CH 217

Episode 217 – Merchant’s Guild

By the time I had reached the Merchant’s Guild, the sun had already completely gone down. The area was pretty dark, so I was worried that there wouldn’t be anyone there… But I could see lights coming from the building of the Merchant’s Guild.

Even if they had stopped doing business for the day, if the lights were currently on, then there should still be people. I knocked several times on the large door, then opened it and entered.

The interior of the Merchant’s Guild was even more lavish and extravagant than that of the Adventurer’s Guild. There were also a lot of showy decor and antiques placed here and there that I didn’t quite understand.

While inspecting the various antiques, I made my way to the reception desk… But there was no one there. As I thought, they had probably already closed for the day.

“Excuse me. Is anyone there?” (Lewin)

I thought about leaving without saying anything, but I thought that I should at least try making some noise, so I called out in front of the unmanned reception desk.

………No response. If I stay here for too long, I might be mistaken for a burglar, so I guess I’ll come back another time. The moment I had thought this and had turned around to leave— I heard the heavy pitter-patter of footsteps coming from behind me.

“Oh. I thought I was just imagining the sounds, but someone actually came.”

The one who had approached from behind was a round, chubby-looking man adorned with gaudy accessories, dressed in ornate attire. His voice was rough and not very well articulated, as if he had some sputum stuck in his throat, making it a bit difficult to understand.

“I apologize for coming at this hour. Are you already closed for business today?” (Lewin)

“Fumu. We close before dusk here.”

“Is that so… I’m sorry, I’ll come again during business hours.” (Lewin)

“Kopopo. Don’t worry about it. I was just about to close up for the night. So… what did you come here for?”

He had a rather peculiar way of laughing, and despite the fact that his appearance was bedazzled with valuable articles, he was a pretty gentle-mannered person. His outfit reminded me of Brandon, which didn’t give me a good impression about him… But I guess you can’t judge people only by their outer appearance.

“I heard that the Merchant’s Guild dealt in valuable goods, and I had a plant I wanted to sell, so I came to inquire about this.” (Lewin)

“Fumu. It’s certainly true that we deal in valuable goods, but… we don’t really handle plant types. For now, if you come back again during business hours, I’d be happy to do an assessment for you.”

Looks like it has to be another day, huh? If their business hours were before dusk, I wouldn’t be able to make it on the days that we went to the Dungeon, and I would only have time on the days off.

Maybe I should have tried to come and sell the Glutamate Herb first today… However, the amount of time I had each day to use the first floor of the Laudungeon Company was limited, so no matter how I thought about it, it wouldn’t work out. I decided to leave the Merchant’s Guild, having elected to change my way of thinking and find a different route of selling the Glutamate Herb.

“In that case, I’d be happy to visit you again when you’re open. Thank you for your kind attention.” (Lewin)

“Fumufumu. You’re welcome.”

“Hmm? …Huuuh?”

What in the world is he on about? Pushing down the urge to turn around and check, I continued to walk towards the door. When I turned around to close the door, I casually stole a glance at him.

The man was bent at the waist, with his hand on his jaw, as if he was thinking about something in an exaggerated manner. I was getting more and more curious, but the door was slowly closing. Just as the man’s figure disappeared behind the door―

“W-Wait just a moment!”

From within, I heard a voice calling for me to stop. I opened the completely closed door again and saw the man from earlier running towards the door.

“Umm, what is it? Is there something amiss?” (Lewin)

All that came to mind when I saw him run towards me in such a panic was that something had gone wrong and that his suspicion was being directed towards me. But, it seemed that was not what he wanted to talk about.

“Haah, haaah… N-No, I’m sorry for calling out to you like that. *pant* J-just now, you said that you brought a rare plant, c-could it be that it was a seasoning?”

It had only been about 10 meters from the reception desk to the doorway, but the man was panting heavily from the exertion. I managed to say something back, although I was more conscious of his shortness of breath than what he had actually said.

“Yes, that’s right. It’s a seasoning that isn’t in circulation on the markets, so I came here to the Merchant’s Guild to see if I could sel―” (Lewin)

“I s-see! I’m sorry for changing my mind, but could you please show it to me now?”

The man grabbed onto my hand and pleaded with me, breathing heavily through his nose. I unconsciously took a few steps back due to his vigor, but because of the door behind me, I ended up in a rather cramped position.

I mean… the suggestion itself is not bad. Rather, it’s a pretty nice suggestion. If he was willing to do an assessment of it right now, it would be a unique opportunity for me.

“Of course it’s fine. That’s what I came here for in the first place, so I’d be happy to show it to you.” (Lewin)

“I see, I see! Then please, come in right away… Before that, I apologize for my delayed self-introduction. I am the Vice Guild Chief, Paul Northam. Please feel free to call me Paul.”

“I’m an adventurer, and my name is Lewin Jade. Pleased to meet you, Paul-san.”

We lightly exchanged self-introductions as we made our way back to the reception desk. When we arrived at the reception desk, Paul took out a pair of glasses from underneath the desk.

“Shall we? The assessment won’t take long.” (Paul)

At Paul’s behest, I took a Glutamate Herb out of my bag and handed it to him. After receiving it, he began to inspect it from various angles.

“Fumufumu. It’s certainly a plant I’ve never seen before. But… is this a seasoning?” (Paul)

“Yes, it is. I’ve tried it before.” (Lewin)

“Can I do a little taste test? I’ll properly pay you for this piece, of course.” (Paul)

“If that’s what you’d like to do, of course it’s okay. But… the way you eat it―” (Lewin)

Before I could finish speaking, Paul cut a piece of the Glutamate Herb and put it in his mouth. When he confirmed the taste, his frown deepened.

“…What’s this? There’s no taste at all?” (Paul)

“Um! As for the way to eat it, you have to dissolve it in liquid or mix it with food to properly experience the taste!” (Lewin)

The moment Paul heard what I said, he slammed the desk loudly while huffing and puffing. Because of his weight, it had made an incredibly loud sound, and the things on top of the desk hovered in the air for a brief moment.

“W-Wouldn’t t-this be the same thing as Magic Powder? This i-is the raw material for Magic Powder…! W-Where did you find this?! G-Grezesta― N-No, I have to see if it tastes any different first!” (Paul)

Paul’s eyes widened as he looked chaotically from one edge of the room to the other. By the looks of it, he seemed to have some kind of idea about the Glutamate Herb.

But… Magic Powder? While waiting quietly for Paul to finish confirming the taste of the Glutamate Herb, I thought about those words I had never heard before.