Chapter 169: Black Material

The next morning, having met up with Og, we were heading to Mr. Gordov’s shop.

“Jeez, those guys, eating and drinking like there’s no tomorrow without holding back…”

Og is teary-eyed because a massive amount of alcohol and food was ordered at the banquet that started spontaneously last night.

“Ahaha, is your wallet okay?”

“O-Oh!? Don’t worry. I’ve checked the market price of dragon scales, and I’ve pro~perly left the money to pay you and Mr. Gordov. I’m a knight now, you know? I’m quite highly paid!”

Og gives a thumbs up and laughs, saying there’s nothing to worry about.

“Heh-, knights are that well-paid! As expected of Og!”

“Hahaha, well yeah! …I’m glad I hunted monsters like crazy and saved up money when I got the dragon equipment.”

In my previous life, I heard from knights that knights who rose from commoners were poorly paid, but it’s different now.

“Rather than being a knight, being a former A-rank adventurer is the big factor.”

The one who said that was Liliera.

Jairo and the others went to the Adventurer’s Guild to take on a different request, but Liliera tagged along because she seems curious about Og‘s equipment.

” “Is that so?” What do you mean?”

“Yes, high-rank adventurers have their ability guaranteed, so to speak. From the employer’s perspective, they can be hired with more peace of mind than a clumsy mercenary. Moreover, an A-rank adventurer is practically the highest rank. Of course they’d invite them with favorable treatment.”

I see, the Adventurer’s Guild ranks have that kind of advantage too.

However, I suddenly harbor a doubt about Liliera‘s words.

“Huh? ‘Practically’? Don’t they hire S-ranks?”

“S-ranks earn a different order of magnitude, so even without being hired by someone, they can easily earn enough to feed themselves in their old age. That’s why apparently there’s no one who goes out of their way to get hired.”

I see, certainly even I managed to earn a surprising amount of money, so it wouldn’t be strange if everyone else could earn more.

However, Liliera continued her words evasively there.

“Besides… there are many intense people among S-ranks, so a decent employer seemingly can’t handle them at all. I heard long ago there was a noble who hired a certain S-rank adventurer exclusively, but they messed up so flashily that it turned into a disaster.”

“Umm, why did you look my way midway through just now?”

Then Liliera abruptly averts her gaze.

Hey! I’m really curious about that!?

“Say, what did that S-rank mess up?”

“Well, apparently everyone involved kept their mouths shut and answered nothing.”

When Og asked, Liliera shrugged her shoulders saying she didn’t know either.

What does it mean that they didn’t answer?

“Hmm, something probably happened where answering poorly would put them in a bind too. If a disaster occurred caused by their own orders, they might even be held responsible. If it were a normal adventurer, they could probably pass the blame, but when it’s the statement of an S-rank adventurer, the country couldn’t ignore it either. Well, if you’re an adventurer, it’s a story you hear occasionally. An event where both the client and the adventurer keep their mouths shut.”

“I see, if you hire people who are too amazing, problems like that happen.”

Honestly, my acquaintances from my previous life and the life before that were kind of like that too.

Even though they caused disturbances as if it were natural, those people didn’t feel bad about it at all.

“No, speaking of that, what Rex did is also an event where those involved would keep their mouths shut in a sense, you know?”

Eh? I don’t think I’ve done such a thing?

“Well, because of that. The consensus was that hiring an A-rank is the best in various ways.”

” “I see-” “

As expected, Liliera is well-informed.

She hasn’t been operating solo for years for nothing!

◆

“‘Sup, Mr. Gordov!”

Entering the shop, Og calls out to Mr. Gordov in a good mood.

“Haaah!? What the hell did you come for. I can’t get dragon materials the very next day, you know.”

In contrast, Mr. Gordov seems displeased.

The reason is probably what he just said himself.

Because yesterday, he was depressed because Mr. Gordov got angry at him since the armor made of dragon materials broke.

“It’s been a while, Mr. Gordov.”

“Th-This is Master!? It’s been a while! What business brings you here today?”

When I call out to him, Mr. Gordov’s voice completely changes and brightens.

“Isn’t the attitude too different compared to me?”

