“Well, we’re off to a good start.”

-Maybe this is too good of a start. However, do you think you can handle the pressure of your business partners? They’re quite massive organizations.

“Well, they’ll keep each other in check anyways.”

-Your biggest concern is probably the royal palace.

“Ah.”

Perserque’s comment reminded Davey of something bothersome. In the past few months, Marquis Peiltris was eliminating members of the nobility one by one after confirming the information that Davey had left him. Thanks to that, an unprecedented purge was now happening in the royal palace.

“I don’t think the royal palace can afford to pay any attention to us right now. The heat is on for those fellas, and they’re probably too busy picking sides to focus on us… Marquis Peiltris sure is capable.”

Marquis Peiltris was basically taking care of the countless nobilities by himself. For now, Davey was only watching from afar, but he wasn’t going to let anything happen to Marquis Peiltris, who was going to be one of his few allies. Although, it wasn’t something he really had to worry about. Honestly, if he chose to seek asylum in another kingdom, many people would gladly let him leave.

“Now that the news has spread, we are going to become very busy again. People are going to stay long-term to set up their divisions.”

Several divisions of the wizard towers, school of alchemy, and merchant companies were being built in this tiny territory. This was rare even in the capital of a small kingdom, but moon grass had made this possible. The ancient curse that was meant to dry out and kill the land had actually made things so much easier; Davey was starting to feel a little grateful for it.

-And selling it is going to take place after?

“The market will get bigger once more people get more riled up. Those who are currently here are only errand boys; I can’t just stop at a price that they decide to be able to afford, now can I?”

-You are one foul merchant.

“I’m not a merchant.”

* * *

The news that Davey wanted to spread through Monmider began circulating, and more people started staying in the territory for long-term residence. Exactly as Davey predicted, requests for long-term stays began rushing in and he granted them without hesitation. Unsurprisingly, there were several merchants who wanted to buy the land in his possession; since it now had rainfall and the ground conditions were improving, a large territory like this was filled with opportunities for development. Although this territory didn’t have any quarries and only had their farming industry, it was still highly sought after, since it was no regular farming industry.

The only area that Davey allowed for sale was the residential area. They were here to develop the commerce of this territory; he couldn’t let them take interest in the farmland. If he did, it would be putting the cart before the horse. However, they began moving actively to buy the residential areas as if they saw this coming, and that seemed good enough for them. There was competition and conflict during the process, but that was unsurprising.

“What should we do?”

“Auction it off. Tell them we’ll sell it to the highest bidder.”

“Then how should we decide on the upper and lower limits?

“No limits.”

“Yes, sir.”

‘Watch the estate prices skyrocket.’

Since ancient times, the ancestors had said that real wealth came from being rich in land. Stocks and cash were nice, but nothing lasted as long as land.

Since the Heins Territory had a good and central location, by the time they could no longer harvest moon grass, this place would have developed into a huge city or transport hub. Davey wasn’t just going to let this opportunity go to waste. His decision could’ve raised some complaints, but there wasn’t anything major, as these people were pretty wealthy.

Afterward, Davey declared that he had recovered and began working. He knew that people were waiting to participate in the moon grass auction, so he announced a condition: a large amount would be sold to the highest bidder, but a certain amount would be set aside and sold evenly to everyone else. Right now, allowing one place to monopolize the moon grass would be a foolish decision; he had no reason to become dependent on one place.

Davey couldn’t help but put on a great big smile, because everything was going according to plan.

-You should really try to keep a poker face.

“You have to smile when you’re in a good mood.”

As Davey’s smile grew wider and wider, Perserque sighed. Then, she grabbed his lips and pulled them down.

-I don’t think I’ll ever get used to your evil smile.

“Then don’t look at it.”

-Groan… You really want to make me the bad guy here?

Perserque puffed up her cheeks and pouted. When Davey ignored her as she beat him with her little arms, her frown only deepened.

21. Retrieval of the Sword 

All the wizard towers and schools of alchemy throughout the continent were a part of their respective countries, but they acted autonomously, as if they were an independent organization.

There was Redria, the Red Tower, which studied fire magic, Coloned, the Blue Tower, which studied water magic, Bariod, the Green Tower, which studied wind, and Luminiad, the Grey Tower, which studied nature magic. The colors were associated with other aspects, but in this case, each color was somewhat related to each tower’s field of study.

Hellison, the Master of Redria, silently gazed at the young mage who was in front of him. The young mage was Class 5 Yulis, the genius of the Red Tower. He had reached the astonishing level of the 5th circle at the age of 28 and was also Hellison’s student.

“Teacher, did you hear?” Yulis asked.

