The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Under the orders of the Marquis of Branford, slave traders from various regions came to see Ghislain.

As they dealt with non-human slaves, these traders were considered major players in their field. Yet, in front of Ghislain, they all seemed to be quite nervous.

“But… are you really sure you can handle this much stock? I know you’re interested in non-human slaves, but the numbers are too high.”

“If your cash flow gets blocked, you could end up bankrupt. Non-human slaves have strong pride, so managing them will be difficult.”

An ironic situation was unfolding where the sellers were more concerned than the buyer, who didn’t seem to have any reservations.

Ghislain responded with a relaxed expression.

“It is ironic to see slave merchants worry about their customer. The money has been prepared, and I’ll take care of the management, so there’s no need to be concerned.”

The slave traders exchanged sidelong glances and nodded slightly to each other.

‘Damn, it’s taboo to do a big deal with a kid like this…’

‘He’s someone backed by the Marquis of Branford. There’s no way to refuse. I hear most of the royal faction nobles support him.’

Ghislain glanced at the hesitant traders and issued a warning.

“You’d better bring them all, without missing a single one. If there’s any issue… you know what happens, right?”

“Of course, sir. Rest assured. But, please make sure to pay the amount. It’s such a large sum, it’s making us a bit uneasy.”

“I’ll make the payments as agreed, on time, so just focus on delivering the people.”

Ghislain replied curtly.

Even though cosmetics were selling well, he couldn’t afford to handle such a massive sum at the moment.

However, because of the sheer amount of money involved, the traders insisted that they couldn’t accept installment payments without collateral.

“Don’t forget that the Ferdium Estate has been used as collateral.”

“I get it. Just make sure you handle the task properly.”

“You’ve received permission from Count Ferdium, right?”

Without batting an eye, Ghislain replied confidently.

“I’m the heir there, so don’t worry about it and be on your way.”

“Ahem, understood. We will prepare everything as quickly as possible. See you at the estate.”

“Oh, and don’t forget to send the dwarves as quickly as possible. Especially the dwarf I mentioned—make sure he arrives safely, no matter what.”

“Y-yes. We will prioritize that.”

“Good, I won’t be going far.”

The slave traders left with uneasy expressions.

‘Damn it, if something goes wrong, we’ll have to protest to the Marquis of Branford and hold him accountable… But will he even listen?’

‘Isn’t the collateral estate at the barren edge of the north? Just thinking about having to sell it in pieces gives me a headache.’

‘I’ve sold everything, so I should feel good, but why do I feel so uneasy?’

As the slave traders withdrew, Belinda clicked her tongue and muttered.

“If Count Ferdium finds out, he’ll faint.”

“It’s fine. My father is always in a difficult spot, even without me.”

Belinda sighed deeply and shook her head.

“Buying slaves is one thing. But what about the immigrants?”

“What about them?”

“We’re talking about at least several thousand, possibly over ten thousand. We’ll have to cover all their basic needs until they settle in, and that’s going to cost a fortune.”

“It’s fine. You saw the wheat growing back then. We can handle it.”

“What? Do you think people can live on just bread? What about everything else?”

“It will cost money at first while they settle, sure. But once there are more people, the market will quickly revive.”

It wasn’t wrong. But that would only be possible if the underlying issues were resolved.

“Where will people who were suddenly relocated get money to go to the market? What work can they do? They need to work to earn money and then spend it.”

“Those who urgently need money can be employed in construction projects around the estate, just like now. And…”

“And what?”

“I’ll turn all the able-bodied men into soldiers. Our estate severely lacks a standing army. This way, there’s no problem, right?”

“…What?”

Belinda was stunned into silence.

Saying he would turn any spare hands into soldiers—this was on a whole other scale.

She grabbed Claude and asked, “Does that make sense? Can that really work?”

Claude nodded.

It was a bold idea, but it was plausible. In this era, there were plenty of people willing to become soldiers if you simply fed and housed them.

