Two days later, after quickly returning to the construction site on the lake, we were back in Lamburt. This time, however, we skipped the town entirely, and headed down the road to the south gate.
I waited by the roadside on the town outskirts, watching the flow of people coming and going through Lamburt’s gates. I kept my gaze on the road.
A familiar figure appeared, driving a cart drawn by four horses. He waved his hand. Next to him was a woman with fairly long chestnut hair, wearing leather armor. A mercenary, I assumed. In the back of the cart sat a man with blond hair cut close to his scalp. He had his hand on his sword hilt, and kept a watchful eye on their surroundings. Another mercenary. I figured they were both there to protect the cargo, but that seemed frivolous, considering how close we were to town.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Arc!”
Lahki steered his cart to the side of the road and offered a warm greeting. “As requested, I used the money from the grand dragon parts to buy a cart, and filled it with as much food as I could. Feel free to check it yourself.”
I made my way to the back to do so. Thick, glossy fabric stretched over the top of the cart to protect its cargo from the rain. I lifted the fabric and peeked inside. Countless hemp bags stuffed with flour, dried beans, smoked meat, and more sent forth a delicious aroma. Ponta wagged its tail excitedly.
Ariane and Chiyome also glanced inside.
“It looks as though you got everything we asked for. Now, about your payment…”
I turned back to Lahki, but he quickly shook his head.
“No, no, I can’t. Your initial help was more than enough. Since you let me sell those grand dragon parts, I was able to meet with the owners of some important shops. You’ve done more than enough to pay me back. Thank you!” Lahki smiled from ear to ear.
“Then, going forward, I would also like you to serve as my intermediary. It would only be proper to offer a retainer for your services.”
I reached into my bag, pulling out a piece of parchment wrapped with beautiful, decorative ribbon, and handed it to Lahki.
Surprised at the sudden offer, Lahki fumbled as he reached out to take it. I gestured for him to read. He unrolled the parchment and looked it over, then immediately let out a hysterical scream, eliciting concerned glances from the mercenaries.
“This… Is this a Lamburt shop permit?! B-but how?! Why? These aren’t even on the market yet!”
Lahki’s eyes, wide with surprise, hurriedly reread the parchment.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I figured it would be convenient if you had a shop that I could visit now and then. Besides, I’ll need lots of materials for a personal matter. I went to the lord of Lamburt, and, although he put up a bit of a fight, he eventually gave me this.”
That elicited more surprise. “You’re buddies—I mean, associates—with Marquis du Lamburt?” In Lahki’s shocked state, he slipped up momentarily and lost his usual polite demeanor.
I laughed and turned to Ariane. She slowly pulled down her hood, letting her long, white hair blow freely in the breeze, and revealing her amethyst skin and pointed ears.
“I’m sure you’ve heard that the lord’s wife is an elf. That led to our connection with him. Anyway, I look forward to working with you in the future.” I pulled Ponta down from my head and took off my helmet.
Lahki’s mouth hung wide open as he looked back and forth between Ariane—a typical dark elf—and me, a dark elf with brown skin and red eyes. His two mercenaries also gaped at us.
The young merchant finally choked out a question. “You’re…you’re both elves?”
I put my helmet back on. “We try to keep out of sight among humans, so we’d appreciate it if you kept this to yourself. It’ll make working together a lot smoother, going forward.”
Lahki nodded, promising not to discuss our secret with anyone else. His companions agreed.
As far as I could gather, those two were Lahki’s close friends. I felt a little better knowing they weren’t just run-of-the-mill mercenaries.
Besides, even if the truth slipped out, the three of us were almost certainly strong enough to deal with any ensuing problems.
After offering goodbyes to Lahki, who still looked shocked, we piled into the cart. Chiyome took the driver’s seat, as though she’d been born for it.
When I first approached Lahki to buy a cart full of food, which I could also use to transport supplies when it came time to construct my home, I thought it was a pretty good idea. Still, I hadn’t imagined it would go this well.
I felt Ariane glaring daggers at me from behind. She hated it when I was too pleased with myself. Even with my body completely covered, and despite my best efforts to keep the swagger out of my step, she’d picked up on it somehow.
As I suffered under the invisible power of Ariane’s gaze, Chiyome snapped the reins and urged the four horses forward, taking us down the road until we were far enough from town. We turned into a field, so no one would see us teleport.
Although the cart was rather large, the driver’s seat wasn’t, so Ariane, Chiyome, and I had to cram in to fit. Ponta was probably the only one not feeling the crush.
Ariane sighed, annoyed. “I never imagined I’d have to meet with a human noble just to get another human’s shop permit.”
I’d asked Ariane to go through Toreasa, a fellow elf and the wife to Marquis du Lamburt, to get the permit. Since I previously pretended to be her bodyguard, it made more sense for her to do it.
She definitely wasn’t pleased at having to ask a human for a favor, though.
Petros, for his part, felt that he still hadn’t thanked us properly for our previous help. Despite what I said to Lahki, Petros had granted us the permit with an easy smile, so I figured it wasn’t a big deal.
“I’m sorry, Ariane. But now that Lahki knows Chiyome, she can come here on her own without issues.”
“I know,” Ariane said. “By the way, Arc, you keep moving your head around. Are you okay?”
“Well, when I took my helmet off earlier to show my face, I couldn’t get it back on right. My ears keep getting caught. I’m trying to find a comfortable position, but it’s just not working.”
Ariane sighed dramatically and shot me an exasperated look.
The helmet fit perfectly over my skeleton’s skull, but felt a lot snugger over my dark elf head.
Chiyome tugged on the reins to slow the horses. “How about here?”
I stopped shaking my head long enough to look at our surroundings. We were far from the road, and no one was in sight.
“This should work. We’ll deliver the cart and report to Hanzo. Then we’ll take Ariane back to Lalatoya.”
I summoned the Transport Gate. This time, I put a little more power into it, making sure the rune spread wide enough to include the whole cart.
A moment later, we found ourselves at the encampment next to the lake.
As soon as the workers recognized us, and spotted the food in the back of the cart, they cheered loudly and stopped what they were doing to come over.
An instant later, Pittah was on top of them, scolding and pushing them back.