After eight days of literally crossing countless mountains and fields and fording rivers, Eugene finally had Maren in sight.
"Wow… it's huge…"
Pellid's mouth, stretched wide open, showed no sign of closing.
Mirian was no different—despite being of a different race, she was just as much a country bumpkin.
"At this point, I could return to the Spirit Realm without regrets. Even among my seniors, hardly anyone has seen a city this big. Waaah! Following Eugene was totally the right choice! I've made it big!"
Mirian hopped excitedly on his shoulders and over his head, unable to contain her excitement.
Though not as overwhelmed as the other two, Eugene himself couldn't help but marvel at the majesty of the metropolis he was seeing for the first time.
Maren looked five or six times larger than the biggest town he had ever hidden in during his previous life.
"Then what kind of lord rules that place? A count? A marquis?"
"Huh? Hahaha!"
Partek burst into laughter at Pellid's question.
"A commercial city like Maren doesn't have a lord, young master."
"Pardon? Then who governs the people there? And who do they pay their taxes to?"
"Maren has many guilds—grain, textiles, blacksmiths, mercenaries, and so on. Most professions with large numbers and influence have their own guilds. Of course, the most powerful one is the Merchants' Guild. Anyway, the heads of those guilds gather together to elect a mayor. Usually someone from a prestigious old family."
"A mayor? Then does that mean he owns the city?"
"He's not the owner. Every three years, the guild masters meet again to decide whether to reappoint him or choose someone else. And among all the guilds, the Merchants' Guild is the most powerful—the scale of the taxes they pay is simply different. The current mayor was also strongly recommended by the Merchants' Guild."
"Then I suppose Maren is basically run by the Merchants' Guild. Is the mayor a former merchant as well?"
At Eugene's question, Partek turned his head.
"The current mayor isn't a merchant, but he is indeed one of Maren's great wealthy figures. He's well-respected and, from what I hear, maintains decent relations with the surrounding lords. Oh, if you'd like to meet the mayor—"
"Not at all. We'll just take care of our business and leave."
"Yes, sir!"
Having more or less grasped Eugene's disposition by now, Partek replied at once.
The knight he served didn't seem particularly interested in power, nor did he appear to be someone who would flatter titled nobles for a post.
And in Partek's experience, knights of this temperament almost always went down one of two paths.
'Either they seize a title with their own hands, or they become a holy knight.'
Hoping from the bottom of his heart that Eugene would take the former path, Partek led the way with confidence.
"I'm on good terms with the Maren guards, so we'll pass right through. From here on, just trust me."
Sure enough, Partek's boast was no empty talk.
To the point that one wondered if it was really acceptable for such a large city to be so lax, the group entered Maren without so much as an inspection—rather, they received a warm welcome and headed straight for the Pailin Trading Company.
"Oh! Partek! Welcome back!"
Bilmor, whose belly had grown even bigger, embraced Partek warmly.
" Eugene! It's good to see you again."
"The pleasure is mine."
After greeting Eugene politely, Bilmor's gaze shifted to Pellid, who was constantly looking around with restless curiosity.
"So the youngest young master of House Tiwyn has come as well."
"Hello."
"Yes."
Naturally obsequious by nature, Bilmor gave a quick, heated glance at the wagon Partek had brought and spoke eagerly to Eugene.
"Are those the goods, Eugene? May I take a look?"
"Go ahead."
At Eugene's permission, Bilmor moved to the back with an expectant expression—then flinched.
"Gah!"
The moment he saw the boxes filled with monster byproducts, his mouth fell wide open.
"What are you all standing around for? Get them down at once."
As the company's workers hurried to unload the boxes, Bilmor rubbed his palms together eagerly.
''Eugene, please come inside for now."
"I'll stop by the guild for a moment. Please talk among yourselves, Eugene."
"Very well."
After Partek and the others left, Eugene entered the Pailin Trading Company with Pellid.Behind them, the other merchants and workers kept sneaking glances at their retreating figures.
"What? The knight who opened the Tiwyn family's dungeon gate came in person?"
