Justitia froze stiff.
It was plain that she was racking her brain furiously.
I took that opening to check the [Map].
A spot engraved with a glowing marker.
It was a familiar location.
'......The Ancient Legacy was this close?'
It was the unexplored land near the wall that had been hidden behind a question mark symbol.
I was flabbergasted.
I didn't know what the legacy really was, but its value would be beyond words.
Just look at how scholars went crazy trying to get their hands on even a scrap of an ancient record.
And such a grand thing was, to exaggerate a little, close enough that if you tripped, your nose would land on it.
"......How did you know?"
Perhaps because I'd hit the keyword exactly, Justitia didn't even dare attempt a bluff.
"I don't think we're close enough to share that much."
"......That is true."
Justitia's gaze turned to the side.
There was Cattleya, who had kept an upright posture even after half a day had passed.
"I'll say this in advance. I met Miss Cattleya for the first time today. Don't harbor pointless suspicions."
"Hm? Did you suspect me, Lady Justitia?"
Cattleya was quite the eccentric.
You'd think she would be offended to hear that her employer suspected her.
......She genuinely seemed to have nothing on her mind.
"Haah, right. Whatever anyone else might do, there's no way you would have."
Justitia shook her head as if fed up.
"Yes, that is right. I am pursuing the Ancient Legacy."
Justitia's stance had changed.
I crossed my legs, satisfied.
"Certainly, if you got your hands on the Ancient Legacy, inheriting the position of company head wouldn't be hard."
"It is worth more than a blank check, after all. Goddammit, the tables have turned."
If Adikia found out about the Ancient Legacy, he would approach the North by any means necessary. And then Justitia's defeat would be certain.
Ability, capital, the ruthlessness of his methods.
After all, she wouldn't be able to beat her elder brother in a single one of them.
"What will you do now? Are you going to pay me back for threatening Your Highness by bringing up the Empress?"
"Is that your real personality? You've gotten a lot more twisted than earlier."
"Let us just say it is because I have given up."
I chuckled.
"There is no need to worry so much. As long as you cooperate quietly, Miss Justitia, there will be no need for me to run my mouth carelessly."
I uncrossed my legs and leaned my upper body forward.
"On top of that, I'll even tell you the location of the Ancient Legacy."
"......Pardon?"
Justitia's eyes, which had been venomous, instantly went round.
"You...... know the location?"
"Yeah."
I'd only just found out, though.
"Believe that......."
"You'll have to. You don't have a choice anyway."
Justitia let out a hollow laugh.
"Why on earth did you become the deposed crown prince? You are far better suited to the Emperor's throne than the woman-crazed Crown Prince."
"There were circumstances."
Justitia squeezed her eyes shut.
Exactly 5 seconds later, her eyes flew open.
"By cooperation, what do you mean? It does not seem you simply want gold."
"Good judgment."
The moment I finished speaking.
Freyja and I stood up at the same time.
"......The two of you?"
Justitia looked at us, bewildered.
"You need to work on your drive to act. What are you going to do, being slower than your maid?"
Justitia turned her head.
Cattleya was already standing there, ready to leave.
"Follow quickly, since there's something to show you."
As I walked, I brought up the golden interface.
===[WAVE 3]===
- Blue Moon Goblin - 108
- Blue Moon Orc - 108
- Time until the next occurrence: '00:09:57'.
======
'Phew, what a relief.'
I'd managed to make it in time.
***
Thanks to the effect of the [Intelligence Bureau (E)], the arrival times of Monster Waves had begun appearing on my status window.
When I first checked it, it was a headache.
After all, I'd found out that the monsters would come swarming on the day of an important deal, of all days.
But I soon thought differently.
As the saying goes, a crisis is an opportunity, so I decided to use the Monster Wave.
As an event to persuade Justitia.
"You have come?"
When we arrived at the wall, Johannes, fully clad in armor, greeted us.
"Ready?"
"Fully prepared."
I looked around.
Knights, not a single one out of place.
A few who met my eyes silently raised their swords in a military salute.
Buying the frontline barracks had been worth it.
"Wh-What on earth is this......?"
Justitia, who had followed us, struggled to catch her breath.
Around the time she had climbed high enough to see beyond the wall.
A sound that shook the whole land rang out.
"Grrrrr......!!!"
"Hshhhk!!!"
Monsters under the influence of the blue moon.
216 in total.
The creatures revealed themselves, trampling through the rugged conifer forest.
"A Monster Wave......!?"
Justitia's face went white.
Well, it was a natural reaction.
After all, in this world, a Monster Wave was practically a synonym for 'disaster.'
Normally, a person facing a disaster could do no more than set out a bowl of water and pray.
