Chapter 313: Masterpiece (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 313: Masterpiece (4)
A heavy silence descended.
While the vassals respected his reputation as 'The Collector,' they couldn't support a decision that blurred the line between public affairs and private interests. Arbitrarily withdrawing from a lucrative business venture was a clear mistake. Given the massive investment of funds and effort to launch the enterprise, the loyal subjects of the Valentino family weren't about to sit back and nod along like puppets.
Simmons, a man who had served Marquis Valentino for thirty years, finally spoke up.
"My Lord. We naturally respect your hobbies, but we cannot accept abandoning a jewelry business on the verge of bearing fruit simply to win the bid for Lord Roman Dmitry's sword."
"He is right. We need a proper justification."
The other vassals chimed in, voicing their agreement.
Marquis Valentino had never been a stubborn man.
He had always encouraged them to offer candid advice whenever the family veered in the wrong direction, so his vassals never feared the consequences of speaking their minds. If he lacked the confidence to persuade them, he would have accepted their counsel and found another way to prepare for the auction without abandoning the jewelry business.
This time, however, he remained resolute.
"I know exactly what you are worried about. However, winning the bid for Lord Roman Dmitry's sword isn't merely to satisfy my personal desire to collect. The world is changing. Dmitry has transcended the status of a mere duchy. As the leader of the Kingdom Alliance, they now hold sway over the entire continent, save for the two great empires. What do you think that means?"
"...It means a new era is dawning, centered around Dmitry."
"Exactly. Fortunately, Valentino has ridden the tide of the times. We have grabbed hold of the lifeline known as Roman Dmitry, and from now on, our future will change completely depending on how we act. Valentino is the tycoon of Cairo. Everyone acknowledges this fact, but the moment we step outside our little well, there aren't many on the continent who know our name."
The tycoons of a kingdom.
They were nothing more than frogs at the bottom of a well.
Ultimately, the ones who truly drove continental commerce were the powerful merchants rooted in the empires.
Until now, Valentino had been content inside the well. It was a sufficiently prosperous life, but he was not so foolish as to let an opportunity slip by when it presented itself right before his eyes.
"We will seize this opportunity to expand into the continent. The moment we enter the four kingdoms—Hector, Umberto, Redford, and Frank—we will naturally be positioned to lead continental commerce. The problem is how to overcome the merchants already rooted there. I believe Lord Roman Dmitry's masterpiece sword will be the solution. A family that possesses two of the seven masterpiece swords crafted by Lord Roman Dmitry, and one that spared no effort in providing full support long before Dmitry gained its current fame. Valentino will no longer be known merely as Cairo's tycoon. If we amplify our presence by winning the bid for the Third No-Name, the moment we step onto the continental stage, everyone will have no choice but to believe that Dmitry stands firmly behind us."
Valentino was a businessman to his core.
Whenever he took action, he quickly calculated the absolute business benefits.
"We stockpiled a vast amount of supplies in preparation for the post-war era. Steel, foodstuffs, and the like. Initially, I intended to liquidate that massive inventory within Cairo alone, but the moment we have Dmitry backing us, the situation changes. Valentino will expand into the continent. We will be reborn not as Cairo's greatest tycoon, but as the continent's greatest. The current me is no longer someone who can be satisfied with being just a 'tycoon of Cairo.'"
The moment he laid eyes on the Third No-Name, Marquis Valentino realized he needed an astronomical amount of money.
To continue winning the bids for Roman Dmitry's swords in the future, the wealth accumulated within this well would never be enough.
One thought led to another. His intense obsession with collecting had ultimately driven him to conquer the continent's markets.
The atmosphere shifted completely. Hearing Marquis Valentino's grand plan, Simmons was the first to bow his head and raise his voice.
"We will follow your will, My Lord!"
"We will follow your will, My Lord!"
Continental expansion.
The eyes of Valentino's vassals began to burn with intense, unbridled ambition.
* * *
The meeting ended.
As the room emptied out, the knight who had escorted Marquis Valentino to Dmitry approached Simmons, who was the last to remain.
