it!　Please!

Relic's head is squirming and he bows his head over and over again.

...... You don't have to go that far, I'm going to sell it from the start.

'All right. How much are you willing to pay for it?

70 million, eh, how about 80 million comsa?

80 million comsa?

I know it's a tremendous amount of money, but I can't decide if it's appropriate for the market.

If so, what should I do?

I turned my attention to Iris, who was sitting right next to me.

Iris had been quietly listening up to this point, but she seemed to have figured out a lot of things from my gaze and opened her mouth.

''The Orihalcon Golem, as you can see, is a lump of Orihalcon. Its value as a metal alone would be in the hundreds of millions. If you're only going to give me a mere 80 million, I think it would be much more profitable to sell it off to some trade association. ......

'Ugh, if you ask me, you're right: ......!　However, there is a limit to the amount of money I can spend at my disposal: ......

Relic puts his head in his hands.

'What are you going to do, Ko?'

Iris asks me for my opinion.

As for me, I'd like to see a high price for it, but let's focus on the fact that Relic is the 'fourth son of the duke family'.

Successfully selling a favor and gaining a connection with the duke's family should be a great advantage that money can't buy.

''I have a connection with the Scarlet Chamber of Commerce, for one thing, and I'm going to ask them to give me a quote. ...... But for me, I'd rather have Relic buy it. If you don't have enough money, you can make up for it with something else.

When I said that, Relic's face lit up.

'Thank you, Ko!　Thank you!　Feel free to tell me what to do, I'll do anything!

Tell me, who do you think those ancient ruins are going to belong to?

This is Count Mayard's territory, so it's Count Mayard, isn't it?

Actually, those ancient ruins are still functioning.

...... Heh?

'And apparently I've been registered as its master for defeating the Orichalcon Golem. ...... That's why I want you to publicly acknowledge my ownership of it. Can you give me a hand?

'Wow, wow, okay. ......!　Our dukes owe the Counts of Mayard an awful lot of money, and I'm sure they'll at least grant us ownership of the ruins if we "talk" to them. ...... Or rather, the ruins work!　You're so startled, your heart is going to stop beating!

'What do you want to go and see now?　And it will help with Relic's research.

'Are you sure?　Thank you, Mr. Coe!　Let's lick your shoes!

'You don't have to do that. Just tell me a lot about ancient civilizations.

As for me, I was a little curious about the ancient civilization.

Those ruins, it seemed as if they were built with the assumption that the transferee would come.