kscans

Chapter 173 - People are the Same in Any World ★

I understood that I was not a Frontier person, but at this rate, my mysterious persona was about to crumble, so I decided to make a polite request.

"You see, I am the Golden Witch. I am mysterious. To those who do not know me, I am a very, very fearsome witch. That is why even the fools blinded by my money cannot lay a hand on me. Do you understand?"

"I don’t. What is this Golden Witch? I’ve heard that you sell items that can be obtained in Frontier, but that’s about it."

He didn't seem to be very well-informed. He should have done his research.

"I sell things like Healing Potions and Item Bags, and I make a tidy sum of money."

"Huh. Healing Potions aside, you dropped an Item Bag. You’re lucky. How many kilos did you sell?"

"One thousand."

"What!?"

"Huh?"

The number 1000 shocked not only Arc, but Mia as well.

"One thousand?"

"That’s right. Two of them."

"Two!?"

"I also sold a 100-kilo and a 50-kilo one."

Brings back memories. That was the beginning of the Golden Witch.

"W-wait a minute! What is that!? How is that possible!?"

"It’s a se-cret... See? Mysterious, isn’t it?"

I brought my index finger to my lips and tilted my head.

"What is a 26-year-old... ahem! It’s nothing!"

Ugh! I hate his youth.

"Mia!"

Kill him!

"I will not."

What a useless maid.

"Hey, is what you just said true?"

Arc asked as if nothing had happened.

"It’s true. I’ve also sold a large quantity of Healing Potions and made quite a bit of money. That’s why other countries made inquiries to Frontier, right?"

"So that’s it... I was wondering why all the inquiries came in at once, but it was because an irregular witch had appeared."

"If you want to buy some, I’ll sell them to you."

"Hmm, I’m not sure about that... Contact and trade with Feire people are generally forbidden, you see. The exception is the leasing of land."

The area where we adventure... Is it for some political reason?

"Hmm, well, fine. Anyway, you’re going to explain what I told you, right?"

"Don’t ask the impossible..."

"You just have to be vague. Please emphasize that I am a fearsome witch. Here, I’ll even give you an invisibility potion or a healing potion right now."

Operation Bribe, commence.

"Well, I mean, you are a fearsome witch. Hmm, alright, I’ll see what I can do. I do want an invisibility potion."

He folded in an instant. As expected of a 13-year-old. Just a child, after all.

"How many do you want?"

"Huh? Uh, then, ten!"

Such a kid. You should have asked for a hundred.

The ingredients for an invisibility potion are Pure Water and regular water, so it’s practically free. I could give him as many as he wants.

"Huh? A hundred?"

I ignored Arc and took out ten invisibility potions from my bag, lining them up on the desk.

"Here. They’re yours. Make sure you phrase it well."

"Y-yeah. Um, I’d like a healing potion too... just kidding."

What a greedy kid.

"Frontier people and Feire people are all the same. What level?"

"Huh? Level?"

"The level of the Healing Potion."

"Huh? Then, two?"

Why is he asking it like a question?

"Here. A special service for you."

I took a Healing Potion Lv2 out of my bag and placed it on the desk.

"Huh? Is it real?"

"You can use Appraisal on it later."

"Ah, right, yeah..."

Is this kid alright?

"Are we done? I have my next business deal to attend to."

"Ah, yeah. That’s right. It would be wrong to keep you any longer, so I guess you can go back..."

Since our conversation seemed to be over, I decided to leave and looked around the room.

There’s nothing here...

"Hey? Where’s the Gate?"

If you go through a Gate, you should come out of a corresponding Gate. But there was nothing that large in this small, four-and-a-half-mat room.

"Oh, I’ll send you back with my transfer magic."

Transfer magic... Amazing!

"Hmm, convenient. Teach it to me."

"I can’t. Only royalty can use it."

This kid seems to be royalty. A prince, maybe? And is it alright for him to say that? Hmm, I feel sorry for him, so I’ll let it slide.

"Is that so. Then fine. I’m leaving, so send me back with that transfer magic of yours."

I’m done here. It doesn’t seem like I can sell him anything, so I have no more business here.

"Excuse me, may I ask just one thing?"

Just as I was about to leave, Mia hesitantly raised her hand.

"What is it?"

"How many invisibility potions do you have in stock?"