"Yes. And Bilmor addressed the boy who came with him as 'young master.' He may be an illegitimate son of House Tiwyn."
"Hmmm."
With its headquarters in Maren and branches extending as far as the Kalsbeggin Peninsula, the Pailin Trading Company was a fairly large and well-known firm.
And Pretzela, now resting her chin in one hand while idly twirling a high-grade pen, was the daughter of the head office manager and a woman whose ability had earned her the position of deputy manager in her mid-twenties.
"A knight personally coming to sell monster byproducts—could it be an impostor?"
"That's unlikely. Not only Bilmor, but also the mercenaries who returned early without participating in the gate-opening subjugation all confirmed that he is indeed a knight. Moreover, the staff heard the Tiwyn family's illegitimate son address him as 'Master.'"
"Is that so? Then he must be a real knight. Still, that's rather unusual."
"I was surprised as well."
Grail, who oversaw the head office staff, glanced around the empty manager's office and cautiously continued.
"Perhaps he's either extremely greedy for money, or he wants to run a business of his own?"
"A knight? That's going too far. If that were the case, he would have just appointed a proxy—there'd be no need for him to come personally. The moment it becomes known that a knight is dabbling in business, his reputation would plummet. Why would he do such a thing? Especially a knight who just succeeded in a gate subjugation."
"That is true, but…"
Grail scratched his head.
If you asked merchants whom they least wanted to deal with, nine out of ten would answer: knights.
Nobles might be arrogant, but when interests aligned, they often joined hands with trading companies. Knights, on the other hand, had none of that.
Those obsessed only with fighting and building fame despised merchants who pursued wealth.
"Then why would he come here?"
"Hmmm."
After a brief moment of thought, Pretzela lifted her head.
"You said the knight took the illegitimate son of Lord Tiwyn as his squire, correct? He probably came here using the boy as a front, acting as the Tiwyn family's representative."
"Pardon?"
"Outwardly, the boy is the Tiwyn family's delegate—but in reality, the one conducting business is that knight, Yan Eugene. He wants to pursue money and business while still preserving his reputation."
"Oh!"
"It would be best if I met him in person. Our relationship with House Tiwyn isn't bad, and they also need a trading company to regularly handle their mana stones and byproducts. Where is that knight right now?"
"He's meeting with Bilmor. Shall you go to him directly?"
"No matter how eccentric his way of thinking might be, that would be rude. First, ask about his intentions and try to arrange a meeting within today."
"Yes, Deputy Manager."
As always, Grail's face brightened at the thought that Pretzela was about to pull off another major deal.
"Why me?"
"Pardon? But if you were to meet the Deputy Manager, Eugene, it might become an even better opportunity—"
"Opportunity? What opportunity?"
Eugene asked simply out of curiosity.
However, although he possessed an unbelievably dazzling appearance, Eugene also exuded a conspicuously cold aura. When he questioned him again, Grail grew flustered.
"If I have offended you, I sincerely apologize. I never intended to be disrespectful to you, Eugene."
"Disrespect?"
Once again, Eugene had merely asked because he genuinely didn't understand what he had supposedly done wrong.
By now, however, Grail had grown afraid of the red-eyed knight.
"I truly did not mean to offend you in any way… I apologize once more. Th-then I shall take my leave now. Please enjoy your time."
Without even sitting down, Grail hurriedly fled the room within a minute.
"Hm?"
Eugene couldn't understand it.
The man had come in suddenly and suggested meeting the deputy manager, so he had simply asked why he should—and then the man went on about opportunities and disrespect before running off.
'A deputy manager, huh. Well, Bilmor is more than enough. Galfredic also said that there's nothing good about a knight getting deeply entangled with a trading company.'
Thinking it nothing of importance, Eugene shifted his gaze to Bilmor sitting across from him.
"Hm? And what's wrong with you?"
"I-I'm deeply moved, Sir Eugene!"
"Moved?"
"That you would even refuse the deputy manager just to uphold your loyalty to me… sob! I, Bilmor! I will truly work myself to the bone for you!"
