I was caught by a royal merchant who called himself Rand Ygrin, posing as a peddler, and without registering with the adventurerâs guild, I was suddenly taken to the Ygrin Trading Company, a large store owned by the old man.
Of course, I could always escape if I wanted to, and once I saw the old manâs physical capabilities with my own eyes, I wasnât about to let my guard down.
The reason why I went along with him was because I felt the value of the information that this old man Ygrin had.
Iâm not sure how he guessed it, but he saw that we were great warriors, and he knew what we wanted to know, so he offered to talk to us.
I just felt that if he could does this much, it would be worth the change even if there was a bit of a stink about it.
âEven so, itâs a fine shop. I donât know how they do it so well in this era. Itâs not every day you see glass this clear.â
It can be accepted if it were a long time ago, when technology was more advanced, but how could they set up such a store in this world that has been decimated several times by human wars?
The current era is much more degenerate than the era of airships in Chapter 2, without hand pumps to draw water from wells, and without airship technology.
In such a world of the early Middle Ages, or maybe even a little earlier, clear, colorless glass is sold as a commodity.
Of course, it is traded for a good deal of money as an eye-catcher, but it is a considerable technology considering the circumstances of this era.
ââŚâŚyou said in this era?â
Oh, man.
I couldnât help but slip up in front of this unpredictable old man.
Itâs not a good idea to give information to an unidentified old man, but I didnât think youâd react that way.
âNo, that was âŚâŚ.â
âNo, no, donât be so modest. Itâs just that youâre my expected warrior, yes. In fact, as the young master said, this glass manufacturing method is an example of a technology that existed in ancient times that has been successfully restored and managed to be reproduced with todayâs technology. âŚâŚâ
Ygrinâs sales talk continued, but his eyes seemed strangely sharper than before.
Rather, I had a feeling he was smiling.
I donât know what this old man is trying to do to use us as a war card, but he seems to have completely targeted us as a business partner after this incident.
This is partly because he is trying to find out why I know the inside information that the Trading Company has, but more than that, I feel as if he is trying to find out who I really am.
Iâm not in a position where I need to be known, and since thereâs no trace of where I came from, I donât think thereâs any way to find out.
â⌠thatâs why, as you can see.â
âI see, as expected a product of store run by Royal Merchant. I heard a wonderful story.â
âHmmâŚâ
When I responded with a casual, matter-of-fact response, Ygrinâs double chin twitched in thought.
Oh, the atmosphere has changed.
âHmmmmmmâŚ. alright. I still donât know who you are, young master, but I understand that you are no ordinary person after what just happened. I think thatâs all I have to say about that. Okay, for now please go to the back room. Iâd like to talk to you about the situation there.â
Apparently he realized that further pursuit would be futile, and he would explain the purpose in a private room.
No, itâs amazing, this old Ygrin guy.
When he realized that it was useless, he quickly changed his mind and summarized the conversation in a straightforward manner without offending me.
Perhaps it is because of his business acumen that he is able to adapt to the needs of others without drowning in his own strength, reasoning, or experience that he has been able to reach this level.
If we were going to continue to have this gut-wrenching conversation, I thought Iâd just go along with it, get the information and get out of here.
Iâm impressed.
âHmm?Are you finally done with the hard part?â
âI donât know, but it seems.â
ââŚâŚ???â
The three couldnât keep up with conversation, and question marks were raised in each head.
Itâs natural for Momiji, who usually canât handle difficult conversations, or Shie, who doesnât understand a word. But itâs shame that Mizzet, whoâs been trained by the Knights of Capital, doesnât understand.
When it comes to fighting, sheâs smart, but sheâs only brainy in these situations. âŚâŚ
This straightforwardness is a good thing, though.
âOh, Iâm sorry about this. I should have explained this in detail to your companion, Iâm sorry. Hey, you there, give these people a thing. Theyâre class-A guests.â
âGreetings, Master Ygrin.â
After saying this, Ygrin moved to a private room, clapped his hands, and gave instructions to the woman who was waiting beside him.
The woman left the room and disappeared, seeming to have something to prepare to explain.
Hmm, a mystery.
âNow that weâve both had a chance to catch our breath, let me give you the lowdown. Once again, my name is Rand Ygrin, the Royal Merchant of this country. I deal mainly in war. To be more specific, my job is to provide weapons, information, and human resources to the royal family of this country.â
âWell, thatâs very kind of you. Iâm Kenji Galhart. Next to me is Mizzet Galhart, and that loose one is Momiji, and the one with the collar is Shie.â
We reintroduced ourselves to each other, I see, providing human resources and information.
If you take it as it is, Ygrin, having seen our ability, may write a letter of recommendation to the royal family as a card for the war, but it probably wonât be that easy.
For your information, the old man reacted to the Galhart surname for a moment, but was convinced without being asked if he had any idea what was going on.
âThank you for the introduction, Kenji-dono. Now, letâs get down to business. As you may have guessed, the war between the unstable neighboring country, or to be more precise, this country Arbalest, and the country over there, Gungael, is actually becoming a very troublesome situation. âŚâŚâ
âWhatâs so troublesome?â
Hmm, what on earth are we talking about?
Also, this country is called Arbalest, Iâve never heard of it.
Aside from the logs, the appâs map doesnât have the name of the country, which is unfriendly in these parts.
If there is a survey function, I would like to suggest improvements.
âYes. Actually, in the recent skirmishes with Gungel, who should be inferior in military power, for some reason we have been losing every time. We have in our hands an army of knights that would quadruple the size of Gungel, the pride of the Arbalest. In addition of the hero Grand Mage Curly. Itâs a situation that has been defeated at every turn. Itâs also as if theyâve targeted us, grabbing our plans and information as they go.â
Ygrinâs eyes were sharp as he said this, and I admired his gaze as if he was watching me.
But I wondered why he realized my interest in the neighboring country when we first met, but now I understand why to some extent.
Maybe this old man thought I was some kind of spy looking for the information and schedule that was just mentioned, so he sickled me.
If you are a Royal Merchant, the area around this country is like a garden.
If there was a stranger with a lot of power wandering around there, you couldnât help but wonder who is he.
This was probably due to the fact that my identity was unknown.
However, the fact that he started to talk openly about it seemed to confirm his suspicions.
I donât know what made him cut off his suspicions, or if he is actually still in the middle of them, but letâs leave it at that for now.
The most interesting thing about the current story is that the Arbalest, with its superior military power and has a card called hero as an individual fighting force, is facing defeat every time.
If this is to be overturned, there must be some kind of âirregularityâ in Gungelâs country.