Volume 17 Chapter 3 Levy Merchant Guild
The shop next to the one selling spellbooks is the main store of the Levy merchant guild.
When Al carefully peeked into the store while holding the bag with the spellbook, a familiar shopkeeper quickly noticed him and led him to the usual reception room.
"Al, I heard a rumor that you're building a tower on the land Sir Naresh gave you. Is it finished yet?"
Almost without waiting, Guildmaster Levy popped his head out from the back and asked Al this as soon as he saw his face. Was the tower something Kane had spread around?
He had built a structure, but it was just a plain square box made using a staff that could utilize Soften Stone, and it was only as big as an ordinary house. Al couldn't help but smile wryly.
"Well, it's not really a tower... more like a small stone house. But yes, it's finished. There's really nothing special about it, though."
For Al, the main purpose was to have a base where he could safely use the teleportation magic tool.
By obtaining the 'Transport' spell, he could now send out a 'Floating Eye' spell in advance, which made checking for safety during teleportation much easier, and that was a comforting factor.
He had only placed the minimum furniture needed for a few people to stay. There were no valuables kept there.
"I see. So, you're not planning to use it as a hideout. I was a bit worried about having the princess live there."
Al smiled a little and shook his head. So, Guildmaster Levy thought he would have Patricia living there.
"Since the border is close, I thought that wouldn't be possible. Right now, it's just a resting place. By the way, about Orson's leg treatment, I just arrived in Lester today, so I haven't met him yet. Could you tell me the schedule?"
When Al asked, Guildmaster Levy frowned slightly but nodded lightly.
"Ah, I'm sorry for the delay. It took a while to coordinate with the High Priest of the Sun God Pyros in the capital. It looks like the event will be around the end of March. I've informed Orson about that, too."
He paused, thinking for a moment. "I was also planning on having you attend the ceremony for donating the wyvern specimen, which will happen before then. I was about to send someone to your newly granted land to deliver the details."
A ceremony, huh? On the surface, it looks like a donation, but behind the scenes, they would surely gain various benefits in return for Orson's leg treatment. That was something Al didn't need to worry about.
"So, I just need to be in the capital a few days before the end of March?"
If he flew to the capital using the 'Fly' spell, he could get there in a few hours. Thinking about it that way, he would have about 3 weeks of free time until then.
Not only could he learn the spellbook he got today, but he could also check out the ancient ruins he heard about while running around the border with Patricia and Joanna.
"Well, that's true, but if possible, could I ask for a bodyguard? It seems that Barbarians have been appearing frequently on the town streets lately. I've been having trouble securing a reliable guard."
As Al was thinking about how to spend his free time, Guildmaster Levy brought this up. Al thought for a moment but replied, "Sure." He had received a lot of help from Guildmaster Levy.
The ancient ruins they were aiming for were said to have completed their investigation, so it wasn't urgent. Knowing Guildmaster Levy, he would make sure the reward was fair. They could think about the exploration when they came back here.
"I'm sorry if you had other plans. However, Sir Naresh's Baron territory is just starting up. They are short on manpower. You know the situation over there, right?"
There were supposed to be 2 new recruits at Kane's place and 4 at Joanna's, arranged by Guildmaster Levy, but it had only been 3 months since they started, and it seemed like there was hardly any support from the Viscount Lester family.
Guildmaster Levy had a tough situation. But why was it like that? Wasn't Naresh an important son to the Viscount Lester?
"Well, it seems there are various circumstances."
When Al asked, Guildmaster Levy lightly shook his head. It seemed like something he didn't want to talk about. Al was a bit curious, but it didn't feel like the right time to ask more.
"By the way, Guildmaster Levy, could you take a look at this?"
Al said, taking out an old design gold coin and several pieces of amethyst he had obtained from the ancient ruins, laying them out on the table.
"I want to know their value, so if you know anything, could you please tell me..."
Guildmaster Levy glanced at the amethyst at first but didn't show any particular reaction. He picked up the old design gold coin and stared at it with interest.
"This is an ancient civilization's gold coin. You should properly verify its authenticity, but from what I can see, it's probably real. The condition is quite good. A collector might say it's worth double the amount of gold coins in exchange, but where did you get this, Al?"
"From the ancient ruins. I can't tell you the location."
Al shook his head slightly. Guildmaster Levy nodded lightly at that.
"That makes sense for you, Al. By the way, you found the sword in the ancient ruins and gave it to Sir Naresh and Lady Joanna, right? Ah, Princess Patricia was at the ancient ruins, wasn't she? So, that means it's safer there."
It seemed that the story of the sword given to Naresh had reached Guildmaster Levy. He must have imagined that Al discovered both the sword and the gold coin at the research tower. Al decided it was too much trouble to explain everything from the beginning, so he just nodded appropriately.
"If it's an ancient civilization's gold coin, there will be a big fuss about a new discovery of ancient ruins. I could buy it from you, but as a merchant, I can't offer double. How about a 50% increase?"
Five times more! So, the 300 coins he has will become 450 coins. But, if he has too many, they might refuse him... Still, should he give it a try?
He doesn't want to use gold coins that might cause a big fuss, and even if he melt them down into gold bars, he doesn't think they would be worth more than the original 300 gold coins.
