< Intermission (3) >
It was no coincidence that warriors from the South began to appear frequently in the Free City of Drakal.
Now that the wounds left by former Chieftain Baltheon, who was part of the ‘Oath of Reverse Heaven’, were almost healed, they too needed to leave the limited area of the south and set their eyes on the wider world.
Above all, the Northern Mountains expedition, which is currently being prepared under the leadership of the Jushin Church, is approaching.
The Kalkos Tribal Federation, which had maintained a closed attitude for a long time, needed to obtain more detailed information about the outside world in advance, and in this regard, the free city of Drakal, located at a transportation hub, was the best place to gather information and a transit point.
‘I should visit the South again sometime.’
Harley scratched the back of her head as she thought of the great sorcerer Morna and Misty, who must be busy taking his place by now.
As I have been busy with the Kang Hwan-gye affair, I have naturally been able to neglect this work to some extent.
In fact, aside from his symbolism as a fighting king, there wasn’t much for Harley, a destroyer who only knew how to smash things, to do.
‘Well, I’m sure they’ll figure it out. They’re all smart guys.’
All you have to do is silently support them from behind and believe in them.
Since ancient times, the greatest virtue of a king has been to utilize the right talent in the right place.
Harley nodded happily as she glanced over the current status of the Kalkos Tribal Federation as seen through “The Monarch’s Power.”
There were no particularly unusual circumstances, perhaps due to the excellent personnel selection.
‘After all, management should be left to a professional CEO. If I interfere unnecessarily, things will only get more complicated.’
It wasn’t for nothing that he gathered talented people and entrusted them with running the organization.
What would I know when I couldn’t even finish high school properly because of an accident?
It would be so convenient if we just periodically checked whether the managers and staff were working properly.
‘That’s not the only place I have to worry about. I heard you said this place is also ready?’
Harley strode briskly through the neatly decorated hallway, heading towards another slave… no, talent.
I received news that the work I had been waiting for for quite some time had finally been completed.
In a neat office, I opened the door without even knocking and entered.
“Hmm? Ah! Welcome, Harley.”
Patrick, the secretary general of the Mercenary Guild who had been sitting and diligently reviewing documents, jumped up with a bright expression and welcomed him.
Contrary to that expression, he had dark circles under his eyes and a tired, haggard look.
‘···Hmm, that’s really great.’
Harley was secretly impressed by the way his subordinates took the lead and put in the effort to achieve results.
Such a hard-working and honest voluntary slave.
It was worth entrusting him with this important task without worrying about the fact that he was an Earthling.
“I’ve been waiting for you. You came just in time.”
Meanwhile, Patrick continued to speak.
Harley is finally ready to take on the task that she had been forced to postpone due to her lack of a foundation in the mercenary guild.
“Oh! You worked hard, Patrick! But you must have had a hard time. Your face is half gone.”
“Ha··· haha···. Yeah, well. A little···.”
“It looks like you haven’t eaten properly? That won’t do! Since ancient times, people have been said to eat meat to gain strength. To celebrate, I’ll treat you today! Hahahaha!”
Buying the meat for him was an enormous gesture of kindness on Harley’s part.
Because it meant giving up some of the meat that one was supposed to eat to someone else.
With the gentle encouragement of her lightly patting his back with her fingertips, Patrick forced a smile and kept wobbling like a balloon doll in front of a new store.
‘I don’t need any of that, so I wish you’d just leave me alone and let me rest.’
I swallowed the words I couldn’t bring myself to say.
Some time later.
One fact was announced by the mercenary guild branches established across the continent.
He is the pinnacle of countless mercenaries spread across the world, and has declared that he will continue the will of the first and fight against the Immortal King.
A new mercenary king has been born.
***
Thanks to Patrick’s meddling, no one opposed Harley’s inauguration as the mercenary king.
In the run-up to a major war, that symbolic position could no longer be left empty.
Of course, most of the guild leaders were not truly accepting the outcome, but rather just hoping that he would die in the fight against the Immortal King, but at least on the surface, everything was going smoothly without much friction.
“Congratulations, Harley.”
“Please continue to take care of me in the future!”
“Haha, I believed it. If not Harley, then who else could sit in that seat?”
Although he used the title of King of Mercenaries, he was not a real king, so the inauguration ceremony was not very large.
All they did was declare a festival in Drakal, provide food and drink, and host a small banquet for their officers and other dignitaries.
