Chapter 26
A Man Who Knows How to Envision the Future
“An a-absurd proposal... you say?”
“It does not matter whether you believe what I am about to tell you. Just listen.”
“U-Understood.”
As Ferda requested, Stephan simply adopted the posture of an attentive listener.
He still felt dizzy enough to die, but listening was not completely impossible.
Ferda began to speak.
“This is the future I envision.”
Ferda did not dramatize his words as though unveiling something extraordinary.
He merely focused on recounting the things he had seen, heard, and experienced.
As Stephan listened closely, he picked out one key phrase after another.
‘Carriages that move without horses. Devices powered by mana that do not require mages...’
Stephan had grown up being called a genius, and he possessed outstanding instincts as a merchant.
A merchant’s instincts were simple.
Take what brought profit and discard what brought loss.
Then what was Ferda describing?
‘An utterly ridiculous dream.’
By Stephan’s common sense, none of it could possibly exist.
It was a story that should have been discarded without a second thought.
‘And yet... somehow, it sounds plausible.’
These were not sweet whispers meant to lure him into a trap.
There was none of the exaggeration peculiar to swindlers, nor any hidden snare created by withholding crucial information.
It sounded more like a grandfather telling stories to young children.
Ferda spoke so calmly that it felt as though he were merely recounting things he had personally seen and experienced.
Because of that, even such an absurd tale naturally painted vivid scenery inside Stephan’s mind.
He did not even know what to call any of it, but one conviction took root within him.
‘This will undoubtedly make money!’
Stephan’s mind had completely recovered, but his hands began to tremble.
“That is all. That is the future I envision.”
Stephan finally opened the mouth he had kept shut while listening.
“That future... is it connected to the research you are conducting, Regent?”
Stephan asked with his heart pounding.
The revelation had been so shocking that he had even forgotten to stutter.
“Of course.”
“Th-Then! Please tell me what it is! I beg you!”
Unable to contain his excitement, Stephan pleaded with Ferda.
“Magitech.”
“Magi... tech.”
It sounded like a term Stephan had heard once before.
However, the fact that he could not remember it clearly probably meant he had once concluded that it would not be profitable.
‘If I thought it was worthless back then, it should still seem worthless now...’
This was the first time Stephan had ever felt that he might have overlooked a product this attractive.
He could not afford to miss it.
“If you require monster corpses for that research, why not allow us to assist you?”
“You mean to cooperate with us?”
“Yes. We will provide them.”
Ferda leaned back against his chair and asked,
“What do you want?”
“We would like to participate in the manufacture and distribution of magitech products.”
Stephan openly revealed his desire.
Ferda asked in an even more serious voice,
“Merely their manufacture and distribution?”
“Of course, I mean that we would like exclusive rights.”
Stephan answered without hesitation.
An exclusive contract.
Whatever the product might be, possessing it alone would turn it into a powerful weapon.
“I understand that this is a greedy request. Therefore, I am willing to adjust all the terms according to your wishes, Regent. I merely ask that we be granted exclusive control over the products derived from that research.”
Stephan strongly expressed his desire for a monopoly.
Ferda looked largely uninterested.
“What we are researching will change the world. If you wish to monopolize it, you will need to demonstrate your sincerity through more than simply assisting with the research.”
“What would you have me do?”
Ferda took the opportunity to make his proposal.
“I would like priority access to supplies for road construction and the development of the duchy, as well as stockpiled food.”
Stephan was startled by the demands that flowed effortlessly from Ferda’s mouth.
“You are asking for quite a lot...”
“Is there something wrong with the ruler of a nation wishing to devote himself to its development?”
“There is no problem. Ha ha...”
Although Stephan smiled and acted foolish on the surface, he could not help thinking deeply.
‘Providing those three things would not be impossible.’
Among the three siblings, Stephan possessed by far the greatest reserves of money and goods.
Road construction would be necessary regardless if they were to become partners.
He also had enough supplies and stockpiled food to spare a portion for Ferda.
Yet there was another reason for his hesitation.
‘Priority access...’
Stephan knew how frightening those words were.
Priority access meant that even if someone elsewhere offered a premium price, he would have to grit his teeth, ignore them, and supply Ferda at the agreed price.
His instincts as a merchant screamed at him to avoid such a condition at all costs.
“You do not look pleased.”
“Pardon? Wh-What?”
“It seems the idea of supplying us first does not appeal to you.”
“Not at all. How could that possibly be the case?”
Even when the answer was yes, a merchant had to say no.
That was one of the most basic principles of negotiation.
“Think about it. Would there be anything more unjust than dying after accumulating mountains of wealth?”
Stephan flinched.
“A-Are you threatening me?”
“No. This is not a threat. I am speaking about your future. Herman Pascal is already quite advanced in age, is he not?”
