The Merchant City of Caladon
Joseph immediately changed his destination to the port city Jiren had mentioned.
With the destination set, the speed of movement naturally increased.
“So, are we going to the sea?”
“Yes. First, we need to find out what kind of place it is.”
The soldiers burst into laughter, delighted at the prospect of the sea.
It was only natural. They had been born in mountain villages and had never left them.
They had only heard about the sea in stories, never seen it with their own eyes.
“They say it’s so vast you can see nothing but water, bigger than a lake……”
“The water there is salty.”
“There are probably salt mines nearby, right?”
They chattered excitedly about the new environment, their voices full of anticipation.
Joseph felt a similar stir of excitement, though for different reasons.
He was not anticipating the sea itself, but the fact that it was a port.
What is a port? The center of trade.
By carriage, by ship—lands where people and goods flowed from every corner of the world.
Even if Valois Castle was the count’s seat, it could never match a port.
They say it’s governed by merchants, so it’s not just a fishing village.
It must be a thriving commercial city.
There, he could find the materials needed for Ice Artifacts.
Joseph collected information about the port city as they passed through villages, buying provisions and listening to stories.
“Ah! You’re talking about Caladon.”
“Caladon, what kind of place is it?”
“Well, I heard that country bumpkins shouldn’t go there.”
……
His words momentarily silenced Joseph, but it only heightened his anticipation.
That warning meant nothing less than “be careful of city people.”
In other words, a city teeming with people.
The fact that Caladon was a land of opportunity remained unchanged.
“Have you heard anything about the merchants who rule Caladon?”
“More accurately, it’s the Merchant Coalition.”
“Merchant Coalition?”
Joseph raised an eyebrow.
He had a vague recollection of having heard something similar before.
They said the Roph Merchant Guild was affiliated with the Merchant Coalition.
Could there be some entanglement with the Roph Guild’s troubles?
But after careful thought, he concluded it was unlikely.
The Roph Merchant Guild was, after all, part of the Valois Territory’s Merchant Coalition.
It had little direct connection to Caladon’s.
Even if they know about me, since it’s not their guild’s issue, they probably won’t care much.
Regardless, that was not important now.
“What did the Merchant Coalition do to rule the city without any nobles?”
“We didn’t ask that far. From what I heard, they pay a lot of taxes to the country……”
Derik trailed off, sounding uncertain.
But Joseph understood roughly.
Caladon had apparently been granted autonomy in exchange for heavy taxes.
Then it’s even better.
At least, the chance of problems with nobles was minimal.
How much hardship he had endured trying to avoid nobles embroiled in endless wars.
Instead of status determined by rank, he could aim for advancement through free trade.
This was what most intrigued Joseph.
Several more days passed.
After endless fields and forests, small farms began to appear sparsely.
The clothing of the occasional passersby also felt more varied than in Valois Territory.
The road gradually widened and flattened, and the carriage’s jolting lessened noticeably.
And soon, distant, towering walls came into view.
Watchtowers rising along the outer walls and a massive gate loomed with intimidating presence even from afar.
“Oh……”
The soldiers let out admiring exclamations.
Soon Derik began sniffing the air.
“Something…… salty.”
As he said, a salty breeze mixed with the sea scent wafted over.
At the same time, distant seagull cries and voices of people could faintly be heard.
“It really is amazing……”
Joseph muttered without realizing it.
The vast stone walls spread out like embracing the sea, appearing even more imposing up close.
This level of intimidation was no less than Valois Castle’s.
How did merchants manage to build such walls……
People who were not nobles erecting such fortifications meant they possessed considerable authority.
Joseph sensed that the Merchant Coalition here was far from ordinary.
He told the soldiers who stood transfixed, staring at the walls.
“What are you all doing. Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
At his words, the soldiers snapped to attention and resumed pulling the carriage.
As they approached the gate, the flow of people grew denser.
Loaded carts lined up in the distance, and guards with weary faces managed the passage.
Many guards, same as before.
Even at Valois Castle, guards had stood at the entrance, and Caladon was no different.
Joseph’s carriage trailed at the very back of the line.
The soldiers kept glancing around, unable to contain their curiosity.
Soon Joseph’s carriage reached the gate, and a guard in leather armor approached.
“Where are you from, and what is your purpose?”
The guard’s voice was firm, but there was no trace of the intimidation felt at Valois Castle.
Joseph leaned out of the carriage and answered.
“We are coming from Malešov.”
“Malešov?”