Even that would have been just ignored if Patrick hadn’t prepared carefully.
For Harley’s personality, such a cumbersome ritual was just a frustrating event.
Harley, who was busy eating meat in his usual attire and greeting those who came to greet him, glanced around the inside of the banquet hall.
‘Of course, since I’ve already decided to do it, I’ll use everything I can.’
One of them was that most of the supplies supplied to Dracal this time were entrusted to Hubert Trading Company.
It wasn’t a big secret that Harley had some kind of relationship with Hubert, the head of the trading company, since he was in Tarak, so it wasn’t that difficult.
In fact, it was no different from abusing one’s power, but in this world, things like rebates and job-hunting were not particularly objectionable.
‘Here, connections and lobbying are also abilities. I’m also the co-CEO of Hubert Trading Company.’
Thanks to this, the influence of Hubert Trading Company, which operates from Tarak in the northwest of the Ion Continent, naturally extended to Drakal in the southeast.
Hubert Trading Company had already completely swallowed up the commercial rights of the confederation of kingdoms, including the Kingdom of Thalia in the west, and had signed a near-exclusive contract with the southern tribal federation, and was also expanding its influence in a friendly atmosphere even in the Empire and Republic, which were enemies.
“···Hmm? This drink··· is quite unique. It’s something tangy yet sweet···.”
“Oh! It has a very unique flavor. Where did you get this liquor? We would like to import it separately too… Ah—you mean Hubert Trading Company? I’ve heard of it. I heard it’s a company that has been growing rapidly recently.”
“Oh my, this tablecloth is made of a material I’ve never seen before. It’s such a tight and sturdy fabric. It doesn’t seem to be a specialty of the Elven Kingdom, so how was it made?”
The evil slowly spread to the high-ranking officials around Drakal.
Not only the existing traded goods, but also beverages such as cola, fruit juice, wine and whiskey, and various raw materials including textiles.
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They were tempted by the products from Earth that could not be found in Outerica and were only available at Hubert’s.
‘Premium is a thing that works everywhere. The rich, who are consumed by vanity and want to show off their specialness, cannot resist this temptation.’
The same was true now, with the war with the Immortal King just around the corner.
This is a fact proven by the smooth growth of Hubert Trading Company so far.
If you didn’t even know it existed from the beginning, you wouldn’t know, but when people in similar positions to you started to use it one by one, you had no choice but to go with the trend out of pride that you couldn’t be left behind.
‘And in order to receive these items, we have no choice but to cooperate with Hubert Trading Company.’
Lures using special goods such as Earth-made luxury goods and minerals from the northern mountains, and a strong personal network formed through various avatars.
That was the driving force that brought Hubert Trading Company to its current position as the true top company on the continent.
Also, since you can come and go at any time and use the vast “Dragon Lair” as a transit point, you can easily transport large quantities of goods between dimensions, so it doesn’t require much effort.
The fact that we were able to get through the previously tight customs with a free pass thanks to the “Savior” also played a big role.
‘Very good. The speed at which karma accumulates is no joke.’
Hubert nodded with satisfaction in his office in the company’s headquarters building in Tarak.
While doing business, he was raking in huge amounts of gold from all over the continent, but it was just a side income.
What really matters to you is the enormous karma that arises along the way.
The changes and resulting influence that occurred as the Earth’s goods were distributed throughout the world were truly enormous.
Of course, most of the items provided in the process were consumed as luxury goods by the privileged class, so the impact on the common people, who make up the vast majority of this world, was not that great.
‘If we could properly popularize medicine on Earth here…’
Hubert stroked his chin as he tapped the paper with the fountain pen in his hand.
In fact, alchemists who had already been hired separately for that purpose had entered the suitability test.
Because if we were to carelessly spray medicine here, side effects that don’t exist on Earth humans might occur.
‘There’s no need to go as far as specialized medicine. Even simple over-the-counter medicines or vitamins can have a huge impact on society as a whole.’
Medical practice in this world has largely relied on mystery.
The spells used by priests, the magic of wizards, and the potions made by alchemists.
Naturally, the poor had a hard time receiving medical care, and had no choice but to rely on folk remedies that were no different from superstitions.
“···Still, we must proceed with the utmost caution.”
Since pharmaceuticals are not simply luxuries, they need to be handled with care.
If everything went as planned, the ripple effect would be unimaginable, but it was something that could suddenly cause an unexpected accident.
