Trifles

Several months later, Yinsen returned to Stat Island.

Compared to last time, he had changed beyond recognition. From a scrawny young fisherman, he had grown into a Sorcerer's Apprentice who had touched upon mysterious power. The equipment on him was enough to ensure he could move freely through these waters without worrying about his life.

"So this is Stat Island?"

Arthur stood at the highest point of the Poop Deck, constantly looking over the harbor, while Yinsen negotiated with the harbor staff.

This time, he had brought back two ships. He planned to sell the smaller one back to the Adventurer's Guild. As for the larger one, he intended to give it a thorough overhaul, register it under the name Goddess of Dawn, and use it for the foreseeable future.

"This one should last longer, right?"

In truth, even if he wanted to leave Stat Island early this time, he could not.

Unloading, tallying, and selling the cargo would take quite some time. The ship also needed major repairs and maintenance—who knew how long Angus had drifted around at sea in it, or when it had last been serviced?

He did not want to be adrift at sea only to suddenly discover all kinds of problems that put him in danger. The safest option was not to care about the expense and give the ship a complete overhaul.

"Also, remove the name from the side of the bow."

"Then what would you like the ship renamed? And where should it be carved?"

Ship names were usually carved onto separate wooden plaques and then nailed somewhere onto the vessel. That did not damage the hull itself and also made changing names convenient.

Stat Island had only one shipyard, which handled all shipbuilding, repairs, upkeep, and maintenance in the Sea of Tranquility. Though it held an absolute monopoly, its prices were fair and its workmanship reliable—nearly every ship in the Sea of Tranquility had been built by them. There were not that many Adventurers with such craftsmanship.

With help from the harbor staff, the shipyard directly sent over a young man around twenty to receive Yinsen. Besides confirming and registering which ship needed maintenance, he also had to record every additional request from the client to avoid disputes caused by discrepancies upon delivery.

From that alone, this nameless shipyard seemed quite conscientious.

"Goddess of Dawn." Yinsen rubbed his chin. After considering it, he decided to hang the name at the stern. "If possible, add a figurehead for me. I want a statue of a praying Goddess."

Figureheads were nothing unusual, but they existed purely as decoration, and few people requested them—such additions all required extra payment.

Something useless to others was different for Yinsen. He had learned a great deal and practiced at sea for so long that he was ready to use a larger object for practice. Experimenting directly on the hull was a little risky, but a figurehead did not matter. Even if it was damaged, it would not harm the ship itself.

If he succeeded, he could improve some of his ship's capabilities! That was right—he wanted to inscribe some Magic Arrays onto the figurehead and turn this ship into a Magic Warship.

The young man sent by the shipyard was named Margo. When he heard that Yinsen wanted a figurehead installed, his routine expression finally changed somewhat.

In fact, he had already been a little surprised when he saw this ship—Angus the Mad Dog's Mad Dog was rather well-known on Stat Island. Moreover, their shipyard handled the maintenance of nearly every vessel in these waters, so they had seen this ship countless times.

Of course, though Angus the Mad Dog had some fame, his strength was nothing special in the eyes of people who had seen the world. It would not have been surprising if he had kicked an iron plate or simply gotten himself killed through bad luck.

What Margo had not expected was that this young man not only intended to keep the Mad Dog for himself, but also planned extensive modifications. It seemed he possessed not only considerable strength, but substantial wealth as well.

"Besides the figurehead and routine maintenance, is there anything else you would like done?"

Margo turned to look around. The ship bore many marks, clearly from a battle, but they were all shallow and did not require major repairs. Some patchwork would suffice. Still, after determining that Yinsen appeared quite wealthy, he intended to cultivate this major client.

"What modification options do you have?"

"Oh, there are quite a lot. I'm afraid I can't explain them all here. If you're interested, I suggest finding time to visit the shipyard in person. We have not only detailed catalogs, but actual samples that will let you understand the effects of those modifications more clearly."

Yinsen had not expected the shipyard's service to be so thorough. He nodded. "Once the cargo has been unloaded, I'll go take a look myself."

Margo made a note in his notebook. Since Yinsen had agreed to go there personally, he did not need to waste time here. He had only come today to record the services required; after the cargo was unloaded, someone else would bring the ship to the yard.

