Raoul finished his visit to the Ayrica Kingdom’s branch and headed directly to the Smit Country.
It would be impossible to visit both the East and South Continents on the same day without Teleport Gates.
It’s undoubtedly thanks to the Teleport Gates that Crown can maintain its presence in distant continents without being absorbed by local organizations.
Otherwise, frequent audits by high-ranking executives would be impossible, and recruitment and infiltration would likely be rampant.
However, even with Teleport Gates, these dangers do not disappear entirely.
While individuals like Raoul, who originally operated on the Central Continent, are less likely to be swayed by the tempting offers from other continents, those who have lived on a particular continent their entire lives are more susceptible to being drawn into its sphere.
This is, of course, a natural human psychological tendency.
As Crown is an organization that has only been established for just over ten years, its sense of belonging is considerably weaker compared to long-established guilds.
In that sense, although its scale is growing, it remains a situation where one cannot afford to let their guard down.
Upon Raoul’s arrival at the Smit Country branch, he encountered a colleague from headquarters.
His name was Amintore.
If Raoul was in charge of purchasing materials, Amintore was in charge of selling them.
Being close in age, the two of them had a deeper connection than their other colleagues.
“Oh?”
Before Raoul, who had just arrived via the Teleport Gate, Amintore noticed him and raised a hand in greeting.
“Hmm? Oh, Amintore? With Furie Grass?”
As Amintore is in charge of sales, Furie Grass is a particularly important commodity in Smit Country.
“Yes, well. As you know, the collection proceeded better than anticipated this time.”
“…Ah, I see. That’s right.”
Although Amintore handles the sales, it is within Raoul’s jurisdiction to purchase the materials from adventurers.
The delivery of Furie Grass to Smit Country is done at regularly scheduled times, but the amount delivered is not always constant.
Amintore reports to Smit Country each time.
This indicates Crown’s recognition of the importance of the Furie Grass trade, but it also stems from Amintore’s light footwork, similar to Raoul’s.
Amintore makes an appearance each time Furie Grass is transported.
“You’re as diligent as ever.”
“No, no. It’s necessary. Besides, the same applies to you, doesn’t it?”
Amintore looked at Raoul with an expression that suggested he believed Raoul, like himself, preferred being active over being stuck at a desk, wrestling with documents.
“Well, that’s certainly true.”
As someone in a supervisory position, one cannot escape dealing with paperwork, but both Raoul and Amintore tend to prefer being on the move.
Unlike Raoul, Amintore did not come from a peddler background but belonged to a certain merchant guild.
However, his footwork is even lighter than that of a traveling merchant.
This is also connected to why he and Raoul get along so well.
“Raoul, why are you here?”
“Ah. I’ve just finished observing the situation in the Ayrica Kingdom and am here to report the results and check on the progress here.”
“I see.”
Although Smit Country was quick to establish a branch, it initially served only as a point of contact for Furie Grass transactions.
It became a place for broader commercial dealings after Prince Kristof made the decision.
There were twists and turns until the Adventurer Division was eventually established.
This indicates that the relevant parties in Smit Country feared Crown’s power, but ultimately, the decision to establish the Adventurer Division was made by Prince Kristof.
However, extreme caution was exercised to avoid encroaching on the power dynamics of existing guilds, so it permeated quietly, in stark contrast to the explosive expansion seen on the Central Continent.
Initially, one reason was that Crown’s Adventurer Division rarely issued requests.
When Crown accepted requests, it would reduce the number of requests going to other guilds.
To prevent this, it was in a state where only registration with Crown was accepted.
That situation changed around the time the Ayrica Kingdom branch was established, and improvements were seen in adventurer activities.
It became apparent that there were operational differences from other guilds, not just in the display of status on the Crown Card, but also in other aspects.
As a result, Crown’s Adventurer Division was fully unsealed, requests began to be issued, and the Adventurer Division’s activities were completely opened up.
