Volume 3 - CH 5

Chapter 5 – Southern City and Shopping for Migration

“Morning, huh…? 

“Nchu, good morning master.”

“Ines, good morning.”

I get ready, have breakfast, and set out.

As I walk to the gate, I see a young man, a dark elf, staring at me fiercely. He glares at me. Did I do something wrong?

“Thank you for seeing me off; I’ll be back in seven days. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you again.”

“Yes, thank you very much. Please take care.”　

We parted ways with the village chief and headed for the beach.

“Felicia, did you have a lot of time to talk to your parents?”

“Yes, they were worried, but thanks to Master, they felt a little more at ease.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

While chatting and defeating goblins that come out occasionally, we arrived at the coast and boarded the ship. While we were in the forest, I was just stroking Rimu. It’s good to have a dependable escort.

“Whew, at this distance, it looks like we’ll be in the southern city by tomorrow morning. We’ll have to get up early tomorrow and load the pepper outside.”

“Yes, Master. By the way, will we be staying at an inn in the southern city?”

“Hmm? I hadn’t thought about it, but we have been staying at the Black-tailed Gull’s inn, and I’d like to try their food again, so we’ll stay at their inn.”

“Yes.”

“Then we won’t be able to take a bath for a while, so why don’t we take a bath today, Master?”

“Great, let’s take a bath.”

I get naked in the bathtub on the front deck, get washed and soaked by the two of them. I want to join to wash their bodies, but every time Ines makes me give up because she says it’s more than a little bit intimate.

But the sight of these two beauties playing with each other is wonderful in itself. I stroked Rimu, which was floating in the water, and burned this spectacle in my eyes. After taking a bath as much as we can, we eat dinner. We flirt in bed, too, and then fall asleep.

I wake up, and after my routine every morning, I eat breakfast and get ready.

“I’m going to put out the pepper, and you will carry it to any available space. I want to show that I brought a lot of pepper, so I want a lot of it on the front and back decks, and I want it covered with cloths.”

“Master, we’ve run out of room for the pepper.”

“This is unexpected… What shall we do? We have only put out 20 rubber boats’ worth of pepper, only half of them, and the boats are full… would it look suspicious if we cashed in all of them?”

“I think it would look suspicious. They’ll think you have some special skill, like a spatial skill.”

“The small magic boat has caused a stir, and this magic ship is also subtle and conspicuous. We should avoid attracting any more attention. Let’s stop halfway and move on to the next.”

“”Yes.””

Regarding the docks in the southern city, I ask for a place to stop the ship and to contact Camille-san of the merchant guild. I hope Camille-san is around.

After waiting for a while, Camille-san came with many carts. I was surprised that she came with so many carts, Camille-san, you are such a capable woman, aren’t you?

“Good morning, Camille-san. I’m sorry for coming so early in the morning.”

“Good morning, Wataru-san, I’m glad you’re safe and sound, and Rimu-chan seems to be doing well.”

Rimu is jumping on her head and saying, “…I’m fine…” He’s so cute.

“Yes, Rimu says he is fine, too. I’ll bring out the pepper.”

“Yes, can you wholesale everything to the merchant guild?”

“Yes, that’s what I intend to do.”

“Thank you very much.”

We unloaded the pepper from the ship into the port and asked the people from the merchant guild to carry it to the carts. We are running a little short on carts, though there is still about a third of the pepper left.

“I see you can load quite a lot, Wataru-san. How much do you have left?”

“I think there is about one-third left.”

That was close. Even this amount is being questioned. I wonder what would have happened if I had taken out all of it.

“I understand. Please bring the carts back to the guild once they are loaded. I’ll ask the guild to bring other carts.”

We finally finished loading all the goods and headed for the merchant guild. I’m glad it’s still early in the morning, so it’s not that conspicuous.

“Then please wait here while I go check it out.”

I was taken to another room and offered tea. While we were chatting leisurely and waiting, Camille-san came back.

“The pepper is in very good condition. The total is 72 platinum coins. Is that acceptable?”

“Ah yes, please leave 50 gold coins in my guild’s account. I would appreciate it if you could exchange one gold coin into silver coins.”

