Kays Translations

Chapter 50

Five days after transporting the meat from the forest

Chairman Firmos of Magnel Trading Company visited Tiara with his secretary, Karmis-san. They had come to make the payment after the assessment of the purchase.

As soon as they entered the discussion room, Chairman Firmos, without taking a seat, confronted the Chief without delay.

"Explain what's going on, Taran."

The chief remained silent and took a seat on the sofa. He then glanced at me.

"Ask the person who did the transportation."

As the chairman took his seat, he stared at me intently. 

Karmis-san, too, had a puzzled expression directed at me.

The truth was, right after the meat was brought in, I had approached Magnel Trading Company with an offer for the meat:

"A spell has been cast on it to prevent deterioration."

I proposed a truly suspicious story.

Moreover, the condition was absurd, saying that if they were to buy it, the explanation would be given later.

I thought it might be impossible, but when they looked at the meat and assessed the condition, they agreed.

I guess they were willing to overlook some things for the sake of money.

I glanced at the door and said,

"I'd like to keep this just between us, you know..."

Take a deep breath.

"In the adventurer party that defeated the Great Elasmos earlier, there's an elf."

““What!?””

Everyone widened their eyes.

I nodded quietly—meaning, that's what it is.

"I've been sworn to secrecy, but since they’re sure people will ask about the meat, I've been given permission to talk about it if I feel trustworthy."

It's a big lie.

"There seems to be a magic that preserves its condition. They say it doesn't spoil because of that."

"Magic..."

The chairman crossed his arms and leaned back on the chair.

"Why didn't you provide the meat last time?"

"They couldn't dismantle it due to some circumstances."

The chairman seemed skeptical. Karmis-san was the same.

"Were you present during the dismantling, Mizuki-san?"

"No... I just loaded it onto the cart when it was brought over."

Looking at the chief, expressionless... the eyes were saying, "How can you spin lies so easily?"

"Were there not enough of the main part?"

"They said everyone shared it."

"How many people were there in 'everyone'?"

"I don't know. I only met the ones who brought it."

I looked into Karmis-san's eyes. It's the person who brought it right here... is what her eyes seemed to convey.

"I had no idea that this request was related to that meat. I was surprised when I heard about it, too!"

"You didn't ask about the details?"

"I asked, but they wouldn't tell me. It's something related to an elf, so they said they couldn't talk about it..."

I pretended to be troubled, not really understanding.

It should be impossible to inquire further about the situation... Bringing up the elf might prevent further questioning.

The chairman kept staring at me without moving.

Giving up, I looked at the chief, who seemed to have judged from his expression that he didn't know anything.

Karmis-san was closely watching the chairman's attitude.

The chairman then gave the back of his head a light tap and let out a sigh.

"At first, it seemed too suspicious, so I was thinking of rejecting it. The freshness of the meat, as if it was just killed. So, I decided to try feeding the meat to our people, and there didn't seem to be any issues... It was even delicious."

The chief and I exchanged glances.

Come to think of it, I forgot about eating the meat... what a big mistake.

I should have shared it with everyone.

"So, what will you do? If you're not buying, we'll take it back to our place..."

"No, we'll buy it. If there's no concern about deterioration, we can sell it far away. It's a big deal to be able to take it to the capital."

The chairman nodded slightly. Indeed, if it doesn't deteriorate, it can be transported over a long distance.

"There are many nobles who would buy it. We can manage to deceive them with some magic-related explanation."

In this world, there probably isn't any freezing technology. 

In fact, in this city of Franta, there's no seafood from the sea. If there is any, it would likely be dried fish at best.

Since no one understands anything about magic, there's no point in talking about it further.

So, the conversation shifted to the amount for the purchase.

Karmis-san handed over documents to the chief, and I glanced at them.

"――16 gold coins."

I immediately did a quick mental calculation based on the exchange rate from last time.

Let's see, it was 4.6 million for 18 coins... so, 4 million exactly.

It seems high, or maybe it's low... I don't really get it.

Well, it's not Japan, and I feel like it's expensive for this world.

"Isn't it quite expensive? I heard it's premium meat, but..."

