3-4 Part 1
The Strange Book Says to Become a
Noble Thief
— The Correct Way to Use a Shovel —
Translator : PolterGlast
Carral Hez
is competent. And she is independently trading on the route that political
merchant Hyamar is trying to monopolize. While the corrupt merchant
unjustly inflates prices, she moves goods at a fair price.
Well, simply put, there were risks, but because of that,
goods sold well. Since she deals in imported goods, her trading partners are
mainly the wealthy class. Sales of tea were particularly good.
“Eh, Shinza?! Wait, why are you glowing?!”
“Ah, actually, I felt like glowing and attracting
customers.”
“You’re in a strangely good mood! I’ve never seen a person
suddenly glow before!”
“Me neither.”
Eventually, that day finally came. It seems I finally
achieved that challenge of rebuilding the Hez Trading Company, which I
thought might be impossible. So I immediately went out to the storefront and
started attracting customers without opening the Tome of the Evil Dragon.
“Hey look, a person is glowing!”
“Hah?! Don’t talk in your sleep in broad daylig—No way, he is
glowing...”
Excellent. Until the glow
faded, I, Mr. Firefly, emphasized just how great of a shop Hez Trading
Company is.
— Business —
- 【Rebuild the Management of Hez
Trading Company】 (Completed)
- Completion
Reward: DEX +50 (Received)
- “That
girl seems to have taken a liking to you.”
— Business —
- 【Grow the Hez Trading Company】
- Completion
Reward: DEX +100
- “However,
the problem starts now. The enemy is huge.”
— Table of Contents —
- 【Name】 Ashley
- 【Lv】 12
- 【Exp】 1300 → 1320
- 【STR】 26
- 【VIT】 100
- 【DEX】 40 → 90
- 【AGI】 27
- 【Skill】 Shovel LV 3
- “You
have become a master. You might be able to win, against that man.”
When work settled down, I was alone in the shop's warehouse,
opening the Tome of the Evil Dragon. With this, my dexterity has more
than doubled. However, unlike the increase in physical strength, it’s harder to
actually feel.
So as a test, I tried spinning a well-bound book that
happened to be in the warehouse on my index finger. This is interesting; I feel
like I’ve become a magician. No matter how much I increased the rotation speed,
the book never lost its balance. Maybe I should try plate spinning for the next
customer attraction.
“Wow, amazing! Shinza, you’re not just strong, you
can do tricks like that too... more and more mysterious~”
“Sorry, this takes a toll on the book.”
I launched the spinning book into the air and caught it in
my palm. The hard work paid off. With this skill, as Zirant says, I
might be able to beat Brother Georg.
“It’s okay, you can have it.”
“I can’t do that; I need this shop to earn more money.”
“Mmh... about that... I’ve been meaning to tell you for a
while, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it... Can I say it now?”
“What is it?”
Inside the dimly lit warehouse, Carral leaned in
close to me. Her complexion wasn’t dark. Contrary to her hesitant tone, she was
proactive and had her usual energy.
“Actually, I’m thinking of closing this shop.”
“What did you say? Are you going to submit to political
merchant Hyamar?”
“No way! He’s my brother’s enemy; I swear I will make him
pay for it someday! But you see, I can't keep being a burden to you, Shinza. So I thought maybe I should change my
approach.”
“It is no burden to me. However, for future reference, I
will ask: what do you intend to do?”
To be honest, I thought so too. Someday Carral will
be done in by villains. Even if I stick to her 24/7, this Imperial Capital
is full of trash who will take on murder jobs for pocket change.
It was impossible to keep this up. I had been averting my
eyes from such an obvious reality. Though part of it was that I had my own objectives
and desired the appearance of villains.
“Well you see, I earned quite a bit, so I’m thinking of
liquidating this shop and buying a small ship.”
“A ship, huh. I get it; you’re moving your base to a land
beyond the reach of Hyamar and the Emperor’s younger brother?”
“Right, and then I’ll aim to make a fortune in one stroke!
If it’s what the rich people of the Imperial Capital want, I know best!”
“By yourself...? That’s too dangerous... No, staying here is
just as dangerous.”
In that case, being on a ship would be far more peaceful. If
she continues the shop here, Hyamar and my uncle will eventually try to
crush her by any means necessary.
“No, with a former employee. He was my brother’s
subordinate, so don't worry. He’s an acquaintance from way back, like family!”
“I see...”
Why is it? My mood suddenly clouded, and I wanted to stop Carral.
If that is her new dream, I should see her off.
I am a child of the Emperor; surely leaving the
country wouldn't be permitted. It means a sudden farewell has come...
“However, you should avoid taking a small ship out onto the
open ocean. You’ll sink.”
“I’ve thought about that properly. First I’ll go to the Maritime Province, then run the ship along
the coast and go back and forth to Naglfar Port. And when I make money,
I’ll buy more ships, someday build a huge merchant fleet, and I’ll come back to
this Imperial Capital!”
The Maritime Province is outside the Empire’s territory; for
Carral, it’s much safer than the Imperial Capital. Besides, Hyamar
and Uncle just want to monopolize the trade route; they probably won’t complain
if she does business outside their turf. But...
“Hey... is it a bad idea? Does this... feel like a betrayal
to you, Shinza?”
“No, there are risks, but it’s a good plan.”
“That’s good! In that case...”
“But I refuse to just take a beating and leave it at that.
It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”
“Eh...?”
Is this
newfound power making me overconfident? I wasn't happy about parting ways with Carral, but I also couldn't accept the idea of just running
away.
Carral is not at
fault. The ones who should be exiled are the Emperor’s younger brother and those corrupt merchants. As a scrap
of the Imperial Family, I cannot overlook ending it like this. So I spin my
brain at full speed. It seems the Tome of the Evil Dragon doesn’t make
me smarter.
“We're going to retaliate against them before escaping.”
“Haaah?! I know I'm not one to talk, but aren't we picking a
fight with the wrong people here?!”
Anyway, I recalled what I can do now and thought about what
I should do. My specialty, my merit, is the Shovel. That thing has
become LV3 or whatever, easily piercing even stone pavement and creating a
large hole in the earth in the blink of an eye.
Besides, just causing damage to those villains isn't enough.
I have to make them pay back the debt they've run up against their victim, Carral Hez. In that case, I shouldn't destroy; I should steal. That's
it. I just have to steal from the wicked.
“If you’re selling across the sea, there are better goods
available.”
“Whoa, the topic jumped suddenly...?”
“No, it’s related.
Carral, if you’d like, from now on, with me...”
“Eh, with Shinza...? Gulp...”
“Shall we break into the corrupt merchant’s warehouse?”
“He... eh, th-thief?!”
“Wrong. From today, we are Chivalrous Thieves.”
Political merchant Hyamar has tormented Carral
and her late brother until today. Then, even if a little bit of merchandise
disappears from his warehouse, a generous God will surely forgive us.
Zirant said it,
the power of the Shovel that pierces all. Using that, I will now break
into his warehouse. And loading a mountain of precious trade goods onto the
ship, Carral will set off on her journey to the Maritime Province.
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