He had prepared several plans at once.
“Use the merchant groups.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Rayrn’s words were carried out promptly.
The Pollen and Maim merchant groups, though divided and in competition, had one thing in common: they both followed Rayrn’s orders.
“Will this be alright?”
“The Young Lord said it, so it must be right. Let’s go.”
Though they trembled with fear, they moved to execute Rayrn’s command.
The Marquis’s territory was no different from enemy territory for a merchant group. Normally, they would be blocked before they could even set foot inside. Since they were merchant groups led by the House of Ophern, the Marquis’s House would naturally bar their entry.
Thus, the merchant guild masters could not help but be gripped by terror. However, once they actually entered the territory…
“I heard you’ve brought some decent grain.”
“Yes. It is high-quality grain harvested last year.”
Instead of being expelled, they were welcomed by many.
The trade goods the two merchant groups brought were grain. In times of war, nothing was as important as food. This was especially true for the Marquis’s territory, which was incredibly barren and had failed to have a proper harvest after the Marquis died last year.
Even what little they did harvest was often set ablaze in attempts to cut off each other’s supplies. To make matters worse, Rayrn had already poached the administrative officers who were supposed to manage such things, making oversight nearly impossible.
In such a situation, a merchant group dealing in grain was bound to be welcomed anywhere.
“The quality is excellent.”
“It… it was brought from the lands directly managed by the House of Ophern.”
“Oh. I’ve heard the rumors. But the quality is even better than they say. Impressive. So, how much do you want for it?”
Before sending them off, Rayrn had ordered the two merchant groups to bring back the maximum possible profit.
‘If you can’t make money in a situation like this, are you even a merchant? You’d be an idiot.’
If the trade failed—or rather, if it wasn’t a grand success—Rayrn might punish them. At that thought, the Merchant Guild Master trembled involuntarily.
“What is the matter?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. The price for the transaction is…”
The usual price for a sack of flour was 80 silver. In the barren Marquis’s territory, it was higher, at 1 gold. Adding just 20 silver would yield a large profit. Since they were in the middle of a war, adding double that to make it 2 gold would still leave a substantial amount. However…
‘The Young Lord won’t be satisfied with just that.’
Yuden, who had become the Merchant Guild Master of the Pling Merchant Group, called out an even higher price.
“You must give us 3 gold per sack.”
“Hah. 3 gold?”
“Yes. 3 gold.”
The hardest part was shouting it out the first time. Once his mouth was moving, the words flowed easily for Yuden.
“To be honest, we brought this in behind the Count’s back. It’s all to turn a profit.”
“Hoh. Is that so?”
“Yes. There must be a risk premium, mustn’t there? That way, we can bring more next time.”
Thinking of Rayrn’s manner of speaking, Yuden pushed boldly.
‘As long as the results are certain, he’ll overlook this much.’
Under the pressure to produce results no matter what, the lies flowed smoothly.
“I see. Is that how it is… Hmm…”
Yuden’s counterpart, Viscount Parun—who served as a vassal of the Owen Marquessate—showed a flash of murderous intent in his eyes for a moment.
‘Did I fail…?’
Nobles were known to kill commoners easily if the need arose. It was entirely possible he could kill Yuden and seize the grain.
“…Mm.”
However, Viscount Parun soon retracted his bloodlust. He had finished his own calculations.
“3 gold is difficult for us as well. We don’t have the funds immediately available.”
“Iron ore is also acceptable.”
“You know the situation, don’t you? We don’t have much of that to spare either. We are at war.”
‘This is the moment Young Lord Rayrn mentioned!’
Thinking this, Yuden brought out the prepared words.
“Well, there is another way, but…”
“Oh? What is it?”
“We also accept people as payment. Surely there are slums or refugees, are there not?”
“Hooh.”
Normally, this would be an absolute refusal. But the Viscount was currently blinded by the need for food to feed his soldiers. The starving soldiers looked as if they might start a mutiny at any moment.
The commoners were even worse off. With their food being requisitioned, public order was at its worst. A civil uprising could break out even before a military mutiny. Once that happened, it would turn into a bloodbath of everyone killing each other.
“Splendid!”
To Viscount Parun, who was a carbon copy of his master, the Marquis of Owen, grain to eat right now was far more precious than refugees.
“Then what shall it be? For now, we can take 100 people.”
“Hey now. I saw more than that outside.”
“I see I’m no match for you, Viscount. To be honest, I have enough grain to take 300 people. For the rest, I ask for some iron ore as well.”
“Fine. Let’s do that. We shall exchange them immediately!”
The deal was struck.
‘Next time, I should go somewhere else. If I come back here, he might actually kill me.’
Though he was trembling inside, Yuden finished the transaction decisively.
The Maim Merchant Group, rather than Pollen, also completed similar deals with other families. In just one transaction, they had secured 1,000 refugees. In the first round of trade, the Maim Merchant Group’s results were better than Pollen’s.
“Damn it!”
Hearing of this, Yuden’s merchant group grew even more determined and began to draw in more refugees.
Orders were also handed down to the Crows.
Ident, who was more loyal to Rayrn than even the Count, came running immediately at his call.
“It shouldn’t just be the merchant groups. The Crows need to be more proactive as well.”
“In what way, Sir?”
“When you poach personnel, bring everyone—starting from their immediate family to their distant relatives.”
“Hmm… That increases the difficulty quite a bit…”
“It’s not impossible, is it?”
