Chapter 139: Profit Above All

While Rayrn was indulging in his own time, the northern branch of House Ofern was operating at its most active.

The void left by Rayrn’s absence was filled by his capable subordinates. They weren’t as good as Rayrn, but they had learned from him. Handling a few months away was something they could easily manage.

When dealing with merchants visiting Merchant Castle, the former administrative officers stepped forward. Those among them with commercial talent were specially selected and assigned to handle the trading companies directly.

Some had initially shown reluctance toward merchant work.

“There’s something called an incentive.”

“Incentive? What’s that?”

“Simply put, it means you get a bonus based on the profits you bring in.”

“Oh!”

With clear rewards, the complaints vanished. In fact, some even volunteered to try it themselves. However, those without talent showed enthusiasm at first but quickly disappeared. Without results, there was no other way.

Those who proved capable even extracted profits from the merchants they dealt with.

“You’re still not taking special orders? Where did he go?”

“Yes. He’s currently in research.”

“Hmph… ‘In research,’ he says.”

“He is a mage, after all. But in the meantime, the Young Master has some pre-made items ready.”

They deftly pushed products toward customers who showed no interest at first glance.

“Will pre-made items be any good?”

“Take a look, and you’ll change your mind.”

With Rayrn’s sense of showmanship added to their commercial talent…

“Take a look. This is a brand-new product. Fresh out just this month.”

“Ohhh…”

“While previous magic weapons focused on defense, this one is for offense!”

“Oh? Then it doesn’t conflict with the old ones.”

“Each has its own purpose.”

“How much?”

“Let’s start with the bidding price.”

“…An auction again.”

They were driving the prices higher than even Rayrn had imagined.

‘As expected, the Young Master’s methods are the best!’

All of it was taught by Rayrn.

It was Rayrn who had shaken things down with auctions, sold information to the Information Guild, and reorganized the territory’s trading post to generate money—a spectacular feat.

And what the administrative officers under him had learned was nothing but the proper way to squeeze out money!

“Now, bidding begins!”

“A thousand gold!”

“Start from ten thousand gold. It’s a new product!”

“Kuh… Fine! Eleven thousand gold!”

It wasn’t that merchants were coming to Merchant Castle. New merchants were practically being born and created there.

***

Among them, there were those supplying goods to the Merchant Guild. The mages from the Enchant Magic Tower were the key players.

Having been taught magic circles by Rayrn, they became loyal workers.

“Lady Ruan! Another corpse has arrived!”

“Ugh. Again!?”

“This one came in this morning.”

“Gah. Where did that Rayrn go!? We’re the ones doing all the work!?”

They were written off as workers but could easily be called slaves given the overwhelming workload. Even though mages were obsessed with magic, this was too much.

Even after staying up all night carving magic circles, the work never decreased.

‘Ahh…’

So much so that they dreamed of carving magic circles and pouring mana into them even in their sleep.

Rayrn said he was teaching them how to make mana-infused iron, the forging method, and magic circles as compensation, but this was too much!

“I can’t. No… I really can’t.”

“Guh. You’re right! We can’t!”

Even the magic-crazed mages were collapsing from exhaustion.

“Tell Rayrn to come out! That bastard! He’s the only one who ran off!”

“Right! Bring Rayrn here!”

If they went on strike, production of magic weapons would suffer.

‘This should have been done from the start. Today, I’ll claim our rights!’

With grim determination, Ruan was about to lead the mages. It was a desperate attempt to reduce their workload.

It wasn’t unreasonable, considering that since Rayrn left, their work had doubled.

That spoke volumes about the quantity of weapons Rayrn and Reton—who was practically a slave under him—had been producing.

It was only natural, given Rayrn’s trick of carving magic circles with Aura and pouring mana alongside his Neigong.

But for mages from the Magic Tower, Aura was unimaginable. All they could do was hope for even a slight reduction in their workload!

“Stop bringing them!”

“We can’t take it anymore!”

As if in defiance, their eyes rolled back halfway as they resisted.

But watching the scene, the administrative officer Esty looked calm, not the least bit afraid.

‘The Young Master Rayrn is faster than expected. Well, transaction volume has skyrocketed lately, so it can’t be helped.’

Rayrn had prepared ahead even before entering the dungeon. One of those preparations was the huge scroll currently tucked inside Esty’s coat.

Pulling out the scroll, Esty approached Ruan.

According to Rayrn, striking the ringleader was the fastest way to get things moving.

“Lady Ruan. Could I have a word?”

“Why?! And why does everyone coming over here have that same expression on their face?”

Ruan suddenly pointed out his expression.

‘What is she talking about?’

Esty was momentarily flustered by Ruan’s unexpected remark.

He composed himself and asked, “What about my expression?”

“…It’s the same expression that bastard Rayrn makes when he’s about to fleece us.”

“Pardon!? Our Young Master being a bastard… ahem… But what do you mean I’m making the same expression as the Young Master!”

Unknowingly, Esty had been making the same face Rayrn used during negotiations.

Ah. How had Esty, once so innocent, changed this much?

“Look in a mirror! Mirror!”

