Unfortunately, I’m Not A Hero 70

Unfortunately, I’m Not A Hero 70

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Commissioned by Arksoul

Wordcount: 2500

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The strip of dirt that the transports were upon were now covered by netting, upon which the Harpies dumps leaves and branches, in order to make an artificial canopy. While I claimed one of the transports as my quarters, and the other one stored our supplies and equipment, the rest of the expedition erected large tents, set up latrines, and all the basic necessities of camp. We had a source of freshwater thanks to a nearby spring, and we were filling up containers of water, so that the camp didn’t smell like Kindred after a few days.

All in I had a small airstrip to use as my base of operations from which I could send scouting parties and the like.

A base from which I could start working on the region’s pirate problem.

I had the Harpies and Wyverns scouting already, since there wasn’t any point in having them just lie around. The flight-capable groups went out armored and armed, but their mission was just to verify information and make sure that we didn’t go anywhere we didn’t mean to. While I trusted my fellow Noble’s intent to give us decent maps, I wanted my own, and I had the assets which knew how to make them… therefore I set those assets on verifying the information I had. It was simply logical to not blindly trust someone I just met, after all.

Anyway, the smaller pirate forces that didn’t have powerful Kindred guarding them were a possible issue.  If a battle royal between the big three erupted, then I the lesser gangs might form up into one mass and try to take power for themselves. Or, of course, they could be impressed by the greater powers into joining the melee and expanding the battle past all expectations. Therefore, I sent out Ur and Ashe, along with their Amazons and Werewolves, to start dealing with the small bands, gather information, and deliver them to locals for justice while waited for actionable intelligence.

That left me with time to spare in the meantime, but I didn’t intend to waste it, especially when I had such good position to use to my advantage within the region.

…

Henri presented all the offerings of the tribe on a simple wooden table. There was more than I expected, but I doubted they were all things that only this region could offer. A few plants and fruits on the table were things that I found in the Ylstu market. However, there were a few things that Henri’s gaze lingered on, and somethings that caught her interest.

My advisor in things Arcane and Noble spoke when I gave her a nod.

“As you suspected, Lord Hikigaya, this region’s coastline is rich with pearls. There are bountiful clutches of the sea creatures that produce these in the depths, and the tribes which watch over them know how to cultivate and care for them.” Just as I’d suspected, after seeing pearls being worn by most of the villagers, certain Kindred had advantages in regards to certain environments. Of course, those who were more inclined towards the ocean would be more capable in extracting its offerings. “The chieftain stated that her people can fill on of our boxes with precious pearls every season in exchange for four boxes of spirits, or two boxes of Drider Silk.”

A “box” was a pretty dumb unit of measure, but it was common all throughout Kindred territories. It was chest a meter-and-a-half across, half-a-meter tall, and three-and-a-quarter meters long. The standard RPG wooden chest… and it could be incredibly manipulated by anyone with a brain.

If I wanted to shortchange the chieftain, I’d make thicker glass bottles, or use rolled up reams of Drider Silk. A stupid amount of space would be empty in each box, and the tribes would be shortchanged.

“Remind me to send them a set of scales. The new ones Roseanne is going to send out.” Standardized units of measurement were being implemented by Roseanne, and surprisingly not many were complaining about it. Since there were so many different races of Kindred, with differing shapes and sizes, there was a strong supporting movement to ensure that there were universal measurements that everyone could use. So, I was just giving these guys a head start, instead of a competitive edge. “1 to 4 in weight for spirits and 1 to 2 in weight for silk. Got it.”

The Dwarves weren’t very interested in making jewelry, but the Goblins liked shiny things, and they were quickly devoting themselves to being jewelers. I had a few Dwarves tell me they were worried about Gremlins springing up from the Goblins, since I was providing a them with tools, education, and a lot of time spent on things other than survival… but I was counting on that happening. Having mad scientists that could use magic skip ahead in the tech tree appealed to me very much, and I had plenty of Amazons to deal with anything that went awry.

