Booming Business, Part Two

Donald's second update! Please vote! Thanks for your support! There'll be more later!

More than ten days passed in the blink of an eye. During that time, Donald had gone to the Mage Association in Giant Stone City every other day, and he had already copied nearly a fifth of the books in its library.

Although the library looked full of books, it contained only a few hundred volumes—nowhere near the tens of thousands rumored to be in the Mage Association's mage tower in the Royal Capital.

"If things keep going like this, I should be able to copy every book in the library in three to five months. It's the beginning of the month, and I've prepared fifty bottles of Moonlight Wine. I should deliver them to the mages at the association! That's another two thousand Gold Sol in my pocket! Heh..."

As Donald calculated the figures, he set off with the Moonlight Wine he had made from grapes his steward had bought over the past fortnight.

The trip passed without incident. When they reached the association, Donald got out of the carriage and told the coachman to park it in front. Then he went inside, called over three attendants, and had them carefully unload the goods and carry them into the association.

During this, Donald noticed that there were many more people around the association than usual. He quietly looked around and saw that the people strolling about, the servants dressed like nobles, the shop assistants, and the others all looked perfectly ordinary. But that very air of normalcy made him uneasy, as if their presence had all been arranged in advance.

"Wait! Arranged in advance?"

Donald quickly realized what was bothering him. These people were surely spies planted here by various factions. And their target was obvious.

They may have been moving about over a wide area, but they were all subtly centered around the Mage Association. That was enough to tell him they had come for him.

The most profitable export from Celt was its top-quality wine. Other bulk exports, such as fur and timber, might be plentiful, but their profits were nowhere near those of wine, a luxury good.

Only two brands in Celt currently qualified as fine wine, and both were controlled by the Royal Family and the great nobles. A new wine that tasted just as good was bound to attract attention, especially from noble factions coveting the profits.

Donald had known that the major powers would take an interest in him soon after Moonlight Wine launched. He hadn't expected them to get wind of it so quickly, before he had even introduced it to the public.

But that was fine. He had planned to make a name for Moonlight Wine anyway. If he had already attracted attention from several factions without even making a move, wouldn't that save him a lot of trouble?

So Donald didn't bother hiding anything. He openly carried four barrels of wine into the association. This time, he hadn't bottled it in crystal. That was too much trouble, and he didn't have enough bottles. His steward, Code, had already bought up every loose bottle the merchants had in Giant Stone City and Red Maple Town, but crystal bottles were a luxury item of relatively modest value. Only nobles and mages used them in any quantity: the former for spices and fine wine, the latter for potions and materials. Commoners mostly used wooden barrels and clay jars to store liquids. Alchemy in this world could be used to make crystal, but the cost was too high for it to become as widespread as glass had been in his previous life. Only when mages or alchemists were short on funds would they make a batch of crystal goods to sell for some extra money.

So this time, Donald simply brought four barrels of Moonlight Wine, half red and half white. The total amount was about the same as the bottled wine he had brought before. He sold each barrel to the association for five hundred Gold Sol, making two thousand Gold Sol for all four—the same as he had received for the fifty bottles last time.

The mages then divided the wine among themselves, and the payment soon found its way into Donald's hands.

After completing the transaction, Donald sought out Madri, the mage responsible for managing the association's public materials warehouse.

The middle-aged mage was a level-two mage, originally a merchant. His magical talent was poor, and he had realized he wouldn't advance to the next level before old age. So he had simply returned to his old trade. Relying on his knack for business, he represented the association in dealings with merchants and nobles, gathering resources and materials for the mages.

He sold merchants and nobles the little trinkets the mages had made as apprentices and the failed pieces left over from their experiments, at reasonable prices. This earned the association a great deal of materials and Gold Sol, supporting the many mages in their research and training.

That was also how the association's public funds were raised. It had once been no more than a place for mages to meet and exchange ideas, but now it had become a base where they regularly gathered.

Donald greatly admired Madri, the merchant-mage, and told him plainly why he had come.

"Master Madri, I have a business proposition for the association!"

"'Master' is too much. Just call me Mage Madri, and I'll call you Mage Donald!"

Madri didn't dare put on airs with this talented young noble mage. Donald was already a full-fledged mage, and even as an apprentice he had been able to defeat a peak Black Iron Snow Mage. Madri couldn't afford to treat him carelessly. After all, the world was ruled by strength.

Donald understood Madri's attitude and explained his plan.

"All right, Mage Madri. I have an idea. I've been working on increasing the output of my Moonlight wine series, so besides what I supply to the mages here, I'll have around twenty bottles left over. I was thinking that you could sell them outside on the association's behalf. That way, we could trade the wine for other materials the mages need, and once word gets out, I wouldn't have to deal with people pestering me. What do you think?"

Madri had been a merchant, so he immediately understood. He said excitedly, "Mage Donald, you really are a genius! You could become the richest merchant in the Kingdom if you went into business. You may not know this, but nobles and merchants have been coming to the association to ask about Moonlight Wine. Of course, none of us mages have told them your name."

"Since they couldn't get an answer, they've become even more interested. Someone even offered three hundred Gold Sol for a bottle of Moonlight Wine. But as you know, mages aren't the sort to sell things they value just for money, so we turned him down flat. When that noble went home and told people about it, it caused quite a stir. Now the nobles and merchants are even more eager to get their hands on your Moonlight Wine!"

