185 - A Certain Mage’s Complaint (2)

To be honest, I had never imagined it would end with a result like this.

There was no need to dress it up as “unexpected.” One look at the reaction of the man before me, whose crown was polished clean by baldness, made that painfully clear.

If there was one thing I could say, it was that I seemed to be surprisingly bad at getting by in the world.

“Do not push your luck! Can you not make a report at least a little more believable?!”

He was still the same bald man who could do nothing but shout, so I let out an ostentatious sigh for all to see.

That night, after we compiled the information we had brought back and submitted it to the guild in the form of a report, I had the bad luck to be questioned about its contents by the bald man, who happened to be there.

“You are saying it not only understands human language, but speaks it as well?! Even if you are going to exaggerate, could you not at least lie in a more believable direction?!”

“Why do you not actually read it properly? It only says it can speak a little. More importantly, it not only understands human language, it understands Canaan, Furon, and Elven without translation. It has even learned at least some of our language.”

“There is no such monster!”

I swallowed the words “There is, though,” and gave another showy sigh.

To begin with, I had been forced to work, and after hurrying to submit the report at this hour, what exactly was going on with those two hired people still not having reported anything?

No, perhaps they had reported, but there was a chance the contents had simply not reached this bald man.

Either way, since they had taken the job, I mentally punched those two for not doing it properly to the very end.

For now, until someone capable of having a real conversation arrived, I only had to let this bald man’s shouting wash over me and brush him off appropriately.

My attitude only made him angrier, but… before I knew it, he had somehow attained the position of Deputy Guild Master of the Adventurers’ Guild.

I did not know what had happened, but the bald man wielded that authority.

“You… do you want your adventurer qualifications revoked?!”

“Yes, feel free to revoke them. I have been saying I wanted to quit, but no one would let me, so I have been troubled myself.”

It was right when I added, “This is a perfect chance, so go ahead,” that the reception room door opened.

If someone opened the door without knocking, you could tell what kind of status they held without even seeing their face.

“It would be inconvenient if you quit now.”

“Oh my, for Lord Baumann to come all the way here himself…”

The nobleman appeared again.

This noble—Tonel Baumann—seemed to be keeping a close watch on the new-species monster Argos, and was deeply concerned with his movements.

(Had some information come up that worried him…?)

There was every possibility that that thing had done something somewhere beyond my knowledge, so heightened vigilance for that reason was entirely possible.

From my side, he was someone I would rather not deal with anymore if possible.

I had ended up trading with him, but in any case, since I would have to go at least one more time as the one to convey our side’s decision, I had carelessly taken a seat at the negotiating table, though I probably would never do it again.

In any event, for now I would honestly be glad that someone capable of talking sense had arrived.

I had worked through the forced march last night and the writing of the report without so much as a nap, so I wanted this over quickly so I could return to the inn and sleep.

“Well then. The report is over there, so read it. And I would like to finally go back and sleep, so please make it quick.”

The reason I could speak like this to a noble and get away with it was because I was a mage permitted to bear the name Kinoshita.

Because he was a noble of a magic-centered nation, a certain amount of consideration was shown to mages whose skill had been recognized.

Tonel took the report while watching me let out a huge yawn, then read through its contents.

“…As I thought.”

Which part had that mutter referred to?

Tonel’s gaze on me sharpened as he walked over.

Then he pointed at the line in question and asked me to confirm it.

“This is correct, is it not?”

“Yes, that is what was written at the time.”

Saying that, I took out the paper Argos had written from my pouch and handed it to him.

Tonel read it and furrowed his brow.

Then he let out a deep breath and looked me in the eye as he questioned me.

“This was truly written by Argos, without a doubt?”

“Without a doubt. You can confirm it with the other two as well. Ah, no, wait.”

The moment I said it, I thought of a much simpler means of proof.

To be honest, I did feel it was a waste, but if I was going to sell it, a noble’s connections would certainly prove useful.

From a knapsack I rarely carried around in ordinary times, I took it out.

“I actually obtained something like this.”

What I took out and showed him was the Imperial wine I had obtained in my negotiations with Argos.

For an instant, Tonel doubted his own eyes, but at the same time he understood why I was taking out this wine now and how I had obtained it.

The bald man, meanwhile, was doing nothing but appraising the wine.

“No way…”

“Yes, exactly that. It also makes the story about him trading with the elves more believable, does it not?”

After saying that, I put the wine, which had served its purpose, back into my knapsack.

This knapsack, enchanted with magic, had the effect of cooling its contents in order to preserve food.

To maintain the quality, I could not leave it out for long.

“Why are you putting it away?”

And there came that line from the bald man.

Why did this idiot think he was going to be allowed to drink this wine?

