Chapter 6

Today is a beautiful day. The sky, a clear blue, feels incredibly refreshing, and the slight breeze that tickles my cheeks is very pleasant. Yet, why do I have to pull this incredibly heavy cart to the Merchant Guild? It’s really annoying. I even thought about hiring someone to pull the cart, but at this point, it doesn’t seem wise to have much contact with people. I need to decide whether to settle down in this town of Hajime, move to another town, find companions, or what would be the best course of action. For now, I just want to quickly deliver this heavy white sugar to the Merchant Guild and be free.

"Good morning, Mr. Groce."

"Good morning, Ms. Umbrella."

The back of the Merchant Guild building is an area lined with large warehouses, and I had come to one corner of this warehouse district as instructed by the Merchant Guild. Despite being a warehouse district, it’s far from quiet, with people and goods constantly moving around. It’s as busy as a logistics warehouse for an online shopping site on Earth.

"That cart is something I've never seen before. What is on the wheels... oh, this is... it has a certain elasticity, I see... Mr. Groce, where did you get this cart?"

"Huh? Oh, from my hometown. It’s a place far, far away."

"Hmm, I see... By the way, would you be willing to sell this cart?"

*It seems the cart has caught his interest, but are tires really that rare?*

*He seems interested in the rubber on the cart's tires.*

*Rubber, huh? Does this world not have rubber?*

*They do have rubber, but it’s not used for tires.*

"I'm sorry, but I can't sell it."

"No, no, I apologize for asking such a strange question."

After that, I unloaded the white sugar into a corner of the warehouse, received the payment and the sales certificate, and was about to leave the Merchant Guild when Ms. Umbrella said she had something to discuss and led me to a negotiation area. The Merchant Guild assured me they would take good care of the cart, so I left it with them.

"I'm sorry to stop you."

"It's fine."

"I have a request... "

Ms. Umbrella's request was for more white sugar. It seems that after supplying one of the town's leading stores, the response within the town was very positive, and a merchant from another town who happened to be in town for procurement also noticed it, saying that 200 kilograms was insufficient. She asked me to supply an additional 500 kilograms.

*Master, if you supply too much at once, there's a risk of attracting the attention of merchants who deal with existing sugar. A cautious approach is necessary.*

*I agree with Ins. Since I don’t have much white sugar in stock, I told her I would respond later.*

*Why not use [Mail Order] to purchase other goods and trade a variety of items to diversify the risk?*

*That makes sense. Handling a variety of goods will increase sales and provide a hedge against the risk of a single product. Yes, I’ll do that.*

"I can't answer about the white sugar right away, but how about other goods? I didn’t bring them today, but I can bring them this afternoon."

"…What kind of goods are those?"

Ah, I hadn’t thought about it.

*Salt will sell, but what about wheat or rice?*

*Salt is fine, but grains aren’t that expensive, and rice isn’t commonly eaten in this region.*

*What about pepper?*

*Pepper is a rare commodity, so it should be fine.*

"Salt and pepper. I believe this town will buy them at a reasonable price."

"Salt is one thing, but pepper is a rare commodity that rarely comes in. Would you be willing to sell these two items exclusively to our guild?"

"That depends on Ms. Umbrella, I think."

"Haha, yes. I’ll do my best."

Thus, I decided to bring salt and pepper to the Merchant Guild in the afternoon. Before returning to the inn, I first went to a secluded place.

*Is anyone around?*

*There’s no one watching you, Master.*

With Ins keeping watch, I stored the cart in my storage. If I pulled the cart back to the inn, I might be charged, and there’s a risk it could be stolen. The main reason, however, is to load the goods inside the room. Fortunately, the room is quite spacious, so there’s no problem storing the cart.

*Are you going to load it to the max?*

*With 200 kilograms of salt, 100 kilograms of black pepper, and 50 kilograms of white pepper, I think it will bring in a decent amount of money, so I won’t have to do business for a while.*

*You’ve already made over 1.8 million yen today and over 2.3 million yen from 200 kilograms of white sugar, so you could live for a few months on that alone.*

*Well, you can never have too much money, and with a few million, it could be gone in a flash if something happens.*

I bought the goods and loaded them onto the cart, grunting with the effort. After finishing the loading, I ordered lunch at the inn’s dining room. Despite being a relatively high-end inn, the food isn’t very tasty. The same goes for the skewers sold on the street; I haven’t found anything delicious in this world yet. It might sound good to say that the flavors of the ingredients are brought out, but the reason is that salt and pepper, which are rare, are in short supply, so the seasoning is very light.

If I could supply these seasonings at a low price and consistently, the food situation in this town of Hajime would improve, but doing so would attract too much attention, so I can’t do it for now.

After lunch, I left the inn but didn’t go to the Merchant Guild, instead wandering around the town. The town of Hajime is quite large, and it would take several days to see everything.

