Chapter 49

The Wise Man’s Battle for the Seal (4) 〉

I think it would be faster to find a part without flashy decorations.

A cape with a soaring eagle pattern on it, a jacket with a lot of gold trim, and maroon cotton pants underneath a shirt with voluminous frills. There were all kinds of jewels hanging from every corner of the clothes.

Clowny jewelry and ornaments usually symbolize a person’s vanity.

This is because the most direct way to reveal wealth and high honor is to make the exterior luxurious.

However, strangely enough, Crepin Rosstaylor looks solemn and sharp even in such a flashy outfit.

A sharp jawline and sharp eyes that are inappropriate for one’s age. He is a strange character whose movements are simple and disciplined, yet at the same time has a gentle elegance.

Even if you look at him, you can immediately sense that he is not an ordinary person.

Crepin Rosstaylor, the head of the Rosstaylor family and one of the current powerful figures in the Cloel Empire... has a spirit that makes opponents feel intimidated just by meeting him like that.

“It’s a pity that Principal Obel wasn’t there to be with you in person. I’m very worried that your health has deteriorated. I hope you get better soon.”

“Thank you. I will make sure to tell the principal that Duke Crepin asked how I was doing.”

Crepin, who took a bite of soup with a dignified look, expressed regret to Vice Principal Rachel, who appeared on behalf of the principal.

Even though Crepin came in person, it was rude of all that the leader did not come out in person. Nevertheless, the reason it ended with just expressing regret was because the person present here, who was higher than Crepin, did not say anything.

“I’m so glad you look healthy. Your Majesty was really worried about the princess studying abroad.”

“Thank you, Crepin. Please tell Abama that you are adjusting well and studying hard.”

“As you asked. And although it’s been quite a while now, I haven’t been able to formally apologize. I heard that you suffered a lot because of one foolish immaturity in my family. It’s been a long time since I excommunicated you as you asked, but it’s still there. “It really bothered me that I couldn’t properly apologize for my rudeness.”

“It’s okay, Crepin. Don’t worry about it too much.”

Princess Fenia declined Crepin’s apology with a somewhat stern expression.

Meanwhile, Lortel was sitting at the luncheon table watching them without saying a single word.

Crepin didn’t even seem to care about Lortel.

The vice principal of Sylvania, the princess of a country and the head of the duchy.

It is a gathering of noble people who kneel down at the mere mention of his name.

It was natural that Lortel, who came from a poor family in the slums, would not open his mouth hastily, as just sitting here humbly was practically insulting his nobility.

The position of the most powerful person at Elte Trading Company is by no means light, but it is not an official title.

Elte’s downfall is almost certain, and the next president will be entirely on Lortel’s side... Even they will not be able to take lightly the weight of power that Lortel will hold.

However, that is ‘still’ entirely a matter within the Chamber of Commerce. Since there has been no official announcement, it is natural to be treated this way yet.

Therefore, Lortel just smiled, lowered his head... and examined Crepin’s appearance with eyes as sharp as the knife in his hand.

This is a man born with the same blood as Ed Ross-Taylor.

He was renowned as a noble, dignified, benevolent, and wise head of the family.

I wonder if the reputation was wrong... There is sincerity in the behavior of the retainers who followed Crepin.

I could feel the respect for Crepin in each and every one of them as they served.

“Is that person... an agent of Elte Company?”

“My name is Lortel Kecheln. I am truly honored to be with you as the body of the Buddha.”

“She is the only daughter of the Golden King Elte Keheln. I have heard of her insight and challenging spirit well.”

It was Crepin who gave a courtesy compliment, and Lortel accepted it with honor and a commercial smile.

They both probably know very well what kind of situation Elte is in within the company, but even so, neither of them smiles.

“I didn’t know you were paying attention to the wise man’s seal. After all, merchants with good insight flock to good properties.”

Lortel smiled humbly at Crepin, who spoke slyly.

“We go wherever we smell money. We go wherever there is a property that can make a good profit.”

Eventually, the luncheon was over and the actual letter of the wise man was brought to the central conference room of the Trix Building.

We took some time to have the magic book authorities brought in from the Elte Company and the Rosstaylor family verify that the seal was real.

After taking time to report on the status of the seal, the amount of magic power contained therein, and the status of the responder, the story came to the main topic.

“The situation... I won’t go into detail.”

The current situation of having to sell the wise man’s seal is a great disgrace for Sylvania.

