The coachmen were greatly shaken by the news that they could earn 2.5 Gold by working only four hours a day.
They probably thought they could earn even more if they worked longer.
That was half right and half wrong. There would be time spent returning with an empty horse-drawn carriage after dropping off a customer…
And there would be days off when there was no work. Four hours of operation a day would likely become the appropriate amount of labor for most coachmen.
In other words, the expectation was that it would be difficult to earn more than 2.5 Gold.
“2.5 Gold is incredible.……”
If things proceeded normally, it was a cooperation that would satisfy both the coachmen and us. However, there was one thing missing from this structure.
It was the customer’s needs. It wasn’t just about us working hard; the core of the business was whether the customer felt that 1 Silver per hour was appropriate.
The common carriage is such an unfamiliar service to commoners that many have never ridden a horse-drawn carriage in their entire lives.
My thought was that they would certainly be willing to pay a few Silver to ride one when traveling long distances, on honeymoons, or for anniversaries.
I felt that in this Otherworld, the perceived cost was closer to that of an airplane than a taxi.…….
I judged that 1 Silver was appropriate, but I would only know if customers were truly satisfied once we actually operated the service.
The frequency of customer use was also important.
While the Maber can be used by various classes such as commoners, merchants, and nobles, high-ranking nobles and large-scale Order of Merchants mostly already own their own horse-drawn carriages.
Our target audience was likely to be commoners or small-scale merchants who did not own a horse-drawn carriage.
On Earth, one could extract expected customer usage figures to some extent through commercial area analysis systems or market analysis of competitors, but data prediction is difficult in this Otherworld.
With the scale expanded to the point where 50 horse-drawn carriages are being operated, if there is no work, it could result in losses on a massive scale.
“Let’s stop the negative thoughts. This is a winning item!”
Fortunately, Grunvalt is one of the top Grand Cities even within the Teuton Kingdom. It is a place where the headquarters of the Order of Merchants is located and where trade and commerce are active. The starting location is excellent.
“Coachmen. The current employment situation is very difficult, isn’t it? Even my friend Meat, the vice-merchant, hasn’t been able to find a job for over ten days.
Even if you are employed, the period of employment isn’t guaranteed, to the point where terms like ‘coachman shopping’ are popular these days.
In this situation, if I had a chance to earn more money, I would take the challenge.
As I mentioned earlier, we cannot accept an unlimited number of people right now, so we plan to sign an agreement with exactly 50 people.”
“Phew… the persuasion seems to have gone well, now only the coachmen’s decision remains.”
The hearts of the coachmen seemed to have already swayed. Persuasion successful.
“Why is the atmosphere like this after I came back from eating? Are you that scammer?”
I was startled. Who was it?
Thinking back, the Monk the old man warned us about earlier had been absent.
The time we visited happened to be when the Monk had gone to eat.
When Coachman Mabelly saw the Monk, he spoke hurriedly.
“Hyde. You’re here. Things have been going well with these people…”
Mabelly, who had already been persuaded, took a polite attitude and tried to wrap up the situation.
The Monk named Hyde was a physical powerhouse even at a glance.
He was tall with a lean build and solid chest muscles. He had an appearance that combined toughness within his sharp gaze and a strange, boyish innocence.
Above all, his hair color was impressive.
‘It’s black hair.’
Black hair is not often seen in this Otherworld, so I felt a secret sense of welcome at the sight of it.
He’s tough…
His hair stuck up wildly like a Saiyan’s, and his top was open, revealing his chest clearly.
He had bandages wrapped around his hands. Isn’t a Monk originally part of the clergy?
He seemed closer to a delinquent than a Monk, though.
“Mister. Scammers like this always have slick tongues. Innocent people like you are bound to be deceived if you listen. Close your ears; words are useless. I’ll beat them down first and then interrogate them slowly.”
He charged at us without hesitation, even mixing in ancient Eastern languages that are rarely used in this Otherworld.
‘I have a SSS-grade mercenary.’
I stood with my arms crossed. He probably wouldn’t be much help anyway. Might as well strike a pose…
Clang!
The Monk threw a punch at me.
To block the punch he threw at me, Slot had no choice but to block the fist with his sword blade.
A sharp metallic sound rang out as the fist and sword collided. And I felt a refreshing sensation in my gut.
“Oho. Your reaction speed is fast.”
The Monk looked surprised that it didn’t end in one hit. I didn’t uncross my arms.
‘Phew. But why am I sweating so much? Ah… I almost died just now. But why did it make a metallic sound?’
It was a powerful attack that would have killed me or broken something if Slot hadn’t blocked it.
As the bandages slid off, his fist was revealed.
His hand was wearing something.
“Knuckle?”
It was a knuckle, a representative weapon for the fist category.
“You know what a knuckle is? You have quite a bit of knowledge about weapons. But this isn’t just a knuckle.”
No matter how I looked at it, it looked like a knuckle. Is it a gauntlet?
As far as I know, a gauntlet is a weapon that covers the back of the hand, not just the fingers like that.
“This is a Super Knuckle.”
‘That guy is an idiot.……’
“Look here, Hyde. Listen to what I have to say.”
For some reason, Mabelly, who was beside him, was desperately trying to stop him. However, the Monk had no intention of listening.
“Oh, come on, look at that guy’s face. That pretty boy type is good at bewitching people. I’ll subdue him quickly, so just wait. I’ll strip him bare and shake him down. Now, here comes my finishing move.”
“What… are you a medicine peddler?”
“No… it’s not that… let’s settle this with a conversation…”
“This is why scammers are scary.”
Whether it was because he thought we were scammers or because he was jealous of Slot’s face, the Monk remained consistently hostile.
