Chapter 135

Heaven Forges Bonds, People Forge Affection (1)

The dwarf had kicked his way into the smithy, shattering the door in the process.

Brumbar's twitching muscles began to bulge and ripple. The chief's eyes flashed menacingly.

"Listen, Thrandul."

That gaze turned on Thrandul, who had smashed the door.

"Didn't I tell you I'd beat the shit out of you if you smashed the smithy door one more time?"

"Chief! One broken door doesn't matter right now! It's runesteel! Runesteel!"

Thrandul shouted, his face flushed.

But Brumbar did not respond as Thrandul had hoped.

"You must grease your hammer with common sense instead of oil."

Brumbar strode over to Thrandul, seized his shoulder, and gradually tightened his grip as though bending an iron bar.

"Guuuaaargh!"

Thrandul screamed.

There was nothing ordinary about Thrandul's build or muscles, either. But they were useless in Chief Brumbar's grip.

"This is Feractrum. Even molten iron doesn't flow without permission."

"G-guaaaargh!"

"I'll reset your bones with common sense."

"I-I'm sor—!"

CRRRUNCH!

"Guuuaaargh!"

Thrandul screamed as his bones were crushed. His shoulder caved in.

"Next time, I'll reset every bone in your body with common sense."

Only then did Brumbar relax his grip.

Thrandul collapsed to the floor, panting. His face contorted in pain, he turned his swollen, bloodshot eyes on Brumbar.

"... Chief! More importantly, it's runesteel!"

Then he shouted, his face flushed, as though nothing had happened.

Brumbar briefly lowered his gaze at those words.

"They say a ton of runesteel ore has hit the market in the humans' city—"

A ton of runesteel ore. Runesteel was an exceedingly rare mineral, so a ton was worth a considerable amount. But it wasn't a large quantity.

It was still only ore, after all, and the refining and smelting process would ruthlessly whittle it down. Low-purity runesteel ore in particular lost over 99% of its mass. The final yield of refined runesteel was, at best, 0.0005% or less.

And if harmful impurities were taken into account? There might be no yield at all.

But then—

"They say its purity is over eighteen percent!"

"... What?"

Brumbar's eyes went wide. And with good reason. Eighteen percent purity?

For runesteel of such high purity to form, there had to be an ultrahigh-temperature melt. Mana symmetry breaking, energy interference, a defect-free zone, extreme temperature conditions, and more—all manner of complex and demanding environmental conditions had to align perfectly.

In other words, it was impossible.

"Eighteen percent? Are you certain?"

"I'm telling you, it is!"

Thrandul shouted with absolute confidence.

Thrandul might dump his fucking sense into his beer instead of foam and drink it down, but he didn't lie. Nor did he have any reason to.

"Where could runesteel that pure have come from? No, who? Who supplied that runesteel?"

"A trading company run by humans. Its name is... Ah, right. Predator Merchant Company!"

"Predator Merchant Company?"

Brumbar furrowed his brow and asked another question.

"Do you know who owns it?"

"What was it again? Ah, right. I think they said Adrian Whitewolf."

"Adrian Whitewolf...?"

Brumbar's eyes narrowed.

"Adrian Whitewolf... Adrian Whitewolf..."

"Huh? Chief, do you know the human?"

Brumbar shook his head. No matter how hard he thought, nothing came to mind.

Yet why was it? He couldn't explain it, but somehow, the name felt familiar.

"Adrian Whitewolf..."

For some reason, the name was etching itself deep into Brumbar's mind.

* * *

The commercial city of Frecce.

"Safe travels, Lord Adrian!"

The auction house manager folded himself into a 180-degree bow—an excessively deferential gesture.

Ever since I'd bought out the Frecce market, every citizen's attitude toward me had changed. This time, however, that wasn't the only reason.

I had just consigned a ton of runesteel to the auction house. It wasn't a huge quantity, but given runesteel's rarity, it was by no means small. And at 18.1% purity? Even a single ton was nothing to dismiss.

'Word will spread in no time.'

It would soon reach the ears of nobles and powerful figures in various kingdoms. They would race to Frecce and enter a fierce competition to get their hands on the runesteel.

Frecce's auction house would profit enormously from transaction fees and admission charges, with the windfall extending across the city's lodging, food, and transportation industries.

Of course, I would have to pay a transaction fee too...

