Chapter 108

Anyone who had experienced job hunting in Korea would know.

When people gather, whether they like it or not, relationships must be formed.

However, not just simple friendships, but places where even a little profit and loss come into play. For instance, relationships built in a company were somewhat different.

Even in places that appeared harmonious on the surface, if one were to reveal the inner workings, people formed relationships divided into factions: broadly by departments and positions, and narrowly by age groups and school districts.

And they would take various actions to exclude other factions and bring benefits to the group they belonged to.

Gossip, flattery, promotion, consultation, encouragement, discrimination, exclusion, recommendation.

The approach he had taken there was to keep his head down as much as possible and read the room.

The position of assistant manager—not as naive as clerks or associates, but simultaneously not having enough power to be stubborn like managers or deputy managers.

Wasn't that the wisest choice such a position could make?

In reality, that approach had worked better than expected.

He had been able to receive his salary reliably without getting entangled in annoying political battles.

But what should he do here?

Before him were nine veteran players who had been through it all,

And he was just a company employee with no talent for management.

He had to be prepared for the fact that no matter what he said, his lack of knowledge would be exposed.

That's why the approach he took here was,

Simply observation.

"Isn't the item your side handles fundamentally different? Even if expanding into a new territory, we should consider occupation."

"But considering the proportion of supplies our merchant group funded in the east, it's a reasonable demand."

"This business has nothing to do with the east. It's a new business starting in the Dikenter Mountains. We should confirm the scale of investment for this business..."

"No, but we shouldn't just confirm the scale of investment..."

"But then, how will the movement of personnel be..."

Hmm, after listening, as expected.

He had no idea what they were talking about.

In the previous iteration, he had been able to converse well with Aiden thanks to Aiden's consideration.

It was while he was pretending to listen to them but thinking about something else.

"Your Grace, what are your thoughts?"

Oh my, what a surprise.

What? He hadn't heard a thing just now.

"Are you asking for my opinion?"

"Aren't Your Grace the foundation of this business? You uniquely possess land where demonic beasts exist within your territory. So it would be good to hear Your Grace's opinion as well."

Everyone else looked at him.

Receiving over twenty pairs of eyes at once somehow made him feel uncomfortable.

It seemed they had been discussing something important.

"Well, I'll just lease you the land where demonic beasts appear, and provide space for the personnel needed for the business. Of course, for a fair price."

"But Your Grace, what you discussed with the Aisling Merchant Group..."

"Then, I proposed under the assumption of making an agreement with one merchant group. But with so many people gathering like this, can't a more efficient plan emerge according to your numbers?"

He didn't have the knowledge or experience to overpower nine seasoned business executives at once.

But he could speak the orthodox view as much as needed.

The person who heard his words thought for a moment and then answered.

"That's right. The discussion should proceed in a direction that benefits everyone. But before calculating the basic costs and determining the investment ratio for each merchant group, I'd like to ask how you plan to handle the land lease."

"I see. How much value do you place on the land?"

"The Dikenter Mountains are rich in demonic beast resources. Looking at that aspect alone, it's certainly a natural blessing. But."

But?

He continued speaking while stroking the pointy beard on his chin.

"It's difficult for people to access, and setting up equipment would also be physically challenging given the terrain. Additionally, since we'd be fully bearing the risk of subjugating demonic beasts."

"Therefore?"

"A land lease fee of about 500 gold coins per year for the Dikenter Mountains seems appropriate."

500 gold coins.

And that's for a year.

He nodded while maintaining a benevolent smile.

"So you're saying that's an appropriate value? 500 gold coins?"

"Of course, it could change if examined in detail, but for now, that's it."

"So the nine merchant groups would each bear slightly over 50 gold coins a year."

"That's right, Your Grace."

"You're trying to pull a fast one."

"...Pardon? What did you just say?"

These bastards.

Taking a step back and looking at it, they were trying to rip him off.

In the previous iteration, the half-year land lease fee Aiden had paid was 200 gold coins.

And that was just for a small section of the mountain range!

Even if they had charged more because it was an exclusive contract with one merchant group, 500 gold coins per year for the entire mountain range?

Why not just ask him to sell the ducal residence?

These damn conscienceless bastards.

Were they trying to rip off the land owned by someone who looked much younger than them?

It was fortunate that he clearly remembered the contract content from the previous iteration, even if he didn't know much else.

Otherwise, he would have just said, "Ah~ I'll take 500 gold coins!" and gone along with it.

These double-faced sons of bitches.

Did they take him for a complete fool?

He had intended to treat them well for Aiden's sake, but now they were all dead to him.

"Five hundred."

"Yes, as I said earlier, five hundred."

"Five hundred per merchant group."

"...Pardon?"

"Ah, of course, that's the land lease fee based on half a year. So each merchant group should think of it as 1,000 gold coins per year, right? Simple calculation. For reference, it's paid in advance, so keep that in mind."

"H-how can we pay such a high amount!"

The man stood up, hitting the table.

Other people also showed quite surprised expressions.

It might indeed seem outrageous that the land lease alone would cost 1,000 gold coins per merchant group.

Combined, it would amount to 9,000 gold coins in half a year, approaching almost 20,000 gold coins in a year.

