Chapter 54. Traces (1)
Bernard had said that a guest had arrived in the County.
And that they had arrived ‘just now’.
I pressed Bernard for an answer.
“Who is it? Who has come to the County?”
“They are guests from the House of Viscount Venenon.”
“House of Viscount Venenon?”
“That is correct.”
Disappointment involuntarily appeared on my face.
Because it wasn’t Ian.
But the name House of Viscount Venenon....
“......”
For some reason, it sounded familiar.
Where had I heard it before?
It hadn’t been during my time in the Coalition Forces.... Ah, right.
“Weren’t the guests who visited the County last time also from the House of Viscount Venenon?”
The guests who had visited the County after the Gelu-Drake was subjugated.
I remembered them saying something about Venenon back then as well.
“That is correct.”
As expected, Bernard nodded, confirming my recollection.
“Then why have they returned?”
“It appears that they have returned regarding the proposal they made at the time.”
“A proposal?”
“Well....”
Bernard trailed off.
It seemed difficult for him to bring up the subject.
I didn’t know what kind of proposal House of Viscount Venenon had made to cause him to react like that.
“Bernard, deal with it yourself.”
I wasn’t particularly interested.
There was no reason for me to be.
For a moment, Bernard appeared somewhat disappointed.
My recent efforts to care for the residents and confront the army alone seemed to have changed his opinion of me.
It looked like he had developed certain expectations of me as the heir to the County, but unfortunately, I had no intention of fulfilling them.
I had no intention of becoming the lord of the County.
Once Ian arrived, I intended to decide what to do with Seraphia and Kai before leaving.
Unless the guest visiting the County was Ian, giving the matter any further attention would be a waste of time.
Right now, I needed to travel to Freche and learn about Ian’s traces as soon as possible.
At the same time, I needed to secure funds to establish the Coalition Forces, obtain medicinal ingredients to improve Seraphia’s condition, and raise the residents’ remaining Affinity.
I already had a mountain of work to do.
“Isn’t that the Head Butler’s responsibility?”
During emergencies, the Head Butler was granted the authority to act as the lord’s representative.
With my father dead and Seraphia in her current condition, this situation certainly qualified as an ‘emergency’.
At present, Bernard was the acting lord and possessed greater authority than I did.
Hadn’t he used that authority to reject my request for funds to establish the Merchant Company?
Yet now, he was acting like this.
“....Understood.”
Bernard took a step backward.
Even then, however, he didn’t readily turn around and leave.
* * *
Freche was both a Free City and Commercial City, normally bustling every day with countless merchants and visitors.
Recently, however, an unusually gloomy atmosphere had descended over the city.
Normally, the cries of countless street vendors calling out to customers would have echoed without pause.
The streets should have been crowded with people and overflowing with activity.
But dust had accumulated on the abandoned stalls, while disappointment and anxiety filled the faces of those wandering the streets.
“I haven’t had any energy lately....”
“You too? I haven’t felt motivated at all lately. I can’t bring myself to work.”
Some stared only at the sky.
Others gazed toward the end of the distant road.
People gathered in the plaza wondering whether the company might arrive today.
But before long, they all lowered their heads in disappointment.
“What’s the point of working hard and earning money?”
“The Predator Merchant Company simply refuses to return.”
The Predator Merchant Company’s monster meat.
After tasting it once, the people had fallen ill with longing for it, as though they were suffering from lovesickness.
“I can’t live without monster meat anymore.”
“Just once. I really want to eat it just one more time....”
They spent their days without energy, unable to concentrate on their work.
The artisans no longer hammered away at weapons and armor.
Neither the pounding of hammers nor the voices of merchants bargaining could be heard anymore.
Perhaps this was why people warned against carelessly trying drugs.
There might be people who had never tried them, but there was no such thing as someone who tried them only once.
By the time they realized this, it was already too late.
And this wasn’t limited to the consumers.
The merchants who had engaged in their own ‘independent collaborations’ with the Predator Merchant Company by selling products that complemented monster meat were in the same situation.
“Without the Predator Merchant Company, our sales have fallen to a quarter of what they were....”
“You’re fortunate if they’ve only fallen to a quarter. Ours have dropped to a tenth.”
“The same happened to us.”
Their rapidly increasing sales had abruptly ended when the supply of monster meat was discontinued.
To put it crudely, after experiencing such an intoxicating high, they could no longer feel satisfied with ordinary sales.
The nobles who had traveled from various kingdoms after hearing the rumors were also sighing.
“I traveled such a long distance after hearing that monster meat was incredibly delicious....”
“N-No! I promised the marquis that I would bring some back...!!”
The previously lively conversations gradually died away, and the market’s once-boisterous noise diminished with them.
“Haa....”
“Sigh....”
People from every walk of life gathered on one side of the plaza and stared endlessly at the empty road.
