Thirty-nine: You know, merchants—those folk, you can never let your guard down, huh.
Time rewinds a little.
It was shortly after the Goldendown village had moved, and things had settled.
"Lord Zaid, a caravan is approaching from the direction of Kyle’s settlement."
"What?"
Zaid looked out from the window of the modest but comfortable house Kyle had left behind, gazing down the road.
Ah, right—several wagons were moving toward town. Timing-wise, they’d likely stop here for the night.
Zaid stepped outside, his men following.
"Is that Lord Zaid? To meet you here, in such a place—it’s an honor. I am Akindoo."
"Hmm."
The merchant, startled, rushed forward and bowed deeply in front of him. Unusually courteous for a traveling trader.
"You came from Kyle’s village, then?"
"Yes."
"Ah, I see. I see."
Zaid’s face lit up with an oddly cheerful expression.
Akindo muttered inwardly, “He probably thinks I ran away or something.”
“Are you planning to stay in this village?”
“Yes… well, that was the plan, if possible…”
The merchant glanced briefly at the locked-up inn.
“Looks like the inn’s closed for business.”
“Hmph. We just got here. Anyway, how about buying some goods?”
“Goods?”
“Aye. Four barrels of mithril ore and nine barrels of stamina potions. Oh, the stamina potions are special….”
Just as Zaid was about to exaggerate the effects he’d heard of, making up something random to jack up the price, Akindo suddenly leaned in, eyes locked on Zaid.
“Mithril!? Stamina potions!? Are those the ones Craft made!?”
"Wha—? Ah, yeah, that’s right. If you’ve got someone here who can鉴定, go ahead and check. Just, this potion works with a single spoonful and—"
"Of course I know! Please, yes! Yes! Sell it to me!"
"U-uh... Well, I suppose I could make an exception. Now, about the price—"
"How about this?"
Zaid’s eyes nearly popped out at the amount the merchant offered.
It was equivalent to the initial funding he’d brought for the frontier settlement.
Mithril ore was hot these days, probably why.
No, wait—this one spoonful made nine full bottles of stamina potion. Price this high wasn’t exactly surprising.
"Aaah... yeah, that’s true... not a bad offer, really..."
"Lord Zaid seems quite the shrewd trader. Then, shall we round up the odd bits and go with this instead?"
“Huh. Not bad… yeah. Fine, I’ll go with that.”
“Thank you. I’ll have the cash ready immediately—can I get the goods now?”
“Cash on the spot!? You actually carry that kind of sum around!?”
“Truth be told, I heard there was a sudden surge of mithril ore here. I’d planned to scoop it all up, if possible. Cash gives me a better edge over rivals, don’t you think? And if I can get dragon materials too—well, that was a long shot, really.”
“Ah. So that rumor’s spread that far already.”
“Merchants have sharp ears.”
Zaid nodded, unsurprised.
Pushing the price any higher might break the deal. The amount was already enough. Zaid decided to accept it.
“Hmph. I’ll let it slide—on account of the cash. This is your price.”
“Thank you.”
Akindo bows deeply in thanks.
Of course, Zaid didn’t know.
That Akindo’s Craft-made stamina potions, which he sometimes took beyond the village, were being sold for outrageous sums to a few wealthy nobles.
In Goldendoon Village, sales of these potions were strictly limited—so much so that they’d developed a serious premium.
The final price could easily be several times, even dozens of times, what Akindo had just quoted.
“May I make one bold request, oh merciful Zaid-sama?”
“Hm? A request? Fine, go on.”
“Yes. In return for your generous service this time, might I ask to be allowed to open an inn guild in this village?”
“What? An inn guild?”
“Yes. If only my inn, and no others, were granted permission to operate here, then—yes, I’d be happy to pay ten percent more in guild taxes than usual.”
“Ten percent?”
Zaid pondered a moment.
If this village’s going to grow, an inn’ll be necessary, I reckon…
“Damn it, if Jabir were here I could talk it over… Just shows up after I’ve wrapped up my research, like he’s got some kind of right.”
“Something wrong?”
“Nah. Nothing. If you’re insisting on a monopoly, a tenth won’t cut it.”
“How about fifteen percent?”
“Hmm… twenty, and I’ll consider it.”
“Twenty…?”
To Zaid, an inn was just something for the eager to do. He didn’t care either way. The profits from an inn wouldn’t amount to much, anyway.
“Understood. I’ll pay twenty percent extra. Please grant me the exclusive contract.”
“Hmph. Fine. Have your subordinate draw up the papers. And first, buy the inn.”
“Understood.”
Akindo bowed again, respectfully.
Zaid nodded. The inn was necessary, after all.
If we’re judging by results alone, that decision wasn’t wrong.
The only thing Zaid got wrong was not realizing how many inns he’d actually need.
◆
“What in the world is this?”
When the famed alchemist Jabir finally finished his paper and submitted it to the academy, he arrived at Zaid’s settlement alongside a mountain of luggage. That was his first words.
The petite, doll-like alchemist girl stepped down from her lavish carriage and walked the main street, surveying the village.
When Zaid first launched his full-scale development project, I was certain it would fail. But to my surprise, the village looked bustling.
—At first.
But once I understood why, I nodded. Of course.
Upon reaching the manor, I was summoned immediately.
“Jabir!! You’re late!”
“This is Zaid, isn’t it? Long time no see.”
“Save the greetings! What in the blazes is going on here?”
I narrowed my eyes—same question I’d been meaning to ask.
“Could it be… tied to the whole village being full of inns? (…).”
“Exactly! No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try to lure people in, all that grows is more inns! A few taverns, some shops selling daily goods—maybe a wagon repair shop! Not a single soul at the Adventurer’s Guild, no pioneers even stopping by! What in the name of the Seven Hells is going on!?”
“Just arrived today. Details are beyond me.”
I knew, deep down, it was just a passing stop, nothing more. But saying so would do no good. I decided to just wave it off with a shrug.
“Then investigate it right away!”
“I’m a alchemist, not a detective!”
“Shut up!”
“Fine, fine. I’ll look into it.”
Javir heads toward the house prepared for him. First thing: moving in.
A sigh escapes me. Gotta live here for the foreseeable future, huh?
So, Zaid’s Settlement saw a tiny bit of growth, but in the end, it was just a road leading to Golden Dune.
“Damn it, dammit, dammit, dammit—!”
Zaid’s cheerful scream echoes through the sky again today.
Akindoo (smirking)