The Man Needs Ambition (1)
It’s all over here, too.
I take one last look at the surrounding scenery.
Clear sky.
Clean air.
Perfectly maintained roads.
Just like always,
the capital of this empire is a truly beautiful place.
It’s so sad to have to leave a spot like this.
That’s a fact.
But there’s no helping it.
Today I have to head to a new region for my hot ambition!
The moment I got a little lost in emotion and daydreams.
Elin, walking beside me, asked.
“…No, really? Are you lying?”
“I’m telling the truth.”
She was seeing me off to the train station right after graduation, and she followed along. After all, she had to take another train a bit later anyway.
The whole walk, she chattered nonstop beside me. She clearly couldn’t believe the goal I’d mentioned earlier.
Her red hair fluttering in the wind, she asked the same thing again.
“Really? Starting a business was your dream all along?”
“Yeah. That’s been my long-held dream.”
“…Why?”
She tilted her head in confusion, like she couldn’t understand.
I slowly explained it again.
“Didn’t I say? I want to make money.”
“Yo, a National Academy graduate doesn’t have to worry about money anywhere, right? Besides, we’re magic majors—way more so.”
“So?”
“Then why go through the big risk of business?”
She asked with her own logic, but I firmly shook my head.
You don’t know what you’re talking about.
Man was born to challenge danger. Meeting ambition and vision head-on is a man’s fate. Calling it unnecessary risk is wrong.
And in truth,
there was one thing she didn’t know.
‘…If I join somewhere, I’ll be politically tied up.’
In my current situation, doing business was actually safer.
Born a commoner with no backing, stepping wrong into politics meant being used and discarded. Even if not, relationships would always be uncomfortable.
In other words, the capital was still dangerously risky.
Plus, being bullied from under someone’s heel was something I’d already gotten sick of in my previous life. I didn’t want to experience that again. This time I wanted to live completely free.
So,
there was only business.
No matter how I thought about it, this was the best way.
The plan was simple.
First, escape this capital where the succession war was raging as much as possible. Then build a solid business in a new environment and new region.
When the succession war ended and the next emperor was decided, then I’d enjoy my self-made Young & Rich life with the money from my business.
‘…Just imagining it makes me happy.’
Spring: visit the elves’ forest.
Summer: surf at the beach.
Fall: enjoy the empire’s festivals.
Winter: go to the northern castle for a sauna.
Occasionally manage and supervise the business,
living a leisurely, free, slack life every day!
Massive money and time.
Self-made young rich guy!
That was the thrilling future I dreamed of.
“Hmm… I get what you mean. But then why did you study so hard? Graduating second in your class?”
“Studying?”
“After all, if you’re going into business, grades aren’t that important, right? So there was no need to study like your life depended on it, was there? Or not?”
Elin asked suspiciously.
I answered simply.
“That was just because of the scholarship.”
“…Ah.”
I was a commoner,
so if I didn’t get the scholarship, I couldn’t pay tuition.
I had no choice but to study desperately.
Of course, I didn’t really need to graduate second, but since I was studying hard, I just did my best. Plus, learning magic was a pretty interesting and fun experience.
“Really… So that’s what it was…”
She went quiet for a while, like all her doubts had been cleared. It seemed she finally believed everything I’d said. I smiled with satisfaction at having understood her.
But then.
Suddenly Elin’s expression darkened, unlike her usual tsundere self. It was a stark contrast to her usually embarrassed look.
She seemed hesitant,
and hesitant in a different way.
…What is it?
She’s not usually like this.
I asked in bewilderment at the strange look.
“Why? Got something to say?”
“Eh…? Um… Ah, no… Nothing.”
“Really?”
Unlike before, she was stumbling over her words.
Is she sick?
I looked at her oddly, and she muttered something. Then, like she’d made a decision, she cautiously said it.
“U-um… Last time, you said you were coming to our family, right? What was that about…?”
“…Did I say that?”
I saw her tense up and tried to remember.
Ah, thinking back,
I did say something like that.
I recalled the memory from back then and slowly explained the reason to her.
“Ah, that’s because your family’s territory is in the western part of the empire. It seemed good for starting business for various reasons. So I thought, when I start business there, maybe I can ask your family for a favor once.”
