Chapter 19

I Also Join the Ranks of the Wealthy.

Two days after returning home, I was summoned to the Duke"s mansion.

There was probably a decision on my share.

A cheery feeling infested the residence, and with exception to myself, everyone that was gathered had been hired. Of course, Zack was there too.

From beginning to end that guy has had nothing but a s.h.i.t-eating grin on his face, and it"s just a little creepy.

I really don"t want to get close to him~.

"Goshuujin-sama, you have been doing nothing today but grinning, y"know?"

"Look at his a.s.s, and fix your own."   Was it not so different from being "Badgers of the same hole?" *

(TL Note: Idioms relating to being like another and not realizing it)

That explains why we were able to get along.

Eh, It"s fine however, since after this I"ll be able to live a bit more luxuriously.

Butlers and Maids were lined up along the side wall obediently, and on the table many delightfully looking dishes had been prepared.  The Duke with a kind smile tells everyone to be seated.

"Let"s not worry about being too wrapped up in formalities while we eat. Instead let me just start off by congratulating everyone on the dragon subjugation… Cheers!"

As Duke lead everyone with a toast, the sounds of gla.s.ses ringing together echo all around the room.  Afterwards, everyone begins to eat from their plates.

For a little while the Duke just watches the scene while displaying a satisfied visage, before his eyes drift over to see the Army Corps Chief Galbus

With a single nod towards him, Galbus stands up, and begins reading audibly from a piece of paper that had already been prepared.  Those who have their names read aloud head over to Galbus and gratefully receive their reward.

It"s basically the standard reward plus a bonus, however it looks like the bonus is quite a lively sum given how everyone is has such a pleased look upon their faces.

Zack it seems is grinning with such joviality that his mouth is stretched wide from ear to ear.

It seems being the one to deliver the finishing blow to the blue dragon had given him a high a.s.sessment, and accordingly a large sum of money.  Well, it was all thanks to my preparations.

After waiting for a while, it was eventually our turn.

"Now then Elaine*, come forward."

(TL note: Character"s name in raw is actually Elaine イレーヌ, not Irene アイリーン.  Despite the romaji being closer on the latter)

Elaine quietly wiped her mouth with a cloth napkin and rose, and as she returned to her seat on the way back from Balgus, her walk seemed a bit more elegant.

…For Elaine, it might suit her appearance more to wear some fancier clothes, shall I buy some for her?

Whether or not the dragon’s raw materials would be received as-is, or instead for the person to receive the buying price for the materials in cash, each individual had the freedom to choose.  So far, the rate of people choosing is about fifty-fifty.  What’s quite astonishing is how few of these guys wanted to take the materials.

On the day Elaine and I returned home, we conveyed our desire to Galbus to purchase all the dragon"s raw materials excepting the meat.

Though the dragon"s materials appear to be valuable, exactly how much of it would be useful to us was debatable.

Useless treasures are a waste.

"Partic.i.p.ation reward for the subjugation of a lower rank dragon, 500 thousand Rize. A of the Azure Dragon attracted charm, in honor of the accomplishment which contributed to the subjugation would be awarded 200 thousand Rize. Lastly, you would be given 20 kilos of dragon meat as a reward." (TLN: Need someone to check this whole paragraph)

… In total, 3,300,000 plus the meat …?

Following Zack, it"s the next largest sum of reward.  Sounds of various people going "Ooh!" are coming from all around.

To get this much money after just a week, how sweet dragon exterminations are!   Furthermore, wasn"t it just on the sixth day that we were really moving around…?

Lightly stepping as if she had sprouted wings, Elaine returns to the table where she sets down a heavy pouch.

"We did it, Goshuujin-sama!"

"…Oi!  How did these guys end up with so much of the take?"

"I won"t go easy on you even if you are a slave."

"I can say for certain that my Goshuujin-sama, Ja, is a cold-blooded guy."

It seems as if I am completely being seen as a sneaky and treacherous b.a.s.t.a.r.d of a slave who has just about swindled every bit of the earnings.

"Now then, finally, Ja, come forward."

"Righto."

