229: You know, dreams come out of nowhere, right?

I’m Elrin, a village girl aiming to be a merchant.

I don’t want to spend my whole life here in this nothing place—never leave this village!

My dream is to become a traveling merchant, open a shop in the capital, or some other wonderful place.

Just need to gather enough money to leave the village first…

“There’s nothing! Nothing at all! There’s nothing in this village worth selling!”

I just shouted into thin air, without thinking.

But what can I do? It’s a village on the kingdom’s frontier, and the volcano’s nearby.

Not so close you can feel the heat, obviously.

The active volcano’s just barely visible past the horizon, and the sea and mountains are far, far away.

But there’s almost no life here—plants won’t grow, nothing lives.

It’s the ash.

The sea wind carries volcanic ash straight from the volcano, nonstop.

The village’s fine most days, but when the wind’s strong, ash falls right on the village. So when that happens, everyone pitches in to sweep it up.

That’s why there aren’t many monsters around. That’s why a tiny frontier village like this can even survive.

And because it’s such a place, there’s nothing worth selling here.

We just scrape by—growing whatever vegetables we can, hunting the occasional animal that wanders in.

So merchants don’t come around much.

I’ve asked the few who do show up every few years, and they always tell me the same thing: I don’t have enough experience to make anything work here. Without success in this village, I can’t possibly succeed anywhere else.

I’ll admit—I don’t know a damn thing about business. And I’ve never even handled coin before.

I’ve got the fur trade handled through the village chief—just that much.

What kind of business am I supposed to succeed at in this village?!

You get it, right? You get how I want to scream?

I’d been stewing in my own frustration, dreaming of leaving the village to become a merchant, when suddenly—this massive caravan rolls in.

Thirty wagons. Fifty horses. People... easily over a hundred.

At first I thought they were some kind of rebel faction. They looked serious. Their guards were tough—shiny armor, sharp eyes.

So when the caravan’s leader came to talk with the village chief, I shoved my way in. I’m the only one here who knows anything about trade, after all!

The leader introduced himself as Akindō. A little round, kind-faced man, but every once in a while, his gaze cut through you—like a veteran trader who’s seen it all.

No, definitely!

"I’d like to build a base for the Akindō Trading Company here in this village."

That was all they wanted, really.

Suspicious. Why would they want a massive base in a place with nothing at all?

It was definitely suspicious. But I couldn’t figure out why.

Still, as I listened, they said something like this:

"We could help clear away the volcanic ash piling up around the village. Then you could expand your farmland, couldn’t you?"

Clear away volcanic ash?

Sure, with enough manpower, you could clear it. Make the fields bigger. And they even offered to help every time ash fell.

So why go to such lengths just to build a base?

Could it be a launching point for an invasion?

No. There’s no neighboring country here. Even if it were north of the capital, it’s still not likely.

The Akindō Company just... throws itself into building bases, no matter what.

The village chief was practically nodding already.

Think about it, me! What’s the point of merchants setting up a base in a place this remote and inconvenient!

There's nothing here that could even be a specialty product!

...Wait. Specialty item?

Think about it the other way. If there was something special from this village you wanted to buy?

Something I’d want to stock up on regularly—plenty of it—just to establish a base.

Stuff that just keeps coming out of nowhere? Rocks from the ground, maybe ash from a volcano... volcanic ash?

Hey, Akindou. What’re you gonna do with the ash from the removal?

Ashes? Yeah. The wagon’s empty, so I was thinking we’d just haul these out now.

Just as I thought!

Their goal is this volcanic ash!

I don’t know why they’d want some troublesome volcanic ash, but they’re after it!

What you want is a product!

No way. Everything visible from this village—this land belongs to the village. That means even the volcanic ash is the village’s asset!

I shout, and the village chief scrambles to stop me.

“What are you blathering about, Elrin! The Akindoo folks are dealing with dangerous volcanic ash—”

“Silence, village chief! This is a business matter!”

Akindoo raises one eyebrow.

“A business matter?”

“That’s right! Akindoo-san! If you want the volcanic ash, I’ll sell it to you!”

My energy makes the village chief scream.

“Elrin!”

But Akindoo smiles and gently waves the chief down.

“It’s fine, village chief. So, Elrin-san, is it? How much would you charge for it?”

“Huh!?”

Wait—what? You’re actually going to buy it? Volcanic ash?

I didn’t expect it to be this straightforward. Didn’t think they’d admit it so easily. My mind’s not ready!

Just go for it first—worry about the rest later!

"So, yeah. One silver coin for a whole barrel over there! Want it free? Just go to the base of the active volcano! Though those parts are known for weird monsters, you know!"

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?! Erin, get outside!"

"Haha. So that's the intel—best to buy it here in the village. Village Chief. One silver coin for a barrel, right?"

"Wha—?!"

"Whaaat?!"

I nearly jumped myself!

But once a merchant says it, they can't take it back!

"Village Chief! Then you’ll grant permission, right?!"

"Uh… well, if someone’s willing to buy it, that’s obviously better than nothing…"

Akindo nods happily.

"Then it's settled. From now on, we'll pay one silver coin per barrel of ash. And we’ll get permission to build the base, right?"

"Y-yeah, well, if that’s the deal, I’ll gladly—"

Thank you.

...It's done.

I’m still standing there, stunned, when Akindou turns his gaze toward me.

Fufu, didn’t expect to find a proper merchant here.

"Huh? You mean me, the merchant?"

Yes, indeed. A humble merchant, sir. Please do continue to favor us with your patronage.

"Y-you too!"

And so, for the first time, I pulled off a big deal.

Yeah. Success. Big time success.

Akindo made the base in no time—using volcanic ash as the material!

You're kidding me!?

Didn’t think volcanic ash could be used as building material, though—somehow mixed in with something else!

It hardens when wet, but sometimes it’s still brittle.

I heard from the craftsman the merchants brought along—there’s a new town out in some distant western backwater, and the alchemist there made a special concoction to create these building materials!

This is so damn interesting!

And that new town? Sounds insane.

A giant city wall made from volcanic ash. Massive homes. Cutting-edge buildings that rival even the royal capital. Adventurers with skill are flocking there, slaying monsters, and selling rare monster materials no one’s ever seen before!

You’re telling me a place like that actually exists?

I’ve got my dream.

The dream of becoming a merchant.

Now I’m making money by organizing ash collectors and dealing with Akindoo-san and the guild members—using volcanic ash, sure, but not just that.

Even the village chief leans on me now.

But lately… I’ve got a new dream.

To go trade in Goldendoon—the town said to be at the far western edge!

I’ll make that dream real, too!

Anyway, I should get back to business.

Wait…?

Not like those traveling merchants. Come over here. Let’s hear what you’ve got to say. Stories from other regions are rare, aren’t they?

That meeting with some dusty, magic-wielding youth—yeah, that’s what rewrote my fate all over again, no need to say it.

Adventurer’s Dismissal⑦ now on sale!

Comic version of Dismissal Alchemy⑤ also hot off the presses!

If it’s sold out, please order from your local bookstore!!

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Comment said: “Wait, isn’t the Marquis a satellite noble? That’s kinda weird, right?”

Totally fair point, lol.

It’s just that the Marquis’s territory is ridiculously huge. So naturally, it borders other regions.

There’s even a little side detail we’re not putting in the main story: parts of the royal family used to serve as regional governors in the directly ruled lands adjacent to the Marquis’s domain, just to gain experience.