Chapter 310
While Anne was carrying out her raid, Konrad was meeting with one of the town's influential figures at a new branch he had recently established in the port town of Twentino. The man he had invited was Thomas Medil, the grandson of the chairman of 'Medil Trading Company,' a long-established major firm in Twentino.
He was not merely the chairman's grandson; he was the young master of 'Medil Trading Company,' one of the foremost trading houses in the Lichtesburg Kingdom. He already controlled most of the business, making him the de facto chairman. There was not a merchant in town who did not know this.
"Hello, Thomas-san. Welcome."
"Thank you for the warm welcome, Konrad-kun."
The two men met in the reception room, beaming as they exchanged a firm handshake. This was not their first meeting. Though Konrad had more capital than any other player merchant, establishing a new store where NPC merchants already operated was difficult.
This was no old-fashioned game; the society created by beings equipped with advanced AI closely resembled the real world. Establishing a small shop was one thing, but for a newcomer to gain significant influence within that society, he had to employ all manner of tricks and stratagems. Konrad's gentle smile never wavered, but he had endured considerable hardship. He had enjoyed it all, including the negotiations.
While entertaining Thomas, Konrad initially engaged him in small talk. At that point, they had already begun feeling each other out. No matter how friendly the relationship, neither of them would expose a fatal weakness. That was only natural for merchants.
"So, you met your friend?"
"Yes. Thomas-san was a great help when I had my ship, the 'Black Company,' built."
"Ha-ha-ha! I'm glad I could be of assistance... Well, shall we hear what brings you here?"
"As you can probably guess, I'm talking about the headache plaguing the sea between light and fire."
Konrad had spoken obliquely, but Thomas nodded with a serious expression. As Thomas had expected, Konrad's business concerned the pirates appearing between Luxresia and Flama.
"Indeed, they're a headache—especially for our company."
"I am aware of your circumstances. You have my sympathy."
'Medil Trading Company' was a major firm, and it owned a large number of ships. Accordingly, the damage inflicted by pirates had also reached a considerable sum. It was a testament to the company's strength that it had not gone under, but it might have been in serious trouble if Konrad had not asked Thomas to act as an intermediary because he wanted an armed merchant ship of his own.
It had been pure coincidence that 'Medil Trading Company' was in financial difficulty when Konrad decided to have a ship built, but their interests had aligned perfectly. Konrad obtained the ship he had long desired, while Thomas received a substantial sum of money.
Konrad, for his part, had set out aboard his new ship for his destination, the Timbrica Continent. Thomas, however, was still plagued by pirates. Their business was not limited to maritime trade, but it was a severe problem that they could not easily sell their customers goods obtainable only on other continents.
"I'm sorry too, Konrad-kun. I dragged you into the feud between my uncle and the rest of us."
There was only one reason Thomas felt apologetic: his uncle, his father's younger brother, was the mastermind controlling the pirates and obstructing other merchants. There was a deep-rooted reason why that man had turned to such violence.
Though 'Medil Trading Company' was long-established, it had grown into such a major company thanks to the talent of Thomas's grandfather, Alberto Medil. His business acumen had been inherited by both of his sons, but their policies and personalities were polar opposites.
Luis, Thomas's father and the elder son, was a prudent man. He insisted that they should deepen and solidify the relationships with the business partners his father had developed before expanding the business further.
Meanwhile, Luis's younger brother Leonardo was always eager to take on new challenges. He used their father's connections to make a name for himself, then did business with the acquaintances he gained in order to aggressively expand the company.
Both men were excellent merchants, and each earned profits through his own methods. Therefore, Alberto never explicitly stated which of the two would become his successor, and this was where the tragedy began. The brothers' conflict gradually intensified. Luis admonished his younger brother not to recklessly increase their business partners, while Leonardo called his brother a conservative, cowardly weakling who was incapable of taking on anything new.
Leonardo in particular went around spreading rumors that disparaged his brother wherever he went. Some of them were apparently outright baseless insults. Alberto had overlooked them because the brothers were still earning profits despite their conflict, but he finally summoned them both.
When the brothers appeared before Alberto, their attitudes were, as expected, polar opposites. Despite suffering his younger brother's slander, Luis concealed his anguish behind an impassive expression. Leonardo, on the other hand, immediately gave a scornful snort when he saw that his brother had arrived at Alberto's office before him. At that moment, Alberto decided which of them would inherit the company he had built.
Alberto chose Luis. When the elder brother heard this, he gave a small, silent bow, while the younger brother, Leonardo, flew into a rage and demanded an explanation from their father. What did Alberto find lacking in him? In what way was he inferior to this brother?