The Monk crouched low and then jumped high toward Slot. After jumping high, he performed a downward punch.
“Super Strike Punch!”
What? Isn’t that just a punch thrown while jumping? Why shout the skill name?
However, contrary to his ridiculous appearance, the power was immense.
Bang!
As Slot dodged, the ground was gouged out.
Even if the warehouse floor was made of dirt, an ordinary punch wouldn’t have dug into the ground as if it had been shoveled out.
“Slot, be careful. Should I join in?”
I tried to act cool for a moment… and the coachmen started whispering at my words.
Having already given up on persuasion, everyone seemed to be watching the fight between the Monk and Slot with great interest.
“That mercenary Knight is strong too.……. That mercenary Champion must be even stronger, right?”
“Of course. Have you ever seen a Champion weaker than a member of his Mercenary Company? The Champion is a symbol of martial power.”
Hmm… there seems to be a slight misunderstanding.
“People, really. Do you say that even after seeing Hyde’s fist? A Monk is a messenger of the Lion. He is on a different level from ordinary mercenaries.”
Until a moment ago, everyone was on the Monk’s side, but now the coachmen were divided and cheering for both sides.
They looked ready to place bets on who would win. Does being close to horses naturally increase gambling tendencies?
“No, Organization Leader. I want to compete one-on-one right now. It goes against the Code of a Knight for two to fight an opponent who has challenged us head-on.”
“As expected of a mercenary Knight. He maintains the etiquette of battle.”
Some of the coachmen praised Slot.
“Thanks, Slot. For protecting my pride…”
The kind-hearted Slot didn’t mention that I wouldn’t be of much help.
Thus, the 1 on 1 duel continued.
“Too much talk. You must think I’m easy, chatting while you fight.”
When Slot spoke to me, the man called Hyde nitpicked.
“Haha, now I will focus more. My name is Slot.”
“Ah, I’m Hyde.”
“Then, Hyde, shall we begin again?”
Slot bowed his head slightly to show respect.
“Kid, this isn’t a training ground.”
Whoosh!
As Hyde kicked the ground, dirt scattered in all directions. His vision was momentarily obscured. Hyde kicked off the ground and shot forward like a bullet.
Whoosh—!
At the end of a ruthless charge, he spun half a turn and attacked Slot with his elbow. Slot stepped back half a pace and barely managed to evade the elbow.
Following that, Slot lowered his waist slightly and thrust his sword toward Hyde. This time, Hyde was flustered.
“Ugh!”
Clang!
Again, he hurriedly blocked the sword with his knuckle, but the recoil caused his posture to break.
Slot’s sword tenaciously targeted the wrist above where the knuckle didn’t cover.
Trying to avoid this, Hyde rolled away in a rather ridiculous posture.
‘It’s a rolling technique. Anyone can see it hurts his pride, but it’s a skill where you just roll and dodge first.…….’
“You… you’re pretty good.”
This time, Slot smirked.
Dash!
‘Is his politeness perhaps a concept? His personality seems a bit different.…….’
This time, he acted as if he were charging head-on, but then twisted his body to the side to attack. It was a fluid movement.
Again, it was an attack aimed at the wrist.
As if he had expected it this time, Hyde slid his body around and tried to grab the sword.
In that instant, Slot lowered his sword slightly, causing Hyde to lose his balance.
Hyde, having lost his balance, put his hands on the ground and used only the strength of his wrists to kick out with the recoil. It was a move like Capoeira.
Thud!
Slot, flustered by the unexpected attack, was hit in the abdomen by the foot.
“Ugh.”
Slot was flustered, but he endured the pain in his stomach and struck Hyde’s face with his left hand before Hyde could land.
Whack!
Slot’s fist landed squarely on Hyde’s face.
“Huff… to counterattack even after being hit by my finishing Donkey Kick, I acknowledge you as my rival. You aren’t of the Demon race, are you?”
“How do I look like one? It’s rude to call a person a member of the Demon race…”
“I liked the Salt quite a bit. If you were of the Demon race, I would have had to kill you…”
“You are strong too, Hyde. It seems you haven’t even used your power properly yet.”
“Oh. You recognized that? You also seem to be hiding a lot. Shall we stop the probing now?”
The two glared at each other, acknowledging one another. Everyone watched their fight with excitement.
Me too. Eh? But why exactly are they fighting right now?
“Please stop fighting. Hyde. Listen to us.”
The coachmen, who had been watching as if eating popcorn, also began to read the room as the fight turned serious, and Mabelly screamed while crying.
“These people aren’t scammers. Rather, they are benefactors who came to solve our grievances!”
Hyde, flustered by the coachman’s shouting, spoke.
“Mister. That’s what all scammers are like. Be careful. If a member is this good, that man called the Organization Leader must be truly strong. We’ll probably have to all jump in together to win.”
Ah… No, I’m not quite at that level…
There seems to be a misunderstanding, but it seems I’ve at least earned a chance to talk.
What should I use to persuade them? Lately, I find myself persuading people with words more and more. I feel like only my mouth is leveling up.
“Did you say you were Hyde?”
“Shut up. I don’t fall for a scammer’s persuasion.”
“I haven’t said anything yet…”
“Hyde. Things were settled while you were out eating.”
“Mister, you shut up too. If you talk one more time, I’ll subdue you first.”
The words aren’t getting through at all. He’s ignorant and strong, so there’s no answer.
To Hyde, who was performing an ‘I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you’ to all our words, Slot looked at me once as if he had no choice and prepared for Phase 2.
Nothing seemed particularly different, but he lowered his stance and held his sword upright. A faint, thread-like blue smoke could be seen forming on the sword.
“Sword Expert? That’s definitely Sword Qi!”
Someone among the coachmen shouted.