Volume 2 - CH 8

Chapter 8 – Haulage and Raft

Ah, I slept well. A blanket on a Japanese-style boat is indeed too hard on my body, so I slept soundly in bed after a long time.

What shall I do today? Oh, I can’t use the hut-boat, and I need a bigger tent. Besides, thinking about it, if it had rained on the island, I think I would have been in trouble.

Since I will be living on the island most of the time, I want something like a cottage on the water. I think I could get a big raft made out of sturdy wood, and if I could disassemble it and haul it away, I think I could make it work.

The waves are calm in the island bay, and if I can float the raft and pitch a big, sturdy tent on top of it, I think I can have a pleasant island life. The better the environment on the island, the better my life will be.

The other thing is that Alessia-san, the leader of Girasole, said she wasn’t sure how much cargo I could carry. I should consult the merchant guild with the raft.

I explained what I wanted to do today over breakfast with two of my escorts and headed for the merchant guild.

＊＊＊

“Good morning, Camille-san. I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”

Camille-san was at the reception counter, so I called out to her.

“Good morning. Wataru-san. I’m fine if it’s just a few minutes. I will show you to another room.”

“Thank you.”

She leaves the counter to other staff members and shows me around. I quite like the time being guided by this Camille-san. I can’t get enough of her enchanting tail. It’s a pity that we arrived at the room so soon.

“So, what can I do for you?”

“There are several things. Well, first of all, Alessia-san, the leader of Girasole, was not sure how much material could be loaded, so she brought more material, but even after loading it all, there was still room for more. So I want to see how much it can accommodate.

“Well, you really have a wonderful boat. The more materials you can transport, the more the merchant guild will be enriched, so please let us help you.”

Camille-san is smiling and happy. Camille-san is the epitome of a merchant guild employee, isn’t she? She is sensitive to the guild’s interests.

“Thank you very much. And, you know, I think I’ll be living on the island for a long time.”

“I see. There are only a few boats that can go to the island, so the requests are packed.”

I knew there were a lot of requests for the island. That’s what makes it profitable, and that’s why people are coming.

“So, to make life better on the island, I need someone to build me a large, sturdy raft that I can disassemble. If I float it in the bay of the island and put a big tent on top, I think it will make life easier. So I would like you to introduce me to a boat builder who can build a large raft and a store that sells large tents.”

“Well, that would be wonderful if it works out. I can introduce you to a shipbuilder and a store that sells big tents. If you have time after this, I can show you around.”

“That would be very kind of you, but is that really okay for you to do that?”

“It’s fine. It is important for a merchant guild to know how much valuable materials can be transported, and it is only natural that we should provide favors to those who contribute to the merchant guild. Please wait a moment while I make the necessary arrangements.”

“Thank you very much.”

So, being able to go to the island is important to the merchant guild, too. Well, is it natural that people are targeting me? Camille-san was ready, so we headed to the Japanese-style boat first. A cart with a rattle and a lot of burlap sacks is following us.

“Excuse me, Camille-san, what’s that cart in the back?”

“The jute bags on that cart are filled with soil, and we will determine how many bags can be loaded.”

I see. So it acts like a weight.

While talking with Camille-san, we arrived at the dock. After I gave permission to board the boat, an official from the merchant guild loaded the jute bags onto the Japanese-style boat. Even after all the jute bags were loaded, there was still room on the boat.

“Wataru-san, this magic ship is amazing. We have loaded three times as many jute bags as other magic boats can carry, but there is still room to spare. I am sorry, but we will bring additional jute bags, so please wait a moment.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Can it carry that much? Is it because of the different materials? Or does the unsinkability have something to do with it? It doesn’t sink, so it should be able to withstand weight, right? While I was thinking, the cart came back and loaded more burlap sacks.

“Wataru-san’s magic boat can carry about five times as much as other magic boats. That’s amazing, Wataru-san. I’ll tell the guild master about it. The reward will definitely go up.”

“Oh, an increase in reward, that makes me very happy.”

I’m looking forward to seeing how much it will increase. I may be getting even closer to the luxury liner.

“Then, let’s go to the ship’s builder next, shall we?”

“Yes, please.”

＊＊＊

Ooh, I’ve never seen a ship being built before. There are a lot of small people working there; I wonder if they are dwarves?

