Chapter 121: The Mining Town of Nois part1
From Gloria’s back, the town of Nois looked far smaller than Gantz. It was a worn-down mining town—probably only the bare minimum of miners remained. Even so, the domain sprawled wide, and the road leading in was broad and well-built, hinting at better days.
The town sprawled almost up to the lip of an open-pit coal cut—handy for daily life, I suppose. The land overall was open, scrubby, and short on green. There were vegetable plots for subsistence, but nothing impressive. Frankly, the place was shabby and dust-choked; prosperity was nowhere in sight. Farther up the slope, an iron quarry looked livelier than the coal pit.
They’d once thrown hordes of captured bandits at the iron ore. However, a promising mine near the capital was found and demand collapsed overnight. In the end, the capital kept Belta’s best fabrication. Gantz was the only nearby ‘big city’, but Nois’s shelves showed nothing special, and the better goods were capital-made. So anyone here wanting quality ironware bought from the capital. Nois was stuck supplying cheap ore for cheap products; of course its industry stagnated.
Gloria set down beyond the walls. I had Serena, Sharon, and Katolle with me. The dragon’s appearance stirred the town, but we’d warned them ahead of time via the Commercial Guild’s network: ‘The new ruler of Gantz seeks an appointment with Nois’s lord. We will arrive by dragon; please do not be alarmed.’
They’d been waiting. Several figures emerged from the gate. I waved broadly to show no hostile intent and approached on foot.
Behind us, Gloria leapt back into the sky. Leaving a dragon parked near people tended to cause trouble, so she was on free flight.
「Chief, I’ll play with some prey and come pick you up after. First time in these woods—looks fun.」
「Got it. Have fun.」
Gloria’s roar rooted our greeters to the spot; for a moment they looked ready to bolt back inside, but they seemed to realize the dragon’s attention wasn’t on them.
While they stared skyward, we closed the last stretch to the gate.
「You must be Lord Corinth, the Lord Protector. An honor. I am Simon Mueller, Viscount and lord of Nois.」
A burly, middle-aged giant called out—thick black hair and a wild beard that drew the eye.
「I’m Alan Corinth, Margrave and developer of the Great Demon Forest—appointed Lord Protector by His Majesty.」
We gripped hands hard enough to click.
「You’ve come for business talks today, yes?」
「Right. I want to buy iron and coal to develop the Great Demon Forest.」
The viscount’s face lit up at once.
「But of course! If you’re clearing that forest, axes of Nois iron are the best.」
He led us to the Commercial Guild. Since this was business, they’d reserved the guild’s guest salon.
「We’ll have the Commercial Guildmaster join us.」
The guildmaster, a man named Hoffman, and several staff waited in the salon. Serena, Sharon, and Katolle stood to my rear. I sat across the long table from the viscount.
The viscount wet his lips. 「So—how much iron and coal are you buying?」
「I’d like to make a comprehensive proposal.」
「Comprehensive?」
「I want one piece of equipment from your guild. If you’ll transfer it at a fair price, we’ll buy all Nois’s iron and coal that are currently being shipped to Gantz.」
The viscount’s eyes gleamed.
「All of it—everything sent?」
「All of it. Ares—the city I’m building in the Forest—is large. The demand is there. I’d like some flexibility in price versus volume, but we can negotiate.」
「Splendid—splendid!」
He was all in, acting as if it were already sealed. Hoffman, meanwhile, went pale—he’d guessed what I wanted.
「I’d like Nois’s Commercial Guild to transfer its communications artifact. You’ll be paid properly.」
Hoffman blanched. Without that artifact, the guild would be half-shuttered; he could already see the disruption.
「But without it—」
「Lord Corinth, a moment.」
The viscount caught Hoffman by the collar and leaned in to whisper.
(Hoffman, if we don’t take this, the town keels over by tomorrow.)
(My lord, without the comms device we can’t transact beyond Lord Corinth—)
(Our only big customer is Lord Corinth. Take small lots in kind, keep the books tight. He’s in a hurry. Yield here and he’ll buy iron and coal in droves with a smile.)
(If you insist… u-understood.)
Reluctantly, Hoffman yielded.
「Lord Corinth—we have reached an agreement.」
His baritone boomed.
「To new friendship—let’s drink!」
「Agreed. Let your guildmaster hash the details with my man. Katolle, you handle it.」
「At once, sir.」
Out in the corridor, as the viscount shouted for ‘the finest wine’, I murmured to Katolle:
(Don’t squeeze too hard. I need this to feel sweet. If we end up at war with the Prime Minister, I want Nois’s soldiers thinking of us as allies.)
