Chapter 42

After a moment of thought, I come up with the idea of just asking for an appraisal from someone else.

“How about asking Yomuyomu’s appraisal staff to appraise it, and paying them a fee?”

At those words, the supervisor seems to recall something.

“Yomuyomu should have someone who used to work for us as the head appraiser, so if you ask, they might do it for you.”

“Oh, really…”

Our former staff member is working at another guild, huh?

“Well… that’s true. It might be worth asking just to check.”

The impression is somewhat hesitant.

Perhaps he’s reluctant to rely on another shop, or maybe there’s some history with that former employee.

In that case, let’s consider another option.

Suddenly, I think of articles I occasionally see online about buying and selling antiques.

“Ah, an auction! How about an auction? Do you know about auctions?”

The chief nods in acknowledgment, so it seems the meaning got across, and transactions through auctions are also a known concept.

If you request it from the commercial guild, they’ll handle it through an auction, but it takes time.

Moreover, it’s limited to items with a certain value, but for materials from the Great Elasmos, that shouldn’t be an issue.

“We deduct Tiara’s fee from the winning bid, and you can take the rest. In essence, it’s outsourcing.”

The chief seems to be deep in thought. The guild leader watches him intently.

To make it easier for the supervisor to make a decision, I add my input.

“I’m not in a hurry for money or anything, so I think it might be easier to just toss it to the commercial guild. If there’s no buyer, we can just let it sit in our warehouse.”

The guild leader gives a wry smile.

“You’re quite generous.”

“To be honest, I just don’t know the value. I don’t even know what this Great-whatever is.”

“You fought it without knowing?”

“I couldn’t escape because it caught me off guard. My ankles were both broken… Oh!”

““Both ankles were broken!?””

I accidentally let it slip.

The guild leader sits up in surprise, the chief looks shocked beyond belief.

I nod slightly with a face that says, “Oops.”

“You won with both ankles broken!”

“…Yes.”

The chief looks at my legs.

“Huh? But you’re walking, right?”

“Yes. I healed myself… Oh!”

““Healed yourself!?””

I accidentally mentioned that I can use healing magic.

The guild leader leans on the desk and stands up, and the chief is frozen, staring at my legs.

“I hadn’t tried it before, but I’m glad it worked.”

I explain that I learned the healing process from videos on my smartphone, but naturally, they don’t quite grasp it.

They seem so dumbfounded that they can’t even say anything… It seems like every time I share a story, it’s too unbelievable.

“If I couldn’t heal, I would have died in the forest without being able to come back, haha.”

The casual remark I just made might provoke a response like, “Cut it out already!” It hangs in the air.

To steer the conversation, the chief proposes an idea.

“I’ll consult with a friend of mine, maybe even today or tomorrow.”

“Who is it?”

“The president of the ‘Magnell Trading Company.'”

The guild leader perks up and his eyebrows move.

“Magnell … come to think of it, Taran was familiar with Firrmos, right?”

“Yes.”

The conversation is a bit unclear, but it seems the chief has a connection with a trading company that deals with materials.

“I’ll talk to them about the auction and the buying and selling of materials.”

“Understood.”

His expression is brighter than when I suggested going to Yomuyomu earlier. Perhaps he finds this option more agreeable.

Well, there’s no need to rush, so I’ll leave it in his hands.

Exiting the guild leader’s office and returning to my seat, I ask the chief.

“By the way, do you know much about the Great Elasmos?”

“Not really. Why do you ask?”

“When I first heard it, you said something like ‘a guy not related to the Great.’ What did you mean?”

“Ah.”

The supervisor recalls and quirks his mouth slightly.

“The Great Elasmos is a magical beast, while the Elasmos is just a regular animal.”

“A magical beast!”

My gamer instincts kick in again. That sounds like a formidable translation.

According to the chief, a magical beast is a special individual among animals.

There are several patterns, such as being born as a magical beast or suddenly transforming into one during growth.

Moreover, many magical beasts tend to separate from their herds and start acting alone.

It seems I encountered one of those types.

“What’s the difference between magical beasts and regular beasts?”

“Magical beasts use magic.”

“What!?”

“Magical beasts have power and abilities that are significantly different from regular beasts. It’s said to be because of magic.”

Suddenly, some incredible information was casually revealed. Using magic, despite being a beast!

It seems that magical beasts also use something resembling magic to enhance their abilities. 

I conclude that they have acquired something similar to the ‘Body Enhancement Technique’ used by humans.

“Oh, that explains it.”

“Hm?”

“That creature had abnormally fast legs. That’s why I couldn’t avoid it completely.”

“I see.”

“It was also observing and acting based on the situation. It seemed highly intelligent, and I underestimated it.”

“That’s frightening.”

Honestly, the idea of a beast possessing human-like intelligence is terrifying. 

Reflecting on it, it’s a miracle that I survived.

“Oh, you asked about the meat earlier, didn’t you? Does meat have value too?”

“The meat of magical beasts is almost a luxury item. I’m not sure about the details, but there are effects besides the taste…”

“Effects!?”

“Also, Elasmos is an herbivorous beast, so it seems to taste good.”

“Oh, so it does taste good. I had a feeling.”

“But if you couldn’t bring it back, there’s nothing you can do.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

As soon as I returned to my seat, thoughts of meat immediately crossed my mind.

“If it includes meat, I could add a little more to the amount…”

The mention of the amount triggered my greed.

And as I contemplated the meat, a question arose that I wanted to confirm.

It was the state of the meat due to the ‘magic of preservation.’

When I went to dismantle it the next day, the meat was warm, but I couldn’t tell if it was due to magic.

It might be normal for the animal to remain warm for about a day after being defeated. I’m not familiar with hunting or anything.

However, after a few days, things would be different.

It would likely be cold, and I could see what was happening with it.

First, confirming whether the magic is effective and understanding what it means for preservation to be effective is a good opportunity.

“Oh.”

Upon further thought, I realized there was a high possibility that it could have been eaten by other beasts. I left it near the mother and child dogs.

Well, there’s no helping that. But it’s still worth checking.

Moreover, depending on the preservation state, it might still be possible to recover it.

The reason was that moving around was quite easy with the “Elf Body Enhancement Technique.”

Returning with the skin took a considerable amount of time, but that was because the balance of the load was off.

Considering I was able to carry the skin and the horned head, I believe I can carry the meat as well.

I was worried about getting lost, but surprisingly, I remembered the route. The next time should be more certain.

Moreover, I shouldn’t be attacked next time. I’ve also figured out how to use the “Detection Magic.”

In that case, the next break would be about 6 days later.

“Hmm…”

Unable to resist my curiosity, I decided to make plans to go check again. 

Of course, this time I’ll inform the chief before going. I might get scolded, but…

“Now then…”

As I picked up the stack of documents, the atmosphere inside the shop suddenly became lively.

Wondering what was going on, I looked towards the entrance and couldn’t help but smile.

It was the arrival of the catfolk traveling merchants, the parent and child, Rumiru and Rachel.

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