Tycoon Marygold (1)
0.
Had I ever mentioned something about the total amount of effort?
In a previous loop, Lancel had wandered the seashores for decades, and looking back, it felt like he'd burned through nearly all of his accumulated effort by then.
This other world. The sea. Wandering. It was the best.
The vast forests, mountains, and fields of the continent were beautiful, of course, but nothing shone quite like the sea, untouched by the taint of civilization.
And what about the seafood that hooked itself the moment you cast your line? Lancel could almost taste it—he wanted to haul these ingredients straight back to the 21st century and open a restaurant right then and there.
He'd never cooked anything fancier than battlefield rations, but with ingredients this prime, he figured he'd snag at least one Michelin star.
'Saliva's pooling already.'
For now, he decided to set aside thoughts of what Marygold might be up to somewhere. Her eyesight should be fine by now, so she'd make a living somehow. And hey, if luck was on her side, she might even seduce a prince all on her own.
'...Yeah, right?'
Of course, the odds of that were practically zero.
Anyway, all Lancel wanted was to savor this ten-year vacation.
Finally, it was time. The legendary islands, the archipelago. Where whales swam, delicacies danced on your tongue, and beauties tempted you at every turn.
…
"You're just sore 'cause you lost money! Ptooey!"
"You... you...!"
Lancel watched the scene unfold without a word.
Marygold. No doubt about it. It was Marygold.
"A man should admit defeat gracefully after losing a bet! Are you really gonna get petty over just two silver coins? Aren't you ashamed of yourself?!"
"I was going easy on you 'cause you're just a kid!"
"Eek! He's hitting me! This guy's assaulting an innocent person—help, neighbors! Look at this!"
"I-I didn't hit you! Not yet!"
Marygold. She'd grown up tough.
Lancel sipped his fruit liquor and observed the whole farce in silence.
'How'd she end up running a shell game?'
The earliest Lancel could lay eyes on Marygold was when she turned fifteen. But the moment she lost her noble status and left her family behind was exactly at age ten.
That meant he always met her five years later, after events he had zero control over. It was why she showed up in slightly different forms each loop—the changes in her heart during those unseen five years shaped her in all sorts of ways.
"Put your money down and watch it vanish!"
Running a shell game was a bit of a special case, though.
"I can't take this anymore, you cheating brat!"
"Eek!"
The commotion finally boiled over, and Lancel couldn't stand it any longer. He stood up just as the furious man's fist slammed into Marygold's face.
"Kyah!"
1.
"Whew, that was close—really thought I was done for this time, but you saved me! Heh heh."
A nasty purple bruise blooming around her eye. A rag stuffed in her nose to staunch the bleeding. The fifteen-year-old kid gulped down her fruit juice like it was beer and let out a satisfied "Ahh!"
"It's on me, so dig in, benefactor! Come on, don't be shy!"
"…."
Even the tiny hand patting his back enthusiastically.
Definitely Marygold.
"I heard the folks around here can get rowdy, but I never imagined they'd swing at someone as delicate as me!"
She grinned through her swollen, bruised face.
Curiosity piqued, Lancel spoke up. "You look pretty young. What's got you so obsessed with money?"
"Huh? Money's great, benefactor."
Marygold pulled out a shiny silver coin.
"Wars, fights, sadness, grudges, hunger—it all vanishes when you've got this."
It seemed to cause those problems, though.
"My goal's to head to the capital."
"The capital?"
Lancel tilted his head, puzzled.
"Can't you just go?"
"No way. That'd just leave me wandering the streets penniless, benefactor. I don't wanna end up homeless."
She sighed dramatically, "Haa."
"Out-of-towners show up broke, can't find work, struggle for merchant permits, and there are scary types everywhere who might cause trouble."
'She's smart.'
It was the exact thought he'd always had watching her arrive in the capital broke and clueless—and hearing it straight from her mouth made Lancel genuinely impressed.
'She even realizes it?'
What kind of five years had she lived through? Had she holed up somewhere studying current events and economics?
Lancel set down his glass. "So your goal is to save up a fat stack and head to the capital?"
