Chapter 67 - Chapter 60 The Unusual
“Evening.”
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Seth (Miki) and I entered the Virtual Club Room just before 8 PM. It was our usual time, but Mion, Bell-buchou, and even Yata-sensei were already there.
“Good evening.”
“Good evening~”
“You’re finally here.”
Bell-buchou looked like she’d been waiting forever. During dinner, Seth and I had discussed it, and I agreed to be the “external director” or whatever for the guild. Seth said she had a plan for what my role would entail, but she was keeping the details under wraps until later.
“Um, Yata-sensei, have you been briefed on what we discussed?”
“Yes~, I’ve heard about it~. I have no intention of meddling with game content~, so I think it’s fine~.”
She said. However,
“I don’t think there’s any need to specifically create a virtual room for a meeting~. Bell-san could just do a limited broadcast to this room, and Shou-kun and Mion-san could talk via voice chat~.”
“That would be great.”
Mion would agree to that. Even in virtual reality, she probably isn’t keen on meeting strangers face-to-face.
“That would be preferable. It’s easier for both Brother and Mion-dono if they maintain the impression of being ‘on the uninhabited island.’”
“Understood. So, could you tell me about the noble Seth-chan will introduce first?”
“Indeed. Viscount Edward Amiera, the individual responsible for procuring weapons and armor for the Wolkelst Kingdom’s Defense Force.”
Bell-buchou took diligent notes as Seth smoothly answered. Then, the obvious question.
“Could you tell me how you came to know him?”
“Brother, you apparently explained the story of the old man I helped. That old man is a close confidant—nay, a royal merchant—of Viscount Amiera.”
I see. So what Seth received were also the procured weapons and armor.
“Wasn’t that person a merchant from the Republic?”
“Ostensibly. That merchant guild is an intelligence agency, masquerading as a weapons dealer to investigate the military capabilities of various nations.”
Bell-buchou was dumbfounded by those words… No, Mion and Yata-sensei too.
“You’re not just making this up, are you?”
“Indeed not. I became good friends with Viscount Amiera’s third daughter, Lady Emily.”
“You, honestly… No, save the smug look and just explain.”
I urged the cackling Seth to explain, and she recounted the entire story of how she became friends with the third daughter—who was 10 years old. Seth said that on days she didn’t have any specific quests she wanted to do, she would go to that merchant guild in the royal capital and train with the private guards. And then, one day, while she was training, Viscount Amiera appeared with Lady Emily. While the Viscount and the guild master were having their adult discussion, Seth apparently became fast friends with Lady Emily.
“May I ask how you became friends?”
“Hm? She said she didn’t understand her current studies, so I merely taught her. The crane-and-turtle problem was a blast from the past.”
“…What was the crane-and-turtle problem again?”
“Uh…”
“It’s a system of equations~. For example~, if there are a total of 40 cranes and turtles~, and the total number of legs is 86~, how many of each are there~, something like that~.”
Ah, I vaguely remember doing something like that. But how do you solve it without equations? No good. I can’t remember how to solve it without using equations…
“That apparently reached Lady Emily’s father, Sir Edward. So when I have free time, I sometimes tutor Lady Emily.”
“You’re really outrageous…”
Seriously, tutoring an NPC, what kind of game is this?
“And I had a direct conversation with the Viscount. When I directly asked him about it, he didn’t deny it.”
“How could you ask such a blunt question…”
“He said he wanted to request protection for Lady Emily. In that case, I felt it was only proper to thoroughly understand the client’s background. Oh, please keep this matter between us. For the production group, it will suffice to say that my connection with Viscount Amiera is simply due to my friendship with Lady Emily, correct?”
“Of course. I don’t want to make an enemy of a Kingdom noble either.”
Bell-buchou replied, looking exasperated.
“So, if we form a player guild, what am I supposed to do?”
“Brother, you should just continue playing on the uninhabited island as usual. However, when you create something, I want you to report it to me before you stream it.”
“Hmm, is that all?”
It didn’t seem like much, and I felt like I was already telling Bell-buchou about those things normally.
“Brother, you don’t understand. Mion-dono, hasn’t Brother recently messed up… created something surprising?”
“Ah, yes. The most surprising was the rope. And yesterday, he made sewing needles and an awl from monster bones. Also… though he didn’t make it, he’s been cultivating Luminous Moss.”
Bell-buchou’s eyes widened at Mion’s words, but is that really so surprising?
“W-wait a minute. Rope?”
“No, the snares seemed too weak for deer and boars with just vines, so I just processed materials and wove rope. You can buy rope at tool shops in town normally, right?”
Bell-buchou shook her head at my question. …Huh?
“It’s not that rope doesn’t exist, right?”
“Yes, it was sold until the last update. But as soon as the World Quest started, all tools that could be used for development quickly disappeared from stores…”
“I see~. Rope has many uses, after all~. Demand suddenly increased, and supply couldn’t keep up, huh~.”
According to Bell-buchou, besides rope, items like sacks, wooden boxes, barrels, and jars were also scarce. In short, consumables necessary for “Expansion of Living Space” were being bought up rapidly.
“Thanks to Shou-kun introducing Jinbee-san, we’ve made quite a profit with the jars.”
Jinbee-san…? I looked at Mion.
“He’s the one who summarized information about Pottery on the forum.”
“Ah, my master.”
I’d completely forgotten I told her. I’ve been calling him master casually, so if I ever get to talk to him, I’ll officially ask to call him master.
“So, you mean we should learn about Shou-kun’s screw-ups beforehand and use them as material to make the guild profitable?”
“Indeed. Even if it eventually becomes known on a live stream, if the guild establishes sales channels beforehand, we can expect stable profits, especially as long as the current World Quest continues.”
“Mion-san! Could you list Shou-kun’s screw-ups since the last live stream?”
…Can I cry, being called a screw-up, screw-up like that?