Chapter 10 - Trade
When we were chatting after finishing our lunch, I detected several presences approaching the village. Mittor and the group seemed to have arrived.
Good thing I haven't left for the Leanne town yet.
"The elves are here. I will go to meet them, so please inform the village chief in the meantime." (Fell)
Dia stood up after hearing that.
"I will go get the village chief then. Since Via-chan is a goodwill ambassador, please go entertain the elves with Fell-chan." (Dia)
I don't think Mittor needs to be entertained, but since there are the other elves, I guess some entertainment is necessary. Let's meet them at the village square first.
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Mittor and the group came riding a loading platform pulled by a beetle. Various luggage was stacked up behind them.
They must be storing the apples in there!
Mittor and the other elves got down from the loading platform. There were three men and two women in total. The group was bigger than I had expected.
"Heya, Fell! How are you? You missed me, didn't you?" (Mittor)
Yeah, I don't feel like dealing with him already….
"I've been fine until just a moment ago, but now I've been mentally damaged by your pick up lines." (Fell)
"You are as cold as usual...." (Mittor)
Suddenly, Mittor's expression turned serious.
What's the matter?
"I just want to make sure, did a group of monsters come here?" (Mittor)
“A group of monsters?” (Fell)
“Yesterday, a group of strong-looking monsters passed near the Elven Forest. I thought it wouldn’t be a problem since there would be Fell in this village. However, just to be safe, we decided to come here earlier than what we had planned.” (Mittor)
I heard nothing about a group of monsters attacking. Maybe they were not aiming for this village? My search magic hadn't caught anything either.
"By the way, what kind of monsters are they?" (Fell)
"I didn't witness it myself, but according to the report, there were cockatrices…." (Mittor)
Just then, the cockatrices, led by my slimes, passed by. They were in the middle of collecting trash from the surrounding houses.
“--- like them. Wait, it’s really them! Why nobody said anything!?" (Mittor)
What a timing. It's as if everything was scripted perfectly.
"Well, I guess they are something like my subordinates. The livestock.... I mean, I called them from the demon world to help pioneering the village. There are minotaurs and orcs, too." (Fell)
“I see, so that’s how it is…. You had us worried for nothing. Do you mind if I contact the Elven Village to report about this first?” (Mittor)
"Sure, go ahead. Some of them are out in the woods to hunt right now. It would be a huge problem if the elves attack them due to misinformation." (Fell)
Mittor said something to the elves he had brought with him, and one of them immediately contacted their village via telepathy magic. Then, from my side, Via took a step forward.
"Greetings, everyone from the Elven Village. My name is Via and I have been entrusted with a role of representative for this occasion. Please let me know if you have any question about this village." (Via)
Via is the village's goodwill ambassador to the elves, so maybe she is trying to improve her image using this confusion? She is unexpectedly shrewd. If possible, I want the village chief to appoint a goodwill ambassador to the demons, too. I'm fine with anyone except Dia.
“Does that mean Via-chan can show me around the village? Then let’s go on a date --- ouch!?” (Mittor)
Suddenly, one of the female elves whacked Mittor on the head with the handle of her sword.
That must be hurt. She didn't seem to hold back at all.
"What was that for!?" (Mittor)
"We have received an order from Captain to beat you up if you start wooing women in this village."
Mittor was surprised to hear it for the first time while Via could only smile awkwardly.
You don’t miss a thing. Good job, Captain!
Then, not long after that, Dia arrived together with the village chief.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our humble village. My name is Chasselas. I'm the chief of this village." (Village Chief)
This is this first time I heard the village chief's name. I will continue to call him Village Chief, though.
"My name is Mittor from the Elven Village. I have a letter from the elders, so please check it first." (Mittor)
Is he really the same Mittor I know? His polite language somehow makes me feel uncomfortable. I feel like punching his face. But a letter from the elders? I wonder what is written in it.
The village chief chuckled as he read the letter.
"Hmm, I see.... Please tell the elders that there is nothing to worry about, because nothing like what is written here is possible." (Village Chief)
"I understand. Now let's get down to the main topic. Just as you may have already heard, we the elves would like to establish a trade with Fell in this village." (Mittor)
This will be troubling if I can't secure my supply of apples. If the village chief didn’t give his permission, I might go wild here.
"That's not a problem. It’s just...." (Village Chief)
Mittor interrupted the village chief's words by raising his hand. His face was saying that he already knew what the village chief was about to ask.
"I'm not saying this will be limited to Fell. The elders also said that there's a need for we elves to interact with the humans to some extent. Therefore, the trade will be extended to the other villagers as well." (Mittor)
"Really!? I was going to ask if the other villagers could also participate. I'm really grateful for the deal. Of course, I will permit it." (Village Chief)
"Thank you very much. There are a few things I'd like to discuss for our future trade. Is there a place where we can sit and talk leisurely?" (Mittor)
"Let's go to my house then. There is something like a conference room that can accommodate 20 people or so." (Village Chief)
Somehow, it appears they have come to an agreement very quickly. The details are to be discussed at the village chief's house after this.