He may not be able to provide medicine forever.
“Okay, then next is···”
That was the moment when Hubert, who had roughly gathered his thoughts, put down the fountain pen he was holding.
“Are you Hubert?”
The voice of an unfamiliar man flowed into his ears.
Inside the office where he had been alone until just a moment ago.
“······.”
Hubert’s eyes narrowed.
At the same time, “Clear Mirror Index” and “Nervousness” were activated, and the surrounding time became longer.
A feeling that expands in an instant and sweeps across all directions.
But there was still no sign of being caught.
“That’s quite a feat. Are you really not an ordinary merchant? But this is useless to me.”
And then I heard words that seemed to mock me one after another.
As if it was obvious what he had just done.
‘how?’
But Hubert’s spinning thoughts did not stop.
Fueled by his immense mental power, he quickly assessed the situation in a time that had almost stopped.
‘This is the headquarters building of Hubert Trading Company. No one dares invade.’
This building was literally a fortress.
The barriers that used all kinds of mysteries, such as magic, alchemy, and sorcery, were all a lie.
The moment you touch an organ that imitates the formation, it is immediately followed by a poison, trap, and curse that will send you straight to the afterlife.
Above all, didn’t he have hybrid vampires guarding him 24 hours a day?
‘And the person in charge is a true vampire of the highest level.’
The power balance between Earth and this world, where those who have overcome all kinds of trials and received corrections from the system in countless worlds gather together, is on a different level.
The estimated number of transcendent beings on Earth today is over a hundred.
Although there were so many that the name Transcendence was meaningless, there are not even five, let alone ten, Transcendent beings in Outerica.
Of course, it could increase further if we include the dragons that might be hiding somewhere, but it is true that there is a limit to that as well.
‘In a place like this, a super strong person is practically the strongest in the human world. But if you have the skills to avoid that person’s attention and sneak all the way here…’
A strong person who has reached transcendence.
It was an unknown opponent that even he, who knew the entire Outerica like the back of his hand, could not understand.
“You seem to have a lot on your mind. Are you finally starting to understand the situation?”
Then, as if it already knew what he was thinking, an unfamiliar voice spoke again.
It was a voice that was so strangely intimidating that it was hard to even hear it, but Hubert, who was immune to mental attacks, paid no attention to such shallow talk and calmly opened his mouth.
“···Yes, thank you for waiting. So why did you come to see me without an appointment? I don’t know if you know, but I’m a very busy person. There are many people who make appointments weeks in advance just to have a word with me.”
“Huh? As expected, it’s pretty good.”
The other person let out an exclamation of interest at that calm answer.
It’s really strange how his attitude doesn’t change even when he’s in front of someone who could take his life at any time.
However, the other party seemed not to want to waste any more time and got straight to the point.
Bam—
Something fell onto the desk where all kinds of documents were lying.
Although my senses were still heightened, I could not sense any signs or signs.
An object that suddenly appeared as if it had been there all along.
That was something Hubert was quite familiar with.
“Where did this thing come from?”
There was no way I didn’t know.
Because it was something I had given countless times to the higher-ups here for business purposes.
A high-end lighter made entirely of metal with ‘MADE IN USA’ engraved on one side along with various English phrases.
It was very well received by the gentlemen, as if that style was also popular in this world.
As I was thinking about that for a moment, an invisible hand touched the fountain pen on the desk.
Naturally, it was also an Earth product.
After all, the most comfortable thing for me, an Earthling, would have to be a product made on Earth with an ergonomic design.
“Are you an Earthling?”
And the other person seemed to have reached a similar conclusion.
‘Anyway, Hubert is the easy one. This is sad, so I guess I should come up with some other solution.’
Hubert didn’t bother to answer because of the confidence in the other person’s voice.
Just buying time and carefully using the means that have been secretly prepared.
“Analysis” is the best skill he has.
And the “limit breakthrough” that will amplify its performance.
Immediately after that—
The flow of reason and cause that filled the world, which did not fit the physical body called Hubert, suddenly pierced my eyes.
At the same time, a pain that felt like my brain was melting began to constantly stimulate the “Mind Hub”.
He couldn’t pay attention to anything else anymore.
‘···That?’
What was reflected in the eyes that went beyond the limit and became visible even what should not have been visible.
It has a human appearance, but the two horns that grow on either side of its forehead are…
No matter where you looked, it had the appearance of a devil.
