Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Don’t take it personal, please! part

“Hey miss Rina! Claire did a hell of a job with today’s breakfast!”

“Yeah, I’d like some more bread please!”

“Me too!!!”

Everyone is cheerful at the tavern, it seems that they liked my cooking even though I only made some regular bread. The only one who seems down is Claire since she knows she wasn’t the one behind today’s breakfast success. I don’t pay her any mind though and just enjoy my breakfast.

When Rudd arrived we’re all ready to go. Meeting the mayor is one of the milestones we need to cover in order to become part of the town and earn the trust of its inhabitants. Once we are outside he takes out a coin purse and hands it to Luke, who in turn passes it to Hiraku.

“I hope this is enough for you, I had a hard time yesterday running from place to place making deals but I managed to sell everything. The pelts were a big hit, but most of the coins come from selling mochi and the croquettes”

Rudd looks happy making Helena chuckle. This would be an awful time to tell him that those were intended as cat food.

.....

Everyone gets 11 silver coins but me, since Hiraku told me he would deduct what he gave me yesterday.

“My father is expecting you, but first I have a question for you. Are you really going to go your own way?”

to which I nod.

“Then you can’t come. I’m sorry but the mayor is a busy man and he only agreed to meet one group today. I’m sorry kid, it’s just business”

****

“What do you mean we can’t come!?”

Anne exclaims offended.

“Like I said, if you want to set up a meeting you’re free to go through the regular channels. I’m not going to make it any easier on the competence. So, if that’s all, we should depart soon or we could miss the appointment.”

Ayumi, Bob, Luke and Hiraku start walking to the mayor’s house with a heavy heart. Even though they were expecting some difficulties they weren’t ready for things to escalate so quickly. The worst part was that everyone knew it was for the better good of the whole group so they did their best to avoid showing any hint of disappointment.

The mayor’s house was the biggest in the town, but not the more luxurious since madame Bianca has contacts at the city who provide her products that a simple mayor of a poor town couldn’t afford. But this didn’t make the group any less surprised with what they saw.

At first sight it didn’t stand out, but on the inside things where different. It was decorated with taste, it was well maintained and had plenty of servants. It was elegant but not to the point of making guests uncomfortable.

A tall woman on her mid thirties dressed in what seemed to be an uniform greeted them at the entrance and guided them to the mayor’s study.

“Mister Ironside our guests have arrived.”

She says bowing politely.

“Let them pass and bring some tea, please have a sit”

A man with grey hair and a serious look said without even looking at her. He’s well dressed with tailor made clothes that fit him perfectly making him look refined and intellectual. But his build made it so that if he was wearing miner’s clothes he wouldn’t stand out at all. He was a self made man, even though he inherited his father’s title of mayor, it was due to his efforts that the town prospered.

“Thanks for receiving us mister Ironwoods”

Says Hiraku extending his hand looking for a handshake. At first the mayor wanted to ignore him, but once he saw Hiraku’s sharp gaze and outstanding appearance, despite being dressed with plain clothes, he decided against it and gave him a firm handshake.

“So, what brings you to my town? My son told me you guys are faring with unusual goods”

The mayor says while putting away his documents.

“We come from a nearby village and...”

Before Hiraku can finish speaking he gets cut short by the mayor.

“See? that’s what unsettles me, as far as I know there are no nearby villages”

“I appreciate your time mister mayor, but if you interrupt me again I’ll just pack up and leave”

Rudd gets really anxious after hearing Hiraku’s words, but the mayor remains unfazed.

One of the reasons they wanted to split was precisely in case they had to play hard to get, they could afford screwing up a first encounter just so the other group gets a better deal. But it’s also a double sided weapon, even though the mayor really wanted to bring in more people and different goods, especially in winter, he knew there was a second group who would be able to provide the same products.

“There’s no need to rush things mister... Hiraku is it? we’re among friends.”

The mayor says looking at his son. The maid came in bringing a plate with tea and pastries.

“I’m just saying, if you don’t need us here we can always go to the next town.”

Hiraku shrugs making the mayor realize his mistake. Even if there was another group willing to deal with him, part of the supplies would go to the nearest town.

“Like I said, there’s no need to rush things. I’m sure we can reach an agreement that will surely benefit us both.”

The mayor didn’t like to have his arm twisted by a stranger, but he couldn’t afford to turn down a steady source of food. People able to hunt during winter were a treasure by themselves, but this group not only brings meat with them but also a new kind of food that doesn’t go bad, is highly nutritious and taste good.

“We would like to build an outpost for trading, but even though we have the goods, we’re lacking in funds. Rudd here told us that you charge a gold coin for a plot of land, and that’s completely out of our budget.”

