"This time, it wasn't a request from the guild, we just went hunting on our own. We didn't have enough equipment by ourselves, so we requested the same number of support personnel and vehicles, and we paid them in advance, and half of the prey, so our earnings were less than half of the profit from selling the prey we hunted, right?" (Reina)
This time, Crimson Vow was not the one receiving the request, but the one making the request. Furthermore, they were not going through a guild, and the request was not from a hunter but from an ordinary villager.
Therefore, it was the Crimson Vow who had to pay the request fee.
In reality, they had not yet sold their share, so the money they paid in advance had simply been reduced, and they were currently in the red.
However, now that the old folks had sold them in large quantities, it would be a bad idea to sell them in this town, so for the time being they would just be gathering dust in Mile's item box.
Even if the stock sold by the old people was consumed and the market recovered, by that time the old people would no doubt be saying "It's about time for the next raid...," so it seemed likely that Mile and her party would sell their stock after they moved to another town.
…There was no obligation to talk openly about the details of the work you had done to others. Therefore, normal hunters would not tell such things to unrelated people. Even if they did it on their own and there was who requested it.
And yet, the fact that Reina, the loudest person in the Crimson Vow, spoke about such things...
Yes, the intention was to make them think that "There is no more catch" and "There is a lot of stuff already sold on the market, prices are falling, and it's no longer a profitable business."
In addition, the words fishermen and boat were replaced with support personnel and vehicle to camouflage the meaning.
"Whaaat?! Well then, if you can sell it to me..." (Arly)
"I don't know! In the first place, why do you think we're going to sell you valuable items cheaply? If we deliver them to the guild, we'll get a higher price and we'll also get achievement points... The only times we sell to you instead of the guild are if we'll get a higher price than the guild... plus we'll charge a premium for the loss of achievement points..., if we don't violate the sales volume limit set by the guild master, and if we can get cash immediately. If you don't go through the guild, there's a risk that you won't be able to pay later, right?" (Reina)
And following Reina, Pauline spoke up...
"While it may be different for Mavis and Mile-chan, I, the daughter of a merchant, and Reina, the daughter of a traveling merchant, are not going to be easy on you. I do want to support women of our age who are trying to do their best on their own, but that doesn't mean we should break the rules or pamper them, right? That's not good for you, personally. Also, any business that assumes our existence is a no-no. We won't be in this town forever, so any business that relies on us being here can only be a one-off to earn opening capital. It's not something you can continue forever. ...And you can't just buy our products at a bargain price and make a fool of us. We're not stupid. Before selling, we'll at least check the market price, okay? It's not that we won't sell them to you, but we'll only sell them at the market price, and even if we add on the amount of achievement points that the guild won't give us, so it's not much different from buying them through the guild." (Pauline)
"What?! That means it has no benefit at all?!" (Arly)
"Well, that's normal... But we can't let someone have a successful experience like that, where you pester them so persistently that they finally give in and sell you their product at a loss! If we do that, you and the others will just keep pestering us!" (Reina)
"Ugh..." (Arly)
As expected, Arly couldn't argue with what Reina said.
"Well, now that we’ve become acquainted, if you have a plan that won’t cause us any losses, won’t make us look stupid, won’t cause trouble for other people coming to us and will allow us to make a profit, then I’d be happy to make a deal with you. Merchants who just buy things cheaply without thinking about anything and try to make a profit are incompetent. That only takes away the profits of their supplier, and as soon as they find another supplier, they will cut off business with you. It has to be a business that is profitable for both you and your suppliers, and can be sustained... If you're a businessman, use your head. Think on your own. What's that on your neck? Is it a decoration or a figurine?" (Pauline)
"…………" (Arly)
Dah!
"Ah, she ran away..." (Pauline)
"As expected of an aspiring merchant, that certainly seemed to have been an answer, right…?" (Mavis)
As Pauline and Mavis said, Arly looked down and ran off without a word.
"I don't think that Arly is the last of them..." (Mile)
"I can't stand having so many of them!" (Reina)
And then there's Reina, who dutifully commented on Mile's jokes.
Mile had some good companions...
"I wonder if she'll come again..."
"When she come, I'll ask her what kind of plan she's come up with. If she didn't come... that means she was the same as before." (Reina)
"…………" (Other 3)
Mile and the other two looked convinced by Reina's words.
No matter how brazen she was, she didn't want to bully a girl who was trying to do her best on her own.
Everyone was well aware of how tough and difficult it was for a young woman to rise up in the world on her own.
Until they enrolled in Hunter Training School, in order to keep strange people from gathering around them, Mavis behaved like a man, Pauline pretended to be harmless but acted deviously, and Reina put up a false bravado and acted all cocky.
...Not much different from now...
Anyway, Reina and the others, who thought that perhaps they were just a little bit outside of the norm, were tolerant of "Slightly strange girls" as long as they weren't villains.
And this was the person who once accepted Mile's proposal and decided to provide her with a service.
So, even though there was no obligation to do so, probably that since it had been their mistake that had ruined it, they would not be reluctant to take some kind of compensation measure.
...However, this would only be the case if they demonstrated the spirit and talent of a merchant to be worthy of it.
(I'll be waiting, Arly-san...) (Mile's mind)
And so, Mile quietly muttered to herself...
After delivering their prey, Wonder Trio was having a meal in the Hunter Guild branch's food corner and chatting about something.
"They're late, huh? Adelle-chan's party..."
"That's right… However, if they're not heading straight for the royal capital, but are instead staying in towns along the way for a while and taking on requests, checking out the situation in the area as they go along, then it's no wonder it takes a few days. Besides, if we act carelessly, it could turn out to be a repeat of the 'Journey to the East'..." (Marcella)
"Ah~……" (Monika + Aureana)
Monica and Aureana looked displeased when Marcella pointed this out.
Yes. The Wonder Trio set out on a journey to search for Adelle (Mile), and while traveling along the main roads, they passed the Crimson Vow, who were heading towards the royal capital on the way back while completing requests from rural villages, and wasted their days in vain.
And that was before they were taught useful magic such as purification magic, cleaning magic, and item boxes. It was a smelly, unsanitary, and arduous journey that violated the dignity of a maiden... It's not a problem now, but they still felt depressed when they were thinking back to those days.
"Well, this town is very close to the royal capital, after all. If we ask the hunters who come on business from the royal capital, 'Has a party of four crazy young women been seen at the guild branch in the royal capital?', then even if they happen to get to the royal capital by a different route, we'll be able to find out right away, so there's no need to worry, right?" (Marcella?)
"Yes!" (Other 2)
The surrounding Hunters who were listening to this were all thinking the same thing.
(If it's a "Party of three deviant young women", then I'll be here...) (Other hunters' mind)