Chapter 70: DealsDay 85
Roxanne wakes me. I don’t know if ‘I feel insecure’ is a ploy or because they feel comfortable to be honest. Either way, it’s both cute and effective — just like Roxanne herself. I hope she understands how much she’s appreciated.
A while ter at breakfast, the mood is quite calm. Feels like the guys are simply transferring to a different department.
“Marcus, Theo, it’s time to release you.”
Marcus asks, “Do you mean at the sve shop?”
“Nope, I’ll do it myself. Left hands, please.”
The guys give me an odd look and then just shrug it off at the same time. I remove their sve status so they’re now normal commoners. Don’t know if the connection to Rutina’s house will involve their cards or just paperwork. I wonder if taxation details are encoded directly on the cards.
“Let’s get ready to go.”
Theo transfers the money from his Item Box to Sherry and Marcus stuffed his money pouch into the kitchen jar.
“OK, gals, I should be back before lunch.”
They say their goodbyes and I took the guys to the forest near Selmer’s Castle. We check in with the guards and were led to Rutina’s study. Inside sit a few attendants, one Rutina and zero Cassias.
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“Good morning, Lady Rutina. Are we allowed to meet without proper escorts.”
“Yes, Lord Moreau, Cassia’s ban has been lifted. Thanks for coming.”
“Alright, Lady Rutina, you’re in charge. What do we do first?”
“He he, I like hearing you say that. We should start by going to a sve shop to free Marcus and Theo.”
“Already taken care of. They are regur commoners now, not freemen.”
“Oh, perfect. I’ll call in a Knight and a scribe to have them recorded under House Anselm.”
Rutina nods to a servant who quickly scurries away.
“Are you allowed to do that yourself?”
“Yes, I have been appointed as the Deputy Provisional Governor. After Cassia’s st encounter with you, she isn’t allowed to come here before I take over.”
“That’s comforting. How is it to take care of the entire county?”
“It’s really tough. After you got rid of Heinz’ gang, several smaller groups have started to take their pce. We also have several byrinths to subjugate and the economy hasn’t recovered after the floods.”
“Can the duke help out?”
“Thankfully, yes. We’re getting new recruits for the Order soon. I’ll ask Theo and Marcus to help train them. By the way, did you bring their gear?”
“Yes, it’s in Theo’s Item Box.”
With a nod from Rutina, Theo spread out all their gear except for their Cords. Just then, the scribe and Knight came in to take care of the registration. Oh cool, the scribe has the Scribe job. [1]
“Marcus, Theo, welcome to Amanhof. I’m so happy you agreed to join us. The maids will take you to your rooms and help you get settled. You’ll start with Elvish lessons and we’ll talk ter in the day about bigger pns.”
“Yes, My Lady”, they say together.
In a formal tone, Marcus says, “Goodbye, Lord Moreau, thanks for everything.”
Theo adds, “Bye, Boss, see you ter.”
“Yep, good luck, guys. Don’t scare the girls.”
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“So, Lady Rutina, rather than having the two of us guess at the value of everything, I arranged an appointment with a trusted broker in Curatar, the same one Gosr goes to.”
“Are you sure that’s necessary? I’m prepared to take your word for it.”
“It’s a lot more than you might expect. Can we get Rolf to store this and take us?”
“Sure. I called him in to take us to a sve shop anyway.”
“By the way, please don’t tell the broker that you’re buying this stuff. He may try to interfere and I don’t want the attention.”
Rolf is called in and we go to Curatar’s merchant guild. Luke is called and we go through basic introductions. Rolf unloads the stuff for Luke to inspect.
Equipment
Owner
Item
Skill
Crystals
Marcus
Damascus-steel Messer
Stun
Shrub + Kobold
Marcus
Steel Hauberk
Might
Golem
Marcus
Steel Medium Shield
Sturdy
Slime
Marcus
Leather Cap
empty
tbd
Marcus
Steel Boots
empty
tbd
Marcus
Leather Mittens
Poison
Ant
Theo
Damascus-steel Arming Sword
Chant Int
Rabbit + Kobold
Theo
Dragon-leather Jacket
na
Theo
Damascus-steel Small Shield
Daze
Shrub
Theo
Leather Cap
Poison
Ant
Theo
Dragon-leather Boots
na
Theo
Dragon-leather Gloves
na
Luke says, “Lady Rutina, as expected of a noble, this is an excellent collection. I cannot directly assess the swords, but I can call in a Weapons Merchant.”
