Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Shifting the Balance
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“We’ll take care of those stragglers.”
Wang-sik replied to Kang Il-seop’s words.
“Yes. I’m counting on you, Chief of Staff.”
“Hey, I was the one who spoke. Why are you answering the Chief of Staff?”
But the Chief of Staff, standing behind him, nodded in acceptance.
“I’ll show you what I’m truly capable of this time.”
“Of course. I believe in you.”
“Look at me when you talk.”
“By the way, is there any information on those Barak bastards?”
“They’ve gone completely into hiding. There are some rumors floating around, but nothing confirmed.”
Mad Castle was currently focusing its efforts on hunting Barak, leaving the defense of Earth to the Royal Club.
“A related individual appeared in an African civil war zone, so Sa Seon-gi went to check it out. But he didn’t have much success. The guy was just on the run and ended up there.”
“Hmm. If we can’t get to the Magic Tower, then finding those Barak guys is the only answer…”
“The problem is that the governments that used to provide us with information are starting to walk on eggshells around the Royal Club.”
“They’ll stoop to any dirty trick, won’t they?”
“Public opinion is overwhelmingly in favor of the Royal Club right now, so they’re using this chance to completely crush us.”
Wang-sik didn’t find this situation particularly unpleasant.
“I’d rather they act up even more.”
“That’s why we’re letting them be. So they can’t back out even when a new gate appears.”
“Let me know as soon as there’s new information on Barak. The time the Magic Tower mentioned is running out, so if they’re in cahoots, they’ll definitely make a move.”
“Understood.”
“Then I’ll go finish things up in Azelan.”
“Be careful.”
“I’m just beating up some weaklings, so don’t worry.”
As Wang-sik stood up, Kang Il-seop looked like he wanted to say something but held back.
“Go on, say it.”
“I want to give you a vacation, but I can’t bring myself to say it.”
Instead of answering, Wang-sik threw his arms around Kang Il-seop in a tight hug.
“I love you.”
“I’ve already received plenty of that. Just trust me a little.”
“I’ll love you even more.”
With those words, Wang-sik and Oh Min-jae returned to Azelan.
* * *
The War of Honor on the Azelan Continent was over.
But not all matters had been concluded.
Six families had fallen, but they weren’t the only groups that had participated.
The families of the knights who took part, the mercenary guild that provided soldiers, and finally, the mages’ guild that sent its elite were still left.
The families of the knights who had fought in the war were too busy managing the crisis to even feel the sorrow of losing their loved ones.
In any case, they too had become a party to the war, so they could not complain if the Lennox family decided to attack.
As they spent their days in anxiety, the person who came to them was, thankfully, not Wang-sik.
“All negotiations for Lennox Vega will be handled by our Mirje Trading Company.”
The one presenting the power of attorney was Oh Min-jae, the leader of the Mirje Trading Company.
While it was a better option than having their families destroyed, they were not particularly pleased after concluding their negotiations with Oh Min-jae.
Still, the knightly families had deep ties to the royalty, which spared them the worst, but they could not escape the enormous reparations.
It was a stroke of immense luck that they managed to keep their business rights.
—As for the mercenary guild, we’ll send the city’s forces.
For the mercenary guild that had provided a large number of troops, the punishment was delivered not in the name of a family, but of the mayor.
All summarily executed.
The mercenary guild was reduced to ashes in a single day.
The guild leader and ten of its executives were killed at Wang-sik’s hands, and a law was enacted to prevent another mercenary guild from ever being established in that region again.
“Now, shall we have the tastiest part?”
The last group.
The Eastern Mages’ Guild.
Having lost their guild leader and all their elite members, half of their guild had already fled.
Oh Min-jae and Wang-sik entered the premises together.
“I’m going to buy this place.”
“Because of the research data?”
“That’s part of it, but I plan to use it as a bargaining chip.”
“A bargaining chip?”
“Those Magic Tower bastards are acting too arrogantly. They need to be taught a lesson.”
The Eastern Mages’ Guild no longer had the strength to resist and accepted Oh Min-jae’s buyout offer.
For them, it was an unexpected stroke of good fortune.
They had expected their guild to be wiped out, but now they would receive support from the Mirje Trading Company.
In any case, this concluded the noble war known as the Lennox War of Honor.
This incident formalized the close relationship between the Lennox family and the Mirje Trading Company, and as the immense interests of the eastern continent converged in one place, the Mirje Trading Company rose to become the largest on the continent.
‘Now it’s time to start recouping my investment.’
The amount he had invested thus far was unimaginable to other trading companies.
He had poured in all the funds from the incredibly profitable gate trade, making the scale enormous.
The first target for recouping that investment was the Magic Tower.
Sodovan, a 5th-floor mage, visited the Mirje Trading Company with an air different from his usual self.
Though he always walked with a confident stride, today he stepped aside at the entrance, waiting for someone to pass.
Romez, a 7th-floor mage.
He was the highest connection Sodovan could muster.
He had brought him along to fulfill Oh Min-jae’s request to meet with someone of higher authority.
Though actually well over sixty, Romez maintained the appearance of a man in his mid-forties and, like Sodovan, had a keen eye for profit.
The difference between him and Sodovan was that he preferred to receive kickbacks in the form of research funding rather than getting directly involved, which allowed him to focus on his magic research and rise to the position of a 7th-floor mage.
Sodovan had been able to freely pursue his own interests because he had Romez backing him.
—If you could just meet him once, I will handle everything after that.
Romez had made a few appearances before at Sodovan’s request, so he didn’t refuse and came to the Mirje Trading Company.
‘The Mirje Trading Company is worth it.’
