Chapter 68: The Merchant's First Summon

Throughout this whole ordeal, Claire was the one who dealt me the most amount of damage.

It happened as soon as I got back home. Before I could explain anything she planted her fist on my shoulder with way more intensity than the friendly bump Mia usually throws at me.

I couldn't really complain though, what I did was absurd to begin with, and even though she called me an idiot, I could tell that she was simply upset.

If I were to put everyone's reaction on a scale, Claire's would probably be around the middle, right next to Mia's, who also called me an idiot, but refrained to get physical. Somehow though, her cold and disapproving stare ended up being a little more hurtful...

On the brightest side of this scale, Ellie came running and hugged me as soon as I appeared. I didn't know that she was such a fast runner, but most importantly, I wasn't aware of how much she cared since it's hard to get a good read on her sometimes.

It's true that actions speak louder than words though, and it took a while for her to let me go from her firm grasp, even after Claire had hit me, she didn't let go at all.

Anna's was a bit more of what I expected, a small lecture on why what I did was wrong, that I made them worried, and that I shouldn't do it again...

The last ones to say something were surprisingly enough, Licia and Beatrice.

Given that for all they know I could've died, I was expecting Licia to be the first one to jump at me, in a way similar to Ellie's actually.

Instead, I noticed that she hid her face away from me, and after calming herself, she and Beatrice proposed that I'm always accompanied by one of them from now on... on a leash.

I thought the two of them were joking but then I found myself being the only one laughing at their absurd proposal.

But yeah... I'm not letting that happen. No way.

Once I finally finished getting lectured... beaten... and uh... threatened by my most loyal subjects, it was finally time I could explain what happened inside the kingdom...

Mia: "...Even I noticed something was wrong with him, but... why did you take us out? You could've just called out his act and if you were wrong, we could all have escaped together."

Having them out of the kingdom was actually an important factor for me to call out the Merchant's bullshit.

Once it was just the two of us, I got a better grasp of how much he was actually holding back, and how easily he could've finished off all of us if he intended to.

He had a bunch of chances to kill me, and he never threw a punch, at most, he grabbed my neck and that's all.

There was another factor though...

Miwen: "I don't get many chances to face off against someone so despairingly strong, so I took the opportunity to try out everything I could, and I ended up becoming way better at magic at the very least."

In the end, almost nothing that I came up with had a satisfying effect, but being in a situation where I had to push myself to the limit and even after that, go beyond... that ended up being quite a good learning experience.

My mind raced to find alternative methods to kill him since I couldn't damage the guy the way I do monsters,

Of course, I don't want to be in a situation like this again but... if I have no choice, I'll at least be a bit more capable.

Anna: "You risked your life because you thought you would grow up in a desperate situation? The leash doesn't sound like a bad idea now..."

The pro-leash group was getting more votes... knowing Claire and Mia, they'd both might vote for it just for laughs.

Thankfully we aren't in a democracy though, and so, I'll be the only one leashing others.

Miwen: "As I said, I wasn't going to die. Also, he gave me something pretty useful as a reward."

Licia: "Eh? What did you get?"

Most of the girls were pretty surprised, and I just know their expectations were through the roof.

After knowing the Merchant's identity as something akin to a God, anyone would think that whatever he gave out would be incredible.

But yeah, once you talk to the guy for a minute, you'll know to tamper your expectations...

So, this will be a lesson for them the same way it was for me.

Miwen: "This!"

Licia: "A... card?"

Miwen: "Yeah!"

I could see the look on everyone's face turning due to sheer confusion. And I couldn't hold myself from leading them on.

I better start getting some good items from the Gacha to balance out this shit luck.

... Now that I think about it, the Merchant probably knew something like this was going to happen when he gave me the card in the first place.

Miwen: "Did you know this was going to happen?"

Merchant: "...Not like this. Usually, a God would just forfeit any world I've touched, it's too much trouble to deal with me after all."

You can say that again.

But why did Catherine act like this then? If she went to the trouble of acting against the Merchant and even calling other worlds, then she must somewhat care about our world.

The only problem with that line of thought is the fact that she hasn't been calling us to participate in Divine Events for a while now, most people were thinking that she gave up on Earth but...

These two are contradictory to each other... there must be something else I'm missing.

I tried my best to rationalize Catherine's actions, but the Merchant continued talking.

Merchant: "I was already planning on staying for a bit but... How about this... if you're so worried about the Goddess of your world, how about I stay here for, let's say... 10 days? If something happens, you just come to me and I'll get you and your gang to a new world, sounds good?"

Sounds sketchy.

Even if I give him the benefit of the doubt, the natural question that arises is...

Miwen: "What's in it for you?"

Merchant: "I'll have you use your tickets to summon some things for me during this period... I want to see your Gift working, so to say."

It's not a bad proposal...

Losing my place on Earth is way more significant for me than losing the kingdom. I'm simply not ready to abandon my home world like this but...

I might not have a choice depending on how things turn out.

Still, there are a few things I won't compromise about.

Miwen: "... I won't use the [Companions Banner] for that..."

Merchant: "Sure, that one is a bit iffy after all."

To say he has a way with words would be an understatement, he managed to get almost all the girls here annoyed with a single line.

But after what we discussed, I'll silently agree with him.

There's also the matter of using people's lives as tradeable goods that don't sit well with me. If the merchant had any complaints about this clause my opinion of him would drop dramatically.

Miwen: "Also... at least two of the tickets are already reserved for Beatrice, if you can let those slide, I'll be happy to accept your deal."

Beatrice: "You don't have to go that far for-"

Miwen: "I'm not going back on the promise I made to you."

It's important for her, so obviously it's important for me.

And if I'm being honest I believe the Merchant will have no problems with this, after all, in ten days I should level up enough to make up for that difference.

Merchant: "That's fine, but in exchange, I want to start now."

How does he know that I've yet to spend today's tickets?

It seems impossible to get one up on this guy.

Miwen: "Alright then. What is it that you want?"

Without delaying for a second, the Merchant asks for a Banner I hadn't touched yet.

One I thought I never would.

Everyone in the kingdom was surprised by his decision, but to maintain our agreement, I did as he asked.