Profession, Merchant Volume 6 Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Chapter 2 – Venussa, II

“Now then. Let’s get that purchase order we’re contracted with for the Andersen’s walls settled first.”

Well, if only that were easy.

Buy magic ores in Newland, the land of the demon lord, then sell them to Andersen Castletown, the hero’s home country.

Basically, it was trying to sell one’s resources to their mortal enemy, with whom they were currently at war.

It was even worse than smuggling, but who am I kidding? Both sides need the resource, so depending on the demand, many will turn a blind eye to anything. Even if it means accepting it from their enemy.

Or rather, aren’t these magic ores the reason why the church went to war with Newland in the first place?

Unfortunately, there’s no direct transport route between the two countries, for the obvious reason that they’ve broken off diplomatic relations since the war began.

This is where Venussa comes in.

Why, you may ask? It’s because this country has no restrictions on its trading partners. A neutral state.

It lies on the border between the Messianic Sphere and other lands, and it also has sea routes to lands of different cultures and even demon lands, including Newland.

Naturally, traders and traveling merchants of all sizes gather here, including some of the transporters I often outsource to.

I rowed a small boat through the canals of Venussa until I reached the seaside and headed for the docks.

For the record, it is said that many of the docks here are made by driving stakes into the deep water.

“Wow, isn’t that a fine ship?”

The female warrior beside me muttered, pointing at the huge magic ship in front of us.

“Yeah, about that, I’m going to meet the owner of that merchant vessel now, so just try to be normal for once, okay?”

Of course, she was wearing a fur coat to protect her from the cold on top of the very revealing blue bikini armor, so she was already beyond normal and on the verge of being perverted just because of her outfit, but whatever.

○●○●

“Hello, sir.”

I smile amiably at the ship’s owner.

“Oooh, look who showed up! It’s been a long time.”

The captain of the ship, who is also a merchant, gives a friendly smile as a standard greeting, but his eyes widen for a moment when he sees the female warrior beside me.

“And this woman here is?”

Yeah, of course, he’s going to ask that.

“Um…”

“I’m his wife.”

While I am puzzled as to what to answer, the female warrior suddenly takes my place and blurts out some terrible nonsense.

“Oh, you’re married? Congratulations.”

“N, no, I mean…”

“Thank you. But you know, I was talking to this man a while ago, and we’re having trouble conceiving a child…”

“In that case, I have something for you. It’s a magic potion that dramatically increases the chances of getting pregnant…”

Oi, you can’t just negotiate something else here!

While the female warrior played the role of my loving wife to the ship’s captain, I waited nearby and smoked one, two, three cigarettes. By the time I had finished my fourth cigarette, the female warrior finally finished, seemingly satisfied, before I could finally begin my official business with the merchant.

“Well, here are the estimates. Please take a good look at them.”

“Yes, thank you. I will get back to you soon.”

Just like that, the business meeting was over, and the female warrior and I returned to the small boat.

“Hey, what’s with the ‘wife’ thing?” I asked the female warrior first.

“It would be easier to explain myself if I just said that, wouldn’t it? You should be grateful for my wisdom, especially since I answered that for your convenience.”

Her idea of convenience, however, disturbed me greatly.

“That aside, did your negotiations go well?”

“Nah, I just got a quotation.”

“Quotation? For what?”

“Quotation for the ship to transport the magic ore from the port of Newland to Venussa. I don’t have a big ship, or the men to operate it, or the know-how. But that’s not too important because if you can already make a large margin on the purchase and order contract and the transport arrangements, it’s more efficient to outsource the transport instead. Besides… never mind”.

I was about to continue, but when I looked at the female warrior, who was watching from the side with no interest as if waiting for a fish to jump out of the sea, I stopped.

“So… that’s it for today?”

“Don’t be silly. If I’m only going to do one case, there’s no point in asking for a quotation, is there? I have to do this several times with transporters I know who have big magic ships.”

“Huh?”

“I told you it would get boring if you followed me. Do you want to go back to the hotel now?”

“I’m not going back. I’m coming with you.”

As stubborn as ever, this woman.

○●○●

As it turned out, the female warrior was more of a distraction than a help at each destination, but we managed to get quotations from most of the places we visited.

Now all I had to do was go home, choose a few of these transporters, and sign a preliminary contract with them tomorrow.

As I thought this, the female warrior pointed her finger again.

“What is that?”

I traced her finger, and it pointed not at me but at a wharf where two huge magic ships stood side by side.

“Yes, I know those too, in a way. They’re slave traders.”

“Slave traders, you mean the ones who buy and sell humans?”

“Well, technically, they trade not only humans but also demons and monsters. See?”

I pointed at the humans and demons who were descending one by one from the magic ship to the wharf.

Slaves of all races and ethnicities were lined up in rows, chained together with collars and shackles. The adult males were muscular for manual labor, while the women and boys were in good health.

There were even Dark Elves, considered the finest in this trade and still as striking as ever.

Slightly smaller than a man, with green eyes, pointed ears, and brown skin, there were three of them.

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