Chapter 75: Dominating the Market - 2
Chapter 75: Dominating the Market - 2
Following Dudinel toward the council chamber, Jiha glanced back at Leticia and Enril trailing behind him.
"From here on, think carefully before you open your mouths or act. If you screw this up, I won't let it slide."
"......."
The elf and dark elf both nodded at the warning.
Though the moment they noticed each other, they jerked their heads in opposite directions.
"On the other hand, if you do well, I'll look upon you more favorably."
With that, Jiha entered.
Dudinel, who had gone in ahead of him, introduced him to the seven seated figures.
"This is the Common who will mediate between Blue Seal and Purple Liberation: Jiha."
Jiha grabbed a chair, set it down beside Dudinel, and sat.
He hadn't been invited, yet he brazenly claimed a seat of honor. Those watching him frowned.
"So what exactly is your grievance?"
"......Ahem. Ahem."
A burly old dwarf with impressively thick forearms coughed uncomfortably.
"If you've caught a cold, see a doctor. I asked what the problem is."
"You're being rude, Common."
When the dwarf scowled, Jiha's expression soured further.
"Do Normals enjoy wasting time that much? Just answer the question I asked."
"Now, just a—"
The leopard-headed beastman who'd been about to snap at Jiha's attitude stopped short.
Enril and Leticia had stepped into place behind Jiha.
Unique Grade. An elf and a dark elf—notorious for their mutual hatred—standing together in one room. The merchants were visibly taken aback.
The way they looked at Jiha shifted instantly.
Jiha smiled.
"The Summoning War's been on hold lately, hasn't it?"
"......."
The merchants flinched.
Waris was a strategic chokepoint, but it was also a city that had grown on the crowds drawn by the Summoning War.
Yet with the sudden armistice halting a war that had lasted centuries, revenue had plummeted.
And the two standing here were Enril and Leticia—Uniques from both factions.
Did this mean the Summoning War might resume?
Depending on how Jiha decided to play this, Waris's entire market economy could be thrown into upheaval.
Merchants, who prized profit above all else, quickly accepted that Jiha held command of this room.
"I know each of you wears some fancy hat and has paid your dues pouring money into Waris. So go on—spell out what's been bothering you lately."
"......."
"Blue and Purple are trying to clean up this mess, so why are you standing in their way?"
At Jiha's pressing question, the merchants started speaking.
"......Our shops' sales are falling."
Not because Enril and Leticia were present, but because they'd grasped that Jiha was in charge—and they addressed him respectfully.
"Our taverns are suffering as well."
"Business is worse for everyone compared to before."
As the complaints trickled out one by one, Jiha nodded.
"So blood's stopped flowing in the Summoning War, and your revenue's down?"
"......."
In Warsland, a civilization starved for entertainment, the Summoning War had been a massive commercial success. It sold out instantly. Waris had accumulated its wealth on what travelers from distant cities spent just to watch.
But now that the Summoning War was in armistice and Commons had stopped dying in droves, the tourists' numbers had dwindled.
The ripple effects were hitting the whole city.
"And what does any of that have to do with the current situation?"
When Jiha asked the question with an edge, the leopard-headed beastman stepped forward.
He was the representative of the innkeepers' and lodging industry.
"This incident has drawn the attention of all Warsland."
"So?"
"So rather than a swift resolution, perhaps a little more time—"
Jiha let out a scoffing laugh.
Being merchants, they really didn't hesitate to spout utter nonsense.
"Elves are dropping dead in droves, the air's thick with the threat of war—and you call this a boom? So you want us to delay making peace?"
"At least for our trade, it genuinely is a boom."
The dwarf representing the weapons industry spoke up bluntly.
When Jiha looked at him, the dwarf spoke curtly.
"In the past three days, weapons dealers in Waris have seen a 40% spike in sales. Everyone and their mother is buying self-defense weapons, and the ones hunting for Mana weapons at a premium are overflowing."
"Distribution and foodstuffs are the same. Grain prices are soaring."
"Garments too. Nobody knows what's coming next. We're up 20% from last year."
Other industries chimed in one after another.
Jiha, who'd been slowly surveying the room, burst out laughing.
"So what is this? A fat season's come around for you, so you want to milk it a little longer?"
"Ahem, ahem......."
"With merchants' livelihoods already strained by the Summoning War's halt, to throw cold water on a long-awaited recovery—"
At that self-serving rationalization, Jiha tsked.
"Honestly, what kind of sons of bitches are you people?"
"......."
