Chapter 30: Take-home

“So you obtained iron ores and charcoals?”

I asked Camilo.

“Yes of course. There’s quite a fair amount of them.”

Camilo replied casually. I’m sure that there no such a big mountain around here so aside from the charcoals, the iron ores must have been procured from somewhere far. I wonder if it’s costly then.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“Alright, this is all of the products of our workshop this time.”

I arrange the items we brought today. Camilo then checks their quality one by one.

“Are these the good ones? The others are the ordinary ones?”

“Yeah. This time, most of the general products are made by Rike but I guarantee that those will not embarrass our workshop.”

When I said that, I found Rike looking at me. No, you’re not particularly done yet. I’ll have you make high-end models so do your best to get there.

“I see. Well, as I said, I’ll buy all of them. Then, let’s move on to the iron ores and charcoals but it’s faster if you have a look. Follow me.”

Camilo called out another person (different from the clerk) from below and ordered that only the short swords among the weapons we wholesale are to be displayed on the store. Camilo then guided us to a different stairs than the one we took when we went up.

When we got down the stairs, it was a warehouse. It’s quite spacious. It seems that some of the size of this store is also due to this warehouse. The warehouse is lined up with products. It would be possible to have a good store in a larger city if there were enough connections and financial resources to collect such a thing. But there is no reason for me to do that though so I stopped thinking about it.

“Alright then, here are the iron ores and charcoals.”

“There’s really quite a fair amount of it huh…”

As Camilo said, there’s a fair amount of iron ores and charcoals. With this quantity, even if me and Rike completely put all our efforts into production, we would still have enough to spare for 2-3 weeks. I think it would be okay to start making products that use more material (such as a Great Sword or Lance). But even if we make the same things as before, there should at least be a week to spare. In other words, as long as Camilo will supply this amount each time, there will be no problem if it concerns our workshop’s production output. If we make things while maintaining the current quality, the consumption period will be further extended so it would be no problem to reduce it.

“I don’t think I can buy this amount every time. But I can generally buy this amount weekly.”This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“There is no problem with this amount. Rather, it’s more than enough. If there is a surplus, we will store it so I think that this amount will not cause any problems.”

“Really? That’s good then. By the way about the price…”

Camilo has told me that this amount was about 1/4 of the products we wholesaled today. Conversely, if we can sell about 1/4 of the amount we wholesale today every week, we will not have any problems with iron at least in the future.

“Isn’t it really cheap? It’s alright to make a profit from it you know.”

“It’s okay. Even with this, I’m making a lot of money.”

“Oh, is that so? Then I won’t hesitate to pay by that price.”

“Is this basically the right amount?”

“Yeah. Whenever there is a big change, it will be necessary to consult you each time.”

“I understand”

Once again, our business talk ended. Then Camilo and I shake hands.

“But as expected, with this amount, we cannot carry it all today.”

“Hmm, that’s right.”

“Cart service… there’s none… right?”

“None, is what I would like to say but I have an unused cart at home. I haven’t used it but it’s operational enough, and it’ll be fine for a while if you fix it. I thought of reducing it to firewood but as I always saw you guys not using any cart or the likes, I left it as is with the intention of giving it to you if the opportunity arrives.”

“If I have the means to take those home, that will be enough for today.”

“OK, I’ll hand it over to you.”

“How much is it?”

“It’s free”

“Free? Is it okay?”

“I’m not using it anyway and, I’m kind to my customers.”

“Ummm…”

Camilo’s words didn’t seem to be a lie. Putting up with a blacksmith living in a remote place for some reason will yield to little profit but it doesn’t seem like there is also a catch to it.

“Why will you treat us so well?”

But, I would still like to confirm it. Even if he is lying, I don’t think I can expose the reason with this questions but this is a matter of whether I can be convinced or not.

“To be honest, it’s because you’re a promising supplier. It’s important to have someone who sells good quality wholesale at a reasonable price you know. I only sell favours to those kinds.”This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

So that’s it. It doesn’t seem to be entirely for favour too. But with those words, I decided to trust Camilo.

“Though I’ll feel bad, I’ll gladly accept it then.”

“Okay, take it.”

“Thanks but can I get salt and wine as well? You can subtract their price from the cost of the wholesale products.”

“All right. I’ll prepare those. Well then, we’ll load them and calculate the total costs first. Please kill time and come back for about half an hour.”

“Okay. Then until later.”

“Yeah”

Thus, we left from Camilo’s place and killed some time.

“But even if I was told to kill time, I’ve only been in the flea market so I don’t really know where to go.”

I uttered to Samia and Rike.

“Really?”

“I was always the one shopping for salt and meat. Eizou was always left tending the stall in the flea market.”

“When it comes to shops, I only know the inn where I talked to Rike before.”

“Then today, shall we look around for something somewhere?”

We walk aimlessly in the buzzing and exuberant New Town. There’s a section wherein shops are build up, it’s not as shabby or messy as the ones in the flea market but there are a lot of stall like shops that deals with various products. However, even if there are some stores that sell multiple type products, most stores sell only one specific product. With this the business is flourishing. Was it because there are many people due to the existence of flea market or such? In the first place the number of stores are too many.

When I voiced my thoughts about that,

“That’s because this town is the relay point when taking detour from the Black Forest. Whether a person from the south goes to the east or to the west, they will pass through this town. But since Boss and Samia can go back and forth through the Black Forest normally, guess Boss didn’t realize it.”

Rike answered. I see. Certainly, if ordinary people can’t pass through, they need to go around. The military and cultural importance of relay points remains the same in my previous world. Samia did not seem to completely understand it. Since she lives and travels from the forest, she wouldn’t realize it. I too was a similar case.

We had a good time taking a look around the built shops so when we returned to the Camilo’s shop, iron ores and charcoals, bag of salt and a barrel of wine were already in the cart. The cart is not a flat one like those of a large two-wheeled wagon, but it has a low fence like that of a mini truck’s load-carrying tray on its three sides except for the back. Basically, it seems that it is unloaded from the back. I could say that the closest image for it is a dray without a horse. And apparently, it seems like there is still some room in its loading capacity.

“Oh, you have returned.”

This time, Camilo welcomed us directly.

“Then, this is your payment this time.”

He handed out the money placed in a leather bag. I checked its content and it seems to be right.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“I received it. Well, see you next week again.”

“OK, I’ll be waiting.”

In this way, we acquired a means of transportation called a cart, we then head home.