Investigator

A BRAND-NEW, UNUSUALLY PROFITABLE COMPANY had emerged within Scuderia.

Even more unusually, it was based not in the capital, but in a tiny border village. This was highly improbable, the guild staff concluded among themselves when they learned of this emerging company. There had to be something more to it.

The Business Guild received all sorts of information about companies located in different countries. If a group came under the umbrella of the guild, they received a catalog containing details and prices on import goods. Additionally, with the cooperation of guild staff, companies could send letters back and forth to distant countries or even be introduced to potential business partners in countries and cities they had never seen.

This kind of thing was impossible for all but massive businesses with roots in multiple countries. It was for this very reason that most companies joined the guild. There were many other benefits to becoming a member, but most signed up to acquire information on foreign goods and expand their markets. Of course, the price for these large businesses was that joining the guild meant paying not only an annual fee determined by the size of the company, but also sharing a portion of all revenue with the guild.

Historically, multiple companies had tried to cook the books because they didn’t want to pay up. Businesses that broke the rules were decommissioned and forced to pay a penalty fee, but few such businesses wanted to play by these rules. In fact, there were some fools who tried to murder guild investigators to keep them from talking.

That was why, when the guild dispatched investigators like us, they sent along bodyguards. In other words, we moved in big groups.

Because Business Guild branches were present in capitals all over the world, travel time was always kept to a minimum. Moving in such large numbers, however, still incurred significant expenses. This time around, the Mary Chamber of Commerce was lending their assistance, because we shared a destination and they had a branch in the capital city. We joined their caravan, but still opted to hire ten adventurers with ties to our guild.

We were headed for a village out on the border, so this investigation was going to be expensive.

“Lord Apollo? Is something troubling you?” someone asked, interrupting my thoughts.

When I raised my head, I looked at the two people sitting across from me.

One was the owner of the carriage we rode in, the young president of the Mary

Chamber of Commerce and the third child among the Triomphe sisters, Dyane Triomphe. She was a charming girl with bright red hair who was clad in a lovely green jumpsuit. Word of her talent spread frequently through the Business Guild.

Next to her was Rosalie, a woman approaching her thirties. She was the manager of the Mary Chamber of Commerce’s capital city branch. From what the two of them had told me, she was an outsider with no connection to the Triomphe family; she had started as an apprentice merchant and worked her way up to the manager position. That made her a rare beast in this industry. In short, both of the individuals in front of me had incredible business acumen.

Each woman was frowning for what I thought were different reasons. With a strained smile, I said, “Fear not. It’s just that, when you work as an investigator for the guild, you often find yourself having to think about things you would rather not. I apologize.”

Rosalie nodded. “We often find ourselves in very similar circumstances.”

“Is that so? Well, that certainly makes sense. Considering your positions, you probably deal with issues very close in nature to mine.”

This earned me two complicated smiles. To an outsider it might have looked like we were engaging in small talk, but it was clear to me that they were attempting to read my intentions just as I attempted to read theirs. Of course they were: we were heading out to the Bell & Rango Company, a brand-new business started by a member of their group. Depending on how things went, it was possible that my investigation would turn toward them.

The Bell & Rango Company had made highly irregular gains for such a new business venture. Were they colluding with the Mary Chamber of Commerce? Was it Marquis Fertio’s house? In the worst-case scenario, I might have to consider whether the kingdom itself was involved.

“My word,” I whispered to myself, laughing dryly. “I really don’t want to think about any of this.”

Depending on how things played out, I could find myself surrounded by enemies. I had to prepare for the worst.

 

Seatoh Village

“THE CARAVAN’S HERE!”

“Hurry up and let Lord Van know!”

A member of the Seatoh Chivalric Order who was stationed atop the wall spotted a far-off group of carriages approaching the village and immediately dispatched a messenger.

Compared to how it had started out, the village was vast, full of all kinds of buildings. The messenger raced through its streets on horseback, finally spotting Van, who, by coincidence, was standing outside his manor.

At first, Van seemed puzzled by the flustered messenger. Then he noticed the urgency in the messenger’s expression. “They’re here?”

“Yes! The caravan will arrive shortly!”

“All right! Contact the Bell & Rango Company, and ready the ballistae and catapults!”

These orders were for Khamsin and Till, who looked thoroughly surprised by them. “Lord Van?!” Till said.

“Are we attacking the caravan?!”

They both looked pale. Van nodded gravely. “We’ll just say the guild investigators never showed up. That’ll be our story if anyone asks…” Then he gave them a wry smile. “Nah, I’m just messing around. Of course we’re not attacking them.

“I was just thinking that, instead of trying and probably failing to hide what’s going on around here, we should lay it all out bare so that we can dispel any misunderstandings. The ballistae and catapults are Seatoh Village military secrets, so if we show them how powerful they are, they’ll understand how we’ve been successfully slaying large monsters.”

Khamsin and Till both looked relieved. “We have been at war constantly as of late, so I thought for a second that you might have gotten drunk on the violence, Lord Van…” said Khamsin.

Till nodded. “I am glad you are the same Lord Van as always.”

Van’s face twitched. “There’s a whole lot I’d love to say to you guys, but the guild investigation comes first. Let’s get moving.” With a sigh, he led the two of them over to where the investigation team stood waiting.

