Chapter 150 : Understanding the Preference - 1
Chapter 150: Understanding the Preference - 1
I quietly looked at Kaid Bel.
Only now did his appearance truly register in my eyes.
His true body had horns and was clad in iron-like scales.
Iron-like scales.
‘A very hard shell.’
From B’s perspective, who preferred the texture of chewing, it must have looked extremely appetizing.
In reality, B had evaluated Kaid Bel as ‘It doesn’t look tasty.’
Because the Kaid Bel in reality possessed an ordinary body.
But the Kaid Bel in the dream had a shell that suited B’s taste, and that was why she had lunged at him to devour him.
‘Edgar must have deduced this far as well and brought out the turtle.’
I muttered with a faint smile.
“So that’s what it was.”
“So that’s what it was.”
“Why are you copying me?”
“It just felt like I should, given the mood…….”
“That’s enough. I don’t have any more business with you, so get lost.”
“Haha. You really are trash, you know.”
I waved my hand as if shooing away an annoying fly.
Kaid Bel turned his body beyond the fog and said,
“Anyway, I hope you remain safe in this quest as well. If you’re eliminated, there won’t be anyone left to protect me.”
“Yeah. You stay safe too.”
“Yes. I’ll see you again. Next time, in reality.”
The moment his figure disappeared, my eyes opened.
I was leaning against Armelia Kerr Dneroum.
‘Huh?’
When I had fallen earlier, was it Her Highness the Princess who caught me?
“You’re awake, Mason.”
“Ah…… yes.”
“You may lean on me a little longer.”
“Shall I?”
At that, Aina Noel snorted.
“Ha. You two are getting bolder by the day.”
“Calm down. I brought back some good information.”
“Get up first and talk.”
I straightened my body and looked around at my companions.
Then I opened my mouth calmly.
“It was as we expected.”
I relayed my conversation with Kaid Bel without leaving anything out.
At the end of the explanation, I added one more remark.
“Edgar must have heard this information from Odline Ragna and immediately realized it as well. That ‘food with a hard shell’ was the correct answer.”
“So that’s why he misled the participants who were looking for fruits.”
“Yes. Most fruits have peels. Of course, no ordinary fruit peel would be as hard as a turtle’s shell, so it might not matter much, but from his standpoint, he probably wanted to widen the gap as much as possible.”
That was why he incited the participants by claiming that ‘sweet food’ was the real correct answer.
If I hadn’t stepped in, everyone would have turned their attention to snacks.
Sienne Katrin spoke.
“It’s good that we found out the correct answer…… but we won’t be able to stop Edgar’s solo run.”
“Sienne.”
“He already answered correctly one step ahead of us. Wouldn’t it be difficult to close the gap?”
Berseum crossed his arms.
“We can’t be sure of that. There might be food harder than a turtle shell.”
“For example?”
“Well. A coconut? A watermelon or a pumpkin? Hmm, maybe an ostrich egg…….”
We soon put our heads together and discussed the hard foods that existed in the world.
However, nothing particularly promising came up.
Among the foods mentioned, there might be something harder than a turtle shell.
But I didn’t think it would be enough to make up the gap that had already formed.
‘My orange was 2 gold coins, the apple was 4 gold coins, and the pineapple was 10 gold coins, right?’
Because an apple peel was harder than an orange peel, and a pineapple rind was harder than an apple peel.
But the differences between each were not that large.
Considering that the turtle shell had been 35 gold coins, it was a shabby amount…….
‘Huh?’
Wait, wait a minute.
“Is a turtle shell really that much harder than a pineapple rind?”
“Hm?”
“No, of course it might be harder. But is it hard enough to justify more than triple the difference?”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
“Hold on. Let me think.”
I sank deeper into thought.
Let’s organize this, organize it properly.
What was the common point among the things B had paid for so far?
That they were fruits.
But the purchase amounts for the fruits had all been different.
Until just now, I had thought that was because of ‘the difference in hardness of their peels.’
Was that really the case?
“Your Highness. You remember all the amounts B bought during the second intermediary trade, correct?”
“Of course.”
“I’m sorry, but could you recite them?”
“Hmm. First, the orange was 2 gold coins…….”
Armelia recited the amounts one by one exactly as she remembered.
In general, the prices varied depending on the thickness and hardness of the peel.
However.
“The pear was 3 gold coins, the banana was also 3 gold coins, the melon was 6 gold coins. That’s all.”
“Why are all the prices different?”
“Hm?”
“My orange and Karin Oblang’s pineapple. I can accept the price difference between those two. No matter how you look at it, a pineapple rind is harder than an orange peel.”
“…….”
“But isn’t it a little strange that the apple was 4 gold coins while the pear was 3 gold coins?”
Was an apple peel harder than a pear peel?
Even if it was slightly harder, was it hard enough to justify a difference of 1 gold coin?
Shouldn’t that kind of difference be calculated in silver coins instead of gold coins?
“The same goes for the banana and the melon. A banana peel is far from hard. A melon rind is quite hard.”
“…….”
“And yet the price difference between the two is only 3 gold coins.”
“Hm. Come to think of it, there isn’t much difference in hardness between your orange peel and a banana peel either. And yet there was a 1 gold coin difference.”
That’s right.
Perhaps, perhaps.
I…… and Edgar might have been mistaken at a fundamental level.
I continued muttering,
“……I think I get it. What B’s true preference is.”
“What are you talking about? B’s preference is ‘the texture of chewing.’”
“No. That’s a misunderstanding.”
It had only seemed that way because of a small coincidence layered on top of another.
Edgar had made the same mistake as I had just moments ago.
He believed that the hardness of the peel was the correct answer.
But the real correct answer lay elsewhere.
In that case…….
“We can turn this around. Against Edgar.”