Hellison sipped his tea with a gentle expression. “Hear what?”

“The story about the prince from a small country called the Rowane Kingdom. I heard that he went down to a boondock and successfully cultivated moon grass.”

“Yes, I did hear about that.”

“Shouldn’t we engage as well? From what I hear, it seems to be of better quality than the ones imported from the west.”

“It has to be, since the west has no reason to export good quality leaves to the east.”

As Hellison nodded while stroking his long, white beard, Yulis felt a little frustrated. And slightly frowned. He said, “That’s why I am telling you this news. I hear that they are selling it at the onsite auction price. Other wizard towers are already discussing how much they should invest in it.”

“Is that so?”

“Maybe if we set up a division of the Red Tower there…”

As Hellison heard Yulis’ worried voice, he chuckled. “Haha, that makes sense. Moon grass leaves are highly valuable.”

“Then…”

“You take care of it.”

“M—Me?”

“Is that a problem?”

Yulis felt something from Hellison’s puzzled gaze. Feeling put on the spot, Yulis glanced at Hellison. “That is…”

“What’s stopping you? You are now an elder of the Red Tower. You know, you are too cautious about everything.”

“Ye… Yes, sir! I will do my best. I will not disappoint you.” Yulis, who was staying silent as if he had a lot on his mind, quickly bowed toward Hellison.

“It’s okay if you don’t succeed. The bold prince of the Rowane Kingdom has sparked competition in the continent.”

“It is surprising that he was successful in harvesting moon grass leaves, but Teacher…”

“Hm?”

“Why do you think he is choosing to do an onsite auction? It’s like…”

“Like depreciating his value?” Hellison asked.

“Yes. It might be expensive to invest in the distribution process, but it would be much more profitable if he sold the moon grass leaves himself. And selling them off like it’s a rummage sale…”

“Like a rummage sale?” Hellison tilted his head in curiosity.

“It feels like it’s actually depreciating the product’s value. In fact, he could sell it at a much higher price, since the quality is that much better than the western imports.”

“That’s true,” Hellison agreed.

“But selling it onsite has limitations. It might sell at a high price at first… But if there is no set price, it could be sold for much less than the west, if the bidders decide to fix the price.”

That was true. The price might skyrocket and be really high at first, but after a certain quantity was secured, the price was bound to go down. This was the reason why the west continent distributed the moon grass leaves rather than selling them in an onsite auction.

“Chuckle. I think that boy, the First Prince of the Rowane Kingdom, is pretty clever.”

“Pardon?”

As Yulis looked over in confusion, Hellison laughed. “You said the Heins Territory, right?”

“Yes.”

“How many residents are in that territory?”

“About 200… Oh!” Yulis suddenly widened his eyes in realization.

“It can only be bought at that territory because it is an onside auction. It is an opportunity to save a lot of investment funds and grow the territory. Not only that, but aside from ours, many wizard towers, schools of alchemy, and merchant companies will set up divisions there to secure the product. Now, let me ask you: is there a city in the Rowane Kingdom with that many large organizations?”

When Yulis’ jaw dropped at Hellison’s question, Hellison continued, “No, there isn’t. In fact, it’s difficult to see that kind of thing anywhere. As those large organizations start gathering in one place, a commercial district will naturally form. Since transportation is the territory’s only advantage, it’s a perfect fit.”

“Amazing… But if the merchants resell the product…”

“That’s why they are not increasing the quantity.”

“Oh…”

“I didn’t expect a 17-year-old boy to think so far ahead. Not only that, the territory, which is seriously poor, needs more money to develop the land now that it’s raining.”

“Wow…”

“He is bringing in a huge amount of money right now, and he’s even planned ahead. And one more thing.”

With his jaw still hanging, Yulis looked at Hellison. “There’s more?”

“That prince is acting like he has nothing to lose even if something were to go wrong. He has basically declared that the harvest of moon grass is just the beginning.”

“Then… Is he saying that he’s got other things to show?”

“Seems that way. I suspect the people who have an eye for finances have already noticed, since even I can tell. Even if this was false, he doesn’t suffer any losses.”

“It’s surprising… Really…”

As if his initial doubts had gone out the window, Yulis nodded in astonishment. He couldn’t believe that everything was so thought out. He wondered if this was really planned out by a boy in his teens. Although royalty received advanced education, he knew that this was a dangerous and bold way of operating the estate, even for professional managers of territories.

“Now do you know what kind of relationship you must maintain with the boy?”

“Yes. Aside from anything, I would really like to have a conversation with him.”

“Well, then set up a meeting. I want to meet that courageous and wise boy once.”

At Hellison’s comment, Yulis’ eyes widened in surprise.