"Then goodbye, Yinsen of the Goddess of Dawn."

"Goodbye."

After watching Margo leave, Yinsen returned to the ship. The workers hired by the harbor administrator had already begun taking the ore from the cargo hold and loading it onto cart after cart.

Only then did he learn that the ore he had found was raw ore containing various metals. Iron, copper, and other commonly used metals could be refined from it. It was the most common and most highly demanded ore in this world.

Though it was common, demand was enormous. Even island residents who never went to sea required great quantities of copper and iron for their daily lives, so the ore's "price" was not low.

"If all this ore is sold, we'll be able to live comfortably for a long time."

Even the shipyard was willing to accept ore as payment for maintenance, repairs, and modifications. Though the exact price depended on how he wanted the ship altered, it would not consume much in the end.

"Should all of it be transported to the Guild?"

"Yes, then stored directly in the Guild."

The Guild had already sent a dedicated clerk to handle the matter. Such a large quantity of ore was enough to attract their attention.

"Would you like us to arrange slightly larger accommodations this time?"

This clerk was quite perceptive. Besides, when arranging lodging, the Guild would normally place people from the same ship together anyway.

"Somewhere close by is fine... By the way, does the Guild have a place where people can train?"

"There is a dedicated training ground, and it's completely free. However, it is a shared space, so there will be many people there. Some unpleasant things may happen."

His words were vague, but the meaning was clear enough. Yinsen nodded to show that he understood. "That's fine. Arrange the two of us together, preferably somewhere close to the training ground."

"Certainly, no problem."

Naturally, others would handle the tallying. The clerk only needed to record all the assessed "asset data" under Yinsen's name, then submit it to the Guild for filing. After that, Yinsen could use the assets stored in the Guild to enjoy certain "paid" services, and could also directly "purchase" what he needed from the Guild's shop.

Unfortunately, the Guild in the Sea of Tranquility still used the simplest barter system. There was no universally accepted currency to facilitate trade.

"Still, it's more convenient than carrying around a huge pile of stuff myself."

Now he was rather glad that he had joined the Guild from the start instead of stumbling around alone. Setting aside the issue of storing supplies, gathering all kinds of information alone would have wasted a great deal of time.

As a large amount of "assets" was deposited into Yinsen's "account," much of the Guild's information became available to him. The clerk even told him quite bluntly that Adventurers capable of bringing in large quantities of supplies would not only receive all kinds of information from the Guild, but also a certain degree of support.

For example, they would be given priority access to intelligence and new ships. If they encountered danger, the Guild would call on other available Adventurers to rescue them. If they ran into the trouble of "bankruptcy," the Guild would provide basic ship supplies to give that Adventurer a chance to get back on his feet.

The more wealth an Adventurer brought to the Guild, the better these benefits became.

"Oh, there are so many benefits?"

"Of course. There are many advantages to joining the Guild." At that point, the clerk suddenly leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Also, information about the Sea of Storms and what lies beyond it can be consulted in the Guild as well."

"Oh?"

Yinsen became even more interested. He had been planning to gather information on that subject lately, and now someone had handed him a pillow just as he was getting sleepy.

Still, what did these clerks gain by telling him such things?

He thought back to when he first joined the Guild. The person who had handled his registration had acted the same way, always furtively revealing all kinds of information. Yet every piece of information benefited him, and none of it seemed intended to trick him.

"What exactly are they after? Could these clerks really just be helpful by nature?"

Unable to figure it out, he saw that the cargo had been dealt with. The ore from both ships had been transported to the Guild, while the remaining food and water aboard would serve as payment for the laborers. The rest was likewise handed to the Guild for processing—those goods would soon be sold at the market and exchanged for other items that could be stored long-term in Yinsen's account.

By the time everything was finished, Yinsen no longer had time to visit the Guild's Reference Room. He could only go with Arthur to the room assigned to them and rest.

"We'll visit the Reference Room tomorrow."

After washing up simply, Yinsen planned to practice his Mental Power a little before resting, then resolve Arthur's language problem the next day.

"I didn't expect Merlin to leave me another test over this matter too."