Chapter 47
The third day of the summit was a repetition of the first day’s schedule.
They held heated discussions while debating the future.
[Clever] voiced its boredom.
This talk saw no progress no matter how much time was allocated to it.
It was like talking to a wall.
By the end of the day, not a single new policy had been decided through the meeting.
The word agreement felt infinitely far away.
The Captains were also growing weary, and fatigue was evident in their complexions.
They might have preferred to see blood.
If they did not have to participate in this trivial farce, they would have seized what they wanted through force.
However, no one here desired that.
If they truly believed dialogue was unnecessary, this gathering would not have been created in the first place.
The reality was simply much colder than they had imagined.
“Let us call it a day.”
Derek ended the meeting.
Usually the one to remain in his seat the longest, today he was the first to stand.
His eyes were bloodshot.
He seemed to be under a great deal of stress.
The other Captains also left the hall one by one.
Once the superiors vanished, the students, finally gaining their freedom, let out deep sighs.
Tania rubbed her eyelids and went upstairs.
The others seemed as exhausted as she was, for they did not stay in the hall long.
In the blink of an eye, only I and a few workers remained on the first floor.
Joshua walked out to the terrace.
In that place, which had grown chilly at night, a man was spending time smoking a cigarette.
He was a middle-aged man named Martel, the Guild Master of the Merchant Guild.
“Ohh, the famous mage. Welcome.”
He had the cheerful, high tone characteristic of a merchant.
He was a man with a gentle impression and a protruding, fleshy belly to match.
He stood up, placed a hand on his chest, and bowed.
It was a noble’s greeting.
“Fufu, how was it?”
“I don't know much about etiquette, but I think it was an excellent greeting.”
He wore a bashful expression and took a puff of his cigarette.
As he exhaled, white smoke rose into the air.
“Haha, my apologies. It is my first time being praised for a greeting. Everyone else looks at me with displeasure, saying I am a mere commoner imitating a noble.”
“Is that so.”
“So, what is the reason you sought me out?”
“I came because there are items I want to buy.”
Joshua knew this man had no interest in the outcome of this summit.
He was a merchant to his core.
The type who believed that money and connections were what was necessary to survive.
There was no way he came empty-handed.
Unlike nobles, commoners cannot flaunt wealth through a name alone.
Martel inhaled the cigarette more deeply than before.
He sucked it in all the way to the end of the filter in one breath and then spat the smoke out toward the ground.
The smoke touched the floor.
“How did you know?”
“I thought this place was perfect for introducing something. A true merchant would not miss this opportunity. However, the reason you have not revealed it yet is that you thought the time was not right, correct?”
Martel fell into thought while stroking his chin.
Where had he been caught?
Even retracing the conversations he had, there was no specific part that stood out.
He considered giving a vague excuse but gave up after seeing the boy’s gaze.
Those eyes were filled with certainty.
A small crack appeared in the mask of a smile he wore on his face.
Judging that he could no longer hide it, he decided to confess.
“You have bested me.”
Martel gave a good-natured smile and waved his hand.
“As you said, I am a businessman, so I don't come to a place like this empty-handed. I carry things like a peddler. My colleagues are at a location not far from Rosenwald. The goods are there, and they will come this way whenever I signal.”
“I want to make a trade.”
“I don't believe I have introduced my goods yet?”
“If it is Mr. Martel, who succeeded in becoming the Guild Master of the Merchant Guild through his own efforts, surely you have everything except for what does not exist.”
“Haha, the praise is excessive.”
While Martel felt a liking for the boy.
He was tense because of the fact that the boy knew too much about him.
He believed a true merchant should have a mouth that is both light and heavy.
Just as a city merchant moves in bright places.
While a black-market merchant breathes in the dark underground.
Therefore, Martel did not talk much about his past.
The fact that his life started with nothing.
That was information only a few close acquaintances knew.
“How will the trade be conducted?”
“Barter. I will also offer items that match the value.”
“Can you show me first? I will evaluate it and prepare what is needed.”
Joshua seemed to have prepared in advance, as he took something out from a small backpack at his waist.
Mana Herb.
Among the herbs that grow in the wild, it was on the rare side.
Eating it raw produced the same effect as a mana reagent.
It was also frequently used as a base for potions.
The boy held three stalks of it in his hand.
“Where did you get these?”
“It is a discourtesy to ask a customer for information as far as I know.”
“That is true, but I find it a bit regrettable.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you had not snapped the Mana Herb at the stem but dug out the root intact, we might have been able to cultivate it. I heard a certain professor is currently conducting research related to that. I don't know if they succeeded, though.”
Joshua smiled broadly.
He showed no sign of regret even at the explanation.
Rather, he was overflowing with composure as if he already knew.
“I am sorry. The small talk was long. Then, tell me what you want.”
“Scrolls. The kind that can hold magic.”
Scrolls are items that allow even those who are not mages to use magic.
In the future, they were also used as a type of currency.
The value varied greatly depending on what magic was contained within, and they mainly held common magic.
“How many sheets are you thinking of?”
“Ten sheets.”
Martel was surprised.
The number of ten sheets was the most ideal price for both parties.
However, a businessman did not like the word ideal.
The principle should always be to leave even a few extra pennies behind.
The moment this stingy mindset vanished.
He believed his life as a merchant would end as well.
“Let us make it eight sheets.”
Eight sheets.
By this much, he was a merchant overflowing with a conscience.
Considering the opponent was a boy, talking him into it was simple.
He even had the confidence to cut the price in half from the start.
But because he wanted to stay on good terms with him in the future.
