Chapter 99

Ch 99 — Made to Order from Wyvern Skin

I arrived at Lambert-san's shop ready to deliver the goods he had ordered the day before . I presented the boxes and jars containing the soap, shampoo, conditioner and hair wraps to Lambert-san in the store's reception room . As usual Fer and Sui accompanied me but paid no attention to the business being transacted . Fer slept behind my chair in the reception room and Sui was also sleeping but in her bag of course .

"Yes, this is just as I asked for . " Lambert-san smiled . "I should have placed this order sooner . We've actually run out of this commodity already . " Lambert-san put his hand on one of the crates containing the cheaper soap as he spoke . "As for payment, since it's more than 100 gold coins, may I pay with large gold coins?" he inquired .

I nodded . "Yes, that's fine . " I worked it out yesterday, the total price for everything should be 612 gold coins . I'm getting used to getting paid large amounts of money and the shock is wearing off a bit . I didn't even stutter . When I was living and working in Japan I often struggled financially with little money left before payday . I didn't really expect that arriving in a different world would be so profitable . . . Yup, not scraping for every copper coin is a good thing .

"Well, here are 60 large gold coins and 12 regular gold coins . " Lambert-san said, laying the money out on the table before me . "Please check . " As usual in this world, the coins were stacked in piles of ten during transactions . It was correct, 60 large gold coins each worth 10 regular gold coins plus another 12 gold coins, 612 gold coins in all .

"Yes, that's correct . " I confirmed . Lambert-san said that between Merchants it was customary to use large gold coins involving payments of more than 100 gold coins . It made travelling around to other cities to do business with other Merchants a bit easier, especially if the Merchant didn't have an Item Box . Conversely a single large gold coin was a bit too much for normal day-to-day transactions such as buying food from a stall or paying a city's entry tax . I have a lot of regular gold coins anyway but I also have an Item Box of course . In passing, a white gold coin worth 100 regular gold coins is a coin made from an alloy of Mithril and gold . It's used for trading between countries or sometimes by wealthy Merchants carrying out very large deals .

As Lambert-san arranged for the wooden crates and jars to be taken off to the storeroom I remembered something .

"Oh yes, I have something I want to ask Lambert-san . Can I have a cloak made here?" I inquired .

"Well, of course we also accept commissions for custom made leather goods so there would be no problem . " Lambert-san explained . "What kind of leather do you wish to use?"

"Well you see . . . " I explained to Lambert-san about the Wyverns .

"Oh, Wyvern . . . " his eyes widened . "I had heard that a flock of Wyverns had appeared near the city and been subjugated but I had no idea Mudouka-san was involved . . . " No, it wasn't me, it was Fer and Sui who dealt with the Wyverns but I didn't tell Lambert-san that . I pressed on instead .

"So I'd like you to make me a cloak and a belt with Wyvern skin . " I requested .

"I have always wanted to work with Wyvern skin some day . " Lambert-san said with a faraway on his face . He nodded . "I proudly accept your commission . It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for my shop, to work with Wyvern skin . " Oh, working with Wyvern skin is uncommon? I had spoken to the Guild Master back at the Adventurers Guild about having a cloak made but he hadn't told me it was going to be difficult . I had gotten the idea it would be easy . Lambert-san went on to explain .

"However, it takes some time to work with Wyvern skin, is that all right with you?"

"How long will it take?" I asked .

"Hmmm," Lambert-san stared at the ceiling, deep in thought for a moment . "It will take about six months . . . " That long really? Then again Johan-ojisan back at the Adventurers Guild said he would need to use a Mithril knife to dismantle the Wyverns I was selling so maybe tanning the skin and making a cloak and a belt and maybe even some shoes, that would take quite a long time due to the difficulty of working the leather . Well, I wasn't really in a hurry so waiting half a year wouldn't be that problematic .

"You see, even if you are supplying the skin yourself the sorts of craftsmen who can work with such materials are uncommon and of course it will take them a long time to carry out the work . The price, well . . . " Lambert-san could only give me an estimate of the cost but it was going to be not less than 500 gold coins .

The old me might have swallowed at hearing that price but now I could afford it easily, even after paying 370 gold coins for my bath (MY bath!) two days ago . Getting something made-to-order always cost more than off-the-peg after all . Working with Wyvern skin was a tough job so it was going to cost in terms of time and labour . It couldn't be helped .

"Oh, that price, can I pay it with the leftover Wyvern skin?" Wyverns were big creatures and Lambert-san should be able to make a cloak, belt and shoes from a single Wyvern skin and still have a lot of leather left unused .

"Eh-, are you sure?" Lambert-san said . He paused for a moment in thought . "Wyvern skin is very rarely available on the market so that might be a good deal for me . . . " He shook his head . "I can't agree immediately, Mukouda-san, I will have to give it some consideration but it is certainly a tempting offer . Let's talk about it later, please?"

The only use I have for Wyvern skins is to sell them for money so if I can trade one skin to pay for the making of the cloak, belt and shoes I want then I don't have a problem with that . It would save me paying for them in cash otherwise .

"Then I would be happy if you would accept this commission, Lambert-san . " I said . Lambert-san nodded and I stood up, picking up Sui's bag as Fer came to life behind me .

"Well, I'm going to the Adventurers Guild now . I'll bring the Wyvern skin back here afterwards, so thank you . "

"Yes, I will be waiting for you . " said Lambert-san as he escorted me to the front door . We left the shop and headed for the Adventurers Guild .