The guard looked at him with puzzled eyes.
“You came down from Valois Territory? You must have suffered during the war.”
The guard probably did not know much about the Malešov incident.
After all, it had only been half a year since the place fell.
In this world, news from distant lands took months to reach.
So it seemed the news had not yet reached here.
Joseph had no intention of explaining the Malešov affair, so he simply nodded.
“Yes, that’s why we came.”
The guard gave a short nod, then scanned Joseph and the soldiers inside the carriage.
He took a small sheet of parchment from his pocket and began writing something.
Probably a passage record.
“Listen carefully. The most important thing in this city is order. Follow the Merchant Coalition’s laws strictly and do not cause unnecessary trouble. If you are caught secretly selling strange goods, you will face severe punishment. Do you understand?”
The guard’s warning was not much different from what Joseph had expected.
But what was interesting was the existence of ‘laws of the Merchant Coalition’.
Since there is no noble ruler, they must have made their own laws.
Being swayed by individual nobles’ commands was less familiar to Joseph than this.
Joseph nodded in agreement.
“Understood.”
The guard opened the way, and the gate creaked as it swung open.
As the carriage passed through the gate, the interior of Caladon came into view at once.
Old buildings stood densely packed, weathered by the sea wind, and the streets were filled with countless people talking loudly.
A pungent smell mixed with spices and salty sea air created a unique urban aroma.
The lively noise pouring from all sides was a bustling energy Joseph had never felt in Valois Territory.
……Much more impressive than I thought.
Valois Castle had given the impression of a clean, well-ordered city.
But here, in a relatively small space, people were crammed together so densely that it was almost dizzying.
“Wow……”
The soldiers looked around with even greater excitement than Joseph.
Joseph watched them in their gleaming metal armor and thought.
These guys are going to get scammed in the city.
They were advertising themselves as country bumpkins to the extreme.
Soon he spoke to them in a loud voice.
It was because if he spoke quietly, the surrounding noise would swallow his words.
“Derik! Jiren! Auk! First, we need to find a place to stay!”
Only then did they nod, their eyes sparkling with anticipation.
The carriage moved slowly along the avenue.
Unlike Valois Territory, no one seemed to care about outsiders here.
Proof that they were accustomed to strangers.
Entering a somewhat quieter alley, several inn signs came into view.
“Derik. Go in and check if there are rooms.”
Derik nodded and headed inside.
A moment later, Derik returned with a satisfied expression.
“The owner says there are several rooms left. There’s also space to stable the carriage, and the price is reasonable.”
Joseph nodded and stepped down from the carriage.
The inn was more modest than expected, but it seemed sufficient for four people to stay.
He instructed the soldiers to move their luggage and entered the inn.
After checking in and taking a deep breath, Joseph immediately organized his current situation.
He had arrived at Caladon without difficulty.
Now it was time to begin preparations to earn money here.
What I need is materials for artifacts and a way to sell them stably.
He planned to create and sell Ice Artifacts.
Air conditioning and proper refrigeration facilities were scarce in this world.
If he succeeded in production, he was confident it would definitely bring profit.
The problem was that no matter how he thought about it, he had no talent for commerce.
The various virtues required of a merchant: understanding the market and confirming trends, as well as appropriate customer responses and negotiation skills.
Things he had never properly studied in this life or the previous one.
Would Joseph, who had never sold anything himself, succeed?
If he doesn’t get scammed, that would be fortunate.
Above all, Joseph had no intention of settling in this city.
It was a place governed by merchants, not nobles.
If he built a power base here, they would target him.
A protruding stone would be crushed.
Instead, he planned to build friendly relations with the local merchants and use them as a bridge to generate stable income.
Then move to another place where he would not be targeted.
Earn financial profit in the city, but make his residence outside.
Only then would the ultimate goal—the safe and comfortable life he sought—come within reach.
First, I need to gather information.
Joseph’s knowledge was limited to the fact that the Merchant Coalition governed this place.
All other information he would have to discover for himself, one by one.
Soon Joseph called the soldiers together.
“Tomorrow morning, each of you has things to do.”
At his words, the soldiers’ eyes shone with anticipation.
They felt the excitement of beginning a proper exploration of the new place.
“……Listen well.”
But compared to them, Joseph looked somewhat worried.
After all, these rural-born soldiers were not entirely trustworthy.
Still, I can’t not assign them……
At times like this, not employing them would mean the purpose of hiring them was lost.
Joseph looked over the soldiers once more and opened his mouth.