“Ah...”
Stephan began to understand Ferda’s meaning.
He recalled the matter he had temporarily pushed aside.
‘My detestable older brother and younger sister...’
Merchant and Tilda.
Were they not both pressuring him relentlessly?
“Even if it requires accepting some losses, is there any offer more attractive than becoming the owner of the trading company?”
“Th-The owner of the company...”
The Pascal Trading Company was everything to Stephan.
It did not represent mere wealth.
It represented his very life.
“As much as you cooperate with me, I shall cooperate with you. Everything Herman Pascal built, along with the trading company you helped expand, will become entirely yours.”
Stephan brought out an imaginary set of scales within his mind.
On one side were Ferda’s demands and everything he had shown him.
On the other was what Stephan would have to surrender.
Naturally, the deal was overwhelmingly unfavorable to Stephan.
‘The Dread Queen—no, the Regent—could become someone capable of protecting me.’
Ferda Valdrova.
At first, Stephan had not considered him a valuable connection.
If he went around boasting that Valdrova’s kept man was one of his allies, people would only laugh at him.
They would assume he was so desperate that he had begun clutching at rotten vines.
Most people underestimated Ferda, and Stephan had believed their assessment as well.
‘But that is not true.’
Seeing him in person changed everything.
Ferda was a man who possessed a brilliance comparable to that of the Emperor.
Even now, despite how astonished Stephan already was, he could not shake the suspicion that he might still be underestimating him.
‘This man knows how to envision the future.’
It was not the childish picture drawn by boastful nobles.
Even when Ferda sketched it only in rough strokes, its shape remained unmistakably clear.
He possessed conviction, as well as the ability to make that vision real.
‘Something I could never possess.’
An absolute charisma that Stephan had always lacked.
That was why he wanted to say it.
He wanted to accept unconditionally.
The words rose to the top of Stephan’s throat.
“May I ask one question?”
Yet he did not say them.
A great merchant always delayed his answer by a single beat.
“Go ahead.”
“I have an older brother and a younger sister. Why did you choose me instead of either of them?”
Ferda answered honestly.
“I will be frank. There is nothing for me to gain by siding with them.”
It was a cold and calculating judgment.
“And you are isolated and alone. That makes you perfect for me to use.”
Ferda was far too honest.
Stephan, who had waited in the hope of testing him, was instead left flustered.
“That is why I am making this offer to you. You can accept the losses necessary to survive, or you can allow yourself to be pushed aside.”
Stephan realized how shallow his own thinking had been.
He had actually tried to test a man like this.
“I will do it.”
Then he added the words he had nearly forgotten.
“I will accept, no matter what.”
Stephan knelt and bowed before him.
Ferda leaned forward and extended his hand.
“I shall be relying on you from now on.”
“It is I who shall be relying on you, Regent.”
Stephan thought to himself that no matter who approached him with whatever proposal in the future, none of them would ever make his heart pound as fiercely as the deal made today.
***
The territory of Count Consilus.
Today, a soldier who had been someone’s father and someone’s husband died.
He had met a heroic death while buying time for farmers to escape from the monsters that had attacked their fields.
Priests sprinkled holy water over the corpse and performed the funeral rites, while the soldiers raised their swords in tribute to the fallen.
Count Consilus himself attended the funeral of the common soldier.
The old lord was far past the age when he could wield a sword, but he never failed to attend the funerals of his soldiers and honor their deaths.
It was no different from what he normally did.
Yet today was different.
Even after the funeral had ended, Mulvera Consilus did not leave.
He remained there, staring at the grave.
“Arwon...”
He called the name of the knight standing behind him.
“Yes, my lord?”
“What did the Empire say? What became of the letter containing our request?”
Arwon reluctantly answered in an uncomfortable voice.
“They said it would take time. Supplying the soldiers within the Empire must take priority...”
“Priority...”
Mulvera Consilus stroked his beard.
His entire life had been like walking a tightrope, and he rarely revealed his emotions.
In a world where displaying today’s anger could lead to tomorrow’s death, he had trained himself always to smile pleasantly.
What could not be done today could be done tomorrow.
And if it could not be done tomorrow, then it could be done the day after.
“Those sons of bitches are worse than dogs...”
Yet even Count Consilus could no longer merely smile.
“Supplying the soldiers within the Empire takes priority? Are they saying we are not subjects of the Empire? We live on the front line, suffering monster attacks every day! Is the Emperor so terrified of petty unrest that he would rather arm city guards than us?”
“Please calm yourself, my lord.”
“How deplorable. I have never lived an honorable life, but I believed that I had at least never lived shamefully! Yet never in my life have I felt as ashamed as I do today!”
When Count Consilus heard how the soldier had died, it felt as though his heart had collapsed.
