Chapter 27

Gabus suddenly blurted out, "We would like to have the exclusive right to purchase."

I was taken aback by this unexpected statement and lost for words. After a few seconds of freezing,

"…Huh?"

was all I could manage to squeeze out. But Gabus sighed and shook his head.

"You're a slow learner, aren't you? Are you really a merchant? For your sake, I'll say it one more time."

This time, Gabus spoke more clearly.

"We are offering to buy all the 'matches' that your store deals with."

"Does that mean the matches will be gone from our store?"

"Of course. All of them."

"But if the matches are gone, it will inconvenience the customers who come to buy them. Our store is used not only by adventurers but also by the people living in the town. Without matches, it would be—"

"Are you stupid? If there are no matches in this store, they can buy them from our 'Plunderers of the Labyrinth' branch in town. You can't even understand such a simple thing, which is why you can only do business in the frontier."

"I understand. I'm saying this knowing that. Because if the matches are bought from our store, the selling price will go up, right?"

"…There will be some markup, of course," Gabus said without a hint of shame. This face… it's definitely not a small markup.

Sure, I also mark up the price from the Japanese price. But Gabus's face is worrying. He's definitely planning to sell them at an exorbitant price.

"Lord Gabus, I would like you to wait a moment."

Karen, unable to stand it any longer, interrupted the conversation. Gabus frowned visibly.

"What is it, mayor? I'm talking to this fool—oh, I mean, the store owner."

"Ninorichi's existence is entirely due to Shiro's kindness. Even for the town's development, an exclusive right to purchase…."

"Mayor, you don't understand anything. Listen, we 'Plunderers of the Labyrinth' have branches throughout the kingdom. That means if you sell us the 'matches,' we can sell them throughout the kingdom. In this desolate frontier town, sales are limited. But,"

Gabus looked at me, a seductive smile on his face.

"If you sell them to us, it's the same as selling them to all the citizens of the kingdom. The profit you can make will be incomparable to what you have now."

"I see. The market will expand to the entire country."

"That's right."

"Indeed, it's a very tempting offer, but… I'm sorry, I must decline."

"Why?"

"It's simple. I can't possibly stock enough matches to sell throughout the country."

As I said this with a guilty expression,

"Hmm. 'Stock,' you say."

Gabus leaned in closer, so close that our bellies almost touched. He didn't take his eyes off me.

"As I mentioned earlier, we have branches throughout the kingdom. We receive various information from adventurers about items and specialties unique to each region."

"Ah, I see."

Gabus paused, then continued after gauging my reaction.

"But, strangely, we haven't heard anything about 'matches' from anywhere, not even from guilds in other countries with which we have relations. Don't you find that odd? An item that doesn't exist anywhere on the continent is somehow found in this remote frontier town."

"Hehe, the craftsman who makes the matches is a bit eccentric and only does business with me—"

"Lie," Gabus cut in before I could dodge.

"Actually, over the past few days, we 'Plunderers of the Labyrinth' have been using our adventurers to investigate you. Despite the matches selling out several times, there was no sign of you leaving town to restock."

"Ugh…"

I recalled the female adventurer who had entered the store a few days ago. She had asked a lot of questions without buying anything, which I found a bit strange… So, she was investigating me.

And the reason for the delayed arrival was that they were searching for me. Shit. That means Karen's sunburn might be all my fault.

"Have you considered the possibility that I have a storage item?"

"That would be a strange story. If you had a way to transport a large number of matches, there would be no reason to sell them in the frontier."

"Maybe I just like this town?"

"Hehehe… Don't be ridiculous. It would be more believable if you were deceived by the mayor's charm."

I couldn't reveal that I'm a person from another world who came from Japan, so I was at a loss for words.

"From all this, there are not many conclusions we can draw."

Gabus leaned in even closer, almost touching noses. I never thought I would be this close to a middle-aged man in my life.

"You, the craftsman who makes the matches."

Gabus said this with a confident grin, like a housekeeper in a suspense drama. Everyone in the store was surprised and simultaneously realized the truth.

"Your true identity is probably a banished alchemist, right? Perhaps the materials for matches are found in this forest, or you have a reason not to show your face in the capital, or both."

Gabus piled up his misconceptions, and before I knew it, I was an alchemist.

Well, what should I do?

How should I resolve this situation?

As I was racking my brain, Karen stepped in between us, standing protectively in front of me and looking at Gabus.

"I'm sorry, Lord Gabus. I don't want to involve Shiro in this matter. If you insist on pushing for the exclusive right to purchase, I would like you to forget about setting up a branch."

She said this clearly and firmly.