Chapter 33: Merchant Guild (2)

“Right now, what this merchant guild needs is just one thing. Aggressive investment.”

“Aggressive investment?”

“Yes, you’ve had mostly successful results from your investments so far, right? From now on, you need to trust your own choices and make bold investments.”

I asked, looking at her trembling eyes.

“The reason why the merchant guild hasn’t grown despite stable performance is that you’ve abandoned boldness in favor of safety, right?”

It’s the same in the data just now.

The merchant guild’s performance was consistent, but overall it was not very high. That’s why I’m here.

“But what if it fails?”

“There’s nothing we can do but lose.”

“Excuse me?”

Janna asked back, but my opinion is the same.

“Being afraid of failure and not trying is the same as setting your own limits. Investment involves risk, and that’s why there is a return.”

I looked into her eyes and asked again.

“You want to grow. You want to grow the merchant guild more. That’s why you came here. Am I wrong?”

“That’s right. I want to grow it more.”

I took out a check from my wallet. I wrote the amount I would sponsor to the Janna merchant guild there.

30 gold.

It’s a huge sum of money, about 120 million won in Korean won.

Even for me, who is making a lot of money through various investments, it is by no means a small amount.

“It’s the amount I will sponsor. Since you’re afraid of bankruptcy due to boldness, invest with this money first.”

“3, 30 gold? No, this….”

She looked into my eyes and asked.

“Aren’t you anxious?”

“Yes.”

“But….”

“If it fails, there’s nothing we can do. But if you learn a lesson from it and succeed in the next investment, I think it’s enough profit.”

I’m also afraid.

Even when buying coffee beans, I was awkward about making a large payment, but this time it’s 30 gold.

Nevertheless, the reason I entrust this money to that woman is that even if I lose, there is a corresponding benefit.

First of all, since Janna herself will grow into a wealthy merchant, there is a high probability of making a lot of money.

If she makes a lot of money that way, she will be grateful to me for giving her the sponsorship money without any strings attached.

On the other hand, even if she fails, she will feel sorry for me. If I add favor from there, my relationship with her will become even better.

It means that I can build a connection with someone who is already destined to become a wealthy merchant.

As I expected, she bowed her head with a moved expression.

“Thank you! I will definitely repay this favor.”

If it were a normal investment, I wouldn’t have done this.

Investment means that if you succeed as much as you received, you have to pay it back.

But I sponsored Janna without receiving any compensation. As much as 30 gold.

I didn’t say anything else.

“Let’s eat. I’ll buy it for you.”

“Th, this, too.”

“Sigh.”

Only then did she start eating diligently. She is also from a commoner background, so it was not easy to eat steak, so the sauce was all over her mouth.

“Oh, right. I have a suggestion.”

“A suggestion?”

“Yes.”

At the word suggestion, she flinched again. When she was about to put down the knife, I waved my hand as if it was nothing.

What I took out was the ruby I had brought with me earlier.

When I opened the box, the ruby floated in the air. Warmth spread around along with the red light.

“That’s…”

“It’s a ruby that I refined myself. If you eat it, it will increase the damage of fire magic by at least 50%.”

“50%? Besides, were you an alchemist?”

“Yes. I’m still working at the Duchy.”

“Gasp. The Duchy? Could it be that you belong to… the Muelia family?”

“Yes.”

Janna’s expression became quite colorful. In the novel, she was always described as a woman with a sharp personality, but her current image is the opposite.

“But the magic towers are holding onto the market for these magical elixirs tightly. I don’t know if it’s possible.”

Anna answered worriedly. I had already prepared a solution for that.

“Take that ruby to the Tower of Fire and show it to the Tower Master. The Tower Master will be able to recognize the true value of the ruby.”

“The Tower of Fire. Which way should I go? The Ivory Tower? Or the Blazing Castle?”

Currently, the famous Towers of Fire are the Ivory Tower and the Blazing Castle.

I chose the latter among them.

The Ivory Tower supports the Second Prince, and the Blazing Castle remains neutral.

If I show it to the Ivory Tower, it will be unconditionally swayed by the prince’s play, so I chose the Blazing Castle.

“Yes. I understand. I will definitely show results.”

“And this.”

“Yes?”

“Wipe it.”

“Oh… yes! Thank you!”

