Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 27: The Deal is Struck
The student spoke while drooling, patting his shriveled pockets. After thinking for a moment, he revealed a look of regret and sighed. “But… with all those rare spices going into the lotus-leaf beggar’s chicken, I doubt I could ever afford it. I’ll just have to imagine the taste.”
Merlin studied the student. He was a typical Arcane Academy youth from a modest family—plainly dressed, pinching every coin to make ends meet on campus.
Was it poverty? One could say so. Yet, in truth, anyone able to enter the Arcane Academy was already from a relatively well-off household—wealthier than the average citizen. But in the Arcane Capital, the most prosperous city on the continent, expenses mounted rapidly. Even without indulgence, simply surviving within the Academy was an enormous burden.
Thus, these students did everything possible to work and study at the same time. Each discipline’s students found ways to apply their skills across the capital, trading labor for learning opportunities.
Seeing the boy’s crestfallen look, Jean clapped his shoulder. “Don’t mope all day. When Merlin finally makes that lotus-leaf beggar’s chicken, I’ll share a bite with you.”
Though Jean came from an ordinary family, he was already a third-year senior. Three years of part-time work had earned him a decent sum, and he’d even had success raising magical beasts. Unlike Merlin, he wasn’t some pampered noble—he attended combat class daily, excelled in it, and whenever possible, joined adventuring parties to hunt monsters for materials and coin.
“Really? Thank you, Senior Jean! I’ll go catch the chickens for Brother Merlin right away!” The student’s disappointment vanished instantly, replaced by shining excitement at the promise of just one bite of beggar’s chicken.
Jean was left scratching his head. Just how delicious was Merlin’s dish supposed to be, to cause such a dramatic change of heart?
Before long, the two hundred chickens Merlin requested were gathered. Dozens of students from the Beast-Taming Academy marched over, each carrying three or four plump, fat birds.
When it came to raising chickens, the Beast-Taming Academy was unmatched. Outside, birds of such quality were nearly impossible to find—most families could barely feed themselves, let alone spare grain for livestock.
Merlin nodded with satisfaction and turned to Jean. “Senior Jean, how much for the two hundred chickens?”
Jean hesitated. Truthfully, he had no idea how to set a price. No one had ever come to the Beast-Taming Academy to purchase chickens before.
One of the freshmen stepped forward. “Senior Jean, back home a chicken costs about four to five silver coins. But chickens raised here at the Academy are so much better… a lord might even pay an extra coin.”
Jean considered, then said, “These are indeed your chickens, but you raised them using the Academy’s land and feed… How about this? Five silver coins per chicken. Two go to you, three to the Academy. What do you say?”
The freshmen hadn’t expected to receive even two silvers. They hurriedly protested that it was too much—the chicks, feed, and grounds were all provided by the Academy. All they did was feed and check on them daily, and since the birds were free-range, their effort was minimal.
Jean nodded after a pause. “Very well, we’ll go with your suggestion.”
He turned back to Merlin. “Little Brother Merlin, what do you think? Two hundred chickens at five silver apiece makes one thousand silver coins—that’s one hundred gold.”
On the continent of Aize, gold was plentiful. Though valuable, it wasn’t exaggerated like on Earth; the exchange rate of copper, silver, and gold remained steady at 1:10.
Merlin knew he was getting the better end of the deal—these birds were fat and healthy.
“Alright, let’s go with that price.”
But he didn’t actually have that much gold on hand. “This price is fair,” Merlin said, “but I left in a hurry and didn’t bring that many gold coins. Carrying them around is troublesome anyway. How about this—come to my dormitory tomorrow night, and I’ll pay you then.”
Neither Jean nor the other students doubted him. A noble without money? Impossible.
They had no idea what had happened to the Leo family. Ordinary students weren’t privy to such news. Still, in time, word would spread—especially if someone took the trouble to make it known.
Merlin eyed the chickens. Killing them himself would take forever. He couldn’t waste so much time, so he glanced at the wide-eyed freshmen.
The students were already thrilled with their windfall—two hundred silvers in total. Split among them, each would pocket three to four coins, not a bad surprise at all.
For first-year students with no skills or strength yet, making money to ease their families’ burdens was no easy task.
“I’m not very good at slaughtering chickens,” Merlin said. “Any of you know how? I’d like to hire you. Five copper coins for every bird you kill. What do you think?”
The freshmen froze, dumbfounded.
Even Jean was taken aback. Merlin’s heart skipped—had he underpriced it? Five copper was hardly much, barely enough for the dirty work of plucking feathers and gutting the birds.
At last, Jean chuckled. “Little Brother Merlin, for us, slaughtering is just part of the service. You don’t need to pay extra—we’d naturally help you with it.”
“That’s right, no need for extra pay, Brother Merlin!”
“We’ll handle all the chickens for you.”
“We’ll make sure they’re spotless!”
Merlin hadn’t expected butchering to come free of charge. Yet, looking at these simple, wide-eyed first-years, practically glowing with their eagerness to please, he couldn’t help but sigh. For a moment, he saw his younger self—back in his own freshman year on Earth.
“I said I’d pay, so I’ll pay. Five copper isn’t much, and I can’t let you work for nothing.” His tone softened. “Consider it me hiring you to handle the chickens. But I want them all properly processed—heads, necks, legs, feet, livers, hearts, gizzards, everything cleaned and prepared. In that case, five copper coins per bird is more than fair.”
Hearing the requirements, Jean nodded. “With all that trouble, it makes sense for you to pay.”