Chapter 25: Important Materials

Posted bytheredsargeantAugust 1, 2020Posted inFun Territory Defense

The skin of an Armored Dragon is extremely resilient.

　Even for the famous iron swords Van makes, it would not be easy to penetrate the skin of an Armored Dragon.

　However, even if it is just the basic wooden swords, they can still cut through the skin.
If one cuts starting from the relatively soft belly and the base of the legs, even a lanky raider could efficiently harvest materials from the Armored Dragons.

　With the sights of ballistas pointed at them, the bandits desperately worked without any signs of complacency.

　Even with thirty people, they could only harvest 4 to 5 bodies in a day.

“The raiders work too slowly, we have to help harvest the materials before they spoil.”

　Orto muttered as he looked over the top of the bulwark and scratched his head annoyedly.

　As we had no choice, starting from the second day of harvesting, Orto,  Dee, Kamsin, and the villagers who had free time took turns dismantling it.

　With the increase in numbers and the change in the harvesting tools from wood to iron, we managed to finish in three days time.

　That night, our village held a festival for the first time in a long time.

　It was a big event.

　After all, dozens of tons of armored lizard meat would be rotting in the next few days.
We can’t smoke them, and there’s a limit to how much dried meat we can make.

　Then, I thought, why not just have everyone eat to their heart’s content?

　We would make bonfires at equal intervals on the main street in front of the lord’s mansion, and skewer the meat onto long skewers, and roast it over the fire.

　In addition to the villagers and retainers, I even served some meat to the raiders.

　The excitement of the nightly bonfire lingered in the air as everyone began to laugh, and Rhonda urged me to climb up a one-meter high platform and give a speech.

“I’d like to thank you all for your support.
Thanks to you, the village is becoming stronger and greater than what many could have previously imagined.
Although I’m embarrassed to only be able to provide a modest amount, I would like to invite you all to partake in the dozens of tons of meat that I have prepared.
For once, we don’t mind spending a little bit of money, so we want you to eat delicious meat with plenty of salt and other seasonings.
Please note that we have a limited number of drinks available.
Please keep to the limit of two drinks per person and enjoy yourselves to the fullest.
And now, ladies and gentlemen.
A toast to our glorious victory!”

　I held up a cup, and everyone raised theirs in return, deafening cheers resounding.

“Master Van!”

“We did it!”

“Hey, careful with that meat!”

“I haven’t had a drink in ages!”

　As soon as the toast was over, the place became like a lively bar.
The only lights were bonfires and dotted torches, but the villagers are happy with their eyes sparkling for the first time in a long time.

”I can’t believe we’re eating so much meat.”

“It’s so expensive, I always end up selling any meat I end up getting.”

“Even we eat until our stomachs pop, we’ll still have to discard some meat.
Ah, what a waste.”

　The adventurers also started to roast the meat with a complicated look on their faces.

　”They said that the meat inside was full of fat and delicious.
Does it have anything to do with the outer shell of the Armored Dragon?”

”Speaking of which, I got an awful lot of Armored Dragon materials, how much would it be if I sold it?”

　When I asked him this while I was eating, Orto held up one finger with a dry laugh.

”The Adventurer’s Guild will give you ten gold coins for every ordinary Armored Dragon.
Merchants buy those materials from the adventurers guild, so in the end, they are marked up and sold at around twenty gold coins.”

“Really? I’ve hunted about forty of them.”

　When he said that, Orto snickered helplessly.

”Normally, to kill Armored Dragons, a large number of knights must be mobilized.
Due to costs incurred to treat injuries, repair weapons and armor, and pay for the consolation money for the dead, they won’t make much profit even if they succeed with a hunt.
This village…no, Van-sama is crazy.”

“No one was hurt.
Oh, a bandit got his finger hurt while stripping off some Armored Dragon skin.”

　I made a light comment and got a jittery look from Orto.

”Most of the meat will go bad, but you can still get six gold per head if you present them to the adventurer’s guild.
If you sell it to a merchant, it will get you eight gold coins, even including shipping costs.”

