So, in the end, how did you select a new hero?

　After calming the place down once more, we discussed it again.
　At the edge, a battered gandomillah was being carried away on a thangka.

　It seemed more like garbage disposal than rescue.
　The guild directors, who had the right to decide on the selection of a brave man, talked among themselves.

I'm not sure if there's a problem with Gran's selection as the hero. No matter how good he is, he is still an inexperienced child.
You don't even have the ability to make good decisions. It's not enough for a brave man to have only the ability to fight. And if they were to be criticized for sending their children into battle, it would cause endless damage to the center guild.
If he had grown at least ten more years, that would be ideal conditions.

　He just says what he thinks.

　Incidentally, the important thing is that Gran was playing with Grandpa Arantzill, whom he hadn't seen in a while.
　Granberza-sama wanted to come to the party too, but he was in tears because he couldn't come to the center guild because he was a demon.

''Well then?　Shall we start the selection meeting from the beginning again, except for Gran-kun?
'You're not gonna close me down like that, are you?　All of them are the ones who were obeyed by six-year-olds, right?
The only thing that matters is the fact that we have to pick out a brave man from such people.... It's no use...?

　I feel sorry for them for being said that.

　The people who participated in the heroic contest this time around also worked hard to become heroes.
　It's sad that they still couldn't match Gran's talent, but.......

Anyway, this doesn't seem to be a problem that can be concluded immediately.......
Let's dismiss for the day. And we'll discuss this later...

　As such, the heroic selection meeting ended with a simmering feeling.
　The only thing that was decided was that Gandomirahu was removed from the position of power forever.

◆

It's been a while.
Oh, my sweetheart?

　After the end of the heroic selection meeting, they met again with an unexpected person in the center guild.

　One of the former brave party, Satome the shield wielder.

　Five years have passed and her physical appearance has changed completely, once she was the face of a girl, but now she has grown into an adult woman with s*x appeal.

''Come to think of it, did you go back to the Center Guild?　I haven't seen this since Radey announced that the party was breaking up. No, no, grow up...!
Dariel, you are the one who has become more and more dignified as the village chief. Gran has grown up, too. He's still a child, though...

　Gran, as it turns out, is still playing with Alanziel.
　But he is enjoying his time with Alanziel, who met his grandson after a long time.

　Thanks to this, I was able to focus on seeing Satome again.

''She's a child after all, putting her mother's pampering ahead of her brave mission. No one could have predicted this. I never thought it would end like this.
Is Satome still here to watch the heroic selection meeting?

　It was more natural to think so.
　As a matter of fact, I don't know what Satome is doing in the center guild.

　I thought she was still an adventurer earner, but her current appearance was in a tight-fitting suit with a collar.
　It was very hard to believe that she was dressed as a fighter.

　More like a female official engaged in political affairs........
　What kind of day-to-day life had she been leading while we were unaware of it?

..........

　I understand why you can't guess that.

　The brave party members after Brave Raymond disappeared must have had deep feelings for each other.

　Sesha, who was in the same party, has withdrawn to the cottage and is living a recluse life because of her own sense of helplessness and frustration.

　I thought that Satome's new life was more positive now that she's returned to the Center Guild, but....
　Was it my own imagination?

''Are you curious?　What am I doing now?
Um...?
I work for the Chamber of Commerce through an acquaintance of Master Radey's family. So you're practically retired as an adventurer.
The Chamber of Commerce...?

　Another nasty name came up.

'It seems that Mayor Dariel doesn't like the Chamber of Commerce after all. It was clearly on his face.
Okay.

　I'm not interested in doing any belly tricks, so I don't mind the expression on my face.

　I have some idea of what a shokai is.
　I'm not sure what to make of it, but I have an unpleasant impression of it.

　It's a good idea to have a good time with them. It's an existence that should be called a leader of the economy.

　They control the distribution of goods in the human territory. It is as indispensable to human society as the Adventurer's Guild.

　In fact, like the Adventurer's Guild, most large cities have a branch of the Chamber of Commerce, which approves business in the city and checks the distribution of goods.

　Why am I smoking such an existence?　But the reason is simple and clear.
　The reason for this is simple and clear: we can do without a trade association.

　There are no trade association buildings in Lax Village.
　That's because Lax Village was originally a backwater village on the verge of natural extinction, and there was no profit to be made.

　Traders only appear where there is money to be made.

　In the past, poor Lax village was ignored, but as soon as the Mithril mine was recaptured and great wealth began to be generated, it began to slip through the cracks.

