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　Hello, this is Ren, I’ve been training in blacksmithing and for some reason I decided to register with the commerce guild. It seems that the pasta machine and mincer that I used earlier was considered quite revolutionary, thus the revenue from the patents were quite profitable.

　According to what I heard at the commerce guild when I went to register the patents. The recipe didn’t exist in this country, but long pasta dishes did exist in the central continent.

　But the tools that are used to make the noodles for the pasta dishes sound complicated……it’s somewhat like making tokoroten in how you have to forcefully push it in and then pull it out.

　Compared to that, the pasta machine I made was like a ground-breaking invention since it allowed for noodles to be made easily! Was it something like that? On the other hand, the mincer was considered amazing because it was a smaller version…….

　Although mincers did exist, there were apparently no hamburgers in this country. Which I didn’t really understand. The staff also said that there wasn’t a recipe that required the usage method for it in the central continent. I think in this country, meatballs are made using leftover scraps? So the mincer wouldn’t sell here either.

　While long pasta dishes didn’t exist in this country, it seems to exist in a trade city in the west. Hm, I want to go there at least once. I want to try all the various foods there.

　That aside, I was able to make these since I knew about the structure due to my previous life. I’m not the one who invented them, yet I’m earning some income from them…..somehow I feel bad in various ways……

　Oh, right. I guess this would be considered a knowledge cheat. The protagonists in the otherworld genre usually have quite the knowledgebase. I guess I would have to get used to it too?

　But still, I know this world is still in various stages of development, but to think there would be a patent system and such. This world really is over the top, I don’t even know where to begin commenting.

　Incidentally, the commerce guilds have a high registration fee. The cost would depend on the business being started, but it would be about 1 to 5 gold coins. Depending on the case, it could even go up to 10 gold coins. Apparently, it was because the cost would be used as compensation to cover any losses that might occur if the initial business failed.

　In my case, I had to pay 5 gold coins. Considering that, the adventurer’s guild which didn’t charge a registration fee was quite generous. Also regarding my case, since I registered for a patent for the design, a fee would be charged each time the device was manufactured.

　The commerce guild was an international organization that spanned across multiple countries, so even if it was manufactured in another country, I would still earn money. The commerce guild also received a portion of the fee. As such, it seems that the fee would be properly collected in the surrounding areas in order to protect the guild’s interests.

　In addition, as a result of listening to various explanations at the commerce guild, it seems that this country was more rural and was quite backward. When I came here to get the patent for the tools, the process was quite exhausting.

　Furthermore, the income from the patent fee would be processed by the guild and automatically transferred. Registering with the commerce guild would allow me to open an account with them, thus all the fees would be transferred to that account.

　Apparently, the account could be accessed from other guilds too since the various guilds had business dealing with each other, so money could still be withdrawn even if it was a completely different guild. So in my case, I could access it even at the adventurer’s guild.

　Unlike the adventurer’s guild, it seems that the commerce guild required an annual membership fee, but if you allowed it to be withdrawn from your account, you wouldn’t have to come to pay for it and it would be automatically deducted.

　But the investigation process was quite long when I was registering for the patent, so I guess it’s quite nice that I don’t have to come to pay fees? Seriously, the eyes of the surrounding merchants are scary.

　I wasn’t expecting them to recognize me as the person who made tonkatsu back in Harula and the one at the poultry farming village. There were even suspicions about me being the rumored witch of the forest, scary! But I managed to mislead them into thinking that the matters regarding the witch of the forest was just something that happened close to me.

　And so, I didn’t want to come to the commerce guild anymore because of that.

　Or rather, I was worried about running into the toad-faced merchant if I frequented the commerce guild too much.

　……He wouldn’t send pursers after me, right?

　Depending on the case, I might have to consider running away, but I had already rented a smithy, so it would be really annoying to do so. For now, I guess I’ll just wait and see……but I’ll prepare so that I’m able to escape anytime.

　I’ve been doing a lot of things based upon the surrounding mood, so I have to be a little more careful…….I don’t want to stand out. No, for real.

　Additionally, the rank of the commerce guild increases when revenue and taxes paid to the commerce guild and to the country generated from a guild member’s business exceeds a specific amount for a year. For me, since it would be automatically deducted from the income from the patent fee, it seems it was alright to leave it alone.

　Well, it seems that sometimes I would have to visit to update my rank and such…..but if possible, I don’t really want to come back…… Despite such troubles, I still had time to forge swords and such afterward.

　Later that day, I took a break before noon and went outside the workshop for a bit. There was a door behind the main building that led outside of the perimeter walls of the workshop. Exiting from there would then lead to a back alley.

　The other end of the back alley was fenced and the open sky could be seen beyond. In other words, there was a highland ahead, or a cliff so to say.

　When I placed my hands on the fence and looked down, I could see the roofs of the houses below. If I fell from here, I would get seriously injured, the difference in elevation was quite large so I had to be careful not to fall.

　However, since there was a solid fence around here, it seems that if someone fell from here, it would be considered their own fault, and the person who fell would probably go down as a laughingstock. Apparently, there also wouldn’t be any compensation from the country even if someone fell from here. As such, let’s be careful.

