Chapter 96: That time when we bought cows

PR: Filip/Gecko

Its been seven days since the fools subordinate got attacked by a bear. We arrived at Corundum in the morning so everyone went to their favorite place to have breakfast while leaving the unloading to the subordinates. As for me, I immediately went to the catfish-mustached merchants inn and informed him that the goods were being brought into the warehouse and that Alban-san had died.

He was a bit surprised but he didnt seem particularly shaken.

Please ask your two subordinates for further details. Well then, Ill be waiting at the warehouse so please bring a carriage over

It would have been fine if I just entrusted it to my subordinates but instead of just hearing about it, I wanted to see firsthand his reaction when he hears that someone died so I can relay it to Caam-san.

After a while of waiting, a carriage arrived in front of the warehouse so we loaded in the coffee as well as the luggage of the remaining two subordinates.

Then it was time to negotiate.

Lets review the changes, shall we? Apart from the price we agreed upon before, we will be adding the necessary expenditures to get to and from the island. We both have confirmed that there is almost no calculation error for this part. That said, there was no longer a need to provide one persons share on the return trip but that will only deduct three meals a day for a total of 18 for six days May Alban-sans soul rest in peace

I dont know much about him but I said a prayer to keep up the act. After that, I received the amount agreed upon, returned 18 meals worth of money then said the customary line.

If you need anything else, please dont hesitate to get in touch with us

I bowed after saying that, then the catfish-mustached merchant rode his carriage and went towards the gate.

Good grief. I wonder if he got those three to come along at the behest of some bigshot from somewhere. Well, the hundred bags of coffee beans this time were really profitable so I should thank Caam-san when I can

I had gathered all of the islanders in front of me.

Right about now, the merchant Nils should have already arrived at the port city. Once they have settled things, we will finally get some money. Well use a part of it to pay the craftsmen from Corundum but I think well use the rest to finally buy the long-awaited cows. Of course, well get a pair so we can breed them. However, we still cant afford to pay wages for islanders who were former slaves and we dont have anywhere you can spend it here anyways so please bear with it for a while

We dont really mind though

That lone response came from their representative.

Just buying the cows wont decrease dissatisfaction though so Im also planning on buying other necessary items. What do you guys want? Youll be paid in kind instead of money

Liquor!!!

That was what several men immediately cried out.

That was quick. Im actually a bit surprised how quick that came out.

Its almost time to harvest the wheat so were going to store a bit more than usual but the rest will be made into liquor. Because of that, were going to buy liquor but not as much as we did before. Anything else?

After I said that, everyone started discussing among themselves and several opinions started to come about. Then finally, they were able to organize a list and the most important items were written at the top while the least important ones were at the bottom.

Alright then. When we have some extra money, were going to buy the things on this list starting from the top

No objections

A cheerful man replied for everyone. We could probably make some liquor right now using coconuts if we have sugar but theyll probably want to drink liquor thats not available on the island from time to time.

Captain, I have a question

What is it?

Last time, we asked the merchant to deliver the livestock to us but Id like to save money so I want you to handle transporting it. Is it possible?

s.h.i.+ps can more or less handle sheep and the like but larger livestock are going to be harder. And wouldnt the added stress make it more difficult to milk them?

Ah

Caam, just bring a cow thats not being milked because its about to give birth. Itll turn out fine if we just let it relax once it gets here. Dont worry about it. Ill just come along to the port city

After Enomoto-san said that, it was decided that well be leaving the cattle to him. The only problem left is the s.h.i.+p.

Would it really be alright, Captain? Youll be dealing with a lot of fodder and manure you know?

I tilted my head while asking as I faced the captain.

Y-yeah. If we tie it on the deck, lay down some straw to let it soak in, then wash it off right away then maybe Even better if we can get Caam-san to help clean up with his magic when we get back to the island

Then its fine. Can you put ten adults in a small boat and lower it down with a rope?

What? Haa. We pretty much can

A cow is roughly the same weight as ten adults so I guess you guys would be fine carrying it in and dropping it off right?

EH!?

Iya, as expected of our strong sailors. Ill leave it to you guys okay?

I tapped the captains shoulder while having a huge smile on my face. I heard one of his subordinates saying that was pretty nasty of me but its better if we spend as little as possible.

I actually wanted to just go with the captain who brought the heroes to the island before so hell get a stomachache from all the stress but Ill give up on that.

Ill just leave it to sitting across the table from them, serving them some tea with a smile, then talk about recent happenings as we drink. His stomach will probably still get affected if hes guilty.

