Chapter 220

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“Anyways, we need to quickly get a monster card that will suit the Enamel High-Heel Boots.  Which do you think would be good, Celie?”  I consulted Celie for suggestions on the best skill to fuse into them.

“Let me think……”  Celie ponders the question.

“Ah, better yet, would you like to come to merchant guild with me?  We can quickly come to a decision that way.”  Rook, the middle-man, would buy the card in the end, so we should head there as soon as possible.  Instead of visiting him after consulting with Celie, it would be faster to bring her along.

Whatever I do, I’ve been warned to be over-the-counter clean with my transactions.  We may attract the attention of some nobles, and they may try to trip us up.  Either way, they will be watching us.  Even if that is impossible, it would still be better to get a monster card as soon as possible.  Earlier the better.

ASAP.

As soon as possible.

“I understand”  Celie responds.

“Okay, I’m borrowing Celie, that okay?”

“Yes. It’s alright”  I confirmed with Roxanne, as Celie was busy cleaning a room, and took her to the merchant guild.

We warped there, and I called for Rook at the reception area.  It seems like he was here all along, as he showed up immediately.  I suppose that’s reasonable, there has never been a time he was not here at this hour of the day.  After all, there should be an ongoing auction at this time.

“This way”  Rook directs us.

“Sorry, I have some trouble for you”

Rook escorts us to the meeting room, and asks, “What business do you have today?”

“I got my hands on a certain piece of equipment.  It’s become a situation where I have to fuse it with a monster card. It is fine even if it fails, but it needs to be done soon”

“Is it the Enamel High Heel boots?” Rook inquires.

How did he know?  Perhaps it’s a famous piece of equipment.  I don’t believe that though.

“Why do you know about that?”

“Because information is a merchants’ essence” He evades the question.

“……”

Even if you say “information is a merchants’ essence,” didn’t that travel way too fast, no matter how you put it?

“Well, perhaps I exaggerated a bit. To tell the truth, lately rumors were circulating in the market.  If I’m right about it, then you should know what the rumor is about.” So he says.

No, I don’t know.  Since I received the High Heel Boots just a moment ago, it shouldn’t be possible for a rumor to already be circulating in the market.  Maybe it was a rumor about the emperor getting some Enamel High Heel Boots?

Maybe it’s a rumor purporting the emperor doing this and that with Enamel High Heel boots on a nightly basis?  Certainly that could prevent others from speaking of it, if it was a rumor like that, it could be considered a disrespectful crime.

No, it would then be a crime of leaking classified information.

“I-I see”

“Given that it was to be bestowed soon, there was a rumor…”

It wasn’t a rumor of the Emperor doing th

So the rumor was that ‘The Emperor has bought some Enamel High Heel Boots, so they will be bestowed soon,’ or something similar?  I guess that makes sense.

“Don’t tell me, did the prices of monster cards go up?”

“It’s not quite like that, but more or less, yes”

As expected of the Emperor.  He doesn’t do a single decent thing.

‘If you know someone is going buy monster cards soon, their prices are going to increase as well,’  or something similar.  ‘The Emperor will bestow a piece of equipment.  The person who receives it will need to obtain a monster card, and fuse them.’  Of course it’s common to buy monster cards at auctions.

Whether it is successful or not, it only needs to be fused once.  Even if I include Kobold’s monster card, that would be a maximum of two.  Additionally, there is the possibility that I could use existing stock.  Either way, the monster cards will absolutely be consumed.

As a merchant, that poses a problem.  The market can move if that information lands in their hands.

Even if a dog barks at nothing, ten thousand will take is seriously * (TLCN: it means that sometimes if one spouts bullshit, some people may think it is true, something appropriate in this time of darkness).  If everyone thinks stock prices will rise in the future, then the stock prices will likely rise.

If people think that tomorrow’s price of monster cards will be higher than today’s, then the price of monster cards will rise.  It’s not important to the speculator that the prices or demand fluctuate as a market, but what impact those fluctuations will have on the market.