“Yes, I will arrange it that way. Congratulations again on your success in the pepper trade.”

Oh, I have a souvenir for you, Camille-san. It consists of an assortment of spices and a rare piece of cloth from the southern continent.”

“Well, thank you very much, but I cannot accept such an expensive gift.”

“Haha, it’s alright. I bought a lot of pepper, and when I bought a lot of souvenirs, they gave me a big discount. Don’t worry about it; just take it.”

“It’s a very precious commodity here on this continent.”

“Hmm, but I would be happy if you could accept them because it would be sad to turn what I bought as souvenirs into money.”

“I understand. I will take good care of it. Thank you very much.”

That smile is enough for me; thank you very much.

“Oh, this drink, it’s a souvenir for the guild master. He is a busy man, so could you please give it to him for me, Camille-san?”

“Yes, of course. By the way, Wataru-san, how was the southern continent?”

“Oh, about that, I only went to the Kingdom of Catania. Let’s see; if we combine the return voyage, about three months ago, I heard that the king died suddenly, and although there has not been an armed conflict yet, the security situation has deteriorated due to the struggle for succession.”

“I see that the pepper trade has become even more difficult in a country where there are no negotiations.”

“Yes, we couldn’t even go sightseeing. I’m thinking of going to the pepper trade a few more times, but I’m worried about the worsening security situation.”

“Well, do you still intend to do the pepper trade?”

“Yes, I intend to. If I bring too much pepper, will the sales be bad?”

“No, there is still plenty of room for more. Since you have made a lot of money, I think it would be better for you to do business in a safe way.”

“Ah, I plan to visit many places, so the pepper trade is just a side trip. I am thinking of going to the next country next to the Kingdom of Catania.”

“Is that so? But please be fully aware that it is a dangerous voyage, and please don’t die.”

She’s looking at me like she’s given up. It gives me a chill, huh? I feel like this has happened before…

“Yes, I’ll be very careful. Thank you very much.”

“Also, I’d like to rent a dock to anchor that ship. Is there one available?”

“Please wait a moment. Yes, there is. You can rent a dock for a small magic ship for three silver coins per month.”

“Yes, that would be great. Please deduct the three silver coins from the price of the pepper.”

“Very well. Then you can use dock number 55.”

“Oh, and I’m going away for a little while in six days. I may be leaving for the southern continent directly, so I’d like to withdraw 30 platinum coins in five days. Also, I’d like to buy spider silk for ten platinum coins, please.”

“I can provide the platinum coins if you give me five days’ time, but I think I can only collect about five platinum coins worth of spider silk.”

“Then, please prepare five platinum coins worth of spider silk. There is no need to force yourself to collect. Just as much as you collect is fine, thank you!”

“Thank you for your concern. I will do my best to collect it.”

“Thank you very much. I appreciate your help.”

But I need at least 500 platinum coins to buy a luxury cruise ship. If I withdraw 500 platinum coins at once, no matter how much I think about it, it will cause a big fuss. I should just withdraw the platinum coins steadily and repatriate them.

I get my payment and leave the merchant guild. I met Dino-san and Enrico-san on the way, so I gave them their souvenirs. I told them I didn’t know if it was a good drink since it was from another continent, but they laughed and said they were looking forward to it.

I also gave the alcohol to Donnino-san, and then… I wondered if I would have a chance to give it to Guido-san and the others or not. If not, I’m sorry, but I’ll ask Camille-san to give it to them. And for everyone in Girasole, I’ll give it to them in person, by all means.

When I arrived at the Black-tailed Gull’s Inn and got a room, I gave them some souvenirs, too. They were more pleased with the spices than the cloths and said they would enjoy them in various ways.

“Phew, now I just need to give the souvenirs to Guido-san and the others and also to everyone from Girasole. Then we can buy some food and tools for the migration.”

“Ufufufufu, I’d love to eat some good food.”

“I can’t think of anything.”

“Good food? I don’t have any ideas. Do you know any good places, Ines?”

“The restaurant by the harbor is good. They serve a lot of fresh fish.”

