Diego began stammering as he jabbed a finger wildly at Alex.
“Y-you…! You!”
“Yes, that way is the exit. And this is where we negotiate.”
At Alex’s tone, impossible to tell whether it was mockery or politeness, someone let out a suppressed snort.
In the end, Elizabeth, who had been listening from behind, could not hold back her laughter.
Thinking she was mocking him, Diego slammed the table and shot to his feet.
“Have all of you gone insane…!”
Alex, who had been smiling pleasantly even while Diego looked down on him, hardened his expression.
“Do you still not understand which one of us is talking nonsense?”
Diego flinched at the sudden shift in atmosphere and the sharpness in Alex’s gaze.
“You came here and saw it for yourself, yet you can still say that? You saw what happens to a domain once cultists appear.”
As though genuinely furious, Alex lowered his voice until it became heavy and cold.
“I told you about them without demanding a single thing in return, and you came here spouting absurd demands at me. Just how much do you expect me to tolerate from you?”
For the briefest moment, Alex and Jack’s eyes met.
Alex spoke solemnly, but in truth, the entire claim that cultists had infiltrated Hari had been a lie from the start.
And Jack knew directly that Alex had engineered the entire situation.
After all, he had even altered documents to support Alex’s lie.
“….”
Jack realized that he, too, was now completely entangled with Alex.
They were already in the same boat.
“Grrr…!”
Unable to refute Alex, Diego merely gripped the table tightly.
“You’ll regret this…! Just you wait! You brat!”
Like subordinate, like master.
Leaving behind such an embarrassingly clichéd line that Alex almost felt a sense of déjà vu, Diego tried to leave.
But Alex had no intention of ever having to look at that face again.
“If he comes back next time, I should charge double. Right?”
“That’s too cheap. Way too cheap. How about triple?”
“I believe quadruple would not be unreasonable either. You are far too generous, my lord.”
The conversation between Alex, Elizabeth, and Hamilton was deliberately loud enough for Diego to hear.
As the Administrator responsible for Hari’s sources of revenue, Jack knew the truth with certainty.
If Carcosa did not close the sluice gates, Hari would first lose the ability to maintain its wine production.
Now that the fighting arena had been shut down, that would mean every major source of income for Hari was blocked.
And if Carcosa then reported Hari’s misconduct to the Emperor and the Grand Temple, the domain would simply be ruined.
In other words, Hari would inevitably collapse.
‘The one who’ll regret this for the rest of his life will be Lord Diego….’
Double?
Triple?
That was not even the real issue.
Once Hari suffered those losses, there was a strong possibility that no multiple of the original price would be enough to undo the damage.
No matter how foolish he was, Diego was still a lord.
Apparently, he finally understood the situation, because his steps abruptly stopped.
Jack could almost see the sweat trickling down Diego’s back.
“Oh? What is this? You still haven’t left? Did you already forget which way the exit is?”
Now Diego finally understood the source of the cheerfulness in Alex’s mocking voice.
This was a negotiation Alex could not lose.
“…S-so… ten percent of our wine production and 5,000 gold will settle this…?”
Diego, his arrogance finally broken, awkwardly returned to the negotiating table.
Alex merely grinned again.
The negotiation had already fallen apart once.
Why would the price remain the same?
“I’ve changed my mind a little. I am still a lord, after all. If I’m expected to overlook the way you insulted my people and still do business with you….”
Alex continued with a bright smile, as though to say there ought to be something more.
“Twenty percent of your wine production, and 10,000 gold.”
“Th-that’s…!”
“Would triple have been better after all?”
Diego tried to cling to his pride until the very end, but there was nothing he could do.
Alex had neither the need nor the particular desire to make this deal happen in the first place.
Even if he simply reported everything outright, would the Emperor or the Temple not compensate Carcosa to some extent?
Whether he squeezed the money out of Diego or received compensation elsewhere, Alex stood to profit either way.
“F-fine! Double… double! Twenty percent and 10,000 gold!”
“Hmm….”
