Chapter 89

"Are you really human?"

That's rude.

Since I've become S-rank, it's pointless to hold back, so I just decided to get a bit serious.

It's just that the first time I tried a long-lasting spell, it worked better than expected.

What else could I be if not human?

"My magic power is just more than average, but I'm a regular human."

"You're clearly not a regular human..."

I think this adventurer, who used to live in Desibatora, shouldn't be talking.

Even a weak adventurer in Desibatora would be an ace in a regular city.

"People from Desibatora seem crazy to ordinary folks, so it's kind of the same."

"Hearing that..."

It seems he understood.

The cleanup is the job of the guild and local adventurers, so my job is to submit the report and finish.

There might be a celebration afterward, but since the residents are evacuating, there's no time for that, so everyone disperses.

At this rate, the large-scale outbreak won't be much of a burden for me.

The pay is good, and the only hassle is being tied up for almost a day.

If I just activate a longer-lasting spell and return, it would almost be a matter of travel time, but I'm afraid of failing.

While thinking about such things, I arrived at Fortren.

...But something seemed off.

There were a lot of people gathered in one place.

Was there an event?

To check, I entered the town through the gate and walked to where there were a lot of people.

Then, I understood the situation. It didn't seem to be an event.

I couldn't see what was at the front of the line, but everyone in the queue was a merchant pulling carts or carriages.

The line was moving steadily, though slowly.

There were a lot of people, but the line was stretched out due to the carts and carriages, so it didn't seem as crowded as it looked from a distance.

From the length of the line, it would take less than an hour to reach the front, but I didn't feel like waiting to see.

I could probably find out what was happening at the guild.

So, I left the line and headed to the Maple Guild, but my path was blocked by a crowd here too.

These were ordinary people, not merchants.

The line was moving steadily, but it would take 40 to 50 minutes to reach the guild.

I considered taking a side street, but Fortren's geography is subtly complex.

Entering an unfamiliar alley wouldn't be a smart choice.

So, I decided to fly.

While not common, there are people who fly to shortcut their way in Fortren, which is close to Desibatora.

Thinking I might as well check the reason for the queue while flying, I saw the front of the line.

Coincidentally, it was my destination—Maple Guild.

People leaving the guild were holding bags with something inside.

Whatever it was, the only thing that came to mind was sugar.

I left for Soltia when the preparations were almost complete, but I didn't expect such a commotion.

I didn't feel like entering through the front door, and the back door was busy with employees, so I entered the second floor through an open window.

Noise from the first floor could be heard, but the second floor seemed relatively calm. They must have assigned a lot of staff to the ground floor.

Maple Guild doesn't deal only with sugar, and it would be problematic if the headquarters were overwhelmed.

"Ms. Kaede... how did you get in?"

"The back door was busy, and I didn't feel like entering through the front... but it seems to be quite a commotion."

"Something that only nobles could buy is now within reach of the common people. It's chaotic now, but it should settle down once it spreads."

Well, it's normal for a new store selling rare items to have such a scene.

The queue won't continue indefinitely.

Actually, it would be a problem if it did.

"I saw a queue of merchants too. Was that for sugar as well?"

Now that I think about it, the destination of the merchants' queue was probably the warehouse used for sugar production.

"Yes. Maple Guild has grown, but it's not a large-scale guild with nationwide distribution. If we make too much profit, we might be resented."

It's good to spread the benefits around.

I don't think I can be easily assassinated, but there are other underhanded methods besides targeting Merxia or using force.

"Thanks. I don't want to be on the bad side of a large guild."

"Maple Guild is quite popular with both the common people and other guilds."

"I've been causing a lot of trouble... but they like us?"

It's not surprising that some people wouldn't be happy with a new guild growing so quickly.

"Yes. Regular guilds might need to use some underhanded methods to gain popularity, but Maple Guild has a strong product that's profitable even without them. ...And no guild wants to make an enemy of you."

"Me?"

I'm quite famous in the adventurer guild, but my connections with other guilds are limited to artifacts, dragons, and the recent outbreak.

I doubt I have a significant relationship with more than a few percent of the guilds.

"Merchants thrive on information, so rumors spread easily. ...By the way, not all the details are accurate, but it's convenient, so I let it be."

What a misunderstanding... but I can see why.

