Chapter 27: Second Hero (1)
The next day.
As previously discussed with the Lord of Lartania, the Tienus Merchant Group left the territory immediately after one day had passed.
Inside the carriage of the Tienus Merchant Group's leader, Adria was looking at five bottles of potion contained within a somewhat luxurious box.
The box, adorned with gold and suitable for a gift to a monarch, was an artifact currently traded at a very high price, designed to absolutely protect the valuables placed inside it.
Originally, this box should have contained various precious metals rather than potion bottles.
However, the reason she placed the potions in this box was naturally because the potions were of equivalent value.
"Five bottles of Coma Recovery Potion..."
As Adria was fiddling with the potions in the box with a renewed expression, the voice of her secretary was soon heard.
"As expected, the Leader of the Merchant Group is remarkable."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"The Coma Recovery Potion. Didn't you buy five for just 100,000 gold coins? Truly, your business acumen is impressive."
The secretary's nodding, implying anew the Merchant Leader's greatness, was ultimately justified.
If the Coma Recovery Potions were to be sold now, it could easily fetch 150,000 or even 160,000 gold coins, not just the 100,000 she had paid.
If Adria could set the stage even a little, the item in her hand could potentially be sold for 200,000 gold coins.
Thus, her skill in purchasing an item that could effectively be sold for double the price at 100,000 Gold Coins was indeed remarkable.
However, that was merely the surface-level story.
"Really, is that so?"
Adria recalled the words, or more precisely, the business proposal, made by the Lord of Lartania, who had handed her the Potion yesterday.
"Let me be upfront; I can make this Coma Recovery Potion. In other words, I can produce an item that no one else on this Continent can."
"And if you wish, I will supply this Coma Recovery Potion to you and you alone, provided you agree to the three conditions I propose."
Adria recalled the conditions subsequently proposed by Kim Hyunwoo.
"Firstly, I would like you to keep the fact that I can make the Coma Recovery Potion a secret. This knowledge should be yours alone."
"Secondly, after selling the Coma Recovery Potion I supply, I would like 60% of the remaining profit."
"Lastly, for this case, I would like an upfront payment. About 100,000 Gold Coins should suffice."
"Hmm."
Having recalled all of Kim Hyunwoo's proposals, Adria pondered with a curious expression.
"Indeed, impressive."
Adria had already grasped the intention behind Kim Hyunwoo's proposal to her.
"He wants to sell the items without revealing himself to the outside..."
Certainly, Kim Hyunwoo's choice could be seen as very smart.
The current situation in Lartania, as she had assessed, was too fraught with danger to openly sell the Coma Recovery Potion.
"Immediate forceful entry is possible, and even if blocked by international interests, political pressure would come from various places."
In such a case, Lartania would surely find itself in a very difficult situation by any means.
Therefore, he decided against selling the items in Lartania, opting instead to pass them to Adria, proposing to share a whopping 40% of the profit with her.
40%.
In effect, that amount was nearly half of the total.
"In reality, there would certainly be a cost to the Lord of Lartania for making the Coma Recovery Potion."
...Of course, Kim Hyunwoo merely used a Blue Stone to create the Potion, but Adria, unaware of this, naturally thought so.
Thus, to Adria, Kim Hyunwoo felt like a very experienced merchant.
Fundamentally, everyone values visible worth over invisible worth.
Taking the Coma Recovery Potion as an example, this means they see the value of the item itself but not the unseen value beyond it.
This is true even for the smartest lords or merchants, especially with items that can earn a lot of money, as they tend to cloud judgment.
But what about Kim Hyunwoo?
He calculated the unseen value without hesitation and proposed a 40% profit share to her.
That was certainly a large profit.
But upon closer inspection, by passing the items to her, Kim Hyunwoo stands to gain more than the 40% profit he has offered her.
By entrusting the Potion to her, Kim Hyunwoo can quietly sell the items, effectively sidestepping any forceful or political pressure from the outside.
Even as she pondered this, Adria was actively thinking about how to sell the items, motivated by the significant 40% profit.
That wasn't all.
Moreover, by demanding an upfront payment of 100,000 Gold Coins, Kim Hyunwoo quietly conveyed his intention to Adria.
"I hope the return profit would be at least 100,000 Gold Coins..."
Of course, from Kim Hyunwoo's standpoint, there was nothing he could do if Adria failed to sell the potion for more than 100,000 Gold Coins.
However, Adria intended to generate a profit of more than 100,000 Gold Coins for him, as he had subtly suggested.
No, more precisely, Kim Hyunwoo had manipulated Adria to act in such a manner.
He proposed to Adria, subtly suggesting regulating the supply and demand of the Potion while discussing other items for sale and discreetly showing them.
In essence, Kim Hyunwoo actively engaged Adria while effectively testing her.
A test to evaluate whether she had the qualities to conduct business with him.
"Ha."
Thinking this, Adria couldn't help but feel amused and laughed.
