Profession, Merchant Volume 5 Chapter 11 (Patreon)

Chapter 11 – The “Hero” V

I remember being horrified by her smile against the backdrop of the plains of corpses back then, which were probably all her own handiwork, but I managed to suppress my feelings and smile.

“D-did Miss Hero do all this?”

“Well, who else?”

“A-are you all right?”

“Oh, I’m fine. This sort of thing happens more often than you think, so I’m used to it. But then again, those countries are not actually serious about killing me, so there’s no problem.”

The part about them not being serious about killing her is true.

If I remember correctly, these fleets of ships, though they might have been sent by different countries to demonstrate international cooperation, they are but a hodgepodge and are just here to save face.

As for the demons and monsters of Newland, they are also a ragtag bunch, as they are now devoting their largest arsenal to dealing with the “New Hero” of Prolesia.

Still, it takes an incredible amount of strength to wipe out all these things on your own.

“Where’s Pops?”

“He’s been arrested.”

For the first time, the expression on the face of the “Hero”, who always looked cheerful even in this situation, became clouded.

“I see. I’m sorry.”

“Why apologize, Miss Hero? You haven’t done anything wrong. Besides…”

“I,” said a little hesitantly.

“Besides, I’m the one who owes you an apology. When they took my dad away, I shouted, “We won’t be sending any more supplies to the Hero, so please don’t take him away…” so it’s me who should apologize.”

“But he’s your father, so it’s normal. That’s not worth apologizing to me for.”

“But…”

“Besides, I suppose that you being here means that you are now in charge of my supplies on behalf of the old man? I’m kind of hungry. I want to eat something.”

As the “Hero” said this, “I” unloaded the supplies and the new production sword from the magic boat.

“Really, you saved me with that alone. Since I came to this Island of Thirst, water, food, medicinal herbs, and magic ore have been running out fast, and I think I’ll be in big trouble if I don’t have my supplies soon.”

The “Hero” nibbled at a piece of bread as she said this.

“Why are you on Thirst Island?”

“You know, with bombardments like this happening all the time, it must be pretty dangerous for the area, right? So I thought I should at least try to keep the civilians out of it as much as possible.”

She continued with a sigh.

“But I guess I’ve reached the end of my rope now. Your father has been captured, and this task is too heavy for you. Fortunately, with this much magic ore, it’s still possible to move to a place where you can procure it locally, so let’s end the contract here.”

“Don’t underestimate me! If my father can do it, so can I.”

“I’d rather not. In fact, I’d rather you didn’t come at all.”

“I” distorted my face at the sudden harsh words, but that was it, no tantrum at all.

I guess that meant I was no longer stupid enough not to understand that she was thinking about me.

“I’m sorry…”

The frustration I felt at that moment is something I still dream about.

The truth is, even if she had asked me to bring more supplies, I won’t be able to. It’s because I’d have to go back to my country to restock, and the fact that I wouldn’t really profit or get anything from this would mean that I’d lose out in the long run.

There’s also the problem of my father’s arrest, so my every move will be watched when I get back.

All in all, it was my own lack of ability as a merchant at the time that prevented me from helping her.

“But then again, you are an oddball pair of father and son. Why do you insist on bringing me supplies, even though I’ve already been branded a ‘fake’? I just don’t see how it benefits you.”

“Father said that our contract with you is still valid, so it is our duty as merchants to honor it.”

“I should have expected that answer. Your pops is a stubborn man.”

The “Hero” sipped at the water and lowered her eyes.

“Compared to me. I am weak and useless in that respect.”

“But, Miss Hero. You are not weak!”

But hearing my answer, the woman just smiled in self-mockery.

“You know my background, don’t you? My upbringing. That I was an orphan before I was taken in by them.”

“Y-yes. And what about that?”

“I lacked common sense back then. Just use force until it was enough – that was me. Even after I became a “Hero”, no one taught me how to “live”. Nobody taught me what’s right and what’s wrong. What’s worse is that they just praised me for everything I did. They literally spoiled me. Everything I do, they’re always like, “You’re so gallant, Miss Hero!” or “You’re incredible, Miss Hero,” which, honestly, when I think back, is kind of freaky.”

“……”

“And now I have lost that praise. I feel empty. Like I have no purpose in life anymore. I don’t even know what I’m going to do next…”

Then she stood up and pointed to one of the soldiers she had dismembered.

“Look, he’s wearing our country’s armor, isn’t he? At first, I thought I should at least avoid killing my own countrymen, but as time went on, I couldn’t afford to. If he attacks, I must kill him first, or else he will kill me. At this point, I don’t even know what I’m fighting for, or why I’m still alive. Sometimes I think it would be best for the world if I were defeated, but I… I don’t have the courage to die just yet.”

