I Became the Patron of Villains

130. Are You a Heretic? (5)

“So, you’re not saying there’s no chance of success?”

“Yes. The Marquisate of Palatio is in a good location, so the merchant guilds often pass by.”

“Even so, the merchant guilds haven’t passed by that often.”

“Perhaps until now, there was no particular reason to stop by the Marquisate, so they probably visited other territories nearby, even if it meant taking a slightly longer route.”

“Is it because of the specialties?”

“Yes. Frankly, the surrounding territories have their own specialties.”

Alexion’s unhesitating response.

Alon was inwardly impressed, thinking, ‘This is why business acumen is necessary.’

Alon couldn’t help but nod as he saw Alexion, who had a better grasp of the territory’s situation than himself.

……Well, to be fair, Alon hadn’t really been interested in the development of the territory.

Anyway, it was also true that Alexion had excellent business acumen.

‘Should I invest?’

When he first found out that Alexion was the owner of the auction house, he thought he might need to reconsider investing.

When he saw his face through Radan, he seemed calm, but Alon knew how reckless Alexion’s true nature was.

However, after talking to him, Alexion seemed more normal than he thought.

No, he seemed not just normal, but incredibly smart.

‘……Was Alexion, the Arbiter, originally normal, and did something happen to him before the player came to Raxas? ……No, I think I heard that his personality was originally like that.’

He was puzzled.

‘Well, for now, he seems fine.’

Alon finished his judgment and asked.

“How much do you think it will cost if we follow the development direction I mentioned?”

“Hmm, it seems like it will cost quite a bit.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it seems like a lot of money will be needed to lay the groundwork first.”

“Of course, I’m willing to invest to some extent. Including in you, of course.”

Alon was thinking of investing quite heavily in this business.

Because he wanted to make money without exploiting the people of his territory in any way.

“So, I’d like to have a comfortable conversation… What are you looking at?”

But Alexion seemed strange.

From the moment they started talking seriously, he had been subtly looking behind him, not at him.

Following his gaze, he turned his head.

“A tree?”

A plain tree was visible.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I have a habit of staring into space when I think. I apologize for the inconvenience.”

“If that’s the case.”

Everyone has habits.

Just as Alon nodded.

From noble mtl dot com

Alexion was forcing a smile while looking at the screen the woman was holding behind Alon.

There,

“If. You. Get. Caught-“

Ladan, mouthing the words,

“I’ll. Show. You. The. World. Under. The. Sea.”

was spitting out a chilling sentence.

“……

In case he didn’t understand, Ladan was very kindly enunciating each word clearly, and he suppressed the scream he wanted to let out.

Because he knew.

That Ladan was really capable of doing that.

To survive, one must behave well.

Alexion began to leave realistic advice while maintaining as much of a poker face as possible.

Originally, he would have advised to leave ‘a little more’ personal profit, but with Ladan watching, that plan was out the window.

Because he didn’t want to die for saying the wrong thing.

“To plan a business of the scale the Marquis is thinking of, this amount of money is needed first.”

“……It costs quite a lot.”

“There’s no helping it. First, a lot of initial investment will go into building the structure, and then we’ll need money to gather the merchants. On top of that-”

“On top of that?”

“The key is to make the merchants feel that coming here is more important than visiting the territories with specialties. To do that, we’ll need to offer various benefits to the merchants, which will cost more money.”

“……If we operate like that, won’t the merchants stop coming once the benefits are gone?”

“No. First, we gather the merchants, activate the auction house and the surrounding tourism industry, and make the auction house a major value. Then, the merchants won’t be able to easily exclude the marquisate from their trade routes.”

“Then if-”

After a very long conversation, Alexion suddenly-

“So, we need about 250% of the originally proposed amount-”

-closed his mouth.

Because Radan, visible outside the window, was staring at him and shaking his head.

“-But if I make an effort, we could manage with about 200%-”

Feeling the murderous gaze even from afar, Alexion smoothly changed his words.

Shake, shake-

Radan shook his head once more.

“It’s possible, and if we push it, we could lower it to 180%-”

Alexion, feeling slightly wronged, lowered the amount a bit more.

However.

Very slowly, Radan shook his head again.

“-But, honestly, I think we could manage with 150%……”

Saying that, he screamed internally, filled with a sense of injustice.

Honestly, he had slightly raised the price at the end out of greed, but it wasn’t like there was a lot of profit to be made anyway.

However.

Even so.

Shake, shake-

Seeing the devil beyond the window continuously shaking his head, Alexion’s previously smiling face stiffened.

‘Isn’t this too much?’

They say even a cornered mouse will bite a cat, and Alexion, faced with such an unreasonable demand, unknowingly showed a face full of venom.

‘I did everything! Everything!!!’

Even when he was told to come to the pirate peninsula, he followed quietly.

“Don’t get involved in the underworld,” they said, so he withdrew from illegal businesses.

When he was summoned to the Marquis’ estate, he came without a word of complaint.

He reduced the investment proposal, which was originally around 200%, down to 150%.

Even after doing all that, they still weren’t satisfied?

The countless memories of contempt and persecution that flashed through his mind only deepened his resentment.

Finally.

As his emotions surged to their peak, Alexion said.