“Master builder, may I have a word with you?”

“What, you’re the girl from the merchant guild, huh? What do you want?”

“Yes, I’m here to discuss Wataru-san’s order.”

“I’m Wataru. Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, I’m Donino. I will listen to you, so tell me what you want.”

“Yes, I need a big and strong raft. But I want it to be able to be disassembled and transported since it has to be towed by boat through difficult places. And when I reach my destination, I would also like you to devise a way for an amateur to assemble the raft properly.”

“Hmm, you want a raft that is large, strong, and can be assembled by an amateur. It will take some work to engage, but it won’t be much of a problem. How big do you want it to be, though?”

How big? I hadn’t thought about the specific size.

“I want a big tent up there, so the bigger the better. Please make it the biggest that Donino-san can make without any difficulty.”

“I could make a big raft if I wanted to, but how about with that length of wood? You can pitch a big tent, and it won’t take much time to process, so you can do it quickly and at a low cost.”

“That’s all I need. How much would it cost?”

“Well, all it takes is a little work on the engagement, and I’ll do it for 70 silver coins.”

700,000 yen… About 700,000 yen for a raft? But it’s Camille-san’s introduction, so it’s not like I’m getting ripped off, so I’ll just settle for it.

“Well then, please do. And if you can, could you take it to the dock, number 115? I’ll pay for the delivery.”

“Oh, it will be ready by tomorrow evening, and it will cost you 20 coppers to bring it there. Then, after you buy the tent, bring it to me. I’ll put some metal fittings on the tent to make it easier to pitch.”

I appreciate his thoughtfulness.

“Here are 70 silver coins and 20 copper coins.”

“Next is the tent. There is a good tool shop. This way.”

Camille-san guides me to the tool shop. I feel sorry that Camille-san’s role is like that of a guide. But it’s nice to have a local person around to make things run smoothly. We arrived at the tool shop and immediately approached the shopkeeper.

“Excuse me, can you show me the biggest tent you have?”

“The biggest tent? Yes, this is the biggest tent used by the merchants. It can accommodate ten people if you just want to sleep in it. The price is 20 silver coins.”

…Yes, it is big enough. And it looks like it could be pitched on top of a raft. With this much space, I can relax and enjoy my life on the island.

“Then, please give me that tent. And a small tent that can be pitched on a small boat, please.”

“Sure. The only type of tent that can be pitched on a small boat is this one, which currently costs one silver coin and 20 copper coins.”

It is a normal small tent. There is nothing strange about it, and it should be fine.

“I’ll take both of them; here are the 21 silver and 20 copper coins.”

It was an easy decision. In a way, it’s easier when there are only a few things to buy, because I don’t have to think about everything.

“Thank you very much.”

Well, all that’s left to do is to deliver the tents to the master builder, and that’s it? Oh, I have to extend my vacation by one day until the raft is ready. I’ll have to check with Dino-san and Enrico-san later to see if I can extend it as well.

“Thank you very much, Camille-san. Thanks to you, I got a good deal.”

“No, Wataru-san, do you still have some time left after this? I’d like to talk to the merchant guild about the amount of cargo the boat will be carrying.”

If we’re talking about haulage volume, it must lead to a discussion about increasing rewards. It’s important.

“I’m fine, but, um, is it okay if I deliver the tent to Donino-san first?”

“Yes, of course, it’s fine. Then, I will join you.”

When I arrived at the merchant guild after delivering the tent, I was escorted to another room by Camille-san.

“I’ll go talk to my boss, so please wait a moment.”

“Understood.”

Just in time, let’s ask for an extension of the escort now.

“Dino-san, Enrico-san, I would like to extend my leave by one day until the raft is ready. Is that all right?”

“I’m fine. How about you, Enrico?”

“I’m fine too.”

“Then I would like an extension of one day for the escort.”

As we were chatting in peace, Camille-san returned with the guild master.

“Wataru, I heard that you can carry five times more cargo than any other magic boat.”

“Yes, I was surprised too.”

“The other magic boats are not so different in the amount of cargo they can carry, but it’s a problem that only one of them can carry so much for the same price. For now, I’m going to increase Wataru’s request fee by five times. We’ll see how it goes and adjust the price accordingly.”