He only deducted two sheets.
“Eleven sheets.”
“...I am sorry. I misheard, could you say that again?”
“I said eleven sheets.”
Joshua knitted his brows.
“Ah, I have not explained the basis for why I suggested eight sheets. So, the current market price for scrolls is...”
“Twelve sheets.”
He cut Martel off once more and demanded a higher number.
It felt like treading on thin ice.
The words were mixed with emotions that felt like a dagger being stabbed.
It was as if he were warning Martel not to even think about deceiving him.
But Martel did not give up.
Because this was not the first time he had faced a customer like this boy in his thirty years of business life.
“I-Is there something wrong perhaps? I was planning to explain the value I suggested.”
“Thirteen sheets.”
Martel clenched his teeth.
He composed his thoughts.
The Mana Herb was necessary and he wanted it.
The time spent agonizing grew long, and this was a mistake.
The boy turned around with the intention of leaving the spot without raising the count any further.
Martel stood up hurriedly and grabbed his arm.
“I-I am sorry for trying to test you! I will trade at the initial ten sheets.”
“...There won’t be a second chance next time.”
“Haha, I will keep that in mind. Let us conduct the trade tomorrow morning.”
The boy turned away.
Only after he completely disappeared from the terrace.
Did the pounding in Martel's chest subside.
Cold sweat ran down.
More than the three-hour summit.
The ten minutes spent talking with the boy just now had drained his stamina much more.
“Dammit! It should not have been like this. If I don't somehow cut at least one more sheet.”
Martel was overcome with regret.
He had conducted the trade at the amount the customer demanded without even a single protest.
He felt as if his convictions had crumbled today.
* * *
The fourth day of the summit.
It was the day the final test was to be held.
People finished their preparations early in the morning and moved toward the forest, the site of the test.
Joshua was at the very back of the group, writing on the scrolls he had received from Martel.
“My goodness, where did you get so many scrolls?”
By the time Tania asked in surprise, he had finished the third scroll.
“I found a partner.”
“W-Who is it? Is it Senior Adela?”
“It is not her.”
“Ah, if not, then Senior Serena?”
“It is not her either.”
“D-Don't tell me! It's not those two who seduced you the other day, is it?”
Tania covered her face with her hands, looking embarrassed.
It seemed she had misinterpreted the meaning of partner.
For example, a partner in a physical relationship to satisfy each other’s sexual desires.
[Clever] chuckled, seemingly enjoying her misunderstanding.
“...If you get married, Senior, are you going to have a mistress?”
I wore a flustered expression.
This question was certainly difficult to anticipate.
“I’m not sure, I have never thought about it.”
“I think it is an important issue. Once the world stabilizes, we will have to draw up a future, and the matter of a spouse can never be left out.”
“...I suppose so.”
The figure who was the operator of the game that dropped me here.
He gave me the mission to survive and stay alive here along with the command to clear the game.
What is at the end of it?
Can I return to my original world?
I missed my parents and my friends.
I missed the environments that encompassed reality enough to feel nostalgia.
However, those things did not become the driving force for my life.
I wanted to live.
That was a clear fact, but I did not know where this emotion originated from.
It was a matter that would end if I just dismissed it as instinct, but...
When I came to my senses, I had completed all the formulas on the ten scrolls.
“Miss Rainwood, I am sorry, but would it be alright if I spoke with him for a moment?”
A person had come down from the front of the group to the rear.
It was Carius, the Captain of the Sunlight Knights.
When he asked for Tania’s understanding, she withdrew with a subtle expression.
“Ahem, it seems this is the first time I have spoken with you since the first day.”
“What is your business?”
“I wanted to apologize for what happened before. I mean, calling you a Novice and looking down on you.”
“I see.”
I wore a disinterested expression.
For the past few days, there had been countless people who approached and flattered me.
It became a daily routine to distinguish between truth and lies in their words.
Mostly, they were words without substance, like an empty can.
“If it is alright with you, I would like to be on decent terms from now on.”
“I am sorry, but that seems difficult.”
I rejected his proposal flatly.
To survive in this game, one must not make many enemies.
Nevertheless, there are figures for whom a clear line must be drawn.
Carius in front of me was that kind of human.
Back when I was playing the game.
I tasted all kinds of corruption while working under the Sunlight Knights.
And all those matters were deeply related to him.
“Ha, you certainly have a talent for making me feel ashamed. Do you not know that it is a courtesy to accept when a superior reaches out first?”
This hot-tempered side was also a reason to avoid him.
His voice changed.
It was like a beast growling.
His gaze was so fierce that if it weren't for [Steady Nerves], my spine would have tingled.
“Sir Carius, it would be best not to do anything unnecessary.”
Rodwell, who was up ahead, threw a warning message.
Carius left me with a face quite different from when he approached.
Whether he was shameless or had a bad memory.
Shaming him in the duel seemed to have been insufficient.
You don’t need to worry.
Because I still have one more gift to give you.
[Clever] and [Cool] calculated whether there were any setbacks in the plan I made with them.
I was not worried.
I prepared plans for every possible variable.
The group stopped walking, and the entrance to the forest was visible below a steep slope.
Despite the clear weather, the forest remained writhing in darkness as if it had not yet woken up.
The giant shadows created by the pine trees that had guarded that place for decades.
Wind blew from the direction of the forest.
I could feel it.
The smell of blood mixed in the wind.
[Sub Quest - Trial of the Forest]
Clear Objective - Hunt the variants active in the forest.
Difficulty - A+
Reward - 50 Coins