Chapter 114: Win and(2)

Shortly after the party, they held the grand marquis promotion ceremony. It was a grand event, which meant that they had to keep the victory ceremony small.

“Hahaha! I can’t believe I’m a marquis!” Eisen’s pride increased every day without limit.

The better Eisen’s mood was, the better it was for the people of the Shonan mansion. Normally, Eisen would have been accountable for not protecting the Khan royal family.

‘Arthus would have kidnapped them anyway, so the people of the Shonan mansion probably couldn’t have done anything about it either. It’s better to just let it go.’

Pointless reprimands only diminished one’s fighting spirit. Henry knew this and talked to Eisen just in case there was a problem later.

“Okay, if you say so, I will.”

Henry’s authority had grown significantly because the credit for the subjugation technically belonged to him. Henry had become a person of such importance that Eisen had to have him by his side, and this was completely advantageous to Henry.

The more Eisen relied on Henry, the closer Henry could get to controlling those in power.

“But… Are you really okay? Although you’re my vassal, you still don’t have an important title, don’t you?”

“Yes, I’m alright. I’m more than happy carrying out my responsibility to help the marquis achieve a higher position. I’m enjoying many things under the protection of the marquis.”

“Tsk tsk, you’re too nice. If that’s what you say, I can’t do much about it. I still don’t feel comfortable about the situation, so if there are things you want to do under my name, do as you please.”

“Thank you, marquis. There is actually something I would like to ask of you.”

“Oh really? Did you finally find something you wanted?” Eisen’s eyes twinkled at Henry’s request, because Henry had never asked for any rewards despite his numerous achievements.

Henry answered in a humble tone. “No, it’s nothing like that. I’ve been running a small merchant company for some time now, and I want to grow it with this opportunity.”

“Merchant company? Why are you running a merchant company? Are you short of money?”

“That’s not why. I want to grow the merchant company under the Shonan name because I believe that the Shonan family should also be active in various areas, not just the military.”

“Hmm, now that I think of it, Aubert also had a lot of things going on. But doesn’t it look weird if I do it? I’m sure others will point and laugh at me if I did such a thing as a grand marquis.”

“That’s not true, marquis. If you take this opportunity to show yourself being active in other areas, other nobles and the people of the empire will surely admire the marquis’ efforts.”

“Will they?”

“I can assure you that I only provide advice that would benefit the marquis.”

“Okay, you’re right, but I don’t have that kind of talent. I’ll leave all that work to you. Will that be okay?”

“Thank you, marquis.”

“Alright, and since you have a month off after subduing the rebels, rest well.”

There was a big difference between working in secret behind a powerful person’s back and getting permission in advance to perform a task. The unexpected month off also meant that Henry had time to deal with the things he had put off. He immediately headed to Vivaldi.

* * *

“You're here, Lord Henry,” Ten greeted politely. He seemed to be more arrogant than before.

Henry had grown used to Ten’s greetings, and there wasn’t any awkwardness between them anymore. Henry quickly gathered everyone around a table: Ten, Von, and Hagler. “I’m sure everyone already knows that Count Eisen has become a marquis.”

“As expected…!” Ten looked delighted.

“In addition, as a reward for the subjugation, we, the Million Merchant, can now do as we please under the Shonan family.”

“Yes!” Ten jumped from his seat and clenched his fists.

However, Ten felt embarrassed by all the eyes on him and sat down again, clearing his throat. “Ahem, I apologize.”

“... Anyway, I’ve also gotten a month off, so I’m planning to do things that I’ve put off. But first of all, I’m thinking of securing regular customers.”

“You have a place in mind?” asked Von.

“I have a few places in mind. I negotiated a deal with Shahatra.”

“What? The isolated Shahatra?”

“Yes.”

“Haha… It seems Herarion really likes you. So what do you intend to trade with Shahatra?”

“I plan to discuss the trade items at the first negotiation meeting, but I think it would be better to make those luxury goods available for purchase or trade as well.”

