#67
Customizing (3)
“Wow… As rumored, this is a really good quality pepper. The processing is also clean.”
“The reviews from those who have used it directly are also very good. Even high-ranking officials say they are all satisfied.”
“If I sell it well, it will be enough to not only increase my margin but also build my network.”
Hubert’s business was going smoothly.
The pepper that was packed into the subspace magic tool sold out in an instant, even though it was priced quite high.
In the early days of pepper sales, sending samples to nearby large retailers and making connections here and there worked well.
‘Of course, I also used Harley’s service to prevent the other person from coming out carelessly.’
The formal thanks sent to the Mercenary Guild through the church played a major role in raising Harley’s fame.
As he became more famous, he became more frequently involved in controversies, but that was also just a new marketing strategy.
‘They must have been famous enough to challenge Harley, who had such a wicked appearance. But he defeated them with his bare hands…’
Harley, who has become a famous person in the Tarak mercenary world.
Hubert Trading Company, where such a person was a business partner, also received some attention.
‘Good products, reasonable prices, marketing using limited quantities, and even the credibility of a celebrity’s name. It’s no wonder this fails.’
External intervention was also blocked thanks to Harley.
Large powers such as the top tier had no choice but to be connected to the religious order.
They learned through their connections that Harley was really getting the attention of the upper echelons of the church, and naturally gave up on the idea of touching Hubert’s Company.
From their point of view, it was more detrimental to them to look bad in the church by trying to swallow up a small business.
And those ignorant people who don’t even have that kind of information…
“Ugh… I, forgive me….”
A dark back alley.
There were rough-looking men strewn all over the place like trash.
“Harley, this guy wants forgiveness?”
A large, tattooed man grabbed a paratrooper by the collar and shook him, then spoke to him from the side.
“Forgiveness? How long have these kids been fooling us that you’re forgiving us now?”
“These things need to be stamped out from the beginning so they don’t come up again. I’ll show you an example.”
The first to respond to his words were two large men who also had tattoos all over their bodies.
Southern warriors who once clashed with him but are now as close as brothers.
There were three of them: Lu Wang, the largest of the group; Dao, who had a knife scar around his eye; and Turaba, who had a hairy face.
They were now helping Harley to crush the parasites that were trying to rip off Hubert’s company.
‘Of course I’m not using you for free. I’m making a lot of money, so there’s no need to be frugal about this.’
Just having a workforce that you can somewhat trust and manipulate is beneficial.
If we could elicit active cooperation with just a few pennies, that would be ideal.
“Well, come to think of it, don’t you think Harley’s impression has changed a little?”
“You too? I feel more friendly than before.”
“Isn’t that just because we became close over time?”
“Is that so?”
It was a meaningless topic of conversation that came up while they were walking to get a drink after work, but Harley couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt.
‘I was changing it little by little without anyone noticing···.’
Because his face shape was really changing to a point where it was subtly different from before.
Having met three locals from the South, this was a chance to naturally absorb their characteristics.
Harley’s face, which had been somewhat subtle, was being modified little by little every day to fit the Southern race.
“Hahahaha! Doesn’t that mean we’ve gotten that close? We really feel like brothers now!”
Harley chuckled jokingly and changed the subject as if nothing had happened.
And inside the bar they entered, they were chatting noisily and having various conversations.
The topics were mostly about the southern region, and it was very informative, with local people sharing their first-hand experiences.
“···That’s why it’s hard to carve a mark once you leave the South. Most sorcerers don’t try to leave there.”
“Sometimes you may encounter it somewhere else, and if you prove your qualifications and pay the price, you can get a new engraving.”
Among them was the content about ‘imprinting’ that they often talked about.
“Sometimes, stupid people try to carve marks that don’t fit their abilities, but in most cases, a sorcerer will be able to kick them out or something…”
“There are times when things just don’t go their way.”
There were cases where people were forced to get tattoos on their bodies through threats, persuasion, bribery, or trickery.
“There’s a reason why you need proof of qualification.”
The imprint was not a simple tattoo.
It was a branch of mystery that engraved the life force and mana flowing through the body and the karma accumulated by the person in question.
‘Is this some kind of biological magic circle that strengthens the body?’
It is said that an imprint that does not fit the fountain not only eats away at one’s lifespan, but also causes all sorts of side effects, such as muscle loss, decreased vitality, aging, and hair loss.
“That’s why in the South, if you don’t have a single mark, you won’t be recognized as a warrior. That means you haven’t even met the most basic qualification of a ‘warrior’s mark.’”
That’s why they were picking on Harley, the self-proclaimed ‘warrior of the South’.
Because there were only playful graffiti on her naked body, there were no imprints anywhere.
‘There’s nothing I can do about what I can’t get right away. I just want to get it before I go south.’
He drank the wine from the large glass in gulps like a man and licked his lips.
While Hubert and Harley were faithfully spending their days, Harris, who had recently joined Tarak, had been fighting alone for several days.
“Ugh… I can feel something….”
Harris, an elf avatar who is holed up in the stronghold that Hubert saved, tries to communicate with the spirits through daily meditation.
I had hoped and expected that I would be able to become a high elf, but nothing much has changed since the notification that the World Tree is watching over me.
‘This seems to be a natural force, but how do I make a contract with a spirit? Is my affinity still lacking?’
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Mana and natural power, which are purified and made clear through natural objects such as trees, were an essential energy source when making a contract with a spirit.
Even though the initial ability value is like that and the affinity is not lacking due to the effects of the “Child of the World Tree” and the bracelet, I couldn’t figure out how it could become a spirit master.