“It’s almost noon, so let’s go to that restaurant. On the way back, we can stop by Guido-san’s house and the Girasole’s lodgings and do some shopping and then go back. Would that be okay, Rimu?”

“…Rimu… fish… eat…”

He replies while wriggling on my head… cute.

The restaurant recommended by Ines was delicious. The fresh seafood was tasty enough on its own.

Come to think of it; I haven’t eaten fresh fish for a long time even though I’ve been at sea all the time. Maybe I should go fishing? I’ve never done it, though.

I impulsively bought some seafood at a nearby market. I secretly put it in a rubber boat to avoid it going bad, but someone walked by and almost saw me. I shouldn’t use the ship summoning on the street too often.

I stopped by Guido-san’s house and found that he had returned home at the right time. He was happy to see me back safe and sound… but he was even happier when I gave him the liquor.

I heard that Carlo-san and Daniel-san were still on the island, so I entrusted their souvenirs to Guido-san and asked him to give them to them both… I’m a little worried about Guido-san, who has a suspicious eye for alcohol. Let’s hope he gets it safely.

Now that we’re near the shopping district, we’re going to do some shopping.

“Isn’t unground wheat better for preservation? Do you have the tools to grind wheat into flour in your village, Felicia?”

“Yes, we do. We used to preserve wheat as it was in our village.”

“I see. Then let’s buy more wheat and stock a lot of it in several batches. How much should we stock? How many people are in Felicia’s village?”

“My father says there are currently 35 people living in the village. The raids have really reduced the number of people.”

Oof, I’m sorry I brought up such a gloomy subject. I would like to be a more thoughtful person.

I asked the shopkeeper for a considerable amount of wheat, enough for 40 people to live on for about six months. We made a deal to have it brought to the front of the ship several times.

As for meat, there were horned rabbits in the grassland, and dark elves who hunt would be able to catch them with no problem, but we should buy dried meat just in case.

Vegetables tend to go bad quickly, so we only buy a small amount of them, and since they were selling vegetable seeds, we bought all kinds.

At the store where I had bought the tents for the raft, I ordered two large tents for ten people, five tents for five people, and ten tents for two people and asked them to bring them to the front of the ship. We were so excited about the massive order.

We also needed carpentry and farming tools, so we went to the general store and bought as much as we could think of. Ten hoes, ten shovels, five sets of carpentry tools, a lot of nails, and ten buckets, which I ask them to bring to the front of the ship.

Felicia said they didn’t need that much, so I explained to her that we wouldn’t be on the island all the time and that it was important to have a reserve, and we continued shopping, finding the small necessities as we went.

Before I realized it, I had spent ten gold coins, and Ines and Felicia were looking at me with amazement. It’s thrilling… Huh? I feel like I’ve felt like this before…

I will try my hardest to explain to them and make them understand how hard it is to pioneer from scratch in a place where there is nothing. It’s not like I wanted to shop like a tycoon with a lot of money by any means.

I feel like I’m being looked at with suspicion, but I’m imagining it, aren’t I?

“I think we have a certain amount of things, but is there anything else you need?”

“Hmm, I don’t know, I think it’s better to actually live there and buy what is needed. We’re going to check in on that island once in a while, aren’t we?”

“Yes, that’s the plan. Especially in the beginning, when we have to carry vegetables and such.”

“That’s enough. I’m sorry you had to spend so much money, Master.”

“It is nothing for you to worry about, Felicia. The migration help is in the contract from the beginning. I am just honoring the contract, and it is Felicia’s right.”

“Ufufu… I can’t wait to finish the migration and have some fun, you know?”

“No, Ines, I was just being kind of cool now.”

“Ara? You don’t want to?”

“No, I do want it.”

“Honesty is good, Master.”

“Don’t worry about it, Felicia. If you put in a lot of hard work, you should do a lot of hard work and have a lot of fun. Master will be happy with that, won’t you, Master?”

“Hahaha, I’m ashamed to admit it, but it will be very satisfying.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Now, let’s go and hand out some souvenirs to everyone from Girasole.”

Balance: 39 gold coins, 98 silver coins, 70 copper coins.

Guild account balance: 71 platinum coins, 49 gold coins, 97 silver coins.