Chapter 39
“Of course.”
Until now, I had been supporting the trading guild with the allowance I received from the Duke and the money I earned from bets, but I couldn’t keep relying on that forever.
‘I need to find spirits and increase my magic as well.’
“By the way, we need to give the guild a name.”
“Oh, about that… I actually came up with one together with the newcomers. If it’s okay with Master, can we use that name?”
“What did you come up with? I don’t really mind.”
“Aurox. It means ‘dawn light’ in the old language.”
Luni smiled shyly.
“When you came to save me, it felt like a halo shone behind Master. It felt like a light brightening my life, which had always been dark.”
“That’s a bit… too much. Embarrassing, really.”
“Everyone agreed. They said you saved them too, after all.”
“That’s nothing special.”
“You’re so humble, Master, it’s frustrating. You don’t mind the name, right?”
“I don’t mind.”
My face flushed. I quickly changed the subject.
“Anyway, once we start selling Bectol powder, the Church will definitely make trouble.”
We were challenging one of the Church’s major sources of income; they wouldn’t sit back quietly.
“I’m worried about that too. Do you have a plan, Master?”
“Yes. We’ll bring someone else in—someone capable of fighting the Church on our behalf.”
And that person was already decided: Duke Clasta.
Ariel headed straight to Duke Clasta’s office.
Lately, Clasta’s office had been bustling with pale-faced clerks, moving frantically.
“Damn the Church…”
“I set aside extra funds expecting a price hike, but doubling the price all of a sudden… Ugh! The budget I painstakingly prepared…”
“I just want to go home. I’ve been working overtime for a week straight.”
“The budget has limits, but they want us to work miracles out of nothing—seriously.”
“Why not just send soldiers instead of Bectol powder…”
“The Duke already told me to include that in the report.”
“Damn it.”
The clerks were equally frantic after the Church announced the sudden price hike.
Duke Clasta was busy too. Despite being in the same mansion for days, I hadn’t even seen him properly.
‘Well, that worked out—I could prepare comfortably.’
Knock. Knock.
The Duke’s voice came from behind the door.
“Come in.”
As soon as I entered, I saw him toss a report on the table.
“Again? Using flood relief funds to cover this—do you expect the villagers to die if a flood comes? Prepare a plan too!”
His voice was sharper than usual, showing how tense he was.
“Duke, are you very busy?” I asked.
Clasta turned his head casually but suddenly stood up.
“What brings you here?”
His voice softened like a spring breeze in an instant.
“I wanted to have cookies with you, Duke.”
I showed him the chocolate chip cookies I had brought at Mary’s request. He looked thoughtful for a moment.
‘Maybe I came at the wrong time.’
“If you’re busy, we can eat later.”
“No, it’s fine! Sir, go finish your work!”
“Yes, of course! Now is the perfect time! Go out and enjoy the sunlight with the lady instead of staying in this office!”
The clerks in the office shouted desperately.
‘If we don’t do it now, we won’t get a break!’
‘Who knows when she’ll come again? We have to rest now!’
It felt like I could hear their hearts speaking.
They must have been exhausted these past few days.
“Alright then, let’s take a short break. You all deserve it too.”
“Yes!”
As soon as the office door closed, a quiet cheer seemed to ripple through the room.
The Duke clicked his tongue.
“Clerks these days are too weak. Losing their minds after three sleepless nights… I should give them some endurance training.”
Apparently, Clasta assumed everyone had the same superhuman stamina as him.
“You must be busy with the Bectol powder.”
“Yes, indeed.”
“About that, Duke. I recently dismantled an organization…”
“You weren’t doing anything dangerous again, were you?”
“No, not at all. No one got hurt.”
“Take Swell along properly. The guy who follows you around like a puppy—you can put him to work comfortably. What’s the problem?”
“Anyway! Among the people I saved, there’s an apothecary.”
“Yes, and?”
“He knows how to make Bectol powder. At less than a tenth of the current price.”
“……What?”
For the first time, surprise flashed across the Duke’s face.