I pull out my wax pad and pretend to read, “The owner cims that the big one is a Damascus-steel Messer of Stunning and the other is a Damascus-steel Arming Sword of Authority.”
“Thank you, Sir. That’s enough for me to make an estimate.”
Rutina paid Luke the consulting fee, Rolf packed up the gear and we went back to the castle. Not a word was spoken before Rolf left the room.
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Rutina practically bursts out, “What the hell was that?! Why do they have such insanely good gear? It’s better than a Knight’s. Is this normal for your party?”
“No, the rest of us have better stuff. I’ve been sort of cheap with the guys since you asked for them. Well, it’s hard to find good gear anyway.”
“Lord Moreau, are you being serious?”
“I’d rather not let that information spread. If you can’t afford this now, we can make a payment pn.”
“No, I’d rather pay now. I was just surprised and am having trouble adding it all up.”
This time, I really do use my wax pad.
“Including their contracts and Cords of Substitution, the total comes to approximately 1,020,000 Nars.” [2]
“I sure am lucky you let the guys go for so little. I’ll go get your money. Do you mind getting a ptinum coin?”
“I’d actually prefer that, thanks.”
After a short dey, “Alright, one ptinum and two gold coins. Thank you, Lord Moreau.”
“Anything else?”
“Um, Lord Moreau, do you have time to talk for a bit?”
“Sure, I’m in no hurry.”
Rutina called for tea and sent the attendants to sit further away.
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“Lord Moreau, I would like to make secret deals with you. You would be paid, of course, but I don’t want to have everything go through Bode.”
“Secret deals with a count without telling the local duke could get me in trouble.”
“Yes, I’m sorry. I don’t want that.”
“On the other hand, taking care of a few favors for a friend would be fine.”
“Huh? Are you saying that we’re friends?”
“Sure, if you want to be.”
“Like that woman?”
“No, that already turned romantic.”
“Oh, is that what you meant by ‘friends’? I thought you weren’t interested in me.”
“Lady Rutina, you are a pretty girl with a pleasant personality. I’m not completely immune to your charms. That said, I’m less likely to attack you than I would your sister, and you know how I feel about her.”
“Um, that was both embarrassing and rather creepy.”
“Yep, being friends with me could be described that way.”
“Alright, let’s be friends and I’m not just saying that to try to take advantage of you.”
“The duke calls me David to manipute me, you can use my name as a friend.”
“Thanks, um, David. Ah, that feels a little naughty.”
“Uh, maybe we’d better switch back to formal names.”
“Not a chance, friend David.”
“Alright, Rutina, who do you want me to kill?”
“No, not that, at least, not yet.”
“Is this about the kidnappers?”
“No, those brigands weren’t even from around here.”
“Just be careful. Anyway, what do you want.”
“David, I want to give you exclusive rights Nordselm’s Labyrinth.”
“Um, not to seem ungrateful, but don’t I already have that?”
“Well, not officially.”
“No one else goes there, the duke’s decration after the trial and getting your emblem makes it seem that way.”
“All that makes me look sneaky.”
“Yes, a little. Rutina, please tell me what you actually want.”
“There are too many byrinths in the county that need immediate attention. I hope that you will accept one with full rights to subjugate it. Of course, you would be rewarded.”
“Thanks, that was much easier to understand. I would be happy to help you with Nordselm or any other byrinth in your county. In exchange, I want the right to subjugate at least one of them.”
“Wonderful! That would really help. You will still need to be rewarded, it would look bad otherwise.”
“Sure, I like rewards. Maybe something from the treasury as long as it isn’t too precious. This can be public or private, whichever works best for you. I can’t really hide anymore.”
“After Nordselm, it would be good to coordinate so we don’t overp too badly. Also, I need to show that I can do it too, assuming I can.”
“Yes, I agree. Looking like you depend too much on me could weaken your authority.”
“That’s a little harsh, though it is a real problem.”
“Well, it just has to be clear that I don’t work for you exclusively. To avoid the duke’s jealousy for turning him down and any suggestion that we’re too close, I should offer my services to the duke as well. Even if he turns me down, working with you looks less suspicious.”
“David, why would you be willing to go so far for me? Should I worry?”
“No, I should try to make peace with the duke and I want to subjugate byrinths anyway. Better to help you than some random noble that might try to chase me away.”
“Very practical. I don’t feel so special now. It’s also because of Nordselm Vilge too, right?”
“Yes, I feel close to them and you gave me maps. By the way, who made those?”
