The Might of the Dark Moon (1)

Around ten in the morning.

A savory, mouthwatering aroma filled the inn where Jeron was staying.

Kang Yu-jung was busy whipping up a quick brunch.

Using pastry flour, yeast, and butter brought from Earth, she had let the dough rise, greased the bottom of a pan with cooking oil, dropped in portions of the dough, and covered it to bake bread with a surprisingly soft texture.

Alongside it, she grilled some ham that Mr. Kang had been hoarding, and served it with fried eggs, strawberry jam, and coffee.

Sir Birken made no effort to hide his anticipation, while Sir Leila, as usual, stared down at her plate with her trademark expressionless face.

Of course, that didn't mean she wasn't looking forward to it.

She swallowed hard, a gesture so obvious it could be seen from across the room.

As soon as the cooking was finished, Birken let out a cheer.

"Thank you for the meal, my Lord!"

"Go ahead and taste it."

Crunch!

The bread was incredibly crispy.

It was qualitatively different from the coarse rye bread they usually ate on the Karen Continent.

People here tended to bake their bread hard on purpose, mostly for ease of preservation.

And the butter on the Karen Continent?

The local butter was nowhere near as delicious as the product brought from Earth. It was sour to a fault, expensive, and unpopular.

Earth's butter was a rare commodity, occasionally salvaged from food warehouses where the electricity had somehow kept running. Naturally, it was extremely scarce.

Even Yu-jung had used up almost all of what she had.

Spreading jam on the bread and eating it with the eggs offered a heavenly flavor.

Back on Earth, this kind of meal would have been considered simple convenience food, but here, it boasted a taste superior to any delicacy.

"This is a flavor worthy of being presented to the King," Sir Birken praised highly.

Sir Leila said nothing, but the speed at which she consumed her food steadily increased.

To top it off, the cappuccino?

It captured their palates in an instant.

It had taken an hour to prepare the meal, but it took less than five minutes to eat it.

They devoured it in the blink of an eye.

Only then did they regain their composure.

Amusingly, because everyone had been staring at Yu-jung the entire time the food was being prepared, Mr. Kang had not yet been introduced.

"Now, you all know Kang Yu-jung, and this is Kang Su-chul. He is Yu-jung's father."

"Ah, I see. I thought you looked alike. Is he also...?"

"I will be establishing a workshop and a technology department in the territory, and placing him in charge."

"Is he to become a vassal, my Lord?"

"Indeed."

"If he is to be made a vassal by your hand, Lord Jeron, he must possess extraordinary skills."

"Without a doubt, his craftsmanship surpasses even that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the dwarves."

"...!"

Sir Birken and Sir Leila looked at Mr. Kang again, visibly startled.

Mr. Kang's appearance was much improved compared to yesterday.

Though still gaunt, he had shaved clean and changed into fresh clothes.

Thanks to that, he exuded a sharp, intellectual aura.

His thin frame would recover in due time.

The siblings of the Cavine family knew how capable Kang Yu-jung was.

Though introduced as a workshop technician, her business acumen was so exceptional that her position as an advisor to the merchant coalition was already secured.

Her father, Mr. Kang, would run the smithy as the head of the workshop.

Knowing that Jeron never employed people without good reason, they kept studying Mr. Kang intently.

"His abilities are proven, so there is no need to doubt him."

"Oh, doubt? Not at all! We are simply fascinated. I look forward to seeing just how advanced the skills of a craftsman from a distant land truly are."

"It will exceed your imagination. I guarantee it will bring about an innovation across the entire territory. The pace will be so fast that we might even have to pace ourselves."

"Talent is gathering in our territory, all thanks to your keen eye, my Lord."

Jeron instructed Sir Birken to take the two of them around and show them the territory.

Mr. Kang and Yu-jung left the inn, following Sir Birken.

Only Jeron and Sir Leila remained in the room.

Finally, Leila delivered her report on the Dark Moon.

"Taking control of the Dark Moon was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not difficult. Since you designated me as the intermediary manager, they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have been cooperative."

"Naturally. The field operations will be led by the Dark Moon officers anyway. You only need to exercise your authority when necessary. There is no need to bind yourself solely to the Dark Moon. It is, after all, a supporting asset."

"Even so, its scale is considerable. The business is growing, and the infrastructure laid out across the entire Northern region is impressive."

It was all thanks to the efforts of his ancestors.

Jeron could easily imagine how arduous the process must have been to establish the Dark Moon and deploy it throughout the North.

The previous Lord, Ark Farrow, had inherited the Dark Moon and expanded the organization enormously.

Even when the territory was impoverished, he rarely drew from the Dark Moon's funds. This was a decision born of foresight.

Had they constantly drained the Dark Moon's capital, the secret organization would never have grown to this extent.

"This is the regular report brought from the Dark Moon."

"So you agreed to receive information through regular reports."

"They will report monthly, with a comprehensive summary compiled every quarter."