"How should I know. Lots and lots. I don’t bother counting them."

The ingredients for invisibility potions are available with the turn of a faucet, so I have a considerable stock. It’s probably well over two thousand.

"S-sorry! Just one more thing!"

Even though she said just one thing at first, she seemed to have another question.

"What is it?"

"Do you have any Healing Potion Lv3?"

"I just set the price for it at an auction yesterday. Now I’m going to sell them off."

Get to work, Claire!

"S-sell them off..."

Mia seemed flustered by my answer.

"That’s right. Are you done? Then I’m leaving. Arc, send me back. And next time you invite someone, you should at least offer them some tea. Don’t you know any manners?"

Even I would offer coffee.

"Ah, sorry. You’re right. I’ll be more careful next time. O-okay, I’ll send you back."

Arc said that and held his hand out towards me. Since Arc was staring at my face, I took the opportunity to look closely at his face again.

"You really do have a beautiful face."

He was seriously perfect. Like a painting. As expected of royalty.

"Ah, thank you."

Arc said thanks while flustered, and his hand began to glow.

"Just like a girl."

Is it because I’m a man that I think he would have been better off being born a girl?

"Huh?"

The light from Arc’s hand grew stronger, and my vision went white.

◆◇◆

Eleanor-sama gave a gentle smile, and in an instant, she disappeared. She had been returned to Feire by Arc-sama’s transfer magic.

Arc-sama was staring blankly at the chair where Eleanor-sama had been sitting, his hand still outstretched.

"Arc-sama."

"Huh? Ah, what is it?"

Arc-sama finally came back to his senses.

"I understand how you feel."

"I do. I see now why the representatives from the various countries in Feire made their inquiries."

I understood as well. That was something far too unusual. She would be an exceptionally strange existence in our world, just as she likely was in Feire. Truly a witch who could throw the world into chaos.

"Indeed."

"I got ten invisibility potions... and a Healing Potion Lv2."

That witch had casually handed over such precious items. No, perhaps they were not precious to her. After all, she spoke of selling off not just Level 2, but Level 3 Healing Potions.

"That is not something to be proud of. It was a bribe."

"What!?"

"In any case, we must report this to His Majesty."

"W-well, I guess so. Let’s see, ‘Eleanor Ocean doesn’t seem to be a Frontier person, but she’s a mysterious witch, so she’s scary,’ was it?"

That is how I remembered it as well.

"Since we have accepted the items, we have no choice but to proceed in that direction."

"What should I say?"

"‘We could not confirm that she is a Frontier person. However, she was clearly an unusual witch.’ That should suffice."

"I guess I’ll go with something like that... It is the truth, after all."

Indeed, there was no lie in that statement.

"Yes."

"But who is she really? How is she obtaining 1000-kilo Item Bags and large quantities of potions?"

That is...

"It would be best to report that to His Majesty as well."

"Well, I suppose so. Hmm, it’s hard to explain. What is with that witch..."

Arc-sama held his head in his hands.

"She seems to be the Golden Witch."

"Am I supposed to report that she was a Golden Witch with a Swordsmanship level of 6?"

A Swordsmanship level of 6 was unheard of. If I hadn’t shown myself, would I really have been beheaded in three seconds?

"We have no choice but to report things as they are. His Majesty may be shaken, but that is precisely why so many inquiries came in."

"Well, I guess so..."

"Also, Eleanor-sama is not precisely a witch."

"Ah, a swordswoman, was it?"

With a Swordsmanship level of 6, her job might indeed be swordswoman.

"No, that witch is believed to be an Alchemist."

"Huh? An Alchemist, you mean, that one?"

"The greatest job that enriches people’s lives by creating an endless variety of items. And also the worst job, one that causes countries to fight and eventually leads to war to secure the person who has it."

"Really?"

"That quantity of potions and an Item Bag with a ridiculous capacity of 1000 kilos... There is no doubt. That witch is making these things herself. In the first place, invisibility potions are not items that drop from monsters in the area leased to Japan."

"Uh... what should I do?"

What should we do indeed? To be honest, this is a matter that does not concern our world.

"In any case, we must report to His Majesty. Since we accepted a bribe, we must handle this skillfully."

"I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call it a bribe so much. This is a gift from the witch... Ugh, saying it like that makes it seem incredibly sinister!"

In fact, it is incredibly sinister.