Chapter 54

Traces (1)

Bernard said a guest had arrived in the county. And that they had arrived “just now.”

I pressed him for an answer.

“Who is it? Who’s come to the county?”

“A guest from House Veneron.”

“... House Veneron?”

“Yes.”

Disappointment crept onto my face before I could stop it. It wasn’t Ian.

But the name House Veneron sounded familiar. Where had I heard it before?

Not during my days in the allied army... Ah, right.

“Wasn’t the guest who came last time from House Veneron too?”

The guest who had visited the county after we killed the Gelu Drake. I seemed to remember hearing something about Veneron then.

“That is correct.”

Bernard nodded, confirming my suspicion.

“Why have they come back?”

“It seems they have returned regarding the proposal they made then.”

“Proposal?”

“Well...”

Bernard trailed off. Apparently, he found it difficult to bring up. I had no idea what House Veneron could have proposed to make him act that way, but...

“Handle it yourself, Bernard.”

I wasn’t particularly interested. I had no reason to be.

A somewhat disappointed expression briefly crossed his face. Apparently, my recent efforts to care for the residents and face the legion alone had changed his opinion of me. He seemed to have developed expectations of me as the young lord, but, sorry as I was, I had no intention of meeting them.

I had no intention of becoming the county’s lord. Once Ian arrived, I would decide what to do with Seraphia and Kai, then leave.

Unless the guest visiting the county was Ian, taking any further interest was a waste of time. Right now, I needed to make the trading trip to Frecce and, before anything else, hear what they had found about Ian’s movements.

While there, I also needed to secure funds to establish the allied army, obtain medicinal ingredients to improve Seraphia’s condition, and raise the residents’ affinity the rest of the way. I already had a mountain of work to do.

“Isn’t that the head steward’s job?”

In an emergency, the head steward acquired the authority to act as the lord’s representative. With my father dead and even Seraphia in that state, our current circumstances certainly qualified as an emergency.

As the lord’s representative, Bernard currently had more authority than I did. Hadn’t that been why he could disregard my authority when I requested funds to establish a trading company?

And now he expected this of me?

“... Understood.”

Bernard stepped back, though he still hesitated to leave. When I said nothing more, however, he finally turned away without another word.

* * *

Frecce, a free city and center of commerce, bustled with countless merchants and visitors every day. Lately, however, an unusually gloomy air had settled over it.

Normally, the cries of countless street vendors soliciting customers should have rung out without pause. The streets should have been packed with people and brimming with life.

Instead, dust gathered on the stalls, and disappointment and unease marked the faces of those wandering the streets.

“I just haven’t had any energy lately...”

“You too? I haven’t had any motivation either. I can’t muster the will to work.”

Some stared blankly at the sky. Others gazed down the distant road. People gathered in the square, wondering if today might be the day it arrived.

But soon, every one of them lowered their heads in disappointment.

“What’s the point of working hard and making money?”

“Not when the Predator Merchant Company shows no sign of coming back.”

The Predator Merchant Company’s monster meat. Ever since their first taste, people had been wasting away as though lovesick.

“I can’t live without monster meat anymore.”

“One more time. I just want to eat it one more time...”

Day after day, they had no energy and could not focus on their work. Artisans no longer hammered out weapons and armor. The clang of hammers and the bustling clamor of merchants haggling had fallen silent.

Perhaps this was why people warned against dabbling in drugs. As the saying went, there were people who had never tried them, but none who had tried them only once. By the time they realized that, it was already too late.

Nor was this confined to consumers. The merchants who had entered into “partnerships of their own making” with the Predator Merchant Company, selling goods to accompany its monster meat, were no different.

“Without the Predator Merchant Company, my sales have dropped to a quarter of what they were...”

“You’re lucky to have a quarter. Ours are down to a tenth.”

“Same here.”

Their soaring sales had abruptly dried up when the monster meat supply ended. After experiencing that high, to put it crudely, they could no longer be satisfied with ordinary sales.

Even the nobles from various kingdoms who had come after hearing the rumors could only sigh.

“I traveled all this way because I heard the monster meat was so delicious...”

“N-no! I promised the marquis I would bring some back...!”

The once-lively conversations gradually dwindled, and the noise of the bustling market faded with them.

“Hah...”

“Ahh...”