"As I said, we can sell it in the capital. If they process it over there, the price will multiply several times."

The chief is also curious since it's the first time he's dealing with the meat of such a large magical beast. 

I, as an amateur, ask.

"Is it really that delicious?"

"Huh? Yeah, it's good. Despite being lean, it's tender. Since it's herbivorous, the meat isn't smelly. Just grilling it makes it taste good."

Was it Matsusaka beef after all?

I should have brought back everything, even if it meant pushing myself to the limit—

That's what I think now, looking back, but back then, I was already fed up.

It was enough without being greedy.

The chief declares that the amount is sufficient.

Then, the chairman graciously took out two small wooden boxes from his bag.

In terms of size, what immediately came to mind was those high-end single-bottle nutritional drinks.

He placed them quietly in front of us, perfectly aligned."

And then, he slowly removes the wooden lid on top—inside are large gold coins.

“Ohh!”

An involuntary exclamation of admiration escapes.

One box contains 36 coins, and the other has 16.

A thin piece of wood, the size of a gold coin, is sandwiched between them, and the empty spaces are filled with straw.

It seems the wooden boxes are cases designed to hold '50 large gold coins.'

The chairman prompts the supervisor to check, and he assigns the task to me.

My face breaks into a grin without me even realizing it.

"Um... Is it okay to touch...?"

"Hmm?"

"Well... I heard that touching gold with bare hands is not allowed..."

"Eh? Is that so!?"

"Ah... It's a Japanese thing. The gold my father had was vacuum-sealed, so it's my first time touching it directly..."

Touching gold with bare hands doesn't make it diminish.

However, if gold coins get scratched, they are treated as bullion, and their premium value disappears.

That's why they are usually not touched directly, often being vacuum-sealed.

Well, they probably don't understand the significance of vacuum sealing."

Handling large gold coins is certainly nerve-wracking.

I move the straw and wood pieces aside in the case and pick up one coin.

As I hold it in my palm, I can feel its substantial weight.

Moreover, the quality of the casting is significantly different from other currencies. It exudes the dignity of the top-tier currency.

"Oh, this is the same."

"Hmm?"

"No, I mean the size and weight... It's almost identical to what we deal with in Japan."

"I see."

Chairman Firmos shows interest.

I make a gesture, using my hands to gauge the weight.

"Yeah, probably one ounce. So, the small gold coins would be a quarter of an ounce."

I recall the memory of holding my father's gold coins.

The small gold coins received as part of the salary were roughly 20 millimeters in size (similar to a 1-yen coin), and the large gold coins were probably around 30 millimeters.

I take out ten coins from each wooden box and place them on the table. I stack them to check the height.

"It's all good."

After saying that, I put each of them back into their respective wooden boxes and hold the one with 36 coins.

"Wow, this makes a kilogram... Impressive! Truly, the 'bright yellow-colored sweets' live up to their name!"

"What... sweets?"

"Well, it's like a code word used in our country when people plotting something nefarious and offering bribes."

The word "bribe" makes everyone flinch.

"Well, that's an old story. We don't use gold coins as currency nowadays."

"Eh? You don't use gold coins?"

"Ah..."

In front of Karmis-san's surprised expression, I remembered the scene when I showed banknotes to Lily-san and the others.

Since the monetary transaction was also done, let's provide some material for conversation.

Taking out a wallet from the waist pouch, I showed Japanese banknotes.

"In Japan, we use paper money instead of coins. It's paper currency."

I handed a ten-thousand yen bill to the chairman and a thousand yen bill to Karmis-san.

Upon doing so, their expressions were taken aback by the sophisticated printing technology. They stared with widened eyes, observing.

"Firmos, try hanging it on the lamp."

The chief points to one of the lamps in the corners of the room and grins.

The chairman holds up the banknotes as instructed.

"What the heck! A person's face is showing!"

Staring at the watermark face

Karmis-san is also surprised by the hologram on the thousand-yen bill.

"It's a technology for preventing forgery."

Explaining the technology that cannot be counterfeited, whether they understood or not, they were left speechless.

As a bonus, when showing Japanese coins, they widen their eyes at the intricate casting technology.

"You said you came from the country called Japan."