*What are the specialties of this town?*

*The specialty is the meat of a monster called Kaukau.*

*Monster meat is a specialty?*

*Yes, Kaukau is a monster that doesn’t attack humans, so it’s easy to raise. Therefore, the livestock industry is thriving in Hajime.*

I was surprised to learn that there are monsters that don’t attack humans. I always thought monsters attacked humans. However, the punchline is that the food isn’t very tasty despite the meat being a specialty.

*Right, if I want to eat something delicious, I can buy the meat and use [Mail Order] to buy steak sauce, curry, or stew base and cook it myself.*

*Ah, can I buy meat through [Mail Order]?... I should use this skill since I have it. I can cook a bit since I lived alone. I can even fillet a fish and peel a daikon radish, so don’t underestimate me!*

*Ins, can I rent an apartment? A house would be fine too, but I’d be happy if it had a kitchen, shower, and toilet.*

The inn had a shower and toilet, but no kitchen. If I want to cook, I should rent a room.

*If you want a kitchen, toilet, and shower, it’s unlikely to find an apartment, but you might find a house.*

*Where can I rent a house?*

*Most real estate is handled by the Merchant Guild.*

I might ask Ms. Umbrella at the Merchant Guild.

*However, if you rent a house, I recommend having a bodyguard. Master isn’t good at rough stuff.*

That’s true; I’m not good at rough stuff. Even thinking about fighting a rabbit seems impossible.

*Do I really need a bodyguard?*

*The town is relatively safe, but it’s not as safe as Master’s hometown.*

Compared to Japan, life seems to be valued less here, so for safety, a bodyguard is necessary... Yes, it is. I can’t fight.

*But how do I find a trustworthy bodyguard? Combat power can be gauged by status, but character is harder to read. Emotions are easier to understand, but character is difficult to judge.*

*How can I find a bodyguard?*

*You can post a request at the Adventurer’s Guild, buy a combat slave, or recruit through a general call, but each has its pros and cons.*

*Pros and cons?*

*First, adventurers have their combat power guaranteed by their rank, but there’s no guarantee they’ll accept the request, and some may have bad behavior. Also, there’s a risk that Master’s information might leak.*

That’s expected; I need to judge the character of adventurers if I hire them.

*Combat slaves with high combat power are expensive, and those with high combat power rarely become slaves.*

If they have high combat power, they have many job opportunities, so the chances of getting a dud are high.

*With a general call, it’s unlikely that people will gather even if Master posts it. It’s possible if the conditions are good, but with low recognition, the chances are low.*

If I post a general call, people might be suspicious or ignore it, so no one will gather.

*If you need a bodyguard urgently, hire an adventurer. If you want a long-term solution, train a slave. A general call can be excluded for now, but what do you think, Ins?*

*Master’s thinking is the same as mine.*

Then it’s decided. For now, I’ll go with adventurers and slaves.

While talking, I approached the Merchant Guild and, in a secluded place, took out the cart loaded with goods and headed to the Merchant Guild. When I spoke to the receptionist, I was directed to the warehouse area, where Ms. Umbrella was already waiting.

"Mr. Handler, I’ve been waiting for you."

"Ms. Umbrella, good to see you again this morning."

After a quick greeting, I was led to a negotiation area in the warehouse, where I showed her the salt, black pepper, and white pepper. Ms. Umbrella’s eyes widened when she saw the white pepper.

"200 kilograms of salt, 100 kilograms of black pepper, and 50 kilograms of white pepper."

"This is white pepper... the real thing..."

"Is it rare in this town?"

"Not rare, but extremely rare! I’ve worked at this guild for over ten years, and this is the first time I’ve seen white pepper!"

"I see. Then, I’ll supply all of this exclusively to you. I won’t sell it to other merchants, so I hope you can offer a premium price."

"Of course! I’ll offer the highest price within my authority!"

Ms. Umbrella was excited to see the white pepper. The price she offered was 3,500 yen per kilogram for salt, 20,000 yen per kilogram for black pepper, and an astonishing 30,000 yen per kilogram for white pepper.

"I’ve set a high price for the salt due to its quality, but it’s not that rare, so this is the price. However, I’ve offered the highest possible price for the black and especially the white pepper."

Well, there’s no point in arguing here. Besides, I’m not losing anything, so I’ll accept it to maintain a good relationship with Ms. Umbrella.

"That price is fine. But I have one request."

"Thank you. What is it?"

"I need a bodyguard. Since I don’t have any connections in this town, I was hoping you could help me find one."

"I understand. I have no problem with that. I’ll be happy to help."

"Thank you. I want to buy a slave for the long term, but I need an adventurer to protect me and train the slave until the slave is ready."

"I’ll write a letter of introduction to a slave merchant and the Adventurer’s Guild. There will be some costs and paperwork, so please wait a moment."

"Thank you, I appreciate it."