Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

　While collecting magic crystals using the Bakugae Bomber method, me and Silvia, who had free time to do so, hunted endlessly as if we were going to exterminate the Golems while Eco was taking them. We did this for a long time from dawn to dusk, and as a result we gained a significant amount of experience.

　It was such a horrible scene of hunting that the cold-hearted Yukari would call us "crazy" with a dumbfounded look on her face, but Yukari-san was actually gaining the same amount of experience as us. We've evenly distributed experience value within the team, so the two of us who haven't defeated any monsters will receive the same amount of experience value.

　Also, while the three of us were hiding in the prolin dungeon, I gave Yukari a job to do, since she was probably not busy. It was to investigate the Blacksmith's Guild and the Adventurer's Guild. The more information, the better, she spontaneously went to gather information. Well, it should be said that she was a former assassin, but this level of research was just a tease.

　She obtained two important pieces of information: the first was that the next 'Proline Group Attack' was coming up in three days. The other is that the Blacksmith's Guild is struggling with a chronic lack of mithril.

　From this information, he needed to reconsider his future policy.

　Should I continue to go along with my original plan of becoming an A-rank adventurer, participating in a group attack, proving the attack, getting the blacksmithing guild to trust me, and wholesaling mithril alloy? Or should I use the name value of being an A-ranked adventurer to get the blacksmith guild to trust me, and not wait for a group attack, to attack alone, and to offer an exclusive contract to the entire blacksmith guild?

　The former doesn't make many enemies, but it takes longer to make money. The latter makes a shitload of money, but the adventurer's guild will certainly turn against you. Antitrust law?　There is no such thing in the Kingdom of Castal.

Hmmm ......

　On the way back from Prolin to the town of Badgold, I crossed my arms and wondered. Should I take harmony or money? Both are a long and short way to go.

'Master. Could you give me one more day?

　Then Yukari started to say something like that.

'Do you have any ideas?'
'Yes, sir. The master doesn't seem to like to waste much time. In that case, I have a foolproof plan.
What's that?
Use the Merchant's Guild.
...... Hmm.

　I understood what Yukari was trying to say. Instead of approaching the Blacksmith's Guild directly for trade, it would be a smooth transaction through the Merchant's Guild.

''There's no way the merchants wouldn't be willing to take advantage of such a lucrative deal. We will have to charge a small fee, but we can certainly make more money than if we were to do it on a small scale. Fortunately, we, the First Test, are A-ranked adventurers today, and I think we've cleared up our credit problems as well.
'But wouldn't that mean that the Adventurer's Guild would end up being the enemy?
''Don't worry about that, we'll join the collective attack in three days, ostensibly to create trust against the Adventurer's Guild and the Blacksmith's Guild. Behind the scenes, you will make a contract with the merchant guild.

　Hmm?　I'm not sure. Why would that be a reason not to turn the Adventurer's Guild against you?

''As long as we complete the route of wholesaling mithril alloy to the Merchant Guild, we can only make money by wholesaling it, the master will not be criticized in a big way. Even if the Adventurer's Guild attacked us, the Merchant's Guild would protect us.

　I see, that's the difference between it and the Blacksmith's Guild. It's true that trying to protect the 'Golden Tree' is inevitable. In addition, if the Blacksmith's Guild depended on the large amount of mithril alloy that was distributed wholesale through the Merchant's Guild, I could have the two guilds on my side at once. So the Adventurer's Guild won't be able to criticize me even if they want to.

　However, that would be a big deal. Maybe the power structure of the Badgold will change dramatically. I don't know.

Okay. "All right, that's our plan.
'Yes, sir, I'll take care of it. I'll get a word with the Merchant's Guild to see it by the end of tomorrow.

　When I gave the go-ahead, Yukari said it proudly. It's a wonderfully spirited and confident person. I can see that she's willing to play her fullest role outside of combat.
　It's really helpful that Yukari is bright in this kind of field. She's been able to fill in the gaps that I've been unable to fill because of my lack of ability to do anything but play the game. You can clearly see that it's your friends that you need to have.

Thank you. You're one to count on, Yukari.

　When I thanked her, Yukari coldly said one word, "No," and averted her gaze with a blank expression. The tips of her ears were slightly red. It was still an obvious one.



　The next day.

　After delivering the magic crystal and becoming A-ranked adventurers really easily, we were in Prolin again.
　We came back to Proline to gain experience while Yukari was working with the Merchant's Guild.

　Because after pouring in everything I could, including the extra experience value I had, one of my 【Summoning Technique】 skills, 【Summoning Spirit】, is about to reach the 4th level.

　The 【Summoning Technique】 can be divided into two main types: one is 《Summoning Demon》 and the other is 《Summoning Spirit》. The former is mainly a skill for taming and using demons, while the latter is a skill for controlling a 'spirit' that can be possessed by only one per character.

