Volume 6 - CH 2.2

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist Editor: Weasalopes

「This is delicious. As expected of master!」

「It is  a smooth and easy-to-eat dish. Definitely one of the best that master has ever made.

It would seem that Roxanne and Sherry ended up liking this dish pretty much.

「This is a first time ever in my life eating such a delicious dish!」

「I have heard before that there are some lands where the Slime Starch can be used in order to thicken the overall consistency of the dishes to make them even more delicious than they already were, but I never would have expected that a dish where such an extravagant technique was utilized was going to taste so good!」

Is there now? Well, good to know that this is not something unusual or unheard of before, because otherwise I might have been royally screwed by saying something that I was not supposed to say yet again, but good to know that just this once I said something that was legitimately true.

「Heeee, really? . But I have to say it really is unbelievably delicious! What kind of dish is this, exactly?」

「A one that I have made with a lot of love and care for my treasured slaves.」

Normally such an answer would have been a little bit too cheesy even for my liking, but this time it felt appropriate to use such an argument in order to answer Roxanne’s question, and since it brought a smile on both her and Sherry’s faces, then I say that it was well worth it.

On the evening of the next day, we received a message from Luke a day after placing order for the Skill Crystals. When we arrived back at home, from another day of Labyrinth exploration, we found a note left at our house’s entrance.

「Apparently Mr. Luke seemed to have made a successful bid of forty four hundred Nars for a Caterpillar Skill Crystal.」

Roxanne reads the contents of the note. So, he got us a Caterpillar Skill Crystal, even though I asked him specifically for Kobold and Goat Skill Crystals.

「Last time, it was forty three hundred Nars. He is probably observing our reaction to an increase in price by one hundred Nars.」

Sherry still seemed to be extremely cautious of him.

「Hmm….. would her really go that far for something so simple? I do not think so.」

Sherry has a really low opinion on brokers for some unexplained reason, and she is even going as far as to have the same kind of resentment for them that she seems to have towards Elves so she might be more than a little bit biased towards him and his profession, but if it turns out that he is not going to drop the price of that Skill Crystal, then I think that I am not going to be buying it after all.

「I think he might be doing it after all, because all Brokers use underhanded methods like that as much as possible. It is in their very nature.」

「You know what? You may have a point here.」

「Right? Of course I do! After all, it is only rational to think so.」

「Now that you say it like that, I think it might be like that too.」

If rational Sherry says that it is rational, it has to be rational. Because if it was not rational, then what in this world can actually be called rational?

Next morning, we visited the Merchants Guild, and shortly after we have arrived, Like showed up with two Skill Crystals in tow.

「This one right here is a Caterpillar Skill Crystal and this one is a Goat Skill Crystal which I managed to win in an auction that took place just yesterday.」

Luke places two Skill Crystals separately on the table.

Such an action is unnecessary of him, however, for I can use 「Identify」, and so I see that he is telling us the truth and that the items that he is offering are not any kind of forgeries at all, and are both as genuine as they can possibly be, and all of that thanks to my handy little Bonus Skill.

「Goat Skill Crystal huh?”

「Successful bid was fifty four hundred Nars.」

Was it really fifty four hundred Nars or did he move it up to fifty four hundred Nars himself? In any case, what Sherry said earlier seems to be right. It does not look like brokers work in the best interests of their clients, but first and foremost to cater to their own interests and further their own agendas, even if it means artificially raising the price of the product that was not as expensive as the broker claims it to be.

「That was rather.」

「There was some competition, but I managed to win it nonetheless.」

There is no guarantee that the person he competed with was not one of his partners, and that it was all just a setup meant to net the both of them the biggest possible profit.

「We do not have immediate need for more Goat Skill Crystals. Do not buy any more of them unless the price drops to fifty two hundred Nars or below.」

「Very well, as you wish.」

This time, I make my discontent known, and if Luke is really as smart of a man as he thinks himself to be, then he will surely figure out that I am angry and exactly why I am angry. And even if he does not, I have no problem with it as long as the price will be lowered hereafter, so one Goat Skill Crystal will suffice for now.

「How much for these two Skill Crystals?」

「Ah, yes. Let me see… including advance payment of commission for next Skill Crystal, it is going to be ten thousand five hundred Nars.」

Out of ten thousand five hundred Nars, fifty four hundred Nars and forty four hundred Nars pertain to the cost of the Skill Crystals themselves. So, the commission fee is seven hundred Nars? Commission fee for two Skill Crystals should be thousand Nars….. so a thirty percent discount worked, huh?

Because the prices vary much, he seems to have used 「Calculate」.

Like I thought, my discount does not seem to work on the bids made at the auctions. I made the payment with a gold coin and silver coins.

When we return home, I give Caterpillar Skill Crystal to Sherry for fusion. Because Sacrificial Misanga is a useful accessory, I have her make it immediately.

「I am still nervous in fusing Skill Crystals.」

「It is going to be alright. And if it fails, I will take responsibility, so do not worry about it so much.」

「Okay.」

I have already told Sherry that I can identify if a Skill Crystal can be fused with an equipment. In other words, if anyone is to be held responsible for the potential failure of the fusion, it is going to be me. That said, I cannot think of a reason for it to fail. And besides, can a fusion of a Skill Crystal with a piece of equipment with an Empty Skill Slot really fail?

「So, which Skill does Goat Skill Crystal give?」

「If fused with a weapon or an accessory, it gives 「Increased Intelligence」 Skill. If fused simultaneously with a Kobold Skill Crystal, it gives 「2x Intelligence」 Skill.」

After successfully fusing the Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal as a matter of course, Sherry explained that to me.

Because Kobold Skill Crystal upgrades Skills of other Skill Crystals, if fused simultaneously, it most probably doubles the effect of 「Increased Intelligence」Skill, not the INT stat itself. So, an increase of just thirty percent will become something like a fifty percent increase?

「Can it also be attached to an accessory?」

「Yes, it can be.」

「So, is it better to attach it to an accessory than attaching it to a weapon? That way, it will be there even if I upgrade weapon, right? Also, if I attach 「2x Intelligence」 Skill to both weapon and accessory, will the increase in Intelligence not grow four times instead of two?」

「Something like that is not possible.」

I was told earlier that the effects from offensive Skills cannot be stacked with one another, so it would seem that my dream is going to remain a dream still.

「How about attaching the same Skill to the same equipment more than once?」

「I have not heard about anything in that regard.」

If attaching a second Skill results in failure, first Skill disappears as well. Therefore, attaching multiple skills is not all that common.
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