　”That means I can get over 300 gold coins.
That’s amazing.
It’s probably over 300 million yen?” (T.N.
Note: 2,834,118.30 USD with current exchange rates)

　I let Orto go off and enjoy the party, then I went back to the lord’s mansion and ate Till’s homemade meal.

　Incidentally, that was the first time I had eaten Armored Dragon meat, but because Till was anxious about it, she had it grilled until the surface was crispy.
She was an excellent cook so, despite it being the steak being well-done, the inside was juicy and tender, and the overflowing juice was rich and excellent.

　The taste of the meat was similar to that of sagari, but it would vary depending on the part of the meat.
(T.N.
Note: Apparently a sagari is a mythological Japanese monster.)

　I easily ate all 500 grams of it.
The villagers must also be eating well.

　As I was grinning to myself, Espada came over to me.

　With Kamsin grilling meat for himself and me in the background, Espada stood next to me and opened his mouth.

”Congratulations on successfully defeating a hexenbiest and defending your village.”

“Thank you.
Your contributions in building the protective walls were also great.
Let’s eat together.”

　After aking Till, she began to grill the meat along with Kamsin.

　Looking at it with a smile, Espada opened his mouth.

”…Van-sama.
We achieved an impossible victory, but there’s a rule that if a village earns more than one hundred gold coins, they must pay 50% of it to the Marquis’ house.”

“Pffft!”

　I spat out a gush of water.

　Come to think of it, there was such a thing!

“I can’t keep it a secret, can I?”

”Impossible.
It would have been manageable if it was just one Armored Dragon, but no matter how you look at it, it would be incredibly hard to cover up the amount we have.
And depending on who you sell it to, you could draw the attention of even the neighboring countries.
If Armored Dragons, which usually only appeared in the market around once every month, suddenly appeared in the forties, rumors would certainly spread about a herd being hunted somewhere.
A rumor, which would undoubtedly be traced back to you.”

　He said that in a low voice and I shrugged my shoulders in disappointment.
I thought I would get 300 million, but it turned out I would only get 150.

　Well, it was easy money.
The question is, will outsiders be able to infer information about the village from the sale of such a suspiciously large quantity of high-threat hexenbiests?

”Will they also find out about the situation in this village?”

　I uttered that much simply, but Espada raised his eyebrows and removed his gaze.

“It’s hard to keep it a secret, but we could certainly try.”

　Espada replied.

　I was greatly surprised.
After all, he had been working for the Marquis for decades.
I’ve never known anyone who has served the family as devotedly as Espada.

　To think that such a loyal servant would co-operate with me to undermine the interests of the my father.

　This is not the same as the story of the dungeon.

　In the case of the dungeon, we haven’t discovered it, so he could wave it off under the pretense of not wanting to tell a possible lie to the house.

　But in this case, he acts to hide the fact that it’s happening so that it’s not exposed.

　To put it bluntly, it is a betrayal of my father.

　At the same time, it meant that he chose me over my father.

　No, this is not the time to be happy.
I have to listen to Espada’s thoughts.

“…What can we do about it?” (T.N.
Note: Thank you free4937 for catching a grammatical error here.
If anyone finds anything else, please don’t hesitate to comment about it below.)

　When I asked, Espada opened his mouth quietly, a vertical line forming between his eyebrows.

”You must send word to Murcia-sama.”

“To my brother?”

　When I tilt my head, Espada looks at me and pulls his chin back.
He stayed silent.
Looks like he wishes to test me.

　I have no choice but to cross my arms and think.

“The situation in the village… my brother…”

　After a couple of seconds, I nodded in understanding.

“I see.
So I should have Murcia take the credit for the Armored Dragon slaying.
Since my brother is currently desperate for merit to legitimize his claim as heir, I am sure he will be unable to reject this proposal.
It will be a secret and mutually beneficial arrangement.”

　I’m out of the running, but I’m sure my three older brothers are fighting hard to be the next family head.
They are certain to be desperate for merit.

　Therefore, this is a good opportunity to give Murcia an offer which he can’t refuse.
Besides, I’d rather him be heir than my other brothers.

”That’s a great idea, Espada.”

　When I told him this, Espada smiled softly and bowed his head.