Alex turned to look at Hamilton and Elizabeth behind him with an expression that seemed to ask, What should I do?
Watching him, Jack imagined what decision he himself would make in Alex’s place.
He would settle for that amount of money and first request the supplies necessary to operate the domain.
Jack had traveled back and forth twice now, and each time he had noticed that Carcosa’s residents lived with strangely worn-out clothes and shabby daily necessities.
It was clearly the result of being cut off from outside trade for so long.
If a lord became blinded by the immediate wealth before his eyes and neglected his residents, he would be no different from Diego.
“There happen to be a few things we were planning to purchase. If you bring us all of these, I think I could accept the offer at that price. As a neighborly courtesy?”
As though granting a generous favor, Alex accepted a bundle of documents from Hamilton and handed it to Diego.
Diego casually skimmed through the papers, while Jack glanced over his shoulder at the contents.
Various types of clothing and daily necessities.
Seeing events unfold almost exactly as he had expected gave Jack a subtle sense of exhilaration.
At the same time, he felt an unsettling sense of incongruity.
Was his place really behind Diego?
“V-very well! I’ll acquire all of these for you! So keep this secret from the Grand Temple and His Imperial Majesty!”
Diego had finally bent completely, yet Alex shamelessly wore a reluctant expression.
By continuing to act as though he were the one making the greater concession, Alex naturally placed himself in the dominant position.
“I’m not particularly enthusiastic about it…. But since you’re begging so desperately, I suppose I have no choice. At least sign the contract before you leave.”
Once again, as though everything had been prepared in advance, Hamilton immediately produced a contract.
Diego scanned it with trembling hands and bloodshot eyes without noticing anything unusual.
Jack, however, spotted something peculiar.
Every condition was already written into the document.
Twenty percent of Hari’s wine production.
10,000 gold.
And the requested goods.
It was as though Alex had known from the very beginning that the agreement would be concluded on exactly those terms.
***
The agreement between Hari and Carcosa was finalized.
Satisfied with how thoroughly he had squeezed them, Alex generously pretended to offer them permission to stay as long as they wished.
Of course, Diego hurried out of the office, declaring that he would leave first thing the next morning.
“….”
Late that night, Jack quietly came to see Alex again.
“I came to thank you.”
“I’m not particularly interested in gratitude that’s only words.”
His tone was half joking, half serious.
Alex’s expression was far more natural and unguarded than it had been when he dealt with Diego.
Even while facing that relaxed expression, Jack could not shake the feeling that Alex was no ordinary man.
There was something mysterious about him, as though he knew things others did not.
And he possessed the confidence and boldness to make use of whatever he knew.
After they studied one another for a moment, Alex spoke again.
“Jack Bex. I thought your name sounded familiar.”
Jack nodded at Alex’s words.
This was a man with enough intelligence-gathering capability to uncover Hari’s secret fighting arena.
There was no way he would have cooperated with Jack without first investigating his background.
“You’re the youngest son of the Bex Merchant Company, right?”
“That is correct.”
Jack answered readily, then asked a question of his own.
It was the same question as before, but his intention was different this time.
“Is there something you want?”
Jack had become certain of one thing.
Alex would not have helped him out of simple goodwill.
His actions had undoubtedly been taken with some profit to himself in mind.
Instead of answering directly, Alex asked a seemingly unrelated question.
“What does the Domain of Carcosa look like to you right now?”
Jack wondered whether he should answer honestly, then decided to say exactly what he thought.
“It is in danger. If this isolation continues, the domain will certainly not last long. You should use the wealth and supplies received from Hari as a foundation to restore stable trade with the outside world.”
Alex likely knew that already.
So why was he asking?
Jack looked at Alex with a mixture of doubt and suspicion, and Alex smiled.
“Right. And honestly, I was thinking you might be the right man to take responsibility for that.”
Jack felt a strange sensation at Alex’s words.
The profit Alex wanted from all this…
was Jack himself.
Somehow, it felt as though his worth had been acknowledged.