 

Van

I SOMETIMES FORGOT THAT I WAS A NOBLE. IN GENERAL, whenever I was in the manor, I was stupidly busy with work. There was little doubt in my mind that little Van was the prettiest, hardest-working boy in all the land.

What a sad fate, I thought, like an idiot, as I arrived before the wall.

The members of the investigation team were standing before the drawbridge, looking stunned. The gates were already wide open, so I could see their delicious reactions.

I actually didn’t know which of them was the guild inspector. What I did know was that part of the caravan belonged to the Mary Chamber of Commerce, and that a bunch of adventurers surrounded it. In the coaches were a few middleaged men who looked like merchants.

I took in their dazed looks as they stared up at the wall for a moment, then greeted them. “Good day. I’m the lord of Seatoh Village, Van Nei Fertio. Might I inquire as to your affiliation?”

Nobody answered me. Hell, it seemed like they hadn’t even noticed my presence.

Little Van is tiny; maybe that’s why they don’t see him. Quite a shame, considering I grew five centimeters in the last year. If I keep growing at this rate, I’ll be a whole two meters tall by the time I turn twenty, and two meters and fifty centimeters by the time I’m thirty. Little Van’s growth knows no limits!

As I floated on cloud nine, Dee shouted from behind me, “I am Dee, the commander of Baron Van Nei Fertio’s Seatoh Village Chivalric Order! This is the lord of Seatoh Village, Van Nei Fertio!”

This guttural introduction drew the attention of the investigation team. I cleared my throat purposefully and introduced myself a second time. A tall man emerged then from the large carriage at the center of the caravan. He looked a bit under forty years old, had a slim figure, and appeared rather dashing in his black suit.

Behind him, two women descended from the carriage. One was a younger, red-haired girl who looked to be in her midteens. She was dressed in a pretty jumpsuit, and you could see at first glance that she was both knowledgeable and confident. She seemed young, but I had no doubt that she was either an investigator or a higher-up from the Mary Chamber of Commerce. The other woman was very familiar to me. She was somewhere near her thirties, adorned in fairly revealing merchant clothes. This was Rosalie, the merchant I’d met at the Mary Chamber of Commerce branch in Marquis Fertio’s First City.

Rosalie quietly greeted me from behind the others. Then the middle-aged man at the front put a hand on his chest and smiled like an exhausted

businessman. “It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Apollo, lead investigator of the Scuderia branch of the Business Guild.” What a polite, reasoned greeting.

The red-haired girl behind him followed suit. “I am Dyane Triomphe. Contrary

to my appearance, I am the current president of the Mary Chamber of

Commerce. It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Lord Van.”

Whoa, the president? The Chamber of Commerce was too big to be entirely a family business, so she probably had the talent to back up her position.

“Mister Apollo, Miss Dyane, and of course, Miss Rosalie. I have been awaiting your arrival. I figured you would be arriving soon.” Apollo and Dyane widened their eyes slightly. Rosalie, meanwhile, treated me to a happy smile. I responded with a smile of my own and added, “It is my pleasure to welcome you to Seatoh Village.”

 

Dyane

SOON AFTER OUR JOURNEY ENDED, BARON VAN offered to introduce us to some quality lodgings. Personally, I wanted to accept his offer, but Investigator Apollo gently declined. I glared at his back while Baron Van quickly backed down, almost as if he’d anticipated such a response.

Baron Van showed a great deal of consideration to us, leading us up the wall first. The whole situation left me puzzled. I leaned toward Rosalie. “Is Lord Van truly not even ten years of age? Are we certain he doesn’t have mixed blood from one of the long-living races? What if he’s actually fifty or something…?”

“No, Lord Van is undoubtedly the age he appears to be. I first met him more than two years ago, and even then, he was no normal child. He’s been surprising me ever since he purchased that young soldier boy as a slave.”

I sighed. “I read the reports, but seeing really is believing… There was a time when others called me a genius and I let it get to my head, which is terribly embarrassing in retrospect,” I whispered, watching Baron Van walk ahead of us.

I had sent the same reports to Apollo. From an early age, they said, the boy understood difficult concepts after having them explained to him only once. He was a genius who came up with unpredictable new ideas. While he was not a remarkable mage, he’d nonetheless led his village to prosperity after his expulsion from home, earning the title of baron. According to the reports, the village was flourishing so much that it could hardly be called a village anymore. It was a city.

I thought I understood all of this. I knew that true geniuses were capable of doing what he had done. But reality easily eclipsed my expectations.

“This is one of our ballistae, the cornerstone of our village’s defense system. Please observe.” He issued an order to the young soldier standing next to the weapon. Apollo tilted his head. As far as I could tell, he hadn’t anticipated receiving a weapon demonstration.

The ballista fired its gigantic bolt. The boom that erupted from the weapon was ear shattering, causing me to shrink into myself a little. I followed the bolt’s path with my eyes, but I could barely keep track of it.

Eventually, I spotted a number of trees, far off in the distance, falling to the ground. What?

“Amazing. I can’t believe they have such an effective range,” I said, turning around.

Apollo looked far more stunned than either Rosalie or me. “Th-this is insane…” he whispered.

Rosalie and I exchanged looks.

 

Van

WHEN I EXPLAINED THAT WE DEFEATED THE dragon using our ballistae, Apollo’s face twitched around his wry smile. “Never in any of the nations I’ve visited have I seen such a devastating weapon. Who developed this?”

“Me.”

