Chapter 261 - What If (9)

Thinking of the person waiting at her lodgings and watching bracelets sell so easily simply because their maker's identity was hidden, Akata felt a complicated mix of emotions. She alternated between incredulous chuckles and hollow laughs.

“Still, at least I made some money...”

Had the fad remained limited to the city's ordinary residents, she would not have made very much. Its spread among Mages, however, had paid off handsomely. While she hadn't reached her goal of a million gal, she had earned a sum few girls her age—or perhaps even most country folk—could hope to make.

“Some money? You've made a fortune for what you're selling.”

Akata shrugged at her senior Chelsea's words. Even now, her three pairs of arms were braiding thread bracelets, weaving arm warmers, and knitting a blanket.

“And you've started taking commissions, too.”

“Only from three people.”

“And all three are Mages. Two of them even specialize in making items! That's something to be proud of!”

Akata rolled her eyes at Chelsea's exaggerated exclamation.

Then she admitted it: this really was something to take pride in. The two people he had just mentioned enjoyed practically celestial standing right now. All the more so because the Bemurhen branch of the Magic Tower, the heart of magical tool production, had been destroyed in an unprecedented catastrophe.

“Besides, once Mages take a liking to something, they tend to use nothing else for a while. And one Mage picking something up often leads to others doing the same. This is going to work out.”

“You think so?”

“Of course. The head of the trading company is throwing all this support behind you because he thinks you'll succeed.”

Well, that was true. Even allowing for how well the company treated its employees, excusing her from a week's work and supplying materials free of charge went beyond employee benefits. It was an investment in the hope of forging connections with Mages.

“But even if we make those connections... I don't think anything will change dramatically.”

“Of course not. But getting on good terms with item makers at a time like this is worthwhile in itself. Especially considering the standing Hudelen's Magic Tower branch is going to have.”

Within the south, Hudelen's branch supplied more items than any Magic Tower other than Bemurhen's. Considering that Bemurhen sent sixty percent of its output north and thirty percent south, Hudelen might even hold a slightly—ever so slightly—larger share.

It was something like forty percent of the items circulating in the south being made in Hudelen, and thirty-nine percent in Bemurhen.

But what mattered wasn't whether Hudelen sold more or Bemurhen did. The truly significant fact was that a supplier handling a volume comparable to Hudelen's had collapsed without warning.

Where, then, would those customers—the thirty-nine percent who had suddenly lost their supplier—flock? How high would item prices soar with demand unchanged and supply reduced? What would that do to the value of the people making them?

In that sense, as Chelsea said, a connection to a maker was meaningful in itself. Enough to delight the trading company and its head, who, while keeping to honest practices, still pursued profit as merchants.

“I suppose...”

Thinking it over a little more, these connections weren't a bad thing for the girl herself, either. After all, if they at least knew her face, couldn't she hope for a little consideration when she bought an item later?

She wasn't even hoping for a discount or unconditional priority. Simply not having her request rejected out of hand because some worthless nobody had submitted it would be consideration enough.

Especially since she had a commission she needed to place as soon as possible. Akata thought once more of the person waiting at her lodgings.

“Oh, it's done.”

“It's done?!”

Meanwhile, one of her mechanically moving arms had finished its work. The bracelets and arm warmers had long since been completed, and she was already working on new ones. What she had just finished was the blanket, a commission from one of the Mages.

Chelsea, who was processing paperwork in the same room to make efficient use of their space—or, more precisely, whose paperwork room now doubled as Akata's workshop—slapped the desk and stood up. His excitement could have been spotted from ten li away.

“So all that's left is to deliver it?”

“Just a moment. Let me check for defects.”

Akata, by contrast, calmly inspected her finished work. With a flick of her hands, the blanket unfurled, its exotic character utterly unlike the prevailing fashions. Perhaps thanks to the quality of the yarn, it didn't feel heavy for its thickness. Even physically frail Mages would be able to wear it about without trouble.

“Does it look good?”

“It does.”

“Great. I'll go deliver it, then!”

“Oh, about that. Could I take it myself? We only need to hide the fact that I made it, after all.”

Besides, the Magic Tower wasn't the sort of place that would take offense at an eight-eyed errand girl. Since they were trying to build friendly ties with the Great Forest in the first place, they would be all the more eager to please.

“I won't stop you if that's what you want... but why?”

“I'd like to look at the magical items.”

“Well... then I've no reason to stop you. Go ahead.”

Excellent. Watching Chelsea sit back down, Akata neatly folded the blanket and put it in its wrapping. Wrapped in linen and tied with a ribbon, it should be perfectly presentable.

“I'll be back, then.”

The girl left the trading company's building with a spring in her step.

【Akata.】

【Oh. Lady Aori.】

Those steps would probably have taken her all the way to the Magic Tower, had the person who ought to have been at her lodgings not been waiting outside the company.

