Chapter 5
After receiving the gold Noah had prepared in the reception room, Calix refused it.
She was terrified.
We had prepared half the profits we earned in Kron territory. Was that not enough?
“My lord, are you dissatisfied with the amount we prepared?”
“I did not summon you to receive something like this.”
“Then why did you summon me…?”
This was entirely different from the reactions she had received from the nobles and lords she had dealt with until now.
Any noble with gold coins before them would have brightened and reached for them,
but the young lord of House Kron had refused them instead.
Calix sighed and got to the point.
"I did not summon you today to extort more taxes. On the contrary.”
“The opposite?”
“Yes. I intend to lower Kron territory's tolls from 30% to 10%.”
Noah could not conceal her surprise at Calix's words.
What had he just said?
A noble was saying he would reduce taxes?
Noah activated her Blessing for a moment.
-Whoom-
Magic concentrated in her eyes, and the world was dyed black and white.
Only those who spoke the truth retained their color in this world.
To determine whether the man before her was telling the truth, Noah looked at Calix, and she was even more shocked.
‘It…isn't a lie…’
The silver-haired young lord clearly retained his own brilliant color.
Her mind went blank for a moment.
He was not lying. Every word he had spoken was sincere.
“There is one condition.”
“Please tell me, my lord.”
In a sense, Noah felt relieved at Calix's words.
Of course. I knew there had to be a catch.
Instead of the tolls, this lord wanted something greater from her.
What could he want?
If he wanted something from their guild in exchange for a toll reduction, it was easy to predict: exclusive distribution rights in House Kron for one of the guild's core products, the ‘Blue Slime Magic Stones.’
I will have to discuss this with Father.
As Noah was thinking this, Calix opened his mouth.
“The guild must ensure that our people benefit just as much as it does from the toll reduction. Sell the goods distributed through House Kron at prices reduced by the same amount as the toll.”
Noah used her Blessing again.
Calix still had not lost his color.
He truly intended to lower the tolls to stimulate commerce in the territory and benefit his people.
At that moment, Noah felt an emotion for the first time in her life.
The emotion known as being moved.
“May I ask you one question?”
“What is it?”
“I wonder what you stand to gain by doing that.”
Noah genuinely wanted to know.
She desperately wanted to know what this young lord hoped to gain by giving up such enormous profits for his people.
But the words he spoke surprised Noah even more.
“The happiness of my people.”
“Are you really lowering the tolls solely for that?”
“I am.”
“That can't be…”
“Why are you so surprised? Is it really so surprising for a lord to lower tolls for his people?”
Noah continued using her Blessing.
And up to this point, Lord Calix had not lost his color even once.
In the black-and-white world, only that silver-haired lord shone brilliantly, proving that his words were true.
From childhood, Noah had been taught by her father that people were infinitely greedy.
As she conducted business herself, she had come to believe that was the truth of the world.
But the lord before her clearly contradicted that lesson.
While trying to make sense of this impossible situation, Noah's thoughts reached a certain conclusion.
‘Wait…could it be…’
The Empire's current political situation was unstable.
The Emperor had lost his power after a long illness, while princes, princesses, grand dukes, and countless other lords coveted the imperial throne like jackals.
And amid all that, everyone was preparing a weapon of their own.
Some recruited 『Mages』, others 『Blessed』, and still others the legendary 『Assassins』 as they prepared for the 『War for the Throne』.
But what if… a lord who used 『the people』 as a weapon emerged in that war?
No one had paid attention because it seemed so obvious, but the largest group making up the Empire was 『the people』.
If the 『people』 everyone regarded as the reward for victory were to enthrone their own master—and if that master were the 『Calix』 before her…
What would happen to the Empire?
She could not even imagine what kind of future would come, but she was certain of one thing.
A future unlike anything she could imagine was sure to arrive.
Noah became interested in the lord before her who was trying to create a future she could not imagine.
And she thought,
‘I want to see that spectacle from the closest possible vantage point.’
"So, are you willing to negotiate?"
Noah remembered her father's words.
He had told her that when one lived as a merchant, there eventually came a moment when one had to stake one's life.
Noah thought that moment was now.
“I will accept every condition you wish to impose, my lord.”
“Good. You have thought it over well.”
“There is something I would like to ask in return.”
“Ask?”
Noah approached Lord Calix.
Then she knelt and kissed his hand.
It was the kiss a vassal gave the lord they intended to serve.
“Please appoint me as your treasurer, my lord.”
After becoming disillusioned with the world, Noah had always worn a mask.