I’ll have the Goblins start making simple jewelry sets that merchants can peddle. Just pearls on simple, gold bands. Since I didn’t know how gold plating worked, I couldn’t churn out anything cheap enough for the lowliest of nobility, but I could reach the average noble house. The Dwarves were finding bits of gold ore here and there, as they mined their mountain, and I wanted to make use of the chunks sooner rather than later.

“Okay, lets move on. What’re these?” The next set of items offered by the tribe was less impressive than the small mound of pearls that they simply had lying around. It was a set of three glass bottles, two of which held spirits I brought from Ylstu just the previous night, and each one held a different substance. One held a cloudy, white liquid which I did my best to not immediately categorize, while the other two held two different, dessicated fruits of some kind. “Throw that first one away if it comes from a man.”

“No, that is not the case. It comes from a tree in fact and it is a rather interesting substance.” Henri held up the first bottle and examined it with a critical eye. If only she was wearing more than golden threads and pink, glowing, and lewd tattoos, she’d look the part of an arcane specialist. “This is a sap which the tribes people use in lieu of nails to bind together the roofs of their houses. They say that coating the underside of canoes with it makes them far more resistant to water as well.”

Faint memories arose within me the more Henri spoke. Was it the same sap as rubber? Was I looking at what I needed in order to start producing better wheels? The current wheels used in Ylstu were still made of wood, and they had to be replaced very often. If that could be changed, then I could put a lot of carpenters and skilled workers towards other areas of work… and it would also make the town a lot quieter.  I was getting tired of the constant clatter of wood on stone on the roads.

“Interesting, but we’ll get samples of that first, instead of promising anything. Next.” Roseanne’s scholars came from different all over the Kindred territories. A few called themselves alchemists, and they studied an early version of chemistry, so I could put them to work towards discerning the properties of the bottled liquid if I got enough samples. If it really was rubber, then this province was going to get a massive boost in importance, since a lot of other provinces wanted handcarts and better stagecoaches. “What’re the dried, wrinkly things?”

“The locals call this one the sour spice. When dried the flesh within becomes sticky and sour, which they use to add to boiling water to create a strong broth.” Ah, so that was the spice that caught my interest last night. The chief was paying me more attention than I thought last night. That was definitely something that interested me. Exotic flavors made a lot of money in the wealthier circles of the nobility, since everyone wanted to be more exotic and refined than the other. “This second on is an ingredient for an aphrodisiac used by the tribe. It allows men to produce more… as you saw throughout the entire evening.”

Huh, I thought that fucking Kindred often just made dudes release more over time.

“Side effects?”

“It increases the man’s libido when taken, and they do not feel satisfied until they are empty. I believe that this would be a very good product for us to acquire and sell.” Henri was right. Kindred would pay stupid amounts of money in order to get more out of their studs. However, she also knew my stance on such things, even if it was just temporary. “But we won’t be purchasing it, because it will only further the idea that men are solely for sex and pleasure.”

“Yep, that’s right.” I wasn’t above starting a sex toy industry and selling it to the Kindred, but that was so that men in Kindred territory could catch a break. The offered aphrodisiac would put them in higher demand, not lower the demand, so I wasn’t interested. “Move on.”

Henri’s lips pursed for a second, as she stared at the desiccated fruit in the jar for a moment, and then turned her gaze on me.

I almost felt like a piece of meat about to be dressed up, but the Lich sighed and shook her head while reconsidering the idea.

“I would like to share information on this product for private purchase of individual citizens, then. Without the high demand of Ylstu’s purchases, it won’t be produced in large quantities, and so it shall only be acquired by those with connections or large sums of money.

I briefly considered banning the item, because I had an inkling of an idea of what might happen if let my guard down and eat something without thinking in the near future… but my modern sensibilities called out to me.