But the North was different.
Putting valor and martial might first, it had faced disaster many times and won every time.
And as long as I was here, that streak of victories would continue.
'As long as I'm a me with gold, that is.'
That didn't matter.
After all, the person who would bring me gold from now on was right beside me.
And starting now, I'd put on a show that would shake her to the core.
"KWOOOOOH—!!!"
Was it because they had suffered two failures?
The monsters' eyes were bloodshot red.
The creatures began charging all at once.
But.
KABOOOOOOM—!!!
The result was the same.
The fireworks opened once again.
"Wh-Whuh? Th-The wall spewed out fire......? H-How on earth did you make......?"
Justitia muttered, dazed.
It seemed her merchant's brain was overloading as it instinctively calculated the value of the [Frontline Wall (E)].
Using her muttering as background music, I checked the wall's durability.
[Durability: 100/100]
The wall's defense far exceeded my expectations.
Only when half the monsters had slammed into the wall did its durability drop by a mere '1,' and even that was restored immediately.
'Then just how strong was my magic?'
Just as a laugh was about to slip out of me for no reason.
"My lord husband, the firepower is starting to dwindle."
Freyja, who had been watching below the wall, reported calmly.
"So it is. Wow....... I charged it to the limit, and 30 percent of them are still holding out?"
I'd confirmed the truth that sheer numbers are a bully with my own eyes.
To think they'd charge recklessly enough to exhaust all the fire stored in the wall.
"Do not worry. The knights and I will deal with the remaining monsters."
Freyja gripped her sword hilt and was about to leap down below the wall.
I lightly pressed on her shoulder to stop her.
"Mind if I take a moment? There's something I want to test."
"Test?"
"I want to check the results of the past week."
I loosened my wrists and stepped forward.
I set my foot on the very edge of the wall.
"Kheek......!"
As if they recognized the owner of the flames that had turned their brethren to ash, the surviving monsters all raised their heads at once.
Oh, look at those eyes.
The murderous intent to tear me to shreds came through loud and clear.
"Not that it's possible."
I opened my palm.
And recalled Ignis's teachings.
-Wizards distinguish each other's level with 'Tiers' or whatever, right? But that doesn't apply to Sorcerers. When you use fire, that itself is magic and law.
There was no need to chew on the meaning.
When I first created a <Fireball>...... no, a ball of fire.
After all, I could control that ball of fire freely.
-You just use fire in whatever form you want. Then you define it as 'magic' however you like. That alone will let you wield concepts Wizards can never reach.
I looked down at the rampaging monster horde.
I pictured in my head the most efficient form of fire to dispose of them.
Right, if possible, I'd like the carcasses to stay as clean as possible, too.
Whoosh.
The moment I finished imagining it.
A small flame bloomed at the tip of my index finger.
The flame left my hand and took its place high in the sky.
"Hshk......?"
A few orcs looked up at the sky.
But it was already too late.
They should have run the instant they looked up.
—Whoosh!
An instant passed.
And it began to rain.
It was a dark red rain.
Shunk-shunk-shunk-shunk!!!
A rain of fire poured down like mad, evaporating even the raging blizzard.
From the sound alone, it was as if countless blades were piercing the earth.
Shunk-shunk-shunk-shunk!!!
I poured down the rain of fire without holding back.
Looking down at that spectacle of overwhelming destruction, I murmured in a low voice.
"Falling Fire Meteor."
It was the name of the magic I had created.
As for why I bothered to go with a fancy classical name.
There was no particular reason.
It just sounds cool, right?
I was already calling my mana breathing Qi Circulation, so what's the harm in giving my spells classical names too?
"Is this enough?"
When I folded my index finger, the artificial meteor shower stopped as well.
I looked down below.
Compared to the bastards swept up in the wall's flames and turned to ash, the ones hit by Falling Fire Meteor had stayed in relatively clean condition.
'My magic power...... still has plenty left.'
It looked like I could keep pouring it down for another 2 hours.
I didn't think I'd be getting headaches over things like Monster Waves for a while.
"How about it, Miss Justitia?"
I slyly raised the corners of my lips and turned around.
There stood a merchant who was still dazed.
"In that condition, it seems the reprocessing costs would drop a lot."
Justitia stared at me blankly, unable to close her mouth.
Only after her chin had trembled finely for a long while did a shaking voice finally come out.
"......Yes. We could harvest by-products in bulk."
It was an answer I liked very much.
Quick on the uptake, too.
You pass, as expected.
***
Fending off the Monster Wave didn't mean the situation was over.
Cleaning up the battlefield, strewn with hundreds of monster carcasses and reeking of blood, was a more troublesome job than one could imagine.