"…Do as you please."
Thinking that merchants truly were incomprehensible, Eugene continued speaking.
"Then you'll be raising my squire?"
"Of course! I will take full responsibility for assisting the youngest young master. Please place your trust in me—after being given such a great opportunity, how could I not?"
"I'm telling you in advance just in case, but if you ever get caught doing anything foolish——"
"Oh, please don't worry! Though my performance may be somewhat lacking, I have never once committed a dishonest act in dealing with customers. Precisely and transparently! I will continue handling transactions with Sir Eugene and House Tiwyn with absolute integrity."
"Good. I'll trust you."
Of course, Eugene did not completely trust Bilmor or the Pailin Trading Company.
But Partek had said they were reliable.
To begin with, in a commercial city like this, one could not even receive a business license without building credit over a long period of time.
For that reason, even setting aside his personal connection with Bilmor, Partek had recommended the Pailin Trading Company as a very solid choice.
"Th-then, Master, from now on I will—"
"You'll be staying here. All the mana stones and monster byproducts that come out of the Tiwyn territory dungeon will be handled by you and this man. So for the time being, you'll need to learn the business."
"...!"
Only now did Pellid fully understand the true meaning of what Eugene had said when they left Rose Castle.
His master had been trying to give him a brand-new opportunity—one in which he could stand proudly as a person in his own right.
Misinterpreting Pellid's stunned expression, Eugene spoke again.
"Whether you like it or not, you have to do it. It's better than living in the castle being bullied by your second brother, isn't it? You're my squire now, so no one here will mistreat you. I've already finished discussing everything with Lord Tiwyn."
"Oh my! Such righteous words indeed! Who would dare treat the young master, who represents Sir Eugene and House Tiwyn, with disrespect? I will personally take responsibility—"
"I'll work hard, Master!"
Pellid bowed deeply, his eyes brimming with tears as he spoke.
"Not only did you save me, but you're even giving me such a huge opportunity like this… I swear—truly, I will live and die for you, Master!"
"..."
Eugene wondered what had gotten into him this time, but simply nodded.
Just then, Mirian's voice reached his ears.
"So your bewitchment ability has fully awakened now too? They say vampires are born swindlers and the very embodiment of temptation that ruins families—an undead of seduction. Looks like the seniors were right after all."
"He refused to meet me?"
"Yes, yes. He kept glaring at me, asking why he even had to meet you at all. I nearly died of fear. His personality is anything but ordinary."
At Grail's report—entirely based on his own misunderstanding—Pretzela, unaware of the truth, frowned.
"Is it because he's such an outstanding knight, skilled enough to succeed in a gate subjugation? Perhaps a mere deputy manager doesn't even catch his eye. What did Mr. Bilmor say?"
"He was sitting there barely able to breathe. It looked like he'd had some serious weakness firmly grabbed."
"Hm. His results may be lacking, but Mr. Bilmor isn't the type to go around getting taken advantage of. Are you sure you conveyed my wish to meet him properly and politely?"
"I told him exactly that. I made a small mistake at the very end, but before that, I definitely didn't say anything offensive. Honestly, all knights are just the same—"
As Grail was about to vent his anger toward knights, Pretzela waved a hand.
"That's enough. For now, find out what that knight actually needs."
"Pardon?"
"Haah! He's a knight, isn't he? Weapons, armor, a horse, and so on! Do you think a knight only needs one or two things? And you said he came on foot without even riding a horse, right? Then that means… Oh!"
In the middle of speaking, something occurred to Pretzela, and she snapped her fingers.
"Look into acquiring a warhorse. A pedigreed one."
"That's not difficult, but why—oh!"
Only then did Grail realize her intent. Pretzela gave him a meaningful smile.
"No matter how terrible his personality or how arrogant he is, there isn't a knight alive who dislikes horses. He's someone who'll be our customer for a long, long time—shouldn't we at least give him a gift of that much?"
"Truly insightful, Deputy Manager!"
(To be continued in the next episode)