Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Don’t take it personal, please! part

“A bit more to the left Ayumi, watch out you’re gonna cut him”

“Shhh, I know what I’m doing”

Ayumi does her best to cut Hiraku’s hair and she’s so scared to hurt him that her hand trembles. We’re about to head to the town and the reason Hiraku had to take the risk of being cut is that we need him to look as neat as possible since he’s supposed to be our boss.

“Now the only thing is to tie a bow in Mochi’s tails so it can pass as an average one tailed cat, we need to avoid rising any kind of suspicion”

As soon as we’re ready we head outside the cave and set our course straight to the town. Pulling the sled has proven to be quite a difficult task since it’s full to the brim with pelts, meat, mochi, croquettes and some trinkets.

Bob and Luke are waiting for us just outside the town and they wave their hands at us as soon as they notice our approach. Hiraku walks ahead of us and as soon as we get close to them they bow politely in front of him.

“Good morning boss”

.....

“Hello guys, so, how did you fare?”

The bow was intended for other people to see, since we’re on guard we noticed there was a group of people nearby staring at Luke’s back.

“Great, we managed to find a middleman and we sold out everything. We also bought some stuff”

“That’s nice to hear. Where are we going to stay by the way?”

“Please follow me boss”

I never thought I’d live long enough to see Luke show respect to Hiraku, he usually just calls him names and he barely pays any attention to whatever he says.

Anne and Helena are going to be following me instead of Hiraku, the idea is to make sure we are seen as Hiraku’s rivals, just in case we need to start over. This way, if they screw up I can provide the same products to the same people leaving Hiraku out of the picture.

Luke guides us to a local tavern, it looks messy and somewhat ruined, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. This means they didn’t go on a spending spree as I thought initially and noticing this makes me sigh in relief.

Luke gets inside with Hiraku, still roleplaying as employee and boss respectively, while Ayumi and Bob stay outside watching the sled. I go in a separate way to speak with the barmaid, but soon a group of four cuts me off.

“What do we have here uh? this town has only miners and whores, and you don’t look like a miner”

What the hell is wrong with this guy? is he trying to bully me or something?

“If your mom’s not a miner I’ll go pay her a visit then”

I reply coldly, but instead of the expected punch to the face I was expecting, a sudden burst of laughter breaks the previous silence. Everyone at the tavern starts spilling their drinks and laughing to tears.

As soon as the barmaid gathers her breath she speaks to me in a polite, yet still humorous, manner.

“What can I help you with dear client?”

“I’m gonna need accommodations for all the members of my group if that’s not too much trouble?”

A huge smile paints her face when she hears that, I could swear her eyes shined for a moment.

“Of course, bed and board is 5 copper coins a day”

“I’ll need to confirm how many days we’re going to stay in here, I’ll be back in a minute”

I completely forgot about money, I don’t even know how much we have. As if it wasn’t enough everyone went outside leaving me all by myself. I could go check on them, but since I’m already talking with someone I may as well get some information.

“My group just went outside so I guess I’ll have to wait a bit”

“Oh! you’re with mister Bob, why didn’t you say it before!? here, this one goes on the house”

She says as she hands me a beer. its bitter taste is quite refreshing, Its a whole new experience for my taste buds.

“He’s not even been here for two days and he’s reputable already?”

“It’s not that, but he’s been well mannered, the same cannot be said about blondie”

She snarls waving her shoulder length red hair, and I can’t help but notice the jiggling on her chest caused by her sudden movement. She probably caught Luke eyeing her bosom, so it’s better if I avoid falling in the same mistake.

“Excuse my associate’s behavior please, we all come from a small village and he’s not accustomed to talking with pretty girls”

My remark makes her blush slightly, but she keeps her cool and replies without even flinching.

“Are you flirting with me?”

“I am not, just stating a fact”

I shrug, she seems to have changed her attitude towards me and now starts acting colder

“So can I help you with something else?”

“Are you hitting on the barmaid Ryu? You are so shameless”

A very familiar feminine voice comes from behind me, giving me the chills.

“I’m not, Anne, what are you doing here?”

“Making sure you don’t do something stupid”

She says as she grabs me by the arm and pulls me outside.

“I’m sorry for being rude to you Ryu, I didn’t know you were associated with Luke, hope we can get along”

“and you are...?”

“I’m Rudd”

Says the muscular man as he extends his hand towards me seeking for a handshake.

“What’s all this about Hiraku?”

I say ignoring Rudd’s gesture

“What do you mean young Ryu? he’s our business partner”

“Your business partner, I just want my share and I’m out”

Even though it’s hard for me to act so rude, I need to distance myself from the group as soon as I can.