"I will stay here. After all, you must still have more to discuss with Lady Justitia."
Freyja volunteered to stay behind.
"Are you sure you don't need to watch the rest of the deal?"
"I believe I have seen the most important part. Lady Justitia will probably not be able to defy you now, my lord husband."
"Still, it's an important deal for the North. Won't it look strange if the Grand Duke herself isn't there?"
"Your will is my will, my lord husband."
Freyja gave a brief bow, then walked over to Johannes and began a meeting about the cleanup.
"......You truly are a devoted couple."
Justitia, who had been listening intently from a distance, came closer.
"I guess the capital thinks I live under Freyja's thumb?"
"Living under her thumb would be lucky. After all, most people sneer that you would be lucky not to be thrown into some dungeon."
"......What am I, a prisoner?"
"You know. To Northerners, only strength is justice, so a deposed crown prince with a ruined Aura Heart would be treated worse than a criminal. And yet......."
Justitia trailed off and casually put some distance between us.
It seemed the spectacle of Falling Fire Meteor had been firmly lodged in her mind.
"......Hm, so what is it I can do to cooperate with Your Highness? Honestly, the North as it is now does not seem to need the help of a mere merchant like me at all."
Justitia's gaze was fixed on the frontline wall.
"I will say this in advance. There is no mysterious trading company you do not know about, Miss Justitia."
"Then how on earth did that wall and the residential district......?"
"That is a secret. But if you quietly accept my proposal, I might tell you."
I sat down on a conifer log.
Yes, the same log I'd used as a pillow the other time.
"As you just saw, monsters are pouring into the North right now. The Monster Waves started up again recently. But it'd be impossible to handle all of those insane numbers of carcasses solely through deals with you, Miss Justitia, wouldn't it?"
"That is right. There are limits to what I can do as an individual. Are you by any chance telling me to give up the exclusive trade?"
"That is not it. I...... no, the North wishes to keep putting effort into trading with you, Miss Justitia. Instead, I would like the form to be a little different."
"I do not quite follow what you mean."
"It's simple."
I pointed a finger at Justitia.
"Establish your own trading company in the North, Miss Justitia."
"......Pardon?"
Justitia's thoughts came to a momentary halt.
Interestingly, Cattleya, standing beside her, showed the exact same reaction.
Cattleya, whose expression hadn't changed until now. It also meant my proposal was so bizarre that even she, who showed so little emotion, was astonished.
"To be precise, I would like to ask you to run trade for us. I want you to distribute and sell the monster carcasses and all kinds of specialties the North will harvest from now on across every corner of the continent."
It was something that had to be done someday.
With the Monster Waves, the supply of monster carcasses would increase exponentially, and we'd strike up a deal every single time, one by one?
It might work once or twice, but in the long run it would be impossible.
So a trading company was needed.
A trading company that would handle the North's specialties, go out on trade runs to every corner of the continent, and bring back gold.
The problem was that there was no one to serve as its company head.
Because of the North's notoriety and its harsh environment, capable merchant magnates had already given up on trading.
And yet you couldn't sit an incompetent person in the seat of company head.
We needed someone who had talent and yet would settle down in this barren land while bearing the losses.
There was only one merchant who met such contradictory conditions.
"Wh-What is the reason for entrusting such an important duty to me......? You have not forgotten, have you? I threatened Your Highness by bringing up the Empress."
"Well, it was a threat. But you didn't act on it, did you?"
"......Even so, the rudeness I showed a member of the Imperial family—"
"That is exactly the point. You clearly recognize that what you did was rude, do you not, Miss Justitia? You have something called a 'conscience.'"
Certainly, at first I had searched the ledgers with a fine-tooth comb, intending to bleed Justitia's gold dry.
But it was while I was going through the financial records.
I found several curious parts.
"The North's situation was harsh. Of course, it still is. And yet...... not a single territory resident had died from a lack of supplies. Only those who fell in battle or old folks who closed their eyes in old age. It struck me as odd, so I traced the records. Strangely enough, someone had good-naturedly donated to this barren land, of all things, wouldn't you know?"
"......Right. Whoever it was, they must be a hopeless sucker."
"Spitting in your own face doesn't tarnish the value of that good deed."
"The problem is that the sucker is a 'merchant' who chases profit. She came to thoroughly exploit the North, and yet when it was time to go home, the starving Northerners stuck in her mind. When she ought to be fleecing them, she empties her own pockets to provide supplies. Is that not a truly foolish merchant?"
It was the decisive reason I had picked Justitia as the North's merchant.
A merchant equipped with the safety device called a conscience.
Someone like her was exactly the right person to entrust with the North's gold.
