Episode 13:  The smell of the reckless match in the other world

“I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Jephthah Solo, a solo imperial trader. Number one merchant in the free city of Marishera. I have come to Erishe today to deliver the slaves. I was just about to bring over the slaves here.”  [Jephthah]

Imperial trader……eh does that mean, a merchant employed by the country? This is bad, he is a super big-shot.

He's also a sales person for the slave trading house!? For some reason I felt like punching myself…….te there should be a limit to that! If I am dealing with the person with elves then the end result is all right!

“Yes. Well then, will you be bringing the free elf slaves here today?”  [Ayase]

“No……I did say so earlier but the elves were already under reservations. There are already 8 customers waiting even at my place….. Judging from the state of the country now, if you were to make a regular reservation, you might to need to wait for at least 5 years.”  [Jephthah]

I am not able to determine if 8 people are considered a high number or a low number. The price is amazingly high but the numbers should be gradually increasing soon I guess. I wonder how much is one actually.

However, 5 years of waiting is seriously amazing. I wonder how popular are the elves here. I am the person who loves elves the most in this world!

I think I might need to withdraw that statement now seeing how popular they are.

“But, a match in that kind of situation? If I win, you will be handing the elf to me? It depends on the content of the match, ah, but I will not be able to provide the money immediately.”  [Ayase]

“No, if you win, money is not needed. In return, if you lose then there will be a suitable penalty waiting for you. –So how about it?”  [Jephthah]

How about it? I don't even know the content of the match so I don't know what I should be doing…..

Generally most of the “tempting deal” always leads to horrible ending. I'm a j.a.panese who grew up in a world full of lessons so don't look down on me! Rather, it is usually the one from the black company's side who will be offering the “tempting deal”!

But I will listen to the story for the time being! I am not sure what kind of match it will be but there might be a loophole somewhere.

“Then please explain to me the contents of the match. If there is no chance of victory at all, then I wouldn't be able to go along even if I will be able to achieve my dream.”  [Ayase]

“The content of the game is, to put it simply, a gift showdown. The person whom you will be impressing will be the mayor of Erishe. If the other party is satisfied with your gift then you win. If not then I win. It's simple isn't it?”  [Jephthah]

It's simple isn't it? Not! Isn't that bribery?

Moreover if I will be the only one who will be doing the gifting then if there should be anyone investigating this, I will be the only one getting arrested. He has suggested a severe proposal indifferently.

“I see……So will it be alright if I just gift the mayor as Jirou Ayase, an individual right?”  [Ayase]

“Yes please do so. I will pa.s.s the message to the mayor so please be rest a.s.sured.”  [Jephthah]

“….In other words, Jephthah-san will be introducing me to the mayor then I will be gifting him and if the mayor is happy with it, it will be my win. It's that kind of match, am I right?”  [Ayase]

“Yes it is.”  [Jephthah]

I'm not sure what kind of relations.h.i.+p does Solo household have with Erishe's mayor but if my gifting strategy goes well, I will be getting an elf. It made me think that accepting this might even be good and tempting enough. For now, I will be gifting using my own name but if it goes well, Jephthah-s.h.i.+ will be the one getting all the profit.

That's how the story goes. Underhanded. Imperial trading is seriously underhanded.

However, if I did it poorly I might end up giving him something strange instead. That seems like a higher possibility to me….…Or it could be possible that the mayor is a virtuous person so he doesn't accept bribes?

Otherwise, he wouldn't approach a stranger like me with this kind of conversation.

He's trying to make use of an ignorant, useless person who wants an elf. It's that kind of conversation isn't it?……

In the first place, I'm not sure how heavy the crime of bribery is in this country. If it's a death penalty then it's a big gamble regardless of how you think about it.

So, in order to win this match, I will need to investigate the mayor first. It is necessary to think of a good gift (bribe) that will also serve as a convenience for business in future.

And if it fails, it will just appear like I was doing this alone without permission and Jephthah-s.h.i.+ will be forsaking me.

This case is similar to the situation of cutting off the lizard's tail.

