Volume 2 - CH 3

Chapter 3 – Merchant Guild Membership and a Motorboat

Ahh, I slept really well. I stayed up almost all night yesterday, and I must have slept well before the sun went down and into the morning. Let’s go to the cafeteria for now.

“Good morning. Can I have breakfast? Also, I need to wash my face; where is the well?”

“Good morning. Breakfast is ready now. The well is just outside the back door there.”

“Thank you.”

I quickly went to the restroom, washed my face, and had breakfast. Breakfast was sauteed fish, bread, and soup. Eating fish makes me want rice. Fish and bread… it doesn’t really go well together, but rice is the way to go. Thinking about rice, I headed for the guild. It’s called a trading city, so I’ll be happy if I can find some rice.

Arriving at the guild, I check the quest board. There are quite a few requests that are typical of a trading city by the sea. There are requests to carry cargo, sort fish, and clean the port. So the requests change as the location changes.

The low-ranked requests for defeating monsters at sea are the big crabs and dartfish that appear on the shore. There are requests for sea monsters, but I can’t imagine what kind of monsters they are. Big crabs… big crabs, huh? Can it be eaten?

Hmm, not sure. Carrying cargo and sorting fish’s rewards are low, and it seems that defeating goblins is a safe bet for my abilities. But the rewards for killing goblins are not so good either. I should go to the reference room for now. At the reception counter, I asked about the location of the reference room and moved on.

The atmosphere of the reference room is the same as in the western city. I asked the librarian for permission and looked for books. The only thing I need is information on the monsters around the southern city. There are only goblins, orcs, and wolves on the land, and it is hard to hunt horned rabbits because of the lack of grassland. It seems that it is impossible to make big money with horned rabbits in the southern city.

There are so many kinds of sea monsters that I can’t seem to remember them. At any rate, I am afraid of sea dragons and so on.

Big Crab is a big crab, as its name says, and I hear it tastes good. [T/n: At the first one, the author used katakana, and at the later, he used hiragana.]

Dartfish is sharp-horned fish about 30 centimeters long, and they jump into boats in schools. The adventurer’s role is to defend against the dartfish with a shield. Next time, I’ll check out the ships in the harbor and then go to the merchant guild.

＊＊＊

Hmm, most of the boats in the harbor are wooden, with sailboats, galleys, and rarely self-propelled boats. There are, surprisingly, some self-propelled boats, small boats that pass between the ships and the land. This would seem to make wooden motorboats less conspicuous. Let’s go to the merchant guild and ask for more information. I asked about the location at the port and headed for the guild.

The guild’s atmosphere was different from that of the adventurer’s guild. There were some peddlers dressed like me, but many of them were well-dressed.

I look at the reception counter, and there is another beautiful fox-eared Onee-san here as well. I remember that I haven’t asked the name of the beautiful fox-eared Onee-san in the western city after all… But I feel nervous when I see the beautiful fox-eared Onee-san. I wonder if I like fox ears.

“Hello. I have a lot of questions I want to ask you. Is this okay at this counter?”

“Hello. This way is fine.”

“Thank you. First of all, I would like to know if it is possible to join a merchant guild even if I am a member of the adventurer’s guild, and if so, what are the conditions for joining?”

“Yes, you can join the adventurer’s guild and the merchant guild at the same time. The guild has ranks, just like the adventurer’s guild, and you can register as a peddler at F-rank for an annual membership fee of 5 silver coins. To rank up, it is necessary to pay the annual membership fee for each rank and to have a track record worthy of that rank.”

“What are the benefits of moving up in rank?”

“The merit is that you will be given priority to receive large requests that come to the guild. You can get information gathered by the guild as soon as possible. Regarding matters related to the merchant guild, such as unloading locations and personnel introductions, higher ranks will be given priority. So everyone is aiming for at least one higher rank.”

Well, I’m interested in the information, but other than that, it doesn’t seem to matter much to me right now.

“Thank you very much. I understand very well. I also have a certain chance of getting a ship, but what kind of work can I expect to do?”

“It depends on what kind of ship it is. It could be a small ship, a sailing ship, a galley, a magic ship, which ship?”

A magic ship? Are those self-propelled boats called “magic ships”?

“Um, it’s a small boat magic ship. And if I can save up enough money, I can get a small magic ship, too.”

“Well, getting a magic ship is not easy, even if you want one. You must have good connections.”

Haha, a good connection… In my case, does that mean that my connection is God? That’s a great message, in a way. Although I’m being observed at leisure…

“Yes, they are very helpful. So this is why I think being a merchant would make better use of the ship than being an adventurer.”

“Although it is a small magic ship, there are people who would like to acquire it, and I can act as an intermediary. We will also pay you an introduction fee.”

Sell it? Can I sell a ship summoned by a ship summoning? …It would be great if I could sell it, but if I sell that many boats, I’m sure I’ll be noticed.

“I’d like to get one myself if possible; I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s only natural, so I hope you don’t mind.”

The fox-eared Onee-san smiled kindly. It’s kind of soothing.

“I’ll explain the work of a small boat’s magic ship then. The work of a small boat magic ship is often to take people to the royal capital and other places. The rest depends on the ability of the boat, but if it can carry adventurers to the southeast island, the reward is very good.”

“Is the reward so good just for transporting people to the island?”

“Yes, the southeast island is inhabited by precious medicinal herbs and strong monsters. We can obtain valuable materials, but there are many shoals and rocks, and there are no passable routes except by small boats. On top of that, the tidal current is so fast and complicated that it is impossible to reach the island by ordinary small boat magic ships. At the moment, there are only four small boats that can reach the island.”