Apollo’s face twitched again. “What about this strangely shaped city wall?”

“I intentionally had it designed with corners. By doing this…”

I proceeded to explain the wall, the towers, and the various materials I used to build it all. Next, I guided the group to the Bell & Rango Company. I’d thought Bell would join me along the way, but he had yet to show up, so I figured he was probably going over all the company documents one last time.

Despite my slight concern, I maintained my composure as I entered the store. As usual, things were busy inside; the employees were all tied up with customers.

“Is Bell around?” I asked the nearby slave-turned-shopkeeper. She replied with something noncommittal, her voice sounding odd. Then she bowed her head and ran off to the back.

Rosalie and Dyane seemed to have sympathy for the girl, who was clearly super busy. We had to stand there for a bit, but that gave them a chance to look wonderingly around the store.

“There are far more customers here than I anticipated,” observed Dyane.

“And they aren’t all adventurers,” said Rosalie. “There are plenty of normal citizens here as well. You don’t see things like this in destitute villages.”

While they talked, Apollo, apparently determining that he had some free time before Bell arrived, had a proper look around the store. Because all the clerks were busy with customers, the responsibility fell upon me to explain our products to him.

“This sword is incredible…”

“Ah, I made that.”

“This armor and shield are made of very strange materials.”

“Actually, they’re both originally made from wood.”

The more things I explained to him, the darker Apollo’s expression grew. There’s no way he believes me. With that in mind, I started looking for raw materials, thinking I could craft something in front of him.

“S-sorry to keep you waiting!” Bell finally appeared, sweat dripping down his cheeks. “I’m Bell, cofounder of the Bell & Rango Company!”

He greeted Apollo and Dyane more politely than usual, said a few words to Rosalie, and then turned to me.

“Lord Van. I believe we will be inspecting the paperwork at the inn tonight, so let’s head to the storage building together. I apologize, but without you present, it would be rather difficult to explain everything…” With that, he began to lead Apollo to our destination.

As we followed them, Rosalie called out to Khamsin. “How are things going?”

“Lord Van and everyone else have been very kind,” Khamsin replied earnestly. “Plus, every day I get to eat delicious food. The only problem is that, even though I train every day to protect Lord Van, I’m still so weak…”

It had been a good while since I last heard him voice any concerns. I watched from the corner of my eye while Rosalie gently ruffled his hair. “Seems like you’re happy. In that case, give it your all and get big and strong, okay?” Khamsin nodded resolutely.

If he had concerns like that, I kind of wished he would come to me first. Since I was the object of his protection, though, that wasn’t going to happen. I had complex feelings about it.

When I looked up, I saw Till smiling like a loving older sister. This was all rather embarrassing.

“Okay, this is where we store all of our monster parts.” Without me even realizing it, we had arrived at our destination and Bell had begun to explain things. He looked tense. “Lord Van exterminated a forest dragon once, so we made sure this facility was large enough to fit two or three dragons’ worth of parts. Unfortunately, our main problem is that the number of monster parts we receive every day is on the verge of exceeding our maximum capacity.” Bell gave Apollo an exhausted smile, then opened the building’s enormous double doors, which had been designed to enable people to bring large monster parts in and out without having to squeeze them through a narrow entrance.

Bell showed the interior to Apollo, who was rendered utterly speechless. Dyane and Rosalie were no different in that regard. The huge mountains of monster parts lining both sides of the building left only enough space inside for two adults to walk side by side.

Oh, and the monster parts were almost exclusively of the rare variety.

“This is…” Apollo whispered, sounding hoarse. Bell nodded gently and led the way forward.

“Parts that are difficult to transport, like fangs, bones, and hides, are located near the entrance. We store the easier-to-transport stuff in the back.”

“Th-this is madness… I’ve never seen so many rare monster parts in one place in my entire life.”

It was impossible to tell whether Apollo was registering Bell’s words at all. He gaped at the mountains of materials.

“Have the people here really slain this many monsters?” Rosalie whispered, also looking up at the materials.

I jumped in. “Yes, they have. Recently, the adventurers in town have been acquiring unbelievable amounts of monster parts, and poor Bell here has gotten really worn out dealing with it all,” I said with a smile and a chuckle. Bell flashed me a haggard smirk.

Things went quiet for a moment. Then Dyane smiled at me. “The armored lizard hide over there has been cut up so cleanly. What sort of blade did you use?”

I grinned at her. “Well, we have a special large knife made from wood and iron that we use for that process.”

It was an honest answer, but all three visitors looked skeptical. They might think I’m lying. Guess I’d better show them firsthand, huh?

Just then, Till and Khamsin arrived with the materials they had been stealthily gathering for me. They both looked angry. I knew exactly what they wanted to say, so I just gave them a wry smile. “Now then, allow me to demonstrate.”

First, I focused my magical energy into the log I held in my hands. At that point I had made so many wood blocks that I could do it with my eyes closed; it took only a brief second or two to make one up. I heard Apollo and the others gasp as I dismantled the log and morphed it into a wood block.

Then, before they could say anything, I turned the wood block into a large, dagger-like knife. It lacked a guard but was still well honed and unnecessarily decorative. I was sure that it would sell well if stocked at a gift shop.

I handed the knife to Khamsin, who reverently took it in his hands, quietly turned, and cut the armored lizard hide with it. A brief swooshing sound filled the air, and a corner of the hide fell to the ground.

