263 - - 二百六十一話 精霊の村の買い物終了

I came to the labyrinth city for a day trip to earn money to build a village of spirits and to buy miscellaneous goods and furniture. The result of the negotiation with Ms. Marie was a fairly high purchase price of 480,000 elt, even though the unit price was kept low.

"Is this what you want to ask me?"

Yes, as a matter of fact, I'm thinking of opening a general store in a small village I'm involved with. I would like to ask Marie to collect all the goods to be sold at the general store.

"A general store? ...... If the village is related to Yuta, shall we open a branch of the Pollius Chamber of Commerce?　It would be more helpful if you could dive into the labyrinth, and I will do it without regard to profitability!

Well, I guess they're just trying to do me a favor and deepen our relationship. I'd appreciate it if you could do it all for me, but I'm pretty sure they don't expect me to spend a hundred days each way in the land of the ...... dead.

Maybe a business in a rural, cold village. It seems to be a calculation that even if they lose some money, they can make it back and make a profit if I distribute the materials from the labyrinth. And then he's going to make a lot of money by doing me a favor.

"No, it's in a tough place, so it's hard to open a normal store. I think it would be easiest if I carry a large amount of supplies in my magic bag.

"I see."

Marie looks disappointed. She doesn't seem to realize that she was about to get herself into a lot of trouble. But I'm afraid that if she knew about the sanctuary, she would run through the land of death with all her might. If they know there's a spirit tree, they'll kick demons, hunger, and thirst to the curb.

"So, I would like you to prepare various seasonings, toys, cooking utensils, tableware, and other small things necessary for daily life. It is a small village, so a few items of each kind will be fine.

"What is the quality of the various items that I should prepare?"

Quality or ...... the main thing in the general store is toys for the spirits to play with, and the rest is basically just to keep the general store busy, so general stuff should be enough. Since one of the things the spirits look forward to when they come to the village is to eat, we should ask them to prepare good seasonings.

General quality is fine. Only the seasonings should be of high quality.

Seasonings can be stocked continuously when they come to the labyrinth city, and toys can be purchased after checking on the spirits. Nomos will make the dishes out of china, so we only need a few.

Oh, I forgot. Nomos asked me for metals, iron and copper. I'd better talk to Mel for sure, but I'm not going to show up at Mel's this time, so I'll just ask Marie to see if she can help me.

"Marie, can you get iron and copper?"

Since mithril could be mined in the mountains from the 56th layer of the labyrinth, I think we can find iron and copper if we look for them. I'll look for them when I have time.

"Iron and copper?　You can get it through the commercial guilds, but how much do you need?"

If it can be collected in the labyrinth, it is enough for the time being, and you don't need that much. But a commercial guild, just as well, let's ask them for currency as well.

"About ten kilos of both iron and copper, please. Also, does the guild of commerce offer currency exchange?

"Exchange money?　The Guild of Commerce offers such a service, but if it is a small amount, the Pollius Chamber of Commerce can handle it as well."

"Actually, the village I mentioned earlier doesn't have any currency in circulation. I was hoping to circulate currency through the general store. For the time being, I need 200,000 elt worth of copper coins and 100,000 elt worth of large copper coins, but will the Pollius Chamber of Commerce be able to manage?

"It's a bit much. We can get some from the branch offices, but I think it would be better to ask the guild of commerce for them. I'll go and exchange them for cash on my way to stock up on copper and iron.

That's true. Two thousand coppers for 200,000 elt. 100,000 elts for a hundred large copper coins. It's honestly amazing what you can gather from the branches.

I'm sorry to bother you.

"You can usually exchange money at commercial guilds, so it's not a big hassle. Please don't worry about it.　

"Thank you very much. How long will it take you to get everything?

"Yes, that's right. It will not take long to collect the goods from this store. It will take some time to purchase iron and copper through the guild of commerce, but we should be able to gather them before noon.

How much will it cost?

"Yes, that's right. I think it will be around 1.5 million elts.

150,000 elts. ...... When I first got everything here, it was 180,000, I think. I remember I got quite a few tools at the beginning, but can you get enough goods to start a small store with about eight times as much money?

"I think it's a lot cheaper, are you sure?"

"Hmmm, it's only natural to serve our customers. Besides, we will make a little profit, so don't worry about it.

I knew you were giving me a discount. It seems they gave us a wholesale price close to cost. This time we are buying with the money from the spirits, so it's nice of them to give us a discount. I'll take your word for it.

Thank you very much.

"Yuta-san makes me a lot of money, so I'm the one who should bow down to you. If you still appreciate me, why don't we have dinner tonight?

Marie invites me with a slightly s*xy expression. The last few times I saw her, she didn't give me this kind of impression, but now she is asking me out as if she remembered me.

...... as I recall......That's what you mean. I guess he was so focused on the big money that was right in front of him that he seriously forgot about me.

When I regain myself in a calm discussion like today, he immediately tries to get the source of profit. He's quite aggressive. In a way, I even like you when you're this obvious. I don't want to get eaten.

"I will be leaving the labyrinth city this evening, I'm sorry, but I don't think I will have time for this.

"Oh, that's too bad. When will you come to the Labyrinth City next?

"I don't know when that will be, since I also have the purpose of building a store. Oh, I have other things I need to buy. I'll be back to pick up the package after lunchtime, so could you put it together for me?

Ms. Sonia secretly started cheering for Ms. Marie behind her back. I have a feeling that she will say something troublesome at this point, so let's leave quickly. I feel like a bad guy who just uses people and then runs away when it becomes inconvenient. But in my case, I am benefiting Marie-san, so I should be forgiven. Maybe.

