Chapter 57

Rumors

A suspicious rumor that monster meat was becoming popular.

Isolde tilted her head in puzzlement, her platinum-blond hair swaying from side to side.

"... Monster meat?"

"Yes."

"How could that be?"

Her graceful brows drew together slightly. The Madness genes within monsters were something even her divine power as the Saintess could not remove.

Monsters were creatures of chaos that defied God's order, and they had an inherent resistance to divine power, the power of God. Even the mages who studied the truths of the world acknowledged that proposition.

It was not counted among the "Twenty-Three Problems of Arcanis" by mages for nothing. More precisely, hadn't that problem been settled with a verdict of "impossible"?

The attendant priest cautiously voiced a suspicion.

"Might this be connected to the Dark Merchant Company mentioned in recent reports...?"

The Dark Merchant Company. A shadowy organization that researched forbidden black magic and blood magic and conducted horrific, inhumane experiments.

As the attendant priest said, disturbing activities related to the Dark Merchant Company had recently been reported within the Holy Kingdom.

"Who is distributing the monster meat?"

"An organization called the Predator Merchant Company. It is said to be a newly established trading company operating out of Whitewolf county in the Kingdom of Battenberg."

A newly established trading company. That certainly was unsettling.

"Do you know who owns it?"

"Adrian Whitewolf, the eldest legitimate son of House Whitewolf, I am told."

"Adrian Whitewolf..."

It was a name she had never heard before. And yet, for some reason, it felt familiar.

"Rumor has it that he is the count's wastrel son."

Perhaps that was why.

"Then you are saying this company is run by a wastrel?"

"Yes, but stranger still, his behavior is said to have changed quite abruptly of late."

"His behavior has changed?"

"Well..."

The attendant priest explained everything concerning Adrian in detail. After hearing him out, Isolde immediately understood what he meant about the change in Adrian's behavior.

Strictly speaking, this was not a change in behavior. It was as though...

"The change has been so drastic that it is as though someone else has taken possession of this Adrian's body."

It seemed as though another person's soul had entered the man named Adrian.

People did not change. They merely appeared to. A person's true nature never changed.

"I suspect he may have fallen victim to black magic, such as a possession spell."

He had changed so drastically that the suggestion was entirely plausible. And that was one of the Dark Merchant Company's favored, sinister methods.

Isolde lowered her lashes in thought.

The impossibility of edible monster meat. A trading company that had sprung up out of nowhere. And the uncanny transformation of a man who seemed to have become someone else entirely.

Could all these developments, piled one atop another, truly be a coincidence?

The Predator Merchant Company. Whitewolf county.

'Adrian Whitewolf...'

The name of a man known as a count's wastrel son. A name that felt strangely familiar because of it.

"This warrants an investigation."

Perhaps that was why the name became deeply etched in Isolde's mind.

* * *

"This is the last one!"

As the staff member shouted, a large wooden chest was set on the floor.

THUD!

Opening its heavy wooden lid revealed a chest filled with gold. The gold coins glittered brilliantly, clinking against one another.

Our earnings from this single day.

"431,560 gold."

An incredible sum of over 430,000 gold.

"W-wow...!"

"I've never seen that much money in my life."

No wonder the staff and soldiers were staring wide-eyed. Honestly, earning this much from a single day's business was next to impossible. Forget a single day; that much was impossible even over an entire trading expedition.

'The Rex meat sold better than I expected.'

Word of mouth was really starting to spread. One person told another, who told two more. There was a reason people said stopping people's mouths was harder than stopping a river in flood.

'With this, I could establish a company branch in Frecce.'

A branch of the Predator Merchant Company.

A trading company's branch served as a regional network hub. Responsible for local trade, transactions, and resource procurement, it also took the lead in trade through direct dealings with other companies.

It was practically an independent company in its own right, requiring large numbers of guards, transport workers, administrators, accountants, and other personnel to be hired and assigned. Between their wages and the initial investment, the cost was enormous.

That was why I had thought it was too early, but...

'With earnings like this, I have more than enough.'

This, too, was an investment. Through the Frecce branch, I would expand my influence throughout Frecce and all the free cities, keeping the Dark Merchant Company in check.

