Chapter 117 – It’s Better If I Handle Everything (1)
“You’re saying I have to go too? Why me?”
“Do you think I’m going to sell everything by myself? You need to come along and help figure out how we’re going to sell it.”
“No, I’ve got a lot of things to do! I’m busy, where would I have time to go?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. The moment I’m not around, you’ll just slack off.”
Ghislain knew very well what kind of person Claude was.
“N-no, that’s not true! I’ll work hard, I promise!”
“You’re good with words.”
Ghislain clicked his tongue and continued.
“Well, even if you’re telling the truth, you still need to come see things firsthand if we’re going to keep selling. We’re planning to distribute the products all over the kingdom, starting from the capital, so the person in charge needs to be familiar with how things are going to work.”
“Then what about my work here?”
“For now, the main framework has been set, someone else can oversee things temporarily. Find someone to handle it while you’re away.”
“Ugh...”
Claude had no words, so he just held his head in his hands.
Even if he found someone to help, it wouldn’t mean his workload would decrease.
He’d still have to check on how things were progressing while he was gone, which would only add to his work.
But that didn’t mean he could refuse to go.
As Ghislain had pointed out, if he was going to oversee the cosmetics sales, he needed to visit the capital, find outlets, and prepare for distribution.
Currently, Claude was acting as the leader of the Fenris Merchant Guild.
Though, in reality, it was more like a phantom guild that did nothing but buy things rather than sell them.
As Claude was writhing in discomfort at the thought of going, a sudden idea flashed in his mind.
“Wait a second. Do we really have to sell it ourselves?”
“And if we don’t sell it ourselves, what’s your plan?”
“Why not sell it to a reputable, large merchant guild? They’ll handle all the verification and sell it to the nobles.”
The cosmetics were that effective.
A major merchant guild could easily find people to verify the product.
But Ghislain clicked his tongue and looked at Claude with disdain.
“Why would I do that?”
“I mean, it’d be more convenient to just hand it over to a large guild, wouldn’t it?”
“We have our own guild, so why should we give up that opportunity?”
“Our guild is just a name with no recognition, only created to make buying things more convenient.”
“That’s exactly why we need to grow it, starting with cosmetics. If we sell directly, we get to keep all the profits. Why would we involve another guild? I’ve never handed over what’s mine to someone else.”
Claude let out a hollow laugh.
“Wow, the greed is real...”
“And if we leave it to another guild, it’ll take too long. We need to establish sales channels and raise funds as quickly as possible. We need to grow the guild, so stop whining and just come along.”
“Why are you in such a hurry when you already have plenty of money? There’s still a lot of Runestones left too.”
As Claude grumbled, Ghislain responded calmly.
“It’s not enough. Time and money are always in short supply.”
‘There’s no telling when the duchy will make a move. I need to be prepared before that happens.’
For now, the Fenris Estate won’t be attacked.
Desmond would focus more on seizing Raypold as soon as possible to make up for his loss in the last war rather than attacking here.
I needed to use that gap to strengthen the estate’s power as quickly as possible.
Considering what needed to be done moving forward, even the money I had now wasn’t enough.
‘The Runestone is starting to show its limits, too.’
The Runestone hadn’t run out yet, but there were plans that required its use in large quantities.
If I also considered the amount I had to hand over to the tower, it was cutting it close.
‘I don’t have the luxury of going back to the Forest of Beasts.’
The current strength was still insufficient to pioneer the Forest of Beasts anew.
Until I could build more strength, I had to utilize other bases outside the Forest of Beasts.
‘I need to establish connections, too. I need people who can at least hold them back.’
Going to the capital wasn’t just about selling cosmetics.
To confront the immense power of the Delfine Duchy, I needed the strength of the opposing factions.
‘There’s no need for me to fight the Duchy alone. The Royal Family must be gnashing their teeth at the Delfine Duchy too.’
