After returning from the Peterson Trading Company,
When Schwert knocked on the door the next morning, he was greeted by Lorist's slightly reddened eyes and a face full of exhaustion.
"My Lord..." Schwert called out with concern.
The day before, Schwert and Earl had accompanied Lorist to the Peterson Trading Company. Although they had stood outside the door, they had vaguely caught wind of the Chikde Trading Company scheming to get their hands on the family's territory, Shilovas Island. When they had pricked up their ears, they had also heard President Peterson advising Lorist not to go to war with the Chikde Trading Company over some fit of temper, suggesting that the best course would be to sell Shilovas Island to them.
After returning, word soon reached all the guards and Jost. Everyone was outraged, feeling deeply insulted. Since when could a mere trading company threaten the Northland's Rage Bear
Lorist's face was dark as he requested maps of
"Don't worry, Schwert. When the sky falls, I'm taller than you, so naturally I'll hold it up first. It's no big deal. Fetch me a basin of water so I can wash my face." Lorist smiled and ruffled Schwert's hair.
The ice-cold linen towel pressed against his face sent a jolt through Lorist's body, sweeping away the exhaustion of his sleepless night...
Your commercial alliance can implement its baronet system for all I care, but you had no business setting your sights on me. Having lived two lives, all I ever wanted was to quietly develop my domain in peace. I never went looking for trouble, yet here they come, bullying me one after another. A good man gets bullied, a gentle horse gets ridden—that old saying from my past life is crude, but it speaks the truth. If that's how it is, then bring it on! Seven grand ocean-going trade fleets, nearly a thousand armed warships, over a hundred thousand sailors and crew—how impressive. In my eyes, they're nothing but chaff!
...Two years ago, someone had already proposed annexing the weak neighboring countries to lay the foundation for the commercial alliance's baronet system... President Peterson's words from yesterday echoed in Lorist's ears once more.
A mocking smile tugged at the corner of Lorist's lips. The commercial alliance wanted to redirect the gaze of every aspiring noble toward the Ridelis Kingdom and the Andinak Kingdom—as if that would be so easy! Merchants would be merchants. Avoiding harm and chasing profit was in their nature. With a pile of low-hanging fruit right at their doorstep, why would they bother traveling to unfamiliar distant lands to gnaw on bloodied bones? Did they really think everyone shared the long-term vision of the Seven Tycoons?
Perhaps I should add a little fire, let them learn what it means when circumstances are beyond one's control. I refuse to believe that with delicious food placed right in front of their mouths, they'd still refuse to eat!
"Schwert, go invite Mr. Mancini to my room," Lorist ordered.
At noon, after lunch, Lorist went to
After Lorist departed, Dean Levins and Great Swordmaster Kruder stared at the two letters left on the table, their brows deeply furrowed. This was a scalding hot potato—a trouble of monumental proportions.
The best course of action would have been to simply burn both letters and pretend nothing had ever happened. But thinking of the millions of Gold Forde in revenue those two letters represented, Dean Levins finally steeled himself. "This can't be borne by our academy alone. Invite the deans of the academies that outrank us. Share the profits, share the risk..."
Two days later, news erupted across all of Morant City and spread rapidly toward the Mana Hill Plains and the surrounding kingdoms and duchies of the Forde Commercial Alliance.
The front-page headline of the Morant Daily, the most widely circulated newspaper, consisted of just two words: THE TRUTH!
The report revisited the suspicious case of the Feihong Wine Estate in the Trinbo Kingdom, and the real reason Viscount Shilva—the person at the center of the affair—had been inexplicably hanged by Trinbo VII in the palace square two days after the incident. The truth was that a glass technician from the Trinbo Kingdom named Mancini had been abducted by bandits because of Viscount Shilva, which meant that the glass production craft and technology the Trinbo Kingdom had guarded as a secret for nearly two hundred years had been leaked to the outside world...
According to the report, a joint expedition team composed of students from several Morant City academies had accidentally rescued a gravely wounded man while journeying toward the Sunset Mountains. This man turned out to be Technician Mancini, who had escaped from the bandits' clutches. Due to the severity of his injuries, Technician Mancini ultimately succumbed after a day of emergency treatment.
