Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Just Do Your Job Well
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Fox, the branch manager of the Silver Fox Merchant Association's Sand Port branch, had been humming tunes to himself lately.
"Heh heh heh... Excellent. Simply excellent."
He alternated between glancing at the ledgers and the safe, smacking his lips in delight.
The top-grade magic stones supplied by the barbarian chieftain Kel Bark.
And once the trend caught on, they couldn't keep the premium liquor 'Tears of the Desert' on the shelves.
Thanks to these two golden products, the merchant association's sales were hitting new records every day.
"Branch Manager! Kel Bark is here!"
At the employee's urgent shout, Fox dropped what he was doing and sprang up like a coiled spring.
"Oh! Bring him in at once! No, I'll go myself!"
Fox dashed barefoot to the reception room.
When your main benefactor shows up, who cares about appearances?
"Welcome, Kel Bark! What treasures have you brought us today?"
Fox bent at a perfect ninety degrees to greet him.
But Kel Bark's expression was heavier than usual.
And today, he had brought along a small figure with him.
A scrawny person in a deeply hooded robe.
"Fox. I'm not here to sell goods today."
Kel Bark crossed his legs as he took the seat of honor.
"Then...?"
"I'm here to sell information. Very expensive, very dangerous information."
A strange shiver ran down Fox's spine.
His merchant instincts were screaming a warning.
This smelled like money. Thick, risky money.
"...This way, please. I'll escort you to the most secure room."
The room they were led to was on the third underground floor of the merchant association building—a secret chamber of unknown purpose.
Fox cleared the area and double-locked the door.
"No ant could eavesdrop here. Speak freely. What information do you have?"
I gave Lilian a nod.
"Lilian, barrier."
I already knew she could cast this spell.
"Yes!"
Fwaaah—
With a short incantation from Lilian, a transparent hemispherical barrier enveloped us.
"Wh-what is this? A m-mage?"
Fox reacted more strongly than expected.
Why's he so surprised? First mage he's ever seen?
"What, never seen a mage before?"
"N-no, sir!"
"It's not that I don't trust you, but you have to tap even a stone bridge before crossing."
"...Thorough as always."
"Basic precaution."
Of course he'd never seen a barbarian this meticulous.
I get why he's freaking out.
I seized control of the mood, placed a cigar on the table, and casually dropped the bomb.
"The king of Ayula Kingdom is dead."
"...Pardon?"
Fox's eyes went wide.
"D-dead? Intel said he was healthy just recently... How did he die!?"
"Who knows? Shouldn't we focus on the fact that he's dead?"
I saw no need to mention the poisoning or that the Second Prince was the culprit.
No point handing an info broker too many cards.
"Hah...!"
Fox sucked in a breath.
He'd realized it too. This was top-tier news that could shake the South and the entire continent.
"You didn't know? And you're an info broker."
Fox swallowed dryly.
His pupils shook like there was an earthquake.
"No... I had no idea. Palace intel is tough to get. How did you find out?"
"Coincidence. The desert winds whispered it to me."
"I see..."
Fox didn't press further.
Prying into sources went against merchant etiquette.
His face grew deadly serious.
"The capital's been suspiciously quiet lately, and it was bothering me..."
Fox asked cautiously.
"But... why tell me? You're not just here for a handout."
I lit the cigar and exhaled a long plume of smoke.
"Why else? It makes money."
"..."
"Ayula Kingdom's headed for civil war. The princes will tear the country apart fighting for power, and the war will drag on. Big time."
Fox gulped and hung on my every word.
"What happens in a war?"
"Well... bodies and refugees, I suppose."
"Spot on."
I slammed the desk.
"I'm planning to scoop up every last one of those refugees."
"...Pardon??"
Fox jumped up from his chair in horror.
"R-refugees? Chieftain, are you in your right mind? How do you feed that many mouths? They're worthless baggage with no money to spend right now! Are you starting a charity? And poaching taxpayers will make the kingdom crack down!"
From a merchant's view, refugees were the worst customers.
Broke, hungry, pure consumers—like toxic inventory.
But I scoffed.
"Fox. You see trees but miss the forest. That's why you're still just a branch manager."
I leaned forward, locking eyes with him.
He'd read the greed reflected in mine.
"People are money. National power. My territory has magic stone mines and endless construction projects. What it lacks is manpower."
"B-but..."
"They're labor. I'll put them to work and pay wages. What does that make them?"
"I get that. But poaching citizens..."
"So what? I'm a barbarian. Sue me."
"..."
Why are they refugees? No money, no home, no nation to protect them.
Give them homes, jobs, wages? They're no longer refugees. They're citizens. Prime consumers.
And if the kingdom gets mad? This is barbarian turf, and they're too busy with civil war to send troops south.
By the time they have spare forces, it'll be too late.
Manpower was always precious in the southern frontier.
No one tried because of the upfront costs and risks.
But I have solid funding and a barbarian chieftain title. Risks solved in one shot.
"And!"
I drove the point home.
"Civil war hits, what happens to food prices? Surely a merchant like you can smell it."
Fox looked like he'd been slapped awake.
"I-I'm ashamed. The king's death shocked me senseless..."
"Start hoarding food now. Fill Sand Port's warehouses to bursting. Pull from other branches if needed."
"..."
"Prices will skyrocket when war breaks out, but worry not. You have mines. You'll sit pretty on a pile of cash."
Fox stared me down.
His eyes were changing.
The gleam of a merchant's greed.
"Don't disappoint me, Fox. You're a merchant. You should exploit this better than I can."
Fox grabbed his glass with trembling hands and downed it in one go.
Then his eyes lit with resolve.