Apollo and the others watched, wide-eyed, frozen in shock. Only Rosalie was able to make a sound. “Wha—?”

I proceeded to craft a wooden sword and an unnecessarily ornate iron sword, reveling in their reactions. If we were on a TV program, the way they froze up would’ve been bad for the ratings. Fortunately, in the real world, this was the ideal reaction.

Apollo was frozen for the longest. Dyane, the first to return to her senses, said, “W-wait a moment. What was that just now? Don’t tell me that was production magic?”

“Yes, it was. I made many of the things in the village, actually.”

Next, I made a spear and a shield, shocking the trio even further. I had to hand it to them: it took courage to ask a child of nobility what their magic affinity was.

“Let’s go outside so I can show you how I make ballistae. Khamsin, can you summon a few people to help us?”

“Of course!” Khamsin ran out of the building, looking pleased for some reason. Did something good happen?

Meanwhile, Apollo held one of the swords in trembling hands, making strange noises. “I-it is unclear how effective this blade would be in real combat, but as a work of art, it’s incredible… I can’t believe you can make a piece like this in such a short span of time.”

Till walked up to us with an impish look on her face and something in her hands: armored lizard hide. “Please observe,” she said.

Apollo looked confused. “That’s armored lizard hide, correct? What are you planning to… Gah! You cut it! Wh-wh-what just happened?! Please let me see that!”

Making no effort to conceal how shaken he was, Apollo took the hide and inspected its toughness and color. He stared down at the material in complete silence, then cut the surface of the hide with my iron sword.

The blade slid through the skin like butter. Apollo’s eyes grew so wide I thought they were about to fall out of his head.

“Is this a holy sword? Am I looking at the holy sword from the legends…?” He whispered nonsense to himself, his eyes nearly rolling back into his head.

Dyane, for her part, was inspecting the spear I made earlier. “Even at the Mary Chamber of Commerce, I’ve never seen a blade as sharp as this. I also never thought I’d see a guild investigator so frazzled. It’s clear to me that the weapons you make are of the finest quality. If you were to make something like this with mithril or orichalcum, it would be a national treasure…”

“A national treasure, huh? That’s what His Majesty said as well.” I pulled out my beloved orichalcum short sword.

At first, when the women from the Mary Chamber of Commerce laid eyes upon it, all they could do was blink. Then Rosalie looked up. Dyane slowly gripped her head in her hands, casting her gaze upward as well.

“Lord Van,” Dyane said in an exhausted tone, “I think you would do well not to casually show that off. It is possible you could start a war over it.”

I, on the other hand, was displeased. “But it cuts the best out of all of my swords.”

“You use it often, then…” Her shoulders sagged as all the strength drained from her body.

Eventually, Khamsin returned with a few members of the Chivalric Order who were equipped with wood block armor. “I called for help!”

“Thanks, Khamsin. Okay, can you guys carry some wood blocks for me?”

“Yessir!” They began to haul the blocks out of the facility while I guided Apollo and the others outside.

It only took me two or three minutes to craft a ballista, thanks to Khamsin’s help. I turned around to see my audience’s reactions and found the trio looking at the ballista with matching thousand-yard stares. They were almost entirely expressionless, as if they’d lost the ability to emote.

I turned to Till and Khamsin. “Is it just me, or are they reacting kind of weirdly?”

They exchanged glances and nodded. “Well, it has been one surprise after another for them,” Till said.

“Anyone would react similarly after what they’ve been through,” agreed Khamsin. They both seemed utterly exasperated. Panamera and the king didn’t react like this, though… “Um, are you guys okay?” I asked reluctantly.

Apollo snapped to his senses and pointed at the ballista. “Were those materials you had brought here special?”

“Just wood.”

“How powerful is this thing?”

“It has a range of about one kilometer. If you load one of the bolts I’ve made, you can easily piece a dragon’s scales with it. By the way, my multishot ballistae can fire two bolts in a row.”

Apollo’s expression grew grimmer with each word I said. Before I could ask him what was wrong, Dyane gently raised her hand.

“Yes, Miss Dyane?”

She cleared her throat, a strained look crossing her face. “Um, Lord Van… We are humble merchants. Not only have we been surprised by the incredible advances this village has made, its rare materials, and its brand-new weapons, we have also been deeply moved. But even with that context, this ballista is unbelievable. The fact that you could so quickly craft a weapon that can subjugate a dragon is, well…”

“Wait, I was planning on doing a firing demonstration. Are you telling me you already believe that I made this stuff?” I asked.

Rosalie grimaced and nodded. “After everything we’ve seen, no one here

would doubt that. If anything, it’s a bit frightening to think about what other surprises might lurk around the corner.” Behind her, Bell nodded emphatically.

“Lord Van,” Apollo whispered, ashen faced, “this weapon has the potential to change the nature of war. And in a way that foreign nations could never hope to imitate.”

Silence washed over us. Deliberately ignoring the grim vibe, I nodded and smiled. “Awesome! Then in that case, I should be able to protect my territory just fine. I plan on making this village even better, so please advertise us to the other towns and villages. We’re always looking for new citizens!”

Apollo stilled again, his eyes wide. Then he started laughing loudly. “Is that so? Ha ha! In that case, please allow us to assist you in any way we can. Leave distribution routes to the other nations to us. The Business Guild would be happy to be good friends with you, Lord Van,” he said with a respectful bow of his head.

