Bronze Rank Merchant
The business deal this time was settled at 700,000 Rubies.
However, it seems that Miss Priscilla still had more to discuss.
I wonder what it could be.
“Miss Lily. You are a Green Rank merchant, right? Won’t you raise your rank?”
“Raise my rank? Why would I?”
“First, it’s to increase the trustworthiness of the goods you’re trading. Even a Green Rank merchant couldn’t possibly deal with Spider Silk, it’ll raise even more suspicions if you try to deal with Mana Spider Silk.”
I see, that makes sense.
Certainly, if a Green Rank merchant traded a product worth 350,000 Rubies multiple times, it would be suspicious.
I kind of get it.
“Next is for your own protection.”
“My protection?”
“Yes. Up until Blue Rank merchants, when you try to hire guards, you have to find them yourself from the Adventurers’ Guilds and such. But for merchants of Bronze Rank or higher, you can get guards recommended by the Trade Guild. Of course, you’ll have to pay for their services yourself.”
I see, they can also provide guards.
The Tamer Guild also suggested getting guards, but I feel like I don’t need them… That’s what I want to say, but honestly, I’m starting to feel anxious.
There’s a substantial amount of money in my Trade Guild account, and I’m carrying hundreds of thousands in cash.
Normally, transactions worth tens of thousands are done through the Trade Guild account, but there are cases where that’s not possible.
So, I’ve been increasing the amount of cash I carry, just in case.
In my wallet… It’s not really a wallet, more like a pouch, but there’s a lot of money in my backpack.
Hiring guards, even a long-term personal guard, might be something I need to consider.
Alright, let’s become a Bronze Rank merchant.
“Understood. Please proceed with the upgrade to Bronze Rank.”
“Thank you for accepting. Since you are currently at Green Rank, to rise to Bronze Rank, you’ll need 100,000 Rubies from Blue Rank and 500,000 Rubies for Bronze Rank. However, I’ll let you have it for just 500,000 Rubies in total.”
“Is that alright?”
“Yes. In return, please continue favoring the Trade Guild in the future.”
“Of course!”
While Mr. Vinci was processing my upgrade, I chatted with Miss Priscilla.
It seemed that I was an interesting merchant on her end too, and she had been using people to gather information.
Most of my information was quite apparent, and it seemed that there hadn’t been any moves to recruit me under the Trade Guild’s wings during the Spider Silk phase.
However, things were changing with Mana Spider Silk.
There were rarely any transactions involving Mana Spider Silk, and it was considered a coveted item that only appeared on the market once every few years.
As a result, any merchant would want to acquire it.
The reason Mana Spider Silk wasn’t widely available is rumored to be due to the northern nobles who controlled the material, or that the material itself was scarce.
But all these rumors seemed to be unconfirmed.
Mana Spider Silk was simply categorized as a rare item.
If someone like me, who could easily produce Mana Spider Silk, appeared, she predicted that merchants would emerge to monopolize its mass production, even if it meant kidnapping me.
Hence, the wish for me to become a Bronze Rank merchant whom she could openly recommend guards from the Trade Guild.
Hmm, am I really that cornered?
I’m confident I won’t lose in a direct fight, but I wouldn’t know if underhanded tactics were used.
It’s best to stay cautious.
After a while, Mr. Vinci returned, having prepared the means for my rank up.
So, I handed my identification over to him and had him upgrade me to Bronze Rank.
Once the upgrade was complete, today’s business was concluded.
Miss Priscilla told me not to make any detours and head straight home.
Am I a child?
They will be searching for suitable guards affiliated with the Trade Guild, so it seems I’ll have to wait for about a week.
During that time, it’s best for me to stay within the inn.
I really wanted to go gather more Ogre Magic Stones, but there’s no helping it.
I’ll just have to behave at the inn.