Translator: AkazaTL
Pr/Ed: Sol IX
***
Chapter 135 : It is Not a Waste of Money
“Hmm…….”
Belfodil’s thick fingers fumbled with the knot of the eye patch covering his eyes.
It was already the third day that the young man, who introduced himself as a housekeeper for a noble family whose na could not be revealed, visited Belfodil.
‘So, he ca again today after paying that large amount of money as a fee yesterday and the day before…….’
The sensation of the scratchy beard touching his palm.
Fumbling with the knot of the eye patch and stroking the beard were both habits that ford after he lost his sight.
They were habits he unconsciously took when faced with a very perplexing matter.
“Hey, you housekeeper fellow over there. Do you even know what this is?”
Belfodil’s hand went toward the lump of mineral placed in a hemp sack in front of him.
Thud, clank.
Of course, it was not a question really asking about the identity of the mineral.
The sensation felt on the palm, the hardness when gripped, and the sound when rubbed together.
Even though he could not see, Belfodil had absolute confidence in the fact that the identity of this ore was ‘Matopalium.’
“I do not know the details.”
“Hah! No, you are saying that you are paying such a large amount as a price without even knowing what it is?”
“I am rely an entity that obeys the commands given by my master, so there is no need for to know more than that.”
“Haha! Look here. Mr. Housekeeper, I will explain it to you, so listen well.”
Belfodil began the explanation after drinking a cup of cold water.
“The na of this fellow is Matopalium, Matopalium. It is a fellow that has quite interesting characteristics where its hardness changes according to the surrounding temperature. So, how much do you think the price of this fellow is?”
“Well.”
“If you have just one of these lumps, an ordinary family can play and eat for three or four months. But to bring this expensive fellow in hemp sacks and not even know its use or na. My goodness…….”
“Did I not tell you? I am rely the person who delivers the commands made by my master.”
“Ah, is that so? Then while we are on the subject, I will explain one more thing. Every workshop across the continent keeps this Matopalium stockpiled in their warehouses. Do you know why?”
“…….”
The answer did not return, but Belfodil did not mind and continued the explanation.
“It’s simple. It’s a pain to obtain this fellow, but if you are just familiar with the basic characteristics, processing is very easy, so it’s very good to use as an educational material for training apprentices. Also, if you just match a certain temperature, you can return it to its pre-processed state as much as you want, so once you buy it, you can use it over and over.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“It is so. Now, Mr. Housekeeper. Then you know what I want to say, right?”
Belfodil spoke while pushing the heavy gold coin pouch placed in front of him toward the client.
“Take this back. I cannot accept this request.”
“It makes things very difficult for if you act like this. Haha, I am a person who must carry out the command given by my master. Mr. Belfodil, if you are saying this because you think the fee is insufficient, I am willing to match the amount within a certain range……”
“Insufficient, my foot! Did I not just explain it to you? It’s a tal that even apprentices can handle because the processing is so easy. But a processing fee of 300 gold coins? This is more than enough even if you go to a workshop in a typical city with 10 gold coins.”
Even though he was wandering around here and there to sell his talents in order to achieve his ‘long-cherished wish,’ Belfodil had never once thrown away his pride as an artisan.
“Take it away. And deliver this to the lord who is the master of you, Mr. Housekeeper. No matter how much money he has, tell him to at least look up the market price before commissioning work next ti.”
“I wonder. Mr. Belfodil. The person I serve is not such a careless person as to commission work without even looking up a reasonable price. If such a person decided to pay this much of a fee, would there not be a fitting reason for it?”
“A fitting reason? Don't make laugh. He committed such an act while knowing the market price? Then there is only one answer. That master of yours seems to really want to engage in so splurging.”
Belfodil showed a sneer and then brushed his hands off.
“Take it. Even though I am a drifter wandering around, I am not so free as to keep rhythm with the splurging of so greenhorn young master.”