 

Back in the manor’s reception room, our three visitors sat on beautifully ornate sofa chairs, looking as though they’d had their souls ripped from their bodies.

They had no way of knowing this, but the reception room was actually the most luxurious room in all of Seatoh Village. Its lighting, furniture, and other various decorations were top of the line, but even the walls, ceiling, and windows were crafted with care.

There were currently no maids in the room. Next to each sofa chair was a side table holding fruit juice and pancakes. The eating utensils were all made of silver.

Still seated comfortably, Rosalie looked at the other two and whispered, “It’s hard to believe that this place was once deemed worthless.”

Dyane frowned and looked up. “Please don’t say that; it only makes me feel like an idiot. The information we had on this place was dreadfully out of date. Once we get back, I’ll gather information on all the developments since Lord

Van took charge. I will also arrange for there to be regular caravan trips to Seatoh Village. The Bell & Rango Company is clearly working very hard, but they can’t keep up with everything happening here.” She sighed and smiled selfdeprecatingly. “To be frank, I’m more surprised at Lord Van’s magic than I am at this village’s unusual rate of growth. Not just how he uses it, but also his inventiveness. Even setting his age aside, how can he come up with such fresh and useful ideas so easily?”

Dyane’s expression bore a tinge of regret and repentance as she spoke. Apollo folded his arms and tilted his chin down. “The structure of the wall and the number of defensive armaments are particularly astounding. Lord Van seems to be a very mild-mannered individual, but his talents are clearly suited toward warfare. If he wanted to, he could gain the support and backing of any country he wanted.”

“Do you really think so?” Dyane asked. She and Rosalie turned to Apollo with strained smiles, but soon realized he was not joking. They fell silent.

Apollo cast them a sidelong glance and sighed. “A tiny start-up, teaming up with the noble lord of a border territory to earn some quick cash… If that was all this was, it would be no trouble. Instead, the results of this investigation cannot be disclosed. Not yet. We also cannot simply leave this be.”

Dyane nodded. “Of course. However, if the Business Guild wants to put down roots on this continent, I don’t think it has any choice but to foster a positive relationship with Lord Van. I also believe this to be the case for our Mary Chamber of Commerce.” She smiled weakly.

Apollo smirked and shook his head. “I am not thrilled by the fact that things are going just as planned for the Mary Chamber of Commerce, but cooperation is the clear path forward. From what we’ve heard from Lord Van, Seatoh Village is largely self-sufficient when it comes to the necessities. What they currently need are spices, foods from other lands, and cultural goods. Given Lord Van’s inventiveness, he’ll desire things that will stir his imagination. That is perfect for the Business Guild.” He put a hand to his chest. “Especially since we specialize in trade with diverse nations.”

“And our Mary Chamber of Commerce possesses more distribution channels and caravans than anyone else in the kingdom, which means we can easily provide aid to the Business Guild. That said, I imagine transporting Seatoh

Village’s goods to foreign nations might cost a bit more.”

“…Understood.”

There was a knock at the door, almost as if the person in question had been waiting for the right moment. Hearing it, Apollo and the others turned toward the source. The door opened and a former-slave-turned-maid entered the room and quietly greeted them.

“Pardon me for interrupting your discussion,” the maid said, looking at the trio. “Lord Van would like to hear what you have to say.”

They exchanged glances and quickly turned back to her. “But of course,” Apollo said.

“We will speak with him,” said Dyane.

Rosalie concurred with a nod.

The maid led the three of them to a pair of double doors on the second floor. She knocked, and it opened from the inside. Beyond the doors was a vast, open space reminiscent of a museum. At the entrance of the room was a pure white pedestal upon which was displayed an intricately designed straight sword. Other white pedestals were evenly spaced nearby, displaying all kinds of things.

The trio were at a momentary loss for words before their merchant instincts kicked in. They inspected each display item in order.

“A weapon, monster parts… Ore? Wait, no way…”

“I-is this orichalcum…?”

One object in particular drew their attention. Apollo and Dyane were both stunned into silence, but Rosalie stared straight at the orichalcum, wide-eyed. “So this is what orichalcum looks like,” she murmured. “This is my first time seeing it.”

Dyane shook her head. “For me as well. I heard the royal family of one of our neighboring countries possessed some, but…”

“This is my second time,” Apollo put in. “Though the first wasn’t nearly as big as this.”

They fixated on the raw orichalcum as if they were possessed. Van appeared behind them with Till, Khamsin, and Bell in tow.

“Hello, everyone!”

The three merchants jumped, startled, then turned around.

“Ah, L-Lord Van!”

“We haven’t touched it, we promise!”

“That scared me!”

They reacted like thieves caught plotting their heist. Van simply smiled. “Since I knew you were coming, I quickly put together this little room for you. Cool, right?” he asked innocently.

They looked at the various displays and nodded.

“I see. So this room serves as a display for all of Seatoh Village’s local goods? What a fascinating idea. If one is to engage in business negotiations, getting to see the products firsthand is always a good thing,” said Dyane.

“Indeed,” said Rosalie. “And this is far more exciting than having them brought out one by one. How interesting.”

Apollo said, “Standard practices dictate that we inquire as to how much the local product’s condition and quality is regulated, but I doubt that is necessary in this case.”

