Chapter 9

It seemed strange from the beginning that a miscellaneous purchase manager would come out to buy demonic beast claws.

But to lowball so blatantly?

"That price is nonsensical."

When he cut him off, Robs shrugged.

"But even if you go elsewhere, it will be similar."

"You said the demonic beast trade was blocked. What does that mean?"

Whether the value had dropped because someone was putting out an overwhelming quantity, or if the trade route was completely blocked.

Robs touched his sparse, rough beard and opened his mouth.

"Originally, there were companies within the guild that were entrusted with processing demonic beast teeth, claws, tendons, and the like. But with that incident in the east, all the subcontractors pulled out, and they no longer accept anything except eastern quantities."

"By 'that incident,' you mean?"

"Ah, you don't know about that incident?"

What on earth is it?

He looked at Arndt and Leandros, but they also seemed to have no idea.

"News travels so slowly! The rumors should have spread all the way to the north by now!"

"So what is it?"

"They say a huge 'pit' has appeared in the east."

A pit—there seemed to be a mention of that in the original work.

"Haven't you heard? A pit suddenly appeared in the eastern wilderness, and more than dozens of demonic beasts emerged from it. They say the owner of the wilderness made a contract with the royal palace to explore the pit."

"But what does that have to do with the demonic beast by-product trade..."

"Naturally, demonic creatures would appear during the pit exploration! So they've swept up all the contracts with processing subcontractors to handle those by-products."

"If we look, there should be one or two left, right?"

"There aren't any, not a single one! Aiden Tollovish has put up the name of the Tollovish Merchant Group and offered an incredible compensation."

Upon hearing the name, something immediately came to mind.

Aiden Tollovish.

Known as the God of Wealth, the real power leading the Tollovish Merchant Group in the story.

He knew the setting that the headquarters of the merchant group was in the east, but he didn't expect it to pop up here suddenly.

Originally, the eastern 'pit' incident appeared around episode 80.

Since the hiatus point was at episode 95, it was an event that came out quite late.

As a result, not much was clearly revealed about the eastern pit incident.

A suddenly formed sinkhole.

Demonic beasts pouring out from there.

Personally, he thought it might be something like a dungeon, but in the end, he couldn't ask his brother.

【That would spoil the fun, brother.】

That was an issue until he was incarnated into this world.

He rubbed his warming forehead.

"Then, aren't there small-scale artisans?"

"Currently, the merchant guild has a policy of not entrusting to individual artisans. So even if we buy the items, it becomes difficult to process them. We just end up with inventory."

Then Robs leaned in slightly and whispered confidentially.

"But, well, isn't the main job of a merchant to buy and sell? I can personally connect you with a craftsman I know."

"If you connect us?"

"Ah, then the processing is done properly, and it becomes a product. The only downside is that the commission cost is quite high."

"So five copper coins for two claws?"

"Ah, well. This is all just to make a living."

Now he could see that the flesh on his cheeks wasn't generosity but grease.

"I won't sell at that price."

"But if you don't sell here, what will you do? Are you going to go all the way to the east and, what, find an artisan?"

Now he was even making threats.

There was no need to stay any longer, so he stood up.

"Yes."

"Pardon?"

"After hearing what you said, it seems better to go to the east. Thank you for the good advice. Ah, no need to see us out."

Throughout his exit, there were shouts from behind, but they didn't reach his ears.

Outside the building, there were still many people walking around.

Among them, he saw someone laying out fruits and putting up price tags.

One copper coin for a red fruit of unknown kind.

One copper coin for two slightly spoiled ones.

"That bastard."

Exchange the Vormi claws, extracted with such effort, for a few pieces of fruit?

It was absurd.

It was fortunate that he didn't punch Robs after reading the text that faintly appeared behind him.

【Robs laughed inwardly.

Are the people on either side hired mercenaries?

But this kid, fortunately for Robs, seemed to be ignorant of how the world works.

Robs's mind was spinning.

First, subtract one silver coin for the commission fee from the cost price...】

How severely he was lowballing.

If I meet him again, I'll make him bald.

Arndt seemed restless and appeared to be watching his reaction.

"Your Grace, shall we look for another merchant? It might be a bit difficult, but if we search..."

"No. It would be harder to find a merchant not affiliated with the guild."

"Then what will you do?"

While talking with Robs, he had been calculating various scenarios.

There were many variables, and the resources they could spend were limited.

None of the options were particularly appealing, but Robs had just thrown a good option.

The East.

Looking for demonic beast by-product processing artisans in regions other than the east would be futile.