Not even her family had ever seen her smile sincerely.
But at this moment, Noah was smiling genuinely.
* * *
The storm had passed.
Or would an avalanche be more accurate?
When Noah suddenly asked to be appointed treasurer, not only Hart and the other vassals but I was thrown into confusion.
For the representative and heir of a merchant guild to become the treasurer of a lord's house was no ordinary matter.
It was a declaration that she intended to board the same ship, not merely enter a business relationship.
Just as Lu Su had bet on the Sun clan and Mi Zhu on Liu Bei in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, she meant to bet on me.
No, what the hell was this, all of a sudden, when I wanted to live quietly!
For the sake of appearances, I could not refuse, while accepting felt burdensome, so I asked her to help as an 『advisor』 for the time being.
She was satisfied with that for the time being and left.
‘But…she's really damn beautiful.’
『Noah White』
An SSR-grade merchant with both merchant and strategist aptitudes, Noah was World Archive's must-have character. If you started as a lord in the southern region, you absolutely had to obtain her before beginning play.
I had never managed to obtain her; I had only vaguely heard that such a character existed.
There was exactly one reason I remembered her.
She was insanely beautiful.
A goddess of pure white snow, perhaps?
Especially when she bowed her head to bid me farewell at the end, her chest was, uh…
I nearly died trying to maintain a poker face while negotiating with Noah.
Anyway, she had big breasts, was beautiful, and had big breasts.
On top of that, I had heard that she possessed a unique Blessing, making her an overpowered character on the merchant route with a 99% negotiation success rate.
What kind of Blessing was it…? Had she used it on me too?
Well…honestly, her Blessing was not very important to someone like me who wanted to live quietly.
It would be even more troublesome if I accidentally kept her as a vassal and ended up in the 『Game of Thrones』. I should stay out of it.
‘Come to think of it…’
Before she left, she said something I could not understand.
Clearly…
‘I'm sure your plan will succeed, my lord. I'll be waiting for 『that moment』 when you need me for your next plan.’
…or so she said.
What did she mean?
But I don't have any plans.
I pondered her words as though solving a quiz until late at night, then fell asleep.
What was 『that moment』, anyway?
* * *
I do not know whether this was 『that moment』 Noah had mentioned,
but the moment I needed Noah arrived soon afterward.
“Get in line!!!!!!!”
“Ah! Move through a little faster!!”
“Let us through too!!”
I was at the gate of House Kron's castle.
House Kron's gate normally saw almost no carriages pass through.
After the toll revenue doubled, a few more carriages began passing through,
and after the knights cleared out the bandits, they began passing through frequently.
And now, with the tolls lowered, the gate was jammed with carriages.
Like a highway during a holiday rush, dozens—or hundreds, if I included the carriages visible in the distance—were waiting to pass through the gate.
“Hart…what is going on?”
“It is all according to your plan, my lord.”
My plan?
I had never made a plan like that.
Hart continued with a broad smile.
“The average toll in the southern region is 35% of the value of the goods. In House Ryan's territory, which has the best roads, merchants have to pay as much as 50%.”
Good heavens, they had to pay 50% of the value of their goods in tolls!?
Faced with this figure that defied common sense, my face nearly cramped as I tried to keep my expression under control.
“But in this situation, we lowered our toll to 10%. No matter how much extra time it takes, it has become far more profitable for merchants to deliver their goods through our territory.”
“…………”
I suddenly remembered how, in my previous life, I had worked part-time as a delivery worker and been ruthlessly gouged by outrageous commissions from delivery-app companies.
Those Delivery XX bastards… It was fucking awful.
Just as I was beginning to understand this commotion a little, Hart spoke.
“Take a look at this as well, my lord.”
“What is this?”
“These are the toll records kept by the gatekeeper up to now. Even with the revenue collected through today alone, we have already made more than 130% of what we earned before lowering the tolls.”
“What! 130%!?”
“Yes! That is correct. It is all exactly as you planned, my lord.”
The book Hart showed me was densely filled with toll records.
Even at a rough glance, the total seemed to have doubled compared to last month, and there were luxury goods such as fine wine and magic tools as well.
“However, there is a problem.”
“What problem?”
“The volume of carriage traffic increased so suddenly that our scribes alone are having difficulty handling all the administrative work. We may need more people, my lord.”
Hart's words made me think of her.
With a sigh, I uttered the words I had least wanted to say.
“Hart…summon Noah.”
“Yes, I understand, my lord.”
And so I ended up obtaining an SSR merchant character I had never wanted.
Nothing in life ever went according to plan.