Chapter 18 – Earth Dragon, Sale

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I took only the parts that looked marketable.
To do that, I first had to dismantle the Earth Dragon.

I figured dismantling it would be a challenge. After all, this monster sports an exceptionally tough hide—I knew no ordinary blade would cut through it.

But in the end, everything turned out just fine. It was Ati who handled it.
It turns out that monsters like these have their own method of being dismantled. While I was wondering exactly how she’d do it, she took a knife heated over an ember and began slicing away the insides bit by bit from the hole I’d made.

In the end, the bones and flesh were completely removed,
and the hide remained intact—just like the shell of a crab or turtle.

I was impressed. I thought, “So that’s one way to do it.”
If the opportunity ever comes up again, I’d like to try it myself. I’m quite confident in my dexterity.

“Earth Dragon – being a deep monster, its hide is made of an extremely dense, special metal—what they call dragon metal. No ordinary blade, no matter how finely honed, can cut through it. This time, since Harold-sama made the opening for us, the job was a lot easier.”

I tapped lightly on the Earth Dragon’s hide, now little more than an empty shell.
Kon kon―― I could clearly feel the solid clink of metal being struck.
When we first encountered this Earth Dragon, I finally understood why Ati insisted that no normal weapon could pierce it.

“…By the way, Harold-sama”
“What is it?”
“How on earth did you manage to make such a large hole in the Earth Dragon?”

Ah, now that I think about it, I hadn’t explained it. By the time Ati caught up with me, the beast had already fallen—so there was no time. I decided to reveal my secret technique to her.

“Yada, yada, yada.”
I wrapped up my explanation briefly.

“So, you possess that sort of technique…”
“If you use it, you end up collapsing like that, so you can’t use it often. And on top of that, your spear melts away, too.”

Now that I think about it, that cheap short spear really did melt away. I’m going to have to buy a new one.

“If possible, I’d prefer you never use it again.”

For a brief moment, I saw Ati’s eyes well up. But I couldn’t promise never to use it again. I’ll try to choose my moments wisely, but there are times when I must use it—like when Ati is in danger.

“I’ll try not to use it as much as possible.”

That was the greatest concession I could offer. In that moment, I couldn’t bring myself to look Ati in the eye.

By the way, that group of five we’d helped also pitched in later on. They insisted, “Since you helped us, let us handle at least this much.” They even helped carry the dismembered Earth Dragon over to the Napole Trading Company. Thanks to them, I was able to take not just the marketable parts but everything.

I also made sure to report everything to the guards. They were astonished that the rumors were true—and though they initially dismissed it as a tall tale, when I showed them the actual Earth Dragon, they were immensely grateful.

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“All together, that comes to the following amount.”

After completing a full appraisal at the Napole Trading Company,
they presented me with an itemized list.
There were noticeable differences in the prices for each part.

But I…
Before even considering the prices of the individual parts,
my eyes widened at the total sum.

――13,000,000 rob.

That was the price assigned to this Earth Dragon.
It wasn’t something terrifying—it was already equivalent to my ten years’ worth of earnings.
And that was for just one creature…

I almost fainted.
Could it be that the effects of using 【The Spear That Pierces: Nation-Melting Aradvar】 are only surfacing now?
No, that’s not it.
It’s simply that an unbelievable sum was offered…

“Harold-sama”

Tsun-tsun, Ati poked my side.

“It seems you’re surprised by the amount, but for a deep monster, this is not unusual. However, under normal circumstances, it would take days just to retrieve one, and besides, ordinary explorers couldn’t defeat it in the first place.”

Y-yeah, that’s true.

Indeed.

This is quite a special case.

“…And in explorations, you typically only gather the parts that sell for the highest prices, so the very few who make the deep regions their main battleground should be able to net at least ten times this amount in a single expedition.”

‘At least’ here probably means that there might be monsters with parts valued even higher than this, or that there’s a possibility of obtaining treasures separately.
But even without such luck, you could still get ten times as much…

I could clearly understand why the labyrinth draws people in.

Of course, not everything is a windfall.
Since it’s impossible to handle that on your own, it’s normal to tackle it with a team.
Which means that when the proceeds are split among the group, each person’s actual share is significantly reduced.
Even so, there’s no doubt that an enormous sum of money can be acquired.

I frowned and grumbled.
Then, the receptionist—who had been silently watching the exchange between Ati and me—handed me a transfer slip.

By the way, today’s receptionist isn’t Toosu.
By now, he’s probably busy with his original duties.

“Harold-sama, as the amount this time exceeds 10,000,000 rob, we cannot provide cash immediately. Please fill in your bank account details here. They can be confirmed in two days.”

Taking care not to make any mistakes,
I double-checked each field as I filled in the bank account details.

Using that technique after such a long time took its toll on me.
But judging solely by the results,
thanks to it, I managed to secure an amount that far exceeded my target sum.
I suppose you could call it sheer luck.

…Once the transfer is confirmed, I’ll make the necessary preparations and head to the port to leave this continent.