"Fell should come with us, too. Of course, Via as well. And Dia will go back to her job." (Village Chief)
I and Via were invited to the discussion, but Dia did not. Maybe the village chief thought that Dia would only get in the way? That's a wise decision
"You are terrible, Village Chief! I also want to join this juicy talk!" (Dia)
"Dia, do you like doing seiza that much?" (Village Chief)
"I just remembered that I had guild jobs to do. I'm going back!" (Dia)
You should’ve done so from the beginning.
Before leaving, Dia whispered ‘fill me in on the details later’ to my ear.
That’s too much trouble. I will leave that kind of thing to Via.
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Upon entering the room, we found Anri had already occupied one of the seats.
Is she going to force herself into the talk of adults again?
The village chief clapped his hands twice. Not long after that, Anri's mother came and took Anri in her arms to another room. Anri's attempt to break free was in vain.
Mothers are strong. I guess she's already accustomed to this kind of thing.
"Oh, please have a seat, everyone." (Village Chief)
The village chief suggested Mittor and the others elves to have a seat. Via and I sit on the village chief's side across the desk, with the elves sitting across from us.
"The girl from earlier was the one who was sitting on Fell's lap when Dean and his group apologized, wasn't she? Is she the village chief's relative or something?" (Mittor)
"She is the village chief's granddaughter. The woman who took her away is her mother." (Fell)
"Huh? But they don't look much alike, do they?" (Mittor)
"Now that you mention it.... Oh well, we are talking about Anri here. I won't be surprised if she actually can change her appearance or something." (Fell)
Hmm? The village chief seems to be rather surprised, but what happened?
"Village Chief, is something the matter?" (Fell)
“Ah, no, nothing. This is my first time talking with elves, so I’m a bit nervous. Well, let's move on. We are going to discuss about the trade, right?” (Village Chief)
“This is the first time for us to do business with humans, so we want to set a number of rules first. For our request---" (Mittor)
The story about the rules went like this:
- First of all, since the elves have no need of money, the trade will be carried through barter. The product they can offer are mainly fruits from the Elven Forest. If we want, they can also offer timber and other forest product.
- What the elves want from us are foodstuffs such as wine and honey, jewelry, ornaments, and wind magic tools. This is almost the same as what we had heard before.
- Next it was decided that the frequency of trading would be once a month, and that the elves would come to this village. Basically, the current members will come every time, so we don’t have to go there ourselves.
- Lastly, they want to establish a line of communication between this village and the Elven Village through telepathic magic tools.
"Regarding the telepathic magic tool, its main purpose is to exchange information for trading. However, we also have another purpose in mind. As you might have known, the movements of the Ruhara Empire are becoming suspicious these days. We have received information about it from a certain source, but we don’t think it’s a good idea to rely on that source alone.Therefore, we hope we could gather some information from here as well." (Mittor)
"I also have heard about that. This is about the strategic-class magic tools discovered in the Ruhara Empire, right?" (Village Chief)
"That's right. In addition, there's also a possibility that a civil war will break out within the Ruhara Empire. I want us to be able to exchange information more easily." (Mittor)
Is he talking about Dean's plan? He said he wouldn't give up on the throne, so a civil war would break out sooner or later. No, wait, the one who said that was his body double. Dean himself didn't actually say it, did he?
"Understood. Then let's set it up in my house." (Village Chief)
"Thank you. That's all for now. Let's work out the rest as we proceed with the trade." (Mittor)
"I agree. If something happens, we will adjust it at that time." (Village Chief)
Is it over? They don't need me to be here, after all.
"What will Mittor-dono do after this?" (Village Chief)
"I'm thinking of showing the goods we can offer to everyone in this village. This time, we will also distribute free sample. Then after that, we are planning to stay in this village today and return to the Elven Village tomorrow." (Mittor)
"I see. Then, let's tell everyone to gather at the village square. Via, can I leave this to you?" (Village Chief)
"Yes, I will tell everyone." (Via)
Via got up from her seat and left the room.
Free sample, huh. I'd better stay out of this so that everyone in the village can get their share. However, if there's leftover, I will gladly finish it.
"That's right, if you will be staying in this village, I can arrange so that you can stay at the inn free of charge. They will also provide you with food, of course." (Village Chief)
"Thank you. I will gladly take you up on that offer." (Mittor)
"Then, I will guide you to the inn. Will you also come with us, Fell-san?" (Village Chief)
"Okay, let's go." (Fell)
Well, I was the one who called the elves here. I have a responsibility to see this through to the end, at least.