Now was a time when the confrontation between the royalists and the Duchy was intensifying, making it a perfect opportunity to leverage.
It would be a waste to leave the land idle, but there wasn’t much he could do at the moment.
Right now, even pouring all his efforts into developing Fenris wouldn’t be enough.
As soon as they arrived at the Digald Castle, Ghislain went straight down to the underground prison.
“Hmm, where could that guy be? I told them not to take him away, no matter what.”
The lower-ranking officials who hadn’t participated directly in the war had already been taken by Ferdium.
However, one person remained in the prison at Ghislain’s request.
“Wow, there are a lot of new faces I haven’t seen before. It’s a complete mess.”
The prison was packed, with no empty cells left.
Most of the prisoners were criminals who had been caught causing trouble in the chaotic estate.
Clicking his tongue, Ghislain checked the prisoners one by one until he finally found the person he was looking for.
The man seemed to be receiving special treatment, as he was sitting alone in a relatively clean cell, staring blankly.
It was none other than Lowell, who had managed to survive by amusing Ghislain with his terrible arithmetic.
“Hmm, was his name Lowell? He’s still alive, I see.”
Lowell, who was gaunt and skeletal, jerked his head up at the sound of Ghislain’s voice.
“Wh-Who are you...?”
“It’s me. Don’t you remember?”
“U-ugh!”
Lowell scooted backward on his hands and feet, pressing himself against the wall.
It was too dark to recognize him right away, but how could he ever forget that face?
The one who had stormed from Ferdium to Digald, slaughtering the surrendered count and all his vassals.
To Lowell, Ghislain was a terrifying, grim reaper-like figure.
“W-Why are you here? Are you here to kill me?”
Right after being imprisoned, Lowell had felt relieved to be alive, but as time passed, he grew more uneasy.
Everyone else who had been locked up with him was released, yet he remained in the cell.
Since then, he spent every night in anxious fear, worried that he was being left there just to be executed later.
And now, the demon who held his life in his hands had reappeared before him.
“Please, spare me! I swear I’m innocent! I was just following orders! I was only doing my job!”
Ghislain didn’t respond to his pleas but instead repeated a question he had asked before.
“So, what’s 750 times 1,920?”
“One million, four hundred forty thousand!”
The answer came out at lightning speed.
Every day in his cell, Lowell had regretted the answer he gave back then, mulling over how he should have responded.
Claude, who didn’t know this, was shocked at how quickly Lowell answered.
“What the—? How is he so fast?”
There wasn’t even a moment of hesitation.
‘If he’s this sharp, he should be able to adapt quickly with just a bit of training,’ Claude thought.
He quickly spoke to Ghislain.
“Please, let me have him. I’ll make good use of him.”
“So? Do you like him?”
“Yes... Though he looks just like a skeleton soldier. I guess the meals here aren’t very good.”
“It’s probably because he hasn’t been eating well in prison. Just feed him properly, and he’ll be fine. But that’s not the point, is it? Are you really going to take him?”
The conversation was oddly unsettling.
They liked him? They wanted him? They’d feed him well and put him to good use?
Lowell instinctively tried to back away, but the wall blocked any chance of escape.
Then, Ghislain gripped the bars and spoke quietly.
“You. How about working with me?”
“W-What kind of work?”
“Before I tell you that... How about signing a 20-year slave contract? Think of it as agreeing to work hard for 20 years.”
“Twenty... years?”
If it meant he could live, he wasn’t in a position to refuse, even if it was 20 or 30 years of slavery.
But the flow of the conversation just before that made him too uneasy to give an immediate answer.
Ghislain sighed, clicking his tongue in frustration after a moment of thought.
“Fine, if you don’t like a slave contract, I won’t force it. So, pick something else. Option 1: Starve to death in this cell. Option 2: Execution. I’m being quite generous, giving you more options.”
It wasn’t exactly forcing him, but it was a proposal that left no other real choices.