Regressor of the Fallen Family - Chapter 11
Episode 11 It only took one day to pay off Philip’s debt and pack up the rest of his belongings.
And in his mansion, his only remaining asset, Logan told Philip what he needed to do next.
“Even if I take you with me, you will not be officially appointed to the family right away.”
There was no need to tell the bad truth that it was because he had a bad reputation for hiring you.
“So, first of all, I want you to do what I tell you to do here.”
“Yes, I understand, Logan.”
Although there may have been questions, there was no hesitation in Philip’s answer.
Is it because there is no need to pursue it since they have already entered into a contract to follow it, or is it just that they are not motivated?
Logan, who was unsure about Philip’s current potential, needed to test him.
‘You’ll understand when you make it work.’
First of all, rather than making money, I planned to start by making use of the characteristics of a merchant and purchasing goods.
The second purpose of coming to the trading city of Kyle was to purchase items needed for the immediate territory war.
“The first thing I want you to do is buy a large quantity of cartridges and wind-up glue made from ironwood from the southern part of the Empire.”
“yes?”
To Philip, who was confused, Logan explained the specifications of the items needed instead of the reason.
“And I hope I can receive about 100 samples in advance so I can experiment with various things.”
“…Are you trying to make and sell toys?”
Putting aside his crooked attitude and mocking tone, the purpose of hiring him was to make money, so it was no wonder that Philip’s thoughts drifted in different directions.
“Well, it’s similar.”
However, there was no need to say now that he was thinking of making weapons for war.
Right now, the first thing to do is create a sample based on his memories from his past life.
However,
“I guess it’s because ironwood from the southern part of the empire is strong, and the mainspring just needs to meet the standard, right? For manufacturing purposes, the higher the adhesive strength of the glue, the better.”
“okay.”
“Then there is no need to live here or in the Empire.”
Philip’s answer was very quick and unexpected.
“what?”
“The ironwood from the northern part of the kingdom is stronger than the ironwood from the southern part of the empire. It is mainly produced in the northern Tritan territory. There are many craftsmen who make things using ironwood, and of course there is glue. Personally, I think it is much better than the imperial product. Here “The price is cheaper if you buy it directly rather than going through a merchant.”
“Hoo?”
A fact that Logan, a mercenary who only used these weapons after the fall of the kingdom, did not know.
“I still have contacts from the ancestors there. If you want, I can ask you to send the 100 samples you mentioned to McLane Estate on credit. Shall I contact you?”
“…okay.”
Logan could only nod his head as Phillip continued to pour out his words.
‘You’re more capable than you think.’
Still, the evaluation of Philip was still a bit weak.
That’s why I brought out the biggest thing I had in mind one after another.
This was an item that was enough to make money even with his still limited inventory.
Because it uses information from the future.
‘You’ll probably be appalled.’
With the feelings of a child playing a prank on a picky friend, Logan calmly threw the bomb as if nothing had happened.
“And I’m thinking of buying monster meat.”
“Oh that’s right… Yes?!”
It was natural for Philip to be surprised.
Monsters were not creatures that came from a natural ecosystem, but monsters that enjoyed destroying nature and tormenting other creatures.
Some say it is a remnant left behind by an ancient devil or demon, while others say it is the ruins left behind by an unrecorded ancient civilization.
There were also some who said that they were just monsters created by warlocks.
Although the opinions of scholars were divided, there was one thing in common.
– Monsters are hostile to other living things, and their blood and flesh are filled with poison, so they harm living things and destroy the environment even after death.
Therefore, when a monster is defeated, it is common to burn everything except its bones and skin.
It was about collecting magic ingredients or special parts of unique monsters used for special purposes.
“Maybe I’m a little hard of hearing these days, but it sounds like meat. Haha, you want to buy monster by-products?”
“No, it’s meat.”
“…Are you serious?”
Although he spoke politely, Philip’s expression was like looking at a crazy person.
Then Logan chuckled and added an additional explanation.
“I plan to buy and collect meat from low-level monster Karok.”
“…Are you talking about Karok?”
The low-level monster Karok was a monster that resembled a wild boar and had horns on its forehead.
No matter how similar it looked to regular livestock, the monster was a monster, so its blood was toxic.
Just because it resembles a pig doesn’t mean it’s edible for humans.
“Yes. That Karok meat.”
“Why do you keep emphasizing that it’s meat…? Are you really saying that there are people who eat it?”