Whenever horses and cargo wagons passed, their eyes briefly filled with anticipation.
But when they failed to see the Predator Merchant Company’s white-wolf insignia, they quickly lowered their heads in disappointment.
“Could something have happened in White Wolf County?”
Unable to endure it any longer, someone raised the possibility.
“I mean, it has already been several days, but they haven’t shown themselves even once.”
“Huh...?”
“N-Now that you mention it, that’s true.”
“R-Right! No matter what happened, there’s no reason they would stay away this long!”
“Could they have suffered some kind of accident while hunting monsters...?”
The anxiety spread rapidly.
The sky above Freche grew increasingly overcast, and a dark shadow gradually descended over the entire city.
“N-No! That can’t be it! Heavy snow must have blocked the road!”
“Wouldn’t that be an even greater problem? It means they want to come but can’t.”
“Shouldn’t we go out and help them?”
“Indeed! Instead of waiting here helplessly, let’s send people to White Wolf County to assist them!”
“I shall deploy the territorial army immediately!!”
Free citizens, merchants, and nobles alike were strengthening their resolve when—
“They’re heeeeeere!!!”
A thunderous cry rang out, as though the man had eaten boiled ogre lungs.
“The Predator Merchant Company is heeeeeeeeeere!!!!”
Everyone instantly snapped to attention.
As though they had arranged it in advance, they all turned toward the road leading into the city.
A procession of carriages appeared.
The white-wolf insignia was clearly engraved upon their sides.
“They’re heeeeeere!!!”
“They’ve arriiiiiived!!”
“Waaaaaaaaah!!!”
Cries loud enough to rival a megaphone announced the arrival of the Predator Merchant Company.
At the tremendous uproar, people poked their heads out of the windows of every building in the city’s shopping district.
When they saw the procession of carriages bearing the white-wolf insignia—
“They’re heeeeeere!!!”
“They’ve arriiiiiived!!”
Every one of them released a thunderous roar as though they, too, had eaten boiled ogre lungs.
Hearing their cries, children ran throughout the streets, spreading news of the Predator Merchant Company’s arrival across the entirety of Freche.
“The Predator Merchant Company is here!”
“The Predator Merchant Company has arrived!!”
The procession of carriages seemed endless.
Even a rough count revealed dozens of them.
That meant they were carrying an equally enormous quantity of monster meat.
Apparently, they had been delayed because they were securing such a vast supply.
Music began playing throughout the plaza.
Accompanied by majestic drums, the city’s gloomy atmosphere disappeared as vitality and activity returned.
Large banners welcoming the Predator Merchant Company were hung throughout the streets.
[Freche Always Welcomes the Predator Merchant Company!]
[This Is Your Home!]
[How Did We Ever Live Without You? Now We Can Finally Live Again!]
The dust-covered stalls and shops began opening one after another.
Hot flames once again surged from the forges of artisans whose fires had previously died down.
The pounding of hammers against iron.
The voices of merchants bargaining.
Before anyone realized it, the market that had echoed only with sighs was once again bustling with vitality and activity.
“We have plenty of fresh vegetables that taste twice as good when served with monster meat!”
“We’ve received a shipment of charcoal that will cook the Predator Merchant Company’s monster meat to perfection!”
“When cooking monster meat, nothing beats a kitchen knife from Lebanon Forge!”
“We have salt, pepper, butter, and all kinds of seasonings that will bring out the full flavor of monster meat! Come and take a look!”
Freche had become a city incapable of surviving without the Predator Merchant Company.
* * *
The restaurant was indescribably busy.
“We’d like to order over here!”
“Yes, yes! I’m coming!”
As expected, the monster meat was another enormous success.
Unlike before, when I had operated from a street stall, I could now conduct business from a fully equipped restaurant.
The Freche City Council had specially authorized the use of the building.
Since I had no particular reason to refuse, I gladly accepted it. Thanks to that, we could serve far more customers than before.
And just as expected, word about Rex meat seemed to have spread.
“I came after hearing the rumors....”
“Can I purchase some of that meat called Rex?”
The nobles’ demand for Rex meat had become utterly insane.
As a result, the profit margin on Rex meat was equally outrageous.
Ordinarily, 200 grams of the highest-grade beef cost approximately five gold.
However, the price I had assigned to 200 grams of Rex meat was one thousand times higher.
In other words, five thousand gold.
The price was so outrageous that I honestly wondered who would ever buy it.
Surprisingly, however, the nobles didn’t hesitate to open their purses.
“You there! Why have you only returned now?”
“Do you have any idea how long our lord has been waiting for you?”
The reason was naturally its supreme flavor.
In addition to evolving thick layers of fat to survive in a cold environment, the Rex had reduced its muscular strength to the absolute minimum to regulate its metabolic rate.