“Of course it is! How can I compare a blockhead like you to Master!”

I step in front of Mr. Gordov to cover for Og, who is being scolded.

“Umm, regarding the business I came for today. I’d like you to make new equipment for Og, whom you were just talking to.”

“S-Such business brought Master all the way here!?”

Mr. Gordov rounds his eyes in surprise, then glares sharply at Og.

“You idiot! Don’t make Master make a wasted trip!”

“Hiee!?”

“Ah-… Master, I am deeply sorry. I told this idiot, but right now I don’t have any decent materials…”

Yeah, as a blacksmith, I understand that he feels ashamed not to be able to secure enough materials.

My acquaintance from my previous life used to say, “If there are no good materials, I just have to go get them myself!” and went hunting for materials alone, but that was an exception.

“About that, I was thinking of providing new materials myself.”

“New materials!?”

Hearing ‘new materials’, Mr. Gordov’s eyes sparkle.

“Yes, Og seemed to prefer Green Dragon materials, but since I don’t have any on hand, I thought I’d provide materials of the same rank.”

“Ooh! Materials of the same rank as a dragon!”

Hearing ‘materials equivalent to a Green Dragon’, Mr. Gordov’s eyes sparkle even more.

“These are…”

I take out Venom Beat materials from the magic bag.

Since chunks that are too large get in the way during processing, I cut out just the amount necessary for processing weapons and armor and place it on the table.

“This is… black, but light for its appearance. What is this?”

“No, are we ignoring that you just cut that material like butter?”

Ignoring Og‘s muttering, Mr. Gordov is engrossed in the material on the table.

He seems to be recalling knowledge gained from books and materials he has handled so far, wondering what this is.

“I don’t know, it’s my first time seeing such a material. It’s not like dragon scales, nor is it like wood from an Ancient Plant. What on earth is this material?”

“This is Venom Beat material.”

“Geh!?”

Hearing the name Venom Beat, Liliera hurriedly steps back.

“Huh? What’s wrong, Liliera?”

“No, I mean, that!? Speaking of Venom Beat…”

Ah-, come to think of it, before the seal was broken, Liliera felt sick due to Venom Beat’s poison.

It can’t be helped that she feels sick just hearing the name.

“It’s alright. I’ve properly detoxified it.”

“Venom Beat, Venom Beat… feels like I’ve heard it somewhere?”

“Or rather, didn’t you just say ‘detoxified’?”

“Speaking of a monster with a similar name that requires detoxification, if I recall…”

“Did you figure something out, Mr. Gordov?”

“Yeah. I heard it from my grandpa when I was a brat. It’s an old tale of a monster with a giant body like a mountain, a living disaster that scatters deadly poison around and rots everything with poison.”

“A-Aah! I’ve heard of it too! It’s the guy that appears in fairy tales, right? I’m pretty sure that guy was Venom Bea… t.”

Og and Mr. Gordov look at each other.

” “Ahahahaha, no no no.” “

“If you get attacked by poisonous air just by approaching it, there’s no way to get close, right?”

“Yeah, besides, it’s a story that its whole body is smeared in deadly poison and just touching it is fatal, right. There’s no way you could dismantle such a dangerous monster!”

” “Right! Hahahahahaha!!” “

” “…Glance.” “

The two direct their gazes at me.

“Say, Master, could it be, could it be that this black material is…”

“Yes, just as you two were talking about, it’s material from the deadly poison monster Venom Beat.”

” “Uwaaaaaaaaaaa!?” “

The two hurriedly jump back from the table.

“U-Uooooooo! I-I touched iiiiiiiit!?”

“Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Where is the antidote!?”

The two hurriedly search for an antidote.

“It’s alright. The detoxification is already done.”

” “Eh!? Really?” “

“Yes, it’s cleanly detoxified with detoxification magic, so please use it with peace of mind. Or rather, I couldn’t bring it if it wasn’t detoxified.”

“I-Is that… so…”

Hearing it was already detoxified, the two finally sigh with relief.

“But to think this is the material of the monster from that fairy tale…”

“Now that you mention it, it certainly has an ominous blackness…”

“However, the Venom Beat I encountered seemed to be considerably weakened, and it was entirely weaker than a true Venom Beat. That’s why this material seems to be of poorer quality compared to the material of a true Venom Beat.”