“That can be arranged, the gold coin cost is a mere formality. I’m sure you figured out by now that we don’t lack money, but food. I’ve been struggling to keep this town alive but all the citizens care about is making a quick buck, so they spend more time than they should at the mines. It’s not that unreasonable considering is the least dangerous activity.”

“Why don’t you plant crops then?”

“It’s not for lack of trying, but we’re so far south that the climate is unforgiving with plants and people alike”

“So, about our outpost.”

“There’s still one more thing, I need to make sure you don’t upset local merchants. You’ve only been here for a couple days and I already got people knocking on my door making a fuzz about your new products.”

“We won’t be selling directly to people, we’ll continue to supply stores with our goods. The only exception being our food specialties, we already made a deal to sell them exclusively to madame Bianca”

“Rudd vowed for you, so I’ll give you a hand. I’ll allow you to build on the outskirts of the town and provide you with some laborers for the task.”

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”

“It’ll be my treat nonetheless, winter is just starting and we have many unoccupied people.”

Back at the tavern Anne, Helena and Ryu sit in front of a table trying to figure out what to do next.

“Everything was going according to plan, I didn’t expect Rudd to be so ruthless. What can we do now Ryu?”

Helena frowns taking a sip of her tea with a displease expression.

“I’m not sure, if we put together our funds we have 33 silver coins, it’s not bad but it’s not nearly enough to buy ourselves a plot of land. If I don’t have a place to cook and craft we’ll have a hard time getting more cash. If we sell flour, people are going to start asking questions.”

“what do you mean?”

“They use regular flour in here, the reason behind our success lies solely on our secret ingredient. If we sell raw flour we’ll lose our advantage.”

*sigh*

“Excuse me mister client.”

Rina approaches the group with an awkward smile

“Please, call me Ryu.”

“I was thinking, do you happen to be looking for a job?”

“Not really, I have my own business.”

“That’s such a shame mister Ryu, people have been asking non stop for more bread and we’re all out”

“Can’t you bake more?”

“Actually, our clients liked the bread you baked so much that I thought maybe you could lend us a hand.”

“How much do you offer?”

“5 copper coins a day.”

“Isn’t that the same price you charge per night? wouldn’t I be working just for food.”

“Take it or leave it.”

“I leave it, thanks.”

Rina leaves only to come back a few seconds later, this time making sure to emphasize her bosom.

“Please Ryu, I can’t afford to pay any more, I’m already drowning in debt.”

“That seems to be a problem, but is it my problem?”

Rina who’s not used to have her feminine charm so blatantly ignored is left astonished, while Anne and Helena nod in agreement. Even though Rina has her pride hurt, she doesn’t get discouraged and grabs Ryu’s arm making sure to make some skin to skin contact in the right places.

“Fine, I’ll help you out just for today”

“Yay! I knew you had a heart, after all, if you didn’t you wouldn’t have two beautiful wives by your side”

Rina winks at both girls making them blush up to the ears. Ryu stands up and rolls up his sleeves as he gets inside the kitchen.

Claire is on a corner with clear signs that she’s been crying. As soon as Ryu sets foot in the kitchen he starts making the dough with incredible skill leaving both Rina and Claire flabbergasted. After finishing the dough he starts making the next batch immediately.

“What’s today’s menu?”

“What? you’re going to cook too? we only need you to bake some bread, if people find your food more appealing you’ll leave Claire jobless.”

.....

Ryu shrugs and goes back to the table, only to find both girls still embarrassed for being mistaken as Ryu’s wives.

“This may be a blessing in disguise.”

“What do you mean Ryu?”

Anne said, still blushing lightly.

“We need a place to prepare some food, and there’s a perfect place to cook. I’ll try to make a deal with Rina.”

“What about us?”

Asks Helena worriedly.

“You could make us some clothes, so far we only have this fur coats. Don’t get me wrong they are great and look amazing, but we still need spare clothes and maybe, just maybe, you could sell some of them. About you Anne, I think you’ll need to go hunting or find another occupation.”

“Understood.”

“Don’t be so impatient Anne, take things easy for now. We need to go shopping.”

Just hearing the word shopping both girls jump from their seats as if they were on fire.

“What are you waiting for Ryu? they’ll close the stores before we even have the chance to buy anything.”

Weather is cloudy but not so cold as to keep people from going outside, there’s few people on the streets but at least looks more lively than when they first arrived. The road is covered in a thin layer of snow making a crunch sound at every step.

After walking a while they notice the lamps just outside some houses, realizing this meant that they were open stores. The first place they visited just happened to be a grocery shop. Ryu frowned upon the low variety of products that were on the shelves but didn’t say anything.