Originally, few people considered the Pandea Trading Company and the Mirje Trading Company to be rivals. This remained true even after Mirje grew in size, due to Pandea’s long history.
But now?
With their victory in the eastern War of Honor, no one doubted that the Mirje Trading Company would become the greatest on the continent.
‘He’s worth meeting several times.’
With that thought, Romez followed the employee’s guidance to the reception room.
Oh Min-jae didn’t lose his smile, even when Romez greeted him with an arrogant nod.
“It’s an honor to meet you like this.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you. You’ve done much for the Magic Tower.”
“Thank you for recognizing it. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed, feeling that my efforts were not understood.”
At Oh Min-jae’s unexpected words, Sodovan’s eyes wavered slightly.
Romez maintained a placid expression, but inwardly, he was displeased.
‘How rude.’
When facing a 7th-floor mage from the Magic Tower, anyone, unless they were a duke, would bow their head first and watch their words.
Yet a guild leader without a title was voicing a complaint.
This was not an experience Romez was accustomed to.
But he didn’t care.
Oh Min-jae, still smiling, placed gold bars on the table.
“This is the payment for the magic ingredients. And this is the ledger.”
This was a regular occurrence. However, unlike usual, he presented the gold bars immediately, rather than after exchanging pleasantries.
But that wasn’t all.
Oh Min-jae pushed a single document toward them.
“300,000 gold coins. I’ll make it a donation to the Magic Tower.”
The document, stamped with the seal of the Mirje Trading Company, held a value that could be exchanged for gold at any time.
The enormous donation instantly warmed the uncomfortable atmosphere.
It was an amount that forced even Romez to smile.
‘With this much, I could probably pocket about half.’
Even if he only donated 150,000 gold coins to the Magic Tower, Romez would be praised.
But the words that followed chilled the atmosphere to ice.
“With this, there will be no more donations.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means I will no longer invest in the Magic Tower.”
“Guild Leader!”
Sodovan raised his voice and shot up from his seat, but Romez stopped him with a raised hand.
“Shall we hear the reason?”
“I have never once made a profit from investing in the Magic Tower. Well, I didn’t expect a profit in the first place, so let’s move past that. Shall we talk about the donations?”
Oh Min-jae presented a single document detailing his donation history.
“The amount donated so far is 300,000 gold coins. And today, I’m donating another 300,000.”
Oh Min-jae looked straight at Romez and asked.
“What do I get for this?”
Struck to the core, Romez’s composure vanished. Oh Min-jae pressed on in that opening.
“There’s no return on my investments, and the same goes for my donations. The total of investments and donations exceeds one million gold coins, yet I have received nothing in return. But that’s not the real problem.”
Oh Min-jae spoke with emphasis.
“The biggest problem is that there will be nothing in the future, either. To you, I am nothing more than a mere merchant who pays tribute.”
This was the crux of their meeting.
In truth, even a noble wouldn’t have been treated this way.
But because he was a guild leader with no title and no tradition, Sodovan had taken him lightly.
This was true not only for Sodovan but for the Magic Tower as a whole.
However, no one had expected Oh Min-jae to declare a severance of ties with the Magic Tower like this.
‘I’m going to get the blame for this.’
The top trading company on the continent was cutting ties, and he was the one present for it.
Only now did he begin to feel a sense of crisis.
“Is there something you want?”
“No. I’ve lost all expectations. Are you aware that I am the biggest donor to the current gate project?”
“Of course, I am.”
“And yet, I can’t even get updates on its progress. To be frank, the only information I have is a few words I practically had to beg from a mage being treated for injuries. That’s my reality right now. The top donor, ignored even by a low-ranking mage.”
Oh Min-jae no longer hid his displeasure.
“I told you from the beginning that I was preparing for the gate business, but you never once offered me a helpful position. So, I’ve decided to invest on my own.”
It was clear which group he was referring to.
“Are you talking about the Eastern Mages’ Guild?”
“Yes. Their research is quite excellent. And the level of our Alchemist Guild has also risen considerably.”
The reputation of the Mirje Alchemist Guild had been rising rapidly of late. While heavy investment was a factor, the real reason was that they had acquired all the data from the Southern Alchemist Guild.
Of course, this fact was not publicly known, so it was believed they had grown through the power of the Mirje Trading Company.
Adding the data from a mages’ guild run by a 6th-circle mage on top of that would create a force not to be taken lightly.
“There’s no need to argue about it. I’ve judged that it’s better for me to do it myself, even if I fail, than to just throw money away. Don’t you agree?”
He was calling investing in the Magic Tower throwing money away.
“Still, the fact that you’re explaining this in such detail suggests you haven’t completely given up.”
“That’s right. That’s what this donation is for.”
Oh Min-jae pointed to the document for 300,000 gold coins.
“Let me say it again. I no longer have any expectations for the Magic Tower.”
If anyone else had said this, not just Romez but Sodovan too would have responded with anger and a clear warning.
But their opponent was the leader of the continent’s top trading company.
Funnily enough, Sodovan was only just now realizing that fact.
‘He’s grown this much.’
As proof, Oh Min-jae, having dropped his bombshell, was leaning back in his chair with a confident expression.
Only then did Sodovan realize that their positions had been reversed.
“I will see what I can do. You will not be disappointed this time.”
Oh Min-jae didn’t bother to reply and simply stood up.
It was a clear dismissal.
Having never received such treatment before, Romez and Sodovan offered their goodbyes and left the trading company.
“Hoo.”
Oh Min-jae, who usually saw them to the door, was nowhere to be seen.
‘He wasn’t just bluffing.’
The two mages hurried toward the Magic Tower.