CH 112

「I can tell you, but it depends on the conditions. 」

This island was really small, so the houses here are packed like sardines in a can. There are trading headquarters built here, naturally, but there are also branches owned by large-scale merchants from the various countries on the continent, as well as inns and lodgings for the businessmen who visit this place seasonally.

Even if you want to buy a house or a room, it is normal that there won’t be any vacancies, but if it’s the Allaway family who built a fortune doing maritime transportation. It has been quite the hassle, but that’s the reason why I tried to negotiate with a large-scale merchant, in the first place.

Well, I don’t really want to live in such a far-flung place as this. It’s just a method of lowering the bar for the negotiations by mentioning such an exaggerated demand.

「That’s difficult — even if you don’t understand the reason, if you try to pursue the method to accomplish that, then you will understand. 」

「Wait, please, can you give us some more time? I will relay this matter to the boss. 」

Yep, setting aside that toxin removal method, these potato babies that I have are charming, right? So charming that you don’t want to hand it over to other merchants, I’m sure.

「May I have the actual item in order to discuss this further? 」

「Then please have this one. It’s alright even if you eat this. 」

I hand the potato that I boiled as is, peel and all.

He looked quite depressed. You think I’m gonna hand a seed potato over, huh, as if, BWAHAHA! They’re really easy to cultivate, after all. I’m a bit hesitant since cold potatoes aren’t delicious, but then, it’s not like he’s a partner I have to curry favor with, so I guess it’s fine.

As a result, I got the rights for residence at several, far smaller uncharted islands nearby. They don’t have ports that can harbor large ships, so I have to ride a small boat to cross the sea if I want to trade, but thanks to that, I can also buy a house with a garden.

Well, I don’t really care about my transportation, though. Even if I’m going to ride that small boat, I won’t be doing business that often. I just want an address under the name “Soleil”.

「We have not been able to fulfill your conditions, so in exchange, please feel free to contact us should you encounter any problems with your business negotiations. It appears that they also allowed you the use of the Allaway family name depending on the circumstances. 」

The negotiations ended without me having a glimpse of the present head of the family.

The Nalluadhid merchants are folks who guard their written contracts with their lives. But then, there are also some contracts that become invalid after a certain period because of the spirits’ mischief. On the other hand, there are also those who come bound with curses from the spirits.

「Then, allow me to explain the conditions that cause the toxins to increase. First, the concentration of toxins is higher in immature potatoes. Another factor to consider is light — they increase with exposure to it. Next, the sprouts and the green portions are practically oozing with it, and there are also some in the skin. Peeling them is the safest way to go — if you taste any bitterness or acridity, it will be best to spit it out because that is poison. 」

「I see. You are quite knowledgeable about them. 」

I cheated by spouting half of them from the【Appraisal 】, though. Inconsistency might become a problem later on if I just rely on my memory to explain.

I hand the small amount of potatoes I brought as a sample before leaving the trading house.

The plan is to give three barrels of potatoes to them once I get the confirmation of money from the Commercial Guild as well as the land’s deed of sale in a few days. I’m setting aside two barrels of potatoes for the deities to munch on, and for when I cultivate hybrid seed potatoes with Japanese potatoes.

It will only be three barrels of potatoes, but considering it will spread to a huge scale, they are still worth a lot.

Repeated cultivation damage is also possible, but I’ll just tell them that later, at least after we maintained the relationship like this. The only thing I agreed to were the seed potatoes, and the information regarding the toxins that affect the human body. I’m pretty sure the yield will gradually decrease, but it won’t be right away — there won’t be any huge changes even if they continue cultivating them in the same place for, let’s say, two to three years.

Alright. I’m gonna look around here after buying some fabric for making clothes. The northern side is closer to the continent. The land is also visible from the south when the sky and air is clear, so I guess I don’t have to worry about the waves? The sea isn’t wide enough for the waves to be huge. Oh, so that’s probably why they are allowed to build buildings so close to the sea, as if they are growing right out of it.

The southern continent is also visible, but it’ll be difficult to cross over there since it’s the land where the dragons live. The contract of not attacking humans is, as expected, invalid in the territory of the dragons. I plan to check out a spot on the island where you can watch dragons flying overhead. Spirits apparently take on the shape and appearance of things familiar to them, so I’m going to use that principle to look for my spirit.

.

This place is really close to Telmist, the island where the library is, but that place is too far away for trade. I don’t have any plans standing in the spotlight, so Nalluadhid is good for me. It’s far easier to do trade here thanks to several large-scale merchants with markets all over the entire continent.

I won’t be in the forefront selling and handling things, I’ll stay in the shadows while doing trade. If I find a person I can trust, I’m going to open a shop and appoint them as shop manager, I guess.

And so, my first condition was to have a land facing the ocean. Pass for those mountainous islands! They bring bad memories back, so those are a major no. In the first place, an island with no houses to begin with is way too far to conduct trade. The closer to Nalluadhid, the more houses there are, naturally. I wonder, are there no grounds on the neighboring island?

Ah, that island looks nice. There is a smattering of greenery on that island that looks like a steep boulder, and there are also five to six huts that look like they belong to fishermen.

Ugh, this itch to make a house is probably the result from the survival lifestyle I had back at that island! I do have【Storage】, but I still ended up stocking ingredients at the house in Canum.

At any rate, I’ll try calling out to the islanders.

There were only fifteen or so islanders here when I charged in. There are also empty houses, and there were fewer people than I imagined. There are also plenty of hidden reefs around the island, so a small boat that could carry around two people can barely pass through, let alone a large ship. Apparently, the smaller the boat, the less fish you can catch, so the number of people steadily dwindled as a result.

It seemed that during the period of time when strife abounded, the place had been effective in blocking the enemy from the great continent from landing. However, there has been a longstanding peace in this place, contrary to the Central Plains so most of the families moved to the other island.

They told me that the ferryman will help me move as needed if I live on the island. Have to pay, though.