Alberto explained that of the two, Leonardo resembled him when he was young. That was precisely why he could not entrust the now-expanded 'Medil Trading Company' to him. The company had a long history, but it had only recently grown large enough to be called a major trading house. If it expanded without limit, it would eventually reach its limit and burst like a bubble.
To prevent that, the inflated bubble needed to be hardened into solid stone. Luis was the ideal person for that role. Only after Luis had turned the bubble into stone would Leonardo be able to display his talents to the fullest. Therefore, Alberto calmly ordered Leonardo to follow his brother's policies for the time being.
Once Luis was told that he was the successor, he understood his role. Even as he bowed, he was already thinking about the future. At the same time, he considered what department would be suitable for Leonardo—or whether he should establish an entirely new department for his younger brother. There was much to take into account, but if Leonardo cooperated, it would also hasten the day when he could freely expand the business as he wished.
The kind elder brother intended to work together with his unruly younger brother.
Leonardo was consumed with frustration when told that he would not be the successor, grinding his teeth as he calculated whether he could make his father reconsider, despite the old man's poor judgment. He knew Luis would never forgive him for the abuse he had hurled at him, and he was certain that he would be relegated to some insignificant position. No—the stubborn old man would never reverse a decision once he had made it. What, then, was he to do? He had no choice but to eliminate Luis physically.
The greedy and arrogant younger brother resolved to kill his troublesome elder brother.
From then on, Leonardo outwardly maintained an obedient and cooperative attitude toward his brother, while secretly using his connections to contact a group that made its living through dirty work. He commissioned them to assassinate Luis.
The assassins followed his instructions and killed Luis on his way back from a business negotiation, making it look as though he had been attacked by a band of passing thieves. Unfortunately for them, a hunter happened to witness the scene in which Luis and his guards were attacked.
That hunter was a retired soldier. According to his testimony, the attackers were far too skilled to be ordinary bandits. They had even prepared corpses in advance and staged the scene to make it look as though the bandits had been killed when their victims fought back.
There was no doubt that the deed had been carried out by professional assassins. If the witness had not been a former soldier skilled in scouting, the assassins would have killed him, and the incident would have been treated as just another commonplace tragedy.
But that did not happen. It was plain as day that Luis had been assassinated, and suspicion naturally fell on Leonardo. The perpetrators had left behind no physical evidence, so he was not arrested, but everyone knew that he was the one who had commissioned the murder.
Alberto in particular was convinced that Leonardo was responsible. Enraged, he cast his son out of 'Medil Trading Company.' He then began raising Thomas, Luis's still-young son, as his successor.
Though expelled and stripped of everything, Leonardo did not give up. Instead, he came to hate the father who had driven him out. Fueled by his resentment and the small fortune he had kept hidden, he began doing business in another town. He changed his face with expensive medicine, took the name Leon Phoenix to escape his father's notice, and gradually accumulated connections and wealth.
Thus, the rapidly growing 'Phoenix Trading Company' eventually returned to Twentino. It launched an offensive against 'Medil Trading Company.' Using the connections he had newly built, Leon brought pirates under his command and bribed the city's governor into turning a blind eye, intending to monopolize maritime trade.
By the time they realized that the chairman of 'Phoenix Trading Company' was Leonardo himself, it was already too late. Having joined forces with the pirates, he alone was guaranteed safe passage by sea, and he quickly rose to prominence in Twentino. Once he had completely monopolized the sea, he would seize control of the land routes as well and utterly destroy the 'Medil Trading Company' that had cast him out. Only then would Leon's revenge be complete.
"You have no need to apologize, Thomas-san. I turned to you for help knowing all that."
Konrad knew about their feud. He had thoroughly investigated everything in advance: that 'Phoenix Trading Company' was at odds with 'Medil Trading Company,' the true identity of Leon Phoenix, and his unscrupulous business practices. Knowing all that, he had sought Thomas's help.
"But, as expected, that violent man threatened me and told me to stay away from that route."
"That..."
"However, our company's basic policy is to eliminate everyone who stands in our way. Naturally, 'Phoenix Trading Company' is included among our targets."
Before Thomas could say anything, Konrad spoke with an unusually serious expression on his face. Seeing this, Thomas understood. Konrad would not yield to the threat. On the contrary, if Phoenix became an obstacle, he intended to fight them.
"Thomas-san. Are you prepared to fight them alongside us? If so, take my hand. Don't worry—I promise you won't suffer any losses."
Konrad smiled again and extended his right hand. For a moment, Thomas imagined that the man before him was some kind of monster, but he said nothing and shook Konrad's right hand. Konrad's plan had taken another step forward.