Banning it would make me lose out on tax revenue, since Ylstu would be the middleman between a massive fetish product and very, very wealthy Kindred.

While I worried about my future, I couldn’t ignore the long-term benefits involved with the product.

So… I nodded.

“Fine. If you can manage to set up a supply chain on your own, and if there’s no adverse side effects, I’ll allow its private sale.” I did my best to ignore Henri’s little fist pump, and moved on with the conversation. If the supply got out of hand, and it started degrading men further in Kindred territories, I’ll buy this entire province and burn the source to the ground, regardless of what anyone thought of me. That was the caveat I placed on myself for giving the okay for its extremely limited distribution. “Next product.”

Henri cleared her throat and continued to speak, while I listened and waited for my scouts to return.

It wasn’t much, but it was work that will bring more wealth to Ylstu in the near future, so it wasn’t time wasted.

…

By the time Ur and Ashe returned, I just finished dealing with the unforeseen consequences the Harpies and Wyverns experienced on their travels.  Upon seeing groups of well-armed individuals flying in their skies, feral Kindred challenged them in combat, got beaten up, and now were officially working for my employees.

And, therefore, me.

I would’ve had a migraine, if not for the fact that I dealt with this before.

“Give this letter to Tanis. Take them to Ylstu. Use the transport.” I was giving up on my personal quarters, but this way I could get the newfound manpower somewhere they could be trained and out of my hair. Also, I could have the pick-up certain things I needed.  It was just thirty individuals this time around, so Ylstu wasn’t going to have much of an issue putting them to use. “Come back with restraints that can hold strong Kindred.”

The two leaders of the flights gave a nod and were quick to start getting the transport afloat, and I turned to Ur and Ashe.

“I’m staying with the Amazons until I get a transport to myself again.” Ur blinked for a second, before nodding decisively. I turned to Ur, so that I could test her a little in her ability to report. “So, how did dealing with the pirates go, Ashe?”

“The opponents were weak and feeble. The fell to my strength and that of Ur’s with great speed!” Ashe preened and her tail wagged as she gave her report. I was patting her head before I knew it, and the Hellhound seemed more pleased than I’d ever seen her before. “We have given our foes to our new friends, and they have thanked us by sending us gifts!”

Ur gave a nod when I looked to her.

Three pairs of Amazons were carrying boxes, and they opened them after placing them on the ground.

“The gifts are mostly what the pirates stole from passing vessels. The tribe kept useful tools, and a few prized baubles, but they gave us pearls in return.” Ur explained, while I looked over the chests of loot. Just as my bodyguard explained, the boxes were filled with valuable trinkets and stuff that weren’t of any use in the foreseeable future.  “Shall I have them put in the transport, so that they can be put to use by Lady Kurama as soon as possible?”

I almost said yes, until a particular thought occurred to me.

In order to “earn” the Azure Orb, I needed to defeat all three of the dangers on the province.

But I lived in Ylstu, a landlocked nation, therefore it was of little use to me.

Thus, with my current, newfound wealth and lack of interest in the Azure Orb, I could get one of my three targets on my side against the other two.

Ur groaned.

“Hachiman… what are you planning? Is it dangerous?”

“Surprisingly… no. It’s actually less dangerous than our current plan.” The Gryphon kept to herself, and she could be avoided if someone just swerved around her territory. I only needed to defeat her if she had Henri’s heirloom, or if I wanted the Azure Orb. The latter certainly wasn’t the case, and the former was unlikely. “How do you feel about getting some extra firepower on our side, and not having to deal with a treasure that attracts attention forever?”

Ur blinked as she considered the question, but I already knew her answer.

She’d like it a lot.

Hm?

What’s that?

I’m betraying my allies?

I’m not betraying anyone.

They offered me an ancient treasure that I had no use for in exchange for dealing with three powerful monsters.

I’m dealing with two, and not taking the ancient treasure, so I’m totally in the right!