Just as I expected, Rondario-san drank the wine and his face changed color.
「W-what is this wine? Why is it so strong? Everything I drank until now tastes like water compared to this!」
It really was thin like water. The alcohol content probably was barely two percent. It felt like something you drank in place of water.
「It is something special that a goblin exterminator can buy. You can get this flavor for a single large copper coin」
That was a lie. It was imported wine I bought for three hundred yen. But I am sure the taste is worth a large copper coin.
「I will take it!」
He decided on the spot and put down two large copper coins, pulling the wine toward himself.
「Hey, Ron! Do not hog it! Let us drink some too!」
「I know. I am not going to drink it all alone」
As expected of a leader who commands high-rank adventurers. He did not drown in greed and shared the wine with his companions.
「What is this stuff? If I get used to something this good, I will never drink the old stuff again」
「Agreed. This wine is a dangerous luxury」
The biggest culprit here is probably me.
「Thanks for waiting. What is going on here?」
「We are just celebrating over some special wine. Sorry for the noise. Here, take this as an apology」
I said that and pressed five copper coins into the girl’s hand. Ah, I grabbed her hand. Please do not accuse me of harassment.
「Are you an adventurer? You do not really look like one though…」
「My real job is goblin extermination. Right now, I am a provisional adventurer hunting goblins in this area」
Ah, right. Cutting off their ears and bringing them in earns money. Too much trouble though.
「It helps if someone is hunting goblins, but do you actually make money doing that?」
「Well, if I steadily hunt thirty a day it pays well, but if a group of a hundred shows up the profit drops」
「A h-hundred goblins!? Do you fight that many at once!?」
「Pretty much. They form groups right away」
I answered and started eating the stewed mutton. Just salt. Not bad, but the flavor was flat. It works as a snack though.
I took out the flask of whisky and some water and poured a bit into a cup. I wonder if they have ice if I ask. It is a world with magic after all.
「Is that alcohol too?」
Rondario-san appeared again like some kind of ninja. Does he like alcohol even more than Mishinie?
「It is a distilled drink made from barley ale. It has a unique taste, so I am not sure if someone used to wine will enjoy it」
I could not drink it at first either. But once I learned to appreciate alcohol, I realized how good whisky was. It was expensive, so I could not drink it often.
「A distilled drink, huh. I tried it once and it was good」
Oh, so this world has distillation technology. Judging from his reaction, it must be a luxury item.
「Want to try it? If you like it, I can sell you some. Though it will cost more than the wine」
「If it is good, I will pay anything. You cannot survive this line of work without good alcohol」
Yeah. He is definitely a Mishinie type.
「It is four or five times stronger than the wine, so do not drink it all at once」
I warned him and poured a little whisky into the cup he had been using for wine.
He sniffed the aroma, took a sip, held it in his mouth, then swallowed. The corners of his mouth lifted in delight.
「…It is good…」
The words slipped out of him. It felt more sincere than shouting.
He finished the rest and seemed deeply moved by the taste of the whisky.
「…So, if I hunt goblins, I can drink this whisky…?」
「If I approve you as a contractor, you earn about enough for this inn’s daily rate for every goblin you kill. But only contractors can buy things. Also, if you do not touch what you bought for ten days, it disappears due to a magic effect. It prevents reselling. Alcohol and food are consumables, so you can share and finish them right away without a problem though」
「…So, the inn rate is three large copper coins…」
「Among goblin exterminators that would be three thousand five hundred yen. That wine costs one thousand yen a bottle. The whisky you just drank is two thousand yen a bottle」
I should collect the wine bottles to erase the evidence.
「Well, alcohol varies in quality. The expensive ones require hunting a hundred goblins to afford」
「There is something that good?」
「That depends on personal taste. If you are satisfied with the whisky you had, you do not need anything pricier. If you really want it, just hunt a hundred goblins. Someone like you could handle a hundred easily, right, Rondario-san?」
「…………」
Rondario-san fell silent, probably struggling between responsibility, his teammates, and his own desires.
「You do not have to hunt only goblins. Just take down any goblins you encounter while doing other requests. If you get five in a day, that is enough for the drinks you want」
If he thinks of it as earning drinking money, he will feel more motivated.
「Can anyone become a contractor?」
「Of course. If all of you become one, things will be easier for me too」
If Rondario-san’s party thins out their numbers, goblins will gather less often. It will be much safer for me to handle extermination.
「Make me one of those contractors」
I had expected Rondario-san to accept, but I never imagined the whole party would join. I hope I did not burn all my luck here. I hope nothing bad happens next. It is a little scary, but right now I should just be happy that more contractors have joined.
「If you have no plans tomorrow, would you like to hunt goblins with me? I want to explain the details then」
It would help if they showed me places where goblins are likely to be.
「What do you all think?」
At Rondario-san’s question, everyone nodded. And just like that, it was decided that tomorrow we would all go goblin hunting together.
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