'For the North to grow, it'll need plenty of talented people.'
But mere ability alone wouldn't do.
Only with trust as well could they join the North on the journey ahead.
And the starting point of that was Justitia Violet.
"......By the way, you knew after all? I thought you were deliberately pretending not to know to gain the upper hand in the deal."
"So that's why you thought I was greedy?"
"Now that I look, you are just mean."
"If it bothered you that much, why didn't you at least take credit first?"
"......How could I say something that mortifying?"
I burst out laughing at the sight of Justitia grumbling.
"Freyja and I intend to transform the North into a fortress city. We plan to aim for the form of an independent city-state that no one's interference, and no control from the Imperial Household, can reach."
"This is the first time I have seen a member of the Imperial Household make such subversive remarks."
"If you had a stake in building such a city, Miss Justitia, wouldn't that be results enough to inherit the Violet Trading Company? Add to that an exclusive market for the North's specialties and even the Ancient Legacy. Oh....... Achievements that Adikia Violet could never catch up to no matter how he struggles are waiting for you, Miss Justitia."
"Wow....... You are an incredibly good talker. Did you write a script in advance, by any chance?"
"I mapped out the situation, at least. The lines come to me on the spot."
Justitia let out a sigh, then plopped down beside me.
"I do not have a choice anyway. Either Your Highness hands my only way out over to Adikia because I refused, or I join Your Highness's absurd ambition. It is one or the other."
"Hm? You do have a choice. Two of them, even."
"......The problem is that one of them leads to my death, so it is actually a forced move, right?"
Hm, somehow I'd ended up in another relationship bound by weaknesses.
First Freyja, then Justitia, huh.
Well, it wasn't bad.
For me, at least.
"10 percent of the profits. That is mine."
Justitia abruptly held up her index finger.
"You're going to grab your share even now?"
"Isn't that only natural? You do not think of trade runs as some stroll around the neighborhood, do you?"
"Of course not. I was planning to give you money anyway. I'd set aside up to 20 percent, so I was just a little surprised you volunteered 10 percent yourself."
"Goddammit, me and my big mouth."
"So, is the deal settled?"
"It will take time to set up a complete trading company. It does not end just by me hanging up a sign by myself."
"I do not know much about that side of things. Handle it however you see fit, Miss Justitia. I will support you as much as I can."
I held out my hand.
"Then I'll start talking comfortably now. That okay?"
"......Is that how you actually talk?"
"Yeah, I nearly died from having to talk in that ridiculous way."
"Hmm."
Justitia took my hand.
It was a merchant's smooth hand, without the slightest callus.
"I'm Justitia Violet. I look forward to working with you, Boss. I'll talk comfortably too."
"Why you?"
"Now that you've laid my true feelings bare, there's no need for me to wear a mask either, is there? And it seems like you like it this way better?"
"Right. The people here just won't talk casually with me."
"You're the Empire's First Prince, so of course."
"Then what about you?"
"I'm the exception."
After a short handshake, Justitia rose from her seat.
"But is it true? That you know the location of the Ancient Legacy, Prince."
"Yeah. It's true."
"......I can't believe it."
"Should I prove it to you?"
"Never mind. I'm in a position where I'll die if I don't believe it anyway, so I'd rather at least hold on to hope. Then...... I'd better move quickly, if only to set up the trading company."
It was just as Justitia was rubbing the back of her neck and about to walk off.
"Ah, wait a sec!"
"What?"
"Before you go, do you by any chance have some cash on you?"
"......I do have some, though."
It was the thing I liked hearing most from Justitia today.
"Great, give me some money. You don't have to give me all of it. About 70 percent of what you've got on you should do."
"......."
Justitia glared at me fiercely, as if flabbergasted.
After a moment's hesitation, she untied a heavy leather pouch from her waist and tossed it to me.
"By the way, how did you hurt your finger like that?"
I pointed my chin at Justitia's thumb.
"I have a bad habit."
"Quit hurting yourself."
"Oh my, are you worried about me?"
"I'd rather the person bringing me money not be in pain."
"......By any chance, is it the money you're worried about, or the person?"
"That's for you to decide."
At my dry joke, Justitia spun around.
Cattleya bowed her head to me once, then followed after her employer.
'I should probably have a private talk with Cattleya at some point, right?'
Of course, now wasn't the time.
I gripped the leather pouch I'd gotten from Justitia tightly.
Clink-clink-clink!!!
The noisy sound of gold coins evaporating rang out for only a moment.
[Balance: 10,000G]
A fattened balance appeared before my eyes.
Before Justitia came back with a massive amount of gold, it was time for a little taste of paying to win.
Now, where should I start tearing up the North?