Chapter 93: Payment

I talked to Marie about the adventure guild and it seems that they have not realized that it was me who supplied all the materials. Now it’s time to talk about money.

“As for the payment for the materials, the total comes to 1.8562 billion Elt. The breakdown is as follows: Fire Dragon, 1.4 billion Elt; Assault Dragon, 40 million Elt; Wyvern, 30 million Elt; Firebird, a total of 160 million Elt; three types of herbs, a total of 220 million Elt; Magma Fish, 2.2 million Elt; and Pepper, 4 million Elt. You can also make a deposit with your guild card, but if you prefer to keep it discreet, I have cash prepared as well. What would you like to do?”

…When I hear it again, it’s an incredible amount of money. I’m starting to feel like I don’t care about the Adventurer’s Guild anymore. Buying everything from necessities to luxury items, developing the land of death, and going out to the city when I feel lonely. Wouldn’t that be nice?

But 1.4 billion for a dragon? Isn’t that high? It could be an even more staggering amount… But over 200 million for herbs is also impressive, and I don’t really know the market price. Well, Marie wouldn’t come up with an amount that would immediately expose her as a swindler.

It’s a huge amount of money for me, but as an adventurer, it feels like I still have a long way to go to strike it rich. I need to think about what I want to do in the future. …I want to live a life of extravagance, but I know now is not the time for that.

“Please pay in cash.”

If I withdraw money from the Adventurer’s Guild, it will be obvious, and I didn’t even know that I could make a deposit with the guild card. I told Eltina that I understood most things, but there are still quite a few things I don’t know.

Maybe it’s a good idea to go to a different town and listen carefully once. Although as a spirit magician, it feels like another dispute might arise.

“Understood. Please wait a moment, Sonia.”

When Marie called out, Sonia bowed and left the room. She went to get the money, right? I don’t really understand Marie and Sonia’s relationship.

“Hehe. Yuta-san, I’m truly grateful for providing us with so many valuable materials. Strong individuals are so wonderful,” Marie said, crossing her legs and putting her index finger to her lips. Is this how it’s done in this world? I hope this is Marie’s unique way of doing things. In that case, a Marie covered in desires would be ten times more attractive.

“Thank you very much,” I said, unable to help the flat tone in my voice.

“Uh, um, Yuta-san. Regarding the seasoning you told me about last time, we have several good ones made by mixing powders. However, there’s a lack of consensus even within the research team. Could you confirm it?”

Marie noticed that I was getting tired of the conversation and quickly changed the subject.

“Ah, since I came from a distant place, there might be a different standard, it might create a gap with everyone’s preferred taste. The most reliable approach would be to hold a tasting event and take the opinions of many people into consideration. Also, you could ask some food stalls to use the seasonings in several dishes and sell the popular ones,” I suggested, hoping that they were already considering the advice of professional chefs, and if I gave half-hearted advice and it didn’t sell, I would feel sorry.

“I see. A tasting event and food stalls, huh? It might be good to directly hear the customers’ feedback. But in that case, information will spread, so it might be better to refine the research a bit more before doing that,” Marie said, placing her hand on her chin and pondering seriously. I should take advantage of any opportunities I can. However, when it comes to business discussions, Marie looks so dignified and beautiful.

“Marie, have you tried it? How did it taste?” I asked.

“For me, I prefer the ones with abundant use of herbs. Just sprinkling and grilling made it quite delicious, so I was surprised. By the way, there was a clear division of preferences when it came to garlic powder. Personally, I’m not a fan, but some employees love it, so it’s difficult,” Marie explained.

Indeed, garlic powder seems to have strong preferences. I absolutely love it and tend to use it excessively. I would get worried when I go to work, thinking I used too much. When I make instant ramen, I tend to add extra. I’m the type who gets anxious when I run out of garlic powder and red pepper flakes.

“Well, in that case, since it’s a matter of personal preference, if a product doesn’t sell well, you can simply eliminate it. As long as it’s not a terrible product, it should sell to some extent. It makes cooking easier, you know,” I explained.

I apologize for such a simple answer despite receiving 500,000 Elt. But if it’s quick to make and reasonably delicious, it should sell well, right?

“Yes, I think so too. I feel confident about it. Once the products are ready, I’ll try them out at my acquaintances’ food stalls,” Marie said.