The sword the man had raised against the monsters had broken as he attempted to deliver the finishing blow.
Though it was standard-issue equipment, the soldier had used it for a full five years.
It would not have been strange for it to break at any moment.
Count Consilus understood how important military strength was.
At the very least, he had never neglected his soldiers’ training when it came to defending his territory.
He also believed that those in command had to lead by example so that the soldiers remained mentally prepared.
But no amount of determination could overcome inadequate supplies.
The Empire’s interior was peaceful, but life on the front line was no different from constant war.
Casualties from monster attacks occurred without end.
“Forgive me...”
Count Consilus knelt and placed his hand upon the soldier’s grave.
“Please forgive this incompetent old man... This was my fault.”
“How could you call yourself incompetent, my lord? This happened only because we were inadequate!”
“That is right! It was my fault!”
“My fault!”
Arwon dropped to his knees, and every soldier beneath his command followed.
Count Consilus wept openly for a long time.
After crying until he had no tears left, he rose with Arwon’s assistance and began walking again.
He was on his way back to his residence.
Then he heard a commotion beyond the castle gates.
The noise was loud enough to penetrate the tall, thick walls.
Rather than continuing toward his residence, Count Consilus approached the guard stationed at the gate.
“What is happening?”
“Loyalty! We were just looking for you, Count!”
“For me?”
“Yes. A long line of carriages has forced its way through the forest and is waiting outside. They look like merchants, but they seemed suspicious, so we have not allowed them inside...”
“What makes the merchants suspicious?”
“They claim to be from the Pascal Trading Company.”
That was certainly suspicious.
There was no reason for an organization as prominent as the Pascal Trading Company to visit the Far East.
The guards had probably assumed they were disguised bandits or brigands.
“Understood. I shall go and see for myself.”
A fierce light entered Count Consilus’s eyes.
If they were bandits, he vowed to draw his sword and soak the ground with their blood on the spot.
Count Consilus opened the smaller gate and stepped outside.
A well-dressed middle-aged man was seated on horseback before the main gate.
“I have come to see Count Consilus. It is dangerous for the carriages to remain waiting helplessly in the forest. Could you not open the gates for us?”
“The man before you is Count Mulvera Consilus himself. Show proper respect.”
At Arwon’s warning, the middle-aged man jolted in surprise, leaped from his horse, and knelt.
“Ah, my apologies. My eyesight is not what it used to be. Count, please forgive my discourtesy.”
“It is fine. Who are you? Anyone would become wary upon seeing so many carriages brought to a place like this...”
“My introduction is late. We have come from the Pascal Trading Company.”
“I have already heard that. Do you have proof?”
“Here it is.”
The middle-aged man produced identification documents.
They bore the Empire’s emblem and an official seal.
There was no doubt that he truly represented the Pascal Trading Company.
“Why have you come here?”
“We came to discuss establishing a branch within your territory, Count Consilus.”
“The Pascal Trading Company wishes to establish a branch... Are you saying you are interested in trade within the Far East?”
Count Consilus grew even more astonished.
Establishing a branch meant that they intended to stimulate trade throughout the surrounding region.
But there was no reason for a major trading company to expand commerce in the Far East.
It would be far more rational for such a company to expand safely outward from the central regions than to accept the enormous risks of operating here.
“We received direct orders from above. We are to give the highest priority to supporting projects such as supplying goods and improving roads, while establishing a branch in the Far East. Your territory was selected as the most suitable location for that operation. If you grant us permission to establish the branch, we have already completed every necessary preparation and can begin immediately.”
Count Consilus stared blankly at the countless carriages that had forced their way through the forest.
“Did you come prepared to build an entire castle?”
“Ha ha, nothing so grand. We did bring construction materials, but we also heard that you have recently been unable to obtain proper supplies. Therefore, on behalf of the Empire, our company selected the finest goods from our inventory and brought them here for you.”
“Supplies...!”
Count Consilus strode toward the goods loaded onto the carriages.
“Hurk!”
His wrinkled eyes widened.
The carriages were filled with things more valuable to him than mountains of gold.
‘Everything I requested and had ignored... It is all here!’
Weapons, maintenance supplies, and food suitable for long-term storage.
Everything from minor necessities to essential equipment was packed inside the carriages.
Count Consilus picked up one of the standard-issue swords.
It was unquestionably of the highest quality.
It was a sturdy weapon that would not break in the middle of a battle against monsters.
“Why has the Pascal Trading Company decided to conduct business in a remote place like the Far East?”
Count Consilus desperately wanted to know.
He felt that he would not be satisfied until he heard the answer, no matter what it was.
The man replied,
“This project is being carried out in cooperation with the representative of the Dread Queen of Valdrova.”