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Chapter 28: [Another Perspective] As a Peddler, Part 2
Posted bytheredsargeantAugust 3, 2020Posted inFun Territory Defense
“Is it possible to sell the Armored Dragon materials?”
I nodded instantly when Van asked me that.
“Of course! To think that you were able to fell such a foe, It’s a powerful enemy that even adventurers don’t like to fight!”
It’s an unexpected windfall. I didn’t expect to find such valuable materials in this village.
I thought we were going to lose a lot of money, but we were able to miraculously come into a great opportunity to make up our losses. Thank God.
With a beaming face, Lango and I followed Master Van to the materials warehouse he built near the entrance. It was a large two-story building in the far right corner from the village entrance.
Judging by the look of the building… it seemed to be quite the recent addition, being made of the same strange material the walls were made from. Did he build this just to store the materials? If so… it would be more than impressive.
”What’s this? Don’t tell me, did kill a twenty or thirty meter tall Armored Dragon or something?”
Lango said something stupid, which made me let out a dry laugh. But the scene in front of me wasn’t a laughing matter.
The building that I had thought was two stories was just a single-story building with an unusually high ceiling. In it were Armored Dragon materials put into a massive pill, one so massive that it touched the roof in some areas. There were claws, fangs, bones, and hexenbiest cores.
Seeing this, Master Van questioned us with a smile.
”When we defeated about forty armored lizards, we also captured thirty bandits. I think it would be good to have those people taken back with you and to have them carry the materials for you. Oh, I’ll prepare you all a cart as well.”
”Wait a minute, this number is… if you can give me some time, in a month… no, in four weeks, I’ll gather people from Mary’s Trading Company, if you can wait.”
“Oh, it’s all right. We’ll enjoy the Armored Dragons meat while we wait.”
Because the young lord said that, I was reminded of the existence of Armored Dragon meat. It is present in incredible amounts. I would estimate the amount of around 10 or 20 tons.
A hundred or two hundred people would not be able to consume it in time before it rots.
”About the meat… if you don’t mind, can you sell me some of it? I would like to bring it to the nearby village. I would appreciate if you sell it cheaply.”
When he heard that, lord Van raised one eyebrow.
“The next village? Can you even earn a profit from selling the meat to them? Moreover, can you even afford to buy the meat?”
He wasn’t being sarcastic, he was really wondering. I chuckled and turned one hand palm up.
“No, it’s a poor village so it is not a profitable place for business. But it seems that they were in a particularly bad spot after they paid their taxes, so they’ve been asking for food…”
If I can sell a handful of Armored Lizard materials later, I can collect more than enough in profits. With that in mind, I thought about distributing the meat to the neighboring village for free.
However, Van-sama gazed at me and shook his head from side to side.
”If it’s meat, half of it will rot before we can eat it. Take it for free, it doesn’t look like you guys are trying to make a profit out of them either.”
I gulped when he said that with a smile.
”…Thank you very much. In return, I’ll pay more for the bandits. We will pay four silver coins per person.”
That would make it twelve gold coins for all of the prisoners. It’s a practically unbearable price for a merchant. Even if you buy them on the spot and sell them as they are, there is almost no profit to be made. If we bring them back from such a frontier, travel costs will cause the prisoners to cost much more than they are worth. To turn a profit then, we would need to sell each one at one gold each.
Nobles wouldn’t understand the gesture, but it is one of utmost sincerity on our part.
In contrast to my expectations, Van-sama nodded lightly and laughed.
”Thank you. In return for your generous offer, if you continue to come to my village, I will allow you to purchase some extremely profitable goods. For example, I will sell you some very good armor.”
He tells me so, and I nod my head.
”You even brought a blacksmith to this village, besides a highly-skilled designer and a terrific carpenter?”
I was surprised at the depth of his human resources, and Master Van’s eyes narrowed in delight at my surprise.
Then, Van showed me a splendid sword.
Despite being over-decorated, the sword somehow also felt as though it could be used as a decent weapon.
I still don’t know exactly how good or bad the weapon is, but I know that it has incredible value as an art piece.
”What do you think of its value as a weapon?”
I asked Air, who had been handed the sword. He looked at the blade as if fascinated, and didn’t respond to outside inquiries until he was approached by a fellow adventurer named Orto.
“Look. This is a portion of Armoured Dragon skin.”
Orto, who had a grin plastered on his face, held out the skin of the Armored Dragon, and cut it with the knife he was holding.
But only a small, line-like scratch was etched into the skin. As I was astonished at the toughness of the skin, Orto nodded quietly.
”Indeed, it’s the skin of an Armored Lizard… may I try to cut it?’
“Of course.”
Air asks in excitement, and Van-sama agrees with a laid-back atmosphere. A little uneasy, Air placed the magnificent sword on the surface of the Armored Dragon skin.
Then, he lightly pushed the sword against it.
”Huh! What in the world?!”
Immediately after, Air’s eyes widened in astonishment and he let go of the sword from the skin. I looked in astonishment at the skin, which had been sliced cleanly in half.
”It felt like as if I was cutting through chicken skin!”
“Isn’t it great?”
Orto chuckled and pointed to his own waist.
There, a sword with a similar atmosphere was held upon a belt.
“This was custom made for five gold. I had it made so that the length and thickness made it easy for me to swing. It is made of the same material as the sword you are holding right now.”
“Five gold pieces? It’s too cheap! I’m buying one! Do you make spears?!”
Orto laughed at the overly excited in Air.
“A weapon is an adventurer’s most important partner. If you’re going to order one, you should consider the shape and weight of it as carefully as possible. Let me remind you, they are lighter and stronger than you think. If you’re going to make a part which you plan to parry with, make sure to make it slightly blunter.”
“I see….hmm, what should I do…”
At Orto’s advice, Air pinches his own chin with one hand and turns over a bit. Looking at Air, who was murmuring to himself, I said.
”…It seems to be an incredible weapon. I will buy them at asking price. However, I still can’t bring home a large quantity of them. I’m sorry about this, but my situation…”
“Yes, I know. Please reach an agreement with your company as soon as possible.”
“Thank you.”
I bowed deeply.
Then we toured the city, on the way, I asked lord Van if he would be interested in any of my wares.
There were a lot of opportunities for profit, but I decided to simply give away my goods for free. The opportunities I had encountered, as well as the meat and dagger I was being given for free, were more than enough.
”Good brother, would it be possible to… you know?”
I nodded and approached Van about purchasing a dagger, as a personal request from my brother. Van stated that it would cost three gold coins.
Lango looked at his newly made dagger, with sparkling eyes like those of a child… he looks really happy. But, you are eighteen years old, so please calm down. It is unbecoming of someone your age.
I made a wry smile and ate some meat from the Armored Dragon, recently prepared by the villagers, and was astonished again. The taste was heavenly.
I found myself completely captivated by this village, and I could only wonder what the future would hold. Opportunities abounded.
Perhaps the best thing to do would be to go back to the trading company and get permission to open a store in this village.
But before such a goal could be realized, I not only needed to spread awareness of the amazing products of the village, I also needed to recuperate my losses.
”…Lango. I’m going to talk to the Chairman of Mary’s Trading Company and ask them to organize a medium-sized caravan, what do you think?”
“Good idea. We could split up into two trading parties, each consisting of three wagons, and come to this village every two weeks.”
“Well in that case… let’s meet up every week in one of the intermediary town or villages”
We talked a lot about our bright future, then both of us started laughing.
“’We’re going to be busy,”
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”