It seems that my turn has finally come around. The amount of meat prepared for me it seems isn"t half-a.s.sed, and is considerably more than I expected.

"Wonderful ja, this time you win big. Well then – first of all the subjugation partic.i.p.ation reward is 500,000 rize. Supplies according to the clerk is 400,000 rize."

I used the black bag for storing the food, since I was carrying the dragon"s materials.

"Furthermore, the flat fee for buying the raw materials was about 1,200,000 rize.  In addition, Ja had risked his life this time to protect Lucille-sama and Rastera.  In honor of the spirit of courage and sacrifice, the duke conferred an additional 2,000,000.  From the sword of the moonlit night, I was given 500,000, and Lucille-sama had decided to give 100,000. "

With a sidelong glance by Galbus, Lucille and Rastera both stood up.

"Ja, if it not for you I… definitely would have received a great injury.  Because of that I am seriously grateful. Please allow me to treat you sometime, okay?"

"I also share the same feelings with Lucille. That you were able to protect us while ceaselessly working to defeat the dragon, it"s the first time I"ve ever met a man like you. I am really grateful that I was allowed to partic.i.p.ate in the dragon subjugation this time.  And that I was able to meet a person such as yourself."

O, Oh… the both of their warm gazes poured into me.

When Rastera pa.s.sionately spoke those warm words, the expression they were wrapped in was the most befitting.

"When talking about the time I protected… I wonder if it was referring to the time when the large block of ice came falling from the sky?

This is something that moved quite often.

The mischievous brat with a stone was dropping it with a (sfx: splat/gusha!)  on something that looked like a bug.  I don’t want to watch that person crushing (them).  If I have to say so, I’m not fond of such kinds of gore.

"I want to thank you. Thank you for helping my daughter and Rastera."

The Duke, who is handsome, showed us a smile. He is young in any case. There is not even a single wrinkle that is carved even if he is laughing, as I thought he is a half elf.

At any rate, I stopped trying to calculate how much we currently had all together.  At that time, Galbus spoke further.

"Despite the unexpected situation of being a.s.saulted by a second dragon, one party calmly took it upon themselves to undertake that task, and due to having splendidly subjugated it, a special bonus of 4 million rize is awarded.  And as for the concluding materials, the duke awards 50 kilos of dragon meat. "

500,000… 400,000… 1,000,000… 2,000,000… 5,000,000… 100,000… 4,000,000… … totals out to roughly 8,700,000. And then there"s the meat too… huh?

(TL: isn"t the math actually 9,000,000?)

A great deal of dragon meat was divvied into many black bags along with a bag filled with money and put into storage.

I can"t help but wonder how the black bag works, seeing as how anything can be put inside of it and yet it never feels any heavier.

Everyone begins chattering about the manner of how I will employ usage of all of my recent earnings.

As for those who would have targeted me for my money… they had already left.

Well, those guys" own purses have become pleasantly plump as well.

It would seem that the duke is quite generous this time due to circ.u.mstances related to the number of people who died in this incident is zero.

If someone dies, then they have to be replaced. Furthermore, Duke Ford pays something like a fixed amount of consolation money to the family of those who die under his command.

Having none of those such expenses, and having acquired a surplus of dragon"s materials, it seems this is why the reward was so extravagant this time.

8.7 million + 3.3 million = 12 million!!

In addition to that– Seventy Kilos of Meat!!!

"Delicious!  Such a delicious golden rice!"

There is an idiot called Zack who is buried in white gold coins in the middle of eating rice.  He seems a bit more elegant.

"Hey, the idiot there who is buried in white gold coins trying to copy me, why don"t you quit looking so smug. "

Shut up~.

Ultra high grade food is the best.

I look forward in eating with a good appet.i.te afterwards, for the meantime the plate looks beautiful.

And so dish after dish of fine cuisine is being brought over. Giving in to my appet.i.te, I was intent on being treated to a free meal.

Translator Corner:

The majority of this chapter has been translated by ER-sensei. He translated this really really fast. I, GoldenOwl, see him as a G.o.d in translating. Thanks for this chapter