"...Forgive me. I showed weakness. I'll stake my fortune—no, the Silver Fox Merchant Association's fate—on securing food. I'll empty warehouses if I have to and fill 'em up."
"Good. Make it happen. This could catapult your association to major league status."
"Understood!"
"Oh, one more thing."
I stood with a grin.
"I'll collect for this intel later. At a premium price."
"Of course."
"Let's go, Lilian. Time to prep for welcoming guests."
"Yes! Goodbye."
Fox bowed deeply to Edel's retreating back.
'Turn refugees into citizens...'
Anyone can think it.
Execution's the issue.
That man wasn't just a desert barbarian. He had the makings of a hero for chaotic times.
Bang—!
The heavy iron door slammed shut, and Kel Bark and Lilian's footsteps faded completely.
Left alone in the secret room, Fox stared blankly at the door for a while.
Then, moments later.
"...Argh, damn it!!!"
Fox yanked off his leather shoe and hurled it at the door.
"That arrogant barbarian bastard! 'Trees not forest'? Me? How dare he lecture the owner of Silver Fox Merchant Association and head of the info guild?!"
Heroes gonna hero, but pride's pride.
Truth was, he was pissed at himself for blurting stupidly after the king's death news.
Panting with rage, Fox roughly removed the crude ring from his finger.
Fwaaah—!
The magic ring came off, dispelling the illusion.
The pot-bellied middle-aged man's form dissolved like a mirage. In his place stood a completely different person.
Dazzling silver hair down to her waist, ruby-red eyes gleaming like jewels.
A woman in a tight suit hugging her explosive curves.
She was Fox Silverdale, the true master of the Silver Fox Merchant Association—one of Ayula Kingdom's top ten guilds.
"Hoo..."
She roughly unbuttoned her stuffy shirt and flopped onto the sofa.
Then irritably swept back her long hair.
"Annoying. Poison plot? Second Prince's ambition? I already got the intel! Just lacked confirmation, so I was sitting on it!"
She jabbed at the air.
"Acting like he knows it all! Show-off! What a jerk!"
Why live disguised as a man? Simple.
In this filthy business world and back alleys, a 'young beautiful woman' was prime prey.
Sick of being judged on looks over skill, dismissed for her gender. So she hid thoroughly.
Even holing up in this southern backwater had its reasons.
"...Damn that brat."
Fox frowned. That kid from earlier.
He recalled the weird smile and mouthed words as they left.
— Goodbye, 'sister'.
She's a mage.
A decent one.
No way a magic artifact fools those eyes.
"She read the mana flow. Saw the real body overlapping the illusion."
Fox bit her lip.
That kid's probably tattling to Kel Bark right now.
"...Hiding longer just makes me look the fool."
If it's out, better reveal first.
And above all.
"...Hah."
She placed a hand on her left breast.
Her heart was pounding. Anger? Or...
"...Too damn sexy, ugh."
Refugees to citizens. War as opportunity to build a nation.
Bold, mad ideas ignoring neighbors.
And those beastly eyes gleaming as he spoke.
She'd met plenty of men, but never one with such overwhelming presence.
"You're the first man to talk money with those indifferent eyes in front of me, Kel Bark."
That 'take the money' expression.
He dominated her without knowing she was a woman.
Judged on ability and value, not gender or looks.
"See the forest, not the trees, huh..."
Fox downed her wine in one gulp.
She licked the red droplet from her lips and smiled seductively.
"Fine. I'll show you who moves the whole damn mountain."
She activated the communicator on the desk.
"Contact HQ. Redirect all available cash and food to the South. Now."
[What? Branch Manager—no, Guildmaster! What do you...!]
"No chatter. Do it. And call my personal stylist. Send clothes."
[Clothes?]
Fox winked at her stunning reflection in the mirror.
"Time to drop the mask. Gotta match my partner's side."
And if revealing, make it memorable.
Show how irresistible the Silver Fox boss is.
"Look forward to it, Kel Bark. I'll blow your mind."
A vision of a silver fox tail swishing teasingly appeared.
Outside the merchant association, I stretched contentedly.
"Ahh, talked sense into him. Fox has guts for a branch manager."
I grinned, satisfied.
Pot-bellied, balding, oily—but man to man, we shared that fiery ambition.
"We'll get along great. Gotta invite him for drinks sometime. Or maybe take him to a beauty parlor bar?"
Then Lilian muttered flatly beside me.
"Might not work."
"Huh? Why?"
"That guy's a woman."
"...What?"
I stopped and looked down at Lilian.
Misheard?
"What'd you say?"
Lilian pulled jerky from her pocket, chewed, and replied casually.
"The branch manager. She's a woman."
"...Who? Fox?"
"Yep."
I burst out laughing.
"Kid, heatstroke? You okay?"
Southern heat's dangerous.
I checked her forehead.
Hm? Normal.
Lilian swallowed her jerky and continued.
"Illusion magic. Decent artifact. Normals wouldn't notice, but not my eyes. Mana flow had a tiny mismatch with the real body."
"Whoa..."
"And crucially."
Lilian traced her chest and hips suggestively.
"The real body under the illusion... insane figure. Hourglass perfection. Toned muscles too. Ugh, jealous."
"..."
My brain froze. So that smug potbelly was actually a bombshell beauty?
"...No way."
"Totally."
Lilian strode ahead, her sky-blue hair swaying.
I stared at her back, then absentmindedly glanced back at the Silver Fox building.
That's why she freaked at Lilian?
Mage spotting her true identity?
"...Whatever."
Just do the job well.
"Wait up, kiddo. Tiny thing's got speedy legs. Thought you had no stamina?"