“Rather than doing this here, should I go somewhere with more natural energy and try it···?”
I’ve been staying here to hide the fact that I’m an elf, but I feel like it’s time to go out.
‘I guess I can just pull the hood down and cover my ears. Before making a contract with the spirit, I tried to hide my body as much as possible···.’
Elves, a rare race on the Continent of Ion, were inevitably bound to get involved in various problems.
Wasn’t it because of that that Cecily, who was a candidate for the High Elf position, was sold into slavery?
‘Yeah, like Cecily… huh? Wait…’
High elf Laforie, candidate Cecily, and a delegation of nearly twenty elven envoys.
They were still staying at the Rosellia Grand Shrine.
The Inquisitors of the Kingdom of Thalia discovered the dwelling of the Immortal King in the Forest of Demons, and also discovered that he was there just before he invaded the Great Temple.
I still don’t know how he was able to detect the moment when the Great Hall’s defenses were at their weakest…
‘It wasn’t that the religious order suspected the elves from the beginning.’
The investigation team was dispatched only to determine the truth of the matter, and the church maintained a respectful attitude toward the elves as before.
‘I heard that now that work is done, they are slowly preparing to go back···.’
Wouldn’t it be better to get help from a fellow elf rather than learning on your own?
It would have been great if they could have gotten some advice before they went back.
‘Okay, that sounds good.’
Harris quickly got up from his seat and turned his robe over.
And then he confidently headed towards the temple of Tarak.
As he was approaching his destination, a huge, giant figure approached him from an alley nearby.
A large and sturdy body, in contrast to Harris’s slender physique.
The man approached with an intimidating gait, and Harley naturally joined him and walked towards the temple.
He took time out from drinking with Southern warriors to help Harris.
And the two walked side by side and soon arrived at the temple.
“Huh? Aren’t you Harley? What brings you here… Is there something you need?”
The paladin guarding the entrance to the temple recognized Harley, who had such a unique appearance that her very existence was an identification card, and spoke to her.
“Hahaha—! I have something I need your help with this time. I’d like you to tell me something inside!”
The story that came out of the meeting that was arranged like that was simple.
However, since this friend had been wandering alone for a long time, he did not know anything about other elves and their abilities.
I owe him a lot of things and would like to do something for him, but I happen to know some elves, so I would like to introduce them to him.
So please contact them, and if possible let them use the gate.>
And he proudly said that he even gave her a bracelet that he was hesitant to use as a token.
Since his request for help had already been agreed upon above, Harley’s story was immediately relayed to the elves at the Great Temple of Roselia.
***
Woohoo—
As he passed through the gate he had already used several times, a familiar space greeted him.
“Welcome, Harris. Welcome to the Royal Palace of Roselia.”
The high priest in charge of the gate, who only knew his face, welcomed him.
And Harris was led outside, followed by another priest.
‘It feels awkward to come to a place I’ve become so accustomed to with a completely different identity.’
As soon as it was decided to seek help from the elves, he received the cooperation of the church and arrived at the Great Temple of Roselia after moving through the gate over several days.
As an invited guest, I was guided to the lodging where those from the Elven Kingdom were staying.
There were already several elves gathered there, talking.
“Nice to meet you. I am Laforie Grandwood, a high elf from the Elven Kingdom.”
As Harris entered, Laforie greeted him warmly.
“Oh, my name is Harris. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.”
“Hahaha, no. It was Harley’s request, and it’s a matter for our fellow countrymen. This is nothing.”
Laforie answered like that and nodded after looking at the bracelet on Harris’ wrist.
“You seem to be close friends with Harley. I knew he was a kind person, but I was quite surprised when he first asked me to help his friend.”
“Ah… It’s a pretty close relationship. Maybe closer than family…?”
It was absolutely not a lie.
“And I heard that this bracelet was originally used by Lapori. I took it because I thought I needed it, but if you were offended, I apologize.”
“No. It was something I gave to Harley as a token of my gratitude, and it is no longer my concern how he uses it.”
He shook his head as if it was really no big deal.
“I feel grateful again that you used it for our fellow countrymen.”
He looked at Harris with his eyes shining like stars in the night sky and smiled quietly.
It was a look that somehow made me feel burdened.
“So what you want, Mr. Harris, is to learn how to manipulate the forces of nature and make contracts with spirits?”
“Oh, yes. That’s right. Since I’ve been living alone since I was little, I didn’t have anyone to tell me things like that. I came here to see if I could get some advice.”
“Hmm···.”
Laforie stroked his chin, looked at him again, and nodded to himself.
‘Somehow… I feel like I’m being a bit too intimate. Did you notice something?’
Even though he was a compatriot from a foreign land who had come to visit through a benefactor’s introduction, there was a strange feeling that could not be explained by that alone.
While thinking about that, Lapori opened his mouth quietly with a meaningful smile.
“By any chance, Mr. Harris, if it’s okay with you, would you like to go with us to the Elven Kingdom on the Enamel Continent?”
“Yes? To the Continent of Enamel?”
“Yes, we will be going back soon. Wouldn’t that be better than just hearing some brief advice?”
And he secretly tempted me by saying that if I went with him, I would be able to receive more detailed training in various things like magic and archery.
‘Elf… A different race… A different continent… A new adventure!’
There was no reason to turn down such a great opportunity.
Just as he was about to readily accept, Laforie added a word softly.
“More than anything, it seems that the World Tree is keeping an eye on Harris. Although he is not yet qualified to be a High Elf, he seems to have the natural aptitude for it.”
I could understand his subtle attitude in those words.
It seems that the World Tree is very interested in Harris.
