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Chapter 24
An Eye for People
If you were to name the most renowned merchant in the Arken Empire, most would say Herman Pascal.
Herman Pascal.
He established a trading company called Pascal using his own surname, and is a man expanding his influence with the ambition to make his mark not only within the empire but across the entire Serdes Continent.
He has three children under him—two sons and one daughter—all of whom grew up hearing they were geniuses.
But among them, the one who showed the most outstanding genius was the second son, Stefan Pascal.
Ŵ е̄b̊ ǹ о v̆е l̈ E n̈ũḿа̃.
He was thinking like this right now.
'At this rate, I'm fucking dead!'
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
The reason was that the full-fledged succession war had begun.
He was a man with merchant instincts no less sharp than Herman Pascal's.
Once he smelled money, he invested, and even if that investment failed, he absolutely never regretted it—an aggressive disposition.
He tried to prove his position purely through merchant capability.
E ñ ûm̈ à
So Stefan focused solely on learning merchant sense under his father, Herman Pascal.
But while that very father laid out the board called a succession war, Stefan realized Herman hadn't taught him the most important thing.
'Charisma that bends people to your will!'
Stefan lacked the decisive charisma a merchant needs.
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The eldest son, Merkat Pascal, and the youngest daughter, Tilda Pascal.
Compared to the influence and charisma those two wielded, Stefan was nothing more than a face in the crowd.
Ẽn̂u m̂а .і̌ d
With no presence, he had no choice but to fall further behind in the succession war.
At that moment, Merkat made Stefan an offer.
-I'll be the de facto successor, but you run the trading company better, so you take the company. I'll just handle the mercenaries I run. Then at least we can prevent any misfortune befalling your sister. How about it?
Merkat Pascal, who hit it big jumping into the mercenary business under the pretext of protecting the trading company.
He's not only intellectually gifted but also properly mastered personal martial arts by hiring a knight-turned-instructor.
Stefan may lack charisma, but he wasn't an idiot.
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'Take the mercenaries and I just run the company? That's a fucking joke.'
No matter how much money moves people, there's no business before force.
He's steadily building his military strength even now, so what happens if he's confirmed as successor?
'The dog that catches the rabbit is always destined to be boiled and eaten.'
He can't join hands with Merkat Pascal.
'Then do I join hands with that little brother bastard?'
W е̂b̃ n оv е l Еn̄ ù ṁӑ
Stefan let out a hollow laugh at how ridiculous even he found the idea.
He'd rather hang himself.
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'That bitch of a sister only thinks about seducing men, eating up another trading company, and then swallowing it whole.'
His younger sister, Tilda Pascal, engaged to another major trading company within the empire.
Taking after her mother who was famous for her outstanding beauty, she wielded it as a weapon to build countless connections.
She acts like a pure, stupid woman, but inside she always holds a knife, ready to stab someone—a sociopathic tendency.
Е́ň ůḿа̀
The only commonality in those two's thinking is that two suns cannot exist under the same sky.
'For me to live, I have to beat both of them.'
But how?
Stefan has no connections.
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Even the directors belonging to Pascal only mention Merkat and Tilda's names.
As if Stefan is out of the question.
E ǹ ù m̂ а
"Uuuugh......."
Stefan groaning, collapsing face-down on his desk.
He needs to work but nothing's catching.
They say even if the sky falls there's a hole to crawl out of, so why won't they give him that hole?
While he groaned with that resentment,
"Um, Department Head-nim? Are you there?"
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The secretary opened the door and entered.
Stefan quickly stood up and smiled brightly as if nothing happened.
"What is it?"
"Urgent news just came in. They're saying the same goods are being demanded across the empire, so we need to secure volume."
"Volume? Is this a time when something's needed?"
"That's why it's urgent, isn't it?"
Ẽ ńũ ṁ а .ĭ d̊
"True. What's needed?"
"Well...... wandering knights are demanding monster corpses."
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"What? Monster corpses?"
It was an order unusual enough to be urgent even among urgent news.
There's a superstition that just keeping them nearby brings bad luck, so there's no way monster corpses would remain intact.
"Don't we have quite a few in our warehouse?"
Еn_ů m̌ å
Of course, Stefan was a man on a different wavelength from such common sense.
He was the type to hold onto things for now if they seemed like they'd make money.
Because he judged monster corpses could become a kind of spoils.
"Yes. We've confirmed about 150 bodies."
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"Just give those and sell them. What more do they need?"
"That's...... the currently demanded volume is several times that."
Е̇ nü_m̆а̃.і̂d̈
"What? What the hell are they taking that much for?"
Normally 10 bodies is enough to get praised, isn't it?
Even if you don't get a medal, it's enough to make an impression.
"I thought you'd be curious so I looked it up. There's this."
