I’ll Handle the Mayor, So You Handle the Market
"Wow, this has some serious pace to it!"
The cool wind meeting them in the sky felt crisp and clean. The air, untouched by dust, was refreshing.
"Vulcher, how about you?"
- Hogr! (I’m feeling great too!)
The hogryphon Joren had named Vulcher was clearly thrilled as well. Thanks to the polymorph that had given him the form of a giant eagle, flying had become far easier, and he was reveling in a speed he had never tasted before.
"Hoo-ee. This is too fast!"
Meyril, seated behind Joren, was trembling.
"We might as well have put sails on the carriage. Let’s try that next time."
With her helping to draw a favorable wind, the journey was remarkably smooth. They had barely left Tamer Territory, and already Rainpa could be seen in the distance.
"We’re racing across rough wilderness, not even paved roads, and the carriage isn’t shaking at all. That old dwarf Berneval Luntin or whatever his name was, I figured he was all bluster, but he’s got some real skill."
Shrakhim marveled at the carriage’s stable ride. By contrast, Peach, sitting beside him, was in a dreadful mood.
"...."
Her expression had gone beyond disappointed and was now ruined, like a bruised peach gone soft.
She had been allowed to accompany her master on the journey, and at first that had felt wonderful.
* * *
『Master, please take me with you too!』
『Hm? Why insist on following a long and difficult road? You were exhausted the entire way here from Tamer Territory, weren’t you?』
At first, Ho-yeong had not intended to take Peach along.
『B-but then... who will take care of your meals and your service?』
『I can handle that well enough on my own. So stay here, Peach. We might run into monsters again on the road. I can protect myself, maybe, but I can’t keep both Meyril and you safe at the same time. And I don’t have room to bring more soldiers.』
His casual answer only made Peach feel worse.
『But... why are you taking that girl Meyril and not me!』
『Because Meyril is a mage. She’s also serving as the navigator.』
Peach, at a loss for words, began to appeal to his feelings.
『Sniffle... if you leave, Master, I won’t have anyone I can rely on. This place is unfamiliar, and I don’t really know anyone here. Sir Lilian, in particular, keeps looking at me in such a scary way.... I have no family, and nowhere to go. The only time I can feel safe is when I’m by your side. And yet! You don’t understand any of that, and you’re just going to leave me behind. Hic.』
『Hey, hey, why are you crying all of a sudden? Fine. I’m sorry.』
As he listened to Peach sniffle, his younger siblings’ faces flashed through his mind.
After his parents died, Ho-yeong had moved several times, and the younger siblings who were even younger then had a hard time adapting to strange neighborhoods. In a world without either mother or father, the only support they had left was their older brother. So whenever Ho-yeong had to leave for work, they had cried and clung to him, refusing to let go.
『All right. I’ll take you with me, so stop crying.』
At the memory of his siblings’ tears, Ho-yeong’s heart softened, and he ended up giving in to Peach’s stubbornness.
『Really? Thank you, Master. As expected, you’re the only one who truly understands my heart.』
『Didn’t you just say I didn’t understand it?』
『That was just me feeling hurt and saying it because of that. Heehee.』
For Ho-yeong, who wasn’t especially thrilled about bringing Peach, Daliha offered some advice.
"Peach is exactly the kind of person well suited to using [Influence Conversion]. Remember the first enhancement effect of [Influence Conversion]: 'the power of [Influence] increases in proportion to the converter’s charm stat and conversion level.'"
Peach’s charm rank was A+, and her conversion level was S+.
A character who had possessed no combat power and no special ability worth mentioning now had room to shine in a much bigger way.
* * *
The journey from the capital to Tamer Territory had been as hard as Ho-yeong said it would be. They had walked the whole way, without even a mule, let alone a horse.
『No! We don’t have that kind of money... no, I can’t make special exceptions just because you’re one of my retainers. The soldiers are all walking too. I won’t make you carry baggage, at least, so bear with it a little longer.』
She had vowed to stay beside her master at night, at least in the name of serving him. But every night, monsters had appeared, and the plan had failed.
"This time I thought he was taking me by carriage because he really favored me."
She had thought they would be sharing the back seat, tucked away together.
- Gopgop. Goop-gop~ (The other guys must be working their tails off by now, but I’ve got it easy~)
- Grem? Greem. Greeeem! (What? Idiot, we’re not going on a picnic! We don’t know how the king of humans is going to treat us, grem!)
And as if monsters weren’t enough.
"Um... Peach, was it?"
She had to ride in the same compartment as that shameless rogue.
"I was wrong before. Please forgive me."