Belfodil, who finished his words, tried to substitute his rising from his seat for an order to leave.
“Should we not also hear the opinion of the party involved in that request to judge whether it is splurging or not?”
However, at a voice that was heard abruptly, Belfodil had no choice but to stop his movents. It was the voice of , Hein Reichart.
“I have co a fairly long way to entrust work to you. In that case, I think I have at least the right to make this much of a protest, do I not?”
Just because his eyes could not see did not an that the sense to judge the surrounding situation had also dulled.
On the contrary, Belfodil’s senses, which were sharply trained as a trade-off for losing his sight, had never once betrayed their owner all this ti.
‘Wh-what! This fellow? When did he enter this place?’
However, at the fact that he did not realize that the protagonist of the voice had been in this place since a while ago, Belfodil had no choice but to receive a significant shock.
“Of course, if you say you have no intention of listening to the protest of a ‘greenhorn young master’ and tell to get lost, I have nothing to say.”
“Wh-where is the noble guest from?”
“I do not think where I ca from is an important matter. For now, it would be enough to understand as the person who entrusted this Matopalium processing to you.”
“……Hu, hmmm. I apologize for having used rude language a mont ago. But what I said is all the truth. Rather than entrusting the processing to while paying an amount of 300 gold coins, if you go to a workshop in a nearby city……”
“If I thought your skill was not worth the value of 300 gold coins, I would have done so long ago. I heard your explanation about Matopalium a mont ago. But it seems there is one part you left out and did not explain?”
Clank, thud.
At the sound of the Matopalium rubbing against each other, Belfodil unconsciously ended up listening.
“If you are just going to use Matopalium normally, your words are correct. However, if you intend to make a magic tool using refined Matopalium, the story changes.”
My voice was calm, but a piercing sharpness was contained within it as it was.
“When condensing refined Matopalium, the most important thing is how perfectly you can remove the contained impurities. But artisans who have processing skills excellent enough to be used in manufacturing high-ranking magic tools are not common. It is a regrettable thing.”
Of course, Belfodil knew that fact very well.
But even so, there was a reason why he did not go so far as to explain that.
The manufacturing of high-ranking magic tools was sothing that one could barely attempt only if they held a title of at least a Duke of a nation.
Because he thought the client for this task would be at best a nouveau riche noble in the outskirts, he had not spoken about the removal of impurities.
“By any chance, are you a person in charge of national affairs?”
“Did I not say? It is not important what kind of person I am. What is important now is that you need quite a lot of money, and I am a person who can give that money.”
The mont he heard the words ‘quite a lot of money’ from the client’s mouth, Belfodil’s expression hardened.
To speak clearly, it was true that a huge sum was necessary for his long-cherished wish.
But he had never spoken about the matter of his long-cherished wish to anyone until now?
“So, you need money, but you cannot throw away an artisan’s pride of not receiving more than a justifiable price, can you? In that case, the story is simple.”
Is the protagonist of the voice bringing up the story about money while knowing his circumstances?
Or is he just making a vague guess that soone in a drifter’s position would need money?
“Would there be any problem if you put in as much effort as is fitting for the price I paid?”
Clank.
A gold coin pouch that seed to be worth easily twice as much as the gold coin pouch Belfodil pushed back to be taken away was placed on the table.
If the two gold coin pouches were combined, it would easily be more than 1,000 gold coins.
“Of course, I cannot force you, so if you really do not want to take this job, you can just leave the price and the Matopalium here and simply depart. That would not be a difficult task for you anyway.”
Of course, it was so.
Since for Belfodil, who had already lived a wandering life for over ten years, moving his residence was sothing all too easy.
“Then, I have business to attend to, so I shall leave now. My housekeeper will visit this place around this ti tomorrow, so if you need anything, tell this friend then.”
However, within my voice, a clear conviction was dwelling that he would not be able to refuse the offer.
Step, step.