…Is it like a bonus stage if you can reach it? At any rate, if I can make money just by carrying adventurers, I would love to be the fifth ship.

“If I can reach the island, it seems I won’t have to worry about work. Can you tell me how much you will be paid for the magic boat ride to the capital and how much you will be paid for the island if you do make it there?”

“The basic fare to the capital is three silver coins per person one way. The return trip is downhill and costs two silver coins per person. If you make it to the island, it is ten silver coins per person per day.”

“Ten silver coins per person per day? Can adventurers make a profit with that much money?”

What is this bubble? Won’t it burst?

“Since materials on the island are expensive, adventurers who are able to hunt down and gather them can make a good profit.”

It doesn’t seem to burst.

“If I can get a small magic ship, what kind of work can I do?”

“Most ships follow a safe path near land, carrying large quantities of goods for profit. Rarely there are those who go to the southern continent, which takes more than a month even for a magic ship. The route is so difficult that only one out of every 30 ships can make the round trip, but if you bring back pepper, you can make a huge profit, so there is no end to the number of people challenging the route.”

Oh, so you can perform the classic fantasy of making big money from pepper? Long live the cheat.

“Are there any merchants who trade pepper on a magic ship?”

“I think the survival rate is certainly higher than that of ordinary ships, but I wouldn’t take the risk of going out into the open sea with an expensive magic ship, where you can easily be attacked by powerful monsters such as sea dragons. Even a magic ship cannot escape from a sea dragon, and it will sink with a single blow.”

With a magic ship, you can make money safely, but why would you go out to the open sea with the intention of losing everything?

“I see; the open sea is dangerous, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It is very dangerous.”

The fox-eared Onee-san says with a serious expression on her face. I guess there must be a lot of casualties.

“I understand. And I can get a small magic boat tomorrow. Where should I dock it?”

“If you join the merchant guild, we can rent you a docking space for the size of a small boat for one silver coin a month.”

Mercantile business seems to suit me better, so I should join the merchant guild.

“Then I would like to join the guild and get a docking space; here are the six silver coins.”

“I understand. Please give me your adventurer’s guild card so that I can merge it.”

“Yes.”

“The merging has been completed. Your docking space is number 115.”

Now I’ve heard everything I wanted to hear.

“Thank you for your patience. My name is Wataru. I look forward to working with you in the future.”

“No, it’s a matter of course, so please don’t worry about it. My name is Camille. It’s nice to meet you too.”

I am glad I did my best to introduce myself. If I miss the first chance, I will not know when to introduce myself.

Camille-san, huh? I’ll be sure to remember that. I’ll try to visit Camille-san as much as possible in the merchant guild. But I’ll have to do it in a way that she doesn’t get annoyed with me. Now that I’ve accomplished most of my goals let’s go back to the inn and buy a wooden motorboat.

＊＊＊

“Oya, welcome back. What do you want for dinner?”

When I returned to the inn, the landlady welcomed me. I was looking forward to seeing what kind of food would be served.　

“I’m back. I’d like to order in the cafeteria.”

“Sure. I’ll be there from the sixth bell.”

“Yes.”

I returned to my room and immediately launched the ship-buying screen. It’s pretty hard to decide which one to buy. There are some wooden motor boats that are kind of unfashionably expensive… but let’s rule them out and look for an affordable one.

Hmm, it’s difficult. I don’t know anything about boats. The cheapest motorboats are not suitable for places with fast currents, and the best ones are very expensive.

I think I can make money just by going back and forth to the capital, but I’d rather have a boat that can go to the islands anyway. I think a Japanese-style boat would be better, but it is not made of wood and costs two gold coins.

If it can go to the island, I can make a lot of money, so I will get the two gold coins back soon, but I’m worried about the fact that it is not made of wood.

I thought the creator god said that the level of ship summoning would go up pretty quickly if I bought a ship. He said that it doesn’t matter what the level is, and if the level goes up when I buy this boat, then I don’t have a problem with it…

What’s the condition for the level to go up? If it goes up if I buy a boat, then I guess it’s how many boats I bought or how much I spent.

Hmm, I think I’ll buy one. I’ve been meticulous, but if I continue to go about my business as I have been, I’ll be dead before I buy a luxury liner.

If all hell breaks loose, I can just run away. As long as I can summon a ship on the surface of the water, I’m not likely to get caught, so I might as well buy it. If I buy it and raise my level, I may not have to worry about it.

Open the purchase screen, select a Japanese-style ship, and spend two gold coins.

Ship Summoning Level 2

You can summon the ship you purchased. +1 (NEW)

You can keep the purchased ship in the best condition and control it freely.

Can purchase a new ship from the purchase screen.

Mapping (NEW)

Auto-maps the places you have been to.

Ship Disguise (NEW)

Change the look and feel of the boat without changing its performance.

Basic Rowboat (Wooden): Maximum number of passengers: 2　

Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection.

Purchased:

Big fishing rubber boat (dark green): Maximum number of passengers: 4-5

Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection.

Purchased:

Big Fishing Rubber Boat (blue): Maximum number of passengers: 4-5

Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection.

Purchased:

Japanese-style boat: Maximum number of passengers: 12                                       

Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection.

Oh, banzai for convenience. Ship Summoning is leveled up, and Ship Disguise is an ability I’ve always wanted. I’ll have to thank the creator god when I get to the church.

Mapping would probably be just as it is. What’s the +1? Like being able to summon one more ship? Let’s try it outside after dinner.

Balance: 1 gold coin, 53 silver coins, 35 copper coins