　He appeared in front of me, the village chief, rubbing his hands and making these demands with a smile.

LUX Village must immediately join the trade association.
All sales and distribution of mithril products produced in LUX village must be under the control of the association.
The price of all mithril products shall be determined by the Chamber of Commerce.
LUX Village shall provide full access to the production process of mithril products when requested by the Chamber of Commerce.
Only those with permission from the Chamber of Commerce may buy and sell goods in the village.

　I refused at once.
　This is like asking me to surrender my village's sovereignty.

　We can't do the Merchant's Association's bidding for the independence and survival of the Lux village.

　It's been nearly three years since I sprinkled salt on the Society of Commerce messengers and wished them goodbye.
　From there, I was repeatedly harassed in a horrific manner.

　On one occasion, a large order was suddenly cancelled, and on another occasion, the man carrying mithril was turned into a rattler, and he was on the verge of running away with the Misuris products.

　Even when there was a suspicious fire in the village, there were whispers that it was the work of the Chamber of Commerce.

　Most towns and villages would succumb to those harassments and join the association, but fortunately for me, I had a number of hands against those dastardly measures.

　Originally, Mithril products were only produced from Mithril mines, and only the blacksmiths in our village could process them.

　No matter how much we cut off trade and feed our troops, as long as there is a demand for mithril products, we have no choice but to buy them from our own village, and it was the other side that would be the first to make a noise.

　Besides, I have a thick pipe with the Center Guild President.
　The Adventurer's Guild was not pleased with the Merchant's Association's selfishness, and Mr. Chancellor dealt with the Chamber of Commerce whenever he had to.

　And the black market for the dryads, I guess.
　Don't be surprised, the black market is supposed to be far more expensive than the healthy market due to the illegal trade, but if you want to buy the same thing through the Chamber of Commerce, it's cheaper to buy it on the black market.

　If you buy one thing on the dryad black market.
　When you buy the same thing through the Chamber of Commerce, it's about 1.5.

　That was how much the Chamber of Commerce was charging a huge margin.
　Thanks to this, mithril products sold without the Chamber of Commerce are sometimes cheaper than weapons made of iron or copper, which are less powerful.

　If we let these people parasitize us, Lux Village will be on the decline in no time," he said.

I can't believe you belonged to such a trading company.
'You're disappointed?　But don't worry. I don't recall being a pawn in their minds.

　Satome smiles a preconceitful smile that she hadn't shown at all five years ago.

'Dariel village chief. It was the Chamber of Commerce that was behind Gandomirahu this time.'
Of course.
''The person who is most in the way of them taking control of Lax Village is the current President of the Center Guild. Because that person was actively putting a halt to them because he was on their shoulders as a relative of Anata, and because he feared that the Chamber of Commerce would grow larger than necessary.
The good news for them is that Mr. Chancellor has fallen...

　And it would be even better if the current chairman of the board of directors was replaced by the chair of the Center Guild board of directors, someone who was willing to put his shoulder to the Chamber of Commerce.

'And that brings you closer to Gandomirahu?
He's just a coward with big ambitions. He's the perfect puppet.

　Sending a guy who can manipulate at will to the Center Guild Board of Directors and reflecting the will of the Chamber of Commerce, he slowly swallowed up the Lux Village.

'To the Chamber of Commerce, Mithril products are such an attractive commodity. There seems to be no greater humiliation for a merchant than to be unable to bite yourself where the profits are,''
It's annoying.

　I don't deny the desire to make a profit, but if that's the case, shouldn't you use your own ingenuity to increase your profits?
　It is a parasite to suck up the profit generated by others.

In other words, it's the Chamber of Commerce that's the mastermind behind this event. That means the Chamber of Commerce is the mastermind behind this event, isn't it?

　They are much weaker than the enemies I've been facing, but at the same time, they are different and annoying.
　I didn't know that I would have to deal with an opponent like this if I lived as a village chief for a long time.

''Naturally, the Chamber of Commerce will definitely not give up when this time's plan fails. I'm sure they will use all sorts of different ways to get at Lax Village's mithril. Please be careful.
Thank you.

　I was relieved to hear that much.
　It's not that Satome has turned against us. In fact, she even went so far as to impersonate a spy to help us out.

Isn't that why you joined the Chamber of Commerce?　I'm trying to get information on someone who's going to harm Lax Village...
No, that's just a side note.

　Satome said something even more outrageous.

'And it was my idea to bring Gran-kun into this matter.