Volume 4 - CH 17

Chapter 17 – Sub-master’s Hard Work and Guidance to the Cluster

After Wataru and the others were shown into the merchant guild’s room.

～From the perspective of the sub-master of the merchant guild～

A while after I was sent out of the room, I was summoned by the guildmaster. I guess this is the end of the story of what was said to be a big commotion involving the whole country.

Well, some merchants try to take credit for something of little importance by exaggerating the story. I guess this was one of them.

“It’s Enzo.”

“Come in.”

“Excuse me.”

“Enzo, what they said before was not an exaggeration but a story that could affect not only a country but an entire continent. It is of such importance that I would like to invite Cardinal Adolfo and the guildmaster of the pharmacists’ guild here today to discuss it.”

“Today? Isn’t that unreasonable, no matter how much it costs?”

He suddenly started saying outrageous things. He is not a person who would do something meaningless, so what the F-rank merchant brought to him must have been of such serious importance.

“Yes, but if we do not take action before this story leaks out, we will be plunged into chaos. If we fall behind, countries will send their people to us. I don’t like to ask a sub-master to do this, but I would like you to arrange everything on your own.”

“Can you tell me what it’s all about?”

“Well, I won’t bore you with the details, but they discovered a cluster of these medicinal herbs. Moreover, they say there are Ryu’s scales buried in the ground beside them.”

“Ryu?”

Even a cluster of these medicinal herbs would cause a commotion, but Ryu scales? That’s ridiculous.

“Yes, I cannot determine whether it is a Ryu or a dragon, but I heard that the adventurers who found them would donate one to the cathedral. I would like you to ask the Cardinal to come to confirm this. Normally, we should be the ones to go, but it would be too conspicuous.”

“Very well.”

“Needless to say, you must keep this matter to yourself and discuss it only with the guildmaster of the pharmacists guild and Cardinal Adolfo.”

“Yes, sir.”

If it really is Ryu scales, it is something that only a few countries have. If there is a chance to get them, they will do everything they can to get them. If the information spreads, surely the whole continent will be in an uproar. It should cause a lot of nervousness.

Well, let’s head to the pharmacists’ guild first.

“Oh, it is rare for the sub-master of the merchant guild to have a sudden visit like this, isn’t it? Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I apologize, but it’s an emergency. Could you please inform the pharmacist guild master? Please inform him that I would like to meet with him privately.”

“This is not a trivial matter, isn’t it? I understand. Please wait a moment, and I will let him know.”

“Yes.”

Let’s talk to the pharmacist guild master only about the area where the herbs grow in clusters and not about the Ryu scales.

“Thank you for your patience. He says he is going to meet you. I will show you the way.”

Following the guide, I entered the room.

“It’s been a while. I apologize for the unexpected visit.”

“Yes, it’s been a long time. It’s rare to see you who value procedure come up like this, isn’t it? Is it really that serious?”

“Yes, for one thing, a cluster of these medicinal herbs has been discovered.”

The pharmacist guild master’s eyes change color… when he sees the list of medicinal herbs that have been discovered.

“Hey, Enzo-kun, is this true?”

“Yes, I have heard that variants of those medicinal herbs have also been identified in that cluster of herbs.”

“Can you tell me more about it?”

“No, we have discovered something more problematic in the area. Can you please come to the merchant guild today and discuss the details with the guildmaster?”

“Today? Is it any more important than this? That sounds scary… Can you just tell me a little bit about it?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. Can you please come as soon as possible today? I will come back later to negotiate with Cardinal Adolfo so that he can come as well.”

“Is it really necessary to call the Cardinal? I wonder what would cause such a thing to happen. I’ll be on my way to the merchant guild after this.”

“Please do. Now, excuse me.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you later.”

I managed it somehow… Next is the cathedral, this one is more of a challenge.

“Do you have an appointment?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Then I can’t help you. It would be a problem for a sub-master of a merchant guild to ignore procedures.”

“I understand, but it is an emergency. Please tell him that this is an important requirement for this country and that I would like to meet with him privately.”

“I understand, and I will let him know.”

I hope we manage to meet. I’m not good at tearing up side papers. It hurts my stomach.

“He says he’ll meet with you. Please come this way.”

“Thank you.”

I was shown to the Cardinal’s room.

“I apologize for this sudden visit.”

