The rest of the matters would be left to Number Zero to handle on its own.
Next, it was time for him to go home and take a rest.
Returning to his little cottage, he didn't see any vampires.
What a diligent bunch. To be so actively exploring the dungeon is truly gratifying.
Li Xiuman lamented with deep satisfaction.
Afterward, he paid a visit to the Reby Merchant Association, where Tedela happily welcomed him.
After handing over all the materials he had collected, Li Xiuman pretended to drink the black tea brought to him by the cat-eared maid, Ramantiel.
After all, Ramantiel was looking at him with a face full of anticipation.
It would be too rude not to drink it.
“No need to pay me out right now. Just put this money on the merchant association's tab.”
Li Xiuman said casually while “drinking” his tea.
He had just mined gold sand anyway, so he wasn't short on money.
Leaving it with the merchant association would even earn him some interest.
Especially in the Reby Merchant Association, where he held shares, the interest was even higher.
As the saying goes, the speaker might have meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart.
Tedela's mind quickly raced, instantly linking this remark to Jetis, who had come to find her earlier.
She could only think, As expected.
Earlier, Jetis had come to her, taking the opportunity to launch a deep cooperation between the Blood Bone Organization and the Reby Merchant Association.
This collaboration had unveiled a grand blueprint for business.
With Tedela's sharp business acumen, she had naturally recognized the viability of this path at a single glance.
Now, it seemed that the Skeleton Lord was worried Jetis wouldn't have enough funds, so he had delivered another sum of money.
However, the Skeleton Lord probably didn't know that the Blood Bone Organization had already completed their first business deal and established a partnership with the Red Dwarf Blacksmith.
They had already delivered a batch of fine weapons to White Bear City and earned a massive sum of gold coins; they were no longer lacking in funds.
Furthermore, a branch of the Reby Merchant Association had already opened in Iron River City.
Wait, what was it that Jetis said...?
We must ponder every word of the Master, for they carry hidden meanings...
Thinking of this, Tedela did not rashly speak up to explain the situation.
A matter like this was undoubtedly something the Skeleton Lord had long anticipated.
Therefore, the meaning behind the Skeleton Lord's words was...
Don't worry about the money; I have plenty here. Go ahead and spend the earned money to expand our business scale!
Is that it?!
I see, I see!
“I understand, Lord Skeleton. Please rest assured.”
Tedela entered the sum into the ledger and nodded seriously.
Holy crap, no, what on earth did you understand?
Li Xiuman was a bit baffled. He was literally just depositing a sum of money with her. What was there to "understand" about that?
Li Xiuman wanted to ask, but doing so would make him look extremely foolish.
Dammit, seriously.
He took a “sip” of black tea to calm his nerves.
At any rate, leaving his money with the Reby Merchant Association put him at ease.
After seeing Li Xiuman off, Tedela quickly sought out Jetis, who was working in the basement.
“The Skeleton Lord just came to see me.”
Startled, Jetis's face lit up with joy, and she quickly looked up.
“Has Master returned?!”
“Did Master say anything?”
Jetis asked in rapid succession.
Tedela quickly recounted Li Xiuman's words along with her own analysis.
Hearing this, Jetis calmed down, pinching a lock of hair falling over her forehead and gently twirling it.
“It seems none of this has exceeded Master's expectations.”
“Or perhaps, it has even left Master a bit disappointed.”
“This is due to my lack of competence.”
Jetis sighed, speaking with a heavy heart.
“Do not underestimate yourself. You are the most naturally gifted merchant and the smartest person I've ever met.”
Tedela quickly comforted her.
“Lady Tedela, please don't comfort me any further.”
“A version of me that gets complacent over a tiny bit of success deserves no sympathy.”
“It's not too late. We must rapidly expand our business scale.”
Jetis rolled out a map.
Iron River City was already circled and checked on it.
“To the west is Black Wolf City. It borders mountains rich in minerals, but it lacks lumber.”
“To the north is White Crystal City, ruled by Marquis Rose. It's a prosperous and wealthy major city, so its transportation routes are highly developed.”
“To the south is Old Mountain City. Nestled against endless mountains and forests, its lumber is dirt cheap.”
Jetis spoke as she drew.
“We will establish branches of the Reby Merchant Association in all three cities simultaneously.”
“We'll purchase ore from Black Wolf City, transport it through White Bear City to Iron River City, and then buy equipment and magic tools from Iron River City.”
“Those will be transported back to White Bear City, and from White Bear City, we'll ship them to White Crystal City to sell to the merchant associations there.”
“As for the lumber from Old Mountain City, we'll also route it through White Bear City to send to Black Wolf City.”
Jetis sketched out a trade hub centered around White Bear City.
“I believe this must be what Master has in mind.”
Tedela felt a bit dizzy looking at it.
The sheer volume of visible profits was staggering.
However, maintaining this trade route would require true strength, not to mention a massive amount of gold coins to pave the way.
Yet, Jetis was not at all worried about lacking the necessary power.
As long as they rescued enough of their kind—surely, Lord Rorona's side had already completed the rescue of a batch of vampires.
“Let's not use the name Reby Merchant Association for the branches.”
“This is a plan between you and your Master. I'm not thick-skinned enough to let the branches piggyback off the Reby Merchant Association's name.”
Jetis did not object either.
To her, the Master's interests naturally reigned supreme.
As a secret organization, Blood Bone upheld their Master's guidance, hiding in the dark to act as his shadow.
Therefore, the merchant association operating in the open had to adopt a different name.
“Let's call it the White Feather Merchant Association. It sounds very decent.”
This way, surely no one would connect White Feather with Blood Bone.
Jetis went right back to work.
The funds, which had briefly become comfortable after their first profitable deal, immediately grew extremely tight once again.
“La-di-da-di-da~”
Having deposited a sum of money with the merchant association, Li Xiuman cheerfully hummed a tune in the deserted alleyways as he walked home.
He only stopped when he reached his doorstep.
After all, he had to maintain his majestic dignity as the Master in front of those vampires.
However, Li Xiuman was destined to have put on a useless show.
There still wasn't a single vampire at home.
That's bizarre. Are they all really that hyper-competitive? Busy enough that they don't even return home at night.
It seems the grand promises I drew up for them really did the trick.
With how much I've leveled up by now, I should have enough capacity to bestow a True Name upon one of them.
I'll find an opportunity to reward one of them. After all, with them working themselves to the bone like this, it would be pretty hard to justify if he, the boss, didn't show some appreciation.
My conscience would trouble me.
Coming down to the basement, he pulled out The Skeleton's Magic Book and carefully studied and recorded his insights from this excursion.
He also reviewed his past records.
Occasionally, he would spot issues with his earlier entries where his current perspective differed from the past, and he would note those differences in the margins.
After all, his past thoughts were also precious; he preferred not to erase them if he could help it.
By the time he snapped out of his book, the world outside had brightened and darkened again—an entire day had actually passed.
“Number Zero, clean up—”
Right, Number Zero is currently on its mission.
Closing his magic book, Li Xiuman stood up.
Number One already existed, which was the Golem spider transformed from his wand.
“Should I make a humanoid Number Two next?”
Far away in Viscount Fantes's manor, Number Zero's arm suddenly twitched, shattering the cup filled with black tea in its hand.
Number Zero tilted its head, staring down at the porcelain shards on the floor, looking thoroughly puzzled.
The nearby maid hurriedly lowered her head and began cleaning up the floor.
Rate on N.U.