“……100%.”

“What?”

“……I will make it work with the investment amount you proposed.”

In the end, he swallowed his tears and lowered his face.

……No matter what, he didn’t want to die.

Nod-

Radan, who was nodding in satisfaction beyond the window.

Alexion’s face was the very picture of gloom.

And Alon, who was standing quietly across from him.

“???”

He couldn’t help but be puzzled.

……In fact, the proper negotiation hadn’t even started, but he had begun and ended it on his own.

Alon, who had been momentarily stunned, finally opened his mouth.

“……Let’s go with 150%.”

“What?”

“If it’s as you say, it seems we should invest that much.”

A calm voice.

But Alexion’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Of course, even with 150%, it was still insufficient.

However, everything is relative, isn’t it?

Seeing Radan, who was grinding down the unit price, and then the Marquis, who was willing to give an extra 50%, he felt as if tears were streaming down his eyes.

‘The Marquis is a good man……!’

In fact, objectively speaking, he wasn’t a good man at all, but Alexion, who had already experienced Radan to the fullest, thought so.

“Thank you…! Thank you so much!”

Holding back the tears that were trickling down, he bowed his head deeply.

Alon.

‘…Is it menopause?’

Watching Alexion, whose emotions were rising and falling repeatedly, a reasonable doubt sprouted in his mind.

####

King Carmaxes III of Colony was recently more leisurely than the kings of other allied kingdoms.

This was because the desert kingdom of Colony had not suffered any damage in the recent foreign news incident.

So, except for the first meeting, he was not so affected by the major incident that had occurred this time.

Instead.

“Did the Simun happen again?”

“Yes. It seems that the territory of Manmana has suffered quite a bit.”

“Hmm.”

King Carmaxes III was concerned about the recent Simun incidents.

“How many times is it now?”

“The fifth time.”

“Strange. What about the wizards?”

“It seems that the wizards from the Magic Tower are investigating, but they have not yet identified the cause.”

This was because the Simun incidents, which usually occurred only in the Magic Tower where the wizards gathered, were happening frequently here and there recently.

“Hmm-“

After thinking for a moment, Carmaxes soon stopped worrying about it.

Although the territories were suffering damage, it was not excessive yet.

Instead.

“…What is Karseem doing?”

“He is learning magic today as well.”

He asked about the second prince, who had recently caught his interest.

“Today as well?”

“Yes.”

“So, does he have talent?”

“Yes. It seems he has quite a bit. They say he has already reached the first rank.”

“Already?”

“Yes. He has talent, but his efforts are also considerable.”

The aide continued.

“Recently, the evaluation of the second prince within the palace has risen significantly. Many say that the second prince has gained dignity since that incident.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. There are even stories that he has become more dignified than the first prince recently.”

“…Is it that much?”

“It seems to be more noticeable due to the contrast with the second prince’s previous behavior.”

The aide paused for a moment.

“In my opinion, the second prince has changed a lot.”

He added his personal impression.

“Hmm-“

“I heard that he even saved a maid who almost fell while cleaning the railing recently.”

“…Karsem?”

“Yes. I heard he said, ‘If it were Marquis Palatio, he would have done the same.'”

“…That’s a bit embarrassing to say.”

“I agree, but it seems true that his temperament has become gentler.”

At her evaluation, Carmaxes III unconsciously stroked his chin.

In fact, the second prince was not a son he paid much attention to.

Of course, he loved his family, but he judged that the second prince was not fit to inherit the throne.

Of course, that didn’t mean the first prince was perfect in his eyes, but compared to the second prince, he was much better, so he had chosen him as the heir.

However, recently, the first prince was gradually falling out of Carmaxes III’s favor.

Despite having been given heir education from a young age, he had been causing various troubles, albeit not as much as the second prince.

Of course, the first prince seemed to think he had hidden all those incidents, but Carmaxes knew everything.

There was no place in this palace where his ears did not reach.

Therefore.

‘What on earth is Marquis Palatio?’

While admiring Marquis Palatio, who had reformed the rogue Karsem in an instant.

‘…Karsem, Karsem…’

He absentmindedly repeated the second prince’s name, his gaze sinking.

It was not the eyes of someone looking at family, but the eyes of a king evaluating someone.

Those eyes seemed to foretell a struggle that should never have happened.

####

Another month later.

When winter had completely passed and warm spring days had arrived.

[Marquis, how have you been?]

“It’s been a while.”

Alon received a report from Duke Zenonia, which he received every few months.

And then.

[By the way, Marquis, I heard you recently established an auction house in your territory.]

“Yes. I’m thinking of managing the territory a bit.”

[Shall I offer some help then?]

“I won’t refuse.”

It was just a short conversation after the report.

…That’s all it was.

“Marquis, how about exclusive auction rights for the high-end specialties from our territory?!”

“Marquis- we would like to establish regular relations with our merchant guild-“

“Greetings, Marquis Pallatio! I am leading the ‘Salman’ merchant guild from the Kingdom of Ashtalon-“

“……”

How did it come to this?

“Evan.”

“Yes.”

“…How many more people are waiting to meet?”

“About 74 people are waiting.”

‘…How is this a small help…’

Alon held his dizzy head.