"Yes! I'll rent a huge mansion first. Hire servants to tend the gardens, have them bake fluffy bread every morning... Oh, and I heard if you donate big to the Holy Church, they treat you like minor nobility—is that true?"
As Marygold's eyes sparkled with her dreams, Lancel caught a whiff of Baron Ivil Shen.
Yeah. Even if people pointed fingers calling you a nouveau riche fake noble, nothing beat having money.
"Great goals. But hustling shell games? You'll be lucky to afford a single maid in ten years, let alone a mansion. That fist you took today might turn into a sword blade faster."
"A s-sword's a bit... "
Marygold winced and rubbed her bruised eye with a pouch of herbs.
"I know that scam isn't... wait, no."
She confessed.
"I'm not planning to keep gambling forever."
"Then how?"
A smug little smile crept across Marygold's face.
"Shipping investments, obviously."
"Shipping investments."
Lancel sighed.
Shipping investments—putting money into trade ships bound for distant continents, praying for ten to twenty months that they'd return stuffed with profit.
In a world where logistics relied on horse-drawn carts and even the few trains were mortgaged to the imperial family and military, shipping was a massive gamble. But the payoffs? Huge. Salt and spices were prime examples—nothing matched their value-to-weight ratio.
Success could multiply your stake dozens, even hundreds of times.
'But... what's the difference from gambling?'
If it came back at all. Freak weather, outdated navigation, pirates, corrupt nobles, provocations from enemy nations, scams, mutinies—the odds were brutal. You had to dodge every hurdle, and the success rate didn't justify the risk. That's why shipping investments were called all-or-nothing life-changers.
'Eh, she'll figure it out.'
Lancel rummaged in his pouch and handed her what he found.
"Here."
"Huh?"
Marygold blinked at the glittering object, then opened her palm to check. Three gold coins, shining like stars.
"...!"
She shot up in shock. "G-Gold...!"
"Shh."
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
Lancel clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Wh-why, benefactor? Why give something this huge to me...?"
She clutched the coins to her chest like they'd vanish, sweat beading on her forehead. Her wide eyes darted wildly.
"Think of it as seed money for your big ambitions, kid. Pay me back double if you strike it rich. I'm scraping my own pockets for this."
"Double? For this much money... just double the interest...!"
Marygold dropped to her knees.
"I'll turn your money into double—no, ten times over! I, Mary, always keep my promises. If I fail... I'll pay it back somehow!"
"...You're drawing eyes. Get up."
"Yes!"
Her face lit up at the gold glinting in her hand. "Investments start at five coins, so just a bit more and... hee hee, hee hee hee."
How'd she turn into such a little merchant?
She'd stolen ten gold from her family for travel funds, and here he was handing over thirty percent of it.
No big expectations, though. He had no plans to stick with Marygold this loop.
This might even be the last time he saw her this time around.
Lancel needed to enjoy his vacation. The three coins were like pocket change in lieu of him leaving.
"Best of luck, future tycoon Mary."
"Yes! Come find me in the capital, benefactor!"
Leaving the fired-up Marygold behind, Lancel headed to his room. Her voice called after him.
"Benefactor! I still don't know your name!"
"Lancel."
"Huh?"
He didn't turn around. "Lancel Dante."
After a brief silence, her reply came.
"You have to come to the capital!"
Her voice trembled just a little.
"I'll build the biggest house there and save a huge room for you to lounge in as my honored guest!"
"That serious, huh?"
Lancel chuckled and climbed the stairs to his room.
"Good luck."
2.
The next day, Lancel left the village right away. A ten-year-long vacation stretched ahead.
But two years in, trouble hit.
"Guess I need to grab some cash."
He was broke.
Yeah, he'd been spending too freely.
After some thought, Lancel hopped a ship to secure funds.
The port city he reached was chaos.
"We now execute eleven individuals for investing in pirate ships and reaping ill-gotten gains!"
"I-I never meant to switch to piracy! This is unfair...!"
"Silence! Do you even know what ship your pirates attacked?!"
There, Lancel spotted Marygold on the gallows.
Her face was ashen, body trembling. A noose hugged her neck tight.
One flip of the trapdoor, and she'd dangle.
"…."
Lancel rubbed his face wordlessly.
'Expected the investments to flop... but not like this.'