I hate being wed in a fantasy world!

“Welcome.” An old woman greets Kyou and me as we enter the shop. Several signs with different prices are put on display, one corner has furs, scales, and skin, another claws, fangs, and teeth, and so on.

I look at the old woman for a moment. She wears a suit that would also have fitted a man and had only simple earrings and a bracelet as accessories, this is how people dress for business. The shop itself was the one with the scale on its sign, called 'Monstrous Merit'.

The old woman asks us: “How can I help you, miladies?”

Kyou asked me to stay quiet at first and observe. I know the gist of what she wants to do, but I'm really excited to see it in action. “Greetings. We're delegates of the mercenary band Lion's Squad and during our last mission, we were able to gather several parts and want to hear your offer. Here are some samples.” Kyou shows her the contents of her own sack.

“I take these furs for 75 Newgold each, these claws for 20 a piece. … Oho. Seems like you were in the Red Rock Canyon and found yourselves a vilestinger nest.” Kyou nods in agreement. “Good quality, I'd say 90 Newgold per stinger, 40 for each wing.” This isn't that much.

“I see.” Kyou looks skeptical and seems to think about something.

“Well, they are good quality, so let's say 100 Newgold per stinger, and 45 for each wing.” Why does the shopkeeper raise her offer?

“Deal.” Kyou and the woman touch each other's shoulders, sealing the deal formally. “For our newest acquisitions at least.”

“Newest?”

“We have traveled far and still have several parts from the Eastern Wildlands, almost Feuerberg, left.”

For a split-second, I saw the old woman's tongue between her lips. “Do you have samples?” She looks at the leafrunner pelts with great interest. “200 Newgold per pelt.”

“I don't know...” Kyou hesitantly says. “They will be hard to come by for a while, especially with the Crusaders and everything.” Ah, that makes sense. With the Crusaders freeing the roads, it became easier to trade, but selling monster-parts may become harder, as the Crusaders surely sold the monsters they have slain for their own pockets, even if their primary goal was to drive monsters away.

“220.”

“Let's say 240.”

“Deal.” Another fast deal that was made. It's strange with how little care about the merchandise after an initial appraisal they negotiate. “Do you have more?”

“From that region? Not that much.”

“From somewhere else, maybe?” Ah, that's the point Kyou wanted to reach!

“We don't have samples with us, as they're very valuable. However, maybe we can meet in our inn and you could take a look at everything after your business hours?”

“What valuable parts do you sell?”

“It'll be worth your while.”

“I won't visit your inn for some empty promises.”

“We're staying in the Three Trees Inn. Let's say at the fifteenth hour,” says Kyou full of confidence before turning around.

What? This is all? “Until next time,” I say politely to her before following my friend outside the shop. “What just happened!?” I ask her in my confusion.

“If everything went well, we just made an appointment. *Sigh*, but I do feel exhausted. Even with [Persuasion], this was intense.”

If I recall correctly, [Persuasion] makes us heroes more persuasive with non-heroes. That's why Kyou is counting on it in the negotiations, though I don't really understand anything aside from that. “Why didn't you just ask her politely?”

“I thought that being fast is the key, before she can regain her composure. That's a shrewd woman, so I must be even shrewder.”

“She didn't do anything shrewd, though.”

“Because I didn't let her. I'm sure that she will come up with a plan this evening, that's why we'll drag her out sooner.”

I really don't understand what Kyou is talking about and at this point, I'm also a bit afraid to ask. She seems very eager, maybe too eager. But she's also the one who knows best what to do in this situation, so I'll stay quiet for now and look out for her overexerting herself.

Next up is the other shop. It's called Jarws' Monster Parts, a very self-explanatory name. Inside is a hynoar, his fur is almost black, but there are little white dots on his snout. His kilt is simple, the same as the shop, which has less in display than the Monstrous Merits. This rather looks like a storeroom and it smells a bit.

“Hello. Are you... Jaaw?”

“Jarw is right,” the hynoar corrects Kyou's pronunciation. “You want to sell or appraise?”

