Chapter 39
“Huh?”
What I'd given him was saffron.
It was a fairly expensive spice with a pretty distinctive aroma.
Even in the supermarket, there were only three canisters in a fairly upscale corner, and the price was considerably higher than the others.
Though of course, it was nowhere near the value of a gold piece here.
So I'd wondered if it was worth the 50 silver, but it looked like he'd gotten far more out of it than I'd expected.
“This is worth paying extra for. Where on earth did you get a spice like this?”
“That much?”
“It’s that much and more!! Not only His Majesty, but the princes, princesses, and even the nobles in attendance were all scrambling for it! The rumor’s already spread all through the imperial palace!”
Listening to him, it seemed the event he’d attended was a huge banquet regularly held in the imperial palace.
There, all sorts of skilled chefs were invited to present their dishes, and one of them had grabbed everyone’s attention with its unique flavor.
It was the cooking of Reinhardt’s head chef, Jean Cremore... or so the story went.
“E-even the princess!?”
Aris also gaped in astonishment.
Jean said, flexing his thick forearms.
“Yes. Not only that, but nobles from the highest ranks to the lowest all wanted to taste my cooking.”
“Really?”
“Really. It got to the point where they were competing over it.”
He said happily.
“It’s lucky enough to be able to use a spice like this, but it’s been a long time since I’ve gotten praise this strong. Thanks to it, I’ve made connections with several nobles.”
I knew he was also a fairly skilled chef in the Empire.
The spice got such favorable reviews because of his skill, too.
But at the same time, you could say it also proved the potential of the things I had to some extent.
“Come with me at once! I’ll pay you extra!”
“Can’t you pay me with something other than money?”
“Something else? Just say the word!”
“Please contact the nobles who showed interest. I’ve got some extra spice left.”
“Hmm? That’s not difficult, but... are you planning to sell spices?”
“I need to start making some money, too.”
“That’s right! A person has to play in the big leagues! If there’s anything I can help with, I’ll help! However...”
“However?”
“When I ask you to sell it for me, just sell it a little at a time, okay? There’s too much I want to experiment with.”
“Of course.”
In the first place, if the quality of the cooking went up, I was the one who benefited first.
“Then that’s great!”
He readily agreed.
Deal secured!
* * *
From there, things moved along quite quickly, like a ship with a fair wind behind it.
Robert promptly compiled a list of nobles who could be contacted.
Then he hired messengers to convey our circumstances.
We quickly nailed down a date for negotiations.
“So far, there are five noble houses that want to buy. All of them want that red spice, and some are interested in other things as well.”
Even so, only one noble had immediately set up a purchase appointment at the School Market.
The others would take a bit longer.
It seemed they needed time to prepare for the formalities and the budget.
If anything, the first one had been strangely fast.
And so came the day I landed my first client.
I was at the upscale inn in the School Market.
Robert said worriedly.
“Will you be all right? Viscount Oberon has a bit of a bad reputation. I hear he’s one of the more extreme members of the noble faction, so be careful.”
“Well, are we in any position to be picky? If it feels off, we can just back out.”
After saying that, I sat down at the negotiation table with Robert.
On the opposite side were Viscount Oberon and his escort.
The escort was a knight who looked fairly young.
“I’ll buy all the spices you have.”
“Oh? Really?”
But what came next was shocking.
In a bad way.
“I’ll pay 1 gold upfront, and 1 more gold at a later date.”
Viscount Oberon said, picking his ear with a finger jammed beside his pudgy face.
What?
Didn’t even you say you’d add more because 50 silver wasn’t enough?
According to Robert, the payment we could receive for selling all of this spice was at least 20 gold.
An absurdly small amount.
“Wait. That’s too little. At least 25 gold...”
Robert said, but he ignored him and went on.
“You’re the heir to the Light Trading Company, are you? Step aside. This is our deal, isn’t it?”
I knew nobles were arrogant, but this much?
Wasn’t this a little strange?
“Well, let’s hear what you’re thinking.”
I spoke politely, but the answer I got was quite something.
“What would a commoner like you know about spices?”
Hmm.
It didn’t look like he had any intention of negotiating.
He was basically a robber wielding authority instead of a sword.
“Heh, you sure know how to speak nicely.”
You wanna die?
“So, you’re not selling?”
“Would you sell if you were me?”
I raised my middle finger.
Unfortunately, that gesture didn’t seem to work in this other world.
When he raised a hand, one of the knights stepped forward.
A rather young knight.
“William. Just scare them a little. Not enough to kill them.”
“Yes, sir!”
But before he could draw his sword,
[Using Status Enhancement Selection Ticket (SSR, 5th Floor). Agility has skyrocketed!! (D→B)]
I’d already turned around and pointed Robert’s staff at him much faster.
I’d not only given up my back in an instant, I’d even given him time to cast.
The momentum had reversed.
And of course, it was far more favorable for us.
I said casually,
“What, now you’re threatening us? I wonder if you can take responsibility for that.”
“Uh, wha—”
Cold sweat broke out on William’s face.
As if he’d never imagined this would happen.
No matter how skilled a knight he was, he wouldn’t come out unscathed if he took magic at point-blank range.