Above all, I could not keep conducting trading expeditions solely to Frecce forever. I needed to expand the Predator Merchant Company's influence beyond the free cities and into kingdoms across the continent. That meant establishing a branch to manage and oversee the trading expeditions in my stead.

"Everyone, gather round."

Having gathered my thoughts, I assembled the staff and soldiers. Eleven staff members and twenty-four soldiers gathered together, looking bewildered.

I took gold coins from the chest as I spoke.

"Come forward one at a time and take your share."

Every last pair of eyes widened.

"D-do you mean... us, sir?"

"Yes. Who else is here?"

Even so, they all hesitated, unable to bring themselves to move.

"Don't want it?"

"Th-that's not it, sir."

"We just aren't sure we should accept..."

"You should."

They said no one could go hungry for three days without turning to theft. Unwavering loyalty came from steady wealth.

The company I intended to make the greatest on the continent would invest in people, not immediate profits.

"My arm's about to fall off. Hurry up and take it."

I gave each staff member 1,000 gold and each soldier 800. The staff received more because their work was more demanding: managing the monster meat, calculating earnings, accounting, transportation, and so on. The dark circles beneath the eyes of all eleven staff members were proof enough.

The soldiers knew that too, so there were no complaints. Besides, 800 gold was no small sum. A soldier's salary in Whitewolf county was 150 gold, making this more than five months' pay.

They would still receive their regular wages; this was a separate bonus. They could not have complained even if they wanted to.

"Hehehe...!"

"Would you look at all this!"

Sure enough, everyone receiving the coins broke into a broad grin. Each bowed to me, visibly overwhelmed with gratitude.

That brought my total expenditure to 30,000 gold.

"You're free until we open for business tomorrow. Use the money you've received to do whatever you like."

"Whatever we like, sir...?"

"Buy something you've always wanted, buy gifts, gamble, save it, squander it. It's up to you."

Their faces lit up with beaming smiles.

And...

'... No affinity increase.'

Unfortunately, my people's affinity had not risen. It was currently at [Friendliness]. To avoid losing 「Management Mode」, I needed to complete the Territory Quest, and I was one tier short of the required [Trust].

I had hoped I might get lucky and finish the quest right here.

'I suppose the affinity of so few people doesn't count for much.'

Anyway, judging by their faces, they looked ready to blow all their money in a day. But they probably wouldn't. Even enjoying meat took practice, as the saying went.

These people had never held that much money before. At most, they would obviously stop after buying a few things they wanted and gifts they wanted to give.

"Lepin, what are you going to do with your money?"

"I'm going to buy a gold ring."

"A gold ring? Don't tell me you're proposing to Lena?"

"Yes! When we return to the county, I'm going to tell her how I feel!"

... Well, there you had it.

Anyway, I left them to it. I had given them the money to spend however they liked, and more importantly, I wasn't so idle that I could concern myself with every little thing.

I currently had about 900,000 gold left. It was an enormous fortune, enough for more than three generations to live in idle luxury without lifting a finger from this day forward.

'Shall I throw some money around?'

Naturally, I had no intention of living in idle luxury.

* * *

With no absolute authority such as a monarch or lord, free cities were home to a variety of social groups and factions. Ordinary citizens, merchants, adventurers, mercenaries, mages, and more coexisted there. In the absence of a formal class system, a diverse range of social groups flourished, each entangled in a complex web of interests.

The city council (City Congress).

This institution played the central role in governing a city while reconciling the complex interests among the free cities. It handled a free city's overall administration, legislation, and budget. Put simply, it was the city's heart and brain.

In other words, establishing a trading company branch in a free city required the city council's permission.

And Frecce was a free city with a highly developed commercial sector. As such, it had built close networks with countless kingdoms, cities, and groups across the continent. That was why so many trading companies wanted a branch in Frecce.

As was usually the case, however, the administrative procedures were fiendishly complicated. Nor could one ignore the hostility toward newcomers from the city's entrenched merchants' guild.

Like plucking a star from the sky.

... Well, perhaps not quite, but establishing a branch in Frecce was still that difficult.

