Chapter 80
Jade scribbled something on a sheet of paper while holding a quill he still hadn't gotten used to.
For someone accustomed to using ballpoint pens, a quill was the height of inconvenience.
Alfredo had gone out of his way to find a top-of-the-line quill, but it couldn't compare to a ballpoint pen.
Jade wanted to instruct the mages he had hired this time to create something similar to a ballpoint pen, but he couldn't bring himself to do so in case it affected the continent of Arpedia.
‘A butterfly effect could occur if things went wrong.’
Since the complacent thought that something was no big deal could bring about unforeseen consequences, Jade was careful—extremely careful.
Of course, every time he used a quill, he was beset by tremendous anguish.
Tap.
Although Jade had almost no business requiring his approval, there were still occasional decisions he had to make.
Even though Alfredo had minimized them as much as possible.
After checking them, Jade set down the quill and looked at the two people seated before him.
“The Mercenary Guild and the Merchant Guild?”
“That’s right.”
“Yes, Marquis Jade.”
The two clearly knew each other and didn't act like strangers.
Instead, Jade could see them keeping each other in check.
It felt as though each of them knew what the other was after.
The Merchant Guild had contacted him first to request a meeting, but since there was little practical difference, Jade had called them both at once.
“And both of you are deputy guild masters.”
“I apologize for coming to see you so late. I should have paid my respects to you sooner, Marquis, but……”
“Sooner? You just couldn't come because you were afraid of the Great Forest.”
“Deputy Guild Master, you still seem to know very little about merchants. We merchants go anywhere if there’s money to be made. Even if that place is hell itself.”
“Don’t give me that nonsense. You’re only coming to Baden Village now.”
The deputy guild master of the Mercenary Guild snorted.
No matter how he heard it, it was utter nonsense.
Going by what he had just said, the Merchant Guild should have entered Baden Village before Jade became a marquis—in other words, when it was still Baron Leon's territory.
But the result was plain to see.
“At the time, the scale of the economy wasn’t as large as it is now. There were plenty of alternatives.”
“But none of those places had a branch of the Merchant Guild.”
“That was because we judged the time to be premature. But our guild has always kept the Great Forest market in mind. As Deputy Guild Master knows, the Great Forest is a market with unmistakable demand.”
“In other words, you only came in now that it seems somewhat safe. You spent all this time waiting to see how things turned out.”
“Ahem!”
The smooth-featured middle-aged man cleared his throat at the blunt remark that had struck the nail on the head.
He had no room to refute it when it was put so directly.
At the same time, he watched Jade’s reaction.
“So that’s the Merchant Guild’s position. What about the Mercenary Guild? I don’t see any particular need for you to establish a branch in Baden Village.”
Jade asked while leaning to one side.
Although his gaze seemed to look down on them from above, the deputy guild master of the Mercenary Guild felt not the slightest bit of resentment.
Quite apart from being a marquis, Jade was a high-ranking spirit mage.
The deputy guild master himself was a prominent figure in the Mercenary Guild and a man who carried considerable weight, but he was nowhere near the kingdom’s foremost spirit mage.
“As you know, Marquis, the number of mercenaries visiting Baden Village has increased tremendously compared to last year.”
“That’s true.”
“Nearly every mercenary who receives a request related to the Great Forest comes to Baden Village. That is why our guild would like to establish a branch here and provide a cleaner, more pleasant environment. I’ve heard that mercenaries have frequently caused trouble and accidents in Baden Village lately. I also wanted to apologize for that. This is a modest gift, but our guild master prepared it personally.”
Even though he presumably had a subspace bag, the burly deputy guild master held out a small box he had brought in advance.
It was a small gift wrapped in an obviously luxurious manner.
“In short, you intend to manage the mercenaries?”
“Yes. Having a branch manager here alone should allow us to exercise a certain degree of control.”
“Before I have to step in?”
“Th-that’s right.”
The deputy guild master lowered his head.
Although he was a Sword Master and the strongest among the deputy guild masters, he bowed and scraped before Jade.
He knew all too well that the aura Jade unconsciously exuded overwhelmed him.
Besides, Jade unquestionably held a noble title, so the deputy guild master felt no humiliation in lowering himself.
If anything, he was doing everything he could to leave a good impression.
There was nothing to lose by building a good relationship with someone like Jade.
‘I have to make the most of this opportunity. If not today, I may never get another chance to meet him face-to-face like this.’
The deputy guild master steeled himself.
Although he was the deputy guild master of the Mercenary Guild, Jade was a marquis, a high-ranking noble.
Moreover, Jade had a style of rarely involving himself in the affairs of his territory, so there was no guarantee they would meet again.
That was why he had to leave as good an impression as possible today—or even grow close to him.
‘Alcohol would be the best choice, but I hear Marquis Jade doesn’t particularly enjoy drinking.’
Though he was a noble from a commoner background, Jade was far removed from a decadent and luxurious lifestyle.
Nor did he seem to have any notable relationships with women.
Noble houses seeking to claim Jade were everywhere, yet he himself showed little interest in women.
There was even a rumor that the kingdom’s most beautiful princess had thrown herself at him, only to be rejected.
“The number of mercenaries has certainly increased a great deal lately. They’ve caused quite a few unpleasant incidents, too.”
“I apologize for that. I’m truly sorry. Our guild will take firm measures to ensure nothing like that ever happens again.”
The deputy guild master of the Mercenary Guild bowed politely once more.
As time passed, however, the deputy guild master of the Merchant Guild grew increasingly anxious.
