Norm Trading Company

The next morning, the four of them packed up and said goodbye to Fass at the entrance of the hotel.

The dwarf stood in the morning light, rubbed his still slightly red nose vigorously, and grinned.

"Although the result is regrettable," he said in a loud, hoarse voice, his eyes shining, "It's the first time I've had such a happy night... Drinking is all about having fun! Thank you so much."

He pulled out a bulging money bag and handed it over.

"These are the agreed-upon twenty Larsi Gold Coins..."

Lowell waved his hand.

"It was Elder who helped me. Although he's practically one of my men, I don't need it. If you want to give it to me, you should ask him. I don't need it. Besides, we're old friends, and we already took the wine."

He smiled.

"Bye now."

Fern nodded slightly, his pale purple eyes looking at Fass.

"That's right, thank you very much. Lord Heiter will be very happy to drink this."

A simple farewell.

The group turned and headed north. Fass stood under the inn sign, waving vigorously until their figures disappeared into the thin dust raised by the dirt road outside the town.

It's been a month since we left the Bia Region.

The wind in the wasteland remained dry and cold, but on the distant horizon, a dark, majestic outline gradually emerged.

As the distance closed, the outline became clear—a circular town surrounded by massive walls. The walls, high and built of gray-white boulders, cast silent and solid shadows across the open field.

Fern stopped and gazed at the fortress.

"It's a fortified city."

Frieren walked to her side, her silver hair blowing back in the wind. Her emerald eyes swept over the city walls and the towering spires of the buildings in the very center of the city, faintly visible in the distance.

"This is the territory of the Norm Trading Company." She began, her voice steady, as if reciting words etched in her memory. "The guild's headquarters are located in the very center of the city. They primarily deal in wheat from the Bia Region, and engage in various trades on the Northern Plateau. They are a powerful, militarily capable guild with a formidable armed force. Their trade network once spanned every village on the Northern Plateau."

Lowell immediately gave a thumbs-up, a big smile spreading across his face.

"As expected of my Frieren! Absolutely right! A living encyclopedia!"

He held out his hands. Frieren didn't even look at him, but naturally raised her hand and gave him a high five. A crisp "slap" sounded.

After giving the high five, Frieren continued, her tone unchanged.

"In the Northern Plateau, where even the state finds it difficult to intervene effectively, they are practically the de facto rulers of the Northern Plateau's Human race."

Fern tilted his head slightly.

"Hmm. But I remember you said a few days ago that the flow of goods in the Northern Plateau is very inconvenient. We haven't seen many villages either. If it weren't for Lord Lowell's alternate dimension, we would probably only be eating crunchy, hard bread..."

"Yes," Frieren nodded, "I don't know how the Norm Trading Company is doing now. They're probably not as glorious as they used to be."

She paused, then added.

"Even so, 'the Seven Sages of Destruction Who Die Are Stronger Than You,' the Chamber of Commerce still has considerable strength. We'd better keep a low profile."

Fern gave a soft "hmm" to indicate that he understood.

The group walked towards the city gate.

Soldiers guarded the gate, but the people actually checking identities were dressed in uniform dark brown suits with the Chamber of Commerce insignia on their arms. A wooden table was set up at the city gate, and a young man who looked to be in his early twenties with a sharp expression sat behind it, in charge of registration.

Fern stepped forward and handed over her and Frieren's identification documents.

The young man took it, carefully examined the markings and writing on the parchment, then looked up at Frieren's pointed ears and Lowell and the others, a professional, polite smile on his face.

"Welcome, two First-Class Mages. You may proceed."

He handed over his identification.

Fern took it and was about to turn around.

The instant she turned around—

The young man behind the table seemed to suddenly notice something, letting out a short, puzzled "Huh?" He quickly looked down at the bottom of the table—there seemed to be a few pieces of paper stuck there.

His gaze swept quickly back and forth between the paper and Frieren and Lowell.

Please wait a moment.

He spoke, his voice more urgent than before.

Frieren's back stiffened almost imperceptibly. She didn't turn around immediately, but her shoulders slumped slightly.

"... Something's wrong."

She said softly, her voice revealing a sense of resignation, "There was no escaping it after all."

Fern turned her head and looked at her master's guilty look, blinking her pale purple eyes.

"Lady Frieren, could it be that, like Earl Tahe before, the merchant guild here also...?"

"No..." Frieren mumbled, her voice even lower, tinged with a hint of embarrassment, "... it's more troublesome..."

The young man had already stood up, his attitude still respectful, but his tone now carried an air of unquestionable authority.

"Gentlemen, I apologize. The chairman has ordered that if you see the two individuals in the portrait... you will need to come to headquarters. Please follow me."

The Chamber of Commerce headquarters was even larger than it appeared from the outside. After passing through several doors and corridors, they were led to a spacious reception room.