“Ugh…”

It was too similar to deny!

Through Ruan’s magic, the reflection of his expression was practically identical to Rayrn’s!

‘Damn…’

Rayrn was a genius renowned across the kingdom, the youngest Aura Expert ever known.

Someone from another region might want to emulate him.

The mercenaries at the Academy all wanted to become as strong as Rayrn.

They probably want to be like him.

But those who had supported Rayrn from his side the longest…

“Please don’t say that again. I take it as an insult.”

“S-sorry.”

Being told you resemble Rayrn was enough to induce a panic attack.

‘I should only learn his work ethic. There’s no need to learn his expressions too.’

‘But it really was similar…’

Whether they had been contaminated by Rayrn, they were gradually losing their original personalities.

A brief silence passed.

Esty, who had lost his poker face, finally pulled himself together.

“Ahem. So you’re saying you won’t work?”

“That’s right! We’ve had enough! We can’t take any more!”

“Hoo… Well, take a look at this first before you speak.”

“I told you to stop making that face! Hmph… What’s this?”

“…Just stop making a fuss and open it.”

Ruan opened the scroll Esty handed her with practiced familiarity. As she unfurled the scroll as huge as her own body…

“Hmm… What in the world…”

Her eyes widened in surprise.

It was a diagram. A guide to a magic circle she hadn’t yet mastered!

‘Not all of them, but still…’

No matter how large, the scroll couldn’t contain all the diagrams of magic circles.

But if she could just get a clue! Even that would be enough to advance the Enchant Magic Tower!

Because what Rayrn called the Divine Mechanisms were unprecedented revolutionary methods!

Esty, with a stoic face, held out his hand to the stunned Ruan.

“You have to hand it over. The Young Master said that those who don’t work don’t get to receive anything.”

“Ugh. How sneaky! You know how hard we’ve worked! We’ve been working like mad!”

Shamelessly, instead of returning it, Ruan pulled it closer to herself.

“Phew…”

As if he had expected this, Esty simply sighed.

‘As expected, mages are truly crazy about magic.’

Just as Rayrn predicted, she had no intention of giving it back.

Deciding this was enough, Esty delivered the finishing blow.

“He told me to tell you that a deal is a deal. Oh, and…”

“And?”

“This is page one. If you work properly, I’m to deliver the next page. Heh heh.”

“Kuh! You bastard! You absolute bastard!”

“So I’m downgraded from ‘scoundrel’ to ‘bastard’? I’ll be sure to relay that to the Young Master later.”

“Don’t! Don’t you dare! And fine, I’ll work, alright!”

At last, Ruan surrendered.

With the ringleader dealt with as Rayrn had advised, the rest became easier.

She took the lead and gathered the mages. As soon as she called, they rushed toward the scroll as if this was their chance.

“Alright, come here, everyone. Take a look. No pushing.”

“Oh…”

“…Damn.”

Just like Ruan.

Upon seeing the scroll, the mages couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.

The diagrams were detailed and precise. They never expected him to teach this thoroughly.

It felt like a blocked mind had finally opened.

They could see the clue to a problem that had stumped them for months.

And this was just page one.

“…”

All of them remained silent, barely breathing. Esty simply watched them.

Ruan was the first to come to her senses and look around.

Every mage had stunned expressions. Those who had looked dull and lifeless now had vitality in their eyes.

“We… have to work, don’t we?”

“Damn.”

“There’s no choice, is there? Damn it. This is why you should never accept work from a mage—they know their fellow mages too well!”

Even as they expressed their anger out of curiosity, not a single person refused to work.

“…I’ll do it. Esty.”

“That’s the right choice. Well then, let me bring in the next monster corpse.”

Snap.

The sound of Esty snapping his fingers was the signal.

Another pile of monster corpses was laid down on top of the ones just received.

“There’s even more!”

Without Rayrn, the Academy was still running smoothly.

Surprisingly, Hoden had become quite adept at teaching. Thanks to that, the mercenaries at the Academy were being toughened up with harsh training and growing stronger.

The stronger they got, the more they slaughtered monsters, so the amount of incoming corpses naturally increased.

But the handle of the knife was already in Esty’s grasp. More precisely, it was the handle Rayrn had given him.

‘You could call it the family heirloom blade!’

“It’s a lot. Yes, a lot. But you still have to work, right? Heh heh.”

“Guh. A bastard gives birth to another bastard!”

Ruan couldn’t refuse Esty’s manipulation.

“Alright… let’s get to work.”

As they began to move for work—

Woosh—

The flow of mana, which had paused, resumed.

Mana was engraved, and the engraved mana began producing high-grade magic weapons.

‘A three-hour strike, huh.’

Maybe because they were subdued so easily.

Esty felt a vague sense of regret. He didn’t tell them, but Rayrn had prepared more than just the scroll.

They had surrendered before he could even properly use his weapons!

If they had held out a little longer, they might have gained even more.

That was the hidden truth.

For Esty, loyal to Rayrn, rather than revealing the hidden truth, he simply wore a smile similar to Rayrn’s.

‘By the way, what is he up to?’