I arrived at the final stop in the journey, the city called Fallieres.
It seems that the city has been informed by the guards at the fortress, so Feru could enter without any fuss.
It wasn’t as much as the tax when entering the country, however, it was a bit painful that we had to pay taxes again when entering the city. (2 silver coins for my entry while Feru’s entry was 1 silver coin)
After passing through the gates, as Werner-san had predicted, a messenger from Margrave Lindell was already waiting for me.
“Is this Makooda-sama? I am the messenger from the Margrave. You may call me Edmond, nice meeting you. Actually, the Margrave has expressed his interest in having a meeting with you.”
Ah-it has come, an invitation to a trap.
I have no wish to have the meeting though.
I don’t plan to stay in this country for too long either.
I have to reject this politely.
“No way, I am just a mere traveller, how can I meet with the Margrave who is such an awe-inspiring person.”
“Nono, Margrave Lindell has insisted on this.”
“Nonono”
“Me too, nonono, please follow me.”
In the midst of the heated conversation, Feru came closer.
[Oi, you there. Can you see my master does not want to have the meeting?]
“T-This, F-Fenrir-sama. F-Fenrir-sama, please come along too.”
The appearance of Feru made Edmond scared but he continued to force a smile while talking.
[Fuu, so pretentious. I too do not want to meet with the Margrave. There were such foolish humans in the past, so I know he is probably eyeing my powers.]
“No, nononono, we don’t have such i-intenti ....”
[Stop lying. Do you want to know what happens to those foolish humans that tried to make use of my powers? Hmm?]
“Hi,hiiiiii”
Edmond ran off while screaming after seeing Feru bare his fangs at him.
“Feru, that’s too much.”
“Those kind of stupid people have to be taught the hard way.”
Hehe, is that so?
“Is it alright to conduct yourself like that towards Margrave Lindell’s messenger? Those aristocrats care a lot about their reputation, thus, he might do something in return.”
Werner-san’s concerns are quite valid.
I didn’t expect Feru and myself to go that far earlier.
[Your concerns are unnecessary. If anything happens, I will happily take on their challenge.”
Ohh, I would rely on you Feru-san.
“Hmm, if Feru-sama is going to do that, it would be alright I guess?”
After Werner-san said that, the other members from Iron Will agreed and nodded their heads.
“I doubt the private army of the aristocrats are able to match Feru-sama strength.” (Franca)
“I think so too.” (Rita)
“I think, only the Ancient Dragon would be a worthy rival of Feru-sama.” (Vincent)
“You can say that again.” (Ramon-san)
I knew there would be dragons, since they are essential for a fantasy world.
But damn, I don’t want to meet one either.
[Mu, the Ancient Dragon? Undeniably, it is probably the only one that can fight with me on equal terms.]
“Eh? Feru-sama has fought with the Ancient Dragon before?”
Vincent seemed to have gotten agitated.
[That was roughly 400 years ago. We had a draw back then, but next time I won’t lose.]
“Wow, amazing! I would have wanted to see a battle between fellow legendary monsters.”
“Me too –”
Vincent and Rita seem to be really excited about all this but Franca and Romon-san seem to be forcing a smile.
“Oioi, calm yourselves. We still need to receive the confirmation signature to show that we have fulfilled our duty to Makooda-san and report that to the adventurer’s guild.
Being asked by Werner-san, I signed on the completion of duty report.
Next, I tried to return the red boar meat that I was tasked to keep, but they said I should at least keep it in exchange for the raw materials of the rockbird.
“Even before bidding farewell, you all want me to keep the red boar meat; I am really well taken care of. Thank you all.”
All of them felt that they couldn’t have made it here without me either.
“We feel more thankful for the good experience we’ve gotten from this and we even had a taste of your culinary skills, so we have no criticism on this excellent job.”
I’m grateful that you feel that way.
“But I still must express my thanks. Please stay in good health.”
“You too, Makooda-san.”
Iron Will waved their hands while leaving.
Alright, I have cleared my first objective, what shall I do next?
I don’t want to stay in this country for long, but in the meantime, I should just register with the guilds.
Werner-san might have advised me to register with the adventurer’s guild but I’ll first visit the merchant guild since that’s what I initially set out for.