Silence fell like a dousing of cold water.
"You want Blue and Purple to pretend at all-out war so you can line your pockets? Are you out of your minds?"
The dwarf, who'd been coughing repeatedly, twitched at the corner of his mouth.
"I've held my tongue so far, but you're going too far."
"Oh, shut up. You think I don't know how you price-gouge Commons every chance you get?"
Jiha spoke with open irritation.
"No matter what a Common does, they've got to pay double, triple—don't they? You think I'm blind to the Common Special Price? You Merchant Association bastards?"
"......."
For a Common to do anything in Waris, they had to pay more than Normals did.
Even buying a cheap snack from a street stall, a Common got charged extra.
It had been a kind of customary law.
"That's because Commons cause plenty of trouble, and other customers dislike them too, so factoring all that in......."
"Keep talking. Think I'm going to fall for that?"
Jiha stared him down, voice dripping with scorn. The leopard-headed beastman shut his mouth.
The Common Special Price had long been taken for granted, and until now the Commons themselves—the ones paying it—had never made much of an issue.
"Because Commons usually die young, and the ones who won in the Summoning War weren't short on coin. Cash they had no use for anyway. So they didn't complain about paying double for the same drink, quadruple for the same cut of meat....... And even if a Common did complain, there wasn't a shred of public opinion on their side."
Commons didn't even have freedom to go out freely, and when they did get the chance, they let most things slide despite the price.
"But not anymore. The Common Special Price is abolished. If anyone is caught forcing only Commons to pay extra, the first offense gets a tenfold penalty. The second, your business is shut down. A third offense means permanent exile from Waris."
"What?"
"That's completely absurd—"
The merchants, who'd just been trying to profit a little only to get walloped in return, were horrified.
"Hey, human! Do you have any idea what you're saying?"
"You don't know the first thing about Waris's economy......."
"Everything's been running fine, and now some wet-behind-the-ears brat comes barging in!"
As the room erupted in fierce protest, Leticia snapped.
"All of you, shut your mouths. Elves are dying and business is booming—you're bragging about that in front of me? Should I make today the last day of business for every single one of you?"
"......."
The moment a Unique Grade leveled her voice, they clamped their mouths shut and glanced around nervously.
Leticia delivered a terse warning.
"Know your place. When this man speaks, listen quietly."
"......."
When Jiha glanced back, Leticia puffed out her chest, preening.
The look on her face said, "I did well, didn't I?" Jiha let out a dry laugh.
A wildcat was asking for praise—might as well give it to her.
Jiha nodded to Leticia. She shot Enril a smug grin.
Jiha turned back to the merchants.
"Fine. I get it—you've had good times feeding off the blood of Commons and the money they fought for with their lives. But those days are over."
"......Are you saying you're going to ruin every merchant in Waris? Do you honestly think Waris can thrive without us?"
At that naked threat, Jiha smiled.
Well, merchants needed to be handled a bit differently.
He already had a plan in mind.
"From now on, Commons will be free to go out as they please."
"Huh?"
"What?"
Not only the merchants—Enril and Leticia were startled too.
Even Dudinel looked at him in surprise. Jiha just shrugged.
"The Commons of Blue and Purple will be permitted to move freely within Waris. This is being implemented on a trial basis starting tomorrow under the authority of Blue Seal's Unique Grade Enril Woniak and Purple Liberation's Unique Grade Leticia Yormun, per the recommendation of City Lord Dudinel."
"Wait, what does that have to do with us—"
"What I'm telling you is, your business boom's going to keep rolling for a while yet."
Jiha chuckled.
"You were grinning ear to ear because the war jitters had food and weapons flying off the shelves, weren't you? Once Commons start roaming the streets freely, people are only going to get more nervous—wouldn't you agree?"
"......."
Unable to read Jiha's angle, the merchants didn't answer right away.
"Hang on, what......."
Enril sighed. Jiha glanced back at her. His look said he'd deal with her later. She fell silent.
Jiha smiled as he surveyed the silent room.
They were all seething inside, no doubt.
"And I've decided to invest 5 billion into Waris's commercial district."
"Ah......."
"Is that true?"
The merchants' faces, which had been ashen, lit up with color.
"But—where would a Common get 5 billion......."
When the leopard-headed beastman voiced his doubt, Jiha snorted.
"I'll handle that myself. For starters, I'll put in 500 million as the first phase. Will that be enough to convince you?"
The Commons who followed Jiha had handed over half their assets.
Guys like Uben had given him their entire savings.
