The Merchant had let his guard down far too much.
This was only because the Natural Disasters—the Spirit-possessed—had supposedly headed off toward Suriado.
It wasn't exactly a celebration, but he had gone so far as to open a bottle of his private wine stash despite it still being the middle of the day.
"Hah, how peaceful, indeed. The wine one drinks while the sun is still up is truly delicious, aye."
"Hello-ssu! Excuse the intrusion-ssu!"
"Pffft!?"
He involuntarily sprayed wine everywhere. It was one of the Spirit-possessed who was supposed to be in Suriado. Why... why was she here?
"W-W-W... I thought you went to Suriado?"
"Ah, I (Penpen) stayed behind because I have the ranch to look after-ssu."
"...I-I see... T-The ranch is certainly important, to be sure."
If that was the case, it couldn't be helped. It couldn't be helped, he told himself, desperately trying to regain his composure.
"So, were you able to source that Golem Magic scroll-ssu?"
"..."
How did she know? Just the other day, he had happened to find a bargain during an on-site buyout and had acquired a Golem Magic scroll by pure chance.
...No, surely it was just a coincidence. She was the one who had originally asked him to keep an eye out for Golem Magic in the first place. Even if she didn't know he had it, it was only natural for her to bring it up.
"You are in luck; I happen to have just acquired one."
"Oh! Awesome-ssu! So, how much was it-ssu?"
The Merchant had let his guard down. Furthermore, the alcohol had dulled his judgment.
The purchase price had only been about fifty Silver Coins... but this was a rare, one-of-a-kind item. It was the kind of thing where he could overcharge her a little and she would absolutely never find out.
Thus, he quoted a significantly inflated price.
"...Including the purchase cost and my handling fees, it will be five Gold Coins."
"Hmm, I have that much on me-ssu. Here."
Clink, clink. The Spirit-possessed placed the Gold Coins on the table as casually as if they were Copper Coins.
It meant she had reached a point where she could earn that much with ease. Well, he already knew that. A significant portion of those earnings originally came from his own pockets when he bought her goods.
(By the way, because he wanted to avoid seeing their faces as much as possible, they had a contract where he would buy whatever they put in the Shipping Box at the ranch and leave the payment behind. It was bad for his heart whenever they brought things to him directly at irregular intervals.)
"Then I’ll try using it right away-ssu! ...Oh! I learned it properly-ssu!"
"Hohoh, that is good to hear."
They say Golem Magic cannot be learned unless one has a talent for craftsmanship, but she must have sufficiently met that requirement. And with this, the evidence was gone. The scroll was now a useless scrap of parchment, and no similar item remained.
Since it was an inherently rare item with no fixed market price, she would likely never discover that five Gold Coins was a total rip-off. It truly was for the best.
"It was an extremely rare magic, after all. You were lucky this time. I do not know if I can get my hands on it again, so please keep that in mind."
"Oh. I see-ssu. Well, as long as I can use it, it should be enough-ssu! Thanks a lot-ssu!"
With that, she left satisfied, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Ah... this was the best. He had gotten one over on them and turned a tidy profit to boot.
That night, the Merchant was able to fall asleep feeling very refreshed indeed.
—A few days later.
"Hah, how peaceful, indeed... The stomach medicine is really doing its work, aye."
The day after he had overcharged her, he had been shivering under his covers in terror, but nothing had happened. He had considered returning the money, but that would be a confession, and a confession would undoubtedly lead straight to his execution.
In other words, the only way to survive was to keep his mouth shut and hope for the best.
And then...
"..."
Something had been visible outside his window for a while now.
Far off down the street. A massive monster made of bone.
He had heard stories of such things before—an Undead Dragon. An Emissary of Hell. Could it be that such a thing had appeared in the middle of town?
Ah, was it the end of the world? There was even something riding on its head. A familiar brown-haired Natural Disaster Girl.
"Merchant-san! Hey!"
An unnecessarily energetic voice reached him. Yes. This was why he knew he couldn't run—that running would be a fatal mistake. It wasn't that his knees were shaking so much that he couldn't move. Definitely not.
The Undead Dragon was walking carefully, watching its feet so as not to crush the locals. ...That was proof it was completely tamed.
I see, it even had a collar. To think she would tame an Undead... It was unprecedented, but perfectly fitting for an Emissary of Hell.
"Merchant-san! Hey!"
"..."
The creature finally arrived at his window. Those hollow eye sockets peered in, accompanied by the Natural Disaster Girl riding on top...
Ah, his bladder, which hadn't been in great shape lately... N-No, he had to maintain his dignity. He desperately held his ground.
"...W-What can I do for you?"
"I managed to make a golem thanks to you, so I came to show you-ssu! I turned the fossils I found while digging up that land into a golem-ssu!"
"I-I see. I-Is that so..."
And then, were you planning to use that to end my life? he wondered, trembling.
It seemed it wasn't an Undead after all... though no matter how one looked at it, the thing was a skeletal nightmare.
"..."
"So, I came to give you one steak as a gift of thanks-ssu. Ah, can you take it now-ssu?"
"Y-Yes..."
With that, a small box was handed to him through the window. ...It smelled incredible. It was clearly a steak made from the highest quality meat.
"Well then, I look forward to working with you in the future-ssu! See ya-ssu!"
"Eh, ah, eh? ...Eh???"
And then the Natural Disaster Girl departed.
...
His dignity had nearly leaked out, but since she hadn't entered the room, he had been saved at the last second.
In his hand, he held the box emitting that divine aroma.
"Could it be that it's laced with poison...? No, even if it is, I must steel my resolve and eat it here."
If he were asked for his impressions later and couldn't answer, he would be a failure as a merchant. And above all, the scent was simply irresistible.
"...E-Enough, I don't care if it's poison...! Wh-What is this incredible—no, even from the smell alone, how can meat be this fragrant!?"
And so, the Merchant learned.
He learned that in this world, there existed a gourmet delicacy he had never even imagined...
"...With what intent did she give me such a delicacy...? Hah! Is it some kind of advance payment!?"
If so, what kind of work would be appropriate for a steak of this caliber?
If it was this steak, people would crawl through fire to eat it even for ten Gold Coins—no, perhaps even a hundred Gold Coins.
"...Does she want me to establish a connection with the nobility? Or perhaps even the royalty...? Gunuuu... M-My connections! I must mobilize every human network I have!!"
(Thus, the Merchant continues to work with frantic energy today as well.)