“Don’t be so impatient, we need to complete the transaction first”

“Yeah, as I was saying to your friends... partners... whatever you guys are, you really brought a lot more than I thought and I don’t think I can sell all this in one go, or if it’s the best course of action”

“What do you mean?”

“Winter is just staring, in a couple of weeks it’s gonna be so cold that no one will be able to even get out of their houses without risking frostbite and that’s the best time of the year to be selling food. Prices triple if not more, and what you brought amounts to a small fortune if handled properly”

“I don’t care I want my money now, so, how much is it?”

“Hold your horses Ryu, I worked my ass off finding someone trustworthy, if you rush things we’ll end up losing money”

Luke says in a harsh tone that reminds me too much of when we first met.

“Whatever”

I want to punch myself in the face. Calm mind really helps me keep my cool or I would have blown my cover already. Rudd continues checking the merchandise along with his crewmates for a few minutes, sometimes shaking his head and others nodding.

“I cant just throw a number, but If I had to guess I’ll say we have at least 80 silver coins. You got good quality pelts, a lot of food and several fire stones. I’m sorry to say this, but this ornaments are as good as thrash, nobody here can afford such items, not in this cold winter at least. I don’t know what’s inside this clay bottles but it doesn’t seem expensive, so I won’t be selling those either. Lastly, I’m interested in this contraption, what do you call it?”

“it’s a sled”

“It seems completely useless in spring, but it’ll make my life so much easier in winter. Since I want it for myself I can’t put a price on it so I’ll go with whatever Luke deems fair”

After pondering for a little while Luke replies

“Since we’re going to be business partners you’re entitled to use it however you see fit, but, since it belongs to us, and Ryu intends to build his own business I think you’ll just need to pay him his share. I’d say the price of this sled rounds a piece of silver so...”

“Me and Helena discussed it and we’ll be joining Ryu, so we would like to get compensated for the sled too”

“ok, so its about...”

When Ayumi noticed Luke’s struggling with numbers she barges in to save the day, even though nobody called her.

“How many copper coins is a silver coin worth?”

“a hundred”

“Then, one seventh of a silver coin should be a bit more than 14 copper, I think 45 copper should be enough”

Ayumi puffs her chest as she usually does whenever she’s helpful.

“Are you serious? I’m not complaining but it looks a lot more expensive than that. I usually hunt once every three days and the least I get is a silver coin, this sled thing should be more expensive”

Rudd seems honest, but I won’t let appearances fool me, he might as well be trying to lure us just to empty our purses later. Even so, we need to keep it as fair as we can.

“No, I think the price is ok. Even though I’ll need a lot of money to start a business of my own, this sled was made in a hurry so asking for more would be just greed. If you wanted a better quality one we could build it, though it’ll cost a lot more. Anyways, I Don’t mind he gets the sled, as long as I get back my potions”

Hiraku nods in agreement

“Then it’s settled Ryu, as soon as you get your share we’ll part ways. Since we’re in a new town I can’t let you all by yourself though. Since mister Rudd will need some time before selling everything, I’ll give each of you five copper coins, and you can also keep a lantern, a pickax and the cloth roll, we don’t have an use for it anyway”

.....

“That’s great but, why so generous old man?”

Mimicking Luke’s behavior makes me cringe but it can’t be helped.

“I’ll deduct the costs from your share anyway so don’t worry about it”

I grab a bag with the cure light wounds potions, and the girls get the rest. Rudd goes on his way to sell everything.

“What do you think Ryu?”

Luke inquiries

“He looks like a nice guy, but don’t let your guard down. Appearances may be misleading. At least he’s smart enough to see that there’s more profit in working with us than by himself. Ayumi, how many more shipments can we provide?”

“We’re not short in flour, we got plenty of pelts though I still think it’d be better to sell clothes...”

“If we mess up with the merchants we’ll end up in trouble. Remember we’re gonna be around for while. We should focus in gaining allies and people loyal to us. Instead of selling directly or competing against the merchants, we should try to provide new products and services, if there’s no other choice then try looking for a job”

“Yeah, we should avoid standing out as much as we can. For what I’ve seen so far, this town doesn’t seem to like strangers very much. Also, don’t let appearances fool you, this town population is much higher than what it seems. People live crowded in their homes, and for every inhabitant in here there’s two in the mines”

“They live underground?”