The only reason others hadn’t tried it was because they didn’t have the money to spare.

“If we invest all the profits from Runestones and cosmetics, it’s possible. We just need to sustain it until the economy stabilizes a bit, and it should run smoothly on its own. However…”

“However?”

“The problem is, we’d be spending all the money as soon as we earn it. For a few years, finances will be very tight.”

“Of course, right? But why the rush? It’s not like things won’t improve with time.”

Claude scratched his chin thoughtfully and shared his opinion.

“Well… I think it’s to prepare for war.”

“War?!”

Belinda shouted, then quickly covered her mouth in shock.

She lowered her voice and asked again, “War? With whom? Who’s coming, and why?”

“Hmm, there are plenty of places that could attack. Count Desmond might seek revenge after what happened before… or other estates could set their sights on ours.”

Belinda furrowed her brow and asked, “Count Desmond, sure, but why would anyone else?”

“It’s because of the food supply. For now, we’re keeping the estate as sealed off as possible, but eventually, rumors will spread about the sudden increase in production. When that happens, more people will try to take advantage of it.”

“True, we prepared for war for similar reasons when we first acquired the Runestone.”

Claude nodded and then glanced over at Ghislain, lowering his voice.

“I’m pretty sure I’m right. The Lord isn’t the type to launch an attack on someone out of the blue, right?”

“Of course, our Young Lord isn’t like that.”

“Come on, attacking without a reason would make him a thug. It would suit him, though. Hahaha.”

“I can hear you, slave.”

Ghislain narrowed his eyes and glared at Claude.

Claude, who had been laughing and chatting with Belinda, flinched at Ghislain’s gaze and quickly moved away.

Ghislain clicked his tongue and sank back into his thoughts.

‘The budget is way too tight. In this state, it’ll be hard to start the next plan. I can’t just sell all the Runestones either, since I have other uses for them.’

The next plan required an enormous amount of money, but at the current pace, it would take far too long to gather the funds.

‘I need to find a way to come up with a large sum more quickly.’

With the meetings with the slave traders done, there was no reason to stay in the capital any longer.

The cosmetics sales were well established, so he planned to return to the estate and look for other ways to make money.

That was, unless things took an unexpected turn.

“Hey, get out of the way!”

“Oh, I was here first!”

“Move it, now!”

The entrance to the Crow Mansion was packed with customers coming to buy cosmetics.

Since the banquet, the number of visitors had been steadily increasing, and eventually, it reached the point where they couldn’t let everyone inside.

“I heard Baron Fenris cured the Marquis of Branford’s daughter’s illness?”

“They say it’s all thanks to that cosmetic product.”

“Oh my, I need to get some, quick!”

Word spread, and soon, not only nobles living in the capital but also local lords and swift merchants from the provinces flocked to the mansion.

At first, only the servants of noble families came, so it was somewhat manageable. But once the impatient nobles started coming in person, things escalated.

These were people who had never in their lives lined up or waited their turn for anything.

A line? What’s that? Can you eat it?

“Who dares to block my way?”

With a single shout from a noble, the servants who had been lining up would get scared and scatter.

But would the nobles sit still after hearing that their servants were chased away?

Thus began a vicious cycle: a noble would show up, chase away the servants, and then their owners would come, repeating the whole process.

Claude tried to step forward and control the crowd, but it was completely ineffective.

“Get in line! Form a line!”

No matter how much he shouted, the prideful nobles didn’t even bother to listen.

It would have been easier if there had been a clear difference in rank, so they could be lined up accordingly. However, with nobles of similar status and influence, that method was useless.

With nobles from all over the kingdom gathering, there was no point in trying to separate them by rank.

Some of the lower-ranking nobles started glaring at each other and engaging in verbal disputes.

“Hey, I got here first.”

“What are you talking about? I was here before you. Did you leave your eyes at home?”

“What did you say? Do you even know who you’re messing with? If you cross me, Count Boyer won’t stand for it!”