But what if they went directly to the east, where the largest demonic beast market in the kingdom currently existed?

"Even if the number of processing artisans is small, not all artisans will work collectively. The answer is the east."

Whatever they did, it would cost less than what Robs was trying to skim off.

But Leandros seemed dubious.

"I'm concerned about Your Grace's health for a journey to the east."

"But I'm also worried about sending just the two of you. And sending just one person, well..."

Arndt?

He's adept at household chores but has a somewhat weak heart.

Leandros?

He's good at hunting and tops in combat, but in merchant dealings, well...

Trying to imagine Leandros doing business, he could only picture him demanding people to buy at a certain price rather than negotiating.

Moreover, given the shabby appearance of the two, it would be fortunate if they weren't mistaken for beggars on the way.

Ah, maybe that applies to me too. Anyway.

"It's fine if I don't overexert myself."

"The cost for three people to travel together is quite substantial."

"How much do you think it would be?"

"It would be quite presumptuous of me to say."

It seems like an amount that would be difficult to raise immediately.

"Then we just need to solve that problem, right?"

"That seems to be the case for now."

"Alright, then I have something to do here for a while. Could you two help me?"

"Command us."

"I'd like to know about the rumors of the eastern pit and also the exact market price of Vormi claws. Please."

They agreed to meet at the entrance of the town when the sun was overhead.

Watching the two disperse without a moment's delay, he too headed towards the market.

* * *

【Leandros collected rumors about the pit.

There wasn't an enormous amount of information, but it would serve as some background knowledge.

While collecting rumors, Leandros felt a strange sensation.

It was something he used to do frequently in the past, but had given up after volunteering as the Duchess's knight and being affiliated with Hartmann.

How arduous it was to start from the bottom.

And how intensely nostalgic it felt.

Suddenly, Leandros thought about diving into these people and disappearing.

A life like before, free and unbound by anyone.

'The Duchess would laugh if she heard this.'

Leandros swallowed a sigh and headed to the meeting place.

But the scene visible from afar gradually pushed away Leandros's unnecessary nostalgia and regret.

A young man among the people.

A youthful, white face framed by soft red hair.

But something was different.

Leandros was by no means a person lacking in discernment, so he could immediately tell the difference.

Seeing Arenheit's completely changed appearance from just a while ago, he let out a gasp.】

"What on earth happened to your hair?!"

* * *

"This is unacceptable! Do you know how hard I've worked to maintain that hair..."

Arndt repeated the words he had already said several times with a haggard face.

Leandros was silently leading the way, but he too seemed equally displeased.

But over something so trivial.

"Don't act like the world is ending just because I cut my hair."

"To cut that beautiful hair without a word to me, and then to sell it!"

"That's because everyone was away."

His once long, flowing hair was now short, barely touching his shoulders.

He felt lighter with the shorter hair, but Arndt was looking at his hair with a face that suggested he felt quite the opposite.

"In social circles, well-maintained long hair is essential. How could you cut it so recklessly?"

"Do you think I'll be invited to social circles within the next three years?"

"Long hair is a symbol of dignity regardless of age or gender!"

"How about we restore the dignity of our castle first?"

Arndt's expression showed he was at a loss for words, his mouth just opening and closing.

Meanwhile, Leandros, who had kept his mouth firmly shut, opened it.

"The former Duchess used to brush that hair and take pride in it."

At those words, Arndt sent a look from the side that seemed to say, 'That's right! How could you do such a disrespectful thing!'

But I'm not even the real Arenheit, so what does a dead Duchess matter to me?

"I don't remember well. I'll just say a prayer of apology before bed or something."

"Your Grace!"

"Right now, it's more urgent for me to feed you two by selling my hair than to maintain it and spend money."

The pouch he was holding was filled with bread.

It wasn't the taste of margarine, white flour, and milk that he used to eat in Korea, but the somewhat dry bread was edible enough.

This should last quite a while.

"Since the cost issue has been somewhat resolved, let's seriously discuss going to the east."

He heard it takes more than 10 days by carriage to reach the east.

It would be too much to walk, so they should consider other methods.

If they're going to camp, they'll need appropriate preparations.

The small pouch he had entrusted to Arndt made a melodious jingling sound.

Five silver coins and ten copper coins.

This should be enough somehow.

"By the way, Your Grace. May I ask one thing?"

"Go ahead."

"That bread, isn't that the fourth piece since you left the town earlier? Ah! I apologize. Is this something I'm allowed to ask about?"

At Arndt's words, he quietly put away the piece of bread he had been holding.

Perhaps I should reconsider the food budget.