Well then, once the preparations are ready, please depart for Corundum. We will be purchasing a variety of things so it would be great if you can start loading in the cargo once you get there. Because of that, please take your time getting ready. With that said, lets take care not to have any mishaps in our work today as well. We dont have any coffee left so I should get them to harvest more today

After I said that, I went and harvested more coffee than usual then transferred to Corundum in the afternoon to go to Nils-sans place.

h.e.l.lo there

As usual, I entered the warehouse and called out to a worker nearby. I heard that he came back in the morning and the merchant who bought coffee had left the town by noon so thats why Im here. It seems like he was in the middle of resting.

I knocked on the door then entered when I heard a reply.

Thank you for the other day. I figured you would be back today so I came to visit

No problem. It was my pleasure. The coffee has yielded me quite a profit you know?

Nils-san forcibly made a smile but his face looked tired.

I know youre really tired but Im here to get our pay. Well use that money to buy some things

Hahaha Transfer magic is so convenient, isnt it? In fact, its so convenient that I want to learn it. Ah, please forgive my grumbling

Its not like this is our first meeting and I dont particularly mind so Ill just ignore that complaint. I guess it is quite mentally exhausting to travel by boat. I should have expected this to happen when I visited as soon as he got back.

While I was thinking that, Nils-san came back with doc.u.ments and the proceeds and put them on the table.

Here is the money we received from the merchant we did business with. As you can see from the doc.u.ments, these here are the necessary expenses plus the labor costs and this here is the price per bag. Since this is Caam-sans suggested price per bag, this is the difference. And when adding a ten percent profit to that, the final sales of a hundred bags is this

Hm, even though it looks favorable to me, I guess they are still making quite a profit from this. He had a huge smile on his face when seeing the numbers on the doc.u.ment after all.

I see. Since its just ten percent, its easy to calculate. Well, considering that huge smile, it seems like you are making quite a lot of profit from this but I wont ask for the specifics. Its fine as long as we can sell coffee so I look forward to working with you again in the future

I look forward to it too

Anyway, these are what I am thinking of buying. After taking the amount that Ill be needing to pay the craftsmen that we invited from this city, I want you to use the rest of the money to buy the things from this list

After saying that, I gave the list to Nils-san.

I see you want to buy cows. Do you want the merchant to deliver it to the island again?

No, I want to save as much money as possible so well bring it back ourselves. We dont have much knowledge about transporting large livestock but well manage somehow. Ill leave it to you to decide where youll get it from though its unfortunate that I cant appoint the merchant who gave us a free hero from last time

I dont know what youre thinking but youre making a terrifying smile you know?

I just want to get revenge for the other day by thanking him for his hard work and serving him tea with a smile on my face. Thats all. I wont lay a hand on the captain and his crew who are innocent. Ill just smile and be mature about it. Maybe some small talk about what happened to the hero too like the misunderstanding that caused me to get attacked. We managed to reconcile though so I sent them back to this port city because I happened to be going here anyway. Just stuff like that

Haha. Thatll give him a stomachache, wouldnt it?

Its just a teeny tiny bit of revenge you know?

We negotiated while looking at the things written down on the list and decided to immediately sc.r.a.p the bottom half of it.

Ah, I forgot but the merchant who ordered coffee wasnt particularly shaken when I told him about Alban-sans death. It seems like they really had nothing to do with each other and were just traveling companions

I see. It doesnt really matter to me. If the number of people like that becomes too much, we can just bring Oda-san here instead of having them come to the island

We continued chatting after that. We talked about how the taste of coffee was really slightly different or how they got hooked by the fragrance of the soap made from the island that they brought it home with them.

I want to talk more about that soap

Nils-san lowered his voice and his eyes looked like a predator thats seen prey.

Dont you have those here?

We do have some but just like how it was with yours, they are kept a secret and the techniques dont really get out. And since they are made privately, they are the only ones who reap the rewards

I guess its pretty expensive then. I dont mind selling the finished product but we dont have enough manpower yet and we are only making enough to meet the islands demand. Even if we were to put all our effort into making it, we would need to rent an empty house over here and hire people to produce it in small quant.i.ties

Let me do it. Well split the profits 50-50. How about it?

He immediately brought business into the conversation. Guess thats to be expected of a merchant.

Theres a high demand for it, right? Ten percent

The demand is really high among the upper cla.s.s. Its honestly a premium item. It also takes time and effort to make essential oils. Eighty percent

If youre willing to provide essential oils then thats good as well. But even so, when the island has developed, we can also sell it ourselves you know? You might be fine with that but we probably would have already gotten more than enough of that manpower after about five seasons cycles pa.s.ses

Mu

Nils-san was really troubled.

I was joking. Im not that interested in money. If youre willing to do me a favor in the future, Im even willing to take a 50-50 split

You Youre so naive that I really want to scold you. I thought this was going to be a fun negotiation

Id like to avoid troublesome things. I really just wanted to live a leisurely life in my hometown, you know? Despite that, I suddenly became a Demon Lord

I breathed a sigh as I pushed on my eyebrows.

