The Notorious Upstart Family's Youngest Son (4)
I had never once imagined that this would turn out to be a legitimate business transaction from the moment I first gathered information about the family and heard the family head tell me to observe and learn the workings of the household. But.
"Lord Sardan, no matter that you are the lord, this cannot continue. Not again."
"...Dorf, acting chief merchant. I implore you once more. Please, help us just this once."
"Good heavens..."
No matter how you looked at it, there was simply no appropriate reaction to this absurd scene: a dignified lord whose hair was streaked with gray repeatedly bowing his head, while a mere representative of a trading company puffed out his chest with arrogance.
Behind Dorf, who stroked his chin with exaggerated gestures as he pretended to ponder the matter, several burly men who appeared to be his direct subordinates stood with their shoulders squared, separate from the Brown Wolf Mercenary Company that had escorted us here. Across from them, the lord's knights glared with murderous intent, jaws clenched so tightly their teeth seemed ready to shatter.
Even I, who was technically on the same side, found myself thinking, That guy is really pissing me off. For the knights watching their lord be humiliated, the feeling must have been nothing short of gut-wrenching.
Lord Sardan Baldwin of the Baldwin Estate, having received goods from Dorf, had asked if they could defer payment once again. Dorf, as if he had expected exactly this, began putting on airs. From the looks of it, this wasn't the first or second time such a thing had happened.
"Please raise your head, my lord. For a mere commoner like myself, this puts me in a very difficult position."
Though he spoke those words, the satisfaction on his face was so obvious that even a bystander could see it clearly. I had noticed it during the mercenary incident as well—this man truly enjoyed abusing his power.
"Not at all. What is a little courtesy to someone who has come to aid our territory?"
In that regard, Lord Sardan Baldwin was truly a man of substance. Even in an incredibly humiliating situation, he showed not a single trace of displeasure.
Dorf wore a slightly disappointed expression, but apparently decided that pressing further would yield nothing. He finally moved on to the main topic.
"Hmm. I am truly moved by Your Lordship's noble intention to protect your people. However, the fact that we allowed the previous transaction to be paid on credit has been a significant burden on me as well."
"I know. How could I not realize I am making an unreasonable request?"
"If I handle this matter arbitrarily again, the chief merchant may hold me accountable. However, if there is some form of collateral..."
"...Do you have something in mind?"
In response to Lord Baldwin's question, Dorf discarded even the superficial smile he had worn until now and answered directly.
"The mining rights to the mine located in Baldwin Estate. Or the secret arts passed down in the Baldwin family. If you provide either one, we will offer the same level of support for five years. If you provide both, we will provide identical support every month for the next fifteen years."
"You insolent bastard!!!"
The explosive shout did not come from the lord, but from one of the knights standing behind him.
"I've listened long enough! What nonsense is this?! You're giving us mere scraps of food and acting like this?!"
A young man with deep blue hair glared at Dorf, his face flushed crimson. He looked ready to draw his sword at any moment. Even Dorf, who had maintained a relaxed demeanor until now, quickly took a step back. When his burly subordinates moved to block the way, the knights surrounding the young man placed their hands on the hilts of their swords.
I had been told to watch carefully, but this looked like it was about to go completely wrong—
"What are you doing to our guest!!!"
The one who stepped in during that hair-trigger moment was Lord Baldwin himself.
"Not only do you interrupt an important discussion with shouting, but now you attempt to draw your weapons? Have you lost your mind?!"
"But Father!!! Isn't this going too far?!"
"You foolish boy! What are you all doing?! Quickly, remove this immature whelp from here!"
"Father! You must not be deceived, Father!!! Father!!!!"
Even as the knights dragged the young man away, his desperate screams did not cease. It took some time before his voice finally faded from earshot.
Lord Baldwin spoke with a pained expression.
"I apologize for my son's rudeness."
"Ah, no, it's quite all right. Young blood can run hot, after all."
Though he tried to appear magnanimous, he could not hide the slight tremor in his voice. That was understandable—the young man's expression just now had looked genuinely ready to kill someone.