Kyou smiles, but I don't feel any warmth in it. “Both, if possible. Rine, if you would like?”

I open my sack and show the parts we have collected, first the regional ones. Jarw takes a fur into its clawed hands and smells it visibly. “The fur for 80,” he comments, full of approval. That's more than what the Monstrous Merits gave us!

He looks at our other merchandise and the regional ones fetch the same price, while the ones from further away seem to be less valuable for him. “Strange, the Monstrous Merits bought the scaleetles scales for 20 each.”

“Then sell them there. They have more reach, after all.”

“More reach? So they're part of a greater organization?”

“Merchant League.”

...wait, wasn't the Merchant League somehow connected to Correo? Or is it just an assumption we made at some point, because of the bounties they put on our heads?

Kyou's unwarm smile becomes cold, even though her voice stays as friendly as before: “I see. So why are you paying more for the furs?”

“Winter is coming.”

“I see.”

Ah right, with the change of the season, the price of certain goods will rise. Furs can be used for clothing, though we also use them for bedding. Maybe commoners also use them instead of carpets? Or are there other uses for them as well, and that's why the price rises even though I halfway expect that most people should be able to re-use their furs and winter clothes every winter?

I’ll just ask Kyou later, but for now I'm supposed to stay quiet.

Kyou is negotiating, after all: “So that means you're not interested in Spirit Swamps parts either?”

Jarws's flews moves strangely, before he asks: “You know elves or rangers?”

“We have both in our band.”

The hynoar looks at Kyou for a moment, then he lowers his head slightly, before asking meekly: “...what kind of parts?”

Kyou's smile becomes slightly warm. “So you have a buyer?”

“I won't tell you the contact.”

“No need. We also have none of the parts with us, they're rarities, after all, but,” she says with ever increasing friendliness: “I can tell you that we have poisons, wings, antlers, teeth, claws, vines, and much more. We're positive that looking at them will be worth your time.”

“...show them.”

“Alright, we'll be back soon.” Kyou leaves the shop. I follow her without even knowing why she suddenly changed the plan.

Well, I won't know if I don't ask her: “I thought that you wanted to auction them between the two?”

“I still do, but I had wrong expectations. Two retailers so close means that both have found their niche. Merits has connections with the Merchant League and it seems that this means that it has more traders frequent them. Jarwl's is a place for local hunters to come to sell their stuff, and have you looked at the shop? It wasn't very business-like at all.”

“It wasn't?”

“Starting with the smell. Merits had some censor in the air, while Jarwl's hadn't, it was the pure smell of monsters. Then Merits had clear sections and was cleaner overall, so I think Jarwl's doesn't buy and sell much outside his regulars. Therefore it makes little sense to stick to that plan. But it opens a new opportunity: He will give an offer, we will 'think about it', while confronting the lady in merits with his offer, then we haggle the price.”

“So you want to sell the parts to Merits? Even though it may be connected with Correo?”

“We don't know the real connection, but the more coins we can get out of them, the better. It's like tricking them. And if it doesn't work out well enough, we sell to Jarwl's. Aside from the poison and pelts, we can't process any of the parts anyway, and we don't really need much of those either. We will make use of the fact that there is someone willing to buy off these parts from them, and push the price to its limits.”

“Somehow it feels wrong to sell our stuff to the Merchant's League though.”

“Rine-chan, I told you: This is a battle. We use everything we can to give us an advantage and our enemy the least possible merit.”

This somehow makes sense, but at the same time it doesn't. I wonder what Kenta and Ara are doing right now.

―○●○―

I sit in an arrest cell with Ara-san. It's maybe two tatamis (3.24 m² or 35.6 square feet) in total, the only furniture are two benches at the walls. “Phew...”

“Kenta-kun, are you sad? You don't need to be, I'm quite an expert at being arrested at this point.”

“If you're trying to console me: Don't.” I'm not angry with her or anything, she didn't do anything wrong, after all. It all went well, we were at the manor quarters and I was especially keen to look for hiding places there, like parks and gardens, then suddenly the city watch came and arrested us.