I, who left Belfodil’s residence after finishing these words, only opened my mouth again after getting quite far away from that place.
“The acting was quite good, was it not? Clerk Dorian.”
“Haha, to be honest, I was a bit flustered when Your Excellency gave the command to act as a housekeeper for the ti being. But it is rely an honor that it was of help.”
“There was no one other than you who was quick-witted enough to be trusted with such a task.”
Dorian Mugrave, the only disciple of Sheldrick who currently holds the position of Chief Minister of Zodiac, and an administrative clerk who recently moved his position from the Ministry of Interior to the Grand Duke’s Office, showed an embarrassed smile.
“You stay here for the ti being and carry out the command I gave. Since the paynt and the ore will arrive periodically, you just have to take them to that man nad Belfodil.”
“I shall do so. Your Excellency!”
After showing a bow toward , Dorian threw a question in a cautious tone.
“But Your Excellency, that blacksmith nad Belfodil seems to have a very eccentric personality; will he accept the request submissively?”
“I think he will. Even if he were to refuse, he will at least try to have a conversation.”
I answered in a tone full of conviction this ti as well.
“An unfulfilled dream can sotis beco the driving force that sets the direction of life, but there are also tis when it becos a shackle that fetters oneself.”
***
After leaving Dorian by Belfodil’s side and returning to Abysin, I looked through the reports containing the events that had happened in the anti.
‘……As expected, it does not disappoint expectations.’
Should I say it was as I expected?
The most noticeable thing was definitely the attempt to disrupt prices attempted by Wind Tail.
The profit obtained through trade with Eldrigal was very large, and thanks to Sheldrick handling it so well, it was not as if a problem occurred, but I could not help but be annoyed.
‘Since the troubleso business is gone, you start playing tricks right away?’
I opened the drawer and took out the communication device in the form of a necklace.
That object contained various pieces of secret information, which I obtained in the process of dealing with David.
‘Then I should make things troubleso for you.’
I, who showed a cold smile, cleared my throat.
And I began to leave a ssage to be sent to a very precious place.
“I am sending my greetings after a long ti. Your Highness, have you been well in the anti?”
***
“Grace, please get a cup of cold coffee!”
“Yes. Your Highness.”
Gathering the strands of hair that kept getting ssy into one, Isabella left a request with her old friend.
Even though the ti to get off work had passed long ago, the work to be done was still like a mountain, so she was unable to leave the office easily.
“Whew……”
After passing the hair tie she was holding in her mouth to her right hand, she let out a short sigh.
With this, all the work that must be completed by today was finished, so she wanted to look over the rest of the work with a little bit of leisure.
“Thanks”
Isabella, who moistened her lips with coffee so cold it made her tongue tingle, picked up a task which was to confirm a ssage that ca from a distant place.
‘……What is it?’
It was not as if they had shared many stories while he stayed in Akrishion, but Isabella had sothing like a vague intuition.
The feeling that it would be after a very long ti that she would talk with this man again.
But to think that he would send a ssage from that side first at a point when not even 6 months had passed after leaving the capital.
‘Shall I try listening to what kind of words he is saying?’
Isabella touched the crystal ball containing the ssage with a bit of expectation.
-Hein Reichart of Zodiac greets the Princess.
The black-haired man visible beyond the ssage video seed as if nothing had changed compared to before.
The attitude and voice were extrely polite but sohow cold.
The expression that spoke of a very significant matter as if it were not significant at all was all the sa.
“Grace. Can you prepare the crystal ball for communication? As fast as possible.”
Isabella, who confird the video, showed an imdiate reaction.
“Your Highness, where shall I set the place that receives the communication?”
To Grace’s question asking for the receiving destination, Isabella answered after drinking the coffee, of which more than half remained, in one gulp.
“The receiving destination is the Grand Duke’s Residence in Abysin, the capital of Zodiac. The na of the recipient is Hein Reichart.”
User Comments
0 comments from readers