A Certain Merchant's Life-or-Death

The merchant had let his guard down considerably.

Because the disasters, a.k.a. the Spirit-Possessed, had headed off to Suriad.

Not that there was cause for celebration per se, but he'd gone and cracked open his prized wine despite it being the middle of the day anyway.

"Ahh, so peaceful. Nothing beats drinking while the sun's still up."

"Heya! Coming in!"

"Pfbhh!?"

He involuntarily spat out his wine. Standing right there was the Spirit-Possessed who was supposed to have gone to Suriad… W-Why was she here?

"Y-Y-You, d-didn't you go to Suriad?"

"Oh, I (Penpen) stayed behind since I have the ranch."

"… I-I see… Th-the ranch is certainly important, after all."

If that was the case, it couldn't be helped… It couldn't be helped, he told himself, and pulled himself together.

"So, did you manage to stock golem magic?"

"……"

How did she know about that? Just the other day, he'd stumbled upon a lucky find during a buying trip and obtained a golem magic scroll.

… No, it had to be a coincidence. She was the one who'd asked him to stock golem magic in the first place.

It was only natural for her to bring it up even if she knew nothing.

"Lucky timing. I just happened to acquire one."

"Ooh! Nice! So how much was it?"

The merchant had let his guard down. And the wine had dulled his judgment.

The procurement cost had been a mere 50 silver coins… but this was a rare, one-of-a-kind item. A bit of markup would absolutely never be noticed.

So he quoted a slightly inflated price.

"… Including procurement and handling fees, that comes to 5 gold coins."

"Hmm, I've got that on me. Here you go."

Clink, clink. The Spirit-Possessed placed gold coins on the table as casually as if they were coppers.

She'd probably reached a point where earning that much was nothing to her.

Well, he already knew that. A good chunk of her earnings came from goods the merchant himself had been buying from her.

(Incidentally, to minimize face-to-face contact, they had an arrangement where she'd leave goods in the "shipping box" at the ranch while he'd collect them and leave payment. Unscheduled in-person visits were bad for his heart.)

"Well, let me try using it right away! … Ooh! I learned it properly!"

"Ho ho, splendid."

They said golem magic couldn't be learned without a talent for crafting, but she clearly had that covered.

And with that, the evidence was destroyed. The scroll was spent, and finding another like it would be next to impossible.

Since it was a rare item with no established market price, the fact that five gold coins had been a ripoff would never come to light.

Truly splendid.

"It was an exceedingly rare spell, after all. You were lucky this time. I can't guarantee I'll find another, so do keep that in mind."

"Oh. Gotcha. Well, as long as I can use it, that should be enough! Thanks a bunch!"

With that, she left, perfectly satisfied and none the wiser.

Ahh… Life was good.

He'd gotten one over on those disasters, and made a tidy profit too.

That night, the merchant fell asleep feeling wonderfully refreshed.

 

＊　＊　＊

 

A few days later.

"Ahh, so peaceful… The stomach medicine really hits the spot."

The day after the ripoff, he'd been trembling under his blankets, but nothing had happened. He'd considered returning the money, but that would amount to a confession and surely lead to his immediate execution.

In other words, the only way to survive was to keep quiet.

Now then.

"……"

Something had been visible outside the window for a while now.

Way down the street, a huge skeletal monster.

An Undead Dragon, something he'd only ever heard about. A herald of hell. Had one really appeared in the middle of town?

Ah, so this was the end of the world. Because something was riding on its head. A familiar brown-haired disaster.

"Merchant-saaan! Heeey!"

That needlessly energetic voice carried all the way over to him. Right. That was why he couldn't run. Running would be bad, he'd decided. It absolutely was not because his knees were shaking too hard to move.

The Undead Dragon was walking carefully, mindful not to crush anything underfoot… Proof that it was fully under her control.

He noticed it even had a collar. To think she'd tamed an Undead… Unprecedented, but fitting for a herald of hell.

"Merchant-saaan! Heeey!"

"……"

It had finally reached his window. Hollow eye sockets peered in at him, the disaster perched on the skull above…

Ah, his bladder, which hadn't been in great shape lately… H-He had to preserve his dignity. He clenched tight.

"… W-What can I… do for you?"

"Thanks to you I was able to make a Golem, so I came to show you! I turned the fossil we dug up on that land into a Golem!"

"… O-Oh. I-Is that so…"

Was she going to use it to finish him off? He trembled at the thought.

Apparently it wasn't actually an Undead… though it absolutely looked like one no matter how you sliced it…

"……"

"Anyway, I came to give you a steak as a thank-you. Oh, can you take it right now?"

"Y-Yes…"

She handed him a small box through the window… It smelled incredible. It seemed to be a steak of exceptionally fine meat.

"Anyway, looking forward to working with you! See ya!"

"Wha, huh, wha? … Huh???"

And with that, the disaster departed.

…

His dignity had very nearly leaked out, but since she hadn't come inside, he'd been spared by the narrowest of margins.

And in his hands, a box that smelled delicious.

"Could it be… poisoned? … No, even if it were, I have no choice but to steel myself and eat it."

If she asked for his impressions and he couldn't answer, he'd be a failure as a merchant.

And above all else, the smell was irresistible.

"… To hell with it, poison or not…! What is this delicious, no, the smell alone already tells me this meat is incredible!!"

And the merchant learned.

That in this world, there existed fine cuisine he had never known…

"… What was her intention in giving me something this exquisite…? Wait! Could this be… an advance payment for something!?"

If so, what kind of job would match a steak like that…?

People would pay 10 gold coins for that steak. No, they might even pay 100.

"… Could she want me to establish connections with nobility… no, royalty…? Gah, c-connections! I need to mobilize every connection I have!!"