Chapter 13 – The Truth Merchant Guild (1)
Sian’s condition was quite serious.
Currently, there was no way to get a priest or even a potion immediately.
If things continued like this, something terrible might happen.
I racked my brain, wondering what to do, but there was one option.
“My daughter knows how to treat wounds. She won’t be able to heal completely, but she can provide some first aid.”
It was Grayson’s daughter, Ellie.
Grayson spoke modestly, but judging from the territory residents’ reactions, Ellie’s healing skills seemed considerable.
Sian went to find Ellie right away.
And then…
“Oh, my goodness…! How could it be this bad…!” Ellie exclaimed upon seeing Sian’s condition.
“To maintain your sanity in this state… Quickly, this way!”
Sian received treatment amidst Ellie’s flurry of activity.
“Huu… I’ve done what I can for first aid. I’ve addressed the most dangerous issues, so it shouldn’t get any worse from here.”
At Ellie’s words, Sian assessed his condition.
Movement was easier than before.
It was much better than what most healers could do; no exaggeration.
“Your skills are considerable. Did you learn formally?”
“No. I didn’t learn from anyone. There was no one to teach me.”
“…Then you figured this out on your own?”
“Rather than figuring it out… my father gets hurt so often. I naturally… learned while treating him.”
Ellie bowed her head slightly, as if embarrassed.
“But it’s just first aid. You absolutely must get help from a priest or a potion!”
Ellie then calmly organized the treatment supplies.
Sian stared at Ellie.
Ellie, who seemed to have just transitioned from girlhood to womanhood.
From Ellie, who had just passed adulthood, a simple beauty radiated.
Not the artificial sophistication of noble ladies, but a natural beauty felt along with her simple attire.
That’s what made her even more attractive.
It was hard to believe that she was the daughter of Grayson, who had such a sharp, severe look.
She must have resembled her mother…
Since her mother wasn’t around,
I could roughly understand what was going on.
A common story for those who live in the Dark Forest.
That’s why Sian didn’t pry.
“Um…”
Suddenly, Ellie’s voice broke the silence.
Ellie was trying to organize the supplies, pretending to be calm.
But she couldn’t bring herself to look at Sian.
She seemed to be hesitating a lot.
I tilted my head, wondering what was troubling her.
Ellie opened her mouth in a voice that seemed to sink in.
“Th-thank you… for saving my father…”
Then she bowed her head deeply.
The hands that had been calmly organizing the supplies had stopped.
Sian stared at Ellie.
A common story for those who live in the Dark Forest.
Perhaps, if you are a resident of Ruben.
You must have at least one painful memory of losing someone.
But just because it’s common.
Just because others are going through the same thing.
It didn’t mean it wasn’t painful.
It wasn’t something you could calmly accept.
What if Grayson was also lost?
What if he had been crushed by hobgoblins and his body couldn’t even be recovered?
What would Ellie have been like?
Would she have been able to bow her head shyly like she is now?
Sian chuckled.
Then he waved his hand and said.
“It’s okay. I got treated by you, too. I got paid for sure, so you don’t have to be so grateful.”
“How can you say that…”
“What do you mean, ‘where is it’? It’s right here.”
Sian checked his condition once again.
No joke, the treatment was cleaner and more effective than that of a professional healer.
Of course, it was inferior to a priest.
They borrow the power of God to literally ‘heal’ the body.
That’s why nobles don’t usually use healers.
If they are sick or injured, they can just get help from a priest.
But it costs a lot of money to get help from a priest.
So commoners couldn’t easily get help from a priest.
Most people look for healers when they are hurt or sick.
But there weren’t that many healers.
Priests who borrow the power of God were precious as well,
but healers also required considerable expertise.
Because of that, the existence of healers was also quite precious.
Especially skilled healers.
‘But to be at this level with just self-study…’
For a moment, Sian’s head spun around.
‘Wouldn’t I be able to make money if I ran a treatment center in the territory? She seems to be good at it…’
Sian’s eyes gleamed as he looked at Ellie.
“Why, why are you looking at me like that…?”
Ellie flinched.
But Sian’s eyes were still gleaming as he looked at Ellie.
“Hooh…”
No, they were even more dazzling than before!
It was like looking at a delicious prey.
And Ellie didn’t know what that meant.
In an instant, Ellie’s face flushed.
At the same time, she began to panic, not knowing what to do.
“Ah, ah… I… I’m… that… not yet…”
She couldn’t even speak properly.
Only her flustered gestures represented Ellie’s feelings.
Soon, Sian 벌떡, 일어나다 [suddenly stood up] from his seat.
“Ah, ah… Aah!”
Ellie squeezed her eyes shut.
*Don’t refuse.*
Sian was the benefactor who saved her father and the lord of Ruben.
So she had to accept whatever he wanted.
But so suddenly…
She knew that she would give her heart to someone someday…
But not like this…
Sian’s presence was getting closer and closer.