She blushed and wiped the steak sauce.

After that, I had various conversations with her during the meal. When we were about to part ways after eating dessert, Janna bowed her head once again.

“Thank you very much.”

“It’s nothing. I’ll go first.”

So we parted ways.

Left alone, Janna took the box in her arms and immediately headed to the Blazing Castle.

A magnificent tower soaring high into the sky. After a brief moment of being stunned by its overwhelming scale.

She entered the first-floor lobby and asked the desk clerk.

“What can I do for you?”

“Can I see the Tower Master?”

“The Tower Master? What is your occupation and name?”

“I am Janna. I am currently running the Anna merchant guild, and I am the owner there.”

“The purpose?”

“I made an elixir that matches the Tower of Fire. I’m here to propose distribution regarding that.”

“Distribution.”

The clerk rummaged through the papers and soon handed over the documents with a pen.

“The meetings are scheduled until three months later. If it’s okay after three months, you can write your name here.”

“Three months later?”

“Yes.”

I expected this.

The Tower Master’s time is limited, and there are many people who want to meet him. Moreover, she is a commoner.

Honestly, it’s an amazing achievement just to be able to meet.

But.

‘I can’t disappoint Rachel.’

She is a grateful person who sponsored her 30 gold without any strings attached. Moreover, the merchant guild is currently experiencing financial difficulties due to delayed payments from trading companies.

Gratitude doubled, and soon became motivation.

‘I can’t stop here.’

She immediately took out the ruby she was holding.

“Hmm?”

“It’s a ruby that increases the power of fire magic by more than 50% when used.”

“Yes? 50%?”

“And that’s at least 50%. It’ll only take a moment. I just need to see the Tower Master for a very short time, so can’t you do something?”

The clerk began to search.

I don’t know if Janna’s words are true. But it was the first time in her life that she felt heat from a ruby, so she was curious.

But soon she shook her head.

“I can’t ignore the procedure. But I can move it up by about a month.”

“Is a month the maximum?”

“Yes.”

“Sigh. I understand.”

The moment I was about to sign a month later with a pen.

“Hmm. It’s a unique recipe? The refining method is also sophisticated, and the idea itself is unique.”

“Huh? Eek!”

A person’s voice was heard in a place where there was clearly nothing just a moment ago. When I turned my head, a red-haired woman was standing there.

The startled Janna fell down and landed on her butt.

“You can’t drop this.”

The red-haired woman who naturally caught the falling elixir.

“Ow. Wh, who are you?”

“Me? Tower Master.”

“Yes?”

I tilted my head and looked at the clerk. Seeing the clerk’s reaction with wide eyes, it seems to be true.

Janna was stunned.

‘Why the hell is the Tower Master here!?’

Before the question could continue, the Tower Master moved.

When she waved her hand, Anna’s body stood up.

“Follow me.”

“Ah, yes.”

The place she arrived at was the top floor of the tower. It was so high that the surrounding scenery looked small.

“So, who are you from which merchant guild?”

“I am Janna from the Janna merchant guild. I am here to make a proposal regarding the distribution of rubies.”

“Is this the ruby you mentioned?”

“Yes.”

The owner of the Blazing Castle, Armil, looked at the ruby and opened her mouth.

“Who made it?”

“Baronet Rachel made it.”

“Rachel? Hmm. Oh, yeah. Okay, you can go.”

“Excuse me?”

“You can go. I know the usefulness of this well. I’ll visit you in person later.”

“Ah. Thank you! Have a nice day!”

Janna left the tower like that.

Armil, who was left alone.

She looked at the ruby that emits heat.

“It’s similar to what I’m envisioning, but it’s much more sophisticated. As expected, is she the alchemist who saved the Duke’s youngest child?”

Her lips went up.

In fact, she already knew about Rachel.

The Great Duchy kept it a top secret, but she is an Archmage. In terms of realm, she is at the same level as Delkarmen Muelia, who is an Aura Master.

Although she did not have the title of Magic Emperor, it was no big deal to extract a piece of information.

Whoosh.

When she whistled, a white bird flew in.

It sat on her finger and chirped.

“Find out where Rachel is now.”

Chirp chirp!

“I guess I’ll have to meet her in person.”

Her red eyes burned with interest.