“This being the case, I’d like to get a corresponding monster card as soon as possible. If possible, before the price has yet to go up. The problem is the type though”

“About monster cards, I am quite knowledgeable, and I know what to get and where to find them.  Could you to come back again tomorrow morning?”   Rook cuts in before I have a chance to ask Celie about types.\nIt seems he has some ideas about which ones would be best and where to get them.  Perhaps he is selling the ones he has on hand.

“I understand”

“I won’t suggest any bad ideas, so please rest assured” (Rook)

I really didn’t feel assured when he said that though.  I only hear ‘Don’t worry, this will be bad for you.’  Well, I really can only buy from Rook anyways…  Perhaps should I start searching from drops?

That would be difficult as well.  It’s not something you can plan to get when you set your sights on it.  Additionally, the timeframe for completion is limited as well.

If the needed drop doesn’t appear, regardless of effort, I would be stamped as an unloyal person, after being bestowed equipment from the Emperor.  To be fair, I would be fine with being branded, and having my standing lowered.  I don’t have any loyalty to him.

And he’s a pervert.

Well, I guess I can’t leave it like that, nor do I have a choice with Rook today.  I’ll just leave for the day.

======================= Day============================

I’ve entrusted the matter with the monster cards completely to Rook.  With that, we enter the labyrinth, working there is my job.

We didn’t happen to randomly get a monster card.  Of course it wouldn’t.

If I try my best to not fall asleep, in the next morning we will be doing the thirty-seventh floor boss fight.

“The theory is to surround the boss with everyone and defeat them one by one, so what should we do?”  Before entering the boss room, Celie asks.

“It’s like that?”

Celia responds, “Yes. The Beep Sheep’s boss is Sleep Sheep. If the party that entered before us doesn’t get wiped out, they will be sleeping as they are freshly spawned”

“To think that they really are sleeping”

Sleep Sheep.  It seems to be a sleeping monster, as the name says.  What are they doing to make themselves sleep?

“Of course it will wake up once it’s attacked. It’s a nasty enemy once it wakes up”  Celie notifies us.

“So it’s like a handicap.”

I will let you Hit me first, that sort of thing.  Even if I rushed it with Durandal, it would be difficult to slice the boss in half, slaying it with a single blow.  Especially with the degree of difficulty of this floor.

Or maybe I can slack off.

“The attack of an awoken Sleep Sheep is terrifying, if you receive its skill attack, you will inevitably be put to sleep”Knowledgeable as always, Celia informs us.

“What do you mean by ‘inevitably be put to sleep?’”

“Even if you are hit with a normal body slam attack, there is high probability you will fall asleep”

“What’s the purpose of a skill attack, then?”

It seems like a boss with a lot to retort.

Celia explains further,”There is a theory that it’s in a bad mood from being awoken when it was sleeping”

“Well, certainly your mood would be bad”

I wonder, do monsters have moods?

“Sleep Sheep’s hair is extremely fluffy, and exceptionally dense.  It’s very soft and comfortable to touch”

“Doesn’t that affect and reduce its offensive power?”

” It seems that When wrapped in Sleep Sheep hair, you will end up sleeping because it feels too good”

…… I give up on  “tsukkoming” anymore. (TL/ED Note: This is a play on tsukkoming being a type of “retort”)

Lets leave it at: ‘Because it’s a monster, It might do these things.’

Sleep Sheep.  Apparently it seems like a terrible enemy.

“It’s not a problem as long as its so-called ‘skill attack,’ as you say, can be avoided. We can use area attack magic to defeat it faster, is there any particular reason to defeat them one by one? ” We should ignore Roxanne opinions.

“Fight all at once, ~desu” As I thought that, Miria agreed with her.

“It’s okay even simultaneously, I think” (Vesta)\nWill it really be okay?  Do they really understand?  When fighting simultaneously with two bosses, Roxanne and Vesta will be the ones standing in front.

Oh well, is there any way they don’t understand that?  It’s been like this up to now.

“Isn’t it fine? If they’re comfortable with that, I will be able to boast during a Lords Conference”  Rutina doesn’t get it, I’m pretty sure.

“I understand. Well we will be fighting them multiple times anyways, let’s try it one at a time first. It is our first encounter after all. If we can fight them without problems, we can fight them simultaneously next time”

“I see. You are composed. That’s a rational proposal”  Celie agreed with me.  Seems only Celie can be rational.  Roxanne and the girls don’t oppose this suggestion either.  I guess that’s natural, we’ll deal with them one at a time first.

