Day 531-540/Day 540

Day 540 / 70th day
In the morning, I went about my work as usual. While processing the mountain of paperwork that grows every day, I also educated the office staff at the same time. This time, I used a magic item from the Balance Tower that boosts thinking speed and memory, and the office workers have made remarkable progress. I encouraged them to hurry up and make things easier for me as I pushed forward.
In the evening, accompanied by a young man with a sack of meat who served as his secretary, he dressed in formal attire and rode in a golem truck to the mansion of the third female president of the ≪Adora Adora Mineral Shop≫.
The walls and thick trees surrounding the house made it difficult to see from the outside, but when I presented my invitation to one of the strong gatekeepers, he let me in, and when I went through the massive gate, I first saw a magnificent garden. The garden on either side of the path leading to the house was well maintained, and there were a number of 3-dimensional objects made of floating stones. The garden made me feel as if I was in a place displaying modern art using minerals, and further ahead was a silvery white mansion.
It must have been designed by an excellent architect. It was a harmonious Western-style building, not too flashy but elegant. The architectural style was quite old, and I could feel the long history accumulated by the long-established Adora Adora Mineral Shop.
As we approached the mansion with the golem truck, several carriages were dropping off the people riding in them at the magnificent entrance. I followed their example and lined up, and when my turn came, I got off. Then a young man, a well-trained servant, came to show us the way. The golem truck was about to be moved by another servant to a dedicated parking space, so I lifted some of the restrictions on the golem truck so that even the servants could move it temporarily.
I watched the golem truck move away and followed the servant who was showing me the way. The place we were led to was a large hall with a capacity of several hundred people. The party seemed to be a standing reception, and there were already a good number of business leaders and executives chatting over drinks.
As I mingled with them and tried to remember the faces of the participants, I spotted the female chairman of the board of trade in a place where people were gathering. She seemed to be actively talking to the guests as a host. I waited for a while, and when I spoke to her after the guests had stopped coming, she looked at me and tilted her head, and then looked at the young man with the meat bag and gave me an even more suspicious look. It's as if she saw a guest she didn't invite. Well, that can't be helped.
I've changed into the Black Goblin King, so it's natural that she doesn't understand. The chairwoman was a little confused at first, but I guess she's had a lot of experience. It only took a few moments for her to get upset, and then she started trying to get information out of the conversation about who I was. Well, I explained it to him briefly so that she would understand who I was. I don't know why, but I know who you are, and that's enough for now. I promised to talk to her again later, and swam out of the social gathering again.
There's no doubt that tonight's main target is the Chairman of the 7 Great Traders ≪Glenvar O'Brea≫, but even the other participants are also important guests. There's no harm in taking this opportunity to interact with them. Some of them are my business partners, so I should greet them.
As we talked about this and that, I made contact with several people, but the reactions were different. Some reactions were unpleasant, some were positive. Either way, we had a meaningful time, and then, a little later, our main target arrived. The Chairman of the 7 Great Traders was a dwarf.
Small in stature, but with thick limbs and a barrel-like torso. He wore muscular armor that could be seen even when he was wearing good quality clothes, and he was a typical dwarf with a magnificent beard and dark skin that looked like it had been burned by fire. He looks more like a craftsman than a merchant, so much so that it would not be out of place for him to take off his clothes, carry a hammer, and hammer steel in his workshop.
The dwarf merchant chairman poured a huge mug of fire wine and drank it down with great gusto, while appropriately greeting the many merchants who came to greet him. As was customary, he poured fire wine into the glasses of each person who came to greet him, and drank it with pleasure himself. The alcohol content must have been quite high.
Even those who managed to drink seemed to be in pain, and some were wobbly after one drink. Some of them turned pale and took refuge on the couches and chairs by the wall. From my little observation, it seems that the more you drink with the dwarf merchant, the more they like you. There are a few exceptions, but they are usually women who match the dwarf merchant's tastes.
Anyway, it was very convenient that he liked to drink. With a huge mug as big as the dwarf merchant chairman in his hand, he smiled and went to greet her. The Chairman of the Dwarf Trading Company has a dynamic personality and often laughs gaily and gaily. He is a good-natured and friendly person with a bit of an offbeat personality.
However, hidden behind the surface, he is a very strong man. He smiles with his mouth and eyes, but deep down, you can tell that he is judging people. When I approached him, he welcomed me with open arms, but since we had never met before, he was more observant than others. However, the Dwarf Trade Chairman and I decided to have a drinking contest.
