The Lavender Merchant Guild (2)
I didn't hesitate. I immediately sent a letter to the Lavender Merchant Guild expressing my desire to invest.
Given their current poor financial state, they would probably consider it positively. But there was no guarantee things would unfold exactly as they had in the previous timeline.
The timing was still early, and in the last round, they hadn't been particularly enthusiastic at first. It made sense. Accepting an investment from a mere academy cadet with no foundation or track record would be difficult.
Still...
Even so, the reason I was rushing this was simple. Getting involved with them a little earlier would clearly make resolving the coming issues much easier.
If this had still been a game, I wouldn't have been able to intervene before the set events triggered. But now that the game had become reality, I could choose the optimal moment to step into the story.
With that thought in mind, I sat in my chair, idly tapping my foot, and recalled her face for a moment. A shiver ran through me, and I let out a deep breath.
The money demon. The witch of gold coins.
Just picturing the future guild master of the Golden Road Merchant Guild sent an involuntary chill down my spine.
She's going to be a pain to deal with.
Those crimson eyes that seemed to read every single thought in my head were unsettling in the extreme. Still, she wasn't a bad person, so it should be fine.
"Hmm..."
Her golden hair that sparkled like the gold coins she loved so much, and those ruby-red eyes.
I could never shake the feeling that those eyes didn't just read the flow of money, but also saw straight through people's hearts.
"I suppose I have to meet her."
Every conversation with her felt like she was piercing right through me. I'd prefer to avoid meeting her if possible, but...
That wasn't an option.
With a small sigh, I slowly rose from my seat.
Clink...
In a reception room that looked embarrassingly shabby compared to those of other merchant guilds, a young girl set down her teacup.
There were no proper decorations, no expensive artworks. Just a table and chairs meant for greeting guests. Yet the girl didn't mind in the slightest.
She used to care about such things, but right now she had far more pressing concerns.
"Hmm."
The teacup wasn't the fine porcelain she used to use, and the tea itself lacked any noticeable fragrance or luxury. Still, the girl wore a satisfied smile as she gazed at the letter lying beside the cup.
[Greetings. I am...]
It was long-winded and disorganized. The letter lacked any proper etiquette one would expect from a noble's son, yet the girl could clearly discern the intent hidden within it.
"Hmm..."
The path built from money.
The girl who would one day become the guild master of the Golden Road Merchant Guild extended a slender finger and began tapping on the table.
Her pale, delicate fingers drummed against the wood. Anyone who knew her habits would have immediately recognized that she was expressing a peculiar sort of delight.
Unfortunately, no one who knew her was present.
Because they had all been left behind in the distant future.
"I didn't expect him to start investing already."
The girl, currently the heir to a crumbling Lavender Merchant Guild, faced a future so bleak she should have been desperately worried about what lay ahead. Yet she showed no signs of impatience whatsoever.
She already knew the future.
More precisely, she had already lived through it once.
She knew the world would stand on the brink of destruction, and that even the so-called geniuses of the Academy wouldn't be able to stop it. But more importantly...
She already knew exactly how this world would unfold. That was why she had no reason to feel anxious.
She would succeed.
No, the Golden Road Merchant Guild would succeed without fail.
Even without any future knowledge, she had used nothing but her own power to transform the Lavender Merchant Guild into the Golden Road and elevate it to one of the most prominent trading companies in the world.
If someone like her was also given information from the future, she was confident the path ahead would be anything but difficult.
Rustle.
The girl's golden hair, shining like pure gold, flowed down smoothly.
She tucked the strands behind her ear and looked at the name written at the bottom of the letter: Allen. A faint smile touched her lips.
A man who, in a time far removed from now—in the future, or rather the past—had invested in the failing Lavender Merchant Guild. At the same time, the man who had saved her.
The only person who had noticed her before she climbed the golden path, the only one who had reached out his hand to her.
"...What do you intend to do?"
The voice from beside her snapped her out of her thoughts. The girl frowned and turned her gaze toward him.
Her pleasant mood was instantly ruined. The face that had been lost in happy imagination grew cold and stiff.
The man who received her sharp look simply stared down at her with his usual unchanging expression. Meeting his eyes, the girl smoothed her features, leaned back against the sofa, and answered calmly.
"We should accept it. We're hardly in a position to be picky about water or fire right now."
"...He's nothing more than an academy cadet. There's no guarantee the investments will continue."
"So you're saying we should just let the guild go under?"
Uncle?
At the girl's words, the man addressed as her uncle shook his head.
Disgusting.
The girl—Selena—already saw straight through what her so-called uncle truly wanted.
"Just hand the guild over to our family. That's the only way to save it."
Ha.
Selena barely held back the sigh that threatened to escape as she stared at her uncle.
The reason her father—who had never been particularly clever but had always been healthy—had collapsed. The reason the once-stable Lavender Merchant Guild, with its solid regular clients, was now falling apart.
All of it was his doing. Yet here he was, shamelessly pretending to worry about the guild's future. Rage surged inside her, but she forced it down.
She had already seen and experienced far too much to let her emotions control her. So she steadied her voice and replied in a detached tone.
"I'll handle it with my own hands. Because this is the guild my father built. It belongs to no one else."
"...Do as you wish. But don't come crying to me once the guild has completely collapsed."
At her uncle's words—he really did resemble a rat—the girl offered no reply.
Realizing her silence meant she had no intention of changing her mind, the man frowned and strode out roughly.
Bang...!!
He slammed the door behind him as if to vent his frustration.
The girl stared at his retreating back until he disappeared from the reception room. Only then did she let out the long breath she'd been holding.
"Ha... Really..."
There really isn't a single person in this world you can trust.
Even blood ties become powerless in front of money. Therefore, in front of a great deal of money, nothing holds any value.
Having learned that lesson more clearly than anyone through her previous life, the girl swept her golden hair back and lowered her gaze.
The despair of being betrayed by family. The sense of hopelessness. It was the perfect situation for such feelings to come flooding in.
But it's okay.
The girl did not despair.
Instead, she could smile.
Because her only true ally, her only business partner, had come looking for her sooner than expected.
Everything might be meaningless in front of money, but he was different.
"The one who carries a greater cause."
Thinking of the man who had given up everything for the single-minded goal of saving the world, the girl—Selena Phil Lavender—smiled.
She knew how much he had suffered in the previous timeline. She alone knew that he had fought alone against threats no one else believed in.
Even when he raised his voice, no one listened to him.
Even when he stood alone against the danger, no one acknowledged his devotion.
Even when he reached the very end, no one stood by his side.
That was why Selena could trust him.
"Please help me this time as well."
If you do...
I, Selena Phil Lavender, the future guild master of what will become the Empire's greatest merchant guild, will support you with everything I have.
Her heart was racing.
The only person who could make this girl's heart race—when it had never beaten faster in front of countless gold coins or massive transactions—was just one man.
Careful not to wrinkle the paper, Selena gently picked up the letter, sealed it with great care, and slipped it into her bosom. She shook her head lightly from side to side.
"I'll be waiting."
Borrowing his own words...
"My prince on a white horse."
Selena's crimson eyes glowed with a vivid red light.
It was a bewitching emotion that only appeared when she saw a great deal of gold... when she saw a tremendous profit.
It only surfaced when she saw something she wanted, something truly desirable.
Possessiveness.
Her eyes, filled with sticky, dark, yet strangely pure possessiveness, gleamed as Selena looked out the window.
Gazing at the peaceful world flowing by, her slender fingers once again began tapping on the table.
Really.
I'm looking forward to it.