For me, however, none of those were much of a problem.

"Our merchants' guild has unanimously approved the proposal to establish a branch of the Predator Merchant Company, sir."

That was Adlan, an officer of the merchants' guild. In other words, the very guild that would normally oppose outsiders was friendly toward me. Getting the proposal through the council was only a matter of time.

And on top of that...

"As instructed, I've stuffed the councilors' mouths with gold, sir!"

The council's bigwigs. I had slipped them bribes under the guise of lobbying funds, along with a little Rex meat.

"Permission to establish the branch should be issued shortly, sir!"

Everything proceeded without a hitch. The expense was considerable, but I could always earn more.

With this, I could freely exert my influence not only in Frecce but anywhere in the free cities. In effect, I had all the free cities behind me.

Except one: the lawless city of Violess.

"Good work. You've been a great help."

"Oh, it's an honor to be of service, sir."

Adlan bowed as though it were nothing. Having the merchants' guild behind me certainly made everything run smoothly.

But securing permission for the branch was not the end. If anything, this was just the beginning.

'I need to appoint a branch manager to take charge.'

Whoever had overall responsibility for the branch needed to be someone I could trust. Ability mattered, but trust mattered more than anything.

'I'd originally planned to put one of the special task force members there.'

They were operatives who had carried out not only special warfare missions alongside me, but also intelligence and espionage operations such as preparing, collecting, and distributing information. I could readily entrust the position of branch manager to one of them.

But as I watched Adlan bowing deeply before me...

'He's better at getting things done than I expected.'

Curiosity struck me. I activated Predatory Instincts[S] on him, and a clear, orderly display of his information appeared before my eyes.

==<Character Information>==

Name : Adlan

Classification : Kingdom Animalia, Class Mammalia, Family Hominidae, Human

Sex : Male

Age : 36

Traits : Perceptiveness[R]

He was considerably older than he looked. Nearly twice my age, though we were about the same age if I counted the years of my previous life.

And sure enough, he had a noteworthy trait.

'Perceptiveness?'

I activated Predatory Instincts[S] again, and information about Perceptiveness[R] appeared before me.

◆Perceptiveness (Sense)[R]

: The user possesses an exceptional ability to quickly and accurately discern others' emotions and intentions, as well as the atmosphere and situation, and respond accordingly. This allows the user to swiftly pick up on subtle shifts in atmosphere, unspoken information, facial expressions, gestures, and tones of voice, making immediate judgments about the situation and taking appropriate action.

Judging by the description, it was an excellent ability. Its rank was [R], for Rare, just one level below Unique, [U]. That was by no means low. As the name suggested, it was a rare ability.

It might not make him a genius, but it certainly put him among the gifted. I had simply grown used to seeing absurd monsters like Seraphia and Kai, who had terrorized the continent. Even an [R]-rank talent was no everyday sight.

Nor could I discount his decades of experience running a trading company in Frecce. With the right guidance, he could develop into quite a valuable asset.

Above all, Adlan's affinity toward me was at [Closeness].

'Raise his affinity a little more, and he'd be perfect, wouldn't he?'

If I could bring his affinity up to [Trust], I could safely assume he would never betray me.

It happened just as I was seriously considering him.

◆Subquest [I Object to This Marriage!] has arrived.

Translucent text suddenly appeared before my eyes. As usual, the quest had arrived not merely abruptly, but completely out of the blue. This time, however, it was not a Sudden Quest.

More importantly...

'I Object to This Marriage?'

What the hell kind of quest title was that? Why bring up marriage all of a sudden? No, whose damn marriage?

Could it mean Adlan, who was staring blankly at me right now?

"Just out of curiosity, are you married?"

"... Pardon? N-no, sir. I've been so busy making a living that I've never even been in a relationship..."

Adlan scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. That meant it couldn't be referring to his marriage.

Fortunately(?), the quest details appeared before my eyes to clear up my confusion.

==[I Object to This Marriage!] ==

[Details] - Prevent Seraphia's marriage

[Reward] - Increased affinity with Kai

[Upon Failure] - Awakening of the <Sovereign of Bitter Cold>

... What the hell was this now?