< Intermission (3) >
It wasn’t a coincidence that warriors from the South began appearing frequently in the Free City of Dracal.
With the wounds left by Chief Leader Balteon, who had been a member of the “Oath of Reversal,” almost healing, they now needed to broaden their horizons beyond the limited region of the South.
Above all, the expedition to the Northern Mountain Range, being prepared under the guidance of the Holy Church Order, was fast approaching.
The Calcos Tribal Alliance, which had maintained a closed-off attitude for a long time, needed to gather more detailed information about the outside world, making the strategically located Free City of Dracal the best site for information gathering and a transit point.
‘South, I need to visit again someday.’
As Harley scratched the back of his head, he thought of Great Mage Morgana and Misty, who must be busy in his stead.
The work in the Ganghwan Realm kept him occupied, making it natural for him to neglect matters here.
In fact, aside from the symbolism of being the King, there wasn’t much for someone like Harley, who specialized in destruction, to do.
‘Well, they’ll manage. They’re all smart folks.’
He just had to silently support and believe in them from the sidelines.
Using capable individuals in the right place was the greatest virtue of a king after all.
Harley nodded with satisfaction as he skimmed the current situation of the Calcos Tribal Alliance through the “Authority of the Sovereign.”
Thanks to the excellent personnel choices, there didn’t seem to be any significant issues.
‘Of course, management should be left to a professional CEO. If I meddle for no reason, things will just get complicated.’
He wasn’t collecting capable people to let himself get involved in the operation.
What did he know, having barely finished high school due to an accident?
It was so much easier to just periodically check if the administrators and staff were doing their jobs right.
‘Not like I only need to worry about that place. They said this side was ready too, right?’
Harley strode confidently down the neatly decorated hallway toward another slave… no, talents.
He had received word that the work he had been waiting for was finally completed.
Without knocking, he barged into the tidy office.
“Hmm? Ah! Welcome, Harley!”
Patrick, the Secretary General of the Mercenary Guild, stood up abruptly with a bright expression while diligently reviewing documents.
His expression was bright, but his eyes were dark-ringed, looking exhausted.
‘…Hmm, very impressive.’
Harley couldn’t help but admire the sight of his subordinate, who was volunteering himself for the sake of results.
A hard-working, voluntary slave like this!
It really paid off letting someone who was from Earth take on such a heavy responsibility.
“I was waiting for you. You arrived just in time.”
Patrick continued while Harley was lost in thought.
Since Harley had no base in the Mercenary Guild, he had unfortunately put off some things, but now they were finally ready to proceed.
“Oh! Thanks for your hard work, Patrick! But it looks like you’ve had quite a rough time? Your face is practically half gone.”
“Hah… Haha… Yeah, well, a bit…”
“You clearly haven’t been taking care of yourself, huh? That won’t do! People need to eat meat to regain their strength! Today, I’ll treat you as a celebration! Wahaha!”
It was an enormous favor from Harley to buy someone meat.
It was as if he was offering a piece of the meat he would eat to someone else.
With a gentle pat on the back, Patrick wobbled like a balloon figure in front of a store, forcing a smile.
‘Honestly, I just wish they’d let me rest.’
He swallowed the words he couldn’t voice.
A little later, a certain fact was announced by the Mercenary Guild branch established across the entire continent.
The apex of numerous mercenaries spread across the globe had declared he would fight against the Undead King, inheriting the will of the first generation.
A new Mercenary King had been born.
*
Thanks to Patrick’s efforts, there was no one opposing Harley’s rise to the title of Mercenary King.
With a great war approaching, they could no longer leave that symbolic position vacant.
Of course, most of the guild executives wished for him to fall in battle against the Undead King rather than genuinely accepting the outcome, but at least on the surface, everything progressed smoothly without significant friction.
“Congratulations, Harley!”
“Looking forward to working with you!”
“Ha ha, I believed in you. Who else could possibly sit in that seat if not you?”
Though he had been using the title of Mercenary King, it wasn’t like he was a real king, so the inauguration ceremony wasn’t grand.
They simply declared a festival in Dracal, provided food and drink, and hosted a modest banquet for the executives and various guests.