Helena scanned the whole shop as if she was looking for something, but she couldn’t find it. Anne on the other hand takes her time studying the prices. The storeowner didn’t greet them nor did he pay any attention to his customers, making everyone feel uncomfortable.

“Let’s go somewhere else”

Ryu ordered and the girls followed him like ducklings.

Next stop was a tailor, then a butcher shop and finally a carpenter. They all had two things in common, they couldn’t find anything useful and the owners didn’t even bother speaking to them.

Ryu was so upset that a vein popped on his forehead.

“It’s so bothersome that they don’t even have a sign outside to see what kind of service they provide, and they don’t even have windows so we must get inside to know what’s their trade”

Anne complains.

“Why would they bother putting signs, this town is so small I bet we can cover it all in a day”

Ryu replies getting inside the next shop, this time trying a different approach. When they get inside, they realize it’s a textile, both Anne and Helena start browsing through the existences excited. But Ryu goes ahead and places his coin purse filled with silver coins playfully on the counter. The shopkeeper, lured by the sound that’s like music to his ears, quickly gets closer and greets their customers.

“Good day sir, how may I help you today?”

His attitude towards the group improved greatly and he took the time to show Helena different kinds of fabric. In the blink of an Eye Helena had spent 15 silver coins already and they were heading back to the tavern.

“This sewing kit is just like the ones we had at our world! I’ll be able to make all kinds of clothing”

Helena walks as if she was walking on a cloud, excited to have all sorts of materials and dyes. Anne on the other hand was lost in her own thoughts. If she had to go hunting, that meant Helena will spend a lot more time with Ryu than with her, unless she manages to bring him along.

Back at the settlement she used the excuse of needing his company to take Mochi with him, but now the cat was left back at the settlement and it will remain there until the storage is depleted.

The tavern was lively and cheerful so they decided to grab a beer before going to sleep, but Rina was waiting for Ryu.

“Mister Ryu, thank you for helping me out today. Did you decide if you’re going to be helping us?”

“Now that you mention it, I don’t have anything against working on the side, but I don’t think just being rent free is going to cut it”

Rina’s face freezes on the spot

“Don’t act like that, I’m not going to ask anything crazy. I was thinking, maybe we could work something out. I’m willing to bake enough bread for the day as long as you let me use the kitchen for my own business”

“What kind of business is it?”

“Like I said before, it’s nothing crazy. I just need to prepare some food, it doesn’t take much time either and I won’t interfere with your affairs at all. Of course I would also be rent free”

After pondering for a good minute Rina offers Ryu a handshake, thus making their business relationship official.

Helena tries her best to hide her jealousy, but Anne is still to distracted to even care.

Meanwhile Hiraku and the rest decided to stay at the brothel until the building is ready. Even though the mayor provided the land and workforce, they still need to pay for the materials used so it could take a while.

Since they came prepared, Hiraku already has an approximate idea of what he wants, so he just needs to supervise the builders. Bob and Luke will be helping in the construction to speed things up.

Even though they are going to stay at the brothel out of necessity, since they need to be apart from Ryu’s group and the only available place is madame Bianca’s place, for Ayumi and Bob it turned out to be a sour experience. She’s been pouting through the whole dinner while Hiraku does his best to avoid drawing any attention to himself. Bob is praying inwardly that the girl he spent some quality time with doesn’t spill the beans on what happened.

The only one who’s happy is Luke. He’s behaving like a kid in a candy store. The only thing that keeps him from jumping on the first professional lover is that he needs to keep his reputation as hero even before revealing himself as such. Inside his mind he’s been tested from the moment he got into this new world and, even though sometimes his temper gets the best of him, tries to act as a worthy hero. The more he struggles, the better reward he thinks he’s going to receive.

It was already troublesome for him being stranded in the ass of the world with newbies who don’t know the first thing about fantasy worlds. He instead, has read all sorts of novels about it and he used to daydream how would his life be if he ever got pulled into a parallel world. But the worst thing was that he either didn’t get a cheat skill or hasn’t discovered it yet.

This is the reason why while everyone worked from early morning, he only roamed the outskirts of the settlement looking for beasts to fight or treasures to get stronger immediately.

After all the hardships he faced, after all the humiliation he received from those who he deemed to be his sidekicks, just thinking on how the girls rejected him or how Hiraku scolded him daily makes his head ache.

But all this was nothing but the prologue of the heroic tales of the biggest legend on this world, and that’s why he can’t afford to jeopardize his reputation.

That’s precisely the reason why, when the curvy brunette with a tight dress leaving little to the imagination drew closer to him and whispered a few sweet words in his ears he replied:

“let’s go.”