Our course was decided.
Under Armelia’s guidance, we headed to farmhouses on the outskirts of the capital.
And following the idea I had come up with, we ran ourselves ragged.
After all that effort, this was what we prepared.
Armelia and Aina Noel each purchased a chicken and a pig.
Berseum and Benjamin Noel bought a cow and a horse.
Sienne Katrin and Karin Oblang bought a pheasant and a sheep.
Lastly, I purchased a monkey.
By the way, I hadn’t expected that they would even sell monkeys.
“Perhaps it’s being sold in small quantities to nobles with unusual tastes.”
“Is that so.”
“Some nobles especially enjoy monkey brains as a delicacy.”
“Have you tried it as well, Your Highness?”
“What do you think?”
“So you have.”
“No!”
Anyway, time passed like that.
Swoosh.
We were summoned before B once more.
One of the participants spoke up.
“Ah, Mason has come as well…… huh?”
Everyone’s expressions turned strange.
They had noticed what we were holding in our hands…… more precisely, what was tied to the reins in our hands as trade goods.
-Quack-quack. Flap. Squawk.
Livestock making extremely noisy sounds.
No, more precisely, ‘living’ livestock.
The faces of the participants changed when they saw them.
“Huh? Those people…….”
“Why did they bring something alive?”
Among those startled was Edgar as well.
He looked genuinely puzzled as he asked,
“Mason. What are you thinking?”
“Hey, Edgar. Did you bring a turtle again this time?”
“……!”
“If so, that’s rather lacking in sincerity. If you prepare the same item twice in a row, B will be disappointed.”
Drip.
Cold sweat visibly ran down Edgar’s forehead.
“How did you figure it out? I clearly handed it over inside a box. I even blocked B’s eating scene with my body!”
“There’s always a way.”
“…….”
“Why are you so anxious? Need to relieve yourself?”
“I’m not anxious, I’m baffled. What are those livestock beside you?”
-Quack-quack.
Aina Noel calmed her pig and said,
“What else would they be? They’re our trade goods for this round.”
“……Heh.”
“There he goes laughing again. Ah, I seriously want to kill him.”
“It seems Mason has reached his limit. You’ve brought items far removed from the correct answer.”
I replied with a grin.
“By correct answer…… do you mean ‘the texture of chewing’?”
“……!”
“Karin Oblang’s pineapple rind, your turtle. And B’s sharp teeth that can chew through anything.”
“…….”
“And finally, B’s appetite when she lunged at Kaid Bel’s iron-like scales. You must have judged by putting all that together. That B’s preference is the texture of chewing.”
Edgar’s face turned pale blue.
He unconsciously took a step back.
But he soon forced himself to remain composed and said,
“That’s correct. That’s the answer.”
“…….”
“Which is precisely why I’m puzzled. Even after realizing that much, why bring livestock without shells? Do you think their hides can be recognized as shells?”
“…….”
“Even if they are recognized, would they really fetch a high price? Livestock hides are merely tough. They lack the ‘hardness’ B desires.”
I answered leisurely.
“We’ll find out soon enough. I’ll say this in advance—this time, you put your item up first.”
“…….”
“I’d like to slowly watch your futile struggle.”
I returned the exact words he had used last time.
Edgar let out a small sound and picked up something from beside his feet.
As expected, it was inside a box.
“You can take it out of the box.”
“…….”
“Even if you try to block it somehow, we’ll find out anyway. Just like last time.”
He bit his lip and opened the box.
Then he took out what was inside and placed it on the table.
It was a coconut.
B smiled faintly and said,
“I’ll buy it.”
Tap tap.
B tapped the armrest with her index finger.
Soon, a Mini Bulletin Board floated up.
■ Edgar Tyler’s Profit
-Revenue: 36 gold coins 98 silver coins
-Cost: 0 gold coins 3 silver coins
-Profit: Plus 36 gold coins 95 silver coins
At the same time, she opened her mouth wide and swallowed Edgar’s item whole.
Crunch crunch.
At that moment, Edgar shouted like a thunderclap.
“That’s impossible!”
Last time, his revenue had been 35 gold coins 98 silver coins.
In other words, this time he had earned only 1 gold coin.
He muttered as if he couldn’t believe it.
“This can’t be right. Something’s wrong.”
“What seems to be the problem?”
“The coconut has a sufficiently hard shell, a fruit with a proper chewing texture!”
Perhaps because he was quite agitated, he had dropped his usual polite speech.
B tilted her head.
“The texture of chewing?”
“That’s right! Your true preference—the texture of chewing!”
“My preference isn’t particularly the texture of chewing.”
In that instant, Edgar’s body stiffened.
B continued speaking.
“My real preference is…….”
“Don’t say it, B.”
“Ah, I’m sorry, Magireta. The participants are supposed to figure it out themselves.”
I stepped in at that moment.
“May we place our items now?”
“Of course. Little brother.”
“Thank you.”
First, Armelia Kerr Dneroum placed a live chicken on the table.
At that, B’s gaze changed.
“I’ll buy it!”
A slightly different reaction than before—almost excited.
She immediately opened her mouth and swallowed the chicken in one bite.
-Crack. Crunch.
A sound unpleasant even to hear.
Since it was far larger than the turtle, blood trickled down from between B’s lips.
“Ugh.”
One of the participants covered their mouth.
Gulp.
B’s throat wriggled, and the meal ended.
And then.
Tap tap.
B tapped her index finger.
With a click, the Mini Bulletin Board appeared.
■ Armelia Kerr Dneroum’s Profit
-Revenue: 42 gold coins 55 silver coins
-Cost: 2 gold coins 65 silver coins
-Profit: Plus 39 gold coins 90 silver coins
Suddenly, an enormous profit had been generated.
As expected, this was the correct answer.