"Alright, all the documents seem to be in order. Now all that's left is the fee."
"Here."
"Hmm, 2, 3, 4, that, that, and that should be all of it. Yeah, that is all of it. Thank you for the business."
"Yeah, it was good business for me too."
"It seems like your stall got popular as time went on. Do you want to reserve a spot in a better area for your next visit?"
"No thanks, I don't particularly mind the spot I had. I don't even have a lot of things I want to sell, so the small spot suits me fine for now."
"I understand. Well then, we look forward to your next business. Thank you for choosing Jade Mountain Town #7 for your business. May we have another successful business in the future."
"Yeah, It might take some time but I look forward to next time."

I sold out. I sold all of my wares, even the ridiculously high-priced gaudy armour that I made as the main money grab. It wasn't really supposed to sell but I kind of hoped some idiot with too much money to burn would buy it.

It was simple to a fault but with the exception that it is ridiculously decorated. It functions as far as armour goes but it is more for showing off or formal occasions. It's kind of like an ornamental sword in a sense.

This little business trip turned out better than expected. I'm still not sure why what happened happened though.

I secretly visited different bars and restaurants in hopes of finding news about my stall but nothing of note was said. Other than the quality of my work and the cheap price, nothing about who spread the news or who promoted my wares was talked about.

Not to sound arrogant but I knew something like this would happen soon. Why? It's because compared to most dwarfs, I know that I have more mana. I'm not sure about those super experts that have lived for a long time but I'm sure I have way more than the newly graduated people from my class.

It doesn't seem that they are reselling my works, at least within this town.

The people who bought my works varied from normal families, solo merchants, and town officials. I couldn't find anything in common.

The oddest thing is that the branch manager of the Orange Shield Merchant Guild didn't show up at all ever since I started selling like crazy.

Not once has she come back to remind me of her offer to work for her. When I went to buy the Gold Ram too, the manager there didn't try to persuade me. The flowery speech was also toned down a lot. It felt more like buying food at the convenience store where the clerk was just doing everyday business.

Something is really weird but I am profiting from this, so I will leave it alone for now.

"Oh, Welcome back. How was the town? Did you have a good sale? That looks like a fine creature you have there."
"I'm back, mayor. I had a pretty good haul. This is my new mount, horn basher. Looks like I would need to ask the carpenter family to prepare a small barn for him to stay in."

I considered calling him horny but that would give me a bad image among the villagers. They have little kids here after all. I don't want the parents to come after me just because I named my mount like that.

Well, horn basher sounds better. Anyway, since horn basher is good at climbing mountain sides, he can climb the stairs up to my volcano house.

I'll just have the carpenters to build a small barn, or I guess stable for him to rest in. I can do it myself but I need to help circulate the money in this village. There aren't a lot of us and they are my main customers, so I need them to have money.

"Hahaha, I already discussed that with them. They aren't here right now since they have a job a bit of a ways from here. They should return three days from now. You can discuss the specifics with them."
"Thanks, village chief. I'll go unpack and take some time to rest."
"Yeah, you have to take care of yourself. The city may be convenient but it is always busy. It is always best to have some peace and quiet after visiting there."
"That's true. I'll just rest for a couple of days until the carpenter family returns. I also have to work on some orders too, so I want to take all the rest I can get. Well then, see you village chief."
"You already have a commission from the people at the town!? That's good, very good. Rest well and work hard!"

Sleeping isn't that much of a necessity for me right now but there is this certain feeling you get when you just returned to your home after a long trip. You just have to sit back, relax and do nothing.

"Let's go, horn basher. I don't have a barn for you to live in but the place under the water tower should be dry in case it rains."
"Baaaa!"

It seems that the taming process really is convenient. This gold ram not only recognizes me as the master, it also understands me, somewhat.

The tamer was very depressing though. He looked like the kind of person who climbed all the way to the championship of speedrunning, only to be disqualified because he got too nervous and made a false start.

I guess it is true that most of the tamers are dreamers.

The hero in the past was a tamer and look at how it turned out. He had an army of dragons and sea monsters that protect their designated locations til this day. Those are the aspirations of everyone who wants to be a tamer. However, the reality is that they can barely maintain a tame to more than 5 creatures. There is also the fact that you have to feed those which really needs you to be rich if you want to be a tamer.

Taming and having an army of monsters may be good but it seems troublesome to maintain. I also can't take that army with me when I die, so it is useless for me.

I don't want a scenario where I die and have to fight my pets in the next life. The thought of me assembling an invincible army just to fight them by myself because they can't recognize me, is terrifying.

*Tie* *Tie* *Tie*

"Don't wander around too much."

That should be enough. I think that is tight enough to limit his movement. He can still snap the rope if he forced it but the rope is more of a reminder on where he can wander around.

"I'll show you around the area tomorrow, so sit still for now. This volcano of mine may be safe but this is still the edge of the village. Some monsters may wander in from time to time."
"Baaaaaaa!"

I don't know how much of that you understand but I hope you understand the general idea.

This gold ram may have been born through a breeding program of the merchant guild. I don't know if it still has fighting instincts. I would have to test it out by seeing it battle the nearby monsters around this area.

I'll also show it around the village so the villager knows that it's my mount. That should help horn basher get to know the territory of the village. After that, I won't have to keep it tied up all the time. I'll just let it wander around the village, so it won't be bored and make it get exercise at the same time.

I don't know how aggressive it is but as long as it knows that the safe area is in the village, it won't be a problem. Be it expanding his perceived territory, or protecting the outskirts of the village, I will leave it to him.

Hmm, if I let it roam around, I would need some kind of signal to call it back, in case I need it for a trip. A shout of it's name is the simplest, so I guess that should be fine.

I could try some other animal call but it would be a problem if it got duplicated. I guess my own voice should be best.

*Clang* *Clang*

*Dump* *Splash*

"Here is some food and something to drink. See you tomorrow."

I bought enough feed to last a long time, they even gave me the feeding bowls as a bonus because of it, but I would need to plant some things that it could eat. I don't want to load up my cart with feed since it would take up a lot of space.

However, for now, I need to start designing and planning the bulk order of the jade town defence force. A contract with the town staff is a big thing, and as long as I perform well, my work will be paraded through town every time they do patrols.

I will have walking billboards and they will pay me to make it happen. I couldn't ask for a more advantageous work than this, at this point in time. I have to do good!