　Once you raise the rank of "Spirit Summoning" to the 4th level, the skill called "Spirit Possession" will be released. This is an extremely powerful 'cripple-proof' buffing skill that allows you to possess a spirit summoned for a certain amount of time to possess your body and greatly increase your status.

　It would not be an exaggeration to say that this skill is a must-have for the world's best. That's why I prioritized learning this 《Spirit Possession》, and for the past 6 days, I've only been summoning spirits to the top of my game.

　At ......, it was lunchtime.

　Just in time, the "Spiritual Summoning" has reached the fourth level and I was able to master the "Spiritual Possession". However, I still haven't acquired the key spirit, so there's no possession or bullshit.
　When I call up the spirits, I use the "Premium Spirit Ticket" that came with this "Limited Time Premium Charged Avatar". You'll be promised a Genie Strength of 25,000 or more at the outset, which means you'll have nothing but money to spend! It's an item that makes you want to shout, "This is the item.

　By the way, the spirit strength is a number that expresses the strength and rarity of a spirit. The initial genie strength is rare when it exceeds 10,000, ultra-rare when it exceeds 20,000, extremely rare when it exceeds 25,000, and ultra-rare when it exceeds 30,000, which is just like the common "messy collection system". That said, spirits evolve as they are developed, so the difference in final spirit strength is tiny.

　Well. The question is, at what point do you summon a spirit with that ticket?

　I have one concern.

　In Mevion, the spirits were, of course, just characters that spoke canned sentences. But this is the real world. But this is the real world, and I wondered if the spirits might have a will.

　If that was the case, then they would have one more companion. Adding a new member to the team at the current slamming time would be a bit of a waste of time.

　So when is the right time? There is no need to rush, but too late is a problem. It might take some time to get to know each other.

Hm. Second-dono, there's a call from Yukari.

　Silvia informed me that she was worried about this and that. Eco is sleeping peacefully on her lap. It seems to feel good.

'Oh, I didn't notice. 'Thanks.'

　I open the chat section of the team-only newsletter.

　Oops. Yukari says, "We've talked about it, but there's just one problem. What is it, I have a bad feeling about it.

　We finished our lunch break and headed to the merchant's guild to meet up with Yukari.



''Proof of power?''
Yes ......

　Yukari explains the situation to me with a vaguely apologetic look on her face.

''The Merchant's Guild side gave us a really pleasant reply and an attractive contract proposal. However, this is only possible if we can prove our team's abilities.
''Wasn't that what your title was for, an A-ranked adventurer?''

I'll tell you what to do.

　As Yukari and I were talking in the waiting room, an old man with "Tsurupage" suddenly interrupted us.

I'm a master of the Merchant's Guild, my name is Shin Sei. You must be Second-sama, it's nice to meet you.

　A slovenly man who called himself Shin Sei greeted me with a polite demeanor, but he was no Katagi by all accounts. He looks like he's nearly 190 in height and has a tremendous sense of intimidation.

　I just said "nice to meet you" and shook his hand. My eyes never leave Gilmour's. The reason is that if I show any gap, I might be stabbed with a doss.

''Well. We can't thank you all enough for the truly fascinating stories we've received this time. We, the Merchant's Guild, have high hopes for you.

　Gilmouth says while making a smile with a smile.

''However, ...... with all due respect, the truth is that no matter how many A-ranked adventurers you are, you can't trust them on this one. I didn't know you could stock mithril alloys in such large quantities, hey?　Anyone who can speak the language will know it's a lie.

　--the eyes, which had been narrowed like a thread, opened up into a guillotine.

　The air changes completely.

　I could see that Sylvia had put a lot of strength into that hand at my side. Eco was trembling a little as she squeezed and pulled my clothes from behind, both of us freaked out. Indeed, I would have been terrified, too. Unless we were in Mevion's world.

'There's just one thing. I'm just curious about one thing. How did you get this dark elf's girlfriend? She's a professional 'combatant' ...... so top-notch that even my guild doesn't have one."

　Yukari only moved her gaze and looked at me, unfazed by Gilmouth's intimidation. Her calm eyes seemed to be saying, 'This is the place to be.

''I am expecting more than a little. Hence, I want you to prove your abilities. That Prolin's attack is no fart. Then we will be happy to oblige. But if it turns out to be a lie, we will have no mercy .......

　It was a chilling voice and stare that seemed to drop the room temperature by about 3 degrees.

　It would be enough of a threat to the general public, but ...... unfortunately, it doesn't work at all for me. Because "I can win". I'm not going to be the only one who can do that. The reason is simple.

'Speaking of proving your strength, what do I have to do?　You want to capture it now?　That would take three hours.

