For Starters
âTo live up to your expectations, let me offer you this.â
(!)
For starters, I took out the Crystal Elk antlers from the Infinite Storage and piled it up on the table. Iâm guessing that the main topic of todayâs summons should be about this material, so I quickly broached the subject.
For the time being, just an armful of it. However! Thatâs not all, because thereâs more.
But just the amount of antlers I put out on the table had everyone speechless.
âWait, wait, wait up! Takumi, I didnât hear there would be so many!â
As expected, it was Al-sama who showed a reaction first.
âEh? Then, what amount did you have in mind?â
âWell, of course, about one or two pairs at most!â
âHeeh~â
They thought it was one or two pairs, huh~ Then does that mean what I took out was a dozen times the amount they thought it was?
âOh, I will say it just for the record, but I did not kill or hurt the Crystal Elks.â
It is a crime to kill or even injure Crystal Elks, so I told them just in case. With so many antlers in my possession, there is a chance they would suspect me.
âI donât doubt that!â
âIndeed. I believe that.â
They donât seem to be suspicious of me... on the contrary, they believed me so easily?
Should I be happy about their trust here?
âHowever, what did you mean by âwere givenâ you wrote in the letter!â
âWe met a Crystal Elk in the mountains. Or rather, Allen and Elena found it. Then, it took us to the Crystal Elksâ dwelling place and gave us all the antlers they shed in there.â
âI canât possibly understand!â
They asked me to explain how I got the antlers, so I gave them a brief explanation.
However, Tristan-sama did not believe me. No, everyone didnât.
âEven if you say that, itâs exactly what happened, so please take it as it is.â
âImpossible.âHahh... acquisition method is obscure, huh.â
Tristan-sama let out a big sigh.
âSo, what do you want us to do with this? Do you want us to buy up everything?â
âI think it would be better for them to be distributed to the various countries, but I canât do it myself. So, I will give them to you. I will leave them to you to handle, Tristan-sama, so you can distribute them or keep them exclusively in Guardia... Oh, you can also use them as a bargaining chip with other countries. Well, do as you please.â
If it had been one or two pairs, I would have sold them to Tristan-sama and that would have been the end of it, but the quantity in my possession makes that impossible. I donât know the exact value of the Crystal Elk antlers, but it would be quite a bit of money.
That doesnât mean I can sell them to the Guild or something, though. It would be too conspicuous. I would have no choice but to keep secret about them.
But I donât want to keep it secret if possible, because I want to make sure the material go to people who need the medicine. My honest feeling is that I want to get as much of them as possible on the market.
Weâre not hurting for money, so letâs force them onto Tristan-sama! Thatâs the plan.
âYou are so selfless~â
Lionel-sama laughed funnily.
âSelfless? Thatâs definitely wrong. Iâm greedy, Lionel-sama. After all, Iâm throwing this stuff onto someone else to deal with so I donât have to bother.â
âTakumi, if you really are greedy, you should charge a fee.â
âEh, I mean, I donât need the money, though?â
âYou donât need money, you say! You really are an amusing fella.â
Lionel-sama laughed again.
âAh, would you like to use the profit to pay for the research on the new liquors, Lionel-sama?â
âThe Nippy Liquor and brandy have been replicated so well that there is no need to pay for the research anymore. They will be available for sale soon.â
âOhh, Iâm glad to hear that.â
âYou will also receive dividends from the sales. Visit the Merchantâs Guild often.â
âEh?â
âYou taught us how to make it, and you invested in it, so itâs only natural.â
Thatâs going to be more regular income.
Oh, speaking of which, I havenât been to the Merchantâs Guild for a while. I should go check on the payments for the curry powder and such! Oh, the money from the sale of the loot we got from the pirate ship we entrusted to the Serdik might have already been deposited, too. Ah, is that going to be at the Adventurerâs Guild?
âTakumi-dono.â
âAh, yes!â
Next was the Prime Minister.
âAbout the magic paper, it is far from perfect, so it cannot be sold yet, but we made remarkable progress. That being the case, I have transferred the remuneration to the Merchantâs Guild, so please check with them.â
âI understand the alcohol, since I invested some money in it, but I did not invest in the magic paper, right?â
âYou have given me an excellent idea to use the Gaya trees.â
âEh!? Just because of that!?â
âJust because of that. Itâs a fair reward, and I wonât accept any refusal.â
This one seems to have already transferred the money. The Prime Minister works fast!
âBut you are still working on the magic paper, arenât you? Then letâs use the remuneration to pay for the research! Oh, and letâs use my remuneration for the Crystal Elk antlers for the research as well! By all means, please complete the magic paper and set your sights on mass production!â
I still have the magic paper that Syl gave me, but I would be more than happy to complete the magic paper for my childrenâs growth records. So it would be a good idea to invest in it as a research expense.
â......â
âPrime Minister?â
However, my proposal received only a mute response from the Prime Minister.
â... Takumi, you~ If you were to put a price on the Crystal Elk antlers, how much do you think it would be worth? I donât know the exact sum either, but it must be a pretty big sum of money. Donât try to offer that like itâs nothing.â
Then, Al-sama spoke to me with a tired voice.
âEh, but, isnât it still better than saving it up? And itâs nice to have a steady supply of magic paper!ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âI think you should get a little more attached to your money, Takumi. I hear adventurers donât have a steady income and have to save for retirement. See, why not save for a comfortable retirement?â
âThat wonât be a problem. I saved plenty from completing requests. You see, my children often find rare things. You know, like the Crystal Elk antlers.â
â... Ah, yeah, thatâs right.â
When I implied that I had found something rare besides the Crystal Elk antlers, Al-sama glanced at the children who were with Grace-sama and the rest and nodded in understanding.
âCome to think of it, you got your hands on the Majesta fruits and leaves and stuff like that. If you had gotten many things as rare as those, you would have indeed earned quite a bit of money by now~â
Felix-sama nodded in consent.
âTakumi, if you donât want money, is there anything else you want?â
âSomething else I want?â
âYes. For example, letâs see~ a house. There are also many weapons or magic tools you may want. I donât know if itâs worth mentioning, but jewelry or stuff like that.â
âN~ I canât think of anything in particular. But if I had to choose something, Iâd say that magic tools might be useful on our travels.â
âIs that so? Letâs look for something Takumi might want.â
Austin-sama was looking for something that could be given to me as a reward instead of money.