"That makes things much easier for us."

The report, written on papyrus, was organized clearly.

It detailed the total number of personnel, the number of businesses, the revenue, and the net profit after deducting maintenance costs.

Separately, crucial pieces of intelligence had been summarized briefly.

First was the status report.

"The scale is larger than I thought."

"Indeed, but because they are scattered across the entire Northern region, they cannot exert concentrated force. To operate stably, we will need at least three hundred combat-ready personnel."

"Which means we need to increase the total personnel to a thousand."

"Yes. However, doing so would double our maintenance costs."

Doubling the personnel meant running a deficit.

The organization had to remain self-sustaining.

They couldn't afford a deficit that required siphoning funds from the merchant coalition or the territory's treasury.

Ultimately, the solution was to expand the Dark Moon's operations, growing both their underworld and legitimate businesses to increase their revenue stream.

This, too, was no simple task.

"It sounds difficult, but tell them to focus on expanding their scale as much as possible."

"Yes, my Lord. And this is the other report."

"An intelligence report?"

"Yes. The very reason the Dark Moon exists."

Information was power.

Being able to closely observe the situation in the North would be of immense help in managing the territory.

The report detailed rumors, scandals, and classified information circulating among the Northern fiefdoms.

"Ho."

While there was plenty of useless gossip, there was also highly valuable information.

In particular, the fact that the local lords lacked an understanding of the Great War was useful in itself.

The nobles knew that war caused grain prices to rise, but they dismissed the Great War as something years away and paid it no mind.

With domestic grain prices already high due to years of famine, they saw no reason to buy grain at premium prices for a war that might not happen anytime soon.

Then there was the matter of Viscount Rebion's lobbying.

Of course, that man had always lobbied the central court. Ever since he discovered the silver mine, he had plenty of funds to throw around.

The problem was that his recent lobbying efforts were unusually massive.

"My own interpretation is that Viscount ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Rebion is lobbying to secure approval for a territory war against us," Leila said.

"Most likely."

"Did you already suspect this?"

"I suspected it the moment I heard he was lobbying excessively."

"It is certain the Viscount is planning a territory war, but I worry about what pretext he will use."

"He will find it hard to get a pretext. We have also distributed a massive amount of bribes, so interests will clash in the central court."

"Do you want this war, my Lord?"

"Of course I do."

Regardless of what the lords thought, the Great War would happen.

The central court was debating this issue daily.

Under these circumstances, they would not approve a full-scale territory war that could severely deplete the kingdom's military strength.

At most, it would be a duel between a few knights, or a highly restricted, small-scale territory war.

If it was a small-scale conflict, there was no way Jeron would lose.

This had been set in stone the moment Jeron secured Mr. Kang and his daughter.

Even if they only used the weapons Mr. Kang had already crafted in the warehouse, victory was assured.

If all else failed, they could simply snipe the enemy from afar, or use a combination of tactics.

No matter how he calculated it, the probability of Jeron's defeat was zero.

"It is actually better if the Viscount lobbies for it. Leila, instruct the Dark Moon to leak the following information immediately."

"What information, my Lord?"

"Tell them..."

In the heart of the Hanes territory.

The building Jeron had purchased was crowded with merchants.

Although the Farrow Merchant Coalition did not have many goods left to sell, Kang Yu-jung was generating ample profit by branding their limited items as luxury goods.

She couldn't speak the local language, but using body language, she made herself understood perfectly.

One didn't need to be fluent to do business.

Indicating prices with hands and feet was more than enough.

Mr. Kang simply stood behind her, watching his daughter work with a proud smile.

"You have arrived, my Lord!"

"Is business going well?"

"It is selling like hotcakes. I have no idea how she manages such business acumen without even speaking the language. Truly, Yu-jung must join our coalition as an executive."

"Her position as an advisor is already that of an executive. Whenever you need her, feel free to call upon her."

"Thank you, my Lord!"

Jeron observed the flow of the market.

Even within this chaotic market, there was a system of order.

There was business ethics, and the price tags differed between domestic and international merchants.

"Sir Birken, what is the current price of grain domestically?"

"Domestic wheat is about eighty silver coins per sack, my Lord."

"It has risen again."

"It is likely because we are just before the harvest. Prices are expected to drop slightly after the harvest."

"And the price of international grain?"

"It is set at around fifty silver. However, considering the tariffs and trade taxes, the final cost ends up similar to domestic prices."

"If we were to purchase it, how much would it cost us?"

"With our trade privileges and the tax exemptions granted through your trust with Count Hanes, we could acquire it for fifty-five to sixty silver."

Jeron marveled at the power of trade rights.

Did this not mean they could make a massive profit simply by buying grain from international merchants and selling it domestically?

It was practically free money.

"Begin importing and selling grain as well. There is no reason to pass up easy money. And use the profit margin to continuously import grain and send it to our territory."

"Pardon? Why would you order such a thing...?"

"Because next year, food prices will skyrocket."