Since becoming a Merchant Group under her protection, she had never been in a position to be evaluated by someone else as a 'merchant.'
Yet, she was already being evaluated.
And not just by any merchant, but by a Lord.
This, for Adria, was both amusing and sparked genuine curiosity.
"What kind of person is that Lord, really?"
Adria knew through conversation that he possessed an exceptional level of merchant knowledge.
Such knowledge that even she, who considered herself among the top three merchants on the Continent, was curious about the depth of.
Since he was a Lord and not a merchant, Adria, who had been curious for a while, soon shrugged it off.
After all, there was no rush to find out, as long as she cleared the evaluation he had set for her.
Therefore.
"Did you leave the gift properly?"
"Yes, I left it quietly as you instructed."
"Good."
"Indeed, deciding to form a connection with that person was the right choice."
Adria continued on her journey, smiling.
At that moment.
"This was outside?"
"Yes. I heard that it was left by the Tienus Merchant Group."
Following his request, Kim Hyunwoo looked with a puzzled expression at the box Elena, who had returned from goblin subjugation, was holding, then opened the box she placed on the desk.
"...What's this?"
Kim Hyunwoo, upon seeing a considerable amount of precious metals inside the box, unwittingly gaped and looked at the card placed in the middle of the box.
[A modest gift. -Adria-]
"Wow..."
While admiring the plainly written style, Kim Hyunwoo marveled, yet wondered why he received it.
"Indeed, a grand gesture fitting of a major merchant group."
Kim Hyunwoo soon nodded in satisfaction with a smile.
Because this amount of jewelry could likely cover the territory's expenses for about a month if converted in case of financial emergency.
"Truly smart and capable, making a business proposal was the right choice."
Kim Hyunwoo pondered the reason behind making a business proposal to Adria, beyond just selling the Potion yesterday.
It was because of the information window he could see thanks to Adria fortuitously visiting the tavern.
He saw in Adria's information window the trait 'Merchant's Intuition,' considered the best for a merchant, and 'Trust,' which provides various advantages in trade.
Usually, merchants with the trait of Trust tend to keep their word if they are not wronged, so Kim Hyunwoo proposed a business to her for this reason.
"Because selling the Potion alone might cause trouble."
Losing 40% of the profit felt a bit wasteful, but it was still okay.
After all, even if she sold the Potion for the minimum amount, it was a guaranteed profit for him since he could make the Potion from Blue Stones.
"The proposal was for five units every three months, so it's not exactly like printing money, but..."
Knowing that the high price was due to limited supply, Kim Hyunwoo had no intention of mass-producing the Potion anyway.
[Red Stones: 5800]
[Blue Stones: 19211]
[Gold Coins: 102134]
While smiling satisfactorily at the increase in Gold Coins,
"Lord."
"Yes?"
"Isn't it a bit off for someone to be too obsessed with money?"
"...Huh?"
Kim Hyunwoo looked puzzled at Elena's sudden question.
"I mean, people who are a bit obsessed with money tend to lack warmth, don't they? That's what I think."
Elena said, shifting her gaze slightly.
"...Well, I suppose that's one way to look at it."
Kim Hyunwoo, though puzzled by Elena's abrupt and unexpected remark, empathized with her.
For him, the yet-to-be-measured level of affection was quite important.
"Right, isn't it?"
Elena, seemingly pleased by the agreement, smiled faintly from her previously expressionless face.
After exchanging a few words, Kim Hyunwoo noticed her attempting to leave the office.
"Ah, wait."
He called her to stop, then approached.
Thud.
"...What's this?"
"A gift."
He presented her with a blue brooch.
"As a token of gratitude for always working hard."
Upon hearing Kim Hyunwoo's words, she stared blankly at the blue brooch.
"Ah."
"?"
Seeming to ramble a bit, then,
"Ah, uh... I mean... th-thank you?"
She then left the office with such a greeting, moving as if she were a tin can robot with creaky motions.
"Definitely expensive, so it's understandable she'd like it."
Seeing her reaction, Kim Hyunwoo smiled satisfactorily, feeling grateful for the precious metal box Adria had given as a gift, and set it aside.
"Now that we've taken care of that, shall we start focusing on the development of the territory?"
He intended to start the postponed development.
And.
"Hee..."
Upon leaving the office, Elena inadvertently gazed at the blue brooch given by the Lord and let out a giggly sound without realizing.
Even though she wasn't aware of it, her face flushed red, she fiddled with the brooch several times, and then, with a seemingly happy expression, she began to move towards her room with a spring in her step.
Chill-!
"...!"
Feeling a sudden chill, Elena's face stiffened and she looked around.
"......"
There was nothing around her.
"...What's that?"
For a while, Elena looked around, tilting her head but unable to relax her tense expression.
Recently, Elena had often felt such eerie sensations.
But each time, there was nothing particularly visible around her.
"...Was it my imagination?"
With a slightly uneasy face, Elena moved on, contemplating that thought.