The secretary showed a copied poster.
"From what I hear, they're recruiting one bureaucrat in the Far East, saying they'll select brave knights who can fight monsters. If you offer 30 monster corpses, they'll give you the territory and position where the recently executed Tesalos Wolcheo was...... That's why wandering knights are ordering."
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"Worth coveting."
They're wandering vagrants trying to build merit, so if they can get land and a title, they'd rush in with eyes blazing.
The location is the Far East adjacent to the Demon Land, but so what?
"Hmm......."
Stefan scratched his chin.
His eyes didn't leave the poster as he looked down at it.
Е n̂.u m̈ а̂
'This doesn't seem to be the literal content.......'
Stefan turned his own head to interpret the hidden meaning in this content.
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'Telling those bastards to bring monsters...... is it to simultaneously gather people with the ability to catch monsters?'
They set a minimum condition of 30 monsters for a screening process, and there's something after that, isn't there?
'That interpretation works, but let's look at it differently.'
Stefan tapped into his merchant instincts.
Ẇ ӗ b n̂ о̌v̈ е̃l Е́_ň u_mā
If you bring 30 or more monster corpses, they'll give you a territory.
'It's a blatantly lopsided deal.'
It's somewhat difficult work, but it's not a feat worthy of granting a territory.
Excessive compensation means one of two things.
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The bastard who put up the poster is ruinously stupid.
'Bait to lure them in.'
Wеḃ ń оvе́l̄ Еn ǔm а
Wandering knights from all over will gather trying to get a position.
Bringing what?
Their subordinates and monster corpses.
'Meaning the Valdrova Grand Duchy needs monster corpses.'
Here Stefan hit a wall.
In a place crawling with monsters, they want monsters?
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It's like importing sand in the middle of a desert, or fish at a seaside.
'Are they trying to cook the books? Black market tricks? Stock manipulation through chaos?'
Among those countless possibilities, the one thing that can demand large quantities of corpses and be posted publicly is this.
'Research.'
They're conducting research requiring large quantities of corpses, and using official positions as bait to call people in.
'Maybe.......'
Е̌.n um̄ а_. і̆ d̃
It could make money.
Excitement flared so much that light began to shine in his eyes, which had been groaning over the succession war.
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"Are we currently trading monster corpses?"
"Yes, we are. Wandering knights are swarming in like crazy and fighting each other."
"Got it. First, tell all other trading companies to buy up monster corpses too. We secure them with top priority. Understand?"
"Uh...... is that okay?"
Ě n̂ u mа̂ .і̃d̈
"Do as I say."
"Understood."
"Then!"
Stefan kicked his chair back, stood up, and grabbed his coat.
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"Hey, where are you going, Department Head-nim?"
"Going on a business trip for a few days. You said that wandering knight is downstairs?"
En̂u_m̄ а.iď
"Yes, but Department Head-nim??"
As if every minute and second were precious, he ran off.
* * *
"Mwahahaha! Honor this hero, for you have come to be with Lobelus."
The wandering knight named Lobelus said with a greasy smile.
His words and actions reeked of narcissism.
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Stefan smiled awkwardly.
"Ah, what an honor. Haha......."
"As long as you are with this Lobelus, you will feel a safety as if the imperial walls surround you on all sides. As for this body......."
As that story began, Stefan sighed inwardly.
'Fuck, my eye for people is really nonexistent.'
To think the best among the 10 wandering knights who stopped by the trading company was a bastard like this.
W̌ eb̀nо v̇е l̊ Ӗ ṅǔm а̌
For the entire two days moving to the Grand Duchy, he'd been blabbering about his achievements.
He'd repeat, then repeat again, with parts weirdly switching around.
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Meaning he doesn't even memorize the same story.
'This is why I hate wandering knights.'
Wandering knights!
80% of the tales bards must memorize are wandering knights' heroic tales.
E nǔm̄ ӓ .і̂.ḋ.
Their adventures and feats make hearts race, providing catharsis to relieve daily boredom.
Of course, that's just a fantasy only children listening to bards embrace.
Stefan knew their true faces well.
'Wandering knights my ass, they're just thugs or gangster bastards.......'
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They're a military force trained above a certain level, but with no one above them, they have no affiliation.
A violent group that wouldn't be strange if they turned into thugs or gangsters at any moment.
Е.n̈ uma
'Actually, a few bastards asking for sponsorship pop up every week.'
There were more than a few shameless bastards who couldn't even prove their skills but demanded money and identity verification.
Sponsorship is needed for building connections, but he didn't want to stain his record by bringing in such hoodlums as connections.
'And what's the point of making them?'p>
They'd shout they'd do anything for a single title while wandering to get a position, but the moment things went sideways, they'd run off in their underwear.
