Sage Merchant Gregory .
Just from the title of his name, I had imagined him to be a person with an intellectual aura.
But the Gregory-san who now stood before me was completely different from that image.
My first impression was this: “He’s plain scary.”.
No, that’s not even enough.
To be honest, the monster that Martina and I fought together looks cute compared to this guy’s appearance.
-0-
He’s in his late thirties or early forties.
He has blond pompadour hair and a stern face.
His left eye is covered with an eyepatch, and a large scar can be seen underneath. It’s probably a scar he got from fighting an incredibly strong monster.
The thickness of his biceps peeking out of his tank top… I wonder what he eats and how he trains to get like that. I feel like I’m different from him at the cellular level.
-0-
Sage Merchant Gregory emanated an extraordinary aura of power.
Standing before him, I was unable to bring myself to speak.
Normally, if someone were to ask me if I’m good at talking to people, I would answer without hesitation that I’m “not so good” …But even putting that aside, the kind of person who could talk to Gregory-san would have to be—
「Gregory-dono! Long time no see!」
Her greeting is surprisingly familiar.
Martina approached Gregory-san with her usual smile.
Noticing her,
「Oh? Martina. How was your first dungeon?」
His tone was light and friendly, but his voice was much lower and heavier than I expected. It was an austere voice, but more than anything, it was plain scary.
「That’s… It’s a shame to say, but I was terrified when I saw a monster, and I couldn’t move…」
「What!? What happened!? Are you hurt!?」
The moment Martina started talking about her struggles in the dungeon, Gregory-san became visibly distraught.
Areh?
He’s a good guy after all.
「Y-yes, I’m fine. I was in a desperate situation, but Bale-dono here helped me.」
「What…?」
Gregory-san’s sharp gaze turned towards me.
At that moment, I remembered that I was a noble – and a member of the well-known Orlando family on this continent.
This is bad.
I’m sure we’ve never met in person, but… it’s possible that Gregory knows about me through my father.
Even though I’ve been disowned, my status as a noble would still change the way people treat me. I’ve heard that some people hate nobles just for being nobles.
If Gregory-san was one of those people… I gulped down my breath and saliva and waited for Gregory-san’s next words.
「You’re the one who helped this girl?」
「Y-yes.」
Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, I felt like I was being interrogated.
「You did well, young man.」
「N-no, it’s nothing… I just did what anyone would have done…」
「Fuh, you’re modest. I like that.」
Gregory-san laughed as he bashed my shoulder with an arm as thick as a log.
…This feels like a good sign.
Now might be my chance.
「Ah, ano!」
「What is it?」
「Actually, I… recently started farming!」
「Farming?」
「Y-yes! I opened a farm and I’m going to grow all sorts of crops!」
「Hou…」
Gregory-san seemed interested in my endeavor.
「These days, young people all want to be adventurers or knights and they travel all over the place… I often hear complaints about there being a shortage of successors. So it’s a good thing that a young man like you is willing to give it a try.」
I see.
A shortage of successors, huh.
There must be a lot of surplus farmland too… This is a serious problem… I want to do my part to help.
With that future in mind, I moved on to the main topic.
「I was wondering if the crops grown there could be handled by the Rymal Company.」
「Us?」
In response to my offer, Gregory-san simply muttered “fumu” and placed his hand on his chin, seemingly pondering something. Was it too sudden and presumptuous of me?… Still, the future of my project depends on whether I can get this man’s cooperation or not.
After a while, he said,
「Let’s do this. I’ll taste the vegetables you’ve grown. If I’m satisfied with the taste, we’ll sign an exclusive contract and handle your vegetables at our trading company.」
「! R-really?!」
That was an unexpected response.
Admittedly, I wasn’t expecting him to unconditionally agree to handle my products just like that, especially since we had just met. But even this is a huge opportunity.
「However, I’m a somewhat well-known merchant around here… I won’t compromise on taste. Just remember that.」
「I understand! Thank you very much!」
I bowed my head and thanked him.
Then, someone gently patted me on the shoulder.
「That’s great, Bale-dono.」
It was Martina.
「Ah, yeah… I should thank you too.」
「? I didn’t do anything? Rather, I’m the one who should be thanking you for saving my life…」
「That’s not true. You guided me here… I wouldn’t have been able to move forward without you.」
We kept thanking each other until Gregory-san said, “That’s enough.”.
And so, as a farmer, I had a new goal.
To grow vegetables that would satisfy Gregory-san… let’s get it on!
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