“Five times as much? I’m happy to see the reward increase, but would anyone pay such a large amount of money?”

Fifty silver coins per person per day… That’s 500,000 Japanese yen, right?

“What? The materials from that island are in short supply. If you bring a lot of it, it will sell for a high price, so there’s no problem. Adventurers will make more money, and it is possible that many of their requests will be concentrated on you, Wataru.”

“Haha, as long as I get a reasonable amount of time off, I’ll be fine.”

If you calculate it as five days with Girasole, that’s fifteen gold coins. How much money will adventurers and merchants make if they have to pay that much for the possibility of a flood of requests? I am quite curious.

“Excuse me, guild master. Why don’t you ask Wataru-san about the saber tiger subspecies?”

“A subspecies of the saber tiger? Ah, that Southern Count-sama’s request… That is certainly the case. But the saber tiger subspecies is a tough one, and I don’t know if we have a party that can hunt it cleanly.”

“I think everyone from Girasole will be fine. They were also with Wataru-san last time, so I don’t think there will be any problems.”

“Hmm, I see. Hey Wataru, there is a subspecies of a saber tiger on that island. They are more than twice as big as the normal saber tigers, and their fur is by far the most beautiful and popular. So Southern Count-sama wanted to have them stuffed. But it was too heavy to transport. Wataru’s magic boat might be able to carry it, so will you give it a try?”

Is this the kind of selfishness of a big man? A stuffed animal, so aristocratic. Oh, he was a real aristocrat, though, wasn’t he?

“I don’t mind trying it out, but isn’t it wrong to take the stuffed one out with the skin on?”

“Umm, I usually do so, but unfortunately, it’s an amateur job. If I am going to deliver a stuffed animal to Southern Count-sama, I want it to be made by a skilled person in a proper facility.”

If it is a half-baked stuffed animal, it would be a disgrace.

“I understand. I’ll give it a try, but there’s no penalty for failure, right?”

“Of course not. Camille, go talk to Girasole right away.”

“I understand.”

The conversation went on and on. It would be a good selling point if I could bring a big catch out of the island, and if I succeeded, I would be very happy.

“Oh, the raft will be ready tomorrow, so if you can, please schedule the departure for the day after tomorrow.”

“Yes, I’ll ask for the day after tomorrow. May I ask you to come to the merchant guild tomorrow night to confirm?”

“Yes, that will be fine. Thank you for everything you did for me today. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

I bought lunch at a food stall and returned to the inn. Stocking up on food at the market would be better tomorrow to avoid going bad. Then there’s nothing to do. I should train and rest in my room.

＊＊＊

The next morning, after lazing around and before checking the raft, let’s go buy some food. I head to the market with two of my escorts and buy some food.

I still have some flour left, so I need bread, chicken bones, dried meat, some vegetables; and what else do I need? Hmm, oh, I found some green onions. I must have cooked these with the chicken bones. This will improve the quality of the chicken bone broth again. Yeah, it was a good buy. Oh, I wonder if the raft is ready by now?

I went to the dock and found that it had not arrived yet. I load the ingredients into the Japanese-style boat and prepare the chicken bones. Now let’s go to Donino-san’s place.

“Hello. Donino-san, is the raft ready? And I noticed that I also needed a rope and an anchor. Can I buy them here?”

“Hmm? Oh, Wataru. The raft is ready. When the young man is free, they’ll bring it, so wait for them. We have anchors and ropes. For that raft, an anchor for one silver coin and a rope for 50 coppers will be enough.”

“Yes, please, here’s one silver and fifty coppers.”

“Oh, sure. The anchor and rope will be carried with the raft. Also, the rafts are to be completed by connecting the same numbered parts.”

That’s a very thoughtful and helpful design. If that’s the case, even I should be able to accomplish it with no problem.

“I understand. Thank you very much.”

Now all that’s left is the merchant guild. Have they decided on the request?

“Good evening, Camille-san. I’m here to confirm the request.”

“Good evening. Everyone from Girasole is going to accept the request, so it is scheduled to leave tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. Is that alright with you?”

“No problem. I just need to be at the dock at 6:00 a.m., right?”

“Yes, thank you.”

The preparations are complete, and the job has been decided. Then let’s get a good night’s rest at the inn in preparation for tomorrow.