An awkward silence lingered for a while. It was Lord Baldwin who spoke first.
"...I cannot hand over the mining rights. It is not a matter of vested interest, but because the forest where the mine is located is deeply connected to the livelihood of our people."
Mine development inevitably brought environmental pollution. The soil had to be overturned for efficient extraction and transport, and the pollutants and wastewater generated during sorting and smelting inflicted severe damage on the surrounding environment. This was precisely why the lords of Baldwin Estate had known about the mine's existence yet never dared to touch it.
Especially now, when food supplies within the territory were already dire, destroying the forest that served as their remaining source of sustenance would make the situation impossible to recover from. After all, they were already going into debt to feed the people—if that very action caused the people to starve to death, it would be the ultimate perversion of their purpose.
In the end, Dorf's proposal had only ever had one real choice from the beginning.
"Ten years. If you extend the support period to ten years, I will offer you the family's secret arts."
"You mustn't, my lord...!"
"How could you—!"
At Lord Baldwin's words, the surrounding knights let out groans of dismay.
That's only natural.
When I recalled my knowledge of Planetarium, I could fully understand their reaction.
In this world, those called mana users—superhumans—were extremely rare. To be precise, mana itself was something every living being was born with, but it was uncommon for someone to possess both a meaningful quantity of mana and the control necessary to wield it according to their will.
Furthermore, simply being a mana user did not guarantee strength. Just because someone held a sword and had an arm to swing it did not make them a master swordsman. While they would certainly have an advantage over an unarmed opponent, many failed to properly handle the "sword" that was mana and ended up destroying themselves.
That was why organizations with a certain level of history and power constantly refined their methods of handling mana and their powerful techniques, while simultaneously keeping them hidden from the outside world. These were known as secret arts.
In short, the Midas Trading Company was now holding the lives of the Baldwin Estate's people—food, medicine, and in the most extreme sense, their very survival—as hostages in order to seize the family's most prized treasure.
"Ten years... ten years, you say. It seems we have no choice."
Dorf appeared to hesitate for a moment, but soon nodded. Whether he believed this fell within his authority to decide, or whether he had already discussed it with the family head beforehand, I couldn't tell.
"When a man of your caliber makes such a request, how could a mere merchant refuse to exert himself? Leave it to me."
"...Thank you. Truly."
Only the starkly contrasting expressions on the two men's faces clearly revealed their respective positions.
"So it has come to this after all."
The young man who was Sardan Baldwin's son and a promising knight regarded with high expectations ground his teeth after hearing the details of the negotiation.
His chest burned with rage. The impulse to hurl and smash everything in sight surged through his entire body.
Why must they endure such humiliation? How had the proud Baldwin family fallen to this state?
The answer was clear.
The Barhart Empire.
The hateful enemy that had mercilessly slaughtered his great-grandfather and the heroes who fought alongside him, reducing the glorious kingdom to which they had sworn loyalty into nothing but an empty shell.
And one more.
The Midas family!
While the entire nation could not unite to fight against the invaders known as the empire, these were the despicable descendants of a man who had betrayed his country for personal gain. Instead of atoning for their sins, they continued to commit endless atrocities without shame.
The young man was certain that not only were they selling overpriced food and medicine to the cornered territory, but they were also responsible for the sudden disappearance of all other trading companies that had previously visited the estate.
And now they've gone so far as to demand the secret arts...!
Even a mere acting chief merchant of the Midas Company daring to act arrogantly before a lord was a crime worthy of being executed a hundred times over. Yet now they sought to plunder the very pride and treasure of the family—the secret arts themselves.
The young man had endured until now out of respect for his father's wishes to protect the people. But this was the limit.
I will make you pay for your sins.
Recalling the boy from the Midas family who had watched the negotiation from the corner with an unreadable expression, the young man steeled his resolve.
The Midas family would have to pay the price for all the evil they had accumulated until now.
In bright, bright red blood.