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Yes, you think it's too expensive too, right? It seems like I'm trying to rip you off? It doesn't make sense to charge everyone uniformly?"

"Of course it doesn't. How can the land lease fee alone amount to 2,000 gold coins per year!"

"Then I'll make another proposal. How about a differentiated rent application method?"

"Differentiated... application, you say?"

"Yes. As you all know, the mountains are rich in demonic beasts. But that doesn't mean demonic beasts live everywhere. They all have different environments they prefer."

In the case of a pit, an environment where people could work together was created.

Originally, it would be inefficient to work separately when exploring and developing such a huge pit.

But the mountain range was a completely different environment from the pit.

With a structure that made it difficult to deploy many people at once,

Even if a base camp was established, there was a limit to the size of the camp that could be built,

And because different attack strategies were needed depending on the demonic beast species, small mercenary units with easy formation changes had to be utilized.

"I've heard that the main fields of your merchant groups are all different. So there's no need to fight over hunting the same demonic beast species. Just choose the demonic beast species, frequency of appearance, and lease area that seems appropriate for your field."

So, allowing each merchant group to choose the demonic beast species and scale that suited them.

In other words, a merchant group customized service.

"The rarer the demonic beast, the more frequently it appears, and the wider the area of land you want to lease, the higher the rent will be. Of course, there will be benefits that come with that. Think about it well."

The more investment, the more opportunities to hunt high-grade demonic beasts.

High risk came with high return.

That was an all-too-obvious truth to him.

"Then can we choose the distribution of land ourselves?"

"Yes. But it might take some time to provide accurate information. How about taking time to think in the meantime?"

They'd need to crunch some numbers.

In a still unknown business field, without the special favor of the royal family, some bleeding would have to be expected to make sufficient profit.

Today's meeting ended with the 'differentiated rent application' system.

As people murmured and left, he threw a crumpled piece of paper at the back of the last person leaving.

He turned around, and seeing him gesturing, stopped his steps.

When everyone had left like that, only two people remained in the office.

The remaining fellow slowly approached his desk.

"Hey."

"What is it?"

"I thought you'd be furious upon hearing '500 gold coins.' What? You consider people important? Do I look like a monster rather than a person to you?"

"B-but in the end, Your Grace steered things in the direction you wanted!"

"That's because I'm good. If it had been someone else, they would have been taken for a fool and robbed completely!"

"But I was believing in Your Grace because it's you!"

"This! Are you talking back to me, talking back!"

Aiden shrank back and hesitated.

Of course, he knew Aiden didn't have ill intentions.

But feeling indignant was an entirely different matter.

This was why he had wanted to contract just the two of them, but Aiden had to bring all these other people.

He clicked his tongue and pointed to an empty seat with his chin.

"Sit down."

"Yes, yes."

"What are you going to sell?"

"Pardon? I'll sell weapons. There might be daily necessities too, but for now, there's nothing that can be utilized as immediately as weapons."

"Don't choose the land; take the place I give you. Can you arrange 200 gold coins right now?"

"Pardon? I-I can."

"Then just pay 200 gold coins per half a year. This concludes your land lease issue."

"No, you're just giving me land as you please and taking money too. I know how to judge land with my own eyes, Your Grace!"

"Damn it! When someone gives you something, just take it! Why so many words? Do you want to be charged 2,000 gold coins too?"

Aiden repeatedly sputtered, "No, but why...," with the most unjustly treated face in the world.

But he seemed to notice that he was receiving special treatment, as he didn't make strong protests.

Why was he grumbling so much when later he would rejoice at getting a goldmine for a dirt-cheap price?

"Be grateful to your past self. Understand?"

"Please don't speak with the tone of a street thug when you're a duke! Do you talk like this to other people too?"

"It's my choice! Besides, I called you because I have something else to ask of you."

"A request?"

"I boldly talked about differentiated rent application, but the Dikenter Mountains are so vast. I only know a very small part of the mountains."

"Hasn't it been Hartmann territory for a long time? Wouldn't there be a map made within the family?"

"Well, when the royal family took away the household members, they also took various materials with them. I haven't even been able to initiate the return procedure yet."

"Ah..."

Aiden scratched his head with an embarrassed face.

"Then you'll need to obtain a new map of the mountains."

"Yes. But this time, we plan to draw it directly from our side."

"That doesn't sound bad. I don't know how long it will take, but appropriate areas for business can be quickly surveyed within this nearby range."

"So I was hoping you could help me find a cartographer."

"That's easy. Is there a specific mapmaker you're looking for?"

A specific mapmaker.

The moment he heard those words, someone came to mind.

How would they be living in this life?

"Could you find them if I describe them?"

"Of course. I'll put out a search with the mercenary or adventurer guild."

Aiden confidently beat his chest.

And that promise was no empty boast.

It hadn't even been a few days since he had requested Aiden to find a cartographer,

But now two mercenaries stood before him.

"Greetings, Your Grace. I heard you were looking for a skilled cartographer and mercenary. My name is Max, and I accept individual mercenary requests. This is my son, Jonas."

Max and Jonas.

He had reunited with those who had lost their lives in the north.