I don’t necessarily want to make it big, but I can’t sell it at a low price to people who don’t have purchasing power.

“From our perspective, we want to avoid a situation where negotiations drag on and unnecessary rumors spread. So, as we reported last night, if you submit the amount you want... we will decide to sell it to the person who bids a higher price.”

A piece of parchment was delivered to Lortel and Crepin, who were sitting far apart at the conference table.

The carefully unfolded parchment was imbued with all kinds of preservation magic.

This was to prevent the trick of changing letters midway using magic ink.

Crepin stroked his chin once and fell into trouble.

Lortel also quietly closed his eyes.

Although the Wise Man’s Book is a unique product that can only be found in the world, there have been quite a few book transactions on a similar scale throughout the history of commerce.

Lortel knows everything about book transactions on an unusual scale. Knowledge of such market prices is no different from the multiplication tables. It was natural for me to memorize it line by line.

The winning bid for the ‘Demon Book of Order’, to which the rare alchemist Karl had bestowed more than a dozen alchemy magics, was 8,100 flan gold coins.

The winning bid for the ‘Book of Inertia,’ the world’s only biological cloning magic analysis book kept in the imperial library, was 6,730 flan gold coins.

The winning bid price for the magical discovery record written by hand by Archmage Glokt while exploring the unknown southern continent was 7,020 flen gold coins.

The value of inherent magic, its value as an academic subject to be studied, and its value as a luxury item must be judged by combining all of them.

So the key is how much profit you can make.

Princess Fenia, who was acting as a notary, cautiously lowered her gaze as she watched the two quietly looking down at the parchment.

“We have received the winning bid price. Thank you to both parties for their valuable opinions.”

The academic staff politely greeted each other, and after a moment, Vice Principal Rachel unfolded the parchments on both sides.

The result was the exact opposite of Princess Fenia’s expectations.

Inductee – Crepin Rosstaylor (Rosstaylor family side)

Offered amount: 8,900 Flen gold coins.

Inductee – Lortel Kecheln (Elte Chamber)

Amount presented: 9,400 Flen gold coins.

*

“All you have to do is raise the amount you want. As long as you call in and get the wise man’s seal, you will never lose anything.”

“Is that so? But you don’t know that, do you?”

Ziggs, who was sitting next to the fire, handed over the soup again.

On the second day, I felt like some strength had returned to my body. After untangling the tangled part of my magical power, my body seems to improve rapidly.

“Elte Trading Company doesn’t do business by digging in the ground. If it can’t be sold for more than the purchase price, it loses money, but I didn’t expect Lortel to accept your offer so readily.”

“No matter how high you call it, the Ross Taylor family will buy it back. In any case, there is no way you will lose money.”

“Does the Rosstaylor family place such a high value on that seal? That they would buy it back no matter how much they ask for it?”

I looked at Ziggs and nodded.

But it’s a lie.

I don’t know how much the Ross Taylor family plans to spend on the Wise Man’s Seal.

It was a fight that Crepin had no choice but to lose from the beginning.

This is because they concluded that the purpose of Elte Trading Company was ‘creating profit.’

‘Profit wasn’t the goal...?’

Princess Fenia sat in the observer’s seat and her expression froze.

A merchant is someone who acts based on profit. The amount of 9,400 coins suggested by Lortel does not make sense considering the break-even point.

Considering the historical price of grimoire trading, it is very unlikely that it could be sold at a higher price.

Lortel is not the kind of person who would put money on a slim possibility.

There is an intention other than making profit.

However, Princess Fenia’s eyes are crying. The essence of the human being Lortel consists of greed for gold coins.

If the goal is not to make profit, then what would that fox-like girl do for?

In the first place, it is difficult to use the power of the Wise Man’s Seal unless you are a proper sensitizer, and even if you are a sensitizer, it is meaningless if you do not have a proper understanding of aspect magic.

It is not possible to utilize the magical power of the seal, nor is it concerned with academic value, nor is it possible to create property profits.

Why did Lortel ignore all the conditions and go out of his way to bid for the seal?

If all such values are excluded, what does bidding for a seal change?

“Hmm...”

It was an expression that was uncharacteristic of a crepin.

With a somewhat embarrassed look on his face, he politely greeted the audience and left the conference room. He didn’t seem to be in a very good mood.

Only then did Princess Fenia begin to feel a surge of energy in the back of her head, as if she had been struck by lightning.