Van was clearly pleased by their positive responses as he smiled and passed them to stand next to the orichalcum. Then he put his hand on it. “I received this from my apkallu friends. We don’t have many pieces, but they give me a handful of them every year.”

“The apkallu?!”

“I’ve heard rumors of their existence. Are you telling me you have active relations with them?”

The three merchants nearly tripped over their own words in their haste to respond, but before they had the chance to recover, Van stupefied them again.

Just as they wondered why Van was just standing next to the rare ore, the orichalcum began to gradually change form, shining even more brilliantly than before.

They watched in silence for a few minutes without moving. In that span of time, Van successfully refined the raw orichalcum, then turned it into a beautifully slender, curved sword.

Rosalie was the first to audibly react. “This is…”

It was unclear how Van interpreted her whisper, but he nodded deeply and took the curved sword into his hands.

“Orichalcum is extremely durable, so I tried making a katana, a sword that’s specialized in cutting. I think this is probably the best sword I’ve ever made. It should be sharp enough to cut through a dragon’s scales and fangs,” explained Van.

He swung the katana in the air. The blade wasn’t tempered, and yet it possessed a tempered pattern. It was not particularly ornate, but it had an intense presence regardless.

Bell, who had been silent up to this point, smiled as he looked over at Apollo and Dyane. They were both dumbfounded.

The young merchant cleared his throat. “Ahem. As far as I can tell, everyone present wishes to do business. As such, I propose we hold earnest discussions as to how we will proceed going forward. As fellow merchants, that is. With your permission, since the Bell & Rango Company has been doing business with Lord Van for some time now, we will host these discussions. Is that acceptable to everyone?”

Bell’s ambitious smile made his earlier exhaustion seem like naught but a lie. All Apollo and Dyane could do was smile.

“But of course,” Apollo said. “Going forward, whenever the Business Guild sells goods to Seatoh Village, we will first approach Lord Van, then the Bell &

Rango Company.”

“The Mary Chamber of Commerce will also spare no expenses. We will permanently station several veteran merchants here; please use them how you wish.”

Rosalie watched as, before her very eyes, Bell successfully maneuvered himself onto an equal footing with Apollo and Dyane. She surmised that he wanted verbal agreements from them while Van was present, but even then, his actions seemed a bit forceful to her.

“I can’t believe that gentle Bell could change so much…” she said to herself. “He must’ve really pushed himself to get to this point.” She saw a look of relief wash over Bell’s face as he received promises of cooperation from both merchants.

She smirked.

 

Nobility regularly sought land, power, and wealth. Such things were both their sword and their shield. Lower on the priority list, but still important, were fame, military might, and personal connections.

Hierarchies of nobility were decided first by peerage, then by status, and finally by wealth. These were things that could only rarely be changed. As such, many nobles attended social gatherings and sought to establish connections in hopes of increasing their notoriety. There were also those who, lacking land or power but possessing business acumen, opted to gather troops and cultivate their military strength. There were even those who deviated from royal law in an attempt to get ahead. But the reality was that without a great deal of luck, there was rarely any change to the hierarchy.

When the last king stepped down, meritocracy became the norm in the kingdom. It was this change that resulted in Jalpa and Panamera’s rise in social status. While it was a net positive for the kingdom to have talented people rise through the ranks, not everyone saw it that way. There were only so many seats at the top. For someone to rise, someone else inevitably had to fall.

Jalpa and Panamera had brought their might to bear, silencing their detractors among the older, distinguished families. They had undoubtedly utilized their connections and accomplishments on the battlefield to make this happen.

But me? Little Van? I was built different.

I was sent out to the least viable piece of land in the marquis’ territory and, despite being a child, charged with becoming the lord of a village on the brink of collapse. And as a child, I subjugated a dragon with only a small fighting force and was consequently granted a peerage. Then I quietly provided aid in the war against Yelenetta. There were some who were vaguely aware of my participation, but only vaguely. Quite frankly, to those without knowledge of my accomplishments as a new baron, all of this sounded dubious at best.

Most people likely believed that Jalpa was propping me up in a way that the other nobles wouldn’t notice. At my current rate, it wouldn’t be terribly surprising if the ones with superior peerages started picking fights with me.

Unfortunately for them, I got in a little over my head and accidentally showed off to the Business Guild—one of the largest guilds in the world. It wasn’t my fault, really; Apollo’s reactions (and the Mary Chamber of Commerce members’ as well) were just so entertaining that I couldn’t help myself. As a result, I got myself recognized by the Business Guild in an official capacity.

I would hear about this further down the line, but apparently there were several types of working relationships with the Business Guild. At the top were those conducted with first-class companies who maintained a certain standard recognized by the guild. The guild conducted business equally with these companies, and even left room for negotiation. On the other hand, when a regular company was welcomed into the fold, the guild usually conducted business from a position of power, preventing the smaller company from turning down their requests. Despite this, many companies were still happy to join, because the opportunity to expand their market into other countries or continents was worth being at a disadvantage with the guild.

Of course, the Bell & Rango Company and I had sealed the best possible working relationship with the guild. We would be able to do business with them on equal terms.

“We’re going to draw attention. We’re going to draw way too much attention…” With my head in my hands, I glanced sidelong at Bell and Rango, who were toasting each other merrily.

“We won, my brother!”

“We sure have, my brother.” They tapped their glasses together, sharing that odd exchange. I wasn’t getting involved in that.