Elin de Harriam.
Elin was the daughter of the Harriam Duke Family.
The Harriam Duke Family owned a vast territory in the western part of the empire. There had been a time when I was very interested in that region.
There were many wealthy nobles, and trade via the coast made it look attractive for business someday.
So while staying at Elin’s house, I had considered starting a business there. It seemed she remembered the words born from that thought.
“…Then, are you going to our family now?”
At my words, she suddenly trembled.
Her face flushed, to the point it matched her hair color.
…What? Was that such a hard request?
Was it too shameless to ask for accommodation just as friends?
I was startled too, but first I corrected her misunderstanding.
“No, that’s not it.”
“Hm? …Yeah?”
“That was my thought in the past. Now my thinking has changed. I found a better region for business.”
The western empire had high liquidity, but regulations were also strict. With so many existing big corporations, it looked too problematic to try a new business.
That was why I hadn’t planned to go for now.
When capital accumulated and the business scale grew, I intended to go challenge it one last time. Until then, I had no choice but to give up on the region.
“So that’s what it was. I didn’t know…”
After listening to all my explanation, she answered with a somewhat desolate expression. Then she started walking, staring at the ground.
Her eyes were strangely hazy.
Is she very tired?
Is her condition unusually melancholic today?
Anyway, while walking and talking,
we soon arrived at the train station.
I loaded my luggage onto the train and said to Elin.
“Elin! Then I’m leaving now?”
At my words, she suddenly snapped out of it. Then she immediately returned to her usual tension and warned me menacingly.
“You better contact me, okay? If you don’t, you’ll really….”
“Of course. What’s so hard about it.”
I showed her a trustworthy smile.
It was actually what I wanted to say.
Elin was one of the few noble families that didn’t get involved in the succession war at all, and also one of my precious relationships in this world.
I couldn’t easily let go of this precious bond.
—Pii!
At that moment, the train whistle blew.
It was the signal that the train would depart soon.
I gave her a final greeting and waved. She waved back with some awkward expression.
Right before departure.
Then suddenly she slapped her hand against the wall. Then she urgently asked, like she’d forgotten something important.
“Oh, right. So where are you going?”
Ah, right.
I hadn’t told her.
Where I was going now……
***
While studying at the academy and having free time, I kept thinking.
‘Where should I start my business?’
First, the farther from this academy’s empire capital, the better. That way I wouldn’t get entangled in the succession war. Of course, I didn’t need to go all the way to the northernmost end where the northern grand duke was, or the southern end where the southern admiral was.
In other words, a reasonably distant place from the capital.
That was the first condition.
The second thing to consider,
was my small, cute wallet situation.
During vacation periods, I’d gone on external requests and saved hard, but that wasn’t enough to start a huge business.
It was the only option I could try—small-scale or zero-capital business at the start. So places with very high prices or where money would be spent a lot were excluded.
The last thing to consider,
was my status.
No matter that I was a National Academy graduate, I was still a commoner and somewhat disadvantaged by various laws and regulations.
I had many noble friends I became close with while at the academy, but accepting their help would be burdensome and risky. If I messed up, I could get politically entangled.
Considering these points,
the conditions I would look for were as follows.
1. High cash liquidity.
2. Slightly freer in laws and regulations.
I searched through maps and books madly, seeking places that met these two conditions, and then went one by one to students from those selected regions, asking them everything.
And finally, I could decide on the most suitable region.
As a result,
“We’ve arrived!”
Far from the capital—seven hours away,
I finally reached this place.
[ Raman ]
A moderately sized city located in the eastern part of the empire.
Moderately developed, moderately advanced infrastructure.
High population of transients, overflowing with mercenaries and adventurers.
This was exactly
the final region I had decided to do business in.
“Uchaa!”
After loading my luggage and getting off the train, I looked around.
It was definitely a completely different scene from the capital.
Old wooden buildings and rough roads.
Just as I had expected.
I looked up at the sky for a moment and took two deep breaths.
“Haa—. Huu—.”
Then, with a solemn heart, I set my feet in motion.
Right here,
my ambition would begin.
Young & Rich
Young businessman!
For this dream,
let’s go.