It all started when he chugged a mug of fire wine. When he found out that I could drink, he started talking to me. He seemed happy to hear that it had been a long time since someone could drink fire wine as well as he could, which burned his throat. Of course, I took him up on it.
Borrowing one of the tables, the dwarf merchant chairman takes out a barrel of fire wine from a storage magic item. We began to take turns drinking it, smiling at the fire wine that was so full of spirit that it seemed to be good for the smell alone. It was a fun time for me personally, without any speculation.
The first 3 kegs of fire wine were lightly consumed, while the 4th was consumed by the blushing dwarf chairman, and the 5th was mostly consumed by me. I won the drinking contest, and the dwarf chairman, who was a great drinker, was excited to be the first to fall. The more I drank, the more water I had to drink, so I headed for the restroom while supporting the wobbly dwarf chairman who had naturally become a good friend of mine.
There, we both let out what we had to let out, and when we felt refreshed, we took a short night breeze to cool our burning bodies. At that time, he asked me to have a drink with him again sometime in private, and I gratefully agreed. As a memento, I gave him the marble-like rock I got from the Balance Tower and a storage magic item in a cloth bag that contained the labyrinthine liquor that only dropped near the top floor, so that we wouldn't have to meet again later.
I had originally prepared these items as souvenirs, but I think I could not have given them to him at a better time. Both of these items are very valuable and not something you can just buy. I was able to give them to him at a time when we were getting to know each other personally, so it was a sign of friendship, and the shock of the delay left a strong impression on me.
It would have appealed to them to talk about their plans more easily. After settling down and returning to the venue, we talked about this and that until it was time to call it a night.
I had accomplished my goal, and I had made my presence known to the other merchant chairmen through my interaction with the dwarf chairman. Tonight was a great success. On the way home, I promised the female chairman that I would see her again tomorrow for a business meeting, and went back to bed.
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RAWS
“七十日目　／　五■四十■目”
朝は普通に仕事をこなす。
日々増える書類の山を消化しつつ、事務系の人員教育も並行して行った。
今回は思考速度や記憶力を引き上げる天秤塔産の設置型マジックアイテムを使用した事もあり、事務系の従業員達の成長は著しい。
早く楽をさせてくれと激励しつつ邁進する。
そして夕方になると秘書を務める肉袋青年を伴い、正装してからゴーレムトラックに乗って≪アドーラアドラ鉱物店≫の三代目女商会長の屋敷に向かった。
周囲を囲む壁と生い茂る樹木に阻まれて外からはよく見えなかったが、屈強な門番の一人に招待状を提示すると中に通され、重厚な門を潜るとまず立派な庭があった。
