The Secret Merchant's Wares
As promised, Lily handled the aftermath with flawless precision.
When the city guards and affiliated knights arrived to investigate the incident, she recited the story she had prepared without a single hitch. She claimed that she had sensed an ominous energy lingering in the air, something thick and murky that felt intensely wrong. After cautiously searching the area, she discovered the hideout of the Demon God Worshippers. There, she rescued several people who had been gravely wounded by the cultists.
Those injured individuals were fairly skilled mercenaries. Their families had been taken hostage by the Demon God Worshippers, so they had charged in alone to save them. In the end, they managed to eliminate the cultists and rescue their loved ones, but they suffered severe injuries in the process. Lily had saved them, and after receiving treatment, they were able to appear in perfect health.
That was the full account Lily presented regarding the incident.
The one-eyed woman, whose life and family had both been saved by Lily, moved exactly as her benefactor wished. Both during the official city investigation and afterward, she spread the story in a way that painted the Demon God Worshippers in the worst possible light.
Naturally, both Lily and the one-eyed woman remained completely silent about the mid-grade monster. If that part were dug into, it would naturally expose both Iris and me. On top of that, the matter of the mana stone would only create unnecessary noise. There was no reason to invite that kind of trouble.
“It seems like people follow her incredibly easily.”
“That’s because Lily has such an overwhelmingly positive social reputation. The other disciples are all talented in their own ways, but none of them are as universally kind or have a reputation quite as overwhelmingly good as hers.”
Whether it was Garam or any of the others, they all possessed clear ability, yet each had a few screws slightly loose somewhere. Just as Garam, who was so obedient toward me, became an incredibly temperamental beastkin in front of others.
The other disciples also tended to reveal those loose screws to everyone except me. As a result, opinions about them were naturally somewhat divided. Some people called Garam an incredibly outstanding, brave, and wise Sword Hero, while others labeled her as extremely arrogant and sharp-tongued.
In contrast, Lily received the exact same glowing evaluation from everyone. She was the flawless Saintess who scattered hope to all, the very embodiment of perfection. As the Divine Hero, she showed only the image befitting her title—an existence that transcended even the Heroes and resembled an angel.
“I’m a little jealous. To think someone like her is my senior… my saje.”
“That’s a good attitude.”
“…Pardon?”
She had probably expected me to tell her not to say such foolish things, or something along those lines. Iris let out a slightly dumbstruck “Ehh?”
“Didn’t you say you felt jealous?”
“Yes. I definitely said that…”
“It’s a good attitude.”
“…Why?”
“There are people who view the emotion of jealousy as inherently bad. I used to think that way too. But you know, Iris, when you really think about it, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It depends on how that jealousy changes. Does it turn into self-loathing? Or into hostility toward others? Or…”
Or does it become an important step forward?
Depending on which path it takes, the direction of that jealousy changes completely. It can become the foundation for genuine growth, or it can turn into a muddy swamp that drags down one’s own ankles and leaves them stagnant. Or worse, it can become a quagmire that tries to drag others down with it.
“If you can gain something from it, then Lily will gladly accept your jealousy. The other disciples would too, and so would I. As long as it helps you, Iris, grow even more.”
“…”
“They are my disciples, and they are your senior sisters. It’s okay to have those slightly silly thoughts. Just make sure your jealousy doesn’t end as mere jealousy, or turn into self-hatred or belittling others.”
I, too, had once been jealous of my master. I had received special privileges, and I had put in the exact same effort she spoke of. So why couldn’t I reach it, while she could?
Looking back now, it had been such a foolish feeling. One day, the shame had become too much, and I confessed the truth to my master. She had burst into hearty laughter and told me to be as jealous as I wanted. If it allowed me to catch up to her, then she didn’t care how much I envied her.
“…Master, sometimes you seem a little strange.”
“Not sometimes. I’ve always been strange, my disciple.”
“The way you say it so confidently makes it even stranger!”
At Iris’s words, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. If I didn’t become strange after falling into this absurd situation, that would be the truly strange thing.
Not long ago, I had been commuting to work every day, screaming internally that I wanted to quit. My only joy had been playing that one game where I spent obscene amounts of money. Yet now, I had fallen into that very game world and was raising its characters as my disciples.
If I didn’t find this strange, then something would truly be wrong with me.
“By the way, Master. Where are we going right now?”
“Why? Are you curious?”
“Of course I am. The person who turned this entire city upside down is none other than you, Master. Yet Senior Sister Lily is the one handling everything while you stroll around the city so boldly.”
“If I said I was just taking a walk, you wouldn’t believe me, would you?”
“Obviously not. You always say it’s just a walk, but then you gather herbs, chop firewood, clean… You have a pathological hatred for wasting time without a clear purpose.”
“…You know me far too well. It’s actually a little scary?”