“But he was worried about making it alone because it might bring him into conflict with the Church. So I offered to introduce him to you.”
Clasta quickly called Luni, the owner of the Aurox Guild, and the apothecary Lahad to confirm the fact.
“We can’t produce such large amounts in our guild anyway. We’ll give you the recipe, and you can share the profits.”
“Then we’ll produce and sell it. The ratio will be…”
The contract was quickly finalized. Not only could the clerks escape overtime, but Clasta’s house also earned a fortune.
“Thanks, miss. You saved us from working overtime.”
“Damn the Church! How much were they pocketing?”
“This settles our budget worries! Actually, now we have extra funds!”
“Good deeds always bring rewards. Because you helped people, a great opportunity came your way. Exactly!”
“If it weren’t for you, we would’ve been in big trouble.”
“Selling cheaper than the Church allows us to use plenty of Bectol powder, so monster damage will decrease too, right?”
“All thanks to you. Even in this situation, you immediately thought of our house. How smart you are. As the heir, I’m so lucky.”
“It’s good that we’re helping the Duke’s house. Some of the profits will flow into the Aurox Guild too.”
Hearing that Clasta ignored the Church’s complaints made me even happier.
‘Ah, knowing Rigan, he must be throwing a tantrum by now. I wish I could see it in person.’
“Cut off all Church support to Duke Clasta!”
Rigan shouted irritably.
Paladin Verde bowed before him and spoke carefully.
“It won’t matter. Clasta and his army are strong enough—without Church support, the monsters won’t be a problem… Ugh!”
A thick book flew toward Verde’s face.
“Monsters won’t be a problem. Even the Emperor sides with Clasta, so the Church’s authority might diminish unnecessarily.”
The book’s corner cut his forehead, drawing blood, but the Paladin finished speaking politely.
“So you’re just going to let him sell Bectol powder?”
“We’ll have no choice but to lower the price. There are already concerns about the safety of people in the Church, and some think the price hike was too extreme.”
“Hah, so it’s my fault? I found the recipe and want to sell it at the price I choose, and people complain? I am the Pope! A hero who slew the Wicked Dragon! And yet someone dares contradict me?”
Rigan pouted and slumped into his chair.
‘How did Clasta even learn to make Bectol powder? I only learned through the Wicked Dragon’s daughter.’
“Verde. If I ordered you to kill Duke Clasta, could you?”
“……I could try, but it would likely be impossible.”
“What a monster,” he muttered.
He remembered the daughter of the Wicked Dragon he had killed.
If she were alive, she could have handled someone like Clasta easily.
‘Things aren’t going smoothly these days.’
From the specially prepared stage to contacting the Vianev House to harass Ariel—nothing is going as planned.
He grumbled about Clasta as he gave orders to the Paladin.
“First, I need to vent some anger. Prepare the children.”
Thanks to Bectol powder, the guild quickly earned an enormous amount of money.
Now, they were planning to start a trading business using that money.
With the nature of trade—going back and forth—it would be easy to gather various information.
While deciding the guild’s direction, Luni and I had many conversations.
‘If their character is decent, it doesn’t matter where they come from.’
‘But this person’s father is in prison for beating someone.’
‘He didn’t do it himself, right? He’s actually very diligent and decent.’
‘True, but…’
‘Let’s give them work and if problems arise, we’ll let them go.’
In terms of origin, there’s no one worse than me.
For the daughter of the Wicked Dragon to judge others by their origin is absurd.
‘Master, you’re donating this much to others?’
‘Yes, why not?’
‘…It’s more than I expected. At this rate, we could support scholarships and reserve talented people in advance.’
‘Do as you wish.’
Thanks to smart Luni, the guild ran smoothly without me worrying.
But right now, something was more concerning than the guild.
I stared intently at the red badge with the black Wicked Dragon emblem.
It had belonged to Dumdi, the boss.
‘The medicine isn’t perfect yet.’
When I tested it on a rat caught on the street, it dissolved instantly.
‘Then why give such medicine to Dumdi? Did he have that much talent? Or…’
I tapped the table, lost in thought.