If anything, I'm angry with myself for not thinking about what would happen if an alfr and a human are looking at rich people's houses like they're looking for something. Now that I think about it, I should have known that someone would call the watch.

What annoys me, though, was how polite the watchpeople were initially. The only problem was, that... well, let's relive this again.

'Excuse us', said a small woman from the Folk. She didn't reach my waist, but she had a insignia the other three people didn't have, so she had to be the superior. 'Would you like to-'

'Look Kenta-kun! So cute!' Ara-san didn't care at all about the mood and walked up to the woman and started to stretch her cheeks. 'Adorable!'

...this may be the reason why we were arrested instead of just sent away for loitering around; so in all honesty: Yes, I'm a little pissed at Ara-san. She can be glad that she's an [Acrobat], otherwise she would have been severely hurt after the folkswoman threw her. Instead she landed on her feet and pissed off the officer even more.

“Phew...” The guards said that it may take up to an hour until interrogation, and I'm never sure whether the hour refers to local time or my time, the hero-system doesn't always translate this. I guess it's dependent on the context and I also guess that it rounds whenever applicable.

Well, not that this applies this time. I hear someone unlocking a door, so either a new captive or someone who's here for us. It's a human woman in her... maybe forties? I'm still bad at guessing age with these westerner-looking people. “Katsuragi Kenta-dono and Ara'ainn-dono, I presume?”

“...how do you know?” Ara-san asks in a serious manner, though I'm sure she's just playing along.

“I just asked about the e- the alfr who entered our town at the gates.”

“I see,” Ara-san acts calm like always. I guess her claim of being an expert isn't exaggerated. “So what are the offenses?”

“Before we come to that, please let me ask you: Why were you in Wahiad?” I guess that's the name of the rich neighborhood. Also, why are you asking me, isn't Ara-san the one who talked to you before?

...yes, she's an alfr, but seriously, this is becoming more racist by the minute. So I point to Ara-san to make that woman understand that she's the one speaking here. The white-haired chaos-factor takes the hint and answers in my stead: “We were sightseeing.”

“...no lie,” she sighs almost inaudibly, but for Ara-san and me it's easily picked up. The woman continues in normal speaking volume: “Well, if that is all, then there is no offense and you're free to go. At least after both of you signed this.” She waves with a sheet of paper in front of us. “This is a confirmation that you have heard the following: Don't loiter in residential areas unless you want to visit someone, don't act suspiciously, and don't touch any people without their consent.” This makes sense. “In addition, Katsuragi-dono, I ask you to also sign this.”

“...this is an empty piece of paper.”

“It's for my son, he's a fan.”

I need something to break open my head! Maybe if I hit my head hard enough against the bars, I might quench the desire to give myself lethal head injuries. “Phew...” Inhale. Exhale. Try to stay calm.

I clumsily write my name on the official document in this world's letters, to conceal my hero-status. Even if I'm bad at it, literacy isn't too far spread outside the cities, so it won't be too strange. But fuck: Fourteen letters instead of four kanji! Dammit! It'd be easy if it was like the Latin Alphabet, but I guess it's a very phonetic alphabet, so I need to use two different kinds of A's in my name.

Now I look at the empty paper like it's a poisonous snake. I could give her an autograph and just walk away, but there is something inside me that really, really, really doesn't want to do that. That's why I give it back to the woman and just say: “I don't give autographs and never did anything that would call for one.”

“...fine... he will be very disappointed.”

Don't guilt me into it! I turn around, take my stuff and leave the station with Ara-san. The alfr jumps in excitement: “Maybe we need to change that. If you become famous, and I will be known as your sidekick, then maybe people will see alfar in another light. Let's think about creating a public relations office. The people seem to be starved for idols.”

“Yeah, they even try to revere me. Me! Out of all the people!”