Shrakhim tried awkwardly to speak to her, but Peach kept her head lowered and said nothing.
"Yes, I suppose I wouldn’t calm down either if I were you. I understand. I’ll apologize as many times as it takes."
Having sinned, Shrakhim was desperately seeking forgiveness.
He was genuinely sorry now that he had been edified, and what weighed on him most was the fear that the times he had struck Peach and molested her might somehow be brought up at the royal audience in the capital.
"What can I do to ease your heart? Hm? You may slap my cheek as many times as you need until you’ve calmed down."
The goblin and the gremlin listening from the cargo compartment whispered among themselves.
- Gop? Gop gop. (Getting slapped by such a cute little thing sounds like a reward, no?)
- Greem? Greeem! (Sister Peach~ please hit this one once too, grem.)
Peach’s bowed head began to tremble.
"Ugh, seriously! Shut your mouth, will you? I’m already annoyed, and you’re babbling on like this? You too, goblin and gremlin!"
Her anger surged as she lifted her head.
"Listen carefully, old man. Say one more word to me and I’ll make sure the whole continent hears about it. You were bragging about being a knight, then you fell off on your own, got beaten to a pulp by a hogryphon, and cried and blubbered about whether you’d ever get married until our lord finally saved your life."
She snorted in contempt, just a little.
"Ah, I see. I won’t speak to you again. Though I’m not an old man, I’m only a year older than you...."
"Master! Sir Shrakhim is bothering me again!"
Peach snapped her head toward the window.
What a clear autumn sky it was, and how warm the sunlight felt.
Master, I hate you. By now that Meyril girl is probably clinging to your back and going 'hoo-ee, hoo-ee,' right? And here I am, forced to sit beside this brute the whole time!
The clouds, as if unable to remain suspended in nothing but blue, drifted away one by one.
Answering the call of rough dust, those clouds rose up in puffy brown billows of dirt.
"It might be a good idea to close the window. Or maybe dust is coming in. Cough."
Instead of speaking out loud, her swollen lips twitched in the urge to crush something, and Peach was unconsciously spilling aura.
* * *
"What is this? There are so many soldiers waiting for us."
Ho-yeong was surprised. They had not even entered the gate to Rainpa yet, and an entire force was standing by as if blocking the way.
"Slowly now, Stain, Minho. Vulcher, slow your flight too."
After ordering the monsters to reduce speed, Ho-yeong brought the hogryphon Vulcher in for a landing.
"Which unit are they from?"
"By the look of it, they seem to be Rainpa’s guard force. The uniforms are familiar."
Shrakhim, who had often come and gone from Rainpa City, answered for him.
"Is that so? But why is the guard force here for us?"
A middle-aged man stepped out from among the guards. He had a solid build and a few wrinkles on his forehead, but his face was warm and approachable.
"You must be Count Joren Tamer. Welcome to Rainpa."
Ios ★★
[ Stats | Rank | Base Value ~ Maximum Value ]
Strength D: 10 ~ 12
Intelligence B: 60 ~ 65
Magic D: 7 ~ 8
Charm C: 30 ~ 35
Leadership B: 42 ~ 49
Spirit C: 41 ~ 45 (He is benevolent, but his tendency to care too much about his reputation and position is a weakness.)
Conversion Level C: 10 ~ 17 (He became interested after hearing rumors of the Border Count’s exploits, and his interest grew even more after receiving royal orders to guide the Border Count well.)
Background
The one in charge of Rainpa’s market. He is skilled in many ways and has helped the city continue to prosper.
He has recently been deeply troubled by the continued appearances of monsters.
"So you came out to greet us yourself, Mayor. I’m honored. Of course, I understand you must obey the king’s command."
"No, but I haven’t even introduced myself yet. How did you know I was the mayor? And how do you know about the royal order...?"
A side effect of getting used to the status window. Being able to know all sorts of information was certainly convenient, but the problem was that it came out before the other person had even spoken.
"Ah, our territory’s people often come and go from Rainpa, and they’re always praising your virtues, yes."
"Is that so? Ho ho. I’ve done nothing special."
Joren glanced at Ios’s spirit stat and smoothed things over with praise, and just as expected, the man looked pleased and raised no suspicion.
"Count Tamer, night will fall soon. How about staying in our city for the night? We’ve left the finest room at the inn empty, so please don’t refuse."
"I appreciate the offer, but my journey is urgent, so I should continue onward. Once we reach the main road, the streetlamps will keep the night bright, so there’s no need to worry."
"In that case, perhaps you could stop by city hall for tea. You’ve made a quick crossing of rough roads, with people and horses... and cattle and eagles? What an unusual carriage, ho ho. In any case, both man and beast must be tired, so it would be best to rest for a while. I won’t keep you long. You’ll need to enter the main road before dark, after all."