'That's a small price to pay.'

Landing a big fish required bait to match. Besides, I'd only used up a single ton. The amount of runesteel still underground was—

[Reserves] - 1,676,420,551 tons

I hadn't even made a dent. Had it actually gone down? It was an immense quantity that would never run dry, no matter how much I used.

But there was nothing I could do with it yet. For now, all I could do was wait for a bite.

When I stepped out onto the street, I found that quite a lot had changed in Frecce. The first thing that caught my eye was this:

"Leather brought straight from Whitewolf county! Come take a look!"

"We have fabric made with the county's traditional dyeing techniques! The colors won't fade for ages!"

Goods from Whitewolf county were being sold all over the streets. They were quickly establishing themselves as Predator Merchant Company's new specialty products, following in the footsteps of monster meat.

'So the Territory Quest didn't clear for nothing.'

But they had yet to reach beyond Frecce's market. In other words, they weren't specialty products that could replace monster meat. If I wanted to build the continent's greatest trading company and prepare for war against the empire, I needed a more decisive breakthrough.

After all, I had no intention of selling off the runesteel. What I'd put up for auction was just bait, nothing more. I had absolutely no plans to distribute it in bulk.

I intended to use runesteel solely as a strategic resource for the allied army. I would release minute quantities only when necessary to maintain its scarcity, using that scarcity to gain the upper hand in negotiations and dealings.

That meant forgoing an astronomical sum of money, but...

'I can't let the empire use runesteel.'

Runesteel wasn't just another resource. It was a key strategic resource capable of turning the tide of war—the greatest variable that could give the allied army an overwhelming advantage over the imperial army.

Sell it off for mere money? That would be no different from giving up on the war.

That wasn't to say money didn't matter. But there were other ways to make it. That was why Predator Merchant Company needed a new specialty product to rival monster meat.

'Peanut wine, huh.'

The peanut wine had been an explosive hit at the court social gathering. I headed straight for Adlan's shop.

* * *

DING.

At the sound of the bell, Adlan rose from his seat behind the counter.

"Welco—!"

Then he spotted me and started to bow at ninety degrees—

"A-are you all right?!"

Suddenly, he rushed over. Worry filled his face, to the point that I could glimpse the same anxiety Seraphia had shown just before we parted.

"I heard the rumors from the Kingdom of Battenberg!"

"Ah."

Now I understood.

Queen Marceline had been implicated in treason and murdered. Second Prince Blake had been named as her killer. It was a major incident that hadn't merely shaken the country but turned it upside down, and a merchant who kept an ear out for news couldn't possibly have missed it.

Adlan also knew I'd been going to the capital.

"I was so anxious that something might have happened to you, Lord Adrian...!"

That explained why he'd been trembling like a weasel frightened by thunder.

From the looks of it, though...

'He doesn't seem to have heard any rumors about me.'

Then again, only Seraphia, Leon, and I knew what had happened at The Forgotten Social Gathering. The disturbance at the palace involving Walter had been overshadowed by Queen Marceline's treason and murder.

As for my fight with Blake afterward...

'Looks like Leon covered it up nicely.'

Present Vision[L] lived up to its reputation. Leon knew exactly what to do without being told.

"How did you come through it unharmed, my lord?"

"I'm fine."

Not merely fine—things couldn't have been better. Leon's seizure of real power had changed the shape of the future.

Adlan knew none of that, but—

"What a relief!"

My assurance alone was enough to make him happy.

"Did anything happen while I was away?"

"Nothing in particular, aside from the sudden shift in Battenberg's political situation... Ah! The county's goods are quite popular here in Frecce!"

Excitement filled Adlan's face, as though he were a merchant who had discovered a great treasure.

"In fact, I've signed a contract myself!"

"You too, Adlan?"

"Yes, my lord! I happened to need new wine bottles. The design is lovely, and they're a perfect fit!"

Having developed an original drink called peanut wine, he apparently needed new bottles to suit it. Since the subject had come up...

"That peanut wine. How much does it cost?"

"Pardon? Ah, well. It's a prototype, so I haven't set a price yet."

"Then what did it cost to produce?"

"With everything included..."

Adlan thought hard before answering.

"It came to about a hundred thousand gold."

"For that one bottle?"

"I don't have a dedicated production facility, you see. That's excluding the money I burned through on research."

