Chương 147

In the real world, Cecilia didn't have to work for anything. Her family owned a global shipping conglomerate that moved billions of dollars a day. She could have lived a life of absolute luxury without lifting a single finger. But in Satisfy, she started with nothing but her clothes and ten silvers. She built the Silver Crest merchant group entirely from scratch. She fell in love with the brutal, completely unfiltered economy of the game. It was her personal proving ground.

Yet, despite her absolute genius, she was stuck at Rank 2. The problem was Kir. The 1st Ranked Merchant was just as talented as her but utterly despicable. He spread vicious rumors to NPC nobles, bribed corrupt officials, and blackmailed guild masters. He stepped on anyone he could to accumulate wealth. Because Kir played dirty and ruined her supply chains behind her back, her traditional market strategies were constantly taking damage. She was desperate for a breakthrough.

She needed a supply network Kir couldn't touch. That was exactly why she sought out Vespera. If she could prove herself today and inherit the massive Ves Merchant Group, she could finally crush him. Cecilia sat down in the Lord's Office inside Stormbreak. Vespera sat near the window, quietly observing the room. Rudra sat across from Cecilia, leaning back in his chair. Next to him sat a young, tired-looking clerk holding a shiny golden abacus. Cecilia immediately shifted into her business mode.

She didn't care if Rudra was the Zenith. Profit was profit.

"Let's be entirely honest, Lord Duke," Cecilia started, tapping her manicured nails on the wooden desk.

"Stormbreak is expanding way too fast. You are building new walls, housing sectors, and an alchemy tower simultaneously. You are bleeding gold. You desperately need a distributor, but you have no established trade network and the roads are dangerous. I will take the risk and move your goods, but Silver Crest requires a seventy-thirty profit split in our favor." Rudra didn't say anything. He just looked at Silas. Silas gently placed his golden abacus on the desk. Clack.

"Declined," Silas said. His voice was completely flat, holding zero intimidation but absolute certainty.

"Your valuation assumes our roads are unsafe. Our Vanguard division cleared the surrounding thirty miles of monster camps just yesterday. Transportation hazard is minimal." Winfred smiled from the corner of the room, chiming in.

"The main highways are fully patrolled by our knights. Your wagons won't see a single goblin." Cecilia raised an eyebrow. The tactician and the clerk were perfectly in sync. Silas didn't stop.

"Furthermore, the massive spike in regional spice prices over the last month tells me the Ves Merchant Group recently lost their primary northern spice route. You need a massive, stable supplier just as badly as we need a distributor. We offer a tax-free hub. We take sixty percent, you take forty." Cecilia's eyes narrowed. This was a talented and annoying NPC.

"Fine," Cecilia shot back.

"But factoring in carriage maintenance, mercenary hazard pay for the border crossings, and capital city tariffs—" This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. They went to war. Numbers flew across the table. Cecilia tried to overwhelm the young clerk with complex tariff loopholes and aggressive bulk-discount demands. To her absolute shock, Silas didn't even sweat.

Using his SS-grade [Administration] talent, he flawlessly countered every single one of her financial traps. He slid the golden beads on his abacus so fast they blurred, casually dismantling her arguments with perfect math. At one point, Cecilia slid a drafted contract forward. Silas scanned the parchment for exactly two seconds. He tapped a specific line near the bottom.

"A two percent 'unforeseen transit fee' hidden in the fine print?" Silas looked up, glaring silently at her. Cecilia coughed, her cheeks turning slightly pink. She grabbed a quill and quickly crossed it out.

"Typo." Rudra watched the two of them bicker for a few more minutes before he let out a loud sigh. He reached into his inventory and dumped a pile of items directly onto the center of the desk. Heavy, glowing deep-sea pearls clattered against the wood. Sheets of shimmering abyssal silk spilled over the edges. Chunks of rare, water-attuned ores pulsed with faint blue light. Cecilia stopped talking. She stared at the pile.

"This is our main export," Rudra said casually.

"It comes from the Siren Kingdom. We have exclusive trading rights with a mythical underwater kingdom that no other merchant has access to. On top of that, we have a completely safe sea route across the continent that bypasses all the major land borders and their insane tariffs." Cecilia's breath hitched. Her mind raced. Kir didn't have a naval fleet. He had zero influence over the ocean. He couldn't bribe sea monsters, and he certainly couldn't blackmail an entire kingdom hidden under the water.

This was an absolute, untouchable monopoly.

"Sixty-forty split," Cecilia said instantly, agreeing to Silas's terms.

"I will personally oversee the distribution. Kir won't see a single piece of this market." Rudra grinned.

"Deal." With the financial crisis officially solved, Vespera and Cecilia packed up the signed contracts and left the office to prepare their caravans. Winfred stepped up to the desk and unrolled a map of the territory.

"A very profitable morning, My Liege. But the Duchy remains busy."

"Give me the quick version," Rudra said, standing up and stretching.

"Kentrick and Singuled are pushing deep into the wastelands," Winfred reported, tracing a line on the map.

"They aren't just hunting the monsters anymore. They are clearing out the high-level troll dens in the northern canyons so our stone masons can safely build the new quarries. They are also setting up forward observation posts to warn us of any monster migrations."

"Good. And the recruits?"

"Sir Dante is running a brutal boot camp in the barracks," Winfred smiled slightly.

"He is teaching the recruits how to hold a proper shield wall against a cavalry charge. Anyone who breaks formation has to run laps in full armor until they throw up."

"What about Piaro?" Rudra asked.

"Out in the fields," Winfred said.

"He is training our farmers on the field and it looks like he will double our crop harvest soon. He has been happily experimenting with the soil, producing various high-quality crops and new agricultural products." Rudra nodded.

"And Elysia?"

"Locked inside the new Alchemy Tower. She is mass-producing health and stamina potions for Kentrick's hunters. She is pushing her alchemy level up very quickly. Also, Icarus and Amelda have safely reached the treacherous mountain ranges. They are currently on a delicate scouting mission, attempting to make first contact with the territorial Beastman tribes."

"Perfect. Everything is moving," Rudra said.

"But if we want to actually hit the massive export quotas Cecilia just agreed to, I need to go finalize the numbers with the Siren King." Rudra turned to Silas, who was busy organizing his fresh ledgers into neat stacks.

"Pack a bag, Silas. You're coming with me to handle the math." Silas froze. The golden abacus slipped from his fingers, clattering onto the desk.

"T-The ocean, My Liege? But I... I have never left a desk in my entire life. I don't know how to swim."

"Don't worry," Rudra laughed, tossing the estate keys to Winfred.

"Mumud is coming too. He'll put a magic bubble over your head. Probably." Silas looked absolutely terrified.