This. I remember vividly that I could not believe that she, who always had a strong will backed by a certain strength and was always full of erotic jokes, would make such a weak statement.

But at that time, the “Hero” was younger than I am now, so it was only natural for her heart to be weak.

“Even if I wanted to go back, I have no home to go back to. I have no family, not even a country that would welcome me back. After all… the whole world… has become my enemy.”

Tears streamed down her rich cheeks as she looked back at me.

It was then.

Perhaps bewildered by the tears of an adult woman he was seeing for the first time,

That “I” said this.

“Then, is your order this time “A country to return to”?”

Of course, the “Hero” immediately had a puzzled look on her face.

But I continued.

“I will become a traveling merchant. But I won’t stop there, because I’m going to be a great and successful merchant. Then I’ll buy a country, even if it’s a small one. That land will be my property, so even if you ‘return’ to that place, no one will have a complaint against you.”

At my statement, which was the epitome of absurdity no matter how you put it, the eyes of the “Hero” widened for a moment.

Then she laughed heartily.

“Please don’t laugh! I’m quite serious here!”

Although I said that, I was actually happy inside because the “Hero,” who looked gloomy, had finally stopped crying.

“Ahahaha… hihihi… S-sorry, sorry. Please don’t get angry. And what happens when you buy a country? Will you make me your queen?”

“H-Haaaaaah!?”

The face of “I” blushed red with embarrassment. Then it started talking nonsense as if to hide it.

“N-no I’m not! As if! A-after I buy a country, I will gather many pretty girls and build my harem. Y-yes, a harem! T-then Miss Hero can be part of my harem too… well, if you want to.”

This made the “Hero” laugh even harder. And this time, it was the kind that was hard to stop once it started.

“Haaa, haaa… that was good. I understand. I’m counting on you.”

I remember her saying that, although it was in the middle of her laughter.

I don’t even know if the “Hero” is still alive today, but now that I had received the order, I had to get the goods.

No matter what it takes.

○●○●

Have you ever had the experience of waking up and still being in a dream?

Me, not often, but sometimes.

This is the case now.

But this time, I found the timeline strange.

 ‘I’ have now regressed to a little boy, not more than ten years old. Or was it five? I don’t know.

What I’m sure of is that it’s a “smaller version” of myself, with matching merchant clothes that I’m wearing at the moment.

But why do I find this strange?

It was because of the person standing next to ‘me’.

It was none other than the “Hero” herself.

And that this Hero was the same age as when I last saw her – she was all grown up. Which should be impossible – unless it’s a dream.

The little version of “me” was on a hill, looking up at a night sky full of stars.

And the “Hero” was looking down at me, patting me on the head.

The “Hero” was smiling.

Afterword (Beginning Novels Edition)

Good day. I am Kuro-ouji, the author of the novel “Profession, Merchant”. I am very pleased to be able to present this work to you in book form. Some of you may be reading this work for the first time, and some of you may have already read it in Nocturne Novels or Osiris Bunko e-book. Either way, we hope this book will give you a little appreciation of our work.

I would like to thank the illustrator, 218-sensei, for drawing five additional illustrations, a frontispiece and a cover for this book, in addition to the five illustrations in the Osiris paperback edition. I especially like the one of the merchant putting his dick into the minister’s daughter and cupping the bully girl’s crotch. This has renewed my determination to work even harder at writing sexually explicit novels, so that maybe I can become a respectable man who can conquer a girl like that? Haha.

Looking back, it was about five years ago that I started writing “Profession, Merchant” on Nocturne Novels, an R18 site for men. Four years later, last year at the time of writing, “Profession, Merchant” won the grand prize at the Osiris Bunko “Next Generation Sensual Novel Award” held on Nocturne Novels, and as a result it was successfully turned into an e-book. Osiris Bunko were very helpful in making the book available in e-book format. And now, through Osiris Bunko, Beginning Novels has decided to publish the novel you are reading today in book form. Therefore, I would also like to thank Beginning Novels for their great support in publishing this book.

This is the story of how this joke of a novel came to be published and available in bookshops. At first it felt like “Is the world coming to an end?” that such a gag novel was given a chance to be printed and distributed to society, but here we are.

Apart from hoping that you’ll turn a blind eye to the parts of this novel that you don’t like, I also hope that you’ll continue to support and patronize “Profession, Merchant” in the future.

October 2011, written on a good day, Kuro-Ouji

Afterword (Osiris Bunko Edition)

I don’t have much to say about my current situation, but my latest boom has been drawing “Fundoshi Girls”. I would like to actively draw the charm of these loincloth girls and do my best to encourage as many girls as possible to wear loincloths in the future.

Illustrator 218:

Text on the right: Priestess-san moeeee

Text on the book: Ecchi Pocket book

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