Profession, Merchant Volume 13 Chapter 8 (Light Novel Exclusive) (Patreon)

Chapter 8 – Miss Priestess, the Ever-Reliable “Big Sis” VIII (Light Novel Exclusive)

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How long has she been chasing away our rescue ships like that?


Eh, whatever.


Anyway, this is good.


Now that I think about it, the priestess probably hid this from me because she loves our life on the island and doesn’t want to go home.


But if I tell her that I have already found out this secret and then press her with “I want to go home,” then she will have no choice but to grant my wish.


So I returned to the beach as if nothing had happened, crossed my arms, and sat cross-legged, waiting.


After a while, the priestess returned to the beach with her collar on, as if she wasn’t the same person who hadn’t chased away some ships with her power alone.


“I’ve done the laundry. Here. You’ll catch a cold if you stay naked forever.”


The priestess spoke first as she handed me a pair of washed pants.


I put the pants on and opened my mouth to ask her about the collar.


“You know, Miss Priestess…”


But from that point on, for some reason, I couldn’t make a sound.


“Um, that…”


Why? Why can’t I say that I saw you take off your collar?


“What’s wrong?”


The priestess looked up at me like a fox cub with sharp eyes.


I didn’t know why, but my face felt hot when I saw the shape of those eyes that I should have been seeing all the time.


My heart is pounding, and I’m suddenly out of breath.


I panic and look away.


What in the world just happened?


Let’s think about this for a moment.


I know from experience that when I act irrationally like this, it’s because I have some kind of intuition.


In this case, that intuition is probably telling me that it is better not to tell the priestess about the collar.


Here, I fell into contemplation.


This is a habit of mine when my instincts get the better of me. To think about why I am reacting this way and to make a logical solution based on my findings.


First of all, what is it that is bothering me right now?


Right.


The scene from earlier… that is the rescue ship returning home without us.


The rescue ship probably belonged to Newland, which means that we have probably been pardoned by now.


It’s been about three months since I was exiled to this deserted island.


They are faster than I expected.


However, the fact that we have been pardoned means that the city’s mining and engineering crew is as good as poached.


And what’s worse, it’s possible that the secretary only pardoned us at this time because it would be a convenient time for me to come back from her perspective.


From here, I realized that if I came back here, it wouldn’t be any different from playing by her hands.


That thought alone frustrates me. I don’t want to go without a fight.


Then, a thought occurred to me.


Why don’t I take advantage of this situation and not return to the island for longer than the secretary thought?


The city I built on the outskirts of Newland has already grown to the point where mining and loading can be done without me.


However, I was the one who made subtle arrangements for the city to coexist with Newland, and I was the one who managed and governed the city as a whole.


In other words, now that I am gone, there is a high possibility of discord or friction between the demons of Newland and the townspeople.


We are immigrants, so to speak, and immigrants generally do not get along well with the natives.


Of course, there are times when we have to get along, as was the case with us. Still, it is not always easy for people to move into a community with many other people with a completely different culture.


It takes a great deal of sensitivity and care to make this work.


The secretary will try to reconcile this, but she will not be able to.


This is more a matter of position than ability.


The secretary is probably thinking of letting me start all over again as soon as I return.


But I wonder… how long can she afford to go through such trouble?


In that case, it would be better to return home when the situation is more dire and apply for another place to live.


Of course, I’m worried about my direct subordinates and workers, or at least what’s left of my crew, but since there’s the female warrior and the holy knight, at least they won’t die.


I see now.


When I think about it, it would be better to stay on the deserted island a little longer and not ask the priestess about the collar.


And if I had decided that it was the priestess who drove the rescue ship back instead of me not coming back of my own free will, then the secretary wouldn’t be able to blame me, so it’s convenient in that regard as well.


Fufufu, as expected, my intuition is very keen.


I can’t believe that I was able to sense all of this in an instant.


Sometimes, my genius… is almost frightening.


“Hey, what’s wrong? Is something the matter?”


“Uh, uh… I forgot what I wanted to say.”


“What’s the matter with you? You’ve been very out of it lately.”


“Well, I’ll tell you when I remember.”


“Okay… never mind that. Let’s take a bath together instead. I’m all sweaty.”


“You really like taking baths, don’t you, Priestess?”


“Ufufufu.”


As she giggled at my words, I took off the pants I had just put on.


Thus, out of necessity due to my business strategy, I decided to continue living on this deserted island.


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