“Oi, Feru, time to go to the merchant guild.”
[Mu, Master, you are going to be a businessman?]
“That’s my goal for now. But I still plan to join the adventurer’s guild too. From now on, I expect Feru to hunt but it sucks that I can’t do the dissection. Anyways, the raw materials from the monsters hunted by Feru should be able to cover for our daily expenses. You’re okay with me selling those raw materials right?”
[It doesn’t matter since I have no use for those stuffs. All I care for is good food.]
“Yeah yeah, I get you.”
God, this legendary beast is just a gluttony character.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Feru and I went to the merchant guild.
With Feru following me, everyone went into full panic mode and I had to frantically explain that he is my familiar before everyone settled down.
Next, I went to the counter to seek explanation on the merchant guild.
Assisting me is Michaela-san who is a real beauty with blond hair and blue eyes.
The contents of the explanation from Michaela-san were something like this:
The trading guild is an organisation that is beyond the control of the country.
People in the trading guild can be given 5 different type of ranks:
Iron rank -> Travelling merchant, merchandise/food stands (People with a storefront)
Bronze rank -> Private shop (Butcher or grocery type of private stores in the city)
Silver rank -> Small-sized company (A reasonably big company in the city)
Gold rank -> Middle-sized company (A firm that owns a few branches)
Mithril rank -> Large-sized company (Company that owns many branches)
The registration fee, annual fees and taxes are different depending on rank
Iron rank -> Registration 5 silver coins -> Annual fees 1 gold coin -> Taxes 2 gold coins
Bronze rank -> R: 1 gold coin -> AF: 2 gold coins -> T: 4 gold coins
Silver rank -> R: 2 gold coins -> AF: 5 gold coins -> T; 10 gold coins
Gold rank -> R: 4 gold coins -> AF: according to no. of stores (ATNOS) -> T: ATNOS
Mithril rank -> R: 8 gold coins -> AF: ATNOS -> T: ATNOS
The annual fees and taxes have to be paid for within a year from entering the guild.
Using the day of registration as the reference, membership can be renewed annually. If the annual fees or taxes are not paid for, renewal cannot be done.
The responsibility for the collection of taxes is on the merchant guilds in each country.
In the scenario where the guild card is lost, a commission fee that varies according to rank will be required for the reissuing of the card.
Members involved in illegal business dealings can be expelled as punishment.
It is possible for people who joined as an Iron rank to progressively advance in rank.
Feel free to discuss with the guild if there are difficulties in acquiring goods or obtaining investment to own a store.
Expected of a merchant guild.
The things that I wanted to know were all thoroughly explained.
“Well then, what kind of trade are you considering, Makooda-sama?”
About that, I had been thinking about touring the world since I have Feru to protect me, and I don’t have a store right now too.
If that is the case, then I guess Iron rank is right for me.
“I have a familiar currently and I do not have plans to own a shop. Therefore, I think the Iron rank is very suitable for me. May I register for the Iron rank?”
“Thank you very much. The registration would cost 5 silver coins, would like me to proceed?”
I have to be strict on my wallet but the 5 silver coins are needed for the registration.
“Ok, here is your Iron rank guild card. As explained earlier, if you lose this card, there will be a commission fee for the reissuing of the card. It is 8 silver coins for an Iron rank card so please take good care of the guild card.”
8 pieces of silver coins are really a significant sum. I’ll be careful not to lose it.
Oh, I remembered some questions I wanted to ask.
“Excuse me, I still have a few questions. Does the guild purchase anything? Actually, I had obtained some products on my journey ......”
“Purchase? It depends on what it is, but we do buy things.”
Depending on the goods? The merchant guild probably knows what’s good and what’s bad.
I am planning to sell salt and spices to the guild.
This shouldn’t be too big a problem.
“I shall come again tomorrow and bring along the goods I wish to sell.”
“We will be waiting. Thank you for registering with us.”
When I was about to leave the merchant guild that gave good vibes because of the polite staff, I realised.
I had forgotten to ask about a suitable inn which allows Feru and I to stay in.
I hurriedly returned to the counter and consulted Michaela-san.
She recommended the “Vaulting Horse Pavilion”.
She also gave a detailed route to the place so Feru and I could immediately leave for the “Vaulting Horse Pavilion”.