That Time a Shut-in for 300 Years Continued to Make Antiques , but All of It Turned out to Be Cheat-Level Magic Tools - Chapter 30

“It’s a disaster! The large number of Plant Dogs that were supposed to be in Aloy Forest are completely gone!”

“I went to investigate in the morning, and it’s as if they vanished—what in the world is this?!”

The guild’s door burst open. The individuals who had gone to survey the forest rushed in exclaiming such news.

Furthermore, one of them caught sight of a mountain of Plant Dog corpses and let out a shout of surprise. Naturally, anyone would react that way seeing that amount.

However, this inadvertently proved that this brat named Edson was telling the truth.

In front of my eyes, this cheeky brat was looking over here with a smug face. Annoying!

But, it can’t be helped. However…

“I don’t know how you did it, but it seems you really did take them down in the forest. However, you are not adventurers. Just because you’ve slain them doesn’t mean you’ll get paid.”

“We weren’t expecting any reward in the first place.”

“Is that so. Then we’ll take care of the corpses. Hey, you guys, take care of this right away—”

“Huh? What are you talking about? There’s no way we’re handing them over.”

What, the…? I took another look at this brat, but by that time, both the mountain of Plant Dogs and Udolf’s corpse were gone.

“Idiot! What have you done with them now?”

“We’ve taken care of everything. It’s proven we defeated them, so there shouldn’t be any problem, right? Besides, this wasn’t our original job.”

Not our original job, so you won’t hand over the bodies that could be used as materials? Damn! What a guy!

“Master. Does that mean you also won’t hand over the materials from the Armored Boar, Nature Deer, and Lazy Rabbit that you hunted along the way?”

“Of course.”

“What?!”

These are all monsters whose materials trade at high prices! And he’s saying he has them but won’t give them up? That’s outrageous!

And where did he put all those corpses in the first place? Right, it’s suspicious that he could produce that many in the first place!

“Answer me. How are you handling these corpses?”

“Why do I need to answer that?”

“It’s an obligation! If you belong to the guild, you need to answer questions from the guild!”

“Then it’s all the more irrelevant. After all, we are not adventurers.”

Damn it! He’s right about that. They belong to the Magic Guild, indeed there’s no need for them to listen…

“Have you forgotten? You’ve been able to do your jobs because our guild has been giving them to you. If you say you’ll say nothing, then maybe it’s time to stop giving you jobs and have you pay your debts?”

“Hmph, debts. But, who exactly should be paying them?”

What? What is he saying?

“Anyway, I don’t know what you plan to do in the future, but this time it was officially accepted as a request. We’ll inspect the Aloy herbs you’ve gathered.”

…What an unyielding brat. Despite being so little, he’s unnervingly sharp.

But Aloy herbs, yes. First, we’ll check those and then figure out how to deal with him. After all, no matter what they bring, I have no intention of accepting it readily.

“Fine. If you insist that much, I’ll look at them. But spare me if they turn out to be almost completely ruined like last time.”

“If your appraisers are competent, there’s no need to worry.”

Such a relentless brat.

“So, should I bring it out here?”

“Ah… no, wait, just to be safe, come this way.”

I can’t believe it, but it would be a hassle if he brought out another ridiculous amount again.

I led them to a warehouse designed for the dissection and storage of materials.

“Is it okay to do it here?”

“Yes, show me.”

As I urged him, a mountain of Aloy herbs immediately materialized in front of us. What on earth is this kid doing…

“How much did you collect…”

“Roughly 20,000 bundles.”

“20,000…”

Does this kid not know his limits… How on earth did he do this in one day!

But, this might actually be to my advantage. Naturally, I have no intention of seriously inspecting these Aloy herbs. This time, let’s say only 20 bundles out of them were decent.

That way, the missing 80 bundles and the remaining 19,980 bundles become subject to penalties. I could make them owe over 200 gold coins!

“Understood. I’ll check them now, so wait at the reception.”

“Can I watch here?”

“No! Only guild staff are allowed to check the materials. We accepted your help to move them due to the quantity, but from here on, it’s our domain!”

I had to firmly deny that. There might be a chance he would complain at this stage, but once the materials are in the warehouse, they’re considered delivered. If he complains, I can penalize him for causing trouble during the job.

“Understood. Then I’ll wait. But with this amount, will it really be finished quickly?”

“Yes, we won’t keep you waiting too long.”

Though he was expressionless, he seemed to accept and left. Quite easily, really. Well, even a cheeky kid like him must understand that complaining here is pointless.

“Wow, this is a huge amount, isn’t it? It’ll take 2 or 3 days just to check this.”

“That’s not a problem. It can wait.”

“Really? That helps a lot.”

“Yes, there’s no rush.”

After the magic guild members left, an appraiser who noticed the Aloy herbs approached. But there’s no need to inspect them right away. If it were just about 500 bundles, checking them later wouldn’t be an issue, but with this quantity…

The results won’t change anyway, so I’ll return in about an hour. I’ve already shifted the appraiser to another task.

“The appraisal is done.”

“That was quick.”

“Our appraisers are excellent.”

After killing some time, I returned to the counter and called them back. And of course, it was quick. I barely inspected them.

“Now, regarding the results, of the 20,000 bundles you brought in, only 20 bundles were recognized as usable material.”

“What!?”

Hmph, Alecto is quite surprised. Ha, it’s always amusing to see the shift from hope to disappointment.

“You should understand, this request required at least 100 bundles. Falling short means the request is failed. Thus, penalties will be imposed. For the missing 80 bundles, plus the unnecessary trouble of examining 19,980 bundles, that’s 20,060 silver coins. But I’m not a monster. I’ll round down the change, so let’s make it 20,000 silver coins, which is 200 gold coins.”

Dammit, I have to control my smile while talking about such things. These fools, getting all excited only to be their own downfall.

“So, considering the previous debts, your debt has significantly increased. How do you intend to take responsibility?”

“What did we do wrong?”

“Huh? That’s obvious. Even now, it’s the same! What’s with your insolent attitude! Listen, you owe our guild a debt right now!”

“Idiot, that’s not what I’m asking. I’m asking what was wrong with the Aloy herbs we collected.”

…Tch, what an annoying kid.

“It’s all of them.”

“All of them?”

“Yes. It’s a common mistake for beginners like you. You probably just roughly and carelessly plucked them. That’s why they’re all ruined from the root, and the leaves are mush. Even a glance could tell how bad their condition was. It’s a wonder even 20 bundles survived!”

“That can’t be true. We collected them properly.”

“Hmph, whatever you say. A professional appraiser has made the judgment. After all, anyone can say anything. This is the problem with magic guild folks, no skill but all talk. Trying to gather in quantity without the skill leads to this! I’ll tell you, I was lenient in dropping the change, but given the volume you spoiled, there’s a real possibility of other liabilities!”

Phew, after threatening this much, they shouldn’t have anything left to complain about. After all, once delivered to the guild, they have no way to check.

“I see, so to clarify, you are saying that anyone could see at a glance how terrible the state of the Aloy herbs we brought was, is that right?”

“Don’t be tedious! Don’t make me repeat the same thing!”

“Is that so, hmm, what do you think, Mr. Loth?”

Huh? Loth?

“Hmph, what an outrageous claim. Hey, you! What were you thinking issuing that judgment?”

“Eh? Eh? Eh? Ehhhhhhhhhh?!”

I inadvertently raised my voice in surprise. Because at the counter, which should have had only three people up until now, a fourth person had appeared.

And this old man, if my memory serves…

“Why, why is the pharmacist Loth here?!”