The Merchant's Windfall
The Flower Merchant Group. The Flower Merchant Group. A small merchant group that had only been around for two years. They were a wandering caravan with no fixed base. Even if they wanted to settle down, the territorial disputes with established groups forced them to keep moving. Richel, the leader of the Flower Merchant Group, had only one dream—to turn it into a massive organization that no one could ignore.
“Hoo, just a little farther.” Richel wiped the sweat from her brow. The road wasn’t particularly grueling, and riding in a carriage meant there was no real reason to sweat. Yet she couldn’t help it.
“There aren’t any monsters around, are there?”
“None.” Abel answered Richel’s question. He was a mercenary she had employed for a long time. His wary gaze swept the surroundings, never once letting his guard down.
“Still, you should remain cautious.”
“I know.”
The Flower Merchant Group’s destination was the fallen Legrian Territory. Located right next to Monster Land, the journey was fraught with danger. Monsters could appear at any moment, from any direction. Abel gripped his weapon tightly and spoke.
“Lady Richel, it’s far too dangerous for you to come along like this. As the group leader, wouldn’t it be better to wait in a safe location?”
“No.” Richel cut him off firmly, even though Abel was only worried for her safety. “I owe a great debt to the Lord of Legrian. I made a promise back then—that if the territory ever struggled, I would help. So I’m going myself.”
Once she made a vow rooted in unwavering conviction, Richel would never back down. To an outsider, her steadfastness might seem noble and beautiful. But to those who had to serve her, it looked rather different.
‘Good grief, where does that stubborn streak even come from?’ It was nothing more than sheer, exasperating stubbornness.
“Yes, yes, of course. Still, please be careful.”
“Thank you for worrying.”
“By the way…” Abel glanced behind them. It was a modest trading caravan. Normally, other merchants would join such an expedition, but the Flower Merchant Group’s party consisted of only Richel and Abel. ‘Well, with so few people, it can’t be helped.’
The Flower Merchant Group was perpetually short on manpower. Their inability to establish a foothold was part of the reason, but there was another issue. ‘They have no flagship product.’ While other groups expanded by leveraging their signature goods, the Flower Merchant Group had nothing of the sort. It felt more like a general store selling a bit of everything. On top of that, interference from rival groups made developing a flagship product nearly impossible. ‘Lady Richel definitely has talent. It’s just difficult for her to fully utilize it.’ If the stage were properly set, she could leap forward at any time. The problem was setting that stage. Every attempt was met with sabotage from other merchant groups.
“Still, hasn’t the Legrian Territory already collapsed? Even if it’s a promise, will they really be able to buy all these goods?”
The carriage she drove was loaded with daily necessities and food supplies—quite a lot of them. Would the Legrian Territory even have the means to purchase this much?
“That is…” Richel couldn’t answer right away. The fallen house. The Legrian Territory was in a similar situation to the Flower Merchant Group. ‘They have nothing to sell as a flagship product either. No specialty goods.’ The only thing they had was monster corpses. Monster Land lived up to its name, teeming with countless monsters of all kinds. That was precisely why Richel was heading there—to buy those corpses. ‘Especially the ones from Monster Land fetch twice… no, three times the usual price.’ That was their competitive edge, though the difficulty of hunting them was a problem in itself.
Another issue was…
“Hoo… Still, what worries me is that in the past, there used to be quite a few monster corpses whenever we visited the territory.”
“Recently, there’s been almost none.”
“Exactly.” That was the problem. The last time she came, she hadn’t been able to sell anything and returned empty-handed. Factoring in time and labor, it had been a total loss. Any other merchant group would have already cut ties with the Legrian Territory. In fact… ‘They all have.’ The Flower Merchant Group was now the only one still trading with them. But how much longer could this last? If possible, she wanted to honor her promise and keep trading for life, but merchants chased profit. Continuing to take losses just for the sake of a promise was difficult.
“Ah, I can see it.”
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the Legrian Territory. The crumbling walls looked precarious, and the glimpse of the territory’s interior was utterly shabby. Richel’s expression darkened. Seeing the final remnants of the once-majestic territory’s decline left her with mixed feelings.
“Fortunately, there don’t seem to be any monsters.”
“Then let’s go.” After checking the surroundings for safety, they drove the carriage into the territory. That was when it happened. As if they had been expecting Richel’s arrival, Elena, the Lord of Legrian, came out to greet them. Spotting her, Richel stopped the carriage and hurriedly stepped down to offer a greeting.
“Lord Elena, it is an honor to meet you again like this.”
After bowing her head once, Richel looked up at Elena’s face and was slightly surprised. ‘Her face…’ It looked better. The last time she had seen her, Elena had seemed listless, as if her soul had been drained away. It was understandable. Her family had fallen, her parents had died in a monster attack, and the only nanny she relied on had collapsed from an unknown illness. And that wasn’t all. ‘She may be the lord, but her position was extremely precarious.’ Her face had been filled with worry, shrouded in dark shadows that made her pitiful to behold. Yet now…
“You’ve come. I was just waiting for you.”
A sunflower seemed to bloom across her face. The worry from before had vanished, her skin was smooth, and the dark shadows were gone. Life sparkled in her once-lifeless eyes, and her shoulders, once slumped from shattered self-esteem, were now held high with confidence. The change was so dramatic that Richel could have believed she was a different person.
“Lady Richel? Is something the matter?” Elena addressed her with formal respect. There was the debt from before, and more importantly, while everyone else had cut ties, only the Flower Merchant Group had continued trading with them. This was her way of showing respect.