屋敷に続く道の左右に広がる庭はよく手入れされ、浮遊石による立体的なオブジェクトなどが幾つも設置されている。
鉱物を使った現代アートを展示している場所にいるような感覚になる庭で、さらに進んだ先には白銀の屋敷があった。
優れた建築家によって設計されたのだろう。派手過ぎず品のいい調和のとれた洋館だ。
建築様式はかなり古く、老舗である≪アドーラアドラ鉱物店≫が積み上げた長い歴史が感じられた。
ゴーレムトラックを進めて屋敷に近付くと、数台の馬車が立派な玄関で乗っている人物達を下ろしている。
それに習って列に並び、順番が来たので降りた。
するとよく教育された使用人の青年がやって来て、案内してくれるらしい。
ゴーレムトラックは他の使用人が専用の駐車スペースに移動させようとしていたので、一時的に使用人でも動かせるようにゴーレムトラックの制限を一部解除。
動いていくゴーレムトラックを見送り、案内してくれる使用人の後ろをついて行く。
そして案内された場所は、軽く数百名を収容できるだろう大ホールだった。
今回の交流会は立食パーティー形式らしく、すでにそこそこの数の商会長や幹部が酒などを片手に談笑している。
俺もそこに混ざりながら周囲の参加者の顔を覚えていると、一際ヒトが集まる場所に女商会長を見つけた。
ホストとして来客と積極的に話しているようだ。　
少し待ち、客が途切れたところで話しかけると女商会長は俺を見て首を傾げ、肉袋青年を見て更に怪訝な表情を浮かべる。
まるで招待した覚えのない客を見たような反応だ。
まあ、それも仕方ない。
俺は黒小鬼王に変わっているので、分からないのも当然だろう。
最初は少し混乱していた女商会長は、流石に場数を踏んでいるだけはあるのだろう。
動揺を見せたのも僅かな間で、会話によって俺が誰なのか情報を引き出そうとし始める。
まあ、その辺りは手短に説明して、俺について理解してもらった。
理由は分からなくても誰かは分かった程度だが、今はそれで十分だろう。
俺はまた後で話したいと約束をして、交流会をまた泳ぎ出した。
今夜の本命は≪グレンバー・オブレイア≫の七大商会長である事に間違いないが、他の参加者でも重要な客になる。
これを機会に交流して損はない。取引先もいるので、挨拶はしておくべきだろう。
そうしてあれこれ話しながら複数人と接触していったが、反応はそれぞれだ。
不快な反応もあれば良好な反応もある。
そのどちらにしろ有意義な時間を過ごしたところで、少し遅れて今回の本命がやってきた。
七大商会長はドワーフだった。
身長は小さいが、太い手足に樽のような胴体。質の良い服を着ていても分かる筋肉の鎧を身に纏い、立派な顎髭が特徴的な火に焼けたような浅黒い肌の典型的なドワーフだ。
服を脱いで金槌を担ぎ、工房で鋼を打っていても違和感はないほど、商人というよりも職人のような雰囲気を身に纏っている。
そんなドワーフ商会長は巨大ジョッキに並々と火酒を注ぎ、それを豪快に飲み干しながら挨拶しに来る多くの商人を適切に流していた。
通例なのか挨拶に来る一人一人のグラスに火酒を注ぎ、自分も気分良く飲んでいる。
相当アルコール度数が高いのだろう。
何とか飲んだ者も辛そうにしているし、一杯でふらつく者もいた。顔を青くして壁際のソファや椅子に避難している者も居る。
少し観察した傾向として、ドワーフ商会長と飲み交わす量が多ければ多いほど気に入られているようだ。
例外も居るが、それはドワーフ商会長の好みにあう女性である場合が殆どである。
ともあれ、酒好きなのは非常に都合が良かった。
懐はドワーフ商会長と同じくらいの巨大ジョッキを片手に、笑みを浮かべて挨拶に向かう。
ドワーフ商会長は豪快な性格で、よくガハハと豪快に笑っている。人当たりが良く、少し抜けている所もある気さくな性格だ。
ただ表に隠された裏の部分はとても強かである。
口も目も笑っているが、奥底ではヒトを値踏みしているのが何となく分かる。
俺が近付いた時も好意的に受け入れてくれたが、初対面という事もあって他より観察する度合いが強い。
しかしそんなドワーフ商会長と俺は飲み比べする事になった。
切っ掛けは火酒をジョッキで一気飲みした事だ。
俺が飲める方だと分かったからか、ドワーフ商会長の方から話を出してきた。
喉が焼けるような火酒を自分と同じように飲める奴は久しぶりだ、と嬉しそうにしている。
もちろん、それに乗った。
テーブルの一つを借り、ドワーフ商会長が収納系マジックアイテムから火酒入りの樽を取り出す。
匂いだけで良いそうなほどの酒精に満ちる火酒に思わず笑みを浮かべつつ、交互に飲み始めた。
個人的には思惑抜きで楽しい時間だった。
女商会長が用意していた料理をツマミに、火酒入りの樽は一つ目から三つ目は軽く飲み干され、四つ目は赤らんだドワーフ商会長が何とか飲みきり、五つ目の大半は俺が飲んだ。
飲み比べは俺が勝ち、酒豪のドワーフ商会長が初めて落ちたと盛り上がる。
飲んだ分だけ水分が堪ったので、自然と仲良くなったふらつくドワーフ商会長を支えながらトイレに向かう。
そこでお互いに出すモノを出し、スッキリした所で少し夜風を浴びて火照った身体を冷やす。
その際、また今度プライベートで飲もうと誘われたので、有り難く約束を取り付けた。
そして酒の席の話として後日会わない何て事もないように、今回の記念として天秤塔で得た大理石のような岩石と、最上階付近でしかドロップしなかった迷宮酒が入った布袋の収納系マジックアイテムを渡した。
元々手土産にしようと用意していた品だが、これ以上にないタイミングで渡せたのではないだろうか。
どちらも非常に価値が高く、買おうと思って買える品ではない。　
個人的に仲良くなったタイミングで渡せたので友好の証になるし、帰ってから遅れてくる衝撃は印象に強く残る。
より計画の話にも移りやすいアピールになっただろう。
落ち着いて会場に戻ってからもあれこれ話していると、時間になったのでお開きになる。
目的は完遂できたし、ドワーフ商会長とのやり取りで他の商会長達にも存在を印象づけできた。
今夜は大成功だ。
帰り際、女商会長には明日も商談があると会う約束をして帰って寝た。
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Category:Novel
Category:Re:Monster ~ The Dark Continent ~ Vol. 3