“If you establish a merchant company in Carcosa, I can offer tax reductions and various other privileges.”
Hari, one of the fastest-growing domains on the continent, already possessed abundant money and opportunity despite its incompetent lord.
And Carcosa, which still possessed almost nothing, had gained an extraordinary lord.
“And if you also serve as an Administrator for the domain, then the more Carcosa recovers, the more that achievement will become your own reputation.”
Rationally, Jack knew he should remain in Hari.
Yet something within him wavered.
Perhaps this truly was the place that needed him.
A place where he could fully exercise his abilities.
The thought kept returning.
“You’re different from your brothers, who can barely maintain what they inherited.”
Alex’s words struck deeply into Jack’s wavering heart.
Simply because he had been born later, Jack had been forced to surrender everything to his older brothers.
To conceal the inferiority and resentment that had caused him, Jack had worked even harder.
He had desperately wanted to prove himself.
‘I had talent. Realize the mistake you made when you discarded me merely because of birth order.’
Someday, he wanted to say those words to the parents and brothers who had looked down on him.
But what had Hari given him?
He had risen all the way to Administrator, a position close to the lord himself, yet he had achieved nothing that truly gave him satisfaction.
“…May I take some time to consider it?”
“Of course. I hope the next time you come, you’ll bring your answer with you.”
All Alex had offered him was bland cold water, yet Jack felt limitless possibility in the man before him.
If this domain truly held countless possibilities of rising again….
“…Yes. Until next time.”
Jack wanted to think about it carefully.
***
Several more days passed after that.
Alex charged forward, gripping his sword tightly so the blade he held at an angle would not waver.
Elizabeth merely stood in a proper stance, yet Alex could not find a single opening.
Alex’s sword shot sharply toward her waist, but Elizabeth deflected it with ease.
At the counterattack that immediately followed, Alex retreated two large steps.
Just as Elizabeth was about to attack again, the clear ringing of a bell came from the mill.
Only then did the two lower the swords they had been holding so fiercely.
“Haa…. Enough, enough!”
“You’re tired already? I keep telling you, sitting behind a desk all day has ruined your stamina….”
And it’s not because you’re a monster?
Alex stared at Elizabeth incredulously and drained the cool water Hamilton handed him in a single gulp.
[Skills : Radiant Light Lv.5, Holy Sword Lv.8, Sanctuary Lv.4]
Sparring with Elizabeth whenever he had time was proving fairly useful for increasing his skill proficiency.
At this point, he probably would not go somewhere alone and get stabbed to death for no reason.
And it was not only Alex himself.
The domain had now stabilized enough that he no longer needed to worry about a sudden rebellion breaking out either.
‘So… now I need to organize the farming plans….’
He also needed to plan how to eliminate the Magical Beasts in the next area.
There was too much to do.
Far too much.
Wiping away his sweat, Alex began sorting his priorities one by one.
He was just about to say something to Hamilton when he saw a guard sprinting frantically toward them from the castle.
“My lord! Hari is sending the goods they promised!”
“Oh…! Perfect timing. Hamilton, close the sluice gates as promised.”
Hamilton followed Alex as he immediately started moving.
“Should we not check the shipment list first?”
“Jack will have made sure it’s correct.”
Whatever decision Jack had made, he was someone who always kept his word once given.
That made him trustworthy.
But what decision he had ultimately reached was something even Alex could not know for certain.
Growing anxious, Alex quickened his pace.
Before long, an impressive procession of wagons from Hari came rolling through the middle of the shabby city.
Jack was among them, carrying a modest pack on his back.
“Greetings.”
He spotted Alex as well and bowed politely.
“Yeah, greetings are fine, but I’m more interested in what you decided.”
“You truly are impatient.”
At Alex’s habit of always charging directly to the point, Jack nodded.
“I gave it considerable thought….”
If he were to explain everything, there was quite a lot he wanted to say.
His doubts.
And the reasons that had ultimately led him to his decision.
But matching Alex’s impatient personality, Jack went directly to the point.
“I will work in Carcosa.”