And when he came close to her.
“I wonder if there’s anything in Mobile Lord [a mobile game]? If you rummage through the territory facilities, there might be a treatment center… Ha, then I’ll have to spend money again anyway.”
Sian’s meaningful voice was heard.
And with those words, Sian’s presence faded away.
“Eh…?”
Ellie unknowingly let out a dumbfounded sound.
Soon, she opened her eyes slightly.
A glimpse of sight.
Sian was walking far away.
“……”
Something…
She felt like she had become a fool.
“What are you doing? Why aren’t you following me?”
“Y, yes…?”
But at Sian’s words that followed, Ellie flinched again.
H, perhaps was the place the problem…?
Ellie squeezed her eyes shut and asked.
“Wh, where are you going…?”
“Where are you going?”
Then Sian replied as if asking something obvious.
“I have to go make money.”
#
Lush thickets and towering trees.
“Huu…! I think I’m almost there.”
Amelia wiped the sweat flowing from her forehead and looked around.
It was a landscape where it was difficult to even guess where was where.
Nevertheless, Amelia took steps without hesitation.
It was because she was so familiar with the road, having been there countless times.
Amelia, the head of the Truth Merchant Guild.
Amelia was one of the merchants trading with Ruben.
To be exact, she was the ‘only’ merchant trading with Ruben.
“Lucas. Let’s check the goods once.”
Amelia said, turning her head slightly.
Then Lucas, a knight in simple attire, put down the bundle he was carrying.
“Here it is, Miss.”
“Thank you, Lucas.”
“It’s my job. So from now on, I’ll carry the luggage that the lady is carrying.”
“I can’t let Lucas suffer alone. Lucas is already carrying most of the luggage.”
Amelia gave a light smile.
The smile combined with her red hair brightened the atmosphere of the dark forest.
“Let’s see…”
Amelia checked the items in the bundle.
And a bundle, not a cart.
In fact, it was a very shabby appearance to be called a merchant guild.
That’s why it couldn’t really be called a merchant guild.
The Truth Merchant Guild was Amelia, the head of the merchant guild.
And Lucas, the member of the merchant guild, was all there was.
A peddler.
A slightly more organized peddler would be a more appropriate name.
“There’s enough food… and the hoe Grayson asked for… it’s here.”
Amelia checked the contents of the bundle one by one.
Items for trading with the residents of Ruben.
In fact, it would have been right to prepare gold coins instead of these groceries.
Amelia wanted to buy the carcasses of monsters from Ruben.
That was usually traded with gold coins.
But the residents of Ruben were not like that.
Gold coins were not very useful to them.
Ruben, the Necromancy Territory.
For them, food that could last them day by day was more valuable than gold coins.
Of course, that didn’t mean she didn’t bring gold coins,
but Amelia had never used gold coins in Ruben.
“Okay. Everything’s here.”
Amelia checked that all the items were there and then tied up the bundle again.
“Will the residents of Ruben be able to buy all of this?”
Lucas’ voice was heard at that moment.
Lucas’ expression was somewhat doubtful.
“Hmm…”
Amelia couldn’t answer easily.
That’s because the carcasses of monsters that Amelia bought each time she visited Ruben were very few.
At most one or two.
The most was only six.
Of course, the value of monsters living in the Dark Forest was considerable.
Even if they are the same species of monster, they are basically valued at twice the price.
And as they go to higher grades, it soars to 3 times, 5 times, 10 times.
It literally skyrockets.
But the monsters bought in Ruben were low-grade.
And the number was not that many.
With that amount, Amelia couldn’t buy all the items she had prepared.
In short, it was petty cash.
Considering the danger of coming to the Dark Forest, it could be said that it was not worth it.
It was true that merchants would risk death if there was a place where they could make money.
But that was only when it was worth it.
That’s why no merchants came to Ruben.
But.
“I have to earn even this petty cash.”
Currently, Amelia was not in a position to be picky.
And.
“If it’s not me, who will supply food to this place?”
She was the only one who could provide food to the people of Ruben.
If it wasn’t for Amelia, people would be starving to death.
So.
“I can just sell it at a loss.”
“……”
Lucas sighed inwardly at her words.
Amelia was always like this.
Originally, a merchant had to have a sly side.
They had to know how to package losses as if they were profits.
Conversely, they also had to know how to package things as if they were not losses.
Some people call this ‘fraud,’ but originally, a merchant had to have such aspects.
Aren’t merchants the ones who do anything for profit?
Of course, that didn’t mean he was condoning the actions of such merchants.
But at least they shouldn’t see a ‘loss’.
But because of that damn affection.
Because of her foolishly honest, stupidly honest nature.
Amelia insisted on ‘trust’ as a virtue of a merchant.
“……”
So Lucas was frustrated with Amelia in some ways.
Lucas thought Amelia had enough talent.