On top of that, I had already finished loading dragon mana while he was still flustered.
William knew that instinctively, too.
That’s why he couldn’t move.
“W-William, what are you doing! Hurry and subdue them...”
“I-I’m sorry! My lord, this man is not someone I can handle! Please get out of the way!”
Viscount Oberon twisted about as if he couldn’t understand what was happening.
Before long, it seemed he finally realized what this meant.
A complete defeat.
In both momentum and skill.
“This is why young punks...!!”
He bit down on his lip.
“D-damn it! Do you think you’ll get away with this!”
“You’re the ones in the wrong. Leave while I’m still being nice.”
He must have looked down on me because I’m a student.
Too bad for him.
“Damn it, just you wait...!”
“Leave what you’ve got and get lost... never mind.”
By then, even the knight had already fled.
Making any more of a scene here would be bad.
There was no guarantee I’d win if we fought.
When I checked with Observation Eyes, his traits included [Aura User].
We were lucky they got scared and ran; if it had turned into a real fight, we would’ve been in trouble too.
Unlike the Tower, he was a person.
Robert looked over at me.
I tossed the staff back to Robert.
“You’re much faster and calmer than I expected. Normally people panic in a situation like that. Did you learn body strengthening?”
Body strengthening? What’s that?
But asking about that now would make me look clueless.
“Basic.”
“Well, I guess you wouldn’t have needed to respond.”
“I know.”
We were inside the School Market, after all.
They couldn’t really use force until we attacked first anyway.
But I was annoyed that they tried to extort us, so I gave them a little scare.
With this, the other nobles would have a hard time openly ignoring us.
“You must have known that was the better response. Amazing. You look like you’re ten years older than your actual age.”
That was probably my actual age, though.
“Hah, what would you know.”
“Anyway, I heard he was one of the more radical members of the noble faction. But I didn’t know he was that stupid.”
“Noble faction? Isn’t the Imperial History professor also part of the noble faction?”
“Yes. They say they want to restore the declining authority of the nobility... and yet all they do is oppress commoners. It’s enough to make you sigh.”
“Was that how it was?”
Come to think of it, Professor Georgia was like that too.
Linia was sleeping in class too, but she singled me out and went after me.
It seemed the noble faction was just a group of people who disliked commoners.
“Well, this won’t happen again from now on. There are occasionally reckless fools like that, but usually they try to buy things at a fair price.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
Of course, my inner thoughts were different.
‘Aaaagh! My SSR-grade Status Enhancement Ticket!’
I used it to seize the initiative at once, and it really paid off.
Agility was an important stat, after all.
It was an important stat for survival and rapid positioning, something even A-rank magic-type hunters would make sure to raise to at least C.
Still, I couldn’t help feeling it was wasteful.
I’d planned to think it over a little more before using it...
* * *
“So, sis. Did the deal go well?”
“Huh? Well... yeah.”
That night, I’d arranged to have Adrian adjust my dragon aura, so I headed to the western forest.
I wondered if I was starting to come to the western forest too often.
“Sigh, let’s just crack open some booze.”
After a tedious job, drinking is just right.
We were on our usual rock.
I lay down on the cold ground.
Then a long tail coiled around one of my armpits.
I was gently pulled across the rock.
My destination was Adrian’s lap.
“Did something happen?”
“Ah, Adrian mama...”
“Hmm... I’m not really sure what you’re saying.”
That was because I’d spoken in my own language.
I explained what had happened today to Adrian.
We also had a bit to drink.
So my body grew languid, and my mood got better too.
Then I flopped upright.
“Ah, but still, was using it on agility really the right choice?”
Honestly, it was satisfying to subdue that knight cleanly and make the troublemaker eat crow.
But I couldn’t shake the feeling that using the SSR enhancement ticket there had been a waste.
The degree of enhancement between SR and SSR tickets was on a completely different level.
Deciding what to raise had been part of the fun for me, too.
“Still, that was really amazing, sis!”
“Hm? Right? As expected, there’s no one but you.”
Adrian had been in infinite head-pat mode for a while now.
Steady, pleasant caresses, and wings and a tail that were just the right mix of cool and fluffy.
And even perfectly timed flattery.
Damn it, just how far are you planning to go in being perfect...!!
She was truly a supreme little sister!
“Sigh, they’re nobles, so I can’t just drag them off and beat them up.”
“Still, you’re amazing, sis! If it had been anyone else, they would’ve been utterly crushed!”
“Heh.”
“As expected, you’re my proud, precious sis no matter where I take you.”
“Heh heh.”
“But, you know.”
“Mm?”
“Could I perhaps hear the names of the ignorant fools who annoyed you, sis?”
“Hm? I think he said Oberon?”
Caught up in the momentum, I answered without thinking.
Adrian had also been asking little questions for a while now.
“Hmm. I see.”
The air around us grew a little colder.
“Brr, it’s cold.”
I immediately took out a coat from my inventory and put it on.
I checked to see whether Adrian had done something, but there was no particular change.
She was just enjoying the moment with a smile.
Except that the corners of her lips were lifted a little higher than usual.