“I just want you to buy the meat and gather it for me.”
When Logan did not answer Philip’s questions and only made demands, Philip looked at him like he was looking at rotten food.
The look in his eyes said, ‘Are you really crazy?’, but Philip struggled to speak logically, as if he couldn’t bear to say that.
“The answer is to just burn the monster meat. No matter how much you pay, the loss is unconditional.”
“This won’t work.”
“What kind of nonsense is that…”
Philip, who had been forced to swallow the swear words, looked at Logan, but Logan’s eyes were just shining as if he had no intention of retracting his opinion.
“Ha… If I have to criticize, I have to criticize. So, how much do you plan on spending?”
In the end, Philip raised his hands in surrender and asked.
But the answer that followed made him jump without realizing it.
“million.”
“A million?! Are you really crazy!”
Philip’s cry, which was almost astounding, contained his true feelings that could not be filtered out.
But Logan just smiled and confirmed.
“Even if you spend more than that, it’s worth the money. Definitely.”
“I don’t know what kind of rumor you’ve heard, but rumors are not a reason to invest this much money! For a rumor to turn out to be true, you need solid evidence that no one can refute!”
Philip’s voice, even his face turning red, continued to rise.
A lot of people passing by outside the mansion turned around, but Logan’s attitude did not change.
“If there is evidence, it will happen. Definitely.”
“What on earth…”
According to current common sense, Philip’s reaction was completely normal.
But in just a few years, the situation changes dramatically.
Next summer, a monster blood neutralizer will begin to be sold at a magic tower in the empire.
It was a neutralizer made only from common ingredients, without using any rare herbs or magic.
Although it has limitations in that it can only neutralize the blood of low-level magical beasts, its cost-effectiveness was excellent.
Anyone could make it if they knew the ingredients.
In fact, most of the monster hunting done by mercenaries and hunters was aimed at low-level monsters, so the neutralizer quickly spread across the entire continent.
And soon, in some areas where food was scarce, monsters resembling livestock, including Karok, were eaten.
In the winter of that year, when such a shocking culture spread, there are numerous cases of curing ‘impotence’ by eating Karok meat.
Stories are spreading that even people who suffered physical injuries to their thighs and became eunuchs benefited from it.
And the moment it was notarized at the Royal Tower of Grandia.
Starting with the kingdom’s capital, Gran, the demand for Karok meat explodes.
And less than a year later, Karok, which was originally a rare monster, could no longer be found on the continent.
Afterwards, Karok’s meat was traded for more than the same weight of gold.
Even the dried pieces of beef jerky.
Although humans have been fighting monsters for thousands of years, there is no history of wiping out a single type of monster.
However, a low-level monster disappeared just because of a study showing that it was good for stamina.
‘That’s funny.’
But that didn’t mean he could explain to Philip that he had seen it from the future.
“I’m definitely against it, but… Logan, are you sure?”
“okay.”
Philip sighed with a helpless expression and seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, but it didn’t last very long.
“Then what do you think the unit price for purchasing Karok’s meat is?”
“…Karok’s meat is worthless at the moment. Since no one will buy it, it will all be burned.”
I wondered why on earth I lived if I knew that, but Philip didn’t point it out any further.
“So, if you were to give me money just for bringing the body, 200 gold would be enough based on the kingdom’s transportation fee. That’s also per head, so if you catch a lot of Karok and transport them all at once, it will be much cheaper. You can collect them and transport them together.”
“Wow. You thought about the transportation cost needlessly.”
Philip’s tone of voice, which seemed to be a compliment but was subtly sarcastic, was quite annoying.
“Are my calculations wrong?”
“No, you’re not wrong.”
“then?”
“With a unit price set like that and a budget of 1 million… Were you planning on requesting a kingdom-level hunt from the mercenary guild and then asking me to purchase it?”
“…But. What’s wrong?”
“No. Your calculations are correct, but you took the direction completely wrong.”
“hmm?”
“Why are you paying so much for the mercenaries’ labor costs? You little brat… I’m suddenly feeling dizzy.”
“What are you saying…”
It seemed as if Logan’s resentment from when he was treated as a fraud a day ago was rekindled by the way he changed his backstory, but Philip quickly changed his expression and continued speaking.
“Don’t you need meat, not a carcass? I said all that meat is being thrown away right now.”
“yes…?”
“Then, if you go to the merchant guild and ask for the price of beef, everything will be resolved.”