If I heard a rumor that 'the owner of that guild burned an area the size of a city in seconds,' I wouldn't think they were mild-mannered.

I've only fought a few nobles and some bandits, but it's hard to believe such rumors would spread.

If they fear me and avoid making enemies, that's convenient, but it's a bit unsatisfying.

What about an image campaign?

For example, dramatically burning a city where monsters appear (of course, just the monsters) and smiling with the burning ground and monsters behind me... that would be counterproductive.

I can only wait for a normal image to develop through the guild.

"Is there anything else unusual besides the queue?"

"The guild wants to expand the warehouse for sugar. The budget can be covered by sales, but it's a big project, so we need your approval."

A warehouse.

It might be a big investment, but considering the sales of Zunana grass and sugar, it doesn't feel that big.

If Merxia is in charge, she won't do anything reckless.

"A few warehouses can be added at Merxia's discretion... but you mentioned something else?"

"Yes. We recently received information that the Tsubai Guild successfully created a three-structure artifact."

We don't have a close relationship with the Tsubai Guild, but it was one of the large guilds involved in artifact creation.

Tsubai is a town we stayed in on the way from Ein to Elara, but the Tsubai Guild's current headquarters is in the city of Drai.

"...How did they do it?"

Catherine said she could probably create a three-structure artifact with a sub-dragon's magic stone, but did they really use one? For a three-structure?

Or did they use a combined magic stone...

"Catherine, who saw the unveiling, said it was probably an Arctrent's magic stone. The method isn't public, but Catherine said the Tsubai Guild's magic tool department is excellent, so they might have succeeded normally."

They didn't use a combined magic stone.

However, if there's a guild with superior processing technology, we should consider collaboration...

We can't monopolize combined magic stones forever, and there are issues with misuse, so we plan to start selling them soon.

Artifact creation is progressing in a general direction, but the ultimate goal is to create a magic freezer to handle dragon appearances.

Cooperating with trustworthy guilds was always an option.

Well, it's not too late to test the Arctrent's magic stone.

"Let's hear the details from Catherine. Technical matters are her domain. Is that all the guild-related news?"

"Yes, we can handle the rest. Catherine is in the workshop."

"Hmm..."

In the workshop, Catherine was looking at a magic tool with a puzzled expression.

From the decorations, it didn't seem to be made by Maple Guild.

The magic stone wasn't large, but considering what I just heard, it was probably from the Tsubai Guild.

"Is this Tsubai's research?"

"Yes... Mr. Kaede?"

"I heard they completed a three-structure artifact. Since you saw it, I wanted to hear the details. What's the Tsubai workshop's three-structure like?"

"Well... it's not very powerful. The output of the artifact itself is large, so it might have fooled ordinary people, but the operation is unstable, like a beginner's magic tool."

"So, it's not very impressive?"

"No. It's unstable, but the technology used is probably advanced. From a distance, I think they managed to shrink the magic structure."

Miniaturization.

If the technology stabilizes, it could become a powerful weapon.

"I'm considering joint research... what do you think?"

"Right now, we can do things independently, so I think it's best to observe. If we show them the combined magic stone, they probably won't refuse."

"Then, let's observe for now."

Since the combined magic stone is a strong card, it's unlikely we'll be too late.

Unless someone else succeeds first.

"Let's put the Tsubai Guild aside. I just came back from the outbreak. Can these magic stones be used for artifacts?"

Saying that, I took out a few relatively large magic stones from the ones dropped during the outbreak.

There will be more outbreaks, so if these can be used for artifacts, we can make as many as we want.

Catherine took the magic stones, widened her eyes, and placed them on the table.

She took another one and looked surprised again.

After repeating this a few times and examining all the magic stones, she tilted her head and said:

"Excellent magic stones. They have a lot of magic power and are the highest quality I've seen, except for sub-dragons... but are they from a fire monster?"

"Probably not, but why?"

"The quality is excellent, but the attribute is heavily biased towards fire. I've never seen such a magic stone."

Most monsters turned to ash before I could see them, so I can't be sure they weren't fire monsters, but I don't remember seeing any.

Maybe the abnormal mana caused the monsters to have strange magic power.

...Wait, fire?

That's the attribute I used to exterminate them...

I've included the activity report and the continuation of the book in the report.

There are rough sketches too!