Amelia, the daughter of a noble family.
She had an extraordinary mind since she was young.
She was quick with calculations, and her sense of understanding the situation was also excellent.
Not to mention her eye for reading the flow of money.
Frankly speaking, she was not just talented, but a talent destined to become a great merchant.
If that wasn’t the case, she wouldn’t have been able to come this far.
At the point when the family collapsed,
She would have collapsed long ago in the midst of all the hardships and oppressions that followed.
Amelia overcame all of those things tenaciously.
But that was it.
She was not given a chance.
Amelia was often ignored because she was a woman.
And even if she was given a chance, when she looked at the reality.
They were all guys who approached her for the purpose of taking advantage of Amelia’s beauty.
If Amelia had been given just one chance.
If there was someone who saw Amelia not as a woman, but as the head of a merchant guild.
Or if Amelia was born as a man, not a woman.
Or if Amelia’s disposition was a little more callous.
If only one of these conditions was met.
Amelia would have been the owner of a great merchant guild that dominated the empire by now.
But that was something that could only happen in dreams.
If that was possible, it would have been possible long ago.
“Let’s go, Lucas.”
“…… I understand, Miss.”
Lucas hid his bitter expression and followed Amelia.
How long had they walked like that?
Slowly, the forest was ending and the view began to open.
Arriving at Ruben before they knew it.
Amelia stopped walking for a moment.
“Where are the people hiding?”
“Well. Grayson said that the Dark Forest has been fierce lately…”
The people of Ruben did not live in the territory proper.
To be exact, they couldn’t live there.
They were always running away and hiding due to the hordes of monsters that came in without warning.
That’s why to trade, you had to start by finding them.
“I’ll go and take a look.”
“No. Let’s go together.”
Amelia and Lucas’ pace naturally quickened.
Soon, when they set foot in Ruben’s territory.
“…… Huh?”
“…… Huh?”
Amelia and Lucas’ expressions froze at the same time.
It was as if they were thinking, ‘Is the sight I’m seeing right now real…?’
That’s because the sight the two were seeing now…
“Ugh! Here are the goblins that have been dismantled.”
“Have you done almost half of the work?”
It was a sight of people gathering together and doing something!
To be exact, they were dismantling the corpses of goblins.
*Wait a minute.*
Goblins?
Crack.
Thud.
“Hey, be careful not to damage the leather!”
“Don’t worry! I have the experience of surviving in the Dark Forest all this time.”
The sight even seemed peaceful somehow.
“Wh, wh, what is it…?”
“Th, this… what on earth is going on…?”
Amelia couldn’t believe the sight she was seeing.
Right then.
“Is this how you do it?”
A dumb voice was heard from somewhere.
Looking at that place.
There was a man dismantling a goblin corpse.
A noble…?.
For a moment, she thought so, but quickly shook it off.
Because his appearance was too shabby to say that.
Above all, why would a noble be dismantling a goblin corpse?
Moreover, the work was quite clumsy.
It was almost at the level of damaging the value of the corpse.
As expected, a woman ran over in horror.
“Lord! How many times have I told you that the corpse will rot if you handle it like that! Just rest over there. We’ll take care of these chores.”
Then she snatched the goblin corpse that the man was holding.
But the man snatched the corpse back and shouted.
“Hey, be quiet! You keep saying that since last time. Ellie, do you think I don’t know you’re trying to get more allowance?”
“That’s not it! You’re not even in good shape… and what are you talking about when you don’t even give me an allowance?”
“Th… later, later! Right now? There’s a lot of money to be used in the territory, so all the residents have to work together. Okay, we have to reduce the labor cost for even one person, so stop talking nonsense and teach me properly.”
The woman called Ellie could only let out a deep sigh as if she couldn’t stop him.
Then she stuck next to the man and started teaching him something.
“Here, if you look here, you can see the muscles, right? That’s a precious part because it’s the part that balances the body. So if you dismantle it like this…”
“How do you know all this?”
“Even if it’s a monster, if you just understand the structure of the body, it’s all the same. Ah, that part is cartilage, so you have to handle it especially carefully…”
“Huh? It’s broken.”
“That’s why I told you to just rest over there!!”
Right then.
“Young master. It seems like someone has come to visit.”
“Huh? Visit? Who would come to our Ruben…”
At the old man’s words next to him, the man quickly raised his head.
Eyes meeting with Amelia.
“Ah!”
The man clapped his hands together and got up from his seat.
Ellie must have thought it was a good time.
She took the goblin corpse that the man was working on and ran away somewhere.
The man strode towards where Amelia was.
“Are you the head of the Truth Merchant Guild?”
“Ah… yes…”
Amelia nodded with a dazed expression.
Then the man smiled and held out his hand.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Sian Elandur, the lord of Ruben.”
“…… Lord?”
Was there a lord in Ruben…?.
Amelia couldn’t understand what was going on at all.