“what?”
“There are a wide variety of merchants who will sell anything they can for money. Even if it is discarded waste, people will try to bring it back because it costs almost nothing.”
“Huh…”
“If you just ask me that way, you’ll probably be able to provide me with all the Karok meat from all over the kingdom, right? Even the butchering is done well.”
At those words, Logan opened his mouth silently.
‘This guy already got his money’s worth.’
The Empire’s top 10 merchants in their previous lives were not just more capable than expected, but they were capable beyond imagination.
“From now on, Logan, please don’t think too deeply about money-related matters and leave everything to me. Now, my fate depends on Logan’s future.”
The reassuring but unpleasant words only made Logan’s heart ache a little.
* * *
“how much?”
“The deposit is 50,000 gold. I will buy Karok’s smoked and sealed meat or dried beef jerky for 1 gold per kg. The merchant guild’s guarantee must be attached. If the deposit runs out, I am willing to pay an additional 100,000 gold.”
“Huh…”
The merchant guild’s deposit was used to prove that the request was true so that
the merchants would not go in vain. Even as the contract was being written, all the eyes of the merchant guild people were focused on Philip, as if they couldn’t believe it.
“Crazy…”
“Monster meat?”
“I heard Claude’s merchant went bankrupt. Was it because the merchant’s owner went crazy?”
People around him were whispering. There were many voices on the street, but there was no favorable content.
Moreover, as the identity of the crazy client spread, negative rumors grew.
“Logan McLane… Have you heard of it?”
“Me too. ah! That engagement is broken!”
“Oh, that money was stolen?!”
But, regardless, there were plenty of merchants willing to take on the request.
“Are you sure you don’t need any other monster meat?”
“We are a merchant specializing in monster by-products, if you want. …”
On the contrary, there were so many people that it was difficult to deal with them, as if they were trying to sell off all the monster meat in the world, with the eyes of a wild beast looking at an attractive prey.
Only two days had passed since I entrusted the request to the merchant guild and placed a deposit.
The engagement was broken off . The Archduke of Baron McLane goes crazy and buys and collects monster meat.
Rumors about Logan spread around the upper part of Kyle’s territory.
“…I’m sorry. “I never thought you would have such a story.”
Philip lowered his head with an apologetic expression.
It was he who actively spread the rumor and informed various higher-ups.
Regardless of the movements of the merchant guild, it was a kind of attempt to spread the request for Karok meat more quickly. It was a duke.
I just didn’t expect the side effects.
“Puhahaha! What does it matter? So the request just had to spread further. Good, very good. Well done!”
What was even more unexpected was the reaction of the person in question who patted me on the back and smiled.
“Thank you… haha.”
I heard a compliment even though I had clearly been criticized.
Philip thought that this bastard was really out of his mind. The thought occurred to me, but fortunately I didn’t say it out loud.
* * * Phillip stayed in Kyle to collect the Tritan Territory’s ironwood import and Karok’s meat to send to McLane Territory.
And for that, Logan was there for him. I handed over a large sum of 500,000.
– As long as you do what I ask you to do properly, you can use the money to start other businesses. If you are confident that you will succeed, it is okay to report back. I will pay you a generous bonus.
I have doubts about Philip’s ability due to the incident regarding Karok’s meat. It was a bold decision by Logan to
throw away his money. Philip was surprised to see what he could trust with his money.
‘After all, I saved money because of this guy.’
I expected to spend 1.5 million gold in Kyle’s territory, but I only spent 450,000 gold.
Even considering the estimated purchase cost of ironwood, which is 150,000 gold, I saved more than 900,000 gold.
So, I had no hesitation in entrusting the money, or even investing it. There was none.
Logan actually felt relieved.
‘Philippe Claude. Completely cleared the funding mission.’
The amount of 500,000 gold also had the meaning of congratulating the complete success of the first step in recruiting talent for the future.
Of course, recruiting Philip was a preparation for the future rather than to overcome an immediate crisis.
So. Now we had to find talent to overcome the first crisis, the Battle of Territories.
‘Technicians are needed.’
A technician who can create something in reality just by listening to the words of someone with long experience using it.
‘If possible, an instructor who can train a mercenary unit with that.’
It would have been good to have a mercenary capable of training and controlling the mercenary force that Dwayne had asked for.
Both of Logan’s plans required special talents, and fortunately, the place to get such people was not far from Kyle.