“Ha! And who are you to throw around names? You better back off unless you want to deal with Count Bromson!”

People using the names of those they knew to escalate verbal fights happened several times a day.

The ones who only argued were actually the better-behaved.

Nobles who had bad blood between them didn’t waste time—they drew their swords as soon as they saw each other in front of the mansion.

“You’re in luck today. You started this, so I have the justification.”

“Hah! Looks like you’ve finally picked the day to die! What a fine day it is!”

Clang! Clash!

The unfortunate bodyguards, compelled by their masters’ orders, clashed swords with each other.

“A fight! There’s a fight!”

Naturally, people couldn’t resist the temptation of such an entertaining spectacle.

Even those who had no intention of buying cosmetics gathered in front of the mansion to watch the brawl.

“S-sir, there’s a serious problem. The front of the mansion is in utter chaos. There’s no way to let people in. If this keeps up, it could turn into a riot.”

Claude urgently reported to Ghislain, who quickly went outside to see for himself.

“Huh… This wasn’t part of the plan.”

The entrance to the mansion was pure pandemonium.

People fighting, people watching, even stray dogs from the neighborhood that had followed the crowd—it was complete chaos. Not even a battlefield would be this disorderly.

“Please, move aside! Don’t block the way!”

“I was here first! Hey, don’t push!”

Woof woof! Bark bark!

“Hey! Someone make those dogs stop barking!”

Watching the scene, Ghislain let out a wry laugh, almost in admiration.

“Wow, this really is a mess.”

Claude, looking utterly drained, grumbled.

“We’ve closed the gate for now because everyone’s trying to push their way in. If we open it, the mansion will be overrun by those people. They’ll probably just take the cosmetics, too. So, what do we do now?”

“Hmm…”

Ghislain found the situation quite tricky to handle. He couldn’t just go around beating everyone up, even if it was his usual approach.

“Ah, I need to return to the estate.”

When Ghislain muttered this, Claude gave him an incredulous look.

“In this state? If you go back now, the entire mansion will be looted. The servants won’t be able to stop it.”

“Then what should I do?”

“You need to stay and manage things somehow.”

“Ah, I need to go back quickly.”

“You’re not making any sense. We can’t handle this right now. Do you think the servants can hold out?”

Ghislain hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“If we can’t handle it, we need to leave it to someone who can.”

“What?”

“For now, let’s close up shop.”

“What do you mean…?”

Before Claude could finish his sentence, Ghislain leaped up onto one of the mansion’s walls and shouted loudly.

“We’re suspending sales for now! Everyone, go home! We’ll reopen in a few days!”

The gathered nobles began to shout in protest.

“What do you mean? We’ve been waiting since morning! We must buy it today!”

“Baron Fenris! It’s me! Me! We met at the banquet, remember?”

“Baron Fenris! You can’t do this! At least let our group buy first!”

With Ghislain’s appearance, the commotion only intensified.

Despite the nobles’ protests, Ghislain didn’t even blink as he shouted again.

“Hey! Block the main gate completely! We’re closing up for today!”

Claude and the other aides exchanged bewildered glances.

Things were going exceptionally well, and there was no telling what rumors would spread if they drove away all these customers.

“Um, my lord… No matter how bad it is, you can’t just turn away so many customers…”

Claude carefully tried to speak up, but Ghislain interrupted him in an irritated tone.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and block the gates.”

‘Ah, what’s gotten into him this time?’

Claude grumbled inwardly as he ordered the mercenaries to act.

Just in case of a disturbance, they used wooden planks and carts, which had been prepared earlier, to thoroughly block off the entrance to the mansion.

Thud! Thud!

With the iron bars of the main gate completely covered, it was impossible to see inside, and the nobles began shouting angrily.

“This is an insult to us!”

“Why aren’t you selling?”

“Open the gates now! I need to have a word with you!”

But there was no response from behind the blocked gate.