【What are you doing here?】

【The proprietor seemed none too fond of our party, so I came out to look around. I thought I would take the opportunity to see where you work for myself.】

【Oh, I see.】

【Where are you off to, though?】

【I have something to deliver to the Magic Tower.】

【I see. How fortunate. I was hoping to experience the Magic Tower myself. Might I accompany you?】

【Of course.】

She bore plenty of resentment toward her own tribe, but she could readily offer kindness to the Great Chief and his Priestess, who belonged to another tribe and had treated her so generously—though apparently Aori had now been selected as one of the Priestesses of the swamp rather than a tribal Priestess.

Akata nodded and stepped ahead to lead the way.

【Where are the others?】

【They will be sightseeing as well, I expect. Now that we have delivered the food and herbs, we have accomplished everything we came to the city to do.】

For context, the circumstances behind that statement were as follows.

Not long ago, the Great Forest had officially received news of the Bemurhen incident. In response to that tragic disaster, the Great Chief had decided to send supplies, both to strengthen ties with the outside world and to help the victims.

That was why Aori was in Hudelen.

【... So, Akata, have you found a place to buy it?】

【Not yet. Item makers' fees have gone through the roof lately...】

【I see.】

Of course, Aori's inclusion in this party surely wasn't solely because she was a favored subordinate of the Great Chief. Or perhaps that was precisely why.

After all, the Demon Knight's continued presence in the Great Forest was a secret of the highest order. Wasn't it ultimately the Great Chief's absolute trust in Aori and Akata that had allowed them to share that secret?

He had presumably sent Aori specifically so she could speak to Akata in person without worrying about information leaking.

【But the person receiving this is an item maker. If things go well, they might introduce me to a Mage who specializes in illusion magic.】

【That is good news. It cannot have been easy to investigate this. I am both grateful and sorry that you have gone to such lengths. If I were to make inquiries myself, there is a good chance I would draw the attention of the Master of the Magic Tower...】

【It's all right. I'm doing this because I want to.】

Akata didn't quite understand what drawing the Master's attention would mean, but she understood at least that Aori wasn't in a position to act herself. That was enough. Considering the kindness the girl had received, this little bit of legwork was nothing.

【There is one major problem, though. Like I said, magical tools have become terribly expensive lately...】

【You need not worry about money.】

Aori had also brought a solution to the financial problem worrying Akata.

More precisely, a solution had emerged between Akata sending her letter saying she had found a way and the Great Chief sending Aori in person to ask her to try it.

【We can provide you with up to... three million gal in the local currency.】

【Th-that much?】

Naturally, those three million gal hadn't fallen from the sky. They had come from Black Thunder Snake's wallet. Specifically, the additional money he had handed over.

【It is rather a lot, but surely we can afford to invest this much in one of our own who has left her tribe and is surviving alone in the outside world?】

He had probably meant it as payment for the wig... but that wig hadn't cost them a single coin.

After much deliberation, the Great Chief and Aori had decided what to do with the three million gal. Trying to return it to the Knight would very likely fail, so they had decided to use it to acquire something else instead.

【If the money is not enough, then...】

【I don't think we'll run short. Probably.】

【That would be fortunate. Still, I will speak to the trading company just in case. Borrow whatever extra you need; we will repay it.】

【Um, all right. But what should I do if there's some left over?】

【Keep whatever remains, Akata. It is being given as financial assistance in the first place, so we cannot take it back.】

Since that was its intended use, the entire sum would go to Akata: financial assistance to outside eyes, but in truth funds to acquire the tools they needed.

【Furthermore, the five hundred thousand gal I am giving you now is not merely for appearances. It truly is for you, Akata. There is no need to spend it on magical tools. If you run short, borrow from the trading company. Spend this solely on yourself.】

【Is that really all right?】

【We should have provided this long ago. Please do not refuse it.】

Naturally, exploiting the pretext of financial assistance without actually providing any would have been a disgrace unworthy of the Great Chief. Aori therefore handed over a separate sum he had supplied from his own pocket.

It felt as though the knot that had lingered in a corner of her heart since sending Akata away was finally loosening.

* * *

The Lord of Bemurhen died suddenly today. The likely cause was overwork.

Fortunately, his sudden death did not cause great turmoil. Aid from other cities had been arriving steadily—even reinforcements sent from Munmunt in the northeast had reached them—and conditions had improved considerably. The city's restoration had also just gotten on track, making that possible.

“What are you so upset about? It's just the death of a bastard who always put the nobles first...”

“Shut up. We'd all have died long ago if not for the Lord.”

“Shit...”

That didn't mean his passing had truly left no impact. Even residents who had raged about soldiers receiving food first, and Priests offended by his statements against the Temple, mourned him and bowed their heads in silence.

Perhaps it was because he had, in his own way, spent a lifetime serving and devoting himself to the city as its Lord. Now that he was dead, people everywhere were saying, “He was a decent man, all things considered.”

Perhaps the shock of death had diluted the anger built up layer upon layer. Things might have been different a few weeks ago when food was scarce, but the situation was stable now.

“Idiots.”

Even so, he couldn't shake the impression that they were foolish and senseless.

