CH 325

Chapter 325 – Revisiting the Merchant’s Guild

The next day.

Me, Iphrita, and Isla headed for the merchant’s guild. We traveled in the luxurious box-shaped carriage that we often use these days to get around in Merinesburg.

“It was nostalgic.”

“Nostalgic? Ah, it’s been 20 years since you’ve been in one of these.”

“Hmmm. The carriages we rode in during the march weren’t this soft and comfortable.”

“Ah, riding in that carriage… my butt was sore.”

When I was active as a member of the Liberation Army, there was a fair amount of horse-drawn carriage travel. The road was almost uneven, and the suspension was not very good, so in the early days, I got my butt hurt a lot. In comparison, these horse-drawn carriages have less vibration, and the seats are soft and comfortable. The quality has improved tremendously.

While we were talking like this, the luxury box-shaped carriage with us on board arrived at the merchants’ guild. Since we had been informed of our visit to the merchants’ guild yesterday, we were smoothly ushered into the reception room in the inner part of the building.　　　　　　　　　　　　

“Thank you for waiting.”

We took our seats and were served tea and snacks, and a little later, Floyd-shi appeared. He was accompanied by another male staff member who looked older than me. He had a thick paper document in his hand.

“We both have someone here whom we’ve never met before. Her name is Isla. She is the chief mage of the Merinard Kingdom. In addition to being the chief of the mages, she is also the head of the Research and Development Department of the Kingdom of Merinard.”

“Well, well… I am always indebted to you.”

“Hmm.”

Floyd-shi bowed with a smile, and Isla also nodded her head.

“Ara? I thought you two had never met?”

“No, this is indeed the first time we have met in this way.”

“I have used the merchants’ guild many times to procure materials and documents for use in the Research and Development Department.”

“I see. So that’s it.”

I also provide various resources to the Research and Development Department, but it doesn’t mean that the amount I supply is enough to cover everything, does it?

“Well then, this is…”

Saying that, Floyd-shi turned his attention to the male employee sitting next to him, who nodded and opened his mouth.

“I’m Wells from the Merchants Association. Floyd has entrusted me with the management of the assets entrusted to the merchant guild by His Excellency Kosuke and the strengthening of cooperation with the adventurers’ guild. I look forward to working with you.”

Saying that, he bowed his head. Wells-shi is a human male in his prime. He is about the same height as me but has a thicker body. He is well-trained, or rather, he has a toned body. If he were wearing armor instead of the elegant clothes he wears now, he might be described as a soldier or an adventurer.

“Wells is a trained peddler. He has a wide network of contacts, and when he was working as a peddler, he often asked the adventurers’ guild for escort services. We decided to entrust him with this project because of his wealth of experience in the field.”

“I see. I can see why you chose him.”

“Right. I’m an amateur when it comes to business, so I can rest assured that a professional in that field is taking on this role. How is the plan actually progressing?”

“Yes, I will explain it to you. First of all, please take a look at these materials.”

Saying that, Wells-shi handed me a paper document. Hmm, paper. It doesn’t seem to be of very good quality, but it’s probably plant paper. It does not seem to be parchment paper. But the writing itself seems to be handwritten. Did he prepare this for today? Maybe they contacted him yesterday and told him to have this ready for today, or maybe they made him do something very unreasonable.

“His Excellency Kosuke’s wish was to secure work opportunities for the subhumans who are unemployed and to prevent the deterioration of public security while at the same time stimulating the economy, but as an organization, the merchant association cannot blatantly give preferential treatment to subhumans alone. Therefore, we decided to use the assets provided by His Excellency Kosuke to start a new loan program with more relaxed interest rates and conditions than the previous one.”

“I see. Well, it is a convincing story. And if you explicitly favor subhumans, there is a possibility that humans will develop bad feelings toward them. In some cases, that might discredit the merchant association as a whole.”

“Yes, in that sense, we felt that the aid package had to be fair, regardless of whether it was for humans or subhumans.”

Wells-shi nodded and said so, slurring his words and explaining the actual number of loans, the details of the business of the merchants who received the loans, and the projected future change in the assets under management. As an outsider, I must confess that there were some things I didn’t understand, but I could tell that the plan was progressing smoothly. At least as far as what was explained to me was concerned.

“Next, the cooperation with the adventurers’ guild is progressing well. The number of peddlers who have started their own businesses through loans has increased, and requests for merchant escorts are on the rise, which seems to have restored vitality to the adventurers’ guild. In addition, the equipment loan proposed by His Excellency Kosuke has begun on a trial basis, and so far, it seems to be operating smoothly.”

“I see. I was going to ask about that over there when I went to the adventurer’s guild, but it’s good to hear that the merchants’ guild also thinks it’s running smoothly.”

Third-party evaluations are very important. However, if I actually go to the adventurers’ guild and ask them about it, there may be some problems.

“Is there any need to add to the assets under management?”

“We have enough money to invest at the present time, but the larger the capital, the more daring we can be in our investments.”

“I see. The more money you have in your pocket, the more bold you can be with your investments. If you release too much, the price will collapse.”

“The supply of mithril is not keeping up with the demand, so the price will not fall too far. The same goes for gemstones. The price may fall a little, but I don’t think it will fall so far as to be called a collapse. However, if you don’t like the idea of prices going down, how about other magic metals?”

“I can get black steel, magic iron, and magic steel.”

“Black steel is a difficult metal to use, but magic iron and magic steel are as much in demand as jewelry as a commodity. Especially now that weapons are selling well throughout the country.”

“Weapons are selling well, huh? Is it a good thing or a bad thing?”

If weapons are selling well, it means that there are many situations in which weapons are needed―or that many people think they should have weapons. In other words, there are many people who are concerned about security.

“A large amount of magic iron and steel is a strategic commodity. It would be better not to flood the market with them at Kosuke’s discretion.”

“That’s also true. As for the magic iron and steel, please wait for Her Majesty the Queen and the Prime Minister to make a decision before proceeding. I will leave some of them here as samples so that you can see what kind of quality they are.”

Saying that, I took out the ingots of magic iron and magic steel from my inventory and put them on the table. Ten of each should be enough. With these, you can make five or six swords and twice as many daggers and spears. This amount of steel would not be a strategic supply.

“…..”

“I understand your feelings. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

Floyd-shi reaches out his hand to the magic iron and steel ingot and begins to observe it, smiling at Wells-shi, who is stiffening at the sight of the ingot of magic iron and steel that suddenly appears from nowhere with a thud. He even taps the ingot with a small metal hammer-like object that he retrieved from somewhere and listens carefully to the sound. I wonder if he can tell the quality of the ingot from that.

“Hmm, it’s of excellent quality. There is hardly any irregularity, if at all, and this clear tone… is something you can’t hear with an impure ingot.”

Floyd-shi inspects all the ingots and nods deeply.

“There is no difference in the quality of each ingot. In all my long years as a merchant, I’ve never seen ingots like this.”

“That’s just because I’m special.”

“I suppose you are. That is why I urge you to be very careful with your surroundings. I am sure that the information about Your Excellency Kosuke has been passed on to the Holy Kingdom.”

“Thank you for your advice. I will keep that in mind.”

I nodded at Floyd-shi’s words. However, both Sylphy and Melty are taking the utmost care for my safety, and even today, Isla is accompanying me as my escort. Although I have not visually confirmed it, the harpies are probably watching over me, and Shumel and the others are probably standing nearby to protect me. I am not going to let my guard down myself, so I am sure that everything is in order.