“This is genuine wine from the now-fallen Empire. Apparently it had been stored in a cellar in excellent condition. If you know Imperial technology, then you should understand that the preservation state is superb, yes?”

That was sales talk aimed at a noble.

I had not told those two who accompanied me that I would be getting another bottle.

With that jewelry alone, I could obtain both kinds of potions I wanted.

In other words, whatever I sold this wine for would become pure profit for me.

Depending on how things went, I had been considering selling both bottles, but in the end I found it a bit too regrettable, so I made Tonel a proposal.

“There is something I would like to ask a noble of the Kingdom.”

Tonel silently prompted me to continue after hearing me begin in a formal tone.

“…Are you interested in buying this?”

I let him glimpse the wine bottle from my knapsack and smiled.

If he was a noble, he should understand its value.

And nobles prized face and prestige above all else.

This wine of a fallen nation, practically painted over with rarity itself—surely it would prove highly useful in noble social circles.

With the way I phrased it, I was sure I had made him think, “This woman understands exactly how valuable this is to a noble.”

However, in order to sell it, I attached one condition.

“If you are willing to buy this wine, and if you are willing to accept the condition I present… then I intend to sell it.”

“…And that condition is?”

Tonel, covering his mouth, took his time before biting.

“It is simple. I would like to drink it too. So when you open it, set aside a little in a small bottle or something and send it to me.”

While indicating the size of the bottle with my thumb and forefinger, I laughed in a joking tone and said, “In the end, I want to drink it myself too.”

I was supposed to be getting another bottle, but if he realized that, it would hinder price negotiations.

It also looked like it would create more trouble, so I kept that hidden and continued the discussion.

That was exactly why, by openly telling him that I wanted to drink it too, I could mislead him into thinking that this one bottle before him was all there was.

Tonel sank into thought for a while, then spread his right hand and named a price.

“Five gold coins.”

He gave an immediate price that practically declared he had no intention of haggling.

As far as I knew, the highest sum ever paid for a single bottle of wine was five gold coins.

Once he put the same value on it, I had no choice but to nod.

“Then we have a deal.”

Saying that, I extended the knapsack itself toward him and held out my hand.

We shook hands and mutually confirmed that the negotiation was concluded.

I asked Tonel whether he had any other questions, but apparently anything beyond this was no longer something an adventurer ought to know, and since the atmosphere had begun to reek unmistakably of politics, I decided to leave quickly.

“Well then, I look forward to working with you from here on as well.”

To his parting words, I replied, “This ends here,” telling him that once this matter was settled, I would not be doing this job anymore.

“Unfortunately, that will not do. Two bottles of wine had been offered. In that case, it is only natural to assume there are others. There is even every possibility that there are many more. There is no way I would pay five gold coins for something like that otherwise, would I?”

At those words, I realized my mistake.

Those two had not been employed by the guild, but by him, the noble.

Once I understood that, it was only natural that no report had reached me.

(Ah, so that is how it was! Your having no intention of haggling over the price was also just to quickly seal my blunder!)

Once I understood everything, it turned out to be nothing more than a mistake born of a simple misunderstanding.

Even if I had pressed those two, if they had said, “We were dispatched through the Adventurers’ Guild,” that would still have been true, and no matter how things turned out, I would never have traced it back to him.

My little scheme had come back to bite me.

(If it was going to be like this, I should have just drunk it without overthinking.)

As I stared up at the ceiling, Tonel approached and handed me a single sheet of paper.

“Since the opportunity has presented itself, let me offer one piece of information. As for the Dresser Contest to be held after the new year… at present, these two are considered the leading candidates in the early predictions.”

I took it and looked, and a dry laugh escaped me.

One was a fancy outfit lavishly covered in frills, completely different from the direction things had taken so far.

At the very least, it was nothing I would ever wear, and the very first impression that came to mind was, “There is no way I am wearing something like this for an entire year.”

The other design was just as awful, enough that I thought I absolutely could not bear that one either.

It pushed even further in the direction of the sort of dress one would wear to current social gatherings, and by any measure, it no longer resembled a mage’s robe at all.

Even though it was supposed to be the same type as last year’s, the amount of cloth had been reduced in all the wrong ways.

At this point, it was not merely that the back—or even the buttocks—would be visible. There was also an outrageous slit in the front of the skirt, making it blatantly obvious to anyone looking that the design’s intent was to “show off your underwear.”

What kind of underwear had the person who came up with this even imagined while designing it?

And once I could all too easily imagine the battle of one-upmanship that would begin based on how one wore it, the complaint slipped from my mouth before I could stop it.

“Give me a break…”

And then, remembering my relationship with the new-species monster Argos, which would no doubt continue for a while yet, I covered my face with both hands and muttered once more, “Give me a break…”