“Maybe this is the drama-effect at work? I'm curious.” The so-called drama-effect is a theory of hers which is about how some heroes are put on certain paths of danger and conflict, but maybe it also works for fame as well.

Which would mean that everything is leading up to something which I have no control over. At least if this vague idea of drama-effect is even remotely true. “What a pain.”

“Kenta-kun, it's not about what happens to you, but how we can use it.” It's logical. If I have no influence on that Red-Ranger-thing, I should put my energy into using it, rather than denying it.

Yet this has nothing to do with logic! It irritates the heck out of me and I want it to stop!

“Phew... let's change the topic.”

“Then how about joining a caravan?”

“That again... Why are you picking the topics that are important, sound, and totally against what I want to do!?”

“I'm curious about how you're often talking about most unpleasant topics for you right away, but tend to evade some others.”

“Because I have more than two personality traits?”

“That's why you make this so complicated. Let's reduce your personality down to two of your choosing for a while.”

“Unwilling to play your games and pissed.”

“With these two, we can now scout the meet-ups for mercenaries and see if there is a guarding job. ...I suppose that this is how it works?”

“You suppose?”

“I was never a mercenary before, so I can only guess.”

“...erm yeah, how exactly can you get a job like that?”

“Well, we're quite in a predicament. So my suggestion is to ask senior mercenaries in a tavern or such.”

I have never considered that. I mean, to get a job, someone needs to hire you. So usually, they should ask you, but I guess you can also ask someone to hire you... “Phew.” This sounds too much like applying for an office job.

Getting a job is work in itself in any world, I guess.

I move my neck and shoulders to release some of the stiffness, take a deep breath and mentally prepare myself for what's coming. “First, let's look for an alchemist, I want to replenish my bombs, and buy a new kind. After that, we're going into a tavern and ask someone for the job. ...wait a minute, don't most of them have 'no alfr'-signs?”

―○●○―

I stand in front of the Monstrous Merits, this time without Rine-chan. For the eightieth time, I think about changing to the [Herbalist]-class to get the [Empathy]-spell. [Herbalist] also has the highest [Persuasion]-value of my classes, but I went with [Priest] the first time, because I hope that the [Conversation]-ability somehow will work in my favor, the same as back in Goldbrunn. As the [Class-Change] also changes my body-build, I can't freely switch between my classes without raising suspicion, so I have to stick to my choice. I'm also rather confident in my non-magical empathy, but it would be so much easier if I know exactly what she feels instead of educated guesses. Though to be honest, I can't rely on [Empathy] yet anyway, I still need more training.

I collect my thoughts and enter the shop. I feel agitation welling up inside of me. I may be used to playing my parents, teachers, and similar adults, but this time I'm going against people that do that as a profession. Especially that old woman has to be an expert.

She looks at me, no wonder as I'm back despite telling her to come to me before. This has to be a surprise attack: “Hello again. There has been a change,” I say calmly. I have to rely on my [Persuasion] to swing things my way. I have a plan, and I hope that it works.

“Ah, Katsuragi-dono.” Her calling me that means that, in the hour she had, she looked into us, as I officially go as Katsuragi Kyou as part of the Lion's Squad, Ken's younger sister. I still can hardly believe that they don't notice that I'm the same age as him, but Ken argued that these people can't tell Asians apart, seeing how all of them look like Westerners. “What kind of change, if I may ask?” She's calm. Unnaturally calm though.

“My partner is currently with Jarw, and she's still negotiating. In fact, Jarw was very interested in our valuables and offered us a big bonus in case we sell them right away. Yet I wanted to give you the opportunity to make an offer on your own.” This is a half truth. Rine-chan is in fact with Jarw and she tells him about the parts and the monsters that had them, but he didn't make such an offer.

“He did?” This lie hits the woman deep. Now that I think of it, I still don't know her name, but at this point, it'd be impolite to ask. After the initial shock... well, more like 'mild surprise', she calms down again, most likely knowing why Jarw would make such an offer.

