Chapter 9

And this is a side note...

After I parted ways with them, it seems that Ryan and his party had quite a rough time.

First, most of their prized collection, which wouldn't fit into the dancer Milli's regular-sized 'Storage,' was lost.

"Mine won't fit in here!" Milli, who was angry, and the second to fifth wives, who were arguing over whose collection to prioritize, started a big fight.

Seeing this, Ryan, in a panic, went to the adventurer guild in the neighboring town to look for me.

It seems that the combat-inept me thought of hiring a guard to return to my hometown, but unfortunately, I had gone to the herb farm in Yack Village, so I didn't go to the guild in the neighboring town until the next day.

As a result, we missed each other.

Also, my hometown is too far away.

The 50,000 mana in severance pay from Ryan wouldn't be enough to hire a guard to get there.

Moreover, I intended to start a business with that 50,000 mana, so the option of returning to my hometown was never on the table.

Let's get back to Ryan's story.

When Ryan and his party visited the guild, it seems that there were conveniently five adventurers with the 'Storage' skill.

Seizing the opportunity, Ryan consulted with these five.

And all five of them temporarily joined Ryan's party...

But they turned out to be members of the thief group "Black Wings."

The five thieves, one by one, put the most valuable items from the heroes' collection into their own 'Storage' and then fled to the mountains, as one would expect.

The heroes, who were left stunned after losing most of their collection in no time, pursued the thieves in a rage, entering the mountains.

They tracked the thieves through the mountains, fighting monsters all night, and by the time they realized it, they were completely exhausted.

It was then that they realized how essential support items like magic books and healing potions were to their adventures.

The three mages, who usually used magic recklessly, quickly ran out of mana.

The warrior's brute-force tactics also relied on healing items and healing magic.

The beasts of the beastmaster couldn't work without a large amount of food.

Moreover, Ryan's tactics and skills were quite inefficient.

High-quality mana and health potions, which could be sold for good prices, had also been stolen by the thieves. The remaining support items had mostly been left in Yack Village because they were "too bulky."

With their health, mana, and items depleted, Ryan and his party were on the verge of being stranded in the mountains around Yack Village.

Still, they couldn't bear to give up the collection they had gathered by circling half the world over the course of half their lives.

They pursued the thieves with all their might, even as their food supplies ran out.

Milli, who had a shallow relationship with them and couldn't keep up, fled.

The heroes, reluctantly giving up the pursuit of the thieves, said, "We can do something once we reach the capital!"

They returned to Yack Village, bought a cart, and began to transport the remaining collection.

At this time, I was accompanying another party as a porter for a multi-day quest, so I missed Ryan and his party again.

Ryan and his party set off for the capital, but the cart was piled high with the collection, leaving little room for support items and food.

The small amount of healing and support items they bought along the way ran out before they reached the next town due to the intense battles.

They were instructed to conserve resources and engage in battles that were always on the brink of disaster.

The heroes, who had defeated the Demon King, were now struggling with the regular monsters on the continent.

But they couldn't admit such a humiliating situation.

They were going to return to the capital as the "heroes who defeated the Demon King."

Before they knew it, they had run out of the common currency, mana, but they continued to move forward, unwilling to part with the remaining collection.

They planned to sell the collection to fund a grand triumphal parade.

However, in the capital, preparations were underway for an ultra-grand triumphal parade organized by Fina's mother, the Sixth Royal Consort.

In fact, the correct course of action would have been to quickly sell the collection, buy support items, and reach the capital as soon as possible.

But everything went wrong for the heroes.

Moreover, to avoid being seen in their ragged state, they tried to avoid the main roads and towns as much as possible, leading them further and further off course.

"Hey, are we lost?"

"Where's the map?"

"I don't have one."

"Albus usually memorized all the maps and routes."

"Where are we?"

"What's going to happen to us?"

Will the ragged heroes make it to the capital safely!?

What will be the fate of the heroes!?

It seems that there was a typical "serves them right" scenario.

But, that's a different story from mine.

I, on the other hand, will be making a living with a humble and shrewd business in Yack Village and the neighboring Molt Town for a while.

So, in a way,

we both had thorny paths.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

The first volume of "The Combat-Null Merchant" will be published by MF Books on December 23, 2022.

If you're interested, please check it out.

[MF Books "The Combat-Null Merchant" Introduction Page]

https://mfbooks.jp/product/zerotrader/322209000017.html

Click the link to go to MF Books' book introduction page.

You can also view the cover, main character introductions, and illustrations of Albus struggling with business in Kilket on the pre-order sales sites (^^)

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★