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Beast Tamer Who Got Kicked Out From the Hero’s Party Chapter 39 Part 1

CHAPTER 39: MATERIALS SHORTAGES PART 1

And so we listened to the Owner’s problems……

This shopkeeper is said to be able to make armor and weapons of the highest class, but only for the customers that he takes a personal interest in. Those who do not fit that bill are sold armor and weapons made in large quantities, but consisting of substantially inferior materials.

That was the reason as to why the Owner was selling fakes in his store.

Even so, by combining several lower quality ores, it is still possible to maintain a certain level of quality, even to a product that is basically a sham.

Maybe that’s why, although it was hard for me to say, many Adventurers have been deceived by him.

Splendidly, for those who overcome the shopkeeper’s trial of sorts, the shopkeeper would wholeheartedly make their armor and weapons, no matter what they were supposed to be.

The materials used in the production of those pieces are not some cheap ores, but a rare one, which can only be collected in small quantities once a month.

Those weapons and armor are the real deal, not some sort of joke to fling around for fun.

Therefore, the materials used in their production is the rarest kind of ore out there — mithril.

And apparently weapons and armor made out of mithril are so great and so durable that they can last one man for a lifetime without actually breaking to pieces or wearing down.

However, this is the exact place where the problems started.

The usual supply of mithril from the nearby mine seemed to have stopped all of a sudden.

The Owner had an exclusive contract with a particular Adventurer and used the mithril that was excavated from the mine to make his creations.

Recently, however, the supply of mithril was said to have stopped.

The cause for that was that apparently the Adventurers that were tasked with mining it actually failed in their task.

It seems that even if you were to go to the mine, there would not be a single piece of mithril to be found there, and it seems that the mine has fallen into a state where it cannot be operated at all.

Could it be that all mithril was already mined from the veins in that particular mine?

Or was there some other cause, one that we were unable to see?

I don’t know the truth of that matter, but the truth is that for a while now the new batches of mithril were unable to reach the shopkeeper and he was unable to make his weapons and armor because of it……

「Because of the material shortages, I was unable to make anything at all for a while now…… If this continues, I’m afraid that my hands will go rusty, and I will forget how to perform my craft accordingly.」

「Nyah, that sounds really bad.」

「Can’t you just import the mithril from somewhere else?　That’s what I would do, at the very least.」

「Of course, a thought like that occurred to me almost right away. But mithril is a very rare and precious ore, you see, and there isn’t enough of it to export anywhere else, unfortunately. There is only so much mithril on the market that a select few can work with it, but not nearly enough to just export it as people please.」

It was then that Sora asked:

「Could it be, Mister Owner…… that your shop here has the exclusive rights to the mine and the ores that are excavated from there?」

「Yes,that’s right. You see, that mountain was one of the things that my parents left me as part of the inheritance after they passed away. I came to inspect the place myself, and upon closer inspection I discovered that it was one of the places around the continent where you could excavate mithril ore.」

「Well, talk about good luck, huh? I’m sure that getting an inheritance like that must feel like being able to find a treasure trove filled to the brim with juicy goodies.」

「But, if you found the Mithril mine, wouldn’t you be able to sell it all in one go and just live off of it for the rest of your life in relative peace and comfort?」

「When it comes to mithril, how much can you even get per unit of it?」

「Unit? Like, a group of people?」

「No, not that unit. The other unit, the one that you can put a price tag on. How much is per kilogram of it, so that you can understand better.」

「I think it was about ten gold coins per kilogram, wasn’t it?」

I make a statement based on my very limited knowledge and things that I managed to hear here and there during my travels with the Hero’s Party.

Then the Owner added:

「The current rate is nine gold coins per kilogram. But the price can vary from market to market, depending on who’s buying and who’s selling.」

「Ohh, now I see. I get it.」

「So, depending on the amount you sell, let’s say, a whole mountainload, you could even get as much as a thousand gold coins!? Sora’s right, you could live vicariously for the rest of your life and just play and take it easy with so much!」

「Hmph. I would never do something so reckless and irresponsible. I am a weaponsmith. I will carry a hammer for the rest of my life, preferably even die with one in my hand.」

「Nyaah! Talk about a craftsman spirit! So bright!」

「Yes, that’s the kind of thing that I can sympathize with! It’s simply so wonderful to see a craftsman taking his craft so seriously!」

「Thank you for that, but I’m afraid that compliments won’t get you anywhere, ladies.」.

The Owner said so while laughing.

But almost right away, his smile turned quite bitter.

「I’m really sorry for this…… But I know that if it’s for you people, it is well worth it for me to show off my skills and put my best effort into making your equipment. But alas, without my materials, there is hardly anything that I can do for you. And sadly enough, I am no alchemist, so I can’t procure the necessary materials through some other means, even if I really wanted to.」

「You don’t have to apologize to us. You are not at fault here, after all. You are just a slave to the circumstances.」

「That’s actually great to hear, kid. Thanks you.」

「It’s just that……」

I am really curious about this whole thing. How come that all of the mithril excavation came to a halt seemingly out of nowhere like that?

Normally, when some ore in a mine is becoming depleted, you can see a steady decline in the amounts that are being excavated, not the instantaneous one like this right here.

The amount excavated would steadily decrease more and more……

Eventually, after a while it goes to zero.

That would be the normal pattern for a situation like that.
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And yet, it’s strange that the mithril suddenly vanishes from the mining veins and it becomes impossible to excavate it.