“Ah, no. It’s just that your expression looks so bright.”
“Ah, does it show?”
“Yes, you look wonderful. I’m glad.”
“Hehe, thank you. Shall we head this way, then?”
As Elena took the lead, Richel followed slowly with the carriage.
“It looks like we might be able to make a little profit after all. Whenever the lord guides us, we’ve always been able to buy corpses.”
“You’re right. That’s a relief.” Richel let out a small sigh of relief. If there were no monster corpses, they would simply conduct the transaction at the entrance and leave. But when there were corpses, they would move together to a wide open lot like this. The direction was toward the clearing.
“So that’s why her expression was so bright?” Richel assumed Elena’s good mood came from having a decent number of monster corpses to sell.
As they walked, she noticed something strange.
“Over there on the ground… what are they doing?” She could see territory residents working with farming tools in one area.
“Ah, they’re clearing land for farming.”
“Clearing land?”
“Yes.”
“But…” That land is dead, isn’t it? Saying it out loud felt oddly like an insult. Still, it was true. The land was dead. She had checked multiple times on previous visits and concluded that farming was impossible here. Yet now they were trying to cultivate it? Why?
“Ah.” Seeing Richel’s puzzled expression, Elena smiled gently. She knew exactly what Richel was thinking.
“We have a bit of time, so would you like to take a look?”
At Elena’s suggestion, Richel got down from the carriage while Abel stayed behind to guard it in case of trouble. The two of them headed toward the land being cleared by the residents.
“Goodness… What is this!” Richel couldn’t help but be shocked. This land had clearly been dead, its fertility completely depleted—absolutely unsuitable for farming. But look at it now. “How can this land be…” Fertile. Richel touched the soil. She could feel it. ‘Farming here would really work.’ A sudden certainty washed over her. As a wandering merchant, she had traveled to many places and seen many things. She had even visited the Bahal Territory, famous for its grain. This soil felt similar. She had the strange conviction that farming here would guarantee a bountiful harvest.
“How on earth…”
“There were some circumstances. The details are a secret.”
“Ah, excuse me.”
“Then, since we’re done here, shall we go?”
“Ah, yes.” Richel stood up. As she followed behind Elena, she glanced back. She could see the residents working. ‘They’ve changed a lot.’ Last time, their faces had been just like Elena’s—utterly lifeless. Defeat and despair. They had stared at the ground as if they had no hope at all, never once thinking to look up at the vast sky. But now it was different. They were still looking at the ground, yet their faces radiated vitality and energy. No—
“Uwahaha! I’m overflowing with strength!”
“What!? Is that all you’ve got? I’m like this!!”
“Hahaha!”
It was truly overflowing. Beyond overflowing—it was exploding. Richel found herself trembling without realizing it.
“What… That’s terrifying…” She felt an inexplicable fear toward the residents who seemed to be farming on some kind of doping.
* * *
A wide open lot. This was where they always traded monster corpses. Naturally, Richel had expected to find monster corpses waiting when they arrived, but her expression quickly turned bewildered.
“There’s nothing here.” There was nothing. The only thing in the wide lot was a single man standing there.
“You’re here.” The man approached. In that moment, Richel found herself staring blankly at his face. He was handsome. She had traveled through many territories and met many people, including several with outstanding looks. Her standards had risen accordingly, so only truly exceptional men caught her eye. But the man before her was on an entirely different level. Was it his masculinity? He had a bold, hearty appearance, yet his strong eyes radiated power. ‘Goodness, how can a man be…’
“My face must be to your liking. You’re staring so intently.”
“Ah, I-I’m sorry! Y-You’re just so handsome.”
“Thank you for saying so.”
The man extended his hand. Richel hurriedly reached out to take it, then noticed the sweat on her palm and quickly wiped it on her clothes.
“Ahem… I-I’m Richel, leader of the Flower Merchant Group.”
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Albert Legrian. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Ah, I see. Alber… Huh? Legrian?” Richel’s gaze turned to Elena. She had heard the name Albert Legrian before—the eldest son of the Legrian family who had disappeared ten years ago. At her look, Elena smiled gently.
“He’s returned.”
“Ah! I see. Congratulations!”
“Not at all.”
“Alright, alright, that’s enough with the greetings.” Albert decided to get straight to the point. “Let’s make a deal.”
“A deal?”
“Yes. I heard you purchase monster corpses. Does the type matter?”
“No, it doesn’t. I’ll buy any kind of monster.”
“Good. There’s quite a lot this time—will that be all right?”
“Ah, that’s no problem.” She smiled brightly. He had said there was quite a lot, but that wasn’t an issue. The carriage she had brought was fairly large. ‘Even if there are many, it’s probably just a few dozen. We can fit over ten easily.’ Bartering was also an option. These people probably had no money anyway, so they could exchange the corpses for daily necessities. She answered confidently, certain there wouldn’t be more than ten.
“The more, the better.”
“There really is a lot.”
“It doesn’t matter how many! I’ll buy them all! In bulk!”
“Bulk, is it. Very well, I’ll trust you.” Albert opened his dimensional storage. Then, orc corpses began piling up madly in front of her. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. The orc corpses stacked up like a mountain.
“Goodness… What is this…” Richel’s face was filled with shock. Abel, standing beside her, dropped his weapon, and even Elena, who had been standing next to them, looked as if she hadn’t expected this much and stood with her mouth agape. From atop the towering pile of orc corpses, Albert grinned and asked.
“Cash payment, right?”