Meister suddenly wondered whether there was any need for him to remain in this city.

He wanted to be like his grandfather, and he didn't want to see more people become like the comrades who had died in vain. Those were his reasons for researching ways to help the vulnerable, but even he couldn't hide his disappointment at this turn of events.

“God, this is disillusioning...”

Of course, he wouldn't abandon his goal of improving life for all humanity over a few pieces of human garbage. That purpose sprang from an ideal higher and more important than his contempt for people.

But surely, at least, he didn't need to keep serving those who had disappointed him? Wanting to help everyone wasn't necessarily the same as having to protect every small subset of them, was it?

“...”

Having thought that far, Meister remembered his grandfather and let out a deep sigh. That damned old geezer.

* * *

The Mountain Lord seemed to have developed a taste for wheedling packed meals out of people by claiming they were for him. He visited me with food almost every day.

Thanks to him, I no longer had to fill my stomach with tasteless food or skip meals out of laziness... but wasn't I living a little too comfortably? I was eating and resting so well that I felt I'd put on weight. Was that really all right?

I spent each day wavering between feeling that I shouldn't be doing this and marveling that we still hadn't been caught. On the fourteenth day, I closed my inventory with feelings I couldn't put into words.

It was packed with food I had steadily harvested from the growing patches the Mountain Lord had made for me, along with several kinds of herbs I'd gathered under his guidance. It was time to leave.

“Black Thunder Snake.”

Just as I was about to leave the hideout, I encountered the Mountain Lord and the Great Chief. Had they come to stop me again?

“Would you accept these before you go?”

This time, though, I wouldn't give in, no matter how much they cried and clung to me. I was about to open my mouth to convey that resolve, but as though mocking it, the Great Chief spoke first.

Wasn't he here to hold me back? That thought barely had time to cross my mind. On the boy's outstretched palm lay a pair of round, silver-rimmed glasses and a gemstone that looked like an ornament.

“These glasses cast an illusion over your eyes, making your irises appear a different color, so long as they are touching your body. Incidentally, I struggled to choose a color, but when I heard that green eyes are common outside, I settled on that. Even if it is not to your liking, please accept the thought behind it.”

“... What?”

Wait, what? An illusion over what?

“And this is an ornament worn on the ear. I am told it conceals the scar by your mouth while you wear it. It should help you on your journey.”

And what was that about the ornament? It hid the scar by my mouth? So it would help on my journey?

... Well, of course changing my eye color and hiding my scar would do that, but how on earth had he known?

“... Why are you giving me these?”

It was true that I'd been trying to change my appearance in case anyone pursued me. But no matter how I searched, I couldn't find a way and was on the verge of giving up... How had the Great Chief known, and found exactly what I needed?

And was it all right for me to simply accept something like this?

Rather than take the glasses and ornament, I forced down my voice as my throat tightened. It emerged strained, almost a growl.

“I am not sure I understand the intent of your question. What do you mean?”

“I'm asking why you're going this far for me.”

“Ah.”

Letting me stay, at least—at least, at least—that I could understand. They still had some room to explain that away, and the expense on their end was practically zero. The things I'd asked them to buy for me didn't count, since I'd paid for those.

But this... This...

“I have often thought this, but you seem unaccustomed to kindness, benefactor. You ask much the same question every time.”

Well. Wasn't it less that I was unaccustomed to kindness, and more that I had become so?

Besides, there were limits to kindness offered without asking anything in return. Anyone would feel burdened by such expensive gifts. Yes. Magical tools were too expensive to simply accept. Even if I didn't know their exact market price, I knew I couldn't take these for nothing.

“But, benefactor, these are not from me or from this forest. They are a gift from Akata.”

The name he spoke next, however, left me unable to utter a single word of refusal. I remembered the thread bracelet that had burned away before I could do anything, and the thread bracelet I had handed over to someone else myself.

“Do you remember Akata?”

As if I could have forgotten that child.

“She will be pleased to hear that you remember her.”

But, but why would she? What money did she have, what affection for me, to give me...

“Why would that child...”

“Aori tells me Akata has adapted wonderfully to the outside world. Enough that she is beginning to want to repay the kindness she received.”

“This is too much.”

“Perhaps. But it will surely help you in the days ahead, benefactor. That alone will satisfy Akata.”

“I cannot accept—”

“Please do not refuse. I doubt refusal is what that child wants.”

I tried to say something.

But the items pressed into my palm stopped the words in my mouth. The boy reached up and carefully removed my eyepatch.

“Green eyes suit you, too.”

Damned brats. Words I couldn't bring myself to speak lodged in my throat and scraped at my insides.

Is It a Problem If the Protagonist Is a Roleplay Fanatic? (Serial)

Author │ Hae Inseol

Publisher │ Kim Juhyeong

Published by │ J-Ple Media Co., Ltd.

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Address │ Room 204, 288 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Daeryung Post Tower 1)

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Website │ http://blog.naver.com/jayplemedia1

ⓒ Hae Inseol 2022

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