　I said as matter-of-factly as I could.
　What we're looking for here is to prove that you can go around proline many times. If that's the case, it was because I thought it was necessary to create an atmosphere of "it's natural to be able to do it".

　However, when the old man heard my words, he glared at me with even sharper eyes that seemed to have dozens of them buzzing*. Did he get offended?　Ahhhh, if that's the case, then it's a failed strategy.

　...... Hmmm, it's really slippery when you look at it this way. Maybe he's from the hair hunting party.

"--Hahahaha!　Great room. Great!　You're right, Yukari.

　Then the old man from Gilmouth laughed loudly and said.

'Nah, you've been trying!

　Sylvia turns a critical eye on Yukari. Yukari bowed her head in a bow to me, not to Silvia.

''I'm sorry master. But I thought it was necessary.''
'Yes, sir. I gave the instructions. We needed to determine if you were truly capable of providing a steady supply of mithril alloy.

　I see. So does that mean I'm in line for the job?

Ugh. ......

　Oops, before that, Eco is so freaked out she's going to cry.
　...... I'm so pissed off that I'm going to have to apologize to this old man for being so pissed off.

I'm not going to be able to tell if it's a good idea or not.　Apologize to Eco, Takokola!　Nanikola ecocola!

　I accuse him.

'Ah!　Excuse me!　Sorry!

　...... This guy is very low profile despite his appearance. He is crouched down and apologizing for his head to be lower than Eco.

　And so the story with the merchants' guild was settled.
　-- seemed to be, but in fact, the problem was still hidden.



'But, you see, we actually need proof of power: ......

　Tsurulina Singh led us to the reception room at the back of the Merchant's Guild.
　And he said this with his eyebrows furrowed into a C shape.

'To trust me?'
No, you're not. If I'm not mistaken, the Second Master is the real thing. But...
Oh, you mean that no one but Mr. Singh can trust me.
You will.
What do you mean by that?
At the very least, some of our employees and potential clients will be able to see it.
How many?
Probably around 200 people.
...... wow.

　That guy is in trouble.
　How do I prove myself to that many people?

''Err, Sylvia with her magic bow and Eco with her shield, assuming they do some kind of performance: ......''

　The four of us plus one had to come up with some wisdom.
　Therefore, we started discussing the ah-ha moment.
　Mr. Singh was also very accommodating in various ways. This guy is quite a nice guy.

　And 15 minutes passed in an instant. There was no sign of a good idea at all.

By the way, what is your specialty, Second-sama?
'Archery, swordsmanship, sorcery and summoning. You can also use magic archery and magic swordsmanship.
''I only have the fire attribute, but Second Lord's magic is all the attributes. And all of them are top-notch!
............ Yeah, that's awesome.

　Singh's eyes and head rolled up in surprise. Sylvia was smug for some reason, even though it wasn't her.

''Master, have you already raised your summoning technique?''
''Hmm, yeah. Today, my spirit summoning has reached the fourth level.

　As I answered Yukari's question, I heard a coton. It was the sound of a pen slipping out of Shin's hand.

"Yo, four steps?

　Mr. Singh is surprised to hear him shout out loud. It's as if the whole room chattered and vibrated at the sheer volume of voices. It is an amazing impact. The expression looks more like a threat than a surprise.

''Hee-hee.''
　Eco hid behind me.

'Gorah!　Tacocola!
Wow! Excuse me!

　I shouted at him with all my momentum, saying I didn't want to be quiet for scaring Eco, but Shin apologized with his usual ultra-low posture. That desperation is not an act by any stretch of the imagination. He's really small-minded, this guy ...... must be struggling with his appearance.

'Shh, but I think I may have found a way to make a living!

　Mr. Singh said as he stood up after getting Eco's permission.

'Avenue of activity?'
'Yes!　Second-sama! It's a spirit summoning, spirit summoning!

　I see!　Does this mean that the 《Summoning Spirit》 would be shown in front of many people?

　Indeed, the higher the spirit strength and the higher the rank of the 《Summoning Spirit》, the more flashy and ostentatious the summoning performance becomes.
　In particular, the "first summoning" is extremely impressive. Each spirit has its own special summoning performance. It's a perfect way to show off your abilities.

''With a spirit summoning as high as the fourth level, perhaps everyone who sees it will be convinced of Second-sama's ability.

　Is it the perception that 4-dan is a high rank in this world?

　If so, ...... Yeah, it might be a surprisingly good idea. Thanks to the premium spirit ticket, you can summon spirits with high initial spirit strength, so the effects will surely be flashy.

''I understand. Let's talk about it in that direction.

　I nodded at Shin's suggestion and we discussed the plan.

　I never dreamed it would come to that: ......