After listening, Donald said, "Three hundred Gold Sol is ten times the production cost, but we can't sell Moonlight Wine at that price. How about this? I'll sell it to the association for forty Gold Sol a bottle, and the association can sell it to outsiders for fifty. That's ten Gold Sol profit per bottle. At twenty bottles a month, that's two hundred Gold Sol, and production may increase later. For the association, it's a business that costs nothing to run!"

Madri was so excited he could barely contain himself. But then he thought of Donald and said, "Mage Donald, you're selling the wine to the association at a price far below what it costs to make, and you're giving up the chance to sell it yourself. Won't you be losing several hundred Gold Sol a month?"

Donald smiled. "Compared with the help I've received from the association and all the mages here, it's nothing. Consider it a small contribution to the association! I can't just use its resources without giving anything back!"

Madri was deeply impressed. "I'll pass your offer on to Master Messer and the other mages right away. I'm sure every mage in the association will be grateful for your contribution!"

"Then I'll have someone deliver the wine to the association first thing tomorrow morning. I'll leave the preparations to you today, Mage Madri."

Madri thumped his chest and promised, "Don't worry. Those nobles and merchants may have considerable influence, but no one would dare cause trouble at the Mage Association!"

After taking his leave of Madri, Donald returned to the library and continued with his grand copying project.

A few hours later, the various factions in Giant Stone City had all heard the news from the Mage Association.

Ever since Moonlight Wine had set undercurrents stirring, the spies of various factions had been instructed to keep watch near the Mage Association. If they saw a mage bringing in goods, they were to memorize his appearance.

But before the factions could use their spies' reports to figure out the identity of Moonlight Wine's owner, the public announcement from Mage Madri caught them completely off guard.

The Mage Association was going to sell Moonlight Wine to the public. This proved that the mage who had developed the miraculous wine would be protected collectively by the mages of North Shire. Anyone who tried to harm that mage would be making an enemy of every mage in North Shire.

This was good news for merchants who simply wanted to secure a supply and the rights to sell the wine. But for the factions hoping to seize its recipe and monopolize the enormous profits, it was a thornier problem.

At that moment, in the finest inn in Giant Stone City—the same luxurious residence reserved for nobles where Donald had once stayed—a handsome man dressed as a noble spoke to a black-clad man kneeling before him.

"We have to get our hands on this Moonlight Wine."

"But what about the lord of Giant Stone City..." The black-clad man sounded uncertain.

"Don't worry about Macbeth. He's just a petty king who can't even manage his own household. In name, he's the governor of North Shire, but even within Giant Stone City, the only territory he fully controls is his viscounty and its dependent lands. Red Maple Baron's territory is nearby, while Bloodstone Fortress and Goldshire are farther away. He can't meddle in any of them. The mages here are the real problem."

"At worst, we can abandon the outpost we've spent years building in Giant Stone City. As long as we obtain the potion and recipe for brewing this fine wine, it'll all be worth it."

The nobleman spoke with confidence, then changed his tone.

"The only thing we need to consider is the Celt Royal Family's position. This wine can bring in countless Gold Sol, and it would be an ideal tool for opening the doors to the other nations of the continent. If we're too late, His Majesty the King probably won't allow much of it to end up outside the Royal Family's control. Once you've completed this task, you can leave the mission and return home. Your achievements will be enough to earn you a Hereditary Peerage and an estate. Then you'll be a true noble, able to enjoy the rest of your life!"

The nobleman's voice carried a strange allure. The black-clad man answered in a low, excited voice, then quietly slipped out of the room. He didn't see the mocking smile on the nobleman's face.

Once he was sure the black-clad man had left, the nobleman chuckled.

"Achievements! They're all mine. As agents of the Kingdom, you know too much. Not many of you will live to enjoy a peaceful end!"

At the same time, nearly identical conversations were taking place at several secret locations around Giant Stone City.

In a heavily guarded courtyard behind the Gold Sol Auction House, a vigorous old man studied a stack of intelligence reports in his hand and murmured, "Its production cost is lower than that of alchemical potions. It doesn't matter if the effects are weak; what matters is that the output is more than a hundred times greater than that of alchemical potions, and it tastes as good as the finest wine. This Moonlight Wine really is something. Its profits would be enough to fund a Kingdom's regular knight regiment. The old man was very interested when I sent him word last time. Surely he'll send an envoy this time."

A mocking smile appeared on his face.

"Those fools are hoping to get their hands on the recipe. They haven't even considered who their target is. Never mind that he's a Hereditary Knight. He's the most likely future Silver Mage in North Shire, a rare Summoner best known for winning against stronger opponents. The mages of North Shire will protect him, and so will those powerful old mages of the Kingdom Mage Association. Besides, his own strength is already comparable to that of a Bronze Professional. If anyone dares act recklessly, those enraged senior mages will probably sweep across all of North Shire. How many fish in these troubled waters will still be alive by then?"

He sighed.

"I'm getting old. I don't have many years left, but the children in my family are at the age when they need to grow. I need to secure some shares before an order comes from the Royal Capital, and build up enough capital. The old man's health is getting worse by the day. He could pass away at any time, and then the two boys below him will fight over that position, stirring up a bloody storm. If I choose the wrong side, I'll be ruined. Andrew is ruthless; if he takes power, he'll root out every last one of his rivals. I'd better prepare an escape route for Little Dury in advance!"