Chapter 57

"Hey, I heard, kid. No, Ars. It seems you gave some land to a traveler. Why didn't you let me know?"

"Hmm? A traveling merchant like you doesn't need land, right?"

"Don't say that. We're friends, aren't we? I want to open a store, not just keep peddling goods. Look, please, can you give me some land to open a store?"

The traveling merchant, with whom I've been doing business for a while, called out to me. It seems he heard that Gran, who travels around, built a house here. I can't help but be impressed by how quickly the news spread.

"But, you know, you were once tricked into thinking I didn't have a magic-using servant beast."

"Ugh, I already told you, I didn't know that before."

"I can't tell if that's true or not."

"If you're going to say that, it's the same for me. I didn't know Valkyrie could use magic either."

Well, it seems we always end up at this point. Magic-using servant beasts are apparently very rare and are traded as ultra-high-end items, even in the already expensive servant beast market. The merchant didn't know this. Strictly speaking, the current trading price of Valkyrie might not be appropriate. However, I didn't tell him initially that Valkyrie could use magic, and he didn't know either. It wouldn't make sense to blame either of us.

The merchant already knows that Valkyrie, the servant beast, can use magic. In fact, many people knew this once I surrounded the land with a wall. It was impossible to hide the fact that I was moving around for months with a servant beast to build the wall. However, I only slightly increased Valkyrie's trading price and didn't treat it as a high-end item. I've been selling Valkyrie with the horns cut off, making it unable to use magic. Only the villagers know that Valkyrie can use magic, and to outsiders, it looks like an ordinary riding servant beast. No one in the village knows the market price of servant beasts, so no one will question it for a while.

"Fine, I'll allow you to open a store. It would be nice if you could open a restaurant."

Despite our bickering, I trust this merchant because we've been dealing with each other for a long time. If he wants to open a store, that's fine. However, I do wonder if there's any point in opening a store in a place where only bartering takes place. Since I've been busy with household chores since leaving my home, it would be nice to have a place to eat to save time.

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"By the way, there's something else I wanted to tell you, Ars."

"What is it? I can be a bit flexible with the location for your store."

"That's appreciated. But it's not that. I overheard some unpleasant rumors."

"Unpleasant rumors?"

"Yeah, about this land. It seems people are saying there are dangerous people here."

"Dangerous people? There's no one like that here, right?"

"Seems you weren't aware. Listen, this is about you. People are saying you might be dangerous."

"Me? Why? There's no one as pure and innocent as me, right?"

"…Let's put aside what you think of yourself for now. Just be careful, okay? People might think you're dangerous."

"Hmm. Even if that was a joke, I haven't done anything dangerous… I wonder why they're saying that."

"Hey, are you an idiot? Think about it from the perspective of the noble who governs this area. A huge, fortified place appeared in the northern village. It's not surprising they'd feel uneasy."

"But this wall is for protection against wild boars. I can't just tear it down now."

"I understand that. But they're probably shocked by its sudden appearance. The noble might come to check it out eventually. Make sure you explain it properly."

"Got it. Thanks for letting me know. I appreciate it."

I see. I thought I had some leeway since I have a permit for this land. When I paid last year's taxes, nothing unusual was said. But now that I think about it, it makes sense. I'll have to figure out how to justify it before the next tax payment.

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