Chapter 45

I flew over the wall and left the city, strengthening my magic armor as I ran and took off into the sky. Unlike during the exam, it was a straight path, so I probably reached top speed in no time. From my experience of crashing into trees, I think this strength would be enough to withstand even supersonic shock waves, and the damage to the surroundings would be minimal, or rather, only the monsters would suffer, which is not my concern.

I accelerated with full force, away from the road. The land between Fotoren and Desibatoru is a relatively narrow strip surrounded by the sea, and Fotoren blocks the entire area, so there was no risk of getting lost. This was a consideration to avoid accidents involving people. I could see monsters here and there, but there was no need to worry; if they got caught up in it, they just had bad luck.

The straight acceleration was indeed incredible. I probably reached the speed I had when circling the outskirts of Fotoren in less than five minutes. I continued to accelerate, and when I reached about three times the speed I had in Fotoren, something happened.

With a 'Bang,' the ground nearby was gouged out. At the same time, the acceleration stopped. A monster within the range of the touchpad must have been blown sideways. It was a bit noisy, and the acceleration stopped, but there were no other significant problems.

I flew, scattering thunder and shock waves. It would be very convenient if just doing this could complete a monster hunting request, but unfortunately, I couldn't tell if they were dead. When a meteorite fell in Russia, there were injuries but no deaths, so it's possible.

I arrived at Fotoren in less than an hour, despite the pollution. Of course, I slowed down before approaching Fotoren. It would be bad to kill innocent people, even if I were a thief.

I left here yesterday, but it feels like a long time ago. First, I headed to the magic item shop. Checking my guild card while walking, I saw that the range of slaying records was filled with Black Wolves. They might be weak to shock waves.

I arrived at the magic item shop, which looked cleaner than the last time I visited. It must have been cleaned. When I entered, I saw Catherine seriously working on a reddish magic stone. After a while, she took her hands off the stone and spoke.

"Hey."

"…Ah, hello."

"Ah, how are you doing?"

"I'm in great shape. I was making barrier stones, and they're selling as soon as I make them. It seems I'm doing a pretty good job."

She hadn't actually made magic items until a little while ago, so it was surprising. Is making magic items that easy, or is there a severe shortage of supply?

"Is it profitable?"

"Minus my salary, I've entrusted it to the commercial guild. I was planning to give it to you when you came."

"Got it. Keep doing that. …Is this a barrier stone?"

"Yes, this one costs about 20,000 tel per piece, and it would be around 100,000 tel as a magic item."

It's indeed a bigger stone than the crab's. At 100,000 tel, the usage would be limited. In Desibatoru, it would only be worth two trees.

"Can barrier stones be used in combat? If you can't attack, it's meaningless, right?"

"You can attack from inside the barrier with magic. It seems to be used to protect rear magic users."

Like a substitute for magic armor. It does seem convenient, but the cost-effectiveness for me would be terrible.

"Got it. By the way, I want to hire a merchant to set up a guild. Where should I go?"

"Are you setting up a guild? If so, it's probably the commercial guild… What are you going to sell?"

"I think it would be profitable to transport monster materials from Desibatoru. I also plan to get involved in other profitable ventures."

"Oh, you have an item box. For a shopkeeper, a slave merchant might be fine, but for a guild, the commercial guild is better."

"Can commercial guild members be trusted? I don't want them to run off with the goods or money."

"Well, if you use a contract magic, you can trust them. It costs about 50,000 tel to use a magic stone, but it's worth it."

That's a bit expensive, but it's good news. The most difficult part, trust, can be resolved for the price of one tree.

"Got it. I'll use that. Thanks."

I left the shop and entered the commercial guild. The receptionist was a young man.

"Excuse me, I want to hire a merchant. What should I do?"

"What kind of business and what kind of person are you looking for?"

"I want to entrust the guild to someone. I need someone excellent and trustworthy, even if it costs a bit more."

"That's a tough request, but if you have a lot of money, there might be a good rumor. How much can you spend?"

Money again. The 60 million I earned from one day of logging yesterday shouldn't be a problem. I'll be cutting a lot more tomorrow.

"About 60 million?"

The receptionist's eyes widened in surprise.

"No… That's way too much! At most, 20 million."

Surprisingly cheap. Well, humans aren't a one-time purchase. I forgot that 20 million a year is quite high.

"Is that per year?"

A million a month is a bit much. Even 20 million a year could result in a deficit.

