Chapter 492: Soleil’s Ship Lecture
I’m planning to include a contract or a covenant, but first, I need to consult with Soleil.
“So, I received some advice from an acquaintance, and I’m thinking of catching a ship on-site,” I said, feeling a bit guilty for interrupting Soleil’s work, especially since it’s been two days in a row on this island.
“You have friends who know about your means of transportation, huh…” Soleil replied, her brow furrowing slightly.
“Yeah. There are others who can do the same thing.” I mean, it’s not just me; there’s the Great Sage too, after all.
“…”
Soleil leaned her elbows on the office desk, burying her face in her hands.
While I hadn’t explicitly come out about it on the island, it’s pretty obvious with the way I’ve been popping out of a tower that shouldn’t exist and piling up items in the storage. My abilities of [Teleportation] and [Storage] have been subtly exposed.
I’m under contract, so it’s not like I’m hiding it either. [Teleportation] aside, [Storage] is widely known since there are people in Naruadeid who are heavily involved in the trade.
I’m part of the group searching for the “King’s Branch” with the Notes, and I’d love to meet them someday. Though, since their business is what it is, they seem to be moving around a lot and are rarely in one place.
“What kind of otherworldly place does my lord reside in—”
“Is it just this kind of stuff?” I interrupted, glancing at Auro and Kiel. What do they mean by “this kind of stuff”?
I feel like there’s been a misunderstanding about where I live and various other things, but thinking back to how the Notes acted when we first met, maybe it’s better to let them keep their misconceptions?
Like how I supposedly live in Kanum, or that a Note lives diagonally across from me.
After some hesitation, I fell silent. I’m starting to feel a bit anxious about what they think of me. They probably think I live in some hidden village or something.
“There’s no point in dwelling on another world. Let’s talk about business,” Soleil said, lifting her head and adopting a serious expression.
“Yeah.”
“Have you decided what kind of ship you want to choose?”
“Not really, maybe something as big as possible?” I replied. Ideally, I’d prefer a ship without rats or bugs. Though that might be asking too much.
“Hmm. Typically, it’s normal for the captain and the owner to be the same person when it comes to a ship carrying their own goods. However, there are cases where ownership is shared between individuals, so be careful.”
I think I’ve heard something about that before.
“Multiple ownership sounds complicated.”
“It’s not just merchants; shipbuilders and craftsmen involved in shipbuilding can also share ownership. However, ships heading to the Mail are likely to be singular since there’s a chance for a big profit.”
From what I’ve gathered, while many ships in Naruadeid are singularly owned, most northern ships are shared. It’s something like one-sixteenth of the ship’s sales, or even as little as one-fiftieth in some cases. There are hired captains too, but in those cases, they receive part of the ownership rights from the ship’s owner and work hard for their own profit.
“It’s better to choose a ship where the owner is also the captain or is on board. It’s a hassle to deal with ownership issues after transporting the goods.”
“I get that, but it seems like those kinds of people would have successfully negotiated with the Mailman,” I said, imagining them to be quite manly.
“The biggest problem is being attacked by demon beasts in the strait. The story goes that you throw a magic stone into the sea to divert the demon beasts’ attention while you escape—so losing the crucial negotiation materials is a common scenario.”
“I see.” What a harsh reality after going through all that trouble.
“The Mailman doesn’t want anything but the green stone, so it’s a waste to unload cargo at Es with an empty ship. You can often escape on the way there, but if you’re circling around in that strait, you’ll be attacked by demon beasts, so you have no choice but to keep moving.”
“Oh, so that’s the kind of ship we’re trying to catch?”
I nodded along as Soleil explained.
“I wouldn’t recommend capturing an empty ship for the Mail.”
“Why not?”
“The danger in the strait increases significantly on the return trip with loaded cargo. There’s a chance your precious Mail Wheat could end up as seaweed.”
“Ah, I understand. I’ll figure something out.”
“You can manage that, huh…” Soleil averted her gaze.
I could work on naming the spirits around us to help move faster even with the cargo loaded. Maybe I could also preemptively chase away the demon beasts.
If I defeat them, it might disrupt the balance of trade afterward. If the number of demon beasts decreases and people start flocking to the Mail, the Mailmen wouldn’t be able to relax either.
After that, I summarized the story of the Mail Wheat arriving in Naruadeid. I’ll leave the details to Soleil.
So, before heading to the Mail—I should gather some flower nectar as souvenirs. It’s probably best to get something heavily influenced by the spirits, right? Any flower from the “House” should be fine, I think.