“Ah, so that’s why it’s not much different from a dragon…”

“Yes. So, Mr. Gordov, could you make new equipment for Og with this?”

“Hmm, new equipment with this…”

Mr. Gordov holds the Venom Beat material to weigh it, and hits it with a hammer to check its feel.

And having checked it over, Mr. Gordov stares at me with a serious face.

“Understood. If Master says so much, I will accept this job.”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Gordov!”

“Please stop, Master. Rather, I should be the one thanking you for letting me use a material I’ve never even seen before.”

Even though I’m the one asking, Mr. Gordov is so humble.

“Hey blockhead! I’m making it because it’s Master’s word, but if you treat the weapons and armor I make poorly next time, I’ll kill you!”

“U-Understood!”

“And I’ll be taking the payment properly from you! Work is work! Leave a deposit!”

“Y-Yeah!”

Og takes out his wallet from his pocket and pays the deposit to Mr. Gordov.

“By the way, I brought the money for the dragon scales, but what’s the market price for Venom Beat materials?”

“Who knows?”

Now that he mentions it, I don’t really know either.

This wasn’t purchased by the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Umm, Mr. Gordov, do you know the market price for Venom Beat materials?”

“Yes!?”

Mr. Gordov is a famous blacksmith, so he should know the market prices of good materials. The quality is poor, but we can just think based on the original Venom Beat’s market price, right?

“Umm, Master, as expected even I can’t quite grasp the market price of materials from a legendary monster…”

Eh? Even Mr. Gordov doesn’t know!?

This is a problem, I subjugated it in my previous life, but I left the material collection to the military.

“For now, how about asking for about twice the amount of the most expensive material you know?”

While we were all troubled, Liliera gave an idea.

“I-Isn’t twice the most expensive material a bit too much of a rip-off?”

“Is it? It’s something you can’t buy with money in the first place, so you can just use items you can buy as a minimum standard. And I intentionally made it vague with ‘twice’ because I think Rex would hold back if we set an expected market price. Because I think it’ll probably be a price higher than that.”

Saying that, Liliera winks at Mr. Gordov, and Mr. Gordov also nods as if convinced of something.

“I see, in that case, it can be called an appropriate price. Let’s see… considering the price of Ancient Plant materials circulating in the Royal Capital… for this amount, it would be around 100 gold coins.”

” “100 gold coins!?” “

At the unexpectedly low price, Og and my voices harmonize.

100 gold coins is an amount Og, a former A-rank adventurer, can earn quickly.

Compared to the purchase prices of the Green Dragon and Evil Boar that were bought in this town before, it’s incredibly cheap.

…Wait a minute? I see, so that’s how it is.

The high purchase prices for the Green Dragon and Evil Boar materials were precisely because they were hunted cleanly.

That means the materials from the weakened Venom Beat must be like buying battered materials at the minimum price.

“For a size this big, that’s probably about the market price.”

“1-100 gold coins, as expected that’s…”

Og is surprised at how cheap it is.

“Well, that’s probably a reasonable amount. Ah, rest assured, I’ll make sure the payment to me is at a normal market price.”

“H-Haha… thanks.”

After that, partly because Og had carelessly forgotten to withdraw money, there was a scene where he hurriedly went to withdraw his savings from the Adventurer’s Guild, but the material payment was completed without a hitch.

“Then please take care of it, Mr. Gordov.”

“Yes, leave it to me, Master! I will show you equipment worthy of Master’s name!”

“100 gold coins… my savings poof in an instant… f-fuhehe.”

Now we just have to wait for Og‘s new equipment to be completed!

That’s what we thought, but… surprisingly, the next day, an unexpected situation occurred.

“I am deeply sorry, Master!”

When I came to Mr. Gordov’s workshop bringing refreshments, Mr. Gordov, upon seeing my face, suddenly performed a dogeza.

“Eh? What’s wrong, Mr. Gordov!?”

“The materials entrusted to me by Master, I could not process them at aaaaaaaall!!”

“…Eh? Ehhhhh!?”

He couldn’t process them? Wh-What does that mean!?