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Chapter 45: Meeting the Northern Merchants

「Hey there! You’re the ones who passed us at sea, right?」

「Hm? And you are…?」

From the deck of the ship moored at the neighboring pier, a merchant-looking man waved at us.

He spoke in heavily accented Algeas Kingdom language.

「That’s the merchant ship we passed on the second day. Looks like they arrived at the port about half a day after us.」

Gauche, the captain-in-training, came up beside me and explained.

He was right!

That squat-shaped ship looked familiar.

I called out to the merchant on the other ship in Algeas language.

「Oh! Yeah, I remember you! We’re just about to have dinner, want to join us for a drink?」

「Ah! Sounds good!」

We’d pitched our tents on the pier and were about to start a feast.

It had only been three days, but still, this had been the maiden voyage, and we’d made it safely.

We needed to let our crew loosen up before the return trip.

Amid the lively party, three men from the neighboring ship came over.

I introduced myself in Algeas Kingdom language.

「Welcome! I’m Gaia, chieftain of the Blumunt Tribe of Barbar! This here is my uncle Athos, my wife Jessica, and my comrade Rosso.」

I’d invited the men from the neighboring ship primarily to gather intel.

And if things went well, I wanted to sell our rock salt and liquor.

I had Uncle Athos for negotiations, Jessica for etiquette and presence, and Rosso to keep the atmosphere in check, these three would back me up.

The man who’d spoken to me introduced himself in heavily accented Algeas Kingdom language.

「Thanks for the invite. I’m Tron, a merchant from the Kingdom of Norn. This is my assistant, Odd. And this here is Knut of the Wolf Tribe.」

「Come, have a seat! The food and ale are from the market stalls, but help yourselves!」

With a friendly tone, I led the toast.

Tron looked about forty.

Round-faced, a bit plump, dressed comfortably, and constantly smiling.

His assistant Odd looked about twenty, lean but broad-shouldered, you could tell he’d been toughened by life at sea.

Knut of the Wolf Tribe had a sharp gaze and a burly build. At first, he was wary, but after a sip of ale, he relaxed.

He even started comparing arm sizes with Rosso.

He must be a good-natured beastkin.

Tron and Odd could both speak Algeas Kingdom language.

So the conversation mainly went through me, Tron, and Odd, with occasional translation for the others.

Tron seemed especially interested in our ship, the longship.

「You’ve got a good ship there! Fast, too!」

「Thanks. It was just completed.」

「Ah, so it’s the latest model!」

He asked if he could see inside, but I declined.

The keel, the way the planks were joined, these were construction methods unseen in this world.

We Barbar are newcomers to the sea.

In case political tensions rise, I want to keep our shipbuilding techniques secret.

Even though I’d refused, Tron didn’t seem ready to give up.

He kept asking questions about the longship.

「Where’d you build it?」

「We, the people of Barbar, built it.」

「I see! Barbar, huh! Never heard of it! What country is that?」

Tron seemed fond of dramatic gestures. He spread his arms wide as if to say, 「Never heard of it!」 in an exaggerated way.

It was funny enough that Jessica giggled, and Uncle Athos and I smiled too.

「It’s north of the Vaffancrow Empire. If you head straight west from this trade city Livonia, you’ll reach our territory.」

I drew a rough map on the ground with my finger as I explained.

Since all three of them were sailors, they seemed to understand the geography from my sketch.

Tron tilted his head.

「Huh…? I thought there were no towns or ports in that area. Isn’t it overrun by monsters?」

「We drove out the monsters and claimed it as our own land.」

「Ho!」

Tron made a sound of admiration and took a swig of ale.

He lowered his head to drink, but I saw the look in his eyes, he was wondering, Is there profit in this?

I decided to probe for some information myself.

「So, this Kingdom of Norn, where is it located?」

「It’s about four days by ship northwest of here.」

Four days by sea?

That’s relatively close.

「Must be cold up there.」

「Yeah. Winters are harsh.」

「Do the harbors freeze?」

「No, the sea doesn’t freeze. We sail even in winter.」

Tron gave a confident, daring grin.