I spent the time between our visit at Jarw's and my returning here using my [Conversation]-skill [Rumor Mill], to spread some of the stories of the Spirit Swamps. Her prying into us is part of the plan, after all. She now knows that we were in the swamps and that we most likely want to sell the parts from the unique monsters in it.

There is no market price for them, which makes it difficult to appraise them correctly. Yet Jarw seems to know someone who would like to pay for it, most likely a researcher or something like that. He won't tell, but this woman seems to know about it.

So the real question is: Which of the two believe they’ll get more money out of that contact. With this simple lie, I shuffled the sides of this battle. Now it's not her against me, but her against Jarw and that ominous buyer.

With this, I also invalidate her most powerful argument of getting the price down: The fact that, when nobody knows how to utilize the parts, nobody would be willing to pay much for it. Now, there is someone.

Now let's see if I can get her to follow my pace. We both want to do the trade, but also know that we want to cheat each other. With [Rumor Mill], I've set credibility, with Jarw I've set a lower limit, and she should have an idea of the higher limit due to the ominous buyer. So we're back to some kind of auction.

I open the bag I've filled with several samples of the Spirit Swamps. “This is an antler from a monster that shoots water from them. It may be hollow, but the shots have enough force packed into it to throw me back a meter or two.” It's a rather easy item to appraise, as it can be useful without processing and its sturdiness is easily proven.

Sadly, monster-parts aren't items in a classical sense. As a hero, I'd usually only need to hold or equip an item to see its worth, but monster-parts are different. Without any processing, I can't properly hold or equip them usually, but these antlers are one of the exceptions, showing that they're already useful in their own right.

The hero-system states that this antler has a worth of 113 Newgold. I guess because you can use it as something like a hose or a container. Yet while I have a worth, it doesn't mean that I'll sell it for that amount. I don't know exactly what that price represents, but for me, it shows what my approximate target number should be.

The shopkeeper takes a look. “I'd say 115 Newgold.” Close. It's already more than the hero-system suggests, but I still want to get more.

It'd also be strange later, if I don't ask for a higher offer now. “I think it's closer to 150.”

“Why?”

The question I was afraid of, as I have now to give a good reason. I don't know what exactly should raise the price of most of the stuff I'm going to sell, but I've prepared some general arguments beforehand. “Aside from the rarity and the obvious use as a container or hose?” Maybe these questions are enough.

“It may be rare, but I can see nothing but a fancy drinking horn in this. At least, it may be fancy. So let's say 125, as it's less about the horn itself, and more about the prestige.”

This is bad. I may think about something, but I have no clear image and idea how it should work as an item, and when I don't appear content and concrete, she may take advantage of my insecurity instead for the rest of the negotiations.

Suddenly, someone barges into the room. “Kyou! Jarw wants to have the barbs for 150 Newgold the piece!” It's Rine-chan with a beaming smile.

Wait, 150 Newgold for each barb? Those from the barbed frogs that have swallowed me... … ...I want to kill something. It was scary! And disgusting! I'm sure, everyone in our party has numerous situations that they don't want to relive again, and this one is on the top of my list.

But 150 Newgold for each!? How!? I mean, these are just barbs, so... I put on a smile that gives the impression that I knew exactly how this turned out. “That's very nice of him.” How did she do this? I mean, Rine-chan wouldn't tell a lie, right?

“Yes! I just told Jarw about the frogs and how they can swallow people in one go, and he looked at the sample, then he made the offer. Also, the antlers go for 160 Newgold the piece! I just asked like you and he accepted.”

…ah! Rine-chan has copied what I did before here and Jarw may be an easier target to high [Persuasion] than this old lady, so... “I see.” It makes sense to sell to him in the first place. “Can you make me a list of the different offers?”

“Sure.”

“Well, miss,” I say to the shopkeeper. “It seems that we already have our buyer.”

“...please wait, Katsuragi-dono.” She sure sounds more polite now. “I think we can come to an understanding about certain pieces.”

Unbeknownst to Rine-chan, she interrupted us at the perfect timing. Time to sell to both of them. We have won!