I had already scouted out the location of the merchant’s guild in Helenna.
There were several ways to mail a letter in this world. One method was to ask someone who was heading to the letter’s destination to deliver it for you. Another was to hire a courier specifically to get it where it needed to go. Alternatively, you could use the delivery system devised by the adventurer’s guild or the merchant’s guild’s mail forwarding teleportation system.
The cheapest but most unreliable method was to simply ask someone to deliver it, and the most expensive—but commensurately reliable—method was to make use of the mail teleportation service offered by the merchant’s guild.
The merchant’s guild’s service was exceptionally fast and was the most accurate by far. It ran on an entirely different system from teleportation portals. I’m guessing that, in Golden Dawn, it was probably constructed discretely due to whatever background issues there had been with the game’s programming. That system had somehow been retained in this world.
For the merchant’s guild, this mail system was just another business opportunity. And if we made use of their services, the adventurer’s guild wouldn’t be able to interfere with the mail, so our secrecy would be kept.
The only issue was the price. While I couldn’t speak for merchants who were members of that guild, the cost to use their mail service was exorbitantly high for private consumers.
“Your total comes to 22,900 gold,” said the clerk.
As long as someone could pay the price, the merchant’s guild would do business with anyone—even with their own enemies.
We had been led to a private room where a clerk confirmed the destinations of the three letters the prince intended to send. The letters were also weighed.
The final quoted price sent a shiver down my spine. That was about 2.3 million yen!
As expected of expedited service. That’s expensive as hell.
The three letters had each been addressed to different recipients—of course the price would be jacked way up!
For what it was worth, assuming the rates here were unchanged from Golden Dawn, sending these same letters through the adventurer’s guild would’ve cost only one-tenth what the merchant’s guild was asking.
But the prince simply nodded in acceptance and pulled a small pouch out from his pocket.
That was when I remembered something important—he didn’t have a single coin on him.
Anything he had that might’ve been worth something was currently sitting in my storage. When we had teleported away, he’d had nothing of value save for the clothes on his back.
I had been standing just behind Wald as he was the one seated across from the clerk, but now, I leaned forward to whisper in his ear.
“Uh, Al? Just how were you planning on paying?”
He gave me a silent, sidelong glance before answering. “My bracelet...was inlaid with several gems that might be removed in an emergency. They’re exceptionally valuable, each on the level of a national treasure. Even though my position is compromised at the bargaining table, surely they would fetch a very good price.”
I could only stare at him in silence.
Are you joking?! Those gems are national treasures that’ve been passed down through the generations, aren’t they?! Don’t you give me that forlorn smile when you’ve steeled yourself to part with them, kid!
I put a hand on Wald’s arm to stop him and then pulled out three solid gold coins. Then, leaning past him, I placed them on the table.
The clerk nodded. “Just a moment, please. I will draw up the contract and fetch your change in another room.”
Once the man had left, Wald twisted around and looked up at me from his seat. “Kariya!” he hissed. “This is my own problem. It’s only proper that I should pay for it myself!”
I gave him a bit of a lecture. “It is not your problem, it’s our problem. If you sold those gems off here, you’d never be able to buy them back. There’s no reason to go that far just to solve a problem on your own. You should discuss things with me. Learn to ask me for help, even if only for the duration of our journey.”
He didn’t say anything in response. Defeated, he hung his head, which was still covered by his hood despite the fact that we were indoors.
I gave him a light pat on the head. “I’ll fix up your bracelet and get those gems back into their proper places later.”
The clerk stepped back into the room and spoke to us again. “My apologies for the wait.” He was carrying a tray with the contract and some coins.
I returned to my place behind the prince, but my heart was pounding from the aftershock of running my big mouth.
Just half a year ago, I was a simple farmer with less than a thousand gold to my name. Now, I was moneyed enough to be carrying around three gold coins—each worth ten thousand gold—like it was nothing.
It was true: no matter the place or era, war always turned a profit.
Feel free to ask me for anything you need, princeling. I’ll put it on your tab till you become king.