“Fumu, I have been very busy, and some of them have been kept on hold because of your visit. It must be very important then, I presume?”

“Yes, I have determined that there is a possibility of disruption to the country.”

“Oh, let us hear what you have to say.”

“Today, the discovery of a valuable medicinal herb cluster was reported. The problem is that near it, scales were discovered that appear to belong to a Ryu. According to those who can sense the magic of the scales, there is a sacred power mixed with the magic from the scales.”

“Hmm, Ryu, huh…? That would certainly be a problem. Can we trust the word of the one who discovered it?”

“Yes, they are an A-ranked adventurer, so they are credible. It seems that the guildmaster also checked it out and said it was a wonderful piece, though he could not say whether it was a Ryu or a dragon and that one of the pieces would be donated to the cathedral by the adventurers, so he asked for your confirmation.”

“Hmm, you want me to go to the merchant guild to check it out?”

“I apologize, but the cathedral is a very public place, and we have determined that information would be leaked and cause a commotion. We must also urgently dispatch someone to protect the area, or else there is a possibility that our valuable property will be destroyed.”

“I understand. I will have to confirm this. There is one more matter that cannot be left out. After that, I will go to the merchant guild. You go back and make the necessary arrangements.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Fuh, it was somehow taken care of. After this, I will report back to the guildmaster and… It looks like I’m still going to be busy.　

～The merchant guild sub-master’s point of view is finished.～

After waiting for quite some time, I had some free time to play with Rimu and Fuu-chan. I can’t see it, but it seems that when Rimu gets on my head, Fuu-chan chases after him and gets on top of Rimu. This is a big hit with the ladies… I want to see it too.

While I was killing time playing with Rimu and Fuu-chan and chatting with the ladies, it was getting late in the evening… I wonder when it will be done. As I was worrying about dinner, we were finally summoned and shown to the guildmaster’s room.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. This is Cardinal Adolfo, and that is the guildmaster of the pharmacist guild.”

“No need for greetings. I guess we don’t have much time, do we? Please show me the Ryu’s scales at once.”

“Y-yes.”

I remove the cloth and carry the scales in front of the Cardinal.

“Certainly, I can feel the sacred power; it’s amazing, these are the Ryu’s scales… So you will donate one of these to the cathedral?”

“Yes.”

“Fumu, it’s such a big deal; the Pope should receive it when it’s presented. We must do it in a big way.”

Oh, the Cardinal is saying some disturbing words… I have to get away from this somehow.

“Cardinal Adolfo, before we do that, we have to protect the cluster.”

“That’s right. The land of precious medicinal herbs… The cathedral will also send some knights. Is there any possibility that there are still scales buried there?”

“It seems that they have searched the entire area on the surface, so there is a possibility that the scales are buried in a deeper place, but it is a place where precious medicinal herbs grow… so we must be very careful.”

“I see. Is there a place for the knights to rest?”

“No, although there is a small space in front of the cave. The large hole that leads down into the herb cluster is halfway up a cliff, so there is little space. There is a large space in the big cave where the light does not reach, though. The strong winds and the darkness make it unsuitable for an encampment.”

“Hmm, even if we let the knights camp outside… we’ll need some agile men, too. Hmm?　By the way, is the master of the adventurers’ guild not here?”

“Yes, since I heard that the master of the adventurers’ guild had a dispute with these people, I didn’t call him.”

“Is that so? Then I will arrange for the departure to the cluster site early tomorrow morning. I will ask you to lead the way. So I want you to be at the cathedral before sunrise.”

“Yes.”

What was the long wait for? They hardly listen to us, and now we’re supposed to start guiding them tomorrow morning. It’s already a hassle. But I guess it will be more trouble if we run away…

As it was, we had to stay at the merchant guild. Did they know I wanted to escape?

“I’m sorry, everyone. We’ll be showing them the way tomorrow morning.”

“Fufu, I know because I heard about it. Well, we don’t want anyone else tearing up the place, so we’ll just have to do it.”

“It turned out to be more important than I thought. He said something about presenting the scales directly to the Pope. At that time, I’ll ask everyone at Girasole to take care of it for me.”

“Fufu, I guess it can’t be helped, can it? If Wataru-san is the one to present it, it will be too conspicuous.”

“Yes, it would be too conspicuous for an F-rank merchant to offer the Ryu scale to the Pope. If all of Girasole presented it, it would be more glamorous and would be acceptable to an A-rank adventurer.”