There's a reason they wander.
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Hihihing!
"Hey hey? Why are these guys acting up?"
The carriage horses started rampaging.
They smelled the dragon's scent.
The Grand Duchy's horses are used to that scent so they don't fear it, but to outside horses, it's a dangerous scent on par with jumping into fire.
Stefan advised the coachman who couldn't handle it.
We b̀ nо̊ vе ĺ Е̊ nu m̊ а́
"If you put on the prepared incense masks, they'll go again. There's a pouch there, so put it on the horse's snout."
"Ah, that thing? Got it."
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He put the mask with the incense sack on the horse's snout.
Only then did they stop struggling and stare quietly ahead.
The stopped carriage moved again.
Stefan raised his head and looked up at the sky at a slant.
Е̃n̊ u m̄ а
The Lonely Mountain, called the Far East's last bastion.
Valdrova Castle built atop it.
A castle built above the lair of a dragon that couldn't discard its violent nature.
'Red Dragon Valdrova.'
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He involuntarily swallowed.
A tyrant ruthless enough to tear even an imperial prince apart.
Ẁ е_bñ о̆ ṽе l Éń üm̊а̃
A demon dragon trying to rule the world by absorbing all demonic energy!
'Just what kind of idiot proceeded with an engagement with that dragon?'
At the same time, he thought this.
What kind of person could that idiot become to me?
* * *
Stefan, having entered Valdrova Castle, looked around inside the castle walls.
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Since it was announced to wandering knights, many had already gathered.
"Hey, no cutting in line!"
"Hey, you there! Sneaking around touching our monsters—if you steal them, you're dead!"
"You bastard, you glaring at me!?"
Vigorous men stood around their carriages, engaging in staring contests.
Looking at their appearance, armor sizes and shapes were all over the place, and maintenance was slack.
W̃е̄ b̊ñ_о́vёl Ěṅ ùm̈ a
'Their subordinates are no different from bandits.......'
Unlike them, the wandering knights were flashy as hell.
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Some wore newly made gear crafted by famous artisans to stand out, and one even hired a bard to read his profile.
Someone subtly left battle marks on his gear to appeal as a hundred-battle knight.
'Isn't that the bastard our company bought corpses from?'
Stefan remembered he bought 30.
W eb ñ о̇v̂ е l Е̌n̊ǔ m̂а
And what was loaded on the carriage was just 30, end of story.
They all walked down the corridor like knights with refined, elegant dignity.
'Nothing but bastards with only surface-level cool.......'
They don't bathe but douse themselves in perfume, so the cunningly mixed stench made him want to vomit.
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Thus they arrived at the banquet hall.
All tables pushed in and the center cleared, so even 50-some knights standing with distance between them had plenty of room.
W̊ еb n̊ о̊ v̌е l̈ Еn̂ um а
"Come to think of it."
Lobelus spoke up.
"Have you ever seen the person who becomes this castle's master?"
Asking about someone else instead of his own story was proof he was nervous.
Stefan shook his head.
"I haven't seen him, but they say he's from the Rosnova Family."
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"Ah! The Rosnova Family! The sword protecting the empire. But why was he selected as the Grand Duke's fiancé?"
"I heard his body is weak. And instead of the Rosnova Family's characteristic eyes, he has blue eyes, so adultery was almost certain. They say they caught that as an excuse to kick him out...... but he accepted it and became the fiancé, and now the Grand Duchy's regent."
"Hoh...... is that so?"
Lobelus scratched his chin at those words.
His eyes held greed unbefitting his station.
"Hmm, a halfwit kicked out of his family can play king as a fiancé...... if it goes well, could I take that fiancé position for myself?"
Ẅ еbńo̊ v̈ е l Е̄ nu.m ǎ
Words a bandit bastard would say come out of a knight's mouth without hesitation.
Even now, they've entered the territory where that halfwit is, yet they have no awareness.
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'To think a bastard like this was once a scion of a knight family called the Arken Empire's sword.......'
They say Arken Empire's knights are rotting, but seeing a bottom deeper than rock bottom makes a sigh want to escape.
But Stefan was a merchant.
A man who knows the sword is closer than the law, and can speak smooth words anytime, anywhere.
Ӗ n ů m̌ a.і̇ḋ
"Haha...... th-that could be possible, right?"
Stefan hadn't expected much from Ferda's existence even while coming to this position.
There are rumors he executed Tesalos Wolcheo and seized the Far East lords, but all rumors are exaggerated.
'A bastard with nothing going for him who got kicked out—what could he do.......'
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He shelved his expectations for Ferda and waited.
Finally, when this castle's mistress showed her face, he realized once more.
Е_nu ḿ а̄
That his eye for people is fucking nonexistent.
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