　But being here is like standing on top of a hill, the wind feels very nice. Should I take a break near the fence? There were benches set up at regular intervals, and it seems people would sit and rest here despite it being an alley.

　Even though it was located in such a place, it didn’t mean there weren’t any people, so I was naturally wearing my cloak. Norn was also next to me. And the wind really did feel nice. It might be a good idea to take a break here from now on.

“Fwah~”

　Woah, I let out a weird voice.

“Um, you came out from there, are you perhaps an apprentice of the workshop?”

　Huh!? Did my weird voice get heard!? No way, how embarrassing!

“Ah, what? No, that’s not it.”
“Huh? Is that so? But you came out from there……”
“Well, I’m being taken care of in various ways there, but I’m just renting a space there.”
“Oh, I see…..if that’s the case, then I guess it won’t be possible……”

　The person looked disappointed and depressed. It wasn’t like I did anything wrong, but for some reason, I felt guilty. And the person was giving off quite a depressing atmosphere. Hmm…

“Um…..is there something troubling you?”

　This is something that should never be asked. It’s a flag. I know this will bring something troublesome. But I asked since I was Japanese. And above all, the person is a child…..

“Eh?”
“Is there anything that’s troubling you?”
“Oh, no……how should I put this? That is, I’m still just a newbie adventurer…….”

　The adventurer’s guild and craftsmen guild operated on a mutual assistance contract system. The contract was that new adventurers and new craftsmen would help each other to improve their own skills.

　For example, new adventurers might not have enough money for equipment. Good equipment would cost a bit of money. Furthermore, equipment would be considered consumables.

　Likewise, it would be similar for apprentice blacksmiths. The person would be a new blacksmith who only just recently began forging. As such, they wouldn’t be able to afford materials. They also wouldn’t be allowed to use the smithies whenever they pleased. And even if they made something, there wasn’t a method to test its actual performance or usability.

　But the mutual assistance contract would allow such new adventurers and craftsmen to make up for each other’s needs. Adventurers could get necessary weapons and armor at low prices or for free. And craftsmen would be able to test the performance of the products they made.

　Adventurers could also provide the materials craftsmen would need at low prices or for free, and thus obtain new weapons, armor, and more experience. Craftsmen would also be able to experience working with new materials, and through learning about the performance and usability of their products, make improvements, and thus improve their own skills.

　As a result, they would be able to make up for each other’s lack of money, gain experience, and improve together. Hence the mutual assistance contract.

　However, there were also disadvantages. The abilities of new adventurers were limited. Sudden death was inevitable. Naturally, they wouldn’t be in possession of many skills either. Thus, gathering the required materials wasn’t easy.

　The same applied to new craftsmen, since they were only mere apprentices. The performance and reliability of the products created weren’t well-established. Sometimes, they could even suddenly break during a battle.

　Therefore, there was a clause in the mutual assistance contract that both parties would not be held responsible for the life and death of the other. Even if you died, it would be your own fault.

　There were also clauses regarding the companions of dead adventurers. In the case that a fellow adventurer died due to equipment failure, taking action upon the craftsmen who signed the mutual assistance contract wasn’t allowed. Naturally, breaking the agreement would result in penalties.

　However, if too many fatal accidents occurred, the penalties would be applied to the craftsmen. Thus, signing a mutual assistance contract would mean agreeing to these trade-offs.

　Apparently, the girl in front of me had been wandering around the blacksmith district every day, looking for someone to sign the mutual assistance contract with. The rapid manner the girl spoke in, how she would keep rambling on, and yet still be able to convey her meaning.

　…..She hasn’t changed. She’s just like before.

　She had light blonde hair, and the length was at the point where the hair could be neatly tied into a single, small bun. But before, she used to have long hair. Her skin was darker than I remembered. I guess she became tanner? But her sharp blue eyes were the same as before, a look full of willpower.

　……Right, I know this girl.

“……And so, considering the burden on the children who left the orphanage together with me, I thought it would be best to look for someone to sign a mutual assistance contract? But how would I find someone like that to begin with? Haa, how troubling.”

　It seems that after becoming 11 years old, she left the orphanage with some other children of the same age to become adventurers. Originally, the orphanage we were from would allow us to stay until we reached 15 years old.

　But she and the others had chosen to leave the orphanage to make space for children younger than them.

“I thought it would be manageable, but I wasn’t able to tell herbs apart from each other. And with good armor, I’m able to fight against goblins and lesser wolves, but my weapon didn’t hold up at all.”

　She had a worn-out looking dagger on her waist. Although it was sheathed, the various tears all over it made it was obvious how much hardships she had been through.

　Her hands were also quite worn-out. All the children in the orphanage had somewhat rough-looking hands, but their hands were still in much better shape than her hands.

“I understand I brought this upon myself, but I still think that with a mutual assistance contract, it’ll be alright! And if it goes well, I might even be able to ask for weapons for the other children. perhaps?”

　She hasn’t changed at all. She’s just like in the past.
　She was always looking after everyone and taking the extra burden upon herself.

“……You haven’t changed at all, Triela.”
“Eh?”

　She looked at me with widened eyes. The look in her eyes was the same as back at the orphanage, and for some reason, it felt relieving.