On the way back from the guild—
We stopped by a materials butcher.
Reason being: the arc dragon is so huge that without an Item Box, even transporting it is a serious operation.
Normally, once you’re paid, the guild handles everything to do with the materials.
Partly to spare the adventurers the burden, partly because of the risk of someone absconding with the goods.
But between my goodwill and a one-line guarantee from Marcus… I ended up contracted to haul the materials to the butcher myself.
Naturally, I’m being paid a fee for it too. Pocket change, but still.
The butcher’s shop turned out to be a pretty huge building, with the entrance opening directly into a combined reception-and-workshop floor.
Tools ranged from tweezer-like instruments up to a saw over five meters long, clearly never designed for one-person operation.
—Ohh… living a normal life in Japan, you’d never see tools like these. Not once.
While I was rubbernecking at everything like a tourist, a white-bearded, powerfully-muscled older man emerged from the back of the workshop.
“Heya, kid! Butcher shops that fascinating to ya?”
“Yes — my first time in one… it’s fascinating.”
I’ve always been the type to wander the hardware store staring at carpentry tools for no reason.
Looking at equipment while imagining what jobs it’s for is genuinely fun.
“Ahh, I get the picture. Rookie pinched pennies on the haulin’ fee, begged the guild, an’ brought the materials in himself… that about right?”
That is not right at all… but correcting him here would only tangle the story further.
“Something like that. The payment’s already settled with the guild, so the rest of the paperwork can go through you and them directly.”
“Wait right there.”
”…Eh?”
The butcher disappeared into the back and returned with tea and sweets for three.
“Hungry, ain’tcha? I had it rough in my rookie days too. It ain’t much, but humor a meddlesome old man’s hobby, eh?”
Ah. He’s one of the good ones.
He doesn’t look wealthy, exactly, but… yeah. A genuinely good person.
“Then we’ll gratefully accept.”
“Sweets~♪”
“My — this tea has quite a respectable aroma.”
The three of us finished our tea and snacks, and then I cleared my throat and got down to it.
“Alright, I’ll bring out the materials.”
When I called up the Item Box, the butcher sucked in a breath. “Ohh…”
“A rare-skill holder, eh. Guess my charity was wasted worry. Rookie or not, with that skill you’d be in high demand — can’t imagine money’s tight.”
“Well… money is not currently tight, no.”
“So? What’re we workin’ with?”
“A death hawk.”
I produced the death hawk and set it on the workbench.
“YOU lot hunted this?”
“Yes, that’s about the shape of it.”
The butcher’s eyes went wide.
“Then my charity really WAS wasted worry, huh.”
Eyes still spinning, the butcher began inspecting the death hawk.
“Yep — genuine death hawk. Impressive work for youngsters, I’ll say that. A prize like this comes through maybe once in two weeks. Premium materials — even these old shoulders tense up a little.”
“There are two more.”
I set two additional death hawks on the workbench.
”…Yer kiddin’ me. What kinda monsters ARE you people… Alright, now I’ve gotta roll up my sleeves for real—”
“And lastly, the arc dragon.”
The moment the arc dragon’s head emerged from the Item Box—
—the butcher froze solid, mouth flapping open and shut.