If it weren’t for Patrick’s meticulous preparations, it would have been brushed aside casually.
To Harley, such cumbersome ceremonial tasks were just annoying.
As he tore into meat while dressed as usual, interacting roughly with the guests who came to greet him, he scanned the banquet hall.
‘Of course, since we’re doing this, I’ll make use of everything I can.’
One of those was entrusting most of the supplies coming to Dracal to the Hubert Association.
It was no secret that he had formed some sort of relationship with Hubert, the representative of the association, back during his time in Tarak, so it wasn’t a difficult feat.
Essentially, it was like using his power to extract benefits, but in this world, there was barely anything wrong with rebates or funneling work.
‘Here, connections and lobbying are also skills. Besides, I’m a joint representative of the Hubert Association.’
Thanks to that, the influence of the Hubert Association, operating from Tarak, located in the northwest of the Ion Continent, naturally extended to the southeast Dracal.
They had already completely engulfed the trade routes of the kingdom alliance in the west, including the Talia Kingdom, signed nearly exclusive contracts with the southern Tribal Alliance, and expanded their reach into the empire and republic, both of which were rivals, in a friendly atmosphere.
“…Hmm? This drink is quite unique. It’s something that tingles yet is sweet…”
“Oh! What a unique flavor! Where did you get this alcohol? We’d like to import it as well… Ah— it’s from the Hubert Association? I’ve heard of it. They said it was a rapidly growing merchant company recently.”
“Oh my, this tablecloth is an entirely new material. Such dense and strong fabric… It doesn’t seem to be a specialty of the Elven Kingdom, what could it be made from?”
The Hubert Association’s presence began to seep into the upper echelons near Dracal.
Not only existing trade goods but drinks ranging from cola and fruit juice to wine and whiskey, as well as various fabrics and raw materials.
Earth-made products that could not be found in Auterica extended enticing hands to them.
‘Premium products do well everywhere. The wealthy, who are caught up in vanity and want to show off their uniqueness, can’t resist this temptation.’
This was just as true even with a war against the Undead King looming.
The growth of the Hubert Association, which had smoothly expanded its influence until now, proved this fact.
It wouldn’t matter if they had no prior knowledge of it, but as those who were once in a similar position began to exploit it one after another, they couldn’t afford to lag behind out of pride.
‘And to obtain goods here, they’d naturally have to cooperate with the Hubert Association.’
Using enticing Earth goods, along with the minerals from the Northern Mountain Range, and various avatars created a sticky network.
That was precisely what had propelled the Hubert Association to become the number one merchant company on the continent.
Also, using the vast and always-accessible “Dragon Lair” as a transit point made interdimensional transportation of goods as easy as pie.
It played a significant role that the formerly strict customs could now be passed through freely, thanks to the “Savior.”
‘Very good. The accumulation of karma is outrageous.’
Hubert nodded in satisfaction from his office in the Association’s headquarters in Tarak.
While he had gathered a tremendous amount of gold coins through his business across the continent, that was merely a side benefit.
What was truly important to him was the vast karma generated in the process.
The changes and influence manifested by distributing Earth products in this world were incredible.
Of course, most of the items provided in that process were consumed as luxury goods by the privileged, so the impact on the majority of people, the common folk, was not that significant…
‘If I can properly popularize Earth’s pharmaceuticals here…’
As he tapped the paper with his fountain pen, Hubert stroked his chin.
In fact, he had already employed alchemists separately to conduct compatibility testing for that purpose.
He couldn’t just recklessly sprinkle drugs here, for fear of side effects that Earthlings wouldn’t even have.
‘No need to go as far as professional medicines. Just simple over-the-counter drugs or vitamins would already create a tremendous impact on society.’
Medical practices in this world relied heavily on the mysterious.
Holy Laws used by clergy, magic from wizards, potions made by alchemists, etc.
Of course, the poor found it hard to receive medical care and had no choice but to rely on folk remedies that were practically superstitions.
“…But I should proceed with caution as much as possible.”
Since pharmaceuticals are not simple luxury items, they need to be handled carefully.
If all went as anticipated, the ripple effects would be unreachable, but unexpected accidents could happen.
