Chapter 26 - Seiza
I left the inn and headed towards the village chief's house. Then, as I passed the village square, I saw my slimes and the group were in the middle of repairing the village gate.
I've been wanting to ask this for a while now, but are those yellow moving plants the sunflowers from my field? Let's ask a little. If they're monsters, I should be able to talk to them.
I called out to one of the yellow moving plants.
[Please come back again later, we are working on the important part right now.]
Is this the influence of my slimes!? I wonder how will alraunes and mandragoras respond if I called out to them. I mean, Josephine is the one who raised them. Maybe I don't have the right to command over them.
Hmm...
Oh, whatever.
Let's think about it later. The village chief is waiting for me.
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"Pardon!" (Fell)
When I entered the village chief's house, I saw four people were sitting upright on their knees against the floor --- a position called seiza.
"You are late, Fell-chan! My legs are killing me! I can't take it anymore! They're going to break!" (Dia)
Nope. Your legs are fine. My Mystic Eyes can't be fooled.
"They're not going to break. You should be grateful that the punishment is this light. Look at Anri, she's enduring it without saying a word." (Fell)
"I'm used to doing seiza. I probably have learned Paralysis Resistance Skill. This much is nothing." (Anri)
Indeed, state resistance skills are pretty useful. However, does that skill work against the numbness caused by doing seiza? Or rather, I don't think it's a punishment anymore.
"Now that Fell-san has come, the punishment ends here. Everyone, unseat yourselves." (Village Chief)
Dia and Via slowly stood up while wobbling on their feet like newborn goats. On the other hand, Yato and Anri seemed to be just fine.
Anri's resistance to paralysis is probably the reason. In Yato's case, she was probably sitting while slightly submerging her legs into the shadow. Her folded legs would not go numb because her body weight was not supported by them.
I stared at Yato. When our eyes met, she immediately averted her eyes from mine.
There's no doubt about it.
"Now then, I've heard most of what I wanted to hear from these girls. It's a good thing that the misunderstanding with the elves has been resolved peacefully." (Village Chief)
"There was a lot of going on. I'm glad everything is already over now." (Fell)
If it hadn't been for yesterday's attack, it would have been even much easier.
"Speaking of which, I heard something about the elves would come to our village to do a trade." (Village Chief)
"There's a fruit called apple growing in the Elven Forest. I really like it, so I asked the elves to sell it here. However, since the elves do not use money, I will need to barter it with something." (Fell)
"Goodness! There are only few number of people who trade with the elves. Therefore, most of the products from the Elven Forest on the market today are stolen goods." (Village Chief)
"Is that so? If you have something the elves want, I'm sure they will trade with you, too." (Village)
There's a certain frivolous guy among the elves. I'm sure he will trade with anyone as long as the other party is a woman.
"I see. If that's the case, I'd love to make a deal as well." (Village Chief)
The village chief looks happy for some reason. Oh well, as long as I can procure my share of apples safely, anyone is free to trade with the elves.
"The elves are interested in jewelry, ornaments, honey, and wine. If you can prepare even one of those, I think you'll be fine. There might be something else they want, so you'll have to negotiate with them directly later." (Fell)
"Hmm, everything is difficult to procure in this village...." (Village Chief)
Indeed. There various jewelry and ornaments in the treasure vault, but I don't have them right now. Even if the elves come, I might not be able to get the apples. I wonder if there is anything else....
"Speaking of which, it seems Via’s magic tools were pretty popular with the elves." (Fell)
"E-Eh!? Me?" (Via)
"Before, on the way back, didn't you say your magic tools were well-received by the elves?"
"Yeah. I was talking about disposable magic tools made of stone bestowed with wind magic to create a storm blast. The elves wanted them to be used for arrowheads." (Via)
Just as I thought. I wonder if they will make magic arrow or something. The wind magic from Via's magic tools was more powerful than the wind magic that the captain guy casted during the battle against mantis, after all.
"If it's magic tools made by Via, the elves might be willing to make a deal." (Fell)
"I see.... I was surprised when I heard you were able to make magic tools. If that's the case, I shall entrust this matter in your hands. You also run a general store, so this might be just right job for you." (Village Chief)
"Eh!? Huh? Wh-What are you talking about, Village Chief?" (Via)
"I appoint you as the village representative to do business with the elves. Please do you best." (Village Chief)
"Umm, what exactly should I do?" (Via)
"Even if you don't need them, please exchange as many magic tools as possible with the foodstuffs the elves bring. You can just sell them to the other villages later. Money isn't worth much to the elves, but it's worth a lot to you, isn't it?" (Village Chief)
Oh, is this what they call a wholesaler?
"You mean I act as an intermediary? Most of the goods will probably be bought by Nia-san. This might be not that difficult." (Village Chief)
"Via-chan, leave the pricing to me! I will get you the perfect price with my expertise! You will surely make a ton of money, so 10% of the profit---" (Dia)
Honesty is a virtue, but what about Dia's case? I think she is too honest to her desire.
"Dia, I didn't know you liked doing seize so much. I understand, let's add another 30 minutes." (Village Chief)
Hearing that, Dia's face was dyed in despair.
Serves her right! Somehow, this makes me feel better.
"Pl-Please wait, Village Chief! More than this and my legs are seriously going to break!" (Dia)
"Please rest assured. If they are broken, the priest will fix them.... Anri, lend her a hand." (Village Chief)
"Dia Nee-chan, it's fine. Legs won't break that easily." (Anri)
Don't use me as a standard. My bones are pretty solid.
"Fell-chan, help me!" (Dia)
"Submit a request first. I will accept it for one small gold coin." (Fell)
"NOOO!!!" (Dia)
Anri forced Dia back to a seiza position.
You should reflect on your indiscretion once in a while.
"So, umm...." (Via)
"Regarding the price, consult it with Nia later. Because she has a lot of experience using various ingredients, I'm sure she can estimate the appropriate price." (Village Chief)
"I understand." (Via)
"Well, that's about it.... Still, since Fell-san came, the village has been quite busy. The fields, too." (Village Chief)
I'm not involved in the fields. You'll have to ask my slimes.
"Somehow, I'm sorry." (Fell)
"Hahahaha. I'm not blaming you. I'm grateful that the village has become very lively. You must be still tired. Please take a good night's rest at the inn today." (Village Chief)
“I understand. I will excuse myself then.” (Fell)
“I-I will also excuse myself.” (Via)
“Excuse me, ~nya.” (Yato)
Via and Yato bowed to the village chief and followed along.
Now, let's go back to the inn.
"Everyone! Don't leave me behind! My legs! My legs are...!!!" (Dia)
I hope Dia will change into a better person after this.
Impossible?