At any rate, well sort out the details on another day. Youve already seen the product so its fine right?

I stopped pressing on my eyebrows and went back to my usual self.

Lets go with that. We can make it official with some doc.u.ments by then. Ill have the items you requested ready as soon as possible

With that said, we parted and I went back to the island.

I sent the captain and the others to Corundum while promising that I will bring Enomoto-san there after five days. As we discussed before, they brought along with them a harpy to see how they would fare as their lookout.

Ah, theres the s.h.i.+p. Lets go

Alright. Ill send it back right away if the cows not good enough

Got it. Ill leave everything to you since youre more knowledgeable than me when it comes to this

With that said, we went to the s.h.i.+p to meet up with everyone.

Good work. How did the harpy do?

They were excellent when it comes to keeping watch but they cant really do much else. They were able to spot a merchant vessel pa.s.sing through the sea route from the top of the sail where n.o.body else could so we would have been able to react quickly if they were pirates

If thats the case, I guess I should get Oda-san to come up with something they could use as a weapon when thrown from the sky

Weve also already brought in the requested items in the presence of one of Nils-sans staff so all thats left is to bring this doc.u.ment there and pay for it

The captain took a paper out from his breast pocket and gave it to me.

But before that, the cow! Hurry up and show us the cow

Ah, thats right. Theyre over here, Enomoto-san

The captain led Enomoto-san to the stern of the s.h.i.+p where the cows were tied to.

Hmm. Well, theyre still young so theres some promise. Theyre alright. And there are two of them as well. Excellent. Well then, its fine if I look after these guys right? Take me to the hot springs when we get back okay?

Alright. We can even discuss making your coastal hot spring house and the drainage you know?

You do get me, dont you? If thats the case then Im completely satisfied

After saying that, he started talking and patting the cows to calm them.

Thank goodness. If you werent satisfied with these cows after weve come this far

The captain breathed a sigh of relief.

Was it hard to bring them on board?

Yes, really hard

Thank you for your hard work. Well then, Ill leave the rest to you

Mooo!

As the cow mooed, an odd smell drifted across the deck. I ran away towards Nils-sans place.

Good day

This exchange has become so common that I even got greeted by the other workers who were around.

I drank cocoa for the first time the other day and it was really good. I even brought some back home to give to my kid and he loved it

Thats good to hear

The wife kept grumbling about the sugar though

Haha, itll be bitter without it after all. Well then, I should go and meet up with Nils-san

After saying that, I went to Nils-sans room

Sorry but lets get down to business right away

He seemed really motivated. The doc.u.ments were already prepared and all I had to do was sign them. It was that profitable huh? Was 50% still too low?

These are the goods. Theres mint, lavender, and chamomile. There are no roses on the island so we couldnt make rose oil but I think we can pretty much make the basic stuff

Nils-san started smelling the soap I brought.

Can I try it?

Sure. I dont mind

After saying that, he called out to his employees of both genders including one who looked like a secretary, and got them to wash their hands at the well in the back.

Oh. What a nice scent

It can clean dirt just as well as regular soap

This one feels cool and refres.h.i.+ng

Those kinds of comments could be heard all around.

Nils-san, this is a luxury item, isnt it? Whats happening?

Those are made by Caam-san. I asked how theyre made since Im planning to open up a new business venture

Hearing that, they all gave me an annoyed look. Hey, I did nothing wrong okay?

After the sampling was done, we all went back inside. Once the other people left, we began the explanation.

Its simple. You shave off a bar of soap, make a strong brew from fragrant flowers, then take the potpourri used to make the tea and grind it together with the soap shavings. Add the essential oils into the soap potpourri mixture as well as some honey then slowly add in the tea until the mixture has a similar softness to your earlobe. Once thats done, you put the mixture into a mold and let it dry in a cool and shaded area

This isnt a detailed recipe but it outlines the general points of how to make it. Burn it if you dont need it. Also, its not a perfect formula so please continue to study it okay?

Understood. Well then, please sign here

While I do trust him, I still read the contract carefully and reviewed it several times before signing it.

Alright, its done

I hope it succeeds

I hope I dont get stabbed in the back for having a monopoly on this

Have you experienced that before?

Something similar happened a long time ago

well then, Ill be taking my leave. Take care

I didnt ask him to elaborate. It seems like Nils-san was quite reckless when he was younger

Hahaha, please pray that I dont get killed

Then why dont you increase the number of security you have? What happened to the adventurers who were with you the first time you came to the island?

They just happened to be going to Corundum so I was able to hire those guys for cheap

Ahh Then please be careful

I got it. I also wish you the best of luck. If I need anything, Ill pa.s.s a letter on to the manager

Alright. Ill be taking my leave

After saying that, I went back to the island. With the things we bought, we can now make b.u.t.ter and cheese.