Chapter 111: Identification
I received an order for some high-backed chairs from the Butler and Dinoss.
In this world, the norm seems to be benches without backrests or chairs that look like they were haphazardly cut from logs. They say you can find proper chairs in the Royal Capital or in wealthy households, but they haven’t made their way into general circulation yet. By the way, I heard the backrest is supposed to be at a right angle to the seat? Well, considering how the beds are designed around here…
Oh! Since I’ve started blacksmithing, I should make some coils and craft a mattress. I also need to create a lamp. I feel like I’m getting busier.
I was warned that anything made from ingredients bought in this town can be eaten outside, but everything else must stay inside the house. The same goes for furniture; wooden chairs are fine, even if they look a bit rough.
However, swords are something you entrust your life to, so I agree that having a good one is important. Thus, I decided to forge a new sword for myself.
Dinoss took the sword in question, and for now, we also decided to forge swords for Ash and Shiva, with payment going through Dinoss. We’ll just say Dinoss picked them up from somewhere, and let a few circulate. After all, he’s a legendary man.
Dean turned us down, claiming he had no money, and he looked like he was about to shed blood tears. But that’s probably because he’s been frequenting expensive brothels. Well, it’s rare for adventurers to be as prudent as Retze.
I plan to ask Retze and Chris as well, but I have a feeling Retze will decline. I mentioned that if there’s anyone else Dinoss thinks would want a sword, but it seems there’s no one at the moment since he’s been away from adventuring for a while.
By the way, the Butler’s sword is already a Spirit Sword. Apparently, that pickled rice Spirit grants power. He seems to be keeping it a secret from Ash, so he doesn’t use it.
For now, to make it seem natural that I’m giving away a Spirit Sword, Ash and Dinoss will gather Magic Iron for a while and tackle Guild requests together. I plan to join them occasionally.
So, I’m going to remake my Spirit Sword. What attribute should I choose? Before that, I need to consider the Spirit I’ll carry with me and make sure their attributes align. And then there’s the issue of how they’ll grow…
—For now, let’s go see a dragon. But first, I have some work to do.
“Is this… a potato?”
“Yes.”
In a bright room with several glass windows, the walls are white with golden trim, heavy fabric curtains hang down, and a densely woven carpet covers the floor.
If this were a sofa, it would be something else, but it’s a wooden chair with fabric upholstery. The upholstered seat is probably cutting-edge, but to me, it feels a bit off. At the very least, they could have made the backrest more rounded! The design isn’t very kind to my back.
Sitting across from me is a middle-aged man, the head clerk of a large trading house that mainly deals with food through maritime shipping. We’re currently negotiating in Naruadeid, but the initial reception was in a rather chaotic place with mechanical responses, and now we’re in this room.
I think this room is meant to showcase the wealth of the trading house and make it clear that there’s a difference in status, but to me, it feels a bit off. They’ve gone through the trouble of making it look handmade with expensive materials, yet the design sense is lacking.
Everything here is handmade and expensive by default! There are no machine-made products.
Putting that aside, if dishes made from hard-to-find ingredients are banned from being taken out, then why not make them more accessible? So, I came to promote my potatoes.
While they’re not quite on par with the varieties from Japan, they do look like potatoes. They’re a bit reddish and have a sweet potato-like color, but the Spirit did its best. The taste is honestly a bit questionable, but they’re significantly larger than the potatoes sold here for ornamental purposes.
When I showed them in the first room, they immediately brought me to this one, so it seems my potatoes are quite appealing.
“The potatoes are long-lasting, and while wheat can be ruined by being trampled during wars, potatoes grow underground, making them less susceptible to such damage. They’re starting to be planted for that reason,” the merchant explains while examining the potatoes.
“Oh, is that so?” I respond with a smile, pretending to know all about it.
So, potatoes are already being discussed as a food crop. I don’t like that it’s due to wars, but it’s a good thing that fewer people will go hungry.
“This size will be very well received. —However, there is a concern.”
“What is it?”
“Some say they’re poisonous.”
“Did you cut corners in cooking?”
The sprouts and the parts that turned green when exposed to light are indeed toxic! My sister insisted that only the sprouts were poisonous, and I had a terrible experience because of it.
“Cut corners in cooking…? Does Soleil-sama know the cause?”
“Yes.”
You don’t know, do you?!
Soleil is the name I’m using in Naruadeid. I registered with the Merchant Guild under this name. It’s easy to prepare a fake identification because I’m the one issuing it!
I’m recognized as a Free Knight of some noble territory. That Free Knight is me, though.
On paper, I’m recognized by the kingdom, yet I can’t enter the territory without my permission—at least not until someone becomes stronger than those Gods. So, the protection of the Free Knight is ironclad.
If “Soleil” gets noticed, I can just abandon that name, so I can afford to be a bit conspicuous. If it comes to that, I could even discard “Jean,” but I accidentally grew fond of that name, so I want to protect it.
“Jean” holds an identification issued under the status of a Free Knight, and the name on the ID is an abbreviated version given to me by the Gods. “Jean” is just a nickname.
In reality, it’s a strange situation where a Free Knight serves another Free Knight who holds territory. That’s because I issued the ID without knowing that a family crest or something similar would serve as identification!
I thought it was odd to issue it to myself. Identification-wise, it seems to indicate, “For now, I haven’t discarded my status as a Free Knight, but I’m currently assessing whether this person is suitable to be my lord.” I wonder if it turned out well in the end…
Knights are fundamentally of a status that serves someone. If a formal request comes from the king or a noble of the country where they reside, they must obey.
A Free Knight is equivalent to a king in status, though the actual treatment depends heavily on strength and notoriety. That’s how the system works.
As a knight, it’s fine to have or not have attendants or subjects. Especially for a Free Knight, it’s not a problem to not serve anyone, as they are not bound by social hierarchy. A Free Knight has neither superiors nor inferiors.
Serving someone means discarding the status of a Free Knight. They say they’ve found a suitable lord! But in reality, most of the time, it’s because they can’t make a living on their own.
I’m so charming that I can make someone want to abandon their status! It seems to tickle the vanity of nobles, so job offers are quite plentiful.
But more importantly, it’s about the potatoes. Potatoes, they were eaten in the place they were imported from, right? Could it be that, like in Peru, they’re dried and dehydrated before being consumed? That method removes toxins along with the water.
“If you know, I’d love to hear it…”
While I was lost in thought, my negotiating partner grew impatient and asked.
I could tell him, but it depends on the conditions! I say with a smirk.