To buy a used wagon, we need money.
And since I can’t very well stuff a whole wagon into Storage and carry it home, we’ll need a horse, too.
“Selina. Have you ever ridden a horse?” I ask.
“Of course I have!”
Ugh, right. I always forget she was a noble.
Still, I get the feeling she’s never actually driven a wagon.
“We don’t have that kind of money!” I cry.
This is a huge problem!
But Selina just laughs, wagging her finger with a little tsk, tsk, tsk.
“First things first, we need a whole lot of lumber. And go pile up that fertilizer somewhere!”
Just chopping down trees isn’t enough to make them valuable lumber. You gotta dry them and mill them properly if you expect anyone to pay a high price.
That’s something I picked up from Maggie’s dad!
“And besides,” Selina adds, “if you’re going to be chopping down all those trees, you might as well make paper…”
“Selina! I’ve got my hands full just thinking about the wagon!”
I know plant-based paper exists, not just parchment, but don’t you dare try to pin that job on me!
You’re the one who uses all the paper, anyway.
“Hee hee. We can cover the cost of a used wagon and a horse just by selling the first shipment of lumber,” she says with a grin.
That makes no sense.
Since I don’t understand, I ask her to clarify.
“So, you mean you’re going to use your Storage and go sell it yourself? If you can do that, then we don’t need a wagon and a horse at all!”
Why not just have the court mage buy it from you every time? You two seem to be acquainted!
“And why should I have to be the one to sell lumber? You’re the one who’s in a fix because you can’t afford a wagon and a horse, so I’m just offering to transport the first load for you. Once.
Besides, I don’t think you can teleport all the way to the Sarina Kingdom. You might manage it with a Waymark, but still.”
Argh. She’s right.
Selina is way better at teleporting, and her Storage capacity is on a whole different level from mine.
“Then how am I supposed to sell the lumber?”
Hauling lumber all the way to the Royal Capital in the Kingdom of Unia by wagon sounds dangerous and exhausting!
There’s a reason people post escort requests at the Adventurers’ Guild.
“In the City of Alina, right next to the Royal Capital, I have a merchant acquaintance. We’ll have him sell it for us.”
Selina says it so simply, but I’ve never even heard of a city called Alina.
“Why can’t you just take me to the Royal Capital, then?”
If we’re going somewhere, I want to go to the capital!
“The Royal Capital is off-limits. You’re still too prone to doing foolish things. Didn’t you just do something that got you practically banned from the Adventurers’ Guild in Carlton?”
Ugh, she sees right through me!
“But Alina is super far away, too!”
When I start grumbling, she dips her finger in her wine and draws a simple map on the table.
“There’s a small forest near Alina,” she explains. “You just have to teleport there, wagon and all.”
“What?! You mean I’m supposed to drive the wagon into Alina myself? That’s gonna look super suspicious!”
Selina crosses her arms, lost in thought.
“You have a point. The gate guards in Alina would certainly find it odd to see a little squirt like you driving a wagon piled high with lumber all by yourself. I’ve got it! We’ll have the merchant in Alina bring a driver out to the small forest!”
“Whoa, whoa, hold on! If we’re going to do that, why don’t we just teleport the lumber there and have the merchant provide the wagon, the horse, and the driver?”
Right? I think it’s a brilliant idea.
But Selina just makes a sour face. “If we become that dependent on him, he might just decide not to pay us.”
“What? I thought you said he was a trustworthy merchant!”
Selina pauses to think for a moment.
“I did him a favor once… but that was twenty years ago. Even if he’s not dead, the business might have changed hands. Well, if he doesn’t work out, we’ll just have to find another merchant!”
Selina’s lived for so long that she’s completely oblivious to normal human lifespans!
I wonder if I’ll end up like that?
No, I don’t even know if I’ll live that long!
“Well, he was just a lad back then, so I’m sure he’s still alive!” Selina declares, having convinced herself.
Is she sure about that? Sometimes when Selina says “lad,” she means someone in their thirties or forties, so I’m a bit worried!
“In any case, it’s best we have our own wagon so we don’t look too desperate. As for horses… would one be enough? No, that would look odd. We’ll need two. But first things first: let’s buy one used wagon and one horse.”
So, that means I’m the one who’s going to be chopping down trees like a maniac, right? It’s not like Selina would ever do it.
But that’s fine, I guess! I’d hate to see Lang Village or Carlton get swallowed up by the Great Forest.
“Oh, and one more thing. Grind up all those roots, dig a big pit, and let them turn into fertilizer!” she adds.
“The Sarina Kingdom’s crops don’t seem to grow as well as Unia’s. The court mage was just complaining about a fertilizer shortage. Roots from Schwarzwald are packed with mana, so they might just improve the harvest.”
So it seems Selina is planning to use that to put the court mage of the Sarina Kingdom—or maybe her old family—in her debt.
But I’m the one who has to make it. And I’m definitely the one who’s going to gotta dig that giant pit!
The least she could do is buy the wagon for me!