I suppose they’re only looking at this from a merchant’s perspective. That makes sense, I guess.

I sighed. Apollo, who had been carrying on a discussion with Dyane, noticed and gave me an incisive look. “Is something the matter? If you have any questions about our deal, I would be happy to answer them. Better to hash it all out now than later,” he said cheerfully. “Would you like to discuss the frequency of our dealings? Or perhaps there’s something the Business Guild can acquire for you?”

I gave him a wry smile and waved him off. We were in the reception room, closing the deal, having made progress in our talks. Apollo, Dyane, and I were seated at the table; Bell, Rango, and Rosalie were also present, and I had Till and Khamsin on quiet, unobtrusive standby over in the corner. I meant to brush Apollo off, but unfortunately, his question prompted everyone to focus on me.

“No, it’s just a personal problem,” I hedged. “Things have been going a bit too well for me, and now I’m worried about how much attention I might draw.”

The others exchanged looks. It was Apollo and Dyane who caught my implication. “I see,” replied Apollo, rubbing his jaw. “If I remember correctly, you only just acquired a peerage, correct? Given your age, I’m guessing some surmise that you’re receiving assistance from somewhere.”

Dyane nodded. “Indeed. If I hadn’t seen this place firsthand, I likely would have come to the same conclusion. I heard plenty of rumors about you before I arrived, but I didn’t expect things to be like this.”

Rosalie listened intently, nodding multiple times. “I suppose even nobles have their own anxieties. For us merchants, promotions and celebrity link directly to profit, so we would never think to worry about such a thing…though we do sometimes put forward proposals that would benefit our business rivals as well.”

Her explanation made Bell laugh bitterly and shake his head. “Maintaining customers’ trust and striving to benefit related businesses and companies… Expanding horizontally to make the best use of new markets… The Mary Chamber of Commerce is only capable of this because your merchants are a talented bunch. The average merchant might stumble onto such opportunities, but they wouldn’t be able to take advantage of them.”

“Oh, my. Are you trying to suggest that the Bell & Rango Company, with its tremendous forward momentum, isn’t ‘normal’?”

Bell scrunched up his face and hunched down in his seat. “C-cut me some slack, Miss Rosalie.” Then he chuckled, setting his glass on the table and turning to me. “No… In the end we were lucky as well. Normal merchants who ran into such a blessed stroke of good fortune that even we were able to take advantage of the opportunities before us. That’s all there is to it.”

Rango nodded along as Bell spoke. Apollo beamed and said, “What an invigorating turn of events. You never have more fun than when you’re on your way up. The work is just as difficult, but the excitement and accomplishment you feel as each new endeavor bears fruit has no compare. Heck, I’m tempted to quit my job as an investigator and join the Bell & Rango Company.”

This was an astonishing thing for a member of one of the world’s biggest organizations to say. Dyane turned toward him, speechless. Noticing her gaze, Apollo shrugged pleasantly.

“Just a little joke,” he clarified. “Things at the Business Guild are shaping up to be equally exciting now that we’ll be doing business with Lord Van and the Bell & Rango Company. Things will be busy, and I’m ready. I plan on making as much money as possible.” He punctuated this declaration with a sip of alcohol from his glass. “If anyone gets in the way of our business, it won’t matter who they are. Commoner or noble, I will repel them all…from the shadows, anyway.”

With that, the audit came to a close without incident. From our perspective, it was a huge success. Sure, we’d stoked a fire in the heart of the Business Guild investigator…but that energy was being directed into something positive, so whatever.

The day after we finalized the deal, I resumed the merchants’ tour of Seatoh Village. I even showed them where the apkallu lived, which shocked them all.

After that, they were on their way home. They had apparently intended to take a look at the dungeon, but now decided to beeline home instead, so as not to let such a massive business opportunity slip through their fingers.

Personally, I’d wanted to see how they’d react to the rest area I built for the adventurers, but oh well. That could wait for the next visit.

Anyhow, it was undoubtedly a win for us to have attained the right to work with the Business Guild, especially considering their international influence. I honestly wasn’t sure what I would have done if they decided we were being dishonest and prevented us from doing business with other companies or countries. It didn’t matter, though, because we’d hit a game-ending grand slam.

With a Business Guild investigator showering us with attention, other nobles wouldn’t find it easy to mess with us.

“Man, thank goodness,” I said. “Things didn’t go how I expected, but all’s well that ends well.”

Bell and Rango exchanged nods, enjoying our little celebration. Bell said, “Seriously. Now we’ll be on equal footing with the Mary Chamber of

Commerce. We got ourselves the highest level of trading authority there is.”

“Despite being a brand-new business, too,” added Rango. “Other companies won’t be able to ignore us anymore.”

After the close of yesterday’s talks, they’d both managed to relax a bit. In fact, they’d come to my office in the manor this morning and had been chattering excitedly about the future all day. “Are you sure you should both be here?”

Bell grinned. “That shouldn’t be a problem. We put a temporary customer limit on the store, and our employees are good enough to be apprentices at this point. They should be able to manage things for us just fine.”

Someone knocked at the door. I turned, and Khamsin nodded and opened it. Till entered with a young man from the Bell & Rango Company in tow. If memory served, he was someone with valuable business acumen.

He lowered his head, unable to hide the disapproval on his face. Then he glared at Bell and Rango. “Mr. President.”

