Chapter 193: [193] The Merchant’s Guild

Eliron was holding a golden ring to the sky. One eye closed while the other was squinted slightly as he observed it.

The sun reflected off the ring, causing an array of colours to shine off it.

It was one of the more interesting items he had won in the gambling competition last night. The scammer had wandered right into his trap, and Eliron made sure to leave him with a lasting lesson.

“Hmmm…” Eliron opened his other eye.

There was no doubt about it, it was solid gold. And etched on the surface of the ring was a fire breathing dragon mid-leap.

’Strange…’

He tucked the ring back into his pocket and took a glance around the city.

Donia’s capital was a beautiful display of human ingenuity.

The roads were well maintained, the streets were clean, which was a big plus considering they were in the medieval era, and their buildings were architectural masterpieces, at least for this era.

A large river cut through the central part of the city, and the ’greystone bridge,’ Danslied, was constructed to carry people above it, adding to the kingdom’s overall aesthetic elegance.

In the Eastern Continent, the Donia Kingdom’s capital was by far the most developed city, having already created a functioning sewage system and police department which they called the arms brigade.

Too bad, it was all doomed to fall very soon.

In the novel, the beautiful city and all its inhabitants were doomed to die as hordes of undead flooded the city.

’The march must have already begun…’

Although the reason was never mentioned in the book, this was to be the first out of many cities to fall to the lord of the dead, the first Titan, to make a move.

The march of the dead would later be halted by the main character in conjunction with the prince of Donia…

Well, it was not like it was Eliron’s business. His goal here was to get rice and return back to Artaris as quickly as possible, not wage a war against the dead.

As much as he wanted to help, Artaris took priority, and staying too long away from home was dangerous.

“What are the plans for the day, my lord?” Ash asked Eliron as he walked next to him, Artie and Yennefer on his other side.

“We are going to the merchants guild.” Eliron said.

Today, they needed to make their order for rice at the guild. Since it was a pretty big order, Eliron was hoping to get a discount at the guild and possibly make a few connections as well.

“And after that?” Yen chimed in, hugging Tsukiko to her chest.

“After that, maybe we’ll visit the fields to see how they cultivate rice here…”

Yennefer frowned.

“…Or we’ll go rice tasting.”

Her face immediately brightened, and then she smiled, laughing lightly. “Ehehehe…”

Tsukiko nodded, agreeing vehemently with the idea.

They walked for a few more seconds until they met their guide for the day, a stout man with a rather round belly. He was their ride from the port, so Eliron booked him for the entire day.

“Good morning my lords and ladies.” The man bowed.

“Good morning.” Eliron returned his greeting. “How long till the merchants guild?”

“It should take about thirty minutes, my lord.”

“Alright, let’s be on our way.”

<•••>

The merchant guild looked like any typical guild would look. Their insignia, a scale loaded with gold on both sides, was etched into their door. And a sign bearing the insignia was also hanging above the door frame.

When they got inside, they were greeted by a vast hall. Merchants were going about their business, negotiating prices and catching up on stories that had picked up on the road.

“Ash and I will make the order for the rice. Artie, can you and Yen order the fertilizer?”

Artie nodded. “How much do we need?”

“Twenty bags should be alright.”

Artie turned towards the other part of the guild and glanced at Yen. “Shall we?”

Yen walked up to her and the two of them left, Eliron and Ash on the other hand, moved to the first counter and greeted the man standing behind it.

The merchant blinked, staring at Eliron’s ears for a second too long before he cleared his throat.

“Aye, good morning to you too. Forgive my manners, elves like you are a rarity in these parts.”

“It’s fine.” Eliron replied calmly. “So, shall we get right into business?”

The merchant looked a little skeptical. Admittedly, wood elves were the type to beg for jobs, not come offering business deals.

It was clear that Eliron was no beggar, even a blind man could see that. But if he was capable of suggesting a deal worthy of the merchant’s guild was another question.

But even with all the prejudice he likely bore in his heart, Eliron appreciated that he did not act on them and chose to hear them out.

’I should send any wood elf I find here back to Artaris…’ A thought found its way to Eliron’s mind.

There were many elves that were scattered through the world after the war, and some that had stolen by slave traders.

Eliron took a mental note to make sure he frees any he comes by.

“So what are you interested in? Do you have any goods to sell, or are you here looking for something?” The merchant asked with a forced smile.

“Rice, I would like to make a large purchase of rice. Parboiled rice as well as unprocessed rice… the highest quality strain you have.”

“Alright.” The merchant took out a note pad and began scribbling down. “That should be an easy one, Donia is filled with rice. As for the high quality strain of unprocessed rice, that one is a little more difficult. Farmers are greedy with their breeds, you know?”

He paused and looked up from the table.

“But it should be alright. How many bags do you want?” He smiled.

“Fifty each.”

His smile froze on his face.

The merchant’s quill dropped, spraying ink all over his paper. He quickly scrambled to clean up his mess.

“O-one hundred bags of rice?? Did I hear you right?”

Eliron nodded. “Yes, I think one hundred should be enough.”

The fifty processed rice would be used to replenish Artaris’ warehouse as well as introduce them to a new staple food.

The second fifty on the other hand will be used to cultivate the marsh lands.

“Ahh… I see.” The merchant pulled out a piece of cloth, wiping off the sweat from his face.

“And how will you be pa—” his eye widened as Eliron placed a sack of gold coins on the counter.

“How much will it cost?”

The merchant swallowed, then a wide, nervous grin appeared on his face. “Give me a m-moment sir, let me get my abacus.”

The merchant left, then returned later with his tool, then after some time, he informed Eliron of the price.

There was a little haggling of course, Eliron was not going to waste a single coin. But shortly after, everything about the deal was complete.

“Your order will be ready in two to three days!” The merchant laughed happily, his mood entirely different from when they first arrived.

“By the way, are you sure you don’t need a caravan to transport them?”

Eliron shook his head. “I have the transposition sorted out already…”

“Alright then.” The merchant bowed low. “Have a great rest of the day sir!”

“You too.” Eliron smiled back.

Eliron and Ash left the counter, only to see Artie and Yen walking towards them. It seemed that they too had finished making their order.

“So how did it go?” Eliron asked when he reached them.

“Decent I believe. I was able to get a forty percent discount.” Artie shrugged.

“Fourty??”

That was nearly half off!

“How did you manage to—” Eliron stopped when his moved to the girl beside Artie. Yen was staring blankly at him, slowly shaking her head.

Eliron read her message lord and clear. ’Don’t even ask.’

“Uhum…” Eliron fake coughed. “Shall we begin the rice tasting?”

To his surprise, Artie shook her head. She then met his gaze, her green eyes glinting with the fire of ambition.

“I have somewhere I need to be…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep