Chapter 28

"Although I brought additional eggs of servile beasts, my goodness, it seems that all the ones I gave you before have already hatched..."

After I had spent some time opening up the forest and expanding the fields, immersing myself in riding training, the traveling merchant came to the village again.

According to the contract we had made earlier, he had brought new eggs of servile beasts.

When I told him that all the eggs from the previous batch had hatched, he was greatly surprised.

It seems that the traveling merchant had expected that only one or two of the eggs would have hatched by now.

Apparently, the eggs of the servile beasts I raised grew much faster.

It might be due to the effect of [Magic Infusion].

Usually, they absorb the magic power of the person who holds them naturally, and it often takes more than a month to hatch a single egg.

Moreover, since multiple eggs cannot develop simultaneously, it takes a lot of time.

That's why he was surprised to see the servile beasts that had already grown into adults.

"Well, you can sell them now. What do you want to do? By the way, do you have any buyers in mind?"

"Huh? Oh, right. To be honest, I didn't plan to sell them at first."

"Huh? So, are you going to use them for trading yourself?"

"That's one option, but not this time. I'm going to give them away, for free."

"Huh? You were saying that these servile beasts would definitely sell, and now you're planning to give them away for free? I don't understand what you're thinking."

"Hehehe. Don't you get it? Ars, you're still just a kid."

"What do you mean? If you're talking about giving them to a woman, I'll consider breaking the contract."

"No, no, it's not like that."

"Then what are you planning to do?"

"I'm going to present them. To the noble who governs this land."

"Present them to a noble?"

"Yes. Do you remember what I told you before?"

"…What are you talking about?"

"I was talking about how traveling merchants like me don't have the connections to handle expensive items."

I think I heard something like that, but I'm not sure.

What was it again?

I tried to dig up my memory in response to the traveling merchant's words.

I remember that I once asked the traveling merchant to buy my white porcelain and glass dishes at a higher price.

However, while he offered a price several times higher than that of ordinary tableware, he didn't consider them as high-end items.

One reason for this was that the traveling merchant lacked the connections to sell such items at a high price.

In this land, where the noble class exists, it is necessary to have a certain level of trust to sell goods to nobles.

Usually, large stores monopolize transactions with nobles.

Nobles can order most things from their dedicated stores, and the long-term business relationship provides a level of trust, reducing the risk of receiving subpar goods.

Dedicated stores, in turn, have the exclusive right to trade with nobles, but they must take responsibility if anything goes wrong.

This means they have to conduct their business seriously.

This strong connection between sellers and buyers makes it difficult for new entrants to enter the market.

Naturally, traveling merchants who come to our village have no connections with nobles.

No matter how much I claimed that my dishes were valuable, they wouldn't buy them at the price I wanted.

If they were that expensive, they could only be sold to nobles, but I couldn't even meet them properly.

However, this time it's different.

This time, the items in question are not the dishes I made, but the servile beasts that can be ridden, which are recognized as valuable and useful in this world.

There is definitely a demand for them.

They will definitely sell wherever they are presented.

Then, why is he talking about presenting them instead of selling them?

This is related to the current social situation.

Right now, wars are being fought in this land with a certain frequency.

Rideable servile beasts are a significant factor in winning these wars.

In other words, they are strategic resources.

If these strategic resources were sold to a noble who is an enemy of the noble who governs this land, what would happen?

Most likely, the lives of all involved would be at risk.

Therefore, it is impossible to do business without the noble's approval.

That's why the traveling merchant decided to give them away for free before making the first transaction.

If the noble likes them, it could lead to future purchases, and most importantly, it would create a strong connection with the noble.

There's also a possibility that it could lead to connections with other nobles.

It seems that there is such a strategy, or rather, a calculation.

"Well, that's why I'm going to visit that noble's house this time. Please tell your father as well."

It seems that the traveling merchant also considers this transaction a big opportunity.

He plans to go to the noble's house not only to sell the servile beasts but also to bring along my father, who is my guardian, to make a formal visit.

This is how I ended up leaving the village for the first time.

Thank you for reading.

I would appreciate it if you could bookmark and rate this.