“Probably Uncle Reginard. My father’s older brothers had terrible fights about what to do with the byrinths. Reginard wanted to use them. Cassia’s father wanted to destroy them. They both lost in the end, so my father inherited the title.” [3]
“So, the duke is your mother’s brother?”
“Certainly not. He’s only my uncle because he’s married to my sister.”
(She’s actually your cousin and ‘uncle’ is wrong either way. Do all nobles confuse kinship names like this?) [4]
“Now, Rutina, I have an offer for you.”
“Oh?”
“I can sell you enchanted items at a fair price.”
“Items from Sherry?”
“Perhaps. Let’s just say that I happen to know a Runesmith. The benefit for me would be to avoid the auctions. The benefit for you is the possibility to make requests.”
“David, this sounds almost too good. Are you sure?”
“Yes, Rutina, the best deals are where we both benefit. Is there anything you want?”
“Yes. Could I buy another Cord of Substitution?”
“Sure, three gold. The first one was cheaper because I needed to keep you alive.”
“You’re still bad at negotiating. I’m pretty sure the full price is closer to four gold coins.”
“Friend’s discount.”
“In that case, I’ll gdly accept and will buy several, if possible.”
“Rutina, this conversation has been nice, but I should get going now. And don’t worry, it’ll be ‘lord’ and ‘dy’ in public. Acting too familiar with me wouldn’t be good for your reputation.”
“I wish that weren’t true. Bye, David. Oh, if you get the chance, please come visit me again before the day of the ceremony.”
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I leave Amanhof and walk a ways into the forest before warping home. No need to trouble Rutina with too many secrets — she doesn’t need to see me warp. The girls are in the kitchen with lunch just about ready. I sit down and we start eating.
Alina asks, “Did everything go well?”
“Yes, perfectly. I had a nice conversation with Rutina as well. We now have the primary rights to Nordselm’s Labyrinth. No one else will be taken there and we can even subjugate it.”
Roxanne jumps in, “That’s wonderful. We should do that.”
“It’s more profitable as it is, but we’ll close it before it becomes dangerous. Right now, I need help with an experiment.”
While waiting for them to get ready, I switch Tutor to Wizard and check my new skills: intermediate level for the four basic elements and two new types, ice and lightning. [5] Where should we do this? It should be safe and calm, hey, I haven’t been there in a while. The girls come in and I warp us to my old stomping ground.
“We’re now on the 7th floor of Vale’s Labyrinth. I have some new magic to try and it might take some time to get it right. Please keep me safe while I do this. I’ll expin everything ter.”
I’ll try the name ‘ice’, so, ‘ice ball’. Yep, that will work. I shoot off an Ice Ball, followed by an Ice Storm and then an Ice Wall. They all work and the wall stays. This will be nice for preserving stuff, or just to make some cool drinks. I could make snow cones. Oh, I’m being rude.
“I have Wizard spells now, like ice and lightning. I’ll expin at home.”
OK, next is lightning. Could it be ‘zap ball’? No. How about ‘shock ball’? Not that either. Well, maybe ‘lightning ball’? Yes, Lightning Ball. I should have just kept it simple. Seems that only air and earth magic have weird names.
I shoot a Lightning Storm at the three olives and one of them seems to get stunned. Oh, this is really nice. Alright, next test: Mage’s Fire Storm quickly followed by Wizard’s Lightning Storm. As expected, I don’t have to wait for a cool down between them since they’re from different jobs. The visual effect is pretty cool too.
Now, for the upgraded elemental spells. I try to imagine a Wizard’s version of Fire Ball. Nope, I just get the usual Mage spell. I cast it just in case. I have to wait for the usual cooldown for the next Fire Ball so it probably was just the Mage spell or maybe I can’t cast two of the same element.
I need to simplify the problem. What if I…
Roxanne whispers, “Master, we’re being followed.”
“Here on such a low floor? Oh well, please lead us to a calm area.”
What a bothersome time to be interrupted.
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[1] This job is not in the LN. It seems better than the bureaucrats just having Vilger or Merchant jobs.[2] An enchantment typically increases the base price by 10 times the cost of the skill crystals (v8 c3).[3] The LN mentions the family connections and conflict, but leaves out details like their names or cause (v11 c5).[4] Cn-based nobility often does this. In the LN, Rutina has a different way to refer to the duke.[5] The LN usually calls this Thunder, but that’s just the sound. The Japanese word in the WN is less specific.