“Looks like we’ve sold more than expected.”
“Hehe, we’re running out fast! Just a moment ago, there were tons of custom crafting requests piled up; I had to filter them out!”
Seeing the beaming smile on his face, it seems the prosthetic arms are selling like hotcakes. That means my commission will be pretty hefty too. I ignored the wary glances from Berne, the merchant leader, and picked up the heavy pouch on the table.
“Is this the commission?”
“Wow, that’s impressive…”
Sif, who had been sitting quietly next to me, couldn’t hold back and chimed in when she saw the pouch of money.
“Exactly! I divided it according to the ratios!”
“If you take any for yourself, good luck seeing a nice outcome.”
I narrowed my eyes and glared at him as fiercely as I could. Thankfully, my intimidating appearance worked wonders; Berne turned pale and desperately covered his groin with both hands.
“I-I’m not the type to scam anyone!”
“Did you happen to catch the martial arts tournament?”
“It’s one of the few sights around here, of course I came to watch. Uh, it was magnificent…”
Was he referring to the impressive skills or the castration surgery? I was curious but decided not to ask. I felt I could guess which one it was just by watching.
“Anyway, why don’t you take a look?”
At his suggestion, I opened the tightly closed pouch.
As promised, a dazzling light spilled out from between the opened pouch, revealing a plethora of gold coins, or rather, small gold bars densely packed inside.
Ah, so this is why people love gold bars.
“What do you think? I couldn’t fit 5000 gold coins in there, so I packed it with gold bars worth 5000 coins.”
“I can only take on select individuals for custom crafting. Work has been busy lately, so I don’t have much time.”
“Oh, is that so? How many can you handle?”
“…Let’s say about ten over a month. That should be good.”
Since it wouldn’t take more than a couple of hours per person,
“Ten?!”
What’s with this guy’s fuss? His overreaction is unmatched on the continent. I gaped and leaned back in my chair, chuckling at the sight of the merchant leader looking down at me in surprise.
“The meeting place should be at the merchant guild. We can’t just let anyone into the academy.”
“Ah, yes, understood…”
“Make sure you prepare the materials. I’ll craft right there on the spot.”
“…Right there on the spot?”
Berne looked horrified and stared at me. His eyes were half-filled with disbelief. I shrugged and said,
“If you don’t believe me, you’ll have to schedule a longer period. Looks like it has to be cut in half.”
“Not at all! I trust you! I’ll select ten and get in touch! But how do I reach them…”
“I’ll send my secretary in two days.”
“Your secretary?”
“Secretary? Me?”
“Who else could it be?”
“Feels like I just took on an extra job… You are paying me more, right?”
“Depends on how you perform. I’ll give you bonuses.”
“Just leave it to me!”
His eyes gleaming at the mention of money made him quite trustworthy. Since I hardly had any reliable people around, I transferred the secretary’s position to Sif immediately. She knew better than anyone what would happen if she tried to cheat me out of my money.
“…Understood! I’ll send the list via the secretary in two days!”
“Well then, I have to run, so take care.”
“Of course! I’ll send you off to the carriage! Hans! Tell the stable to prepare the carriage!”
If they’re offering me a carriage as well, I gladly accepted his kindness.
————
“…So, you looted an entire branch?”
“Indeed. They say it was quite a haul.”
I chuckled at the news spilling from Principal Merlin’s lips.
Finally, a success.
It’s not every day that an impromptu operation works out so well; things were looking up.
With this, the Halphas Cult’s momentum should have taken a hit, and in the meantime, I can prepare to strike back at those Halphas guys.
“Profit, you say? What sort of profit are we talking about?”
“I heard they located what seems to be the main base of the Halphas Cult.”
“Where is it?”
“Beyond the west of the Empire, in the wilderness. I didn’t expect it to be right under my nose…”
It’s a prime location for the Halphas. This guy loves vast spaces that are perfect for warfare. He’s probably preparing for some battle fun as we speak.
He’s a war-crazed raven.
“West of the Empire, huh… It’ll be a lengthy journey.”
“What do you mean?”
Principal Merlin looked at me as if confused. Whether he genuinely didn’t know or was just probing, I had no intention of hiding my objectives.
“I’m thinking of capturing Halphas.”
“The cult?”
“No, I mean Halphas himself.”
“…You mean, not the cult but Halphas?!”
Merlin stared at me as if asking what I was talking about. Even for a great wizard, the idea of capturing a demon was beyond him. I placed my teacup on the table and tried to clarify his confusion a bit.
“To win a war, you have to capture the king. If the king is alive, the war won’t end, will it?”
“A war? You’re joking.”
“I’m not joking.”
I don’t make those sorts of lame jokes. Seeing the incredulous look on Principal Merlin’s face, he got up and walked to the window. Standing with his hands behind his back, he turned to me and asked,
“Do you think you can wage a war by yourself?”
“Now’s a more opportune time to capture the Halphas Cult than any other. And… we have the Saint’s order, right?”
“Wow. Do you think they’ll listen to you?”
“If they don’t, I’ll make them listen.”
People in this world have never read the original story, so they wouldn’t know that the Halphas Cult will soon invade with their monster army. This will all happen just before the second semester ends, along with the rumors of the Halphas Cult starting a war.
Sure, there will be minor incidents in between… But I can handle that by then. I emphasized the necessity of war once more to Principal Merlin.
“This is the only chance to deal with them. They’re now caught in a trap. If we let our guard down…”
A trapped beast will sink its teeth into the neck of whoever approaches.
If the original story plays out, the war with the Halphas Cult will break out by the end of this year, and the protagonists will fully engage in the war around the second semester of their second year.
During that year, the Empire will bleed profusely, tricked by the Halphas’s strategies.
In the original story, they couldn’t deal significant blows to the cult, and during the time of stealth, they had to handle the rampaging fools now that their outlines have emerged; this was the most fitting moment.
[To consider capturing a demon, that’s bold.]
“First, I’ll convey your words. But I can’t guarantee a positive response; gathering support will also take time.”
“That’s why I’m mentioning it now.”
To barely make it in time, I must start preparing now to move west.
“By the way, you seem overly confident.”
“…Well, I have a few hunches that led me here.”
Principal Merlin’s gaze met mine, searching for the source of my confidence. His eyes seemed curious about what grounds I had to make such bold proposals, but I stood firm and spoke.
“What’s certain is, as long as they have the heart of the Saint, we will have to fight at some point.”
“…Hmm. I admire your noble intentions for the Saint.”
Why’s he looking at me with such warm eyes all of a sudden?
Letting my curiosity rise, I decided not to ask. It wasn’t important at the moment.
“We have an opportunity to eliminate those vile beings who carved curses into the Saint’s body. I will cut off the head of those demons, who dare to claim the name of God, and offer it to the Saint. Please convey that.”
“…I’ll make sure to do that. However, I can’t guarantee the leaders of Kalon Church will listen to you.”
Yeah, they’ll probably hesitate just as Merlin predicted.
As he feared, they would most likely pretend they never heard my request.
But I wasn’t going to allow them to brush it aside.
“I’ll take care of that part, so thank you for passing along the message.”
“Ha! Understood. I’ll contact you directly.”
With that, we wrapped up this matter.
“Principal Merlin, there’s one more thing I need to discuss.”
“What is it?”
“There’s someone I need to find…”
I mentioned to Principal Merlin the existence of something that would be the key card against Halphas in our upcoming confrontation.
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