The assorted people gathered in one corner of the square gazed endlessly at the empty streets. Whenever horses and carts passed, their eyes briefly lit with hope. But without the Predator Merchant Company’s white wolf emblem, they soon lowered their heads in disappointment again.

“Could something have happened in Whitewolf county?”

Unable to bear it any longer, someone voiced a suspicion.

“I mean, think about it. It’s been days, and we haven’t seen hide nor hair of them.”

“Wait...?”

“N-now that you mention it...”

“R-right! Surely they wouldn’t stay away this long!”

“Don’t tell me something happened to them while they were hunting monsters...?”

That anxiety spread rapidly. The sky over Frecce grew cloudier and cloudier, and a dark shadow fell over the entire city.

“N-no, that can’t be! Heavy snow must have b-blocked the roads!”

“Isn’t that even worse? It means they’re ready to come but can’t get here.”

“Shouldn’t we step in and help?”

“Quite right. Rather than sit here waiting, let’s send people to help Whitewolf county!”

“I’ll dispatch my troops immediately!”

Just as everyone, free citizens, merchants, and nobles alike, was steeling their resolve...

“THEY’RE HEEERE!”

A thunderous shout rang out, as though the speaker had eaten an ogre’s boiled lungs.

“THE PREDATOR MERCHANT COMPANY IS HEEERE!”

Everyone snapped to attention. As if on cue, all eyes turned toward the far end of the city’s road.

A procession of wagons was approaching, white wolf emblems clearly emblazoned on their sides.

“THEY’RE HEEERE!”

“THEY’VE ARRIIIVED!”

“WAAAAAAH!”

Shouts as loud as megaphones announced the Predator Merchant Company’s arrival. At the deafening cries, people poked their heads out of windows all through the shopping district.

Then, when they spotted the procession bearing the white wolf emblem...

“THEY’RE HEEERE!”

“THEY’VE ARRIIIVED!”

Every one of them let out a thunderous roar, as though they, too, had eaten an ogre’s boiled lungs. Children who heard their cries ran through the streets, spreading news of the Predator Merchant Company’s arrival throughout Frecce.

“They say the Predator Merchant Company is here!”

“The Predator Merchant Company is here!”

The procession of wagons seemed endless. Even a rough count put them in the dozens, which meant an equally enormous stock of monster meat. Apparently, gathering that much had been what delayed them.

Music rang out across the square. To the grand beat of drums, the city shook off its gloom and came alive with renewed energy.

Large banners welcoming the Predator Merchant Company went up throughout the streets.

[Frecce Always Welcomes the Predator Merchant Company!]

[This Is Where You Belong!]

[How Did We Ever Live Without You? At Last, We Can Live Again!]

Stalls and shops that had been gathering dust began opening one by one, and blazing fires rose in the artisans’ once-dying forges.

Hammers rang against metal. Merchants haggled. Before anyone knew it, the market where only sighs had been heard was once again bustling with life.

“Plenty of fresh vegetables! Pair them with monster meat and square the flavor!”

“Fresh charcoal in stock! Cook Predator’s monster meat to perfection!”

“For preparing monster meat, nothing beats a kitchen knife from Lebanon Forge!”

“Salt, pepper, butter, and more! Come take a look at all our seasonings to bring out the full flavor of monster meat!”

Frecce had become a city that could no longer live without the Predator Merchant Company.

* * *

The restaurant was frantically busy.

“We’d like to order!”

“Yes, coming!”

As always, the monster meat was a runaway success. Unlike before, though, we were now operating out of a fully equipped restaurant rather than a street stall.

The Frecce city council had granted us special permission to use the building. I had no reason to refuse, so I gladly accepted. It allowed us to serve more customers than before.

And, just as I’d expected, word about Rex meat seemed to have spread.

“I heard the rumors and decided to pay a visit...”

“Can I buy some of that Rex meat, or whatever it’s called?”

Demand for Rex meat among the nobles was utterly insane. So were the profits it brought in. Ordinarily, the highest-grade beef cost around five gold for 200 grams.

But I had priced 200 grams of Rex meat at a thousand times that amount. In other words, five thousand gold.

The price was so outrageously high that, frankly, I wondered who would ever pay it. Astonishingly, the nobles opened their purses without hesitation.

“You there! What on earth took you so long to return?”

“Do you have any idea how long our lord has been waiting for you?”