It seemed as though the atmosphere was becoming favorable only toward the Mercenary Guild.
It was no exaggeration to say that he had made it this far by carefully reading the situation, so the deputy guild master hurriedly spoke up.
“Our Merchant Guild will also do its part to help Baden Village’s commercial district grow further. We’ll also encourage as many merchant companies as possible to visit Baden Village.”
“Merchant companies.”
“Although it is already developing rapidly, if more merchant companies come to Baden Village, its people will be able to enjoy a better quality of life.”
“That sounds to me like you’re saying there will be more for me to squeeze out of it.”
“Absolutely not! I only said that because I want to grow together with the marquisate!”
The deputy guild master spoke while waving both hands emphatically.
As he did so, he held out a box slightly larger than the gift prepared by the deputy guild master of the Mercenary Guild.
It was wrapped just as luxuriously.
But unusually, the box was dotted with tiny holes like ventilation holes.
“This is a gift for you, my lord. Please accept it.”
The deputy guild master of the Merchant Guild respectfully offered the gift, but Jade merely stared at it, just as he had the Mercenary Guild’s.
He neither accepted it nor showed any interest.
At this, the two deputy guild masters wore similar expressions.
“Is this a bribe?”
“It isn’t! I prepared it because I thought it would be rude to visit you empty-handed!”
“I did the same. And I didn’t prepare this myself—the guild master did.”
They had prepared the gifts to win Jade’s favor, but they were not bribes.
If they had been bribes, they would have prepared them far more discreetly.
That was why both men waved their hands at once.
“The Merchant Guild and the Mercenary Guild.”
At Jade’s mutter, the two deputy guild masters swallowed dryly.
They were both tense because Jade had the final say.
“It won’t hurt to have you here. All right, I’ll permit you both to establish branches. But remember this: the moment you do anything foolish, you’ll be held responsible for it.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. And I promise you, nothing you’re worried about will ever happen.”
“We promise that as well.”
“Discuss the minor details with Alfredo.”
“Thank you!”
For the moment, the two deputy guild masters’ faces brightened at receiving permission.
They had made it over one major hurdle, after all.
Alfredo was no pushover, but now that Jade had given his approval, the two finally allowed themselves relaxed smiles.
“Alfredo.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“You know what to do without me having to say anything, right?”
“Of course.”
Alfredo, who had been standing behind them and listening to the conversation, wore a confident smile.
Neither man was easy to deal with, but he was confident.
That was because Jade was behind him.
“Then go out and discuss it.”
“Yes. Let’s go.”
At Alfredo’s words, the two men rose from their seats.
Their expressions were quite resolute.
A short while later, after the three left the office, Jade looked at the two gifts lying on the table.
-Let's open them already! I'm curious!
-I sense a strangely familiar presence from them.
-So do I! That makes me even more curious!
Whid had gone to Moikan with Della, so Jade was able to sit at ease for the first time in a while.
Of course, Silestin and Elestra were still perched on his shoulders.
“Shall we open the larger one first?”
-It’s only polite to open a gift as soon as you receive it!
“I’m not particularly looking forward to it, though.”
-Jade needs to be more aware of his position! He’s a marquis, a marquis!
-He needs to be aware of his inherent power rather than his status. Human status is insignificant in the face of life and death.
Listening to the two spirits chatter, Jade carefully opened the box brought by the deputy guild master of the Merchant Guild.
A small sapling came into view.
“What is this?”
-So that’s why it felt familiar. But this must have been difficult to obtain. Did they trade with the elves?
-They might have secretly stolen it from the elves’ forest. Growing it as a human is almost impossible.
“What is it?”
Jade asked.
There was no way he could know on his own.
-It’s spiritwood. It’s a fairly useful tree for spirit mages. But despite its grand name, there’s nothing particularly special about it.
-Spiritwood is rare, though. Surprisingly, the elves’ forest has quite a lot of it. Yet it can help ordinary human spirit mages in many ways. That’s probably why the Merchant Guild prepared it.
“Oh?”
Jade’s eyes lit up at the two spirits’ explanation.
It probably wouldn’t help him much, but he thought it might be different for Della and the other children.
-Ordinary humans can’t grow spiritwood. Spiritwood itself sometimes rejects them, too.
-If spiritwood grows well enough to become a spirit tree, it slightly increases one’s spirit affinity. But no human has ever managed to grow one into a spirit tree. Even in the elves’ forest, you’ll only see one or two.
“So it’s impossible for humans.”
A strange light appeared in Jade’s eyes.
A curious competitive spirit had been awakened in him.
And since he thought it might help Della considerably, Jade wore a satisfied expression as he opened the gift from the Mercenary Guild.
-It’s a spirit stone.
-They both put some thought into this. Well, I suppose that’s only natural, since they’re spirit mages.
Jade examined the spirit stone.
It was a small stone, but true to its name, it contained spirit energy.
“It has the energy of fire.”
-It’s different from a mana stone, right? Spirit stones are also called elemental stones. They help with summoning spirits, too—though only spirits of the element contained within.
-But it’s useless to Jade!
They must have gone to considerable trouble to obtain it, but unfortunately, it was of little use to Jade.
He could absorb its energy, but in that case, it would be better simply to practice a mana cultivation technique.
However, that was not true for everyone else, so Jade kept the spirit stone as well.
‘It’s better than nothing.’
After putting the spirit stone back into its box, Jade stared intently at the spiritwood.
He was wondering where to plant it.