Chapter 18

"Hehe, just the two of us, Alm斯..."

"Don't get too close."

Xiaoming and Tetrax were in the colonial city of Lezado, a city-state of the Kirishia people in Claris. After all, good things should be done promptly.

What we brought were provisions for the journey, Suei pottery, and salt as a form of currency. We also had honey for gifts and a letter of introduction from King Rosais. And an iron sword for self-defense. We only came to meet with an influential Kirishia person, so we didn’t bring much.

It would be nice if we could buy things on credit. If not, we’d have to bring a large group to transport the Suei pottery again.

I want lighter trade goods.

"By the way, why don’t they have their own writing system? It’s so troublesome."

I looked at the wooden tablet written in Kirishia. To learn the script, I first need to learn the Kirishia language. It’s incredibly troublesome. Numbers are easy, but for sentences, I need to learn it thoroughly.

I finally mastered the language of this region, but now I have to learn Kirishia.

"Why don’t you create one, Alm斯?"

"Great idea. If there’s a chance, I might... Just kidding."

It would be faster to learn Kirishia than to create a new script.

"By the way, you always refer to this area. Is there no specific name for it?"

"There is a name, the Adelnia Peninsula."

"What do the Kirishia people call us?"

"Barbaroi, or Peninsula people. And simply, savages."

Well, from the perspective of people with advanced culture, we might be savages.

"Can I ask one more question?"

"What?"

"I see something that looks like currency over there. Weren’t they supposed to not exist?"

I remember having a conversation about this.

When was it...

Right, right after we met the children.

I remember Ron asking, "What is currency?"

"Only a very small number of people know about currency."

"I see."

So, the wealthy have it. In Japan, they even issued a law to promote the accumulation of money, so it’s likely that common farmers don’t know about it.

As we were talking, we arrived at the port. We had walked quite a distance without realizing it.

"This is the sea..."

"Is it your first time?"

Tetrax nodded.

It smelled of salt, but it was subtly different from the sea in Japan.

"There are some pretty big ships."

Several ships were docked at the port.

They were about thirty meters long, which would be considered quite large in this world’s cultural context.

"I’ve heard that the Kirishia are skilled in navigation."

Of course, they’ve built colonial cities so far away and engage in trade, so they must have much higher technology than us.

"Well, where is Mr. Eyns who sells livestock?"

We weren’t meeting him at a specific time, so we needed to find him.

"Let’s start looking."

"Before that, let’s check the value of our goods... the Suei pottery and honey. We might get cheated."

That’s a good idea. After all, these people think we’re barbarians. There’s a good chance they might try to cheat us.

We showed the Suei pottery to a Kirishia merchant who specialized in ceramics. On the mat he had spread out were similar earthenware pots.

In terms of quality, they looked almost the same.

"What do you think?"

"…Well, if you sell it in Kirishia, I’d buy it for thirty bronze coins. If you sell it here… thirty didar (500 grams) of salt."

Incidentally, I heard from a passing merchant that one hundred bronze coins equal one silver coin, and ten silver coins equal one gold coin. One kilogram of salt is worth about one silver coin.

So, if we sell it here, we can get 1.6 times the price in Kirishia. Not a bad deal.

By the way, I heard that one silver coin in Kirishia is enough to live comfortably for a month. Roughly, one silver coin is equivalent to about 100,000 yen in Japanese currency.

"Did you make this? Who did you learn from?"

"I came up with it myself."

When I said that, the merchant’s eyes widened.

"That’s impressive. I’d prefer you not to spread it around."

"We won’t. We don’t want to lose our profit, so we won’t give away the method for free."

It’s an important card.

"One more thing. How much is honey? I want to buy some as a gift."

"Forget it. It’s not something you can buy as a gift. A pot like this costs about three gold coins."

The man held up a pot.

It’s ridiculously expensive. Wonderful.

Honey will be our main product.

"By the way, what are you buying here?"

Trade isn’t just about selling. You use the money you earn from selling to buy other things and sell them elsewhere.

If you return with an empty ship, it’s a waste.

Of course, they must be buying something from this area, but I can’t figure out what.

There’s no grain because of recent poor harvests. Besides, this area isn’t suitable for wheat cultivation.

There are no minerals like iron. No cultural artifacts either.

"Well, the main thing is salt. This area has high-quality rock salt, and Kirishia has a large population, so the demand for salt is high."

Is this area known for salt production? I didn’t know that.

I might find it if I search the forest. Should I look?

"Also, slaves."

Of course, that’s what I expected.

This area is divided into small countries, so wars are constant. Slaves can be obtained cheaply and in large numbers.

"Thank you for the information."

"Sure. Here."

The man held out his hand. He wanted a tip for the information.

I placed a small bag of salt in his hand.

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"Well, this is Mr. Eyns’ place."

In front of us stood a rather impressive building.

It’s smaller than King Rosais’ castle, but it doesn’t look inferior. In fact, it’s made of stone, so it’s probably more durable than the wooden castle.

"Excuse me."

I knocked on the door and rang the bell.

After a while, a man with brown skin came out. He had a collar around his neck.

"What is it?"

"I want to discuss business with Mr. Eyns."

"Unfortunately, my master is busy…"

"Then please show him this."

I handed him the wooden tablet from King Rosais. The man took it with a puzzled look and disappeared into the building.

After a while, he returned.

"Please come in."

Sure enough, a letter of introduction from the king has its influence, even in a small country.

Yuria had a lot of salt, so maybe King Rosais’ country produces a lot of salt.

"Hello, I’m Eyns. Who are you?"

A young man appeared in front of me and said in Kirishia.

He’s young. I thought he’d be an old man, given that he’s a major merchant.

"My name is Alm斯. This is Tetrax."

"Pleased to meet you."

We replied in Kirishia. Thanks to the ‘Blessing of Language,’ I can speak Kirishia perfectly, and Tetrax can speak it from the start. Apparently, her mother was Kirishia. Being bilingual is admirable.

Eyns looked surprised at our fluent Kirishia.

"You speak very well."

"Hehe, just a little."

I can’t say it’s thanks to the blessing.

"Do you want to buy livestock?"

"Yes, I heard you handle them here."

When I answered, Eyns looked me up and down. I’m just a fifteen-year-old kid, and I came with a letter of introduction from a king of a small country. He must be curious.

"Excuse me, but… what is your position?"

"Well… how should I put it. The king hasn’t officially declared it yet."

To be honest, we’re like an independent country. We have territory, citizens, and sovereignty.

"I see…"

Eyns had a thoughtful expression. I hope he misunderstands it grandly.

"Cows cost three gold coins, and horses cost four gold coins. If you pay in kind, I’ll ask for a bit more."

"I see. Actually, I didn’t bring money this time… I just came to check the prices. Can I come back in two weeks?"

"Sure. By the way, how many do you plan to buy?"

"Let’s see. One horse and two cows."

So, a total of ten gold coins. I need three pots of honey to pay for it.

It’s barely enough.

It’s tough that we can’t produce enough honey. We might need to create another product.

"Understood. I’ll prepare them. See you in two weeks."

This way, we acquired new labor.