Volume 2 - CH 32

Chapter 2-32 : Cleaning Up Ⅱ

As soon as Yok Baal left my store, Iris-san, Kate-san and Lorea-chan came out from the room in the back with smirks on their faces.

「Store Owner-san, you really have no mercy.」(Kate)

「Is that so? But I paid 10% of the market price for his Ice Fang Bats’ fangs. He should be grateful.」(Sarasa)

「Only ten percent!? That means he lost almost 90% of his money? He could have sold the fangs in South Strugg or another town, but why didn’t he do that?」(Kate)

「Simple. Because he couldn’t do that. Khu khu khu~」(Sarasa)

「Aa! Sarasa-san is laughing like a villain again.」(Lorea)

「Lorea-chan, that’s kinda rude…」(Sarasa)

「Store Owner-san, what do you mean by he couldn’t do that?」(Kate)

「Ah, in short, Yok Baal has sold a tremendous amount of Ice Fang Bats’ fangs to Leonora-san cheaply. It’s waaay cheaper than the market price, of course. What do you think Leonora-san did with those fangs?」(Sarasa)

「She is an alchemist, so she made artifacts with those fangs?」(Iris)

「Iris-san, you’re incorrect.」(Sarasa)

「Ah! Did she distribute the fangs to the area around the town?」(Kate)

「Yup! Kate-san, you’re correct!」(Sarasa)

I pointed at Kate-san as I shouted.

She is smart as usual.

Since Leonora-san bought the fangs super cheaply, she could sell them cheaply too.

People who bought the fangs from Leonora-san would then sell them again in different places, and because of that, the market price of Ice Fang Bats’ fangs in this area has dropped significantly.

In other words, there are no longer places in this area where Yok Baal can sell his Ice Fang Bats’ fangs. Even though he can, he won’t be able to pay for the transportation costs.

Moreover, I doubt people will buy his poor quality Ice Fang Bats’ fangs in bulk.

「He came to my store today, that means Leonora-san refused to buy any more Ice Fang Bats’ fangs from him. Well, he could have tried to persuade Leonora-san if he didn’t like my pricing, but I bet Leonora-san’s pricing would be worse than mine.」(Sarasa)

「Is that so?」(Kate)

「Yup. We promised to take down that merchant together after all.」(Sarasa)

「So you two are partners in crime, huh?」(Iris)

「Uhh… Why do you guys keep making it sound like I’m the villain here? Leonora-san and I are business partners, okay? We’re in a relationship of coexistence and co-prosperity.」(Sarasa)

「Right…」(Iris)

「But Store Owner-san, Yok Baal still had the option to sell the fangs in another region where the market price is still stable, right?」(Kate)

「Well, that’s possible, but unfortunately for him, he can’t leave this area yet.」(Sarasa)

Lorea-chan, who has been listening silently, tilted her head and asked me.

「Why is that?」(Lorea)

「No matter how successful he is as a merchant, Lorea-chan, do you think he really had the money that has literally shocked you the other day?」(Sarasa)

「Geez! Please forget about it! I was just a little surprised at that time!」(Lorea)

As she yelled, Lorea-chan hit my shoulder with a blushed face.

*/ TL : They are talking about the moment when Lorea was almost fainted after seeing the large amount of money Sarasa got from selling tons of fangs secretly to Yok Baal (chapter 2-27 part 1)

Iris-san thought for a moment and answered my question in Lorea-chan’s stead.

「I’m not familiar with merchants’ circumstances, but I don’t think he had that amount of money from the beginning.」(Iris)

「Yup. Apart from assets such as commodities and bonds, merchants normally only have cash according to the size of their business.」(Sarasa)

Assets cannot be liquidated so easily. In other words, you need to find a way to get fresh money if you want to start a new business.

「That’s why, I think Yok Baal has borrowed a lot of money from someone.」(Sarasa)

「Someone like?」(Kate)

「A group of criminals, probably. An ordinary merchant wouldn’t be able to hire bandits, so I think that man has a connection with such bad people. According to Leonora-san, those people are waiting for Yok Baal in South Strugg. That’s why he was so impatient when he persuaded me to buy his Ice Fang Bats’ fangs earlier.」(Sarasa)

Leonora-san may be just an ordinary alchemist unlike my master, but her ability to gather information can’t be underestimated.

「Then… That merchant will probably be killed by those people when he gets to South Strugg…?」(Lorea)

Lorea-chan looked a little worried.

I don’t think she needs to worry about that man though. What a kind girl…

「Well, that’s possible, but don’t worry, Leonora-san will do something about it.」(Sarasa)

「Is that so?」(Lorea)

We decided not to let him be killed because we can use him for ‘another purpose’.

Well, whether he will be killed or not, it depends on how much money he owes though. If Leonora-san can’t do anything about it, she has no choice but to give up on him.

But… I feel like Leonora-san actually wants him dead. She probably thinks that Yok Baal will repeat the same evil deeds if he is allowed to live.

「Well then, I still have a lot to do to settle this matter.」(Sarasa)

「Eh? I thought this problem had been solved.」(Lorea)

「Not yet. I need to go to various places, so Lorea-chan, I’ll be away for a while starting tomorrow. Please take care of the store while I’m gone.」(Sarasa)

「Understood…」(Lorea)

Lorea-chan nodded with a confused face. Perhaps she was wondering what I was going to do.