“We’ve been earning money in a pretty mundane way lately.”
I muttered while calculating our sales. More than a month had already passed since we opened Neonbil General Store. Business was going smoothly, but it had begun to feel routine. The day’s rush had passed, so we had a little breathing room.
“We’re making plenty of sales. We’re turning a profit, aren’t we?” Neon said with an exasperated look.
“We are, but I’d like to stock something that becomes worth ten times as much. You know, buy up an item that’s about to skyrocket in price and join the ranks of the great merchants.”
I wasn’t being entirely serious. It was just idle chatter.
“Food or weapons before a war? Something like an elixir? That’s hard to pull off without a special information network. But we have Lady Metis, so why not ask her?”
She had a point. With that thought, I asked right away.
‘Is there any item in Delcour that will rise to more than ten times its current price within a week?’
‘No.’
Well, of course not.
‘Is there any item in Delcour that will rise to more than ten times its current price within a year?’
‘Yes.’
Seriously?! W-we have to buy it…! No, I need a more specific time frame or we can’t act on that.
‘Is there any item in Delcour that will rise to more than ten times its current price within a month?’
‘Yes.’
Oh… Within a month? Doesn’t that mean a big wave is coming? We’ve gotta ride this big wave!
“N-Neon… lend me your ear.”
I beckoned her over.
“What is it all of a sudden…?”
She said that, but came over anyway. What a sweet girl.
“Apparently, there’s something in Delcour that’ll rise to more than ten times its price within a month.”
“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!”
Neon screamed at my words. The stall owners on either side of us turned to look.
“Idiot, you’re too loud!”
“S-sorry… Is it true?”
Neon began speaking in a whisper too.
“Yeah. Seriously. I haven’t identified the item yet, though. Don’t you think we should move quickly?”
“Absolutely. If its price will rise within a month, merchants with sharp ears have probably already started moving. Sibyl, you don’t need to help at the stall today. Put everything you’ve got into identifying that item!”
Neon’s eyes were shining. Well, naturally. This would probably become the biggest deal the two of us had ever made.
“All right.”
I went around back and immediately began narrowing it down.
‘Is it food?’
‘No.’
‘Is it a weapon?’
‘No.’
Apparently, it wasn’t one of the things Neon had mentioned as likely to rise. Though I suppose that was good, since those prices going up would mean war was approaching.
‘Is it a magic item?’
‘No.’
‘Is it material from a monster?’
‘Yes.’
Monster material, huh…? How should I narrow it down further from here…?
‘Is that monster rank D or higher?’
‘Yes.’
‘Is that monster rank B or higher?’
‘No.’
‘Is that monster rank C or higher?’
‘No.’
That meant it was material from a rank-D monster. I’d narrowed it down this far, but… I honestly knew next to nothing about monster materials. At this point, I would have to ask about individual monster names. I should consult Neon first.
I called out to Neon, who was watching the stall.
“I’ve narrowed it down to material from a rank-D monster, but I don’t know much about monsters. Can you think of anything likely? Apparently, it’s something available in Delcour.”
“There aren’t that many rank-D monsters whose materials circulate in Delcour, so we should be able to identify it. A red crocodile or a mellow tiger, perhaps?”
‘Is it material from a red crocodile?’
‘No.’
‘Is it material from a mellow tiger?’
‘No.’
“Apparently not.”
“Then maybe a forest monkey.”
‘Is it material from a forest monkey?’
‘No.’
“Not that either.”
Neon fell into thought at my answer.
“Um, what else was there? There shouldn’t be many. If the material doesn’t look particularly powerful… a clarion bird.”
‘Is it material from a clarion bird?’
‘Yes.’
“It’s the clarion bird!”
Hearing that, Neon grinned.
“That makes sense. Clarion birds have beautiful, rainbow-colored feathers. They’re often used as ornaments by nobles. You can’t get many from a single bird, and the birds themselves are scarce. It’s probably the feathers that’ll rise.”
‘Is it clarion-bird feathers that will soar in price?’
‘Yes.’
Neon’s prediction was exactly right.
“Just as you thought, Neon.”
“I knew it. We’re betting big on this! We have about 2,200,000 G in cash. We’ll put everything except the bare minimum into clarion-bird feathers.”
There was no reason not to buy up something we knew would rise in price. When I thought about it that way, Divine Answer—Metis, which could reveal beforehand what would go up if I worked at the questions, truly was a broken skill.
“Got it!”
“First we’ll buy everything we can in Delcour, then go to the neighboring town to buy more. Clarion birds live in only a few places, so almost all their feathers are brought either to Delcour or that neighboring town. Let’s get moving!”
Neon closed the stall, and we immediately went searching for feathers. We visited a materials shop that sold unprocessed ones.
“Hello!”
“Welcome. More young customers, huh?” the shopkeeper said, looking at us.
“We’re here to buy stock. I want clarion-bird feathers.”
“Making something for nobles? They’re 5,000 G apiece.”
Neon frowned slightly at that.
“If we buy every one you have, can’t you lower the price a little?”
“I don’t have that many to begin with, so I can’t lower it by much.”
In the end, we purchased all fifty feathers in the shop and left.
“It’s only a little, but the price has already risen. Just barely, though. Not enough to suggest anyone’s buying them up yet. We’ll buy every feather in Delcour today, then head straight for Hennig!”
“Got it!”
After that, we visited two more shops and bought another fifty feathers, bringing our total to one hundred. We had already spent more than 500,000 G. From there, we headed straight for the neighboring dungeon city of Hennig.