"Of course not. It wouldn't cost that much per year. A medium-sized guild went bankrupt, and the daughter, who is both beautiful and capable, became a slave. The price was sky-high, and everyone was wondering who would buy her."

A slave. It is convenient, but 20 million seems cheap for those specifications.

"Is 20 million expensive? It seems like a reasonable amount."

"Not at all. A regular slave costs around 3 million, and you have to keep spending money after you buy them. If they work for free, their motivation drops, so you have to pay them, which increases the cost."

So, even slaves are like employment contracts with strict terms, low pay, or no pay, but with a lump sum. It's not as convenient as I thought, but it's not a problem.

"I want to buy. Where should I go? Can I use a Desibatoru card?"

"The slave merchant is around the corner. The card should be accepted, as it's a large store."

"Thank you, I'll go check it out."

It seems like it will work out. I opened the door of the slave merchant.

"Welcome. What kind of slave are you looking for today?"

Unlike other stores, I was greeted as soon as I entered. Maybe because it's a high-end product.

"Ah, I'm looking for a manager. I heard there's a good slave."

"Could it be the daughter of the Broken Guild? What's your budget?"

Saying that won't help the negotiation. I'll say a slightly lower amount.

"I can't say how much I have, but I heard 17 million is the market price."

"You're 500,000 short. The market price is around 22 million. Why don't you take a look?"

While we were talking, a cup of tea was placed in front of me. Is this a strategy to make me feel uncomfortable and back out? It might work on Japanese people, but I'm not sure about this world.

"Sure, I can't tell her abilities without talking to her."

"Please follow me."

I was led to a room like a reception area and introduced to the slave. She didn't look like a slave, and she was dressed neatly. She was tall, had a good figure, and was a beautiful woman with a generous bust. However, that's not relevant to management. I'll get straight to the point. There's no need to use formal language.

"I'm thinking of entrusting the management of my guild to you. What do you think?"

"I'd love to! I've been studying for this!"

Hmm, good impression. Her motivation seems fine. The next step is her ability and my situation. It's not a regular guild.

"First, if you join my guild, you'll have to use a contract magic. It's necessary for keeping secrets. Is that okay?"

"No problem!"

I'll test her ability and my situation together. It feels like a job interview. Tell me your motivation for joining our company… But she didn't apply. I'll go straight to the point.

"My guild is different from a regular one. It will handle the sale of monster materials I hunt or buy at a low price in Desibatoru, and the management of patents I own. It will be a different kind of guild. Is that okay? If so, how would you manage it?"

"I don't think it will work. There are valid reasons why most monsters from Desibatoru don't come here. The transportation cost doesn't justify the value of the materials, except for magic stones and some particularly useful parts. Also, there's no need to set up a guild to sell what a single adventurer can hunt. If you already have patents, maintaining the current system is enough, and I don't think a guild is necessary. In short, I don't think it will work as a guild."

Hmm, she pointed out the flaws. I can't tell if she's capable, but she's not completely useless.

"I'm a special adventurer. My item box has almost infinite capacity, at least I haven't seen the bottom yet. I transported about 11 tons of food to Desibatoru the other day. Do you think it would work with this capacity?"

"If that's true, I'd love to do it."

"I don't think there's any reason to lie."

"But some people lie for no reason. It would be helpful if you could show me some proof."

Proof… Oh.

"This is my Desibatoru transporter card. The weight is over 275,000 kg. Does this convince you?"

"Forging… is impossible, as it's punishable by death. I'm convinced. What about the capital?"

"I can provide this much for now. I don't know if we'll expand to this scale."

I showed her the Desibatoru card, which had a value of nearly 80 million.

"That much? It seems like too much compared to what I heard."

"Then it's not a problem. Excuse me, I want to buy her. Is 22 million, including the contract magic, okay?"

The slave merchant replied.

"Yes, please give me your card. I thought you would try to haggle a bit more."

It's not a big deal if I'm overcharged a little. I handed over the card. After some operations, the card was returned with 22 million deducted. I had her use the contract magic with basic conditions like 'not to run away, generally follow orders, and keep secrets,' and we left the store.

"Let's go."

"Yes."

I need to get back to Desibatoru by noon tomorrow. I need to prepare to set up the guild by then.

"…Ah, what's your name?"

I forgot to ask.

"Melcia."

It's not relevant to business, but it's good to know.