I could confidently declare that no meat tasted better than Rex meat.
Furthermore, I gave Rex meat a separate grade called ‘Prime’ to make it appear even more special.
The designation itself didn’t mean anything.
But it was more than enough to capture the attention of nobles who loved anything special or luxurious.
“My son’s coming-of-age ceremony is in a few days, so package five hundred grams of Rex meat for me! Make sure it’s Prime grade!”
“His Majesty’s birthday is approaching. I want to use this opportunity to make a favorable impression on him, so could you package one kilogram of Prime-grade meat for me?”
Special occasions, gifts, bribes, and more.
Rex meat was beginning to be recognized as an exclusive luxury brand belonging solely to the Predator Merchant Company.
Rex meat began selling like hotcakes.
It firmly established itself as an elite luxury that only nobles could enjoy—and one that even most nobles couldn’t easily afford.
Separately, the prices of Alakron and Dermexus meat were set at approximately three gold per serving.
I sold them more cheaply so that ordinary people could purchase them if they truly wanted to.
My goal wasn’t merely to create a profitable Merchant Company.
It was to create the greatest Merchant Company on the continent.
To accomplish that, it needed to permeate both popular culture and the everyday lives of the public.
Profit would come from the nobles. Fame would come from the public.
“Five servings of Alakron belly steak over here!”
“We’ll have three servings of Dermexus hind-leg meat and four servings of Alakron!”
Thus, the Predator Merchant Company enjoyed explosive popularity while earning staggering profits.
Because of that, I was overwhelmingly busy preparing and grilling meat.
Fortunately, I had raised my Agility to 65 while hunting the Lycanthrope, allowing me to prepare and cook the meat quickly with tremendous dexterity.
The resulting flavor was also incomparably better than before.
“Wow! How can meat possibly taste this delicious?”
“Did they put some kind of drug in it?”
“I don’t care! Drug or no drug, I can’t live without monster meat anymore!”
Customers arrived without pause.
And they weren’t limited to Freche’s Free Citizens.
There were also people from other kingdoms who had stopped in Freche.
They would return to their respective kingdoms and spread the rumors again. Those rumors would take on a life of their own and spread uncontrollably.
It was only a matter of time before the Predator Merchant Company became famous across the entire continent.
* * *
A Free City possessed no absolute ruler such as a Monarch or territorial lord.
But as the saying went, a troll was king in mountains without an ogre.
Since Freche was a Commercial City among the Free Cities, a small number of merchant magnates wielded absolute power comparable to that of territorial lords.
Put simply, the richest people held absolute authority in Freche.
“How much money is all this?!”
Edlen stared at the towering pile of gold coins, an enormous smile naturally spreading across his face.
“Hehehe...!!”
The sheer quantity was enough to make him laugh merely by looking at it.
Even more astonishingly, this was the revenue from only one day.
These were the gold coins he had earned yesterday.
And all of it had begun when the Predator Merchant Company started selling monster meat.
At first, he had wondered what kind of ridiculous merchant company they were.
Afterward, he had been displeased when he saw them sweeping away all the customers.
But then the Predator Merchant Company began revitalizing the surrounding commercial districts, and his sales reached new records every day.
Edlen’s primary commodity was wine.
He had earned tremendous profits from the nobles traveling from across the continent to purchase monster meat.
As a result, yesterday’s sales had been twenty times higher than usual.
He was practically sitting on a mountain of money.
“They’re an absolute blessing! A blessing!”
Calling the Predator Merchant Company a blessing wasn’t enough.
It wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to call them his saviors.
Just as Edlen was grinning from ear to ear—
Jingle.
A customer opened the shop’s door and entered.
Edlen’s eyebrows twitched.
The night outside was pitch-black beneath a veil of deep darkness.
He had finished the day’s business, and this was the precious time when he should have been resting his exhausted body.
Why would someone enter the shop when a [Closed] sign was clearly hanging outside?
More importantly, he didn’t appreciate this unwelcome guest interrupting such an enjoyable moment.
Edlen spoke with an irritated expression.
“We’re closed—”
Then he abruptly shut his mouth.
The man who had entered the shop looked anything but ordinary.
Deep-black hair with a subtle sheen.
A few strands of hair falling lightly across his forehead and sharply defined features.
Deep, piercing eyes that appeared capable of seeing through anything.
Powerful, well-developed muscles that couldn’t be concealed by his clothing.
Yet his physique was by no means excessive.
Long eyelashes that appeared both cold and mysterious, accompanied by a sharp jawline.
How could Edlen fail to recognize that face, which seemed to shine even in the darkness of night?
It was the most handsome, masculine, manly, and yet remarkably youthful face in the entire world.
“Welcome, Lord Adrian!!!”
Edlen’s waist automatically bent at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
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