The reason, of course, was its unparalleled flavor. In addition to evolving a thick layer of fat in the cold climate, Rex had drastically reduced their muscular strength to match their metabolic rate.

I could say with absolute certainty that nothing tasted better than Rex meat.

To make it seem even more special, I had also given it a separate grade: “Prime.” It didn’t mean anything in particular, but it was more than enough to drive nobles wild. They loved anything special or premium.

“My son comes of age in a few days, so wrap up 500 grams of Rex meat for me! Prime grade!”

“His Majesty the King’s birthday is coming soon. I’d like to make an impression on him this time. Could you wrap up about a kilogram of Prime-grade meat?”

Special occasions, gifts, bribes... Rex meat was becoming recognized as the Predator Merchant Company’s own branded luxury product.

It began selling like wildfire, firmly establishing itself as an exclusive indulgence reserved for nobles—and one that even nobles could not readily enjoy.

Meanwhile, I priced Alacron and Dermexus meat at around three gold per serving. I kept it more affordable so that ordinary people could buy it too, if they set their minds to it.

My goal wasn’t merely a profitable trading company. I wanted the greatest trading company on the continent. To achieve that, it had to become deeply ingrained in popular culture and people’s daily lives.

Profits from the nobles. Fame from the masses.

“Five servings of Alacron belly steak over here!”

“We’ll have three servings of Dermexus hind leg and four servings of Alacron!”

Thus, the Predator Merchant Company was enjoying explosive popularity while raking in enormous profits. Which left me too busy trimming and grilling meat to catch my breath.

Fortunately, hunting the lycanthrope had allowed me to raise my Agility to 65. My incredible dexterity let me prepare and grill the meat quickly, while also producing an exquisite flavor beyond anything I had achieved before.

“Wow! How can meat possibly taste this good?”

“Do you think they really put drugs in it?”

“Who cares? Drugs or whatever, I can’t live without monster meat anymore!”

Customers poured in without pause. And they weren’t all free citizens of Frecce. There were visitors from other kingdoms as well.

They would go home and spread the word, and the rumors would take on a life of their own, growing beyond anyone’s control.

It was only a matter of time before the Predator Merchant Company’s name resounded across the continent.

* * *

A free city had no absolute ruler, such as a Sovereign or lord. But as the saying went, in a mountain range without ogres, the troll was king.

Among free cities, Frecce was a center of commerce, and a handful of merchant magnates wielded the absolute power of a lord. Put simply, the richest bastards held absolute power in Frecce.

“How much is all this worth?!”

A broad grin spread across Adlan’s face as he gazed at the towering heap of gold coins.

“Heh heh heh...!”

There was so much that merely looking at it made him laugh. And this was from just one day. These were yesterday’s earnings.

It had all begun when the Predator Merchant Company started selling monster meat. At first, he had wondered what kind of ridiculous trading company it was. Then he had resented the sight of it sweeping up all the customers.

But as the Predator Merchant Company began reviving the surrounding businesses, his sales started breaking records day after day. Adlan mainly dealt in wine, which allowed him to make enormous profits from the nobles flocking from across the continent to buy monster meat.

Yesterday’s sales had been a full twenty times his usual earnings. He was positively rolling in money.

“What a blessing! An absolute blessing!”

It would be no exaggeration to call the Predator Merchant Company not merely a blessing, but his benefactor.

Just as he was beaming from ear to ear...

JINGLE.

A customer opened the shop door and entered. Adlan’s eyebrow twitched.

It was the dead of night, darkness lying thick outside. Business was over for the day, and this was his precious time to rest his weary body. Why would anyone come inside when a [Closed] sign was plainly displayed out front?

Above all, he disliked this unwelcome guest for interrupting his pleasant moment. His face full of irritation, he began to speak.

“We’re clo—”

Then he clamped his mouth shut. The man who had entered the shop was no ordinary sight.

Deep black hair with a subtle sheen, a fringe falling lightly over his forehead, and sharply defined features. Deep, piercing eyes that seemed to see straight through things.

Powerful, firm muscles that his clothes could not conceal, yet a physique that was by no means excessive. Long lashes and a sharp jawline that lent him a cold, mysterious air.

How could Adlan fail to recognize that face, shining even in the dark of night—the most handsome face in the world, manly and masculine yet as lovely as a beautiful youth’s?

“Welcome, Lord Adrian!!!”

Adlan automatically bent at the waist in a ninety-degree bow.