If you fall into the sea in winter, you won’t survive.

That they sail even in those conditions must mean they’re seasoned sailors.

「Do you trade with the Ring Kingdom, too?」

「Yep. The Ring Kingdom is one of our partners.」

I recalled the map I’d gotten from Viscount Norman and, considering Livonia’s location and its relation to the Ring Kingdom, I began to picture where Norn might be.

Maybe I should visit next summer.

But Tron wasn’t giving up much.

He only offered the bare minimum in response to my questions.

I was wondering what to do next when his assistant Odd suddenly leaned forward eagerly.

「Hey, you guys from Barbar, what kind of goods do you trade?」

I didn’t miss the slight click of Tron’s tongue.

He must’ve wanted to keep me guessing and gain the upper hand in negotiations.

But his assistant couldn’t wait.

I silently thanked Odd.

「We’ve got a few things, but today we brought rock salt and a liquor called brandy. Want to try some?」

「Sure! I’d love to!」

I asked Rosso to fetch the barrels of rock salt and brandy from the ship.

I showed them a chunk of actual rock salt and shaved a bit off for tasting.

「Our rock salt’s known for its mild flavor.」

Tron and Odd nodded eagerly.

They seemed convinced of the quality.

Next, I poured them a cup of brandy.

「This liquor is rare, so just a sip each. Make sure you savor the aroma, too.」

Tron inhaled the scent of the brandy.

「Oho! That’s nice!」

Then he took a sip, and his eyes went wide.

「××××××!」

He yelled something, but it wasn’t in Algeas language.

It must have been in the Norn Kingdom’s tongue.

Next, Odd took a sip and let out an exclamation of his own.

「×××!」

Also a different language.

I had a strong desire to understand what they were saying.

And just like that, an 「Information Download「 began.

Ugh… the headache was awful.

But I forced a smile and endured the pain through gritted teeth.

Eventually, I could understand their language.

「, So this is a must-buy!」

「Yeah, I’ve never had liquor like this! The aroma! The flavor! So refined!」

「There’s even a subtle sweetness. If we present this to the king…」

「This is it, Tron! We could become the official supplier to the royal family!」

Well, well…

I looked down, popped a piece of meat into my mouth, and grinned.

Tron and Odd clearly thought very highly of the brandy.

They planned to present it to the King of Norn.

In that case, maybe I should nudge things a little further.

Casually, as I nibbled my food, I mentioned the Vaffancrow Emperor.

「The Emperor and Crown Prince of the Vaffancrow Empire are big fans of this brandy.」

「Really?」

「Yeah. Even the Empire’s nobles rarely get their hands on it, it’s a prized liquor.」

As I said that, I pushed the barrel of brandy back behind me.

Tron took a sip of ale and feigned nonchalance, but Odd’s eyes were glued to the barrel.

Caught you staring!

Odd leaned in, unable to hide his excitement.

「This brandy, is it made by you Barbar folk?」

「No… It’s handled by an Algeas merchant named Karanos.」

I intentionally kept the source vague.

I didn’t want to risk future invasions.

But Odd didn’t buy it.

「No way! We trade with Algeas merchants too, and we’ve never even heard of brandy!」

「Maybe it only circulates in the south? Karanos has a shop in the Imperial capital.」

「The capital!? So it comes from the south, huh!?」

Hook, line, and sinker.

This should keep the fact that we Barbar produce the brandy a secret for now.

Since Odd was pressing so hard, Tron eventually smiled wryly and shifted into negotiation mode.

「Gaia. We want that brandy. How many barrels do you have?」

「Just one with me. If I go back to the Barbar villages, I can get a few more.」

「I see. So you don’t have much stock.」

「Well, it’s a rare liquor enjoyed by the Emperor himself.」

I held back deliberately to raise the price.

Tron clearly wanted to use the brandy to curry favor with the King of Norn and earn a royal endorsement.

I planted my feet and got ready for a proper negotiation.