U~mu……So how about this.

“…..Please let me know what will the penalty be if I lost.”  [Ayase]

“If you lose….let's see. Give me 10 of the spirit stones then. If you don't have them in hand now, I don't mind it even if you were to give me all the items you received from the guidance in future from now on.”  [Jephthah]

…..10 spirit stones is it.

I have not examined the value of the spirit stones yet. I received two from yesterday and today so it doesn't sound so far off from the 10 that Jephthah needs.

That means, is something like this, my only penalty? If I failed, I might end up getting accused of bribery. Isn't it something like that?……

Or in the first place, this match was never meant to be won and is just a trial? So if Jephthah-s.h.i.+ wants the 10 spirit stones, it could be possible that the value of those might actually worth the same as real money. In the case of spirit stones, they might be useful as the final form of credit then. These must be excellent. Or it could also be possible that he was just leading me by the nose, trying to use me……

……It will be endless if I keep thinking about it.

“How about it? Will you be accepting the match?”  [Jephthah]

“Before that I would like to confirm something first. First, I thought you didn't have any elves in hand that aren't under reservations?”  [Ayase]

“No, just the other day by some strange coincidence I managed to obtain the elf. I wasn't able to come to a compromise with the other party who made the reservations so the elf is still in my hand. It's still a young beautiful elf girl so you don't need to worry about that part.”  [Jephthah]

Fumu~ That means there is still one.

I should ask him in detail on what I should do. But there is also a likelihood that this is a lie since you can't fully trust what you can't see……

But a guy who decides to give it a try and risking his life in a gamble just after hearing, “Young, beautiful elf girl” is seriously foolissh~

You'll just end up meeting the other party's expectation!

So I ended up partic.i.p.ating in the match by betting my life on it.

I have brought along various items to balance it out so I might be able to do well in this.

But if this doesn't go well by chance, I can somehow escape to the residence and stay away from the other world until this cools down. If I'm left with no choice then I might just sell off the mirror itself……..

Anyhow to obtain the elf shoujo, there is no choice but to just do it.

I will be saving the elf shoujo from the evil slave merchant. Thinking about it somehow makes my chest feels heated up. With this she has no choice but be charmed.

The gift will be presented…..on Erishe's 50th anniversary party.

In all honesty, the hurdle is really high. Compared to the time when I was doing the hard selling in the black company's party previously, there are no blind spots. Working experience is great isn't it.

Erishe's 50th anniversary party will be held in the afternoon on the second day of “Erishe's 50th anniversary”. On that day, Jephthah-s.h.i.+ will introduce me to the mayor and I will be presenting the gift to him at that time. It will be that kind of setup.

There will still be 15 more days before the festival so I will need to make the preparations in between. To be honest, there are not much time anymore but I'll do my best, Elf-chan!

It was worrisome since the contents of the match were only made through a verbal promise but Jephthah-s.h.i.+ will be formally making the spirit contract for the elf and me on that day. “It'll be alright even if you escape, you know?” Although Jephthah-s.h.i.+ said that to me as a challenge, if I do not have enough time to prepare then I will just think of another solution.

In the end, I casually asked Jephthah-s.h.i.+, “Why am I gifting the mayor?”

When he heard that he just replied, “It's to celebrate the 50th anniversary.”

Then why are you not presenting a gift then? Are you stupid? Do you want to die?

After making a promise to meet up in front of the central square after 15 days, I parted from Jephthah-s.h.i.+.

Now, in order to win this match, just half the effort will not be enough. I will need to double up my effort from now on. First, I will need to gather more information about the mayor. Also if bribery is considered as a crime and about the 50th anniversary festival.

Speaking about trivial things, I still need to investigate quite a lot of things so it would be quite impossible for me alone. If only I could get someone to cooperate with me too…..

After further thoughts, in the end, the only ones who came to my mind who will be able to help me are only Sh.e.l.lo-san and Rebeccsan. I will need to apologize for running off that day too and ask them for help.

From now on I will be staying at the residence with the mirror so we are practically neighbours.