Well Done, Azu

Azu came back at an hour too early to call morning.

I'd told her to use the back entrance, so I knew right away.

Two knocks, then Azu stepped into my room.

"Master. I'm back…"

She looked nothing like when she'd left.

Her light armor was gone entirely. The sword I'd given her was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a different one.

The brand-new rucksack was one step from the garbage heap.

At least Azu herself didn't seem seriously injured.

But she had numerous cuts on her upper arms and thighs.

Her usually tidy hair was a tangled mess.

I'd heard that a massive fire spell had been unleashed beyond the grasslands, near the cliffs.

So I'd figured something bad enough to force Azu to use the necklace must have happened.

Before hearing her report, I pulled out the first-aid kit and opened it.

"Azu, take off your clothes first. Let me treat you."

"Nn… okay."

I cleaned each wound with alcohol-soaked cloth.

Every time I pressed it to a cut, she nearly jumped out of her skin. I held her still.

Bandages soaked in herb-derived tincture went over the wounds.

That would heal them quickly and leave no scars.

I could have used a potion, or a healing art if I had access to one. But she'd made it home safe, so this was enough.

Treatment done, I sat Azu down.

I made sure she was in a position that wouldn't reopen any wounds.

"First things first. What happened? Explain."

Azu stammered and stumbled her way through it.

The explanation was long and disjointed, but I managed to piece it together.

She'd gotten a bit greedy, it sounded like.

A Giant Centipede… that'd give anyone nightmares.

How she survived was a miracle.

I pulled Azu close and held her.

For a while she stayed rigid. Then she wrapped her arms around my back and slowly began to cry.

Sending her there was my call. I felt a bit guilty about that.

When the tears stopped, Azu held out the broken magic stone.

"I'm sorry. I had to use it. It was incredible. Was that really only three gold coins?"

I took the shattered fragments from her.

The glow had faded. Just a rock now.

I gazed at it for a long moment.

"Yeah, I got this for three gold coins. Can't get another one, though."

I put the fragments away. Its job was done. Better that it saved Azu's life than sat collecting dust in my drawer. Right, Mom?

"Ever heard of Kasgal Noaroad?"

Azu shook her head.

Not surprising. He'd long since retired from active service.

"The strongest mage in the Empire. When he visited this town, my mother begged him to seal a powerful spell into a magic stone. As a protective charm for me."

She'd kept it on me ever since.

I had it appraised once. They said it was worth at least a hundred gold coins.

"You gave something that important to me?"

Azu was a slave I'd bought. And I wanted her to grow into a money-making adventurer.

I'd do what I could to support her. I was still figuring things out, but I'd staked everything on this venture.

"I'm pushing the danger onto you instead of facing it myself. Anyway, what about that sword?"

"Um, it appeared after the thing died. It was kind of heavy, but I thought you'd be happy if I brought it back."

I patted her head.

Then I took the sword from her. Heavy. Seriously heavy.

'Kind of heavy' was an understatement. Azu was already stronger than me.

I stripped away the makeshift sheath and examined the blade.

Impressive. I wasn't a trained smith, but as a tool shop owner, I'd spent my whole life handling bladed goods. This was leagues above what I'd given Azu.

Sell it and it'd fetch… thirty gold, maybe?

I'd need to get it appraised and a proper scabbard made.

"Also, I brought these back."

From the rucksack came rough black stones.

I'd told her to bring burning stone, so she'd grabbed everything that looked like it. Even after nearly dying.

That kind of dedication was admirable.

She'd had the presence of mind to bring back the sword, too.

Azu could get the job done.

A few pieces of obsidian were mixed in, but most of it was genuine burning stone.

Properly refined, this was pure profit.

About three hundred silver, by my estimation.

Better returns than I'd expected.

Guild quests alone weren't going to cut it.

"Um, Master?"

"What."

I was half-listening while tapping and inspecting the stones for quality.

Higher quality meant higher prices from the blacksmith.

"This stone, it's worth money, right? Why doesn't everyone go collect it?"

"Because they don't know how to turn it into money. And they don't bother to learn."

There was no shortage of information in this world that was valuable simply because someone knew it.

And nearly all of it stayed within closed circles.

Those who knew, grew richer. Those who didn't, stayed poor.

Even a pauper who could identify medicinal herbs could eat. One who couldn't, starved.

Everyone knew burning stone was valuable in winter.

But if you just hauled raw chunks to a buyer, you'd get undercut every time.

Bad quality. Wrong shape. We already have stock. The excuses were endless.

And if you lacked the education to negotiate, you'd dump it cheap just to be rid of it.

Then you'd decide it wasn't worth the effort and give up.

But I was a tool shop owner.

If Azu brought me burning stone, I could process it and put it straight on my shelves. Acquisition cost: zero. A slave dug it up.

Scale that operation up and you'd become a mining magnate.

The profits were supposedly unreal. Wouldn't that be something.

The barrier to entry was equally unreal, but still…

I tried explaining all this to Azu. She gave me a look that said she half understood.

Good instincts, but the lack of education was going to be a problem.

For now, I'd let her rest. The guild report could wait.

She did look good in casual clothes, though.

When I told her to go to her room and sleep, she quickly bowed and scurried off.

Right. Time to open shop.