"...Do you truly believe that winning the bid for the Third No-Name will lead to continental expansion? It sounds like an ideal plan, but the reality is that we are incurring massive losses just to win a single sword. As a knight, it may be presumptuous of me to interfere in commercial matters, but I am not entirely sure if this is truly for the good of Valentino."
Simmons paused and looked at the knight.
Having grown up under Valentino's patronage, the knight had awakened his Aura and become a fiercely loyal subject who cared deeply for the family's future. He was an upright man. With his angular face and unwavering gaze, he had grown into exactly the kind of figure Valentino desired.
"Your words make sense. Perhaps this endeavor will indeed end with nothing more than us winning a single sword."
"Then why aren't you stopping him?"
"Because our Lord has found a goal he truly desires. That alone makes it meaningful enough."
"...What do you mean by that?"
It was incomprehensible to the knight. Seeing his confusion, Simmons chuckled.
"What kind of person do you think Marquis Valentino is? A tycoon of Cairo? A greedy collector? He is called by many nicknames, but what is certain is that he built a fortune so vast that he is still regarded as Cairo's greatest tycoon—even after satisfying all his greedy desires for collecting. This is not an achievement made simply by inheriting his predecessor's wealth. Marquis Valentino multiplied the family's fortune through his own sheer ability, and that entire process was driven by his intense desire for collectibles."
Valentino was a fascinating man.
He hadn't turned his attention to collectibles because he had a lot of money; rather, because he had an intense desire for collectibles from the very beginning, he craved the wealth required to buy them. That was how Valentino's fortune grew. Only with a fortune so vast that it would never run dry, no matter how much he spent, could he purchase whatever caught his eye without a second thought.
Yet, Marquis Valentino had just spoken of expanding into the continent.
For someone who had been perfectly content with life in Cairo, wanting to expand into the continent meant he needed even greater wealth.
Why?
It was a simple matter.
Lord Roman Dmitry's masterpiece swords.
He had concluded that his current wealth would be insufficient to purchase them in the future.
"Marquis Valentino is a man who strives to earn exactly as much as he spends. If such a man goes so far as to declare such an ambition, we must trust and support him. Keep this in mind. The tycoon of Cairo is not a frog in a well. Rather, he is someone who earned exactly as much as he needed because he was content with the reality inside that well. Now that he has set his sights on continental expansion, it will soon become a reality."
At those words, goosebumps broke out across the knight's skin.
Marquis Valentino was no ordinary man.
They say there is a fine line between genius and madness.
Marquis Valentino, who spoke of continental expansion purely for the sake of buying collectibles, certainly did not fall within the realm of normal people.
* * *
Unlike the Third No-Name, which was destined for the auction block, the remaining two swords were delivered directly to their new owners.
"These are gifts."
The recipients of these gifts were Chris and Kevin.
Receiving the blades, they looked at Roman Dmitry with eyes brimming with deep emotion.
"The names of the swords are First No-Name and Second No-Name. As your mastery of martial arts deepens, these swords will perfectly manifest whatever you desire. A sword is not merely a weapon forged of steel. If you fully understand the sword and draw out its true potential, you will step into a whole new realm from that moment on."
"Thank you, My Lord."
"...Thank you, My Lord."
However, Kevin's reaction was strange.
Though his face had initially lit up as if he had gained the entire world, the moment he heard that his sword was the 'Second No-Name,' his expression rapidly withered. It was undoubtedly an incredible weapon. He could recognize its immense value just by gripping the hilt, but Kevin could not accept this situation.
He tried to hold it in. Since it was a gift to be incredibly grateful for, he wanted to suppress his true feelings if at all possible.
But he couldn't.
The jealousy and sense of inferiority rising from deep within his heart forced the truth out of his mouth.
"...My Lord. I know this is an incredibly presumptuous request, but... could I not receive the First?"
It was an unexpected reaction.
Looking at Kevin, Roman Dmitry asked, "Your reason?"
Kevin clenched his teeth. He balled his hands into tight fists.
He didn't want to show his inferiority complex, but this time, he simply couldn't hold back.
"I hate the thought of anyone other than me being granted the title of 'First.'"
* * *
It was an amusing situation.
In his past life, during his time as Baek Joong-hyuk, a very similar incident had occurred.