Once he factored in what he'd extract from Purple's Commons, it'd amount to billions.
Commons literally risked their lives to earn that money—and they had nowhere to spend it.
Pooling it all together, it added up.
'Money only has meaning when it's used. I'm going to seize control of this city, so this is an investment toward that. I'll structure favorable contract terms as their sponsor, or frame it so I can pull my funds if things go sideways—absorbing them under me. Encroaching on the streets with my own capital.'
Having succeeded in taking control of the barracks, Jiha intended to go further and bring this street—this city—under his dominion.
"The law limits what property a Common can legally own. But it doesn't prohibit investing in other people's ventures."
There'd been no need to prohibit it.
An investment doesn't yield returns in the short term, and Commons die fast.
So no law barred it, and Commons never thought to invest in anything anyway.
Jiha was drilling right into that blind spot.
"How I allocate that first-phase 500 million will depend on the ambition I see from each of you sitting here. Whoever brings me the most compelling business proposal within two weeks gets the investment. In cash. All of it."
"......."
Excitement flickered in the merchants' eyes.
Suddenly, 5 billion—all in hard cash—had dropped from the sky as a possible investment.
For merchants running large ventures, hard cash held value beyond the sheer sum.
"Are you serious?"
"All in cash, you said?"
The merchants who asked in unison no longer showed a trace of hostility toward Jiha.
They'd bark if he told them to bark. Act like dogs if he told them to act like dogs.
Ultimately, merchants moved for money. They'd do anything the man with the purse strings said.
Jiha nodded, satisfied.
Now, bringing Waris's commercial district fully under his control was only a matter of—
Tap, tap.
A woman seated at the far end of the table struck the table with the long bamboo pipe in her hand.
A hood with gray plumage pulled low over her face hid her features. She'd held her silence through the entire heated debate...... and now the merchants all fell quiet at once.
As though she were their master.
"You have something to say?"
These merchants were small fry. She was the real one.
At Jiha's question, and his gaze, the woman pushed back her hood and spoke.
"You wield the carrot and stick admirably. Impressive."
A cool, languid voice. She wore a fur cloak over a linen shirt baring her shoulders.
By her pointed ears, she was an elf. Her skin held a grayish cast, like marble.
A striking beauty, though the eyepatch over one eye was a flaw.
Blood and violence.
A beautiful but dangerous air clung to her, like a mafia queenpin.
"What's your name?"
Jiha had always learned about his opponents before clashing with them.
He'd already gathered the names and rough details on the dwarf weapons dealer and the others seated here.
But a woman as distinctive as this—intel on her should have come in. It hadn't.
"......."
She didn't answer. Instead, she lit her long bamboo pipe.
Smoking openly, yet the other merchants only wore uncomfortable expressions. None said a word to her.
To them, this woman must be someone beyond defiance.
Holding the pipe between her fingers, she regarded Jiha sidelong.
"You're Jiha. The too-strong Common. The human male who brought the Summoning War to a halt and tanked our revenue. Up to a certain point you'd strung together 28 consecutive losses, but after that you ripped off three straight victories in a blaze and became someone even Uniques can't treat lightly."
She knew him.
Not good. Jiha thought it, but didn't let it show.
"We're here to talk money. Your investment offer is highly appealing, but I was thinking I might make you an even better one. What do you say?"
"Talk."
"You reopen the Summoning War. The spectators will flood back in droves. The opponent wouldn't be a Common—we'd arrange someone from our side. It'd be a fight worth watching. How about it?"
"......."
Jiha gave a short laugh.
The woman laughed too, looking at him.
"What's your angle?"
"We're merchants. We're after a money-making proposition."
The gray-skinned elf who'd answered shook her head.
"But before that, I ought to verify the merchandise. Call up."
She snapped her fingers. Two masses of rock rose from behind her chair.
Humanoid forms with limbs, standing about 180 centimeters tall, but they had no faces—and their entire bodies were solid, shifting stone.
"Mana Guardians. A hundred million each. I won't bill you if you break them."
Dudinel looked at Jiha.
The look meant he'd stop this if Jiha wanted.
The one-eyed, beautiful elf smiled, a hint of danger in it.
"Win this, and I'll accept the proposals on the table cleanly. Every merchant here will be convinced."
This dangerous beauty had come to assess Jiha.
His past enemies had lost because they didn't know him. This time was different.
But.......
"200-million-won toys? They'll be expensive to break."
Jiha clenched his fist.
Sometimes, smashing things with force was fastest.