“It’s not, but… it will consume a significant amount of manpower.”
“Families like that are the elite. Just bring them for now. People will start flocking to us.”
“I will execute the order immediately.”
Even if it wasn’t his usual style, Ident carried out Rayrn’s command without delay.
‘Since the Young Lord is doing it, there must be a reason. It’s always good for the population to grow.’
His faith in Rayrn was firm, so there was no hesitation.
“From now on, bring their families too!”
“Yes, Sir!”
Ident’s voice spread toward the Crows.
When converting administrative officers, they added the condition that their families’ safety would be guaranteed and they would be moved together. This produced an unexpected effect.
“Can you truly take responsibility for my family’s safety?”
“Of course. Though I cannot give you details, this is an order approved by the higher-ups.”
“Hmm… Even my family.”
Even the greatest villain tends to cherish his own family. However, converting many people is much harder than converting just one. Because of manpower issues, the Black Crows had been unable to look after the families of those they had converted until now. But as soon as they offered to take the families…
“In that case, there is no reason not to go. The work there will be the same as it is here anyway.”
“Then are you moving?”
“Yes. I’ll move right this instant!”
“I will prepare.”
If the conversion failed, they would have had to carry out an assassination. The Crow tucked the poison he had secretly prepared back into his pocket and moved the converted individual along with their entire family.
“Halt!”
Rayrn’s Stealth Technique was a huge help in moving the converted people.
‘It’s a cheat. A total cheat.’
The Crows, whose abilities had improved, excitedly led the converts and their families toward the Count’s territory. Since they were looking after the families, the number of converts increased further.
“We have already secured fifty more people.”
“See? I told you it would work.”
“I heard there are quite a few who worked as assistant administrative officers as well. I’ll bring them separately.”
“Good. Esty, don’t forget to categorize them!”
“Urgh…”
Though in small numbers, the families that formed the backbone of the Marquis’s House were converting one after another. It was a mass exodus of valuable people. While Esty suffered from the workload, the pace of the operation accelerated.
As another month passed, the number of refugees they had drawn in exceeded 20,000 and was nearing 30,000. The business of exchanging grain for people was a massive success.
Nevertheless, Rayrn…
“It’s slow… No matter how I look at it, it’s slow. At this rate, we’ll still be here until summer.”
“Is there no other way?”
“Hmm… No.”
He was not satisfied. Then, he brought out his third move.
“I’ll go personally.”
Rayrn began to move. The place he was heading to was a location rooted deeply throughout the entire continent.
‘It’s here.’
It was the Information Guild. The branch here was operating under the guise of a tavern.
‘How classic.’
The skill of the Information Guild, which operated across the entire continent, was undoubtedly top-tier. Though their request fees were expensive, they were worth every penny. Rayrn stepped into the tavern without hesitation.
Normally, one would have to provide a password, but…
“Hey. You know who I am, right? You must know everything happening here.”
“Ahem. Normally, you must state the password.”
“I know. But I thought it would be fine for me.”
“I will guide you.”
He acted shamelessly. Ordinarily, the Information Guild would have kicked such a person out. However, there weren’t many in this territory who could oppose Rayrn.
‘This is why power is great.’
The Information Guild, in particular, knew very well that Rayrn possessed the power of inspection.
“It is here.”
“This place would be breached too easily if someone set their mind to it.”
“That will never happen.”
“Hmm… Do you really think so?”
“…Just go inside. I will strengthen the security.”
“Sure, why not.”
Stepping inside, Rayrn saw a beauty like none he had seen since coming to this world.
‘Sian is quite beautiful too, but this one is on another level.’
The woman with long golden hair strangely possessed rare black eyes.
“You don’t seem surprised to see a woman.”
“What does it matter if you’re a man or a woman? As long as you have the ability.”
“Heh…”
The woman stared at Rayrn for a long time as if he were a curiosity. Rayrn did not miss the fact that a tiny amount of Qi was moving.
“That being said, don’t waste your time trying to probe me. Is that an Information Guild secret technique?”
“…You figured it out quite easily.”
“I’m more skilled than I look.”
The woman, who had been trying to probe Rayrn with a secret guild technique, soon gave up. She realized immediately that trying to force information out of him would only earn his enmity.
“Let me introduce myself properly. I am Arne of the Information Guild. I am the branch manager here.”
“You know who I am, right?”
“You are the Ophern Young Lord, aren’t you? The unparalleled genius. A mage, an administrative officer. The Rayrn who turns everything he touches into gold.”
“Enough with the useless flattery.”
“My, you’re not falling for it.”
Normally, young boys in these situations would puff their chests out and be easily swayed. Arne had tried to exploit that, but unfortunately, Rayrn was a stone wall.
‘She’s trying to be clever.’
‘It’s not working. I should give up on using charms.’
They stared at each other, each with their own hidden thoughts. However, even with different goals, a deal was possible.
“What brings you here?”
“I’m here to trade. Since you’re the Information Guild, you can spread rumors easily, right?”
“It’s not our usual line of work… but I suppose I shouldn’t refuse?”
“Of course not!”
“Tell me what you have in mind first.”
It was a straight business transaction. While probing each other, Rayrn and Arne settled on a precise deal.
“Take it. This is the request fee.”
Rayrn bought the Information Guild with the payment, and the Information Guild…
“Mm… We will execute it immediately.”
…began to move according to Rayrn’s orders.