"Um, I have 300 coins... Can I sell them?"
Guildmaster Levy looked a bit surprised and widened his eyes. But then he nodded as if he understood something.
"Of course. Do you have them with you?"
They're in his magic bag, but he hesitated to take them out right in front of him. It's probably not the right time to mention that he has a magic bag or that he can use the 'Transport' spell.
"I'll bring them later."
"Got it. Are they all in the same condition? I want to appraise them just in case. Can I hold onto this one?"
Saying that, Guildmaster Levy showed the ancient civilization gold coin he was holding. Al nodded honestly.
"And about the amethyst, unfortunately, amethyst doesn't sell for a high price. This piece..."
With that, Guildmaster Levy placed the ancient civilization gold coin on the table and picked up a crystal rough stone about 5 centimeters (2in) on each side.
"If there are no cracks and the color is good. It might be worth a gold coin for this size. If it's half the size, the price drops suddenly to about a silver coin. Even so, the price has gone up quite a bit."
He continued, "A long time ago, a large amount of amethyst, called geodes, was brought into the capital's market. A big mine must have been found. Because of that, the price of amethyst seems to have dropped sharply. It's pretty, so it's popular among regular people..."
"How long ago was that?"
At Al's question, Guildmaster Levy tilted his head.
"I heard this story from my grandfather, and it was when he just started his business in the capital, so it must have been about 40 or 50 years ago."
It might have been Aines who brought it to the capital. From what he gathers, it seems possible to turn it into money little by little without drawing attention, but for now, with the ancient civilization gold coins, he has enough money.
Thinking about cashing in can wait.
"Where did you get this, Al?"
"From a somewhat shady street vendor in border city Parker. It was in a bag, and I got it for one gold coin."
Guildmaster Levy thought for a moment at Al's explanation, then shook his head lightly and smiled.
"He might have only known the old value. I think it was a good deal. If you're worried, I can have a friend appraise it, or you could take it to a jeweler to have it made into accessories."
"Thank you, I'll do that. Oh, by the way, when is your departure, Guildmaster Levy?"
For now, the concerns were resolved. The 300 gold coins that were hard to use would soon become 450, which made Al very happy.
Once he sell them, he might even go buy the Magic Shockwave spell he didn't buy earlier.
"I should leave as soon as possible, but I have preparations to make, so it will probably be around the morning after tomorrow at the earliest. I'll check and contact you later. Is the usual inn okay?"
As Guildmaster Levy was speaking, there was a knock at the door.
"Father, I heard Al is here..."
It was Ruella's voice. Guildmaster Levy confirmed Al was nodding and invited her into the room.
"Al, what kind of amazing tower did you build?"
That was the first thing she asked. Of course, she was not talking about the research tower, but probably the one he had built recently.
"It's not amazing at all."
Al couldn't help but smile wryly. He wanted to keep the teleportation base a secret, but he wondered how far the rumors had spread in this atmosphere.
Maybe it would be better to move the teleportation base further upstream and build a dummy tower. While thinking about that, Al repeated the explanation of the simple square building he had already told Guildmaster Levy.
"I see. The fact that it's so simple means you're not going to live there? Maybe it's a base for using the teleportation magic tool?"
Ruella seemed to have a good intuition. Where did she come up with that? Al couldn't help but smile wryly again.
Next to him, Guildmaster Levy also knew about the teleportation magic tool, but he didn't seem to have thought that far, looking impressed as he said, "Oh, I see."
"By the way, I haven't mentioned the teleportation magic tool to Sir Naresh."
"Oh, of course not. When you talked about it, Ruella and Barbara were there, so they know, but I've strictly told them to keep quiet."
Guildmaster Levy answered like that.
"I thought it would be okay to tell Sir Naresh, but Father said I had to check with Al first..."
Ruella looked a bit dissatisfied.
"Yeah, I'm sorry, but I want to keep things as they are with Sir Naresh for a while."
Since he can only register one teleportation destination, it's not something you can use conveniently, and if that teleportation magic tool gets stolen, someone could suddenly invade the research tower.
If that becomes known, Al himself would become a target. He wanted to minimize that possibility as much as possible. Ruella nodded reluctantly at Al's explanation.
"I guess there's no helping it. I understand that. But, hey, I asked before, can't you let me experience it just once? You have time now, right?"
Now that she mentioned it, Al remembered having that conversation with Ruella. It seemed she really wanted to experience moving through teleportation.
However, using the teleportation magic tool would mean showing her the research tower.
That said, Ruella was one of the people who supported Patricia when she was struggling. It was something he should get Patricia's approval for, but if he told her, she would probably say yes right away.
It was more about what Baroness Tabasa would say. After thinking for a moment, Al slowly nodded.
"I understand. But I need to get Patricia's approval first, so please wait a bit. I'll reply as soon as I can. If that happens, should Guildmaster Levy also go to where Patricia is? Since of the nature of the tools, it's impossible for both of us to go at the same time..."
Guildmaster Levy shakes his head.
"I'll ask Ruella to handle that. If that's the case, Ruella is closer to the princess, so she would be more suitable."
Ruella nods lightly. "Okay then," Al said as he left the Levy merchant guild.
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