“Luxury goods?”

“Things like the desert salt, spices, and perfumes unique to Shahatra.”

“Is there really a need to buy luxury goods?”

“I’m planning to purchase them because the main purpose of the merchant company is to increase its assets. In addition, those luxury goods that are highly coveted by the nobles can only be obtained as royal gifts. So there is nothing better than luxury goods to improve our company’s reputation.”

“But your greed for money… Alright.”

When Von uncharacteristically tried to dig deeper into the issue, Henry quietly stopped him with a glance. It was true that things like trading were indeed useful. Henry wanted to set foot in Shahatra and meet Herarion under the pretext of trade.

‘Goods are a bonus.’

There was nothing better than luxury goods to gain attention.

Even if the Million Merchant operated under the name of the Shonan family, it still had to trade popular goods to avoid being destroyed by its competition. Henry intended to kill two birds with one stone with the purchase of luxury goods.

“Who are the customers?”

“Caliburn Fortress.”

“Caliburn Fortress? That’s a military site, it’ll be impossible to trade there.”

“Only authorized people are allowed inside, but you don’t have to worry about that since I served there before.”

‘It would have been impossible on my own in the past, but now I have the power to collect materials that can only be found in the forest of monsters.’

Henry had regained his interest in the Caliburn Fortress because there were special magical materials that were only found in the fortress.

‘The 1-year military service was too short.’

It was one of the things that passed by quickly and slowly at the same time. But things had changed. He was a former Caliburn officer and a merchant with the backing of the powerful people of the fortress. There was nothing the Caliburn Fortress could do to stop him.

“And lastly, I plan on expanding the mercenary corps.”

“The mercenary?”

“Yes. We call them mercenaries, but I think it would be better to call them private soldiers. Ten?”

“Yes, Lord Henry?”

“What happened to the thing I told you about?”

“As you’ve commanded, I’ve been looking for reliable and talented people.”

“Good job. Then, brother, would you please win them over to us?”

“Me?”

“It would be great if I could do it myself, but your skill is greater than mine.”

“Hmm, I guess… Okay. I’ll try to do it myself.”

“Halger.”

“Yes.”

“You just have to keep taking care of Salgaera. I also have an assignment for you.”

“An assignment…?”

“Yes. At the end of the month, reach the master level no matter what it takes.”

“M-master level?”

“You should be at a master level by now, no? Isn’t that right, brother?”

“Hmm, he’s still far from it, but… He should be able to do it if he tries hard enough.”

“S-sir!”

Hagler panicked and Henry said, “Hagler, I saw your potential and accepted you as a part of my team. I’m planning to grow even stronger, so you can’t stay satisfied with your present situation forever.”

“Alright…”

“Have some confidence. The mercenary corps will grow in the future and you can’t be lacking in skill when we have new recruits.”

“Alright.”

“Oh, by the way, there’s something I’d like to ask you, brother.”

“Huh? Me?”

Henry took a document. Von read the document and smiled at the same time as Henry did.

“Of course, I can do this favor to you.”

“In order to move onto the future, we must clean up the past first. I’ll leave it in your hands.”

“Leave it up to me. This seems like the perfect little game before going out to recruit more men.”

Ten and Halger asked what that document was about, but the two didn’t say.

“Let’s end the meeting here, then.”

After the meeting, Von and Halger left the room, but Ten couldn’t seem to hide his sad expression.

“Ten.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t be too sad. I know you’re excited, but as I’ve said before, I need a competent manager by my side. You know what I mean, right?”

“... Haha, alright.”

A competent manager. Although business hadn’t officially started yet, Ten understood what Henry meant, and the corners of his lips rose.

‘Is this everything?’

There was only a month left, and Henry planned to make the most of his time.

‘I came to the tiger’s den to catch the tiger, but if I don’t have enough strength, I will end up being the tiger’s meal. So I’ll need to gain strength first.’

After some preparations, Henry went straight to Shahatra without taking a break.