Who knew how long he could provide pharmaceuticals forever?
“Now then, what’s next…”
As Hubert sorted his thoughts and placed his fountain pen down.
“Are you Hubert?”
A strange man’s voice flowed into his ears.
In the office, which had been empty just moments ago.
“…”
Hubert’s eyes narrowed.
Simultaneously, “Clarity of Mind” and “Hyperawareness” activated, stretching time around him.
The sense that expanded to sweep his surroundings, yet he still did not perceive any hints.
“Quite impressive. So you’re not just an ordinary merchant? But this body has no use for such tricks.”
Then words that seemed to mock him came in succession.
As if he saw precisely what Hubert just did.
‘How?’
Despite the spinning gears in Hubert’s mind, he didn’t stop.
With a massive mental power as fuel, he rapidly assessed the situation in the almost halted time.
‘This is the headquarters of the Hubert Association. It shouldn’t be easily infiltrated.’
It was literally like an impregnable fortress.
Various barriers using magic, alchemy, and sorcery were formidable.
Traps that would send anyone passing by directly to the underworld were shadowed by mechanisms mimicking formation techniques, extreme poisons, and curses.
Above all, didn’t he have hybrid vampires guarding him round the clock?
‘Moreover, the one in charge is a pinnacle-grade Trueblood vampire.’
The power balance between Earth and this world was on a different dimension, gathered by those who had overcome trials across many worlds with the system’s adjustments.
The current estimated number of Transcendent Beings on Earth was over a hundred.
Though it sounded like a large number, Transcendents in Auterica wouldn’t even reach five.
Of course, if we included the dragons that might be hiding somewhere, it could increase, but that too would have its limitations.
‘In a place like this, someone at the pinnacle level is effectively the strongest in the human realm. But for such an individual to sneak in here undetected…’
A being who reached transcendence.
Indeed, an unknown opponent whose existence he couldn’t grasp even while being capable of seeing Auterica as though he were looking at his palm.
“You seem to have many thoughts. Have you almost grasped the situation?”
At that moment, the unknown voice echoed again, as if it already knew what he was thinking.
With a strange energy laced in the voice that made him feel diminished just by hearing it, Hubert, immune to mental attacks, remained calm and opened his mouth.
“…Thanks for waiting. So, what business do you have coming to see me without an appointment? You may or may not know, but I’m an extraordinarily busy person. There are plenty waiting for me to chat who scheduled appointments weeks in advance.”
“Oh? Quite impressive, indeed.”
It seemed the other person found his calm response interesting, letting out a sigh of admiration.
Even in front of someone who could take his life anytime, Hubert’s unchanging demeanor was quite fascinating.
However, the opponent didn’t seem to intend to waste more time here and promptly dove into the main topic.
Thud—
Something dropped onto the desk cluttered with various documents.
Though Hubert had his senses heightened to the peak, he could discern no forewarning or hint.
Something suddenly appeared there as if it had always been there.
It was an object Hubert recognized well.
“Where did this item come from?”
There was no way he wouldn’t know.
He had distributed this item countless times to the upper echelons of this location for his business.
A luxury lighter made entirely of metal, engraved with phrases in English on one side, along with “MADE IN USA.”
It received rave reviews from gentlemen in this world as well.
For a moment, as he pondering that, an unseen hand tapped his fountain pen, which rested on the table.
Naturally, that too was an Earth-made product.
It was only natural that the goods designed ergonomically for Earthlings would be the most comfortable for him.
“You’re an Earthling, aren’t you?”
It seemed the mysterious individual arrived at a similar conclusion.
‘Man, Hubert’s just that approachable. I suppose I’ll have to devise some other plans since this is quite disheartening.’
Hubert refrained from replying to the certainty in the individual’s voice.
He merely stretched time while quietly preparing the means he had discreetly readied.
His utmost skill, “Analysis.”
Then amplifying that with “Limit Break.”
Right after—
What should not be visible to a body of Hubert’s stature suddenly came to view.
In his mind appeared the form of a person who had the exterior of a human but bore two protruding horns on either side of their forehead…
No matter how you looked at it, it resembled the shape of a demon.
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