13 Episode 13: A reckless scent of a different world game.txt (1/2)

'You didn't introduce yourself yet. My name is Efta Solo of the Solo family, the family business. I am from the First Free City of Marischera and I am here today to deliver a slave to Elishe. We were just about to bring the slaves over here.

Does that mean you're the country's hired merchant ......?　Whoa! Maybe it's a big deal.

Maybe he's a slaver.　What a way to beat myself up for thinking: ...... Not so much!　If you're dealing with elves, you've come to the right place!

'Yes. So you are bringing an elf free slave here today?

''No. ......, as I mentioned earlier, the Elf Slave is by appointment only. I have a waiting list of 8 people at my place alone, so ....... If we're going to have a regular waiting list in the current state of affairs in the country, we're going to have to wait at least five years.

It's hard to judge whether the wait for 8 people is too many or too few, though. It seems to be very expensive, and I guess that means it's a lot of blah blah blah blah. I wonder exactly how much it costs.

However, it's amazing that you have to wait 5 years for it. How popular are the elves? It's so popular that I might have to take back my love of elves in the world or something.

”Under those circumstances, the game?　Will you give me the elf if I win?　It depends on the nature of the game, oh, but the money won't be available any time soon.

No, I don't want the money if you win, but if you lose, you'll have to pay the penalty. If you lose, you'll have to pay a reasonable penalty. --How's that?

What do you think?　But if you don't know the content, there's nothing you can do about it: .......

I'm sure you'll find that these ”good stories” always end badly. It's not a good idea to underestimate the Japanese people who grew up in a world full of lessons.　In the black business, he was more of a cheater with a ”good story”!

But at least I'm listening!　I don't know what kind of game it is, but I'm sure there's a loophole in there somewhere. There might be a way out of it.

First of all, please tell us what the game is. If it's too unlikely to win, I won't be able to ride it even if my dreams are on the line.

The game, simply put, is a gift competition. Your opponent is the mayor of Elishe. If he likes your gift, you win. If not, I win. Simple, right?

It's easy, right?　That's not it. That's a bribe.

And if I'm the only one to give it away, that means I'm the only one who's going to get drugged if I get drugged by a bribe. It's a casually terrible suggestion.

I see. ....... Should I, as Jiro Ayase personally, make a gift to the mayor?

I'm sure you will. Don't worry, I'll cross over to the mayor.

...... means that I was introduced by Mr. Efta, and if I give the mayor a gift and he likes it, I win. So that's the kind of game you want to play.

I'm sure you will.

I'm not sure about the relationship between the Solo family and Elishe, but I guess that means there's enough goodness in it for me to give the elf to him if the gift strategy works.

I'll be giving the gift in my name, but if it goes well, Mr. Efta will get all the goodies: ......

That's what this is all about. It's a dirty business, a dirty business.

But if you give them a strange gift, there's a good chance they'll get it from ....... Or maybe the mayor is an honorable man and bribes don't work.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be offering this kind of talk to a stranger like me.

You're talking about using the naive idea of wanting an elf as a bad idea: .......

What is the severity of the crime of bribery in this country to begin with? If it's a one-shot death penalty or something like that, it's too much of a gamble at any price.

In other words, in order to win this game, I need to find out about the mayor first, and then give him some kind of gift (bribe) to get him to do some kind of business for me.

And if I fail to do so, Mr. Efta will dismiss me as having done it on my own. I guess it's called clipping a lizard's tail, in this case, too.

Hmmm ....... What do you think of this?