Even though he was supposedly guiding them in obedience to the king’s order, Ios was being rather excessively hospitable.
"Hmm. It seems you have something you’d like to tell me. Very well."
Though Ho-yeong found it strange, he decided to accept the invitation.
They had planned to stop here anyway to gather supplies and rest, so there was no reason to turn him down.
"Then Peach and Meyril, while I’m speaking with the mayor, why don’t you go shopping in the market? Buy some food and firewood, and anything else you didn’t manage to pack in a hurry."
"With Meyril? ...Yes."
Peach was far from pleased, but she decided it was still better than going with Shrakhim, so she did not complain.
"No, if there’s anything you need, just say the word. We’ll prepare everything for you."
"Mayor, you told me to say whatever comes to mind, so there is something I’d like to mention."
Before the mayor could even finish speaking, the maid cut in.
"Some of the shops here are overcharging our people, you know. They say that since the people of Tamer Territory have money, it’s fine to do that."
The end of Peach’s complaint about Tamer Territory’s people being rich sounded odd at first, but there was a background to it.
Three years ago, when a massive monster assault devastated Auphocalypse City, the kingdom provided the citizens with a great deal of gold coins as disaster relief.
Continuing to support every person and every supply item one by one was difficult in many ways, so the citizens were given the means to buy the goods and labor they needed themselves.
The dispatched guard contract with Kihara Territory was one such case; since it was impossible to station regular troops in Auphocalypse forever, the city had signed a service contract with a neighboring territory.
On top of that, the circulation of money and goods was meant to help the local economy.
"From what I heard from the older women, it’s been going on for quite a while."
The trick was that the intentions had only been good. There were people who preyed on the immediate needs of the citizens, gouging them for profit or even conspiring to fix prices together.
"Peach, your concern for the territory’s people is admirable, but this doesn’t seem like the place for you to step in. I’m sorry, Mayor."
Ho-yeong scolded Peach as though he meant it.
Ho. Look at Peach there. I thought she was just bold, but she really is something else. Good. I’ll have to sweet-talk this mayor and squeeze him for all he’s worth. This man looks like he has his own agenda with me too.
Inside, he was extremely pleased.
"Ah, no, not at all. Since the young lady has spoken the truth, I should listen carefully. Yes, Miss Peach? If such a thing is happening, then I’m sorry. Still, unless the shop operates on fixed prices, there’s no way even I, as mayor, can force them to sell for a certain amount."
"I’m not talking about merely marking up prices for passing customers. Where in the world do you raise prices depending on where the customer lives? It’s absurd to rip off regular customers who come from far away over rough roads, and do it again and again. Unless, of course, they’re delivering the goods themselves."
"Umm. If those merchants were under the city’s control, I could step in, but I can’t do anything about peddlers from outside...."
Seeing the mayor flounder, Peach softened her voice.
"Mayor~ Our lord said it himself: you’re a man of virtue, aren’t you? If you step in and punish those nasty merchants, everyone in Tamer Territory will praise your benevolence."
She had already delivered the hard truth. Now it was time to coax him gently.
"Then the rumor will spread to the capital through the traveling merchants too. The Mayor of Rainpa, restraining corrupt merchants with his own virtue and building a name for righteousness. If His Majesty hears of such a fine deed, wouldn’t he praise you as well? I’ll take the lead and make sure everyone knows of your generosity."
Peach clasped her hands and looked up at him with sparkling eyes.
"Well now. Yes, I’ll investigate it soon."
Peach has successfully used [Influence] to persuade Ios.
Seeing the mayor’s conversion level rise, Ho-yeong drove the final nail in.
"Please do. Since we’re on our way to the capital to pay our respects to His Majesty, I’ll report on your fair and upright handling of this matter."
"There’s no need to go that far, ho ho. First, let’s go to city hall and discuss it there."
Ios will later issue corrective measures against the corrupt merchants.
After bowing politely, Peach suddenly put on a fuss and hurried over to Ho-yeong.
"Master! There’s a lot of dust on you here."
As she pretended to brush off his cloak, she whispered,
『You’re not really planning to tell His Majesty immediately, are you?』
『Of course not. I need to see how this old man handles it first. Well done, Peach.』
『Should we even "make" decisive evidence here in the market?』
『Yeah. But nothing too extreme. Only nail the ones with obvious guilt, like we did with Shrakhim.』
The maid and her master exchanged a look.
『I’ll take the mayor, and you take the market.』
Then they split up to carry out their own tasks.
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