Iris let out a small “Ah,” then quickly covered her mouth. I wondered if she had been stalking me again while I let my guard down. Come to think of it, even though I had been relaxing, I had never completely dropped my vigilance. So how did she know so many details? It made me curious.
“Ahem! Anyway! Where exactly are we going, Master!”
“To buy you a present.”
“…Huh?”
“I came here to buy you a present.”
“…Huuuh?”
I had expected exactly that kind of reaction. After all, I had never once given her anything resembling a proper gift. At best, I had caught a large bug, told her to close her eyes, and shoved it in her face. Or I had dragged in a bunch of monsters and told her they were presents for her to deal with. All of it had been to raise our youngest disciple to be strong and resilient.
And Iris had faithfully overcome every single one of them while screaming “Uwaaaaack!!”
“…Master. What kind of prank are you planning this time?”
“This time it’s real.”
“That’s the 503rd time you’ve said that.”
“This time it’s not a joke. I’m really, truly going to give you a present, my disciple.”
“And that’s the 137th time you’ve said that, you know?”
“Since when did this master of yours become a living witness to distrust? My heart truly aches.”
“That’s the 89th time you’ve said that.”
Hearing the exact numbers made me realize I had teased her far too much. I hadn’t meant to, but it seemed I should refrain from doing so in the future.
“…Now that I hear it out loud, I really did trick you quite a lot.”
“I’m glad you realize it! Do you know how my heart pounded every single time you said it was a present?!”
“If your heart was pounding, isn’t that a good thing?”
“At first it pounded with excitement and anticipation. Later, it pounded because I was terrified of what horrible thing you were going to make me do today, Master!”
“Hmm. Hearing that, I really did put a lot of effort into my disciple’s education.”
Iris gave me an expression of utter disbelief. When she asked with her eyes if I was serious, I confidently answered “Yeah,” and she let out a long, exhausted sigh.
“…So. What are you planning to surprise me with today?”
“This.”
What I held out was the mana stone dropped by the mid-grade monster Iris had dealt with yesterday. Since she had probably never seen one before, she could only tilt her head in confusion.
“It’s a mana stone, right?”
“…Wait a second. How do you know that? I’ve never shown you one before.”
“Huh? Well… back in the city where I originally lived. I overheard someone talking about it once.”
“Ah, right. There was a forge there that used mana stones to maintain equipment.”
Hunting mid-grade monsters was difficult, but not impossible. If around a dozen skilled mercenaries gathered, they could defeat one without any casualties. That was why it wasn’t hard to find a forge that processed the mana stones they dropped if you looked around a bit.
“So are we going to the forge?”
“That was the original plan, but sometimes it’s better to just buy something ready-made rather than have it custom made.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
“Enough questions. Just follow me quickly, my disciple. If we waste any more time, we’ll miss our chance.”
The reason I was hurrying Iris along was simple. The Secret Merchant that appeared randomly in the game had been implemented in this world as well.
The true identity of the Secret Merchant was a goblin. Originally, they were nothing more than low-level monsters—intelligent monsters, yes, but even rookie mercenaries could defeat them without much difficulty.
Among those goblins, however, some had ended up living among human society. Normal life was difficult for them, so instead they sold goods from the shadows. Their main products were items gathered from deep forests or dangerous cliffs that ordinary people found hard to reach.
So in this world, when people thought of goblin merchants, they usually pictured someone selling mere weeds. But of course, among such small fry, there was always one exceptional individual.
According to the setting that ancient kingdoms had fallen and new nations and cities had risen in their place, there were still relics from those ancient kingdoms hidden deep in the mountains.
Most people had no idea which goblin was selling rare treasures. To them, they all looked like the same small green monsters. The only one who could tell the difference was me. I suspected this, too, was one of the user perks.
“Master. Are you really buying me a present?”
“I told you I am. Do you really think I’d come all the way here just to prank you?”
“…Can I really believe you?”
“That’s enough. Think about it in advance. What would you like?”
“What do you mean?”
“Whether you want a weapon like a sword, or armor, or if there’s something else you need. You should decide ahead of time so we can pick it up right away when we get there, my disciple.”
I naturally assumed she would ask for a weapon. After fighting a mid-grade monster, she must have felt in her bones that she needed a stronger finishing blow. Since she still felt she lacked power, she would probably want to borrow strength from elsewhere. That was what I thought Iris would choose.
“In that case, I want…”
The Secret Merchant didn’t sell weapons often, but it wasn’t as if they never did. Goblins tended to sweep up anything that could turn a profit. Among those items were occasionally ancient royal swords. So the chances weren’t zero.
Given Iris’s decent physical abilities, an aggressive sword suited her better than a defensive one…
“A ring.”
“…Huh?”
“Please buy me a ring! Something similar to the one you gave to Grandmaster!”
“…”
I seriously considered smacking her once.