The pair grimaced in tandem. “Is there still work to be done?” Rango asked, just as Bell said, “Did we screw up?”

The young man’s frown deepened. “The adventurers are protesting, and we’re getting complaints from the other villagers over it.”

“What?”

“From a single day of customer and product limitations?”

Bell and Rango blinked, confused. The young man sighed and shook his head, one hand planted on his hip. “We get new villagers here every month thanks to the rumors circulating about us. Your product limitations meant we sold out of pretty much everything early this morning and stopped purchasing monster materials and ore before noon. The adventurers who’ve just arrived had no alternatives, so they’re all complaining.”

“Wait, we’re still getting new adventurers?!”

“Didn’t we just get some the day before yesterday?”

“We get more and more every month. There’s nothing strange about this. We should have anticipated it.”

Silence settled over the three of them for a moment after this back-and-forth.

At this point, the two merchants were being soundly scolded by their employee.

I knew Bell and Rango were being too optimistic. I waved a hand, smirking.

“Don’t worry about me. The two of you should head back. Good luck!”

For some reason, the young man then turned to me. “Lord Van, we don’t have enough of your weapons left. When do you plan to restock? We’re sold out of your long swords, straight swords, katana, and spears.”

“Wha…?” His tone was polite, but there was an undeniable hint of displeasure in his voice. Unable to help myself, I responded bluntly that I’d just restocked the store’s supply last month. With over a hundred weapons, in fact!

My weapons were priced by size. Large ones ran anywhere from ten to twenty gold, mid-sized weapons were five to ten gold, and small weapons were one to five gold. Those were, to my knowledge, pretty high prices for iron weapons. I could also make mithril weapons, but those were order-only and were priced at the market value.

This young man was saying that they had nearly sold all of that. I hand-made every one of those weapons; it’s not like the adventurers would have needed to replace them. “…How many new customers are we getting each month?” I asked.

“Last month we had two hundred or so. About one hundred of them have since left the village. This month, we’ve had more than three hundred visitors, with about one hundred of them leaving to serve as bodyguards for traveling merchants or heading to neighboring nations as mercenaries.” “That’s a fifty percent increase!” I replied, shocked.

New customers meant these were probably visitors who heard the rumors and came to check things out. To think there’d be a fifty percent increase in just a month… What were people saying about Seatoh Village?

I knew from the written reports that the village’s population had seen an increase, but at our current rate, the adventurers’ town would become overpopulated. The Chivalric Order was growing by the month, and if the population kept rising, it would only become more difficult to manage.

“This is bad! I need to make adjustments before the citizens’ concerns become a massive issue!” I said to myself, standing in a panic. To Bell and the others, I said, “I’ll have weapons ready by tomorrow! For now, everyone get to work!” Then, turning to Khamsin and Till: “I need the two of you to hurry and summon Esparda and Dee! We’re holding an emergency meeting!”

“Yes, Lord Van!” They straightened up and sprinted out of the office.

My anxiety about the Business Guild had made me neglect my duties as the lord. Normally, Esparda would poke and prod at me to get to it, but this time he only gave me the usual written reports. He probably saw that I was too busy for multitasking.

After a short time, Dee arrived at my office. “What is this about an emergency?!”

“Meeting. An emergency meeting.”

He visibly relaxed for some reason. “Hmm, an emergency meeting, you say…” he whispered before taking a seat.

Esparda was in charge of the newly created adventurers’ town, so he was a bit tardy. As he swept through the door, he said, with a polite bow of his head, “I heard we were having an emergency meeting.”

It felt like it had been a while since I last saw the two of them. Before the whole Business Guild thing came up, I had been practicing my sword work and studying every single day, so there hadn’t been enough time for me to feel nostalgic…but I digress. “Thank you for coming, both of you.”

I gestured and Esparda quietly took a seat. Till and Khamsin closed the door behind him and relocated to my side. Once I was sure everyone was looking at me, I spoke.

“As you are all aware, it is thanks to your hard work that everything with the Business Guild turned out as well as it did. I’m sure some nobles will shun me as a result, but I don’t think we need to concern ourselves too much with that.” Esparda and Dee both nodded. “Right now, our biggest problem is our ballooning population. I originally envisioned the adventurers’ town as an inn town of sorts, but now I’m considering expanding it.”

Dee and Esparda exchanged glances. Then, after a second of silence, Esparda nodded and Dee smirked victoriously.

I blinked. “What? What kind of reaction is that?”

My confusion made Dee laugh. “No, no. You see, last week, this old butler came to me about how he felt you needed more manpower. He said that he and the others had to do whatever they could to help. And you know what I told him? I said that there was no way Lord Van didn’t understand the situation in his own territory,” he said meaningfully.

Esparda frowned. “I did no such thing. I did, however, say that we should use the Chivalric Orders to gather as many materials as possible for when you decided on our direction going forward.”

“You certainly seemed plenty concerned at the time.”

“A misunderstanding.”

It was unusual for Dee to tease Esparda like this, but Esparda just shrugged it off. It seemed they had discussed the issue with one another long before I even noticed it existed.

“So you guys didn’t say anything because you feel like I’m capable of handling things on my own, huh? Thanks.”

They both blinked at me, and just like that, the atmosphere in the room lightened. Dee said, “Though you’re far from being the best swordsman in the country.”

“And you still don’t possess all the necessary knowledge of a lord, nor the foresight of a nobleman,” put in Esparda.