However, on his deathbed, Technician Mancini's greatest grudge was against the Trinbo Kingdom. He declared that he had served the kingdom diligently in glass production for thirty-two years, yet received no protection from it—leading to the ruin of his entire family. It was also from Technician Mancini's own account that the full story came to light: how Viscount Shilva had coerced him into marrying off his daughter, which in turn led to the bandits kidnapping them.
Now, with his wife and daughters all dead at the bandits' hands, Technician Mancini found life meaningless. On his deathbed, he penned two letters—one containing the production process and formula for Green Glass, the other containing the production process and formula for Oil Glass. Technician Mancini hoped these two closely guarded secrets of the Trinbo Kingdom would be spread far and wide, as revenge for the kingdom's cold indifference and Viscount Shilva's persecution of his family.
The letters containing the production processes and formulas were entrusted to the academies to handle.
After receiving the two letters, the major academies of Morant City consulted among their deans and resolved to hand the letters regarding glass production processes and formulas to the Mayflower Trading Company for auction. The proceeds, after rewarding the students of the joint expedition team, would establish a Mancini Award—a scholarship for all diligent students from impoverished backgrounds, in memory of Technician Mancini, who had labored his entire life only to lose everything.
The report further stated that the Mayflower Trading Company would hold a grand auction on December 5th to sell the two letters. The starting bid for each letter was said to be one million Gold Forde...
Every trading company in Morant City and every duchy and kingdom surrounding the Forde Commercial Alliance was stunned by the report in the Morant Daily. Everyone knew that apart from the Forde Commercial Alliance itself, the wealthiest kingdom was the Trinbo Kingdom. Its monopoly on glass production and sales alone generated no less than three million Gold Forde annually, earning it the reputation as the richest royal house on the Galentea Continent.
Now that the glass production processes and formulas—secrets the Trinbo Kingdom had guarded for nearly two hundred years—had been leaked, obtaining either one, whether for producing Green Glass or Oil Glass, would bring in no less than one million Gold Forde per year. For countless nations, families, and trading companies, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to strike it rich. With only seven or eight days remaining before December 5th, interested parties from every corner swarmed toward Morant City.
The entire Forde Commercial Alliance was thrown into turmoil by those two letters. Morant City, needless to say, had become the eye of the storm. The leadership of the Mayflower Trading Company was in the greatest distress of all—who told them to control the alliance's auction industry? Those two letters had turned them into the target on everyone's dartboard.
Had some unknown entity or weaker faction come to auction those letters, the Mayflower Trading Company's leaders might have devoured them whole long ago, keeping the secrets of glass production to profit from in the shadows.
But now, eight of the top ten academies on the Galentea Continent had come together to auction them. Even if they had the courage of tigers and leopards, the Mayflower Trading Company wouldn't dare tamper with the letters. Moreover, each of the eight academies had dispatched a Great Swordmaster to keep watch. Eight Great Swordmasters—ostensibly there to assist with security, but in reality a deterrent against the Mayflower Trading Company itself.
As Dean Levins of Dawn Academy had told the other seven deans: "We can't very well produce glass ourselves, or we'd become targets. So we just need to make our profit and be done with it. I believe these two letters are worth more than eight million Gold Forde, but that sum is far too large for Dawn Academy to swallow alone. We can only seek a joint venture. After a successful auction, each academy stands to gain one million. Are you in or not?"
The answer was obvious. No single academy, no matter how prestigious, could stand against one of the Seven Tycoons of the Commercial Alliance. But with eight academies united, no one would dare target them. For these academies—despite ranking among the top ten on the Galentea Continent—annual revenues of a few tens of thousands of Gold Forde were cause for celebration, and sometimes they even operated at a loss.