"Yes."

"What were you doing in Japan?"

"I was just a student."

"A student... so, about school?"

"Well, due to certain circumstances, I can't go back home right now. That's why I was hired by Chief Taran."

While saying this, they look at the chief with a nonchalant expression.

"He's excellent, isn't he?"

"Yes, he studies making magical tools and is very skilled at calculations."

Surprised, they turn their gaze toward me.

"Magical tools! You make magical tools!?"

"No, no, I'm just researching those things; I can't actually make them."

"I see."

The chairman observes me with a slightly impressed look, and Karmis-san also shows a surprised expression.

"Come to think of it, you reacted when Torbis mentioned the name 'magical equipment.' Something like that?"

"No, I was just curious when he mentioned magical equipment; it seemed similar to magical tools."

"I see."

He scratched his head, concluding the conversation, and stood up.

"If you ever learn to make magical tools, bring them to me."

"Yes, definitely."

I also stood up and bowed.

　◆ ◆ ◆

"Mizuki-san, that's 52 large gold coins. Will you accept them as they are?"

"Huh? No, no, no, what are you talking about! It's definitely not okay!"

"Hmm?"

"This is payment to the guild. Since it goes through the guild before reaching me, you can't skip the guild's share."

"But we didn't do anything this time."

"That's not true. I consulted with the chief, and we borrowed the cart and dismantling tools."

"..."

"Moreover, it was the chief who established the connection with the Magnell Trading Company, right? It's clearly a job assigned by the guild."

It seems that in the chief’s mind, it was more of a staff assistance rather than a formal business task.

"So, what will you do?"

"Hmm, but before that, there's something I want to ask..."

Returning to the seat, I hand over the gold coins to the chief for the time being.

"Is there a bank in this town?"

"Bank? ..."

It seems the translation might not have conveyed the term properly. However, there should be alternative facilities in the absence of a bank.

"Um, it's a facility that takes care of money. A company or a store where you can borrow money or exchange it for business... a shop, perhaps."

I point to the wooden box I handed over.

"When dealing with distant trading companies, you wouldn't want to carry around gold coins every time, right? It's a place that handles things like exchanges through documents."

This time, it seems the chief understands, nodding in agreement.

"Yes, yes, it's the guild that deals with loan certificates and transfer certificates, right?"

"That's right. It's a place where companies and individuals can deposit their money."

"Those are handled by the 'Commercial Guild.' Everyone engaged in business is required to register there, and individuals can also deposit their money."

I had occasionally heard the name "Commercial Guild," but I wasn't quite sure what they did.

Essentially, it seems similar to a bank.

"However... if it's just depositing money, we can handle that too. The 'Adventurers' Guild' also deals with personal deposit services."

"Oh! You do that too? I didn't know... huh?"

Such a scene, I've never seen it in Tiara.

"But I've never seen an adventurer deposit money since I started working here."

The chief explains with a smile.

The first issue is a matter of comprehension. Many people don't understand the meaning of "depositing money in the guild."

It seems to directly reflect the low level of education among common people. The low literacy rate is also a contributing factor.

The second issue is a matter of trust. It seems that many people cannot take the action of "letting go of their money."

Even when explaining that it's dangerous to carry large sums of money, they get angry, thinking that the guild might take it instead.

In the first place, the people who come to us are often rookie adventurers or individuals in regular professions, so there are few who have a substantial amount of money to deposit.

Simply put, life is tough.

So, they only come to consult when their savings exceed a significant amount.

But by that time, they're usually taking jobs in Yomuyomu or Arencia, so they probably deposit their money either at the commercial guild or the adventurer's guild over there.

"Do our staff deposit their money here?"

"Well, some do, but quite a few staff members also send their money, so I think the commercial guild is more common."

"Ah, I see."

The adventurer's guild seems to serve as a sort of petty cash safe. 

There doesn't appear to be a concept of deposit interest. It's more like a current account... truly just a safe.

"Well then, I'll deposit the money here—"

"Can you wait for a few days? I have some things to consider..."

"Consider?"

The chief regarded my smile with eyes that seemed to say, "You have a mischievous plan in mind."

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