“Is that so? Oh, and what about the Ryu scales? We can’t ask Wataru-san to repatriate them. I guess we’ll just have to ask the merchant guild to take care of them.”

“Yes, they are going to bring us dinner, so we can ask them then.”

After dinner, we asked a staff member to give a message to the guildmaster, who came all the way to see us after dinner and agreed to keep it for us in the guild’s private storage.

The next morning, we took a carriage to the cathedral a little before sunrise, and everyone was already there.

Since it was the advance party, they had a small group of 20 knights, 40 squires, and five members of the pharmacist guild… A total of 65 people seems like a lot, though. All of them got on horses or carriages and departed.

It was impressive that the five people from the pharmacist guild were so high-spirited and excited as if they were happy to be able to go to the place where the precious medicinal herbs grow in clusters.

In two days, we reached the small village and left the carriage and horses in the village. The villagers are in a panic at the sudden visit of the knight. If it were not handled properly, the villagers would have to take care of more horses than they had, and they would be in chaos.

Leaving the village in turmoil, we first headed for the cave. Here, five knights and ten squires split up. Marina-san led them to the cliff.

I thought I didn’t want to get into trouble with the knights. I was surprised to find that they were gentle and polite. It was unexpected that the staff of the pharmacist guild was more troublesome.

The staff of the pharmacist guild were not bad people, but they just kept on asking us what was going on in the cave, the temperature, what kind of plants were growing there, and so on. We were about to see the cave, you know? They couldn’t resist it.

When we reached the cliff, it was getting dark, so we prepared to camp. One of the staff of the pharmacist guild is making a fuss about wanting to go inside for a bit and is making everyone angry.

However, it is quite inconvenient because I cannot use the ship summoning skill when we are in a group. It seems that we have been relying on my skills quite a bit without realizing it.

Especially since the meals were all portable food prepared by the merchant guild, and Carla-san was wilting so much that it was visibly noticeable.

Rimu and Fuu-chan didn’t like the portable food either. They told me, “I don’t like it,” via thought communication during the meal. I almost summoned the boat without being seen.

I asked Rimu and Fuu-chan to put up with it on the condition that I would serve them lots of delicious food on the way home, but before I knew it, Carla-san showed up, and I promised her as well.

The next morning, the nimble squire quickly climbed the cliff and hung a sturdy rope ladder from the top. Five knights, ten squires, and five people from the pharmacist guild would go inside. The others were to maintain the area.

The squires carried the rope ladders up the cliff many times… right, that hole is quite deep, isn’t it?

I thought we were going to be excused, but they wanted us to go inside with them the first time and explain. Of course, I had to stay. Alessia-san, Marina-san, and Claretta-san went in and explained.

Later, Aletssia-san told me that the staff of the pharmacist guild, who had come down the rope ladder trembling, had fallen down when they got down, but the moment they saw the plants, they ran at them, screaming hysterically during the explanation of the surroundings, and it seemed that they were not coming back for a while.

After the guided tour, we returned to Barletta, which took two days. Of course, we had plenty to eat on the way back, and I summoned a boat for the meal.

Carla-san, Rimu, and Fuu-chan ate twice as much as usual, and the rest of us ate 1.5 times as much. Yeah, portable food doesn’t taste good, does it?

Back in the city, we went to report to the merchant guild. I reported to the guildmaster and was told that the matter was treated as a request and that we would be paid a commission, which was a generous one gold coin per person.

I asked about the Ryu scales and was told that it had been decided that one of the scales would be presented to the Pope in person, carried along the main street while showing off the scale, but the timing had not yet been decided. At this time, I asked not to participate.

He was a little reluctant because there would be no one from the merchant guild, but after I explained to him that it was not worth it for an F-rank merchant to show off on such a big stage, he somehow agreed.

As for the auction, he asked me if I would be interested in putting it up for auction in the continent’s largest auction to be held in seven months’ time. The merchant guild will advertise it all over the continent and encourage the public to participate.

The commission would be 10% of the winning bid, but I was told that we would not lose any money, so Alessia-san gave her permission. She said that if we couldn’t come to the auction, they would still sell the items and transfer the payment to our guild account.

After receiving the fee, we returned to Solene’s inn. I got a room, so I got some hot water, wiped myself off, and took a leisurely rest.