Given how the hunters didn’t like to waste their kill’s blood, perhaps they were like carnivores that obtained their sodium from blood.
Incidentally, the E-Rantel area had no significant salt deposits or salt water, so their supply was generated by casters specializing in daily-life magic. This was supplemented with imports from the neighboring kingdom or Empire. For that reason, salt prices had briefly soared after Ainz’s occupation, but they’d long since gone back to normal.
Ainz had only a vague recollection of this; perhaps he’d read some paperwork on the subject. Albedo had likely taken care of things.
Either way, he’d decided against the salt strategy.
Instead, he’d brought—
“Metal blades made by dwarves. Impressive, aren’t they? I’ve heard you use wood dramatically hardened with magic, but I doubt that makes them harder than metal. These were crafted by an especially skilled blacksmith. Top-class wares.”
First out of his rucksack was a long, thin wooden box that held a carving knife inside. It was followed by more containing arrowheads and steak knives.
These were samples. The hope was this display would help bring outside currency to the dwarves, as part of the Nation of Darkness economic bloc.
Naturally, even if this village became customers, their economy was self-sufficient and they had no coin to spend. He would need to devise some means for the village to generate cash to spend, but Ainz believed with the Nation as an intermediary, they’d be able to incorporate villages like these into a cohesive financial ecosystem.
The only potential issue was that he’d yet to consult with Albedo on the idea.
I’m an idiot, so I doubt my plans will go off without a hitch, but we don’t really stand to lose anything…I don’t think?
If his plan failed, no one would ever have to find out. If it succeeded, well, he hoped that might impress a few people. Ainz was trying to not dwell on the results. The worst-case scenario was him getting his hopes up and then blowing it. That would really hurt.
If they’re not interested, that’s fine. This is simply me being generous, so if they don’t care for them, then we can just say that’s a shame and be done with it. But it looks like I don’t need to worry.
The eyes around him were gleaming. The dark elf serving as hunt master stepped forward.
“May I take a closer look?”
“By all means. Handle them yourself.”
He moved over to Ainz, reaching first for the arrowheads. That was the expected choice. If a hunter had reached for a carving knife instead, that would have been far more surprising.
“Very impressive. I’ve heard the dwarves live in mountains, but I had no idea they were such fine craftsmen. This must be supremely valuable. How would one trade for something like this?”
Ah, just what I expected.
Pro salesman Satoru Suzuki was starting to smirk.
He’d successfully anticipated his client’s needs.
Prior to the rise of tensions between the elf capital and the Theocracy, they had traded with humans; some of them still regularly used coins. Of course, that economic activity had not extended to this remote village. Non-elf traders would never pay them a visit. For that reason, everything was done via bartering. And just as predicted, high-quality unusual wares were more than welcome.
“These are meant to be gifts, so there’s no need to trade anything for them. You may distribute them as you see fit.”
The hunt master had been testing the edge of the arrowhead, and he made a face.
“Your niece, Fiora, has already done so much for us. Accepting these without giving anything in return…”
“No, no, they’re but a trifle, a symbol of friendship and gratitude. But if we were to trade…I also have some magic items made using a fantastic dwarven craft they call runes.”
The gleam in the man’s eyes grew even stronger.
“Runes, you say? Magic items?”
“Yes, rune crafts. I use them myself, but if you’re interested, I could trade them for the right offer. Some claim these are but the most basic items, but I’m still disinclined to offer anything magical for free. They didn’t exactly come cheap.”
Low prices drew crowds, but going too far would just create a consumer base that refused to pay more.
If the dwarves themselves chose to do that, it was one thing, but it was hardly Ainz’s place to decide that on his own. The ideal would be to sell quality goods for a high price. Unfortunately, this village had nothing Ainz himself desired—or at least, not that he was aware of.
Honestly, the whole rune business hasn’t produced much of worth. We’re not seeing much demand for them. But it seems too soon to shut them down just because they aren’t profitable right away. Better give these things a century or two to develop.
“Still, with as many druids as you have, they may not be necessary.”
Ainz pulled a metal rod from his coat. He’d planned to show it off like this and had practiced taking it out smoothly.
“This simply produces a small flame at the tip. It’s more useful for starting fires than as a light source. Let go of it and the flame goes out, like so.”
He was relieved this did not immediately generate disappointment.
“I have a few other items, but those can wait till later. For now, I’d rather join the children in their lodgings and recover from my journey.”
The dark elves around all nodded.
They rarely left the village but were well aware of the local dangers and knew anyone who had braved them would need rest.
“I’m sure you’re tired, but may we ask two more things before you retire?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
These questions came from a man named Plum, one of Aura’s true believers.
Ainz straightened his collar. If he said the wrong thing here, this man might turn against him. But if he got it right, he’d make a powerful ally.
“First, do you maybe have elf blood in you?”
“Hey, don’t—” The hunt master tried to cut in, but Ainz waved him off.
“It’s fine. I’ve heard nothing of the sort. Do I look like I do?”
“Uh, no, if that’s not the case, forget I said anything. It was just a vague impression.”
“I see.”
Perceptive.
Exceedingly so.
Ainz had modeled this face on an elf he’d seen in the capital but adjusted the skin tone to match the dark elves. He’d thought the result perfect, and Mare hadn’t noticed anything amiss, but to the eyes of a pure-bred dark elf, the facial features must have appeared slightly off.
“Well, my parents never mentioned anything, but if you got that impression, perhaps there’s an elf somewhere a few generations back. What else?”
“Lady Fiora’s ranger abilities are truly remarkable. Does that run in the family?”
Calling her Lady even when talking to her uncle? That’s certainly dedicated.
Weirdly impressed, Ainz briefly debated calling him out on it. Or was it best left unmentioned?
He couldn’t figure out which approach to take, so he decided to answer the question first.
“No, I never had her knack for ranger skills. But I’m confident in my abilities as a first-class wizard.”
“…A wiz…ard?”
“Yes, a wizard.”
Plum’s eyes got real shifty.
Oh, he doesn’t know what that is. Is that a thing? I suppose wizards are technically people who control magic through acquired knowledge. In a place with no formal education system, their very existence might be unknown. In which case, I suppose it’s not that surprising?
He wasn’t convinced, but the evidence stood before him.
“Um, an arcane caster.”
“Arcane… Ah. Okay. That’s really something! You’re not Lady Fiora’s uncle for nothing.”
Clearly he still didn’t understand, but since it sounded impressive, he’d settled for general compliments. Good enough. Ainz got a lot of effusive praise back in Nazarick, so this sort of lukewarm lip service was rather refreshing.
“Uh, I guess that wasn’t explanation enough. Wizards are a class that can use magic, like druids.”
“Oh! I see. So you make food and things?”
“Huh? Uh, no, sorry. I…believe there are wizards who do that, but sadly, I’m unable to. I suppose you could say my magic is focused on defeating enemies.”
He’d heard of people using daily-life magic to make spices or seasonings, and perhaps higher levels of that could make primary foodstuffs.
Fundamentally, Ainz didn’t mind if people decided he was useless. He didn’t think he was particularly noteworthy to begin with, and if people underestimated or looked down on him, that could be taken advantage of. Ordinarily, he would accept that label with a smile.
But here, he was Aura’s uncle and had to avoid a bad reputation at all costs. He was here in BubblingTeapot’s stead.
“Enemies…interesting. Does that mean you can work as a hunter? That settles it. Definitely Lady Fiora’s relative!”
Ainz wasn’t sure what to make of that. This man was an actual hunter by trade, after all.