Just as Dean Levins had once calculated for Lorist, Dawn Academy's largest source of annual income was donations, which was why even President Peterson's portly son wanted to awaken his
Now, with nothing more than a show of force, each academy stood to gain one million Gold Forde. How could seven deans possibly refuse? Every dean who occupied such a seat was as shrewd and cunning as Dean Levins. They all understood clearly that only by acting together could they avoid being taken advantage of. Each academy would contribute one Great Swordmaster, and eight Great Swordmasters formed a formidable deterrent force, guaranteeing that no one could secretly scheme to seize the two letters.
When the Morant Daily carrying the truth report was delivered to the King of the Trinbo Kingdom, Trinbo VII erupted in a towering fury, smashing every object within reach to splinters. He then convened the kingdom's great ministers, and after four hours of deliberation, produced three countermeasures:
First, dispatch envoys to the Forde Commercial Alliance to negotiate, demanding the Alliance surrender the two letters containing glass production processes and formulas.
Second, mobilize the kingdom's full army of fifty thousand, pressing them to the border in overwhelming force, to demonstrate the Trinbo Kingdom's resolve to go to war if necessary to protect its glass production secrets.
Third, send seven of the kingdom's Great Swordmasters carrying Gold Forde banknotes worth ten million, accompanied by more than twenty Gold Knights, to Morant City. They were to make immediate contact with the Mayflower Trading Company and attempt to buy back the two letters for ten million Gold Forde.
Should the purchase fail, Trinbo VII coldly issued a final, lethal order: "If we cannot have them, then destroy those two letters. Glass production is the very foundation of the Trinbo Kingdom. I will absolutely not permit any other country, family, or trading company to possess the same secrets..."
Just as every eye in Morant City remained fixed on the two letters about glass production processes and formulas held by the Mayflower Trading Company, on the night of November 34th—the eve of month's end—Lorist, accompanied by his guards, Jost, Schwert, Doulos, and Technician Mancini's family, quietly boarded four carriages and set off for the Peterson Trading Company's private dock.
A black carriage was already waiting there. At the sight of Lorist's party, Earl and two guards leaped down from the black carriage. They unloaded two heavy sacks, then carefully directed the sailors to carry them aboard Dawn Academy's Flying Fish.
The two sacks appeared to contain people. The night watchman at the Peterson Trading Company's private dock started forward to take a closer look, but the dock master seized his arm. The dock master's tone was grave: "We saw nothing. Understood?"
Lorist was bidding farewell to Doulos. "Doulos, leaving you in Morant City serves three purposes. First, keep an eye on the impact the two letters are having and quietly fan the flames from behind the scenes. Second, recruit talent. When the time comes, have them take Peterson Trading Company's merchant ships to the Teberly Viscountcy—we'll come to collect them. Third, gather intelligence on the Chikde Trading Company. They're the enemy we'll be facing next."
"Yes, My Lord. I will carry out your instructions to the letter." Doulos straightened up and replied. "My Lord, do be careful on the road..."
Lorist patted Doulos on the shoulder, then walked over to the dock master. He produced a bulging coin purse and pressed it into the man's hands. "My stay here these past days must have caused you much trouble. Consider this a small token of gratitude. Also, please convey my farewell to the President. There are urgent matters in the family territory, and I'm anxious to return. I simply don't have time to thank him in person."
The dock master was stunned into a daze by the heavy bag of gold coins suddenly thrust into his arms. Sigwa above—this weight had to be at least a hundred Gold Forde! In that moment, he couldn't hear a single word Lorist was saying; he could only nod and bow repeatedly. Even as Dawn Academy's Flying Fish disappeared into the far distance, he was still waving goodbye...
As the first pale light of dawn crept across the sky, Young Master Moriback of the Chikde Trading Company was in a towering rage. "What did you say? That Norton Count boarded his ship and slipped out of Hidden Gold Bay around two in the morning? What in blazes were the surveillance people doing—asleep? Fine. Then they'll never need to wake up again. Order the Bird Room to release the petrels immediately and relay this message to the second and third interception fleets. The first interception fleet is to give chase at once. Capture that ship and bring that Norton Baron before my eyes! What are you standing around for? Go!"
"Yes, Third Young Master."
...(To be continued.)