(Understood, Alan-sama.)
The viscount had an expensive bottle brought in. Katolle and Hoffman took a side table and leaned in over the numbers. The viscount and I sprawled grandly in the center. I felt a little bad—the pair could’ve used the big table more than we did.
「Your attendants as well—sit, sit.」
Because Serena and Sharon were young women, the viscount apparently filed them under ‘concubines’. We’ve all grown used to this planet’s male-forward lens. Urged along, they sat at my side; the three of us shared a long settee.
「Your Excellency, pardon us.」
「We’ll partake as well, Your Excellency.」
「Beautiful—twins, are they? Never seen such a matched pair. No wonder you keep them close, Lord Corinth. Flowers in both hands—the dream of men!」
After the first toast, the viscount grew chatty.
「My lord, you flatter us.」
「And you drink like a champion.」
Serena and Sharon have really learned how to handle nobles of this planet. The viscount’s flirting made me sweat, but they parried with smiles—and even poured for him.
「Not that I doubt you, Lord Corinth, but the payment for the goods—」
「Of course. I will make the payment for the artifact, plus the first shipment, today, in advance.」
At my signal, Serena set a sack of coin on the table—one hundred gold pieces per bag, one million guineas.
「Oho! As expected of Lord Corinth. That reassures me.」
I’ve brought plenty of cash since I didn’t know what I’d need. Ares has bars of gold extracted from the Forest in reserve, and with the Guinea Alchemin in our pocket, spreading a little coin around won’t hurt.
「Wine on an empty stomach won’t do—snacks!」
Buoyed by the gold, the viscount called for food. They brought dried bread topped with thin-sliced meat.
「Big Boar ham—salted and dried to deepen the flavor. Pairs well with wine.」
「「Delicious,」」 the twins said together.
「Nice.」
Belta-style cured ham, by the look of it—pleasantly moist. So this is noble fare here.
「I’d like to buy a few legs as souvenirs.」
「But of course! It’s a favorite of mine. I’ll have some prepared.」
Salty, but with a mature savor. Dried bread is bland, yet like this it rivals a salmon canapé. For a meat-accustomed palate, this cured ham would beat raw fish.
「I’ve heard of your valor—magnificent at Gantz, they say. And that dragon—no wonder the soldiers quailed. Ah, to have seen you in action up close!」
「If you like, we can give you the outline.」
「Please do!」
「Serena, Sharon—if you would.」
Lately we’ve been surrounded by people hungry for battle stories, and our Satellite members have gotten good at telling them. Half of it is deliberate myth-making, though.
Among Dalshim, Walter, Kenny and the rest—each with their own style—Serena and Sharon drew the loudest applause.
Soldiers that they were, they traded in exact details, not ego. Add ‘young and beautiful’, and the routine was a nightly crowd-pleaser. Tag-teaming let them keep a steady pace.
「Then please allow us—here’s how the battle inside the Great Demon Forest went.」
The viscount and I sipped wine and listened.
「That was a delight!」
The viscount was very drunk, clutching a bag of gold in each arm. I nailed down the basics.
「The extra I advanced—we’ll offset it in future deals.」
「But of course. Trust me. I’ll speak to neighboring lords about the rail carriage as well. Leave it to me.」
Hoffman hugged his own bag, beaming. Katolle had handled things well; his whisper to the viscount brought out an irrepressible grin.
「Nois’s soldiers are with Your Excellency. Call, and we come.」
「My thanks. I’ll count on you.」
「Ha! Leave it to me.」 He thumped his chest; the gold clinked inside the bags.
Good—our interests are aligned. At minimum, he won’t be our enemy when we face the Prime Minister.
「Here’s the contract. Please review.」
I skimmed it, had Iris check, then signed two copies. The viscount signed as well; we each kept one. That should have wrapped it.
「Then we’ll take our leave.」
Serena and Sharon accepted the wooden crate with the artifact. We’d get operation training from the Gantz guild; they’d also handle the aplication for establishing the new guild.
The Nois guild sent a final message and shut down comms. It made us late, but the toasts had deepened our rapport with the viscount.
「Please accept this—for all of you.」
They gifted us two whole legs of cured ham. Since Serena and Sharon had the artifact, Katolle carried the meat.
「Much obliged. Next time, I’ll bring a bottle from my private stock.」
「Oh, I look forward to that.」
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