Volume 5 Chapter 5 Part 4
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Translator: Kell | Editor: Ryunakama
A Spirit Swordsman is a rare class, as the user can use both sword and staff. Holding a staff enhanced some of the Skills used by Spirit Swordsmen. The Spirit Blade that increased the sharpness of a sword by encircling it with spirit power was a typical example of this.
However, there were few Spirit Swordsmen who used a staff. If it was just a normal staff, I wouldn’t let him use it either.
Magic spells used by a Spirit Swordsman basically aids sword-based combat. Carrying a staff around barely contributed to anything. However, it was a different story if the staff was shaped like a sword.
The five-millimeter thick blade could not cut anything, unless you used it as a medium for the Skill Spirit Blade. In fact, a blade that was too thin would make it difficult for mana to pass through, which is probably why it was designed like this.
Spirit Swordsmen basically used the Spirit Blade on a regular basis. The sharpness of the Spirit Blade had nothing to do with the sharpness of the actual weapon. In other words, a “sword-shaped staff” that maximizes the efficiency of Spirit Magic is the sharpest sword for a Spirit Swordsman.
In BBO, though, this kind of weapon was called a ‘swordsmanship medium’.
I had no idea why such a sword was designed in this world where advanced classes were treated poorly, but perhaps some Spirit Swordsman in the past tried crafting a weapon for himself through trial and error.
“Come to think of it, you said we didn’t have to sharpen our swords,” Meir said. “So it wasn’t so we could take it easy, but it was pointless to begin with.”
“Yeah. I thought I told you that the sharpness of a sword doesn’t matter to a Spirit Swordsman.”
“You did, but I thought it mattered a bit.”
Meir drew a nicely-sharpened sword. Apparently he was a meticulous fellow. The weapon was polished to the nooks and crannies.
“You don’t need to sharpen your new weapon, okay?” I said.
“I understand. I’ll just polish it up.”
I guess I’d better explain the reasoning behind my instructions later.
I had been making them learn combat techniques while omitting detailed explanations. I was basically just making them memorize stuff.
It was the right move to quickly strengthen the citizens who had little combat experience, but after we had dealt with Cardinal Georgis and we had more time, it might be better to teach them the concepts behind the tactics as well.
In the short term, memorizing is good for easier development, but to become stronger, a deeper understanding of tactics is also necessary.
I left Meir and started looking for someone else who might need help.
◇
A few hours later.
We finished choosing weapons long after the sun had completely set. With the exception of a few people who had strong weapons from the start, almost everyone had switched weapons.
Compared to before we changed weapons, our troops’ might must have nearly doubled. The weapon selection was a great success.
There was a problem, however.
“I’m glad you liked them,” Myna said. “So, as for the price, you said I could ask for any amount, correct?”
“Yes. I did say that,” I answered Myna with a dry laugh.
I did, in fact, write ‘you may name your price’ in the letter.
I doubt Myna would ask for an outrageous amount since she had the reputation of her company to protect. Nevertheless even the reasonable payment would probably be quite a ridiculous amount.
High-performance weapons for almost all the citizens particitpating in the war. The enormous cost of transporting the weapons and dispatching a huge caravan. Plus the risks of siding with Count Meigis in the current situation.
Myna provided the weapons under these conditions. There’s nothing strange about asking for a huge payment.
However, I was worried about whether we had enough. We might be making bank from the healing medicine, but the money we had accumulated in this short period of time did not amount to much.
“I’m the one who agreed to purchase the weapons at any asking price,” Count Meigis said. “I will keep my promise.” He held out a receipt to Myna.
The words ‘Maxia Trading Company’ was written in the issuer’s column and Count Meigis was written as the recipient. The amount field was left blank.
“Write whatever amount you want,” the Count said.
“Giving me a blank receipt?” Myna said. “You’ve got guts.” She smiled and picked up a pen.
“I just hope I won’t go bankrupt,” Meigis muttered with a pained look.
“Don’t worry about it. No one can go bankrupt for this amount of money.” Myna drew a single vertical line on the receipt and handed it to the Count.
The Count stared at the receipt with a dumbfounded look on his face. “One… hundred million?”
“No, as you can see, it’s just one. The Maxia Trading Company will charge you one gil for the weapons.” She held out her little hand. Seeing us frozen, Myna spoke again. “Now please pay me immediately. One gil.”
“R-Right…” I took out one copper coin from my pocket and placed it in Myna’s hand.
We should be paying out of the Count’s pocket, but I’m sure no one would complain about literally one gil.
“A-Are you sure about this?” the Count asked. “Do you know just how much all of the weapons cost—”
“How can I not know? I’m the head of the Maxia Trading Company,” Myna answered nonchalantly.
From the looks of it, Myna planned to do this from the beginning. But I had no idea what she was after. She’d already paid the debt she owed me.
I was familiar with the saying “there’s no such thing as free lunch.” I couldn’t help but think that the saying applied in this case.
“Please accept those weapons as a token of our friendship. The Maxia Trading Company looks forward to working with you.”
Count Meigis and I exchanged glances. Did she come here to do business?
“We’ll be counting on you when we need it, then.”
Myna had gained Count Meigis’ trust with this, a trust far stronger than the other firms.
We were still at the stage of fighting the Cardinal. From the outside, it should look like we were at a disadvantage. That’s why other firms were afraid of being seen as our allies.
The Maxia Trading Company, who declared their alliance to us, and the other firms who would only snuggle up to us once they found out how valuable we actually were. It was obvious which was more trustworthy.
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