“That’s not it, they live in their houses in turns. At first I was surprised by how many two story buildings I saw, but they are not for single families. Miners spend three days inside the mines and three days outside. Rudd told me a hunter’s job is to clear the galleries before every shift change so the miners can walk safely in and out of the mines”

“So we can’t go by ourselves?”

“It’s just more dangerous. Bob asked me to go mining solo today, but I wanted to ask you before agreeing”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea Bob, at least wait until we’re settled”

We get inside and share a meal together while we keep discussing our next move.

“By the way, we should stay at different places if we want everyone to see we’re disbanded”

“I’m ahead of you, there’s only this inn and the brothel, that’s why this place doesn’t even have a name. Everyone calls it Rina’s because she owns the place. From what I’ve learned the brothel is more expensive but it provides other benefits...”

Luke smirks making Ayumi cringe

“I’m not letting my husband anywhere near those filthy...”

Before she can continue her ranting Luke stops her

“That’s why I said I’m ahead of you, I spoke with Rudd who’s the eldest son of this town’s mayor, he said that you can buy a plot of land for just one gold coin”

“That guy said that if he managed to sell everything he would get something about 80 silver coins, so we don’t have enough”

“I know, that’s why I asked him if he could arrange us a meeting with the mayor and he agreed. He’s going to see us tomorrow”

“Luke you’ve done such a great job! you’ve proven to be very reliable”

“Why do you sound so shocked Ryu? it’s me you’re talking about, of course I’m reliable”

Everyone laughs at his joke, though judging by his expression he wasn’t joking at all.

“So, we still need to figure out how to get more money”

Ayumi scoffs and the table goes silent again.

The tavern looks pretty run down, there’s not a single decoration, its just a big room with many tables and a bar. My expectations are quite low about my room, even though five copper coins is not a small sum.

When Rudd said that a silver coin is what he earns in a single day’s work I thought that maybe it was near the usual, but it turns out he’s one of the richest persons in town. But this is not because he’s the mayor’s son but because he and his team are quite good at their jobs. Everyone in their crew earns about ten silver coins a month just hunting, but they are also skilled miners.

Most people in town are miners since there’s a huge market for ore and elemental stones, but the difficulty of the trade routes to bigger cities makes it a risky business. Once a month, except during winter the town forms a caravan comprised of skilled hunters and merchants and they go from town to town growing in size until they reach the closest city where they sell their goods. But, since regular people live on a day to day basis, whenever they need quick money they go to the mines and then sell their findings at a reduced price to someone else.

I’m still wondering about what he said regarding food price, if it gets so expensive it means there’s either shortage or people trying to take advantage at the expense of poor families. But that’s not my problem.

I go upstairs to my room and find myself pleasantly surprised. There’s only a bed and a nightstand, but everything looks tidy and comfortable. The bed has sheets, blankets and a feather pillow. It’s not that late yet, nevertheless I fall asleep instantly.

The next day I wake up dizzy but completely renewed, It was as if I was sleep deprived for weeks. My sleep was so good I didn’t even have the chance to feel lonely.

It seems I’m the first one to wake up, everything is silent and I walk downstairs without making a sound thanks to my stealth skill. Once I’m at the first floor im surprised to see Rina is already up and keeps busy brooming the place.

“Good morning”

I say using my morning voice which is, of course, to avoid waking people up.

*eeek*

A cute muffled squeak escapes her mouth

“What are you doing up so early mister client?”

“I could ask you the same”

“I need to keep the business running you know. How can I help you?”

“Do you have something for breakfast?”

“Please excuse me mister client, I’m not a good cook and Claire hasn’t arrived yet so the kitchen’s closed”

“I could take care of it if you don’t mind”

“Go ahead, but you’ll still need to pay”

How greedy can a person be? since I don’t have anything else to do right now and I’d be doing the same even at the settlement I get inside the kitchen. Everything is clean and the cookware is not bad at all. I’ll be cooking using metal pots for the first time.

First I light up the fire, since I’ve been practicing a lot of magic now I have a bigger mana pool. It takes me a while to know what’s what, but once I’m familiar with the kitchenware I start my job.

Making bread with regular flour in a decent table with the proper utensils proved to be so much easier. I start using my analyze skill at everything I can see, but nothing has good quality.

There’s salt!

That’s why the food tasted so damn good yesterday. Since I can’t remember anything about my past I didn’t even know I missed it so much!

After I finish preparing enough bread for about twenty people all I have to do is wait by the oven until it’s ready and boils some water to prepare tea.

When everyone else woke up we had our last breakfast together before we parted ways. Starting today Hiraku and I will be business rivals, at least in the eyes of people from this town.