The Silver Fox Merchant Group
To make money with the Silver Fox Merchant Group, to sell the North's specialties, what we needed right now was something reliable.
A trustworthy merchant group.
So, another meeting convened.
I naturally pushed open the meeting room door and took a seat right next to the Grand Duke.
Having overslept a bit and arrived late, the discussion was already in full swing.
One wall of the meeting room held a survey map of the Northern Mountains. The desk was cluttered with fur samples, ore chunks, and ledgers.
"...And so, the Golden Scales Merchant Group appears to be the most reasonable choice at present."
The administrator, with dark circles nearly reaching his chin, spread out his documents on the table.
"They have some record of trading with the North, however minor, and above all, their scale is massive."
It was one of the two largest merchant groups in the Empire by volume right now.
"We'll probably have to offer some contractual conveniences, but given our urgent need for funds... In my judgment, there's no better candidate."
The Golden Scales Merchant Group was a familiar name to me.
The wagons I'd robbed so diligently. That group had been handling the count's smuggling operations.
They operated under a false name like a separate entity, but I remembered it well from the original story—it had a pretty significant role.
"Isn't there anywhere else?"
"There is one other candidate... but they're on the verge of bankruptcy."
At the bottom of the administrator's documents, I spotted a merchant group name crossed out with a big X.
Silver Fox Merchant Group.
Reading through the details slowly, it turned out they'd once transported furs from the North long ago.
"Why did the trade stop?"
"There are records of them trying to maintain trade as much as possible, but it seems it fell through due to the merchant group's deteriorating finances."
Not bad at all.
I liked that they'd tried to keep their loyalty, and their near-bankrupt state.
We didn't need horses or wagons for transport anyway.
As long as we had massive carts to move the goods, it wasn't a big issue.
If anything, it was the perfect condition to swallow them up.
"Hmm... What caused the financial deterioration?"
"The guildmaster is said to be quite stubborn. He stuck rigidly to the merchant's way, and contracts fell through one after another."
Perfect.
Dozens of ideas for branding the North flooded my mind.
I stared pointedly at the Grand Duke.
"We'll go with this one."
Sensing my gaze, Arwen pondered for a moment before pointing to one of the merchant groups with her finger.
The Silver Fox Merchant Group.
"Understood, Your Grace. I'll send word immediately and have the guildmaster stand by."
The administrator's tone carried a hint of regret, but he couldn't overturn the Grand Duke's firm decision.
*
A few days later, a rickety wagon broke through the blizzard and arrived at the castle.
"I greet the lord of the North, Grand Duke. It is truly an honor to be summoned personally by Your Grace."
Despite his deathly pale face, a spark of vitality gleamed in guildmaster Barto's eyes.
"Raise your head. I heard the guildmaster was a black-haired middle-aged man, but you're younger than expected."
"A year ago, after my father passed, this inadequate successor took over the family business."
Barto rose from his bowed knee at Arwen's command and offered another polite bow.
"Do you know why I summoned you?"
"...Your Grace, if I may be so bold, I came here to refuse the proposal."
"Let's hear the reason."
Barto steadied his breath calmly before replying with resolute tone.
"First, lack of funds. Second, efficiency issues."
Facts everyone already knew.
If the North were as it once was.
"Ahem, ahem."
I let out a deliberate cough loud enough for Barto to hear from beside the Grand Duke.
At the same time, puzzled gazes turned my way.
"Your Grace. This child is...?"
"The Grand Ducal House's exclusive mage."
For a split second, Barto's eyes narrowed.
Before the doubt could linger, I gestured first and took the lead.
"Come take a look."
Arwen nodded to the guildmaster.
On the way to the outer castle.
Three people followed behind me.
Arwen, Kian, and Barto.
We stopped in the outer castle's open yard, in front of Barto's dilapidated wagon standing alone.
"If funds are the issue, you're talking transport costs and mercenary hires, right?"
"Yes, that's correct. Please speak freely. This humble one doesn't deserve honorifics from a noble mage like yourself."
Not a bad way to handle things.
The complete opposite attitude from his assistant, who'd doubted I was a mage right in front of me.
Glancing at Kian, he averted his eyes guiltily, as if stung.
"So, what if those conditions disappear?"
"Anyone who turns down terms like that shouldn't be a merchant."
He said it, but suspicion lingered openly on his face.
Even a mage couldn't make gold rain from the sky, after all.
Of course, slipping gold from a smuggler's wagon was possible.
Instead of words, I answered with action.
I walked slowly toward the rickety wagon and pulled out a parchment from my bosom.
The inscribed spell was the levitation magic I'd developed a few days ago.
The moment the parchment stuck to the wagon, the engraved formula absorbed mana, writhed, and soon a rough storm of mana erupted.
"Eup...!"
It was surely one of the few wagons in a poor merchant group.
Anxiety and worry flickered across Barto's face, unmasked even by his tact.
But only for a moment.
The mana storm lifting the massive wagon calmed, and the wagon defied gravity.
"Wh-what is this...?"
When Barto reached out to his floating wagon drifting in the air, his body lifted too.
"Is this really magic...?"
Barto dazedly pulled his wagon this way and that in the air.
Controlling buoyancy was easy even for a merchant who'd never touched magic his whole life.
A fact verified through numerous experiments already.
Behind him, Kian wore a proud expression.
"If we travel by skyway, that should solve it, right?"
"Yes... No need for pack animals or escorts..."
At Arwen's question, Barto rubbed his chin mid-air, lost in thought.
"May I take a quick spin around?"
"Do as you like."
Barto returned with the wagon after about a minute.
"At this speed, we could reach the capital in a week...!"
"So, will you do it?"
At Arwen's cue, I nodded to my assistant.
From Kian's bosom came the pre-prepared contract.
"Profit split 80-20. The Grand Ducal House takes 80, of course."
"80-20... you say?"
"Hehe. Read it first, then talk."
Barto lightly descended from the air, planted his feet on the ground, and took the contract from Kian.
A moment passed.
Reviewing the contract dazedly several times, Barto suddenly lifted his head.
"I'll do it. I absolutely will."
"Ahem. Stamp your seal."
Barto frantically rummaged in his bosom, pulled out his seal, and stamped it.
The contract terms granted exclusive rights.
High-quality furs and salt ore produced in the North. And transportation rights using levitation wagons—all included in the monopoly.
80-20. Plunder-level split, but for a failing merchant group, it was their lifeline.
And no loss for him either.
A merchant would figure it out.
How much profit super-fast trade without wagons or guards would bring.
"Truly... thank you so much. I swear on my worthless life to repay your trust without tarnishing the Grand Ducal House's name."
"As you just saw, no trading with other territories from now on."
The contract aimed to brand the North's specialties, flying wagons, and the Silver Fox Merchant Group itself as one.
We couldn't mass-produce due to the small population, but this was the best for now.
Later, we could process raw materials into clothes from furs and such.
North furs had once been impossible to stock out—as long as supply held, they'd fetch premium prices now.
"You may withdraw. Depart as soon as you're ready."
"Yes, Your Grace. We'll leave at dawn tomorrow."
Barto bowed deeply in gratitude and withdrew.
"Master—no, Professor."
"Yeah?"
"Do I really have to go too...?"
Turning, I saw Kian's face crumpled in misery.
"You're the head of our department!"
"Ah..."
For magic's first real-world test and trade, sending the one who knew it best was obvious.
I was too lazy to go myself, anyway.
This was what grad students were for.
Leaving Kian to pack glumly behind me.
The very next dawn, the North's first exclusive contract merchant group—and its grandiosely titled [Transportation Safety Officer] Kian—set off.