I understand.

I bow to Marie, and Sonia leads me out of the reception room. On the way out, Ms. Sonia seemed to want to say something to me, but I pretended not to notice and managed to get through it. If we had started a conversation there, the dinner party with Marie would have been decided before I knew it.

(Now you've digested most of your objectives...)

He speaks to Sylphy in a whisper while straightening his back.

"Well, the missing spirit stones turned out to be quite a lot of money, and Marie has arranged for the purchase of sundries and metals, and the exchange of currency. Now all we have to do is buy a bed and some simple furniture, get some alcohol and meat, and we'll be on our way, won't we?"

(And we need to stock up on vegetables.)

Since they seem to be about the same age as Belle and her friends, vegetables are not so popular, but it is still sad to see none at all.

"Oh, we have vegetables, too."

Sylphy nodded her head, saying she had forgotten about it. Spirits are not bad for their health if they don't take vegetables, so they don't seem to be impressed with vegetables.

(This time we are going to make a big room for intermediate spirits, lower class spirits, and floating spirits, right? How many beds should we buy?)

"Well, I'm going to put them all in the same room, so they won't sleep alone. Since most of the children are small, it should be enough to buy about ten beds for now.

Come to think of it, Belle and Fuchu were all sleeping in a group. It's like a children's room for visitors, but I think we can see quite a funny scene here too. Let's go check on them when the time is right.

（Okay. Let's go to the furniture store first.)

"Oh?　Meral is coming this way."

(Meral?)

It's rare to see Meral. Usually she knows we're here but waits until we show up at the workshop.

"Yuta, you have a sanctuary now, don't you? Take me and Mel with you!"

Meral makes a request with a serious expression on her face without even saying hello. Maybe she wants to meet and talk with Mel.

(I have no problem taking Mel and Meral with me. But Mel is working on a fire dragon dagger. Did you finish it?)

"No, it's not finished yet."

（Mel was so determined to have it done by the next time I come that I think he'll be disappointed if I go now. I'm going to take Mel and Meral to the sanctuary, so please be patient until the next time).

"Mel is certainly doing his best. ...... Okay, Yuta, take care of him."

(Yeah, I'll talk to Mel next time I see him, don't worry.)

He seemed to want to talk to Mel as soon as possible, but Mel's feelings seemed to come first, and he agreed relatively easily. After a brief chat, we set off again for the furniture store. The lady has a long story, so I'd better be careful not to get caught up in it.

** I'm going to go to the furniture store again.

I bought ten straw beds at my favorite furniture shop. I was going to buy ten beds of the class used in the inn of Goumu Torque, but I forgot that the beds are made-to-order. I should just order them and exchange them for straw beds when they are completed.

After purchasing the beds, we continue to tour around the labyrinth city, have a light lunch at a food stall, and buy some ingredients and souvenir alcohol. We were supposed to buy alcohol when we had some money left over, but we ended up in a liquor store before we knew it as we were walking along with Sylphy's guidance. I can only say that the way she led me to the liquor store without making me feel any sense of discomfort was brilliant.

It was lunchtime, so I returned to Marie's general store and received the sundries I had collected, the copper and iron, the copper coins I had exchanged, the large copper coins, and the remainder of the money. Two thousand copper coins...... is quite a lot of money. And here is where the miscalculation occurred.

（I didn't find any milk at the store. (Wouldn't it be sad if we didn't have pudding, ice cream, or crepes when the spirits came to visit us?)

Shall we ask Mr. Toruku to share?　There won't be that much, and it would be awkward to ask them to share only milk without staying the night.

"I agree. I'm sure they will be sad. It's widely known that it's the favorite food of the Spirit King of Light, so I'm sure the kids who heard the rumors are looking forward to it."

(I know, right?) I mean, is it really a good idea to spread the word about the Spirit King of Light's favorite food?　I ate it with the excuse that I was concerned about public opinion, and that I would taste it or something. ...... Well, it can't be helped if it has spread. Now we have to get milk somehow.

I'd like to go to the village to buy some milk, but I'm sure Toruku told me that the commercial guild and the cooking guild control the milk and whatnot.

I don't think they will sell it to us if we go and buy it, so we should go to the guild of commerce and ask them to write a letter of introduction. If I can meet Betty, I should be able to get some help. ......If I have to go to the guild after all, I should have done the purchasing and exchanging of copper and iron by myself, instead of bothering Marie.

Fortunately, I was able to meet Betty right away at the guild. While she was preparing the letter of introduction, I talked to Betty about various things, and she told me that she had a rather big project in progress.

Dessert for the king. A plan to build a new village including a ranch. The commercial guild and the culinary guild are planning to team up to promote milk and even monopolize the market share. Betty, is it safe to talk about this confidential matter?　With these concerns in mind, I receive a letter of introduction and head for the village to buy some milk.

When I arrived at the village, the chief of the milk village thanked me profusely. Apparently, the commercial guild had informed him that the milk had become a commodity thanks to me. At this rate, I think he could have sold me the milk even without a letter of introduction.

I bought two barrels of milk, and while the milk was being milked, I returned to the labyrinth city and stormed into the labyrinth. I capture roughbirds and orcs on the sixth and sixteenth floors. Including the meat that was originally in the magic bag, we should have no more meat for the time being.

The milk should be ready by now, so let's go to the milk village to pick up the milk and return to paradise. I wasn't planning to be so busy, but I forgot about the milk, so it turned out to be a very hectic day.