He had burned through all the money I'd given him for his trouble. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, giving me some idea of the trial and error he'd endured while researching alone.

"Are you researching any drinks besides peanut wine?"

"Well..."

Sure enough, it seemed there was something else.

"I'm researching sweet potato wine and acorn wine, too."

"Sweet potato and acorn wine?"

"Y-yes. They're low-alcohol drinks, one bringing out the smooth sweetness of sweet potatoes, and the other letting you savor the delicate aroma of acorns just as it is."

Adlan was more serious about wine than I'd thought... no, than I'd ever imagined.

"Anything besides wine?"

"I'm researching an inexpensive drink called 'chestnut beer.'"

"Chestnut beer?"

"As the name suggests, it's beer made primarily from chestnuts. The nut, not nighttime. Edible chestnuts. Roasted ones. Hehe."

"Hmm."

"I'm experimenting with adding caramel and cinnamon to give it a rich flavor with the nuttiness and sweetness of chestnuts."

... That sounded pretty good.

"And chestnuts are good for hangovers, so you can drink and drink without a care!"

As befitted an inexpensive drink, its ingredients were cheap, keeping production costs low. More importantly, its originality seemed to give it a strong chance of establishing itself as a distinctive drink.

"How much do you need to finish the research?"

"At the very least..."

Adlan gave it some serious thought.

"I'll need five million gold."

"... That's more than I expected."

"I have to design everything from scratch, starting with fermentation, so I can't use my existing winemaking facilities..."

No wonder he'd burned through everything I'd paid him.

"I don't know whether I could earn that much even if I worked myself to death starting now... But I!"

Adlan pounded his chest.

"I won't give up! I'll make my dream come true, no matter what!"

I'd thought he was quite serious about this. It turned out to be more than that—it was his dream.

I took a chest of coins out of my Inventory.

THUNK!

Platinum coins were piled high inside. Adlan's eyes widened.

"Five thousand platinum coins. Five million gold in total."

"W-why are you suddenly..."

"It's an investment."

"Eeeek?!"

Adlan leaped into the air as though he might faint.

Understandably so. Five million gold was an enormous sum—not an amount anyone could, or should, casually hand over as an investment.

Compared to the money in my Inventory, though, it was nothing... Well, not quite nothing, but it was a sum I could afford to invest. Adlan's wine had that much potential to grow into a new specialty product.

It wasn't merely a matter of profit. Monster meat required Predation[S+], which severely limited its supply. It had certainly helped spread Predator Merchant Company's name, but...

'Ultimately, its limits are clear.'

It wasn't enough to serve as the flagship product that would propel us into becoming the continent's greatest trading company. We needed to expand the business with a new specialty product.

And Adlan's wine had more than enough potential. The nobles' reaction at the court social gathering made that clear—they hadn't merely gone wild; they'd gone berserk.

"How long to finish the research?"

"Five years... I-I'm estimating five years..."

Five years. Far too late. Even money couldn't buy time. That was why time was more precious than gold.

But there was an old saying: If money can't solve something, consider whether you simply haven't offered enough.

I took another chest from my Inventory, containing an additional thousand platinum coins. In other words, one million gold.

THUNK!

"What about now?"

"I-if I pay a premium to procure research materials, about four years..."

THUNK!

"W-with the latest equipment, three years...!"

THUNK!

"M-more assistants would let me run experiments in parallel, so two years...!"

THUNK!

"If I hire outside e-experts, one year...!"

THUUNK!

"Six months! That's the limit! You could beat me to death, and I still couldn't shorten it any further!"

Adlan leaped in alarm. I was the one pouring out money, yet he was the one trembling.

In any case, the final investment came to ten million gold. I had doubled the investment, but shortened the time by much more than half.

More importantly, it wasn't even my money. I'd pinched it from Queen Marceline and Luseria...

No, plundered— No, extorted—

Anyway.

"Ten million gold in total. I'll invest all of it."

"Squeeeeeee?!"

Adlan sprang into the air with a shriek like an orc having its throat slit.

* * *

Feractrum, kingdom of the dwarves.

A massive roof of rock formed the ceiling of a vast council chamber, as though the heart of a mountain had been hollowed out whole. An enormous round table carved from black granite stood at its center, with thick-armed dwarves seated around it.

"Chief, have you reached a decision?"

One dwarf broke the heavy silence with a quiet question.