The Sleep sheep, was a sleeping sheep.  They really are sleeping.

After surrounding them one at a time, we easily cleaned up.  Although, Miria was on the one who did it.  Now that I think about it, it’s natural.  The enemy is asleep.  Surrounding it while it sleeps, we will get the first attack regardless.  Even if it wakes up after getting attacked, because it can’t move immediately after waking, we also get in the second attack, easily.

Since Roxanne acts as vanguard, Miria attacks from behind.  With this arrangement, she doesn’t need to be concerned with counterattacks.  That allows her to land one or two more attacks.  Perhaps a little more if she recklessly swings her weapon.  With that many attacks, surely she will petrify her opponent.

In other words, it ended up like this: The act itself was easier than the stress of its  planning. *

“In the end, we never had the chance to use area attack magic”

“You’re right”  Roxanne agrees.

“It is thanks to Miria”

“Yes, desu”  I stroke Miria’s head.  I slid my hand under her hat and touched her cat ears.  They are lovely, twitching and moving.  It is one of the charms of cat ears.

“This way of fighting should be fine for Sleep Sheep. Let’s continue fighting using this method next time as well.”

Since I took out Durandal, the experience value gained was a little small… maybe.  Regardless, it is best if we can win safely.  The decreased experience isn’t significant, anyways.

Afterwards, we went around and repeated the boss battle.  One by one, they got petrified repeatedly without much problem.  Safety first.  If there was ever a problem, would it be that the previous party would be annihilated, and the Sleep Sheep would be awake when we would enter?  Well, that should be rare, and even in that case, surely the Sleep Sheep wouldn’t be fully intact.  They should retain some damage, so it shouldn’t be as dangerous of a situation.

In fact, we never found a Sleep Sheep in that state.  So we have neutralized them, safely and soundly, one by one.

I can say that it feels like the least dangerous boss battle since floor thirty-four.

Something like this strange handicap, allowing the first hit, is the cause of the Sleep Sheep’s demise.  And experiencing something like the comfort of being wrapped in it’s dense wool, we need to give up on that.

We fought safely until breakfast, and then left the labyrinth.  After breakfast, Celie and I went directly to the merchant’s guild.

“Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you”  When I called for Rook at the waiting room, he came right away.

“It seems I made you wait”

“No-no. I am the one who called you here”  Rook is not denying that he has been waiting.  Should we get to the main subject, quickly, then?

“So. What about the monster cards?”

“Yes. I think that these should be fine”  I cut the story short after we entered the room, and Rook took out two monster cards.

A Kobold card, and the other one is an Ox monster card.  The Kobold monster card, because I have a spare, I could say that I don’t need it.

“These are…?”

“Yes. They are an Ox monster card and Kobold monster card” (Rook)

“Ox monster card, when fused together with Kobold monster card, will become mobility enhancement skill. It’s a standard skill to put on shoes”  I understood from Celie’s explanation that mobility enhancements are usually put on shoes.

The appraisal skill confirms the cards.  For an Ox to increase mobility, I don’t get it.

My image of an Ox is that of a really slow creature.  Although, looking at a bullfight, it’s not that slow.  Maybe, I think, an American Bison could be a fast one?  Even if it is an Ox, it would be a monster type of Ox.  It goes without saying that it would be more fierce than an energetic cow.

Or, possibly, this may be a world where it is considered elegant to ride Ox carriage like Heian aristocrats.  Regardless, this is something that I will be gifting to the Emperor.  To the elegant emperor who has the elegant hobby of being stepped on by high heels.

“Hmmm… It sounds fine”

“Thank you, very much. How about 4,500 naru for Ox monster card, and 5000 naru for Kobold monster card?”  It should fine to also buy the Kobold monster card if it is just 5000 naru.  He probably assigned that price because he considered that I would buy it at that price.

“That’s fine”

“You will be presenting it to the Emperor if the fusion succeeds, so if you purchase the two of them, I will give you a special price this time of 6,650 naru” Rook informs me.

Nope. I also need kobold monster cards.

It is absolutely necessary.\n