In the end, if we were to give some meaning to the seemingly meaningless purchase of the wise man’s seal, it was meaningful in that he kept the situation in check so that it did not go as planned by Crepin Rosstaylor.

This is the part that Princess Fenia was so concerned about.

– ‘Princess Fenia. In this case, we are allies. We must first drive out the common enemy called the Rosstaylor family from Aken Island.’

Lortel’s line tickles Princess Fenia’s insides again.

But something strange still remains.

The reason Lortel tried to keep Crepin in check was to purchase seals at a low price.

However, if you purchase seals at such a high price, isn’t there any point in keeping Crepin in check?

What if you said you didn’t care about the purchase price of the seal in the first place...?

What if he was just trying to keep the seal out of his hands?

There is no explanation other than that. Otherwise, there is no way Lortel, who lives and dies by profit, would buy that seal at that price.

Then a new question arises.

Why on earth does Lortel keep Crepin in check?

Princess Fenia knows. Crepin is a noble and benevolent duke on the outside, but inside he is a villain hiding a dark conspiracy.

However, even with the authority and power of the princess, she was unable to secure evidence that would ultimately reveal her snarky intentions to the world.

Crepins are so cautious that their tails are never stepped on.

No matter how influential he was, there was no way he could dig into Crepin’s darkness, which he was never able to reveal even when he used his high authority, as a mere merchant.

Even if they had dug it up, there was no reason for Lortel to step forward and stop Crepin’s darkness.

This is because there is no reason to be in conflict with such a powerful person.

What is needed is a sense of justice against injustice. Or, it is a sense of duty to punish evildoers.

Those things... are very far from Lortel. In other words, it is not Lortel’s intention to stop Crepin.

“But...”

Fenia trailed off in a stormy flow of thoughts.

If that’s the case, wouldn’t it mean that there’s someone behind it who even uses or manipulates Lortel?

The Golden Daughter, who was born with rare talent for a merchant... who on earth could manipulate her hands so well?

Lortel, so to speak, is a domineering being, not the type of person who moves under someone else’s control. I thought she was a wild wolf-like girl who could never be tamed by anyone.

“Princess Fenia, you don’t look well. Are you uncomfortable in some way?”

Fenia was quietly lowering her head in the corner of the conference room. I didn’t bother to reply to Claire’s words.

There was someone who tried to stop the wise man’s seal from falling into Crepin’s hands.

There is a major premise necessary for the proposition to be established.

You must be someone who knows the dark nature of Crepin Rosstaylor.

If such a person exists in Sylvania...

“Princess Fenia?”

– ‘I’m worried this may be presumptuous, but I really wanted to let you know that it’s speculation that Senior Ed joined the Ross Taylor family.’

The words Lortel spoke while protecting Ed flew like a dagger into the princess’s chest.

If there was a person who was excommunicated from the family, thrown into the wild, and lived with gritted teeth to the point of collapsing from exhaustion, he still tried to resist the darkness of the Ross Taylor family.

The person who drove such a person into the abyss was none other than Fenia Elias Cloel himself.

*

———————————-

Purchaser of sale transaction conclusion certificate: Lortel Kecheln (Elte Trading Company)

Seller: Obel Forcius (Sylvania)

Transaction amount: 9,400 Flen gold coins Execution date: 7 days after signing the deed, before transfer to the responder.

Below is the contract details

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.

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————————————

Lortel rolled up the concluded sale deed and put it in his pocket. I smiled.

According to Ed’s message, no matter how high the price is, the Ross Taylor family will buy it back anyway. I believed that and hit harder.

I had half a mind to trust Ed for once. First of all, he is an insider of the Ross Taylor family.

So what is the other half? Anyway, with Lortel’s skills, even if it doesn’t go as Ed said, he can sell it back for at least 8,500 coins.

The difference of about 900 coins is a loss, but considering it is a free Ed ticket, isn’t this a bargain?

“Anything... anything...”

Lortel was letting down her hair for a long time and touching various accessories to it.

The unidentified fox-like appearance she showed during the negotiation was gone, and she was just adjusting her blue rose-shaped headband in front of the mirror.

“...Anything? Really?”

And then he blushes for no reason.

Even though she had a devilishly cold face on the negotiation table, when the relationship between men and women became a tug of war, she looked like an innocent girl who knew nothing...

Even she herself was unable to come to her senses due to the gap and just looked at the newly received jewelry on her head.

It was a sight that would have made the princess vomit blood.