***
With the arrival of the person in charge of material procurement, a tense atmosphere permeated the Adventurer Counter in Smit Country.
Although Raoul is part of the Merchant Division, his role allows him to have a say on material handling within the Adventurer Division.
Technically, the Branch Manager holds the highest position in this branch, but that is only within this branch; at headquarters, Raoul holds a higher position.
The handling of these positions is somewhat peculiar. It was the Kingdom, which established the branches to prevent Crown’s power from becoming too concentrated, that exerted pressure (?).
Crown, with no intention of unnecessarily threatening its authority, accepted this, resulting in the current complicated and peculiar situation.
Amintore, who was here earlier, is more involved in selling products and has little interaction with the Adventurer Division.
In contrast, Raoul, being in charge of material procurement, frequently interacts with the Adventurer Counter.
Naturally, Raoul, who is strict about materials, sometimes offers harsh opinions.
This led those at the counter to refer to Raoul as “Headquarters’ Ultra-Spicy Appraiser.”
However, according to Raoul, there are many people with appraisal skills comparable to his on the Central Continent.
On the Central Continent, where adventurers routinely bring in materials, the appraisers on the merchant side are naturally more discerning.
This difference between the Central Continent and other continents was evident even here.
Despite the tense atmosphere inside the counter, the receptionists, being professionals, maintained their composure and attended to the adventurers.
Amidst this, an adventurer’s voice rang out.
“Then why is it so cheap?!”
“As I explained earlier, it’s because the materials are not in good condition…”
It seemed they were complaining about the low price for material procurement.
They had brought in the same item before, experienced a good price, and were now complaining because the price was lower than that time.
The receptionist, however, stated that the price had dropped because the condition of the materials was not good.
Looking around, other receptionists were frowning.
It appeared the adventurer was a regular who complained about the purchase prices.
Seeing this interaction, Raoul judged it to be untenable and decided to intervene.
“May I speak about this?”
“…Huh? Who are you?”
“I am Raoul, in charge of material procurement. Since you seem dissatisfied with the purchase price, I would like to explain.”
“Hah?”
Perhaps intrigued by Raoul’s words, the adventurer raised his right eyebrow and looked at Raoul.
“For example, this piece of fur has a large tear in the center. If this tear were not present, it could be processed into a high-value item, and the purchase price would be higher…”
Raoul then proceeded to explain the reasons for the reduced prices for each of the materials the adventurer had brought in.
The adventurer’s expression gradually shifted to one of understanding.
As an adventurer, they wanted to know not just that the price had decreased, but also the reasons behind it.
Raoul’s years of experience interacting directly with adventurers as a traveling merchant proved useful.
“…I see. I understand now. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. …One last thing, a piece of advice, or perhaps an unsolicited opinion?”
“Huh?”
“I’ve explained the reasons why material prices drop. Conversely, this means that if you bring in perfect items, you can profit by outdoing other adventurers.”
The adventurer smiled a defiant smile at Raoul’s words.
“Oh?”
“The more perfect the material, the higher its price soars. Naturally, the purchase price also increases.”
The adventurer seemed to grasp the implied meaning behind Raoul’s words.
In essence, he was saying that one could increase their income by improving their material gathering skills, without necessarily increasing the rank of monsters they could subjugate.
“I see. That’s good to know. I’ll try various things.”
“Is that so? I look forward to your continued patronage.”
“Yeah.”
With that, the adventurer departed.
The initial prickly expression had completely vanished.
“Ah, thank you.”
After the adventurer had completely left, the receptionist who had been handling the situation bowed her head to Raoul.
“No, it’s alright.”
Raoul said with a smile, but in his mind, he was thinking about areas that needed improvement.
Specifically, regarding the materials.
By the way, what Raoul described is common sense for adventurers on the Central Continent.
While honing their monster-slaying skills is important, they also hone their gathering skills to obtain better materials.
Large organizations even have dedicated personnel for material collection.