Ahaha. I’m not being of any help, am I? It’s a shame I didn’t buy Crazy Salt. I could have shown her a sample.

Perhaps realizing that I’m not reliable, the discussion about the products stopped, and we engaged in light conversation. Then Sonia returned.

…Huh? Other staff members came in as well. They brought in several large wooden crates.

“These are platinum coins and materials from the Fire Dragon. Please check them,” Sonia said as the staff members left.

After the staff members were gone, leather bags were placed in front of me with a heavy thud. Over 1,800 platinum coins… I can’t really feel the reality, but I’ve become a billionaire.

I completely forgot about the dragon materials other than the meat… I can’t bring them out now, but I should take them home. Oh, I also have Mithril. I can deal with it when I wholesale the herbs.

Over 1.8 billion in money and dragon materials… When I was in Japan, there were countless things I wanted to buy, but in this world, it’s difficult to imagine what I can spend it on. Should I buy a house in the Labyrinth City? …It’s not a particularly comfortable city, and I don’t need a house.

Let’s think of some enjoyable ways to spend the money. After all, I’ll use the money to make the Land of Death more comfortable.

“Yes, indeed. Well then, I should be going,” I said.

I stored all the money and materials that were brought in into my magic bag, ignoring Marie’s intense gaze directed at the magic bag. Is Marie really okay as a merchant, showing such desires openly?

—————————

“Sonia, what’s going on? Yuta was looking at me with such cold eyes. And why is it that I invited him for the meal? You said Yuta was head over heels for my charm, didn’t you?”

“That’s strange. I thought he came here to show off his skills, especially after supplying labyrinth materials to this shop… So, what kind of appeal did you make?”

“Well, something like this…”

“Hmm… It seems a bit calculated, doesn’t it? Maybe Yuta doesn’t like obvious approaches. But don’t give up. You saw the Fire dragon, right? It can easily take down its opponents. We mustn’t let this opportunity slip away!”

“I understand, but somehow it feels like Yuta was wary of us.”

“Rather than wary, he sometimes looked at Marie with disappointment. I wonder what’s wrong? Even from my perspective, I think Marie is beautiful… Could it be that he prefers men? Or is it because he took slum children into his care that he is into children?”

“Men, children… come to think of it, my special customer service techniques didn’t elicit any reaction from him either. But if that’s the case, it’s impossible for me. Let a handsome employee handle the entertainment? And children are out of the question.”

“Hmm… Maybe it’s worth trying once. How about having two employees—one attractive and one muscular—guide him and observe his reaction? We can narrow down his preferences to some extent.”

“That’s a good idea. However, they must be loyal to the Porius Company at the very least. If they were to win his favor and start their own businesses, we wouldn’t be able to bear the consequences. Do you have anyone in mind who fits the bill?”

“…What about Eric?”

“Sonia, I can’t sacrifice my brother like that. He’s the heir to the Porius Company.”

“But if we can win Yuta’s favor, we’ll have a stable supply of labyrinth materials that can’t be obtained elsewhere. If things continue as they are now and Yuta loses interest, he may never come to this shop again. We need to come up with a plan.”

“…Shall we make my brother cry? No, assuming he’s into men right away could be dangerous. Let’s subtly find out his preferences. You should also approach him inconspicuously.”

“Hmm, I don’t think I’m suitable for that. Somehow, I feel like he was more wary of me than Marie.”

“Is that so? Did you do something?”

“I don’t think I did, but there’s something off about it. Rushing too much could be dangerous, so let’s start by cautiously searching for his preferences.”

“S-So that’s it. Yuuta is into men and lolis?”

My stomach hurts. It hurts a lot. Why does simply looking at Marie with disappointment make me out to be into men and lolis? Maybe I’m just too confident in myself. Also, Marie and Sonia seem to be very close.

(Silphy, I like adult women, you know.)

“Don’t say that with such a pained expression! I know, okay? It’s a joke, just a joke. I also know that you’re delighted when Dyne embraces you, so I don’t misunderstand.”

…Does that mean I was saved by Dyne? Thinking about it too much will just make my stomach ache.

(As long as you understand.)

But gathering information is important, though eavesdropping on people’s conversations indiscriminately isn’t right. I end up knowing things I don’t need to know.

From now on, I’ll only ask Silphy to listen in on conversations when it seems important. Otherwise, I might develop a distrust of people.