Chapter 46
Chapter 46
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Counterattack
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"From now on, it's war with the Silnia Merchant Group. We're taking control of the Frontier's commercial district."
"Understood, my lord."
Russell's face lit up with ecstatic glee as he replied.
He must have been frustrated all this time, unable to expand the merchant group.
"So, do you have any plans in mind?"
"Of course!"
Russell launched into his explanation without a moment's hesitation.
1) Operate the merchant group independently, regardless of the farming schedule.
2) Buy grain from the continent and sell it on the island.
3) Expand the range of goods handled.
"The items our merchant group currently trades in are quite limited."
Grain, livestock, and monster byproducts.
Those three were the mainstays, with everything else purchased only in the quantities needed.
"What items do you plan to expand into?"
"Weapons and armor first."
The moment I heard those two, I couldn't help but laugh.
A smile crept across Russell's face as well.
They were the Silnia Merchant Group's primary trade goods.
Alongside grain and monster byproducts.
"Looks like we're really going head-to-head."
"Leave it to me."
The conversation ended,
and five seconds of silence passed.
"Anything else to say?"
"My lord, I'd like to take my daughter along on the trading trips to teach her the business."
When I bought Russell,
his daughter Saraya had been with him in the iron bars.
I recalled the image of her clinging desperately to those bars, begging to save her mother.
"How's Saraya doing?"
"Thanks to you, my lord, she's healthy."
"Go ahead. Saraya's not a slave, so no need to ask permission."
"Th... there's one more thing. We need to decide on a name for the merchant group."
The merchant group name.
We hadn't needed one until now.
It had felt more like a transportation division under the large farm.
"How about Island Merchant Group?"
"Island... Merchant Group?"
Russell trailed off, showing a negative reaction.
It was the response I'd expected.
The name "Island" carried a bad image.
Monster Island.
Monster-infested lands.
The island's backward living conditions.
And so on.
"Don't think you can pull it off?"
"No, it's not that. I just wonder if we need to take the hard road."
"No. Think about it. What happens when the island develops later? The name 'Island' will work in our favor then. So we're claiming it early."
Back before I was born, Korean products were seen as low-quality.
But now?
No one thinks Korean-made goods are poor quality. In fact, seeing "Made in Korea" guarantees a certain level of quality.
The island would be the same.
Once it grew, the name would become an asset.
.
.
A few days later,
the Island Merchant Group assembled at the entrance to Alf Village.
"My lord, we'll leave the necessary personnel for construction behind and send the rest out on trading missions."
"What about escorts?"
"I've asked Sir Hans, and he provided some slave soldiers."
"From now on, when buying slaves, pick some specifically for the merchant group. We need to scale up properly."
"Thank you, my lord."
Russell bowed and joined the group.
Moments later, the Island Merchant Group departed toward the southwest, heading for West River.
'To beat the Silnia Merchant Group, we need either superior quality or lower prices.'
People have habits.
If the quality and price are the same, they stick with what they know.
They don't switch suppliers.
That's the current situation between Silnia and Island Merchant Groups.
We need something better than Silnia.
'Grain gives us an overwhelming advantage first. The issue is volume...'
I have three large farms.
East River, West River.
Terra.
Alf.
The other outposts have farms too, but they're not large-scale.
Just enough to meet their own needs.
'Still, time will conquer the grain market.'
Even if we dominate grain, weapons and armor markets remain.
'The rest comes down to price competition?'
Whether Silnia or Island, we're reselling goods bought from the continent.
Competing on quality will be tough.
'We'll both take hits... but we can win.'
Silnia's income is all from trade.
Island Merchant Group is different.
We get support from large farm profits.
'In the end, it all boils down to farming.'
Expand the farms, increase revenue, and we win the war against Silnia.
'As money piles up, turn the remaining two outposts into villages too.'
Making them villages means building large farms there.
In other words, total income rises.
The path forward was clear.
After seeing off the Island Merchant Group, I headed back to the fields.
"Not much left now. Should be done in a few days."
I knelt on the ground
and activated the skill.
'Finally completed?'