Even back then, the Mad Demon was the one who caused trouble.
At first, it was a simple matter. In the process of dealing with the remnants of the Evil Faction, the Blood Demon argued that they should sweep the enemy's main base first, while the Mad Demon insisted they must pursue the fleeing enemies to leave no seeds for future trouble. Neither was wrong. They could have resolved the situation through a reasonable compromise, but on that particular day, neither of them would back down.
Voices were raised.
The Blood Demon did not like the Mad Demon.
Normally, the members of the Demonic Cult showed some level of respect to him, the former Blood Cult Leader. But the Mad Demon, who was nothing more than a street urchin, acknowledged no one except Baek Joong-hyuk. The Blood Demon had no intention of criticizing blind loyalty. However, believing that a proper hierarchy needed to be established, he allowed that day's argument to escalate into a fight.
Both drew their swords.
A fierce clash erupted, and people watched in awe as a battle between two of the Four Heavenly Kings unfolded.
Ultimately, the victor was the Blood Demon.
Looking down at the Mad Demon collapsed on the ground, the Blood Demon wore an exhausted expression.
"...Seriously, you are a guy I never want to fight again."
He had only won by a hair's breadth.
The Mad Demon had been terrifyingly relentless. Facing those viciously persistent attacks, the Blood Demon couldn't help but think that if the Mad Demon had learned martial arts even a little earlier, he might have been the one to lose. Regardless, that day's duel proved that the Blood Demon was stronger than the Mad Demon. Once the situation was settled and they returned to the Demonic Cult, the Mad Demon knelt before Baek Joong-hyuk, his face still stained with blood.
And he asked for the reason.
When asked why he had started the fight, the Mad Demon uttered something absurd.
"I wanted to test the Blood Demon's strength. I always wish to be the number one sword my Lord trusts the most. There are no exceptions. Whether it is the Blood Demon or the Sword Demon, they are opponents I must defeat eventually, so I merely took this opportunity to test him."
It was absurd.
Even though they were both ranked as members of the Four Heavenly Kings, the Mad Demon was utterly obsessed with the title of "First."
He wanted his name to be called first whenever Baek Joong-hyuk spoke of them.
Then, just as now, Baek Joong-hyuk did not interfere in the fights of his subordinates.
In a world ruled by the law of the jungle, establishing a hierarchy through sheer strength was only natural, and even their master could not intervene. A hierarchy devoid of actual strength was bound to cause problems. Even if forced into submission, a stronger being could never truly obey the commands of a weaker one.
Therefore, it was the exact same now.
Roman Dmitry spoke the harsh reality to Kevin.
"I decided the owners of these swords based on strength. If you wish to take the First, you must prove that you are worthy of it."
Instantly, Kevin's eyes changed.
It was the exact answer he had hoped for.
At Roman Dmitry's words, as if he had been waiting for this very moment, he turned his gaze to Chris and said:
"Let's have a duel. I will prove with my strength that I am the one who deserves that sword."
* * *
Recently, the people of Dmitry had been buzzing about a single topic.
"If the Flash of Dmitry, Chris, and Dmitry's Fiend, Kevin, were to fight, who would win?"
Following the war with Kronos, the two figures who had achieved the most illustrious feats on that battlefield were naturally brought up as subjects of comparison. Opinions were divided. While most argued that Chris would obviously win, some heated up the taverns by suggesting that Kevin's erratic, vicious style might create an unpredictable variable.
Chris had heard the rumors as well.
However, he didn't care.
Utterly confident in his own victory, he had no reason to be swayed by such trivial gossip.
But now, the situation was different.
Kevin's words had touched a nerve.
"Does that mean you think you can beat me?"
"Yes. I don't think it's impossible."
Chris's face contorted.
His ultimate goal was Roman Dmitry.
For someone who kept his eyes firmly on the heavens as he forged ahead, the idea of being overtaken by someone else before reaching his goal was something he had never even considered.
Therefore:
"Fine. I accept your challenge. I will prove with my strength exactly why our Lord granted the First No-Name to me."
Sparks flew.
Just like that day in his past life, Chris and Kevin raised their swords against each other.