The room was luxuriously furnished but not ostentatiously, and the thick carpet absorbed all footsteps. The huge floor-to-ceiling windows offered a panoramic view of much of the city.

A man stood by the window, his back to them. He was tall and straight, wearing a well-tailored dark gray suit, and his light brown hair was neatly combed.

Hearing footsteps, he turned around.

The man appeared to be in his thirties, handsome, and wearing silver-rimmed glasses. Behind the lenses, his eyes were sharp and calm. A perfectly measured smile played on his lips, giving him a refined air, yet he exuded the composed demeanor of someone who had long held a high position.

Two steps behind him stood two figures, their faces obscured by black robes, seemingly bodyguards.

"Welcome," the man said, his voice gentle and clear. "I am Norm, the current president of the Chamber of Commerce."

His gaze fell on Frieren and Lowell's faces, his smile deepened, yet strangely, it created a sense of pressure.

"You two must be the mages traveling with the hero, Lady Frieren and Lowell."

He took two steps forward and sat down behind the large mahogany desk, placing his hands on the table with his fingers interlaced.

"Then, let's skip the pleasantries."

He leaned forward slightly, his eyes behind his glasses fixed on the two of them, his tone steady and his words clear.

"Please repay us the money you borrowed from our chamber of commerce eighty years ago, with interest."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Frieren's face fell visibly. Her emerald eyes drooped, her lips turned down, and her whole face scrunched up, revealing a mixture of grievance, helplessness, and sadness at "how could this happen?" She even stomped her foot lightly, like a child caught doing something wrong.

Fern turned her head and looked at her master, her pale purple eyes clearly reflecting shock. She shook Frieren's body, but Frieren did not move, and was just shaken back and forth by her.

"Lady Frieren...! So you borrowed money before?"

"It was clearly Himmel and the others who borrowed it..." Frieren argued softly, her voice muffled, trying to salvage the situation, "I wasn't really part of the Hero's group... Besides, the then-president of the Norm Trading Company said it could be returned anytime..."

Norm gently pushed up his glasses, his smile unchanged, but his tone left no room for argument.

"Verbal agreements don't count. Unfortunately, this wasn't written in the surviving contracts. The previous two chairmen... were perhaps a bit too naive. But I'm different."

He leaned back in the high-backed chair, his posture relaxed, yet exuding an even stronger sense of oppression.

"Paying back debts is a matter of course, isn't it?"

Lowell scratched the back of his head, sighed, and stepped forward.

"Okay, okay. How much?" he asked casually, as if asking a trivial matter. "Anyway, I'm a millionaire now..."

He stretched out his hand and casually traced a line in the air with his fingertips.

A piece of Anti-Magic Ore, about the size of a millstone, bright silver throughout, and with dark, flowing patterns, landed on the smooth mahogany table with a "thud." The ore itself emitted a soft, cool light, turning a small area around it into a silvery-blue hue.

The smile on Guild Master Norm's face froze instantly.

He leaned forward, his eyes behind his glasses fixed on the ore, his pupils slightly contracted. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then stopped abruptly, his Adam's apple bobbing.

There was silence for several seconds.

He took a deep breath, slowly leaned back in his chair, and when he spoke again, the deliberately created sense of pressure in his voice had vanished without a trace, and even carried a hint of barely perceptible dryness.

"This... this is such a huge piece of Anti-Magic Ore..."

He shook his head, as if trying to shake off some unrealistic idea, and gave a wry smile.

"Oh my god... tsk."

He raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose hard.

"It seems this tactic won't work."

He lowered his hand, his expression becoming much more serious, even somewhat apologetic. He stood up and gave a slight bow to Frieren and Lowell.

"Ahem, anyway, please forget what you just said. I'm very sorry."

He raised his head, his gaze honest.

"Actually, the loans you made eighty years ago were already fully repaid a few years ago when Himmel and Ruby passed through this place. The principal and interest were paid in full, down to the last penny."

Frieren: "..."

The aggrieved and sad expression on her face slowly faded, and her emerald green eyes narrowed as she stared at President Norm, a hint of disdain flashing within them.

"Ugh... this guy," she whispered, emphasizing each word, "Is lying to us."

Fern raised his hand and pressed it to his temple. His pale purple eyes clearly showed "I see" and a hint of helplessness.

Lowell crossed his arms and looked at Norm Master Norm, his dark eyes showing little anger, but rather a hint of curiosity.

"So?" he asked, his tone flat, "What are you trying to do by lying to us?"

President Norm sat up straight again, placing his hands once more on the table. The apology on his face faded, replaced by the shrewdness and composure of a businessman, but his eyes were more serious than before.

"That's right."

He spoke slowly.

"I have invited you all here not because of old debts, but because there is something I would like to ask for your help with."