While expanding the outposts, I'd commissioned the mercenary guild.
Asking them to protect the outposts and clear the surrounding areas.
Apparently, the system deemed the farm threats eliminated.
'Then, next skill...'
When I completed the mission,
I'd already chosen what skill to learn.
Now I just needed to acquire it...
'This?'
The first time I learned Earth Restoration,
a notice like this had appeared.
It was such an important detail that I'd remembered it all this time.
'So I can learn other job skills?'
Until now, everything except farming skills had been locked.
Now, everything except combat jobs was unlocked.
For now, I put the planned skill on hold.
'Let's check blacksmith and merchant skills.'
My options were two.
One: Focus on farming skills.
Farming efficiency was great on Monster Island.
The other: Learn skills from other jobs.
Especially blacksmith and merchant skills caught my eye.
As I was reviewing skills,
"What!?"
The system had always been like this.
Analyzing situations on its own and assigning missions.
Excluding the tutorial,
the first real mission, 'Farming on Monster Island,' had been the same.
'After that, it gave helpful missions... but suddenly blacksmith?'
No choice now but to learn the blacksmith skill.
I needed to complete missions to get skill points.
"Can't be helped."
I read through the blacksmith skills one by one.
And the one I chose was.
Workshop Master (Lv 1)
Quality of products from owned workshops increases.
There were plenty of crafting skills too.
But at this stage, making things myself wasn't efficient.
Better to manage from above and let slaves do the work.
The mission completed as soon as I acquired the skill.
Because I'd built a forge to repair the mercenaries' weapons.
"Huh!? This... it's free?"
'Master of the Mine? Why this mission?'
The system was pushy, but not nonsensical.
It made me learn Earth Restoration while telling me to farm.
The other missions made sense too.
'There are no mines on Monster Island?'
'Does it want me to expand to the continent?'
'Or find mines on Monster Island?'
Either way, it wouldn't be easy.
Mines are core assets.
They're expensive, and no lord would sell one anyway.
Owning a mine secures generational wealth.
Finding one myself would be even harder.
Human settlements don't have untapped mines.
They'd have been developed already.
'So that means heading into monster territory.'
Fight monsters while searching for mines?
"Sigh... It gives an easy one once, then makes the next impossible?"
I held onto the skill point for now.
I needed to figure out how to tackle this mission.
.
.
A few days later,
after clearing all demonic energy from the farms,
I called Isaac.
"Handle the village construction. The big framework's done, so the rest shouldn't be hard."
"Where are you going?"
"I need to visit the Vampire Duke's territory."
"Understood. Don't worry."
I left the remaining work to Isaac
and set off for the Vampire Duke's territory.
'No matter how I think about it, acquiring an existing mine is impossible. I have to find a new one...'
Where would Monster Island info be most abundant?
The answer was obvious.
'The Vampire Duke Family.'
They'd been the de facto owners since humanity set foot on Monster Island 300 years ago.
They might have mine-related intel.
'Feels awkward going to see my former fiancée like this, but no choice.'
Vampire Duke's territory.
Alensia's room in the Vampire Duke Family estate.
"Marie."
"Yes, Madam."
"If a man promises a woman he'll grant any request she makes, what does that mean?"
Here we go again.
She'd rushed off to meet Heir Elwin, then kept repeating that question.
I'd said I didn't know at first, but this time was different.
She was asking a close maid.
"Maybe he likes her?"
Alensia's eyes cooled sharply.
"Likes her?"
"Or... love?"
"Love!?"
Alensia rose from her chair and walked to the window.
She crossed her arms and gazed outside.
Busy people scurried about.
'Likes her? Love?'
Elwin had promised Freya he'd do his utmost to fulfill any request.
Hearing that made her heart sink.
She'd reacted immediately,
grabbing Elwin's wrist and turning him toward her.
'Saying that to just any woman.'
A familiar carriage came into view outside.
'That's...? Elwin's?'
"Marie."
"Yes, Madam."
"Bring Elwin here right now."
"Pardon? Th-that might be..."
"Elwin's here. Bring him."
"Ah! Yes! Right away."