Sign Merigold

1.

Had I ever used the phrase ‘total effort’?

It was after Lancel felt that he had almost exhausted his total effort from wandering the coast for decades in the previous iteration.

Another world.

The sea.

Wandering.

The best.

The vast forests, mountains, and fields of the continent were beautiful, of course, but it was hard to find a sight as dazzling as the sea, untouched by the pollution of civilization.

And what about the seafood that was caught as soon as you cast a fishing rod? Lancel was tempted to take these ingredients back to the 21st century and open a restaurant.

He had never cooked anything more elaborate than battlefield rations, but he felt that this level of sashimi would earn him at least a Michelin star.

‘My mouth is watering.’

He decided to forget for a while about where Marigold might be and what she might be doing.

Now that she could see well, she would be doing something to live. And well, she might get lucky and seduce a Prince on her own.

‘…Would she?’

Of course, the probability was close to zero.

In any case, Lancel was just looking forward to this 10-year vacation.

Finally, he was going. The island of dreams, the archipelago.

A land where whales swam, delicacies danced in your mouth, and beautiful women seduced.

.

.

.

“You’re making a fuss because you lost money! Ptooey!”

“Yo…you…!”

Lancel quietly watched the situation unfold.

Marigold.

It was certain.

It was Marigold.

“If you lost the bet, accept it like a man! Are you going to be so petty over just two silver coin? Aren’t you ashamed!”

“Th, this, I was going to let you off because you’re a kid!”

“Eek! He’s hitting me! This man is hitting an innocent person, everyone! Look at this!”

“I, I didn’t hit you! I haven’t hit you yet!”

Marigold.

She had grown up strong.

Lancel took a sip of fruit wine and watched the whole thing without saying a word.

‘How did she end up doing street gambling?’

The earliest Lancel would have seen Marigold was when she was 15 years old.

On the other hand, Marigold lost her noble status and left her family at exactly ’10 years old.’

In other words, Lancel was meeting Marigold at a point where 5 years had passed without him being involved at all.

This was why he met slightly different versions of Marigold each time.

The changes in her mind that occurred in the 5 years that Lancel did not see had affected her in many ways.

“Put money in and win money!”

Doing street gambling was a bit of a special case, though.

“I can’t stand it anymore, you scammer kid!”

“Eeek!”

Eventually, when a commotion broke out, Lancel couldn’t stand it any longer and stood up.

The man who lost money punched Marigold right in the face.

“Keang!”

1.

“Wow, I almost got into real trouble this time, but I survived thanks to you. Hehe.”

A blue bruise on her eye. A cloth blocking her nosebleed.

A fifteen-year-old kid gulping down fruit juice and exclaiming “Kheu-euh!” as if it were beer.

“I’m buying, so eat as much as you want, benefactor. Come on, hurry!”

“……”

Even the small hands patting Lancel’s back.

It was definitely Marigold.

“I heard that people in this area are a bit violent, but I never imagined they would punch someone as weak as me!”

The kid grinned with a blue bruise on her face.

Lancel, who had suddenly become curious, opened his mouth.

“You still look young, why are you so obsessed with money?”

“Huh? Money is good, benefactor.”

Marigold took out a shiny silver coin.

“Conflicts, disputes, sadness, resentment, hunger, all of these can be solved if you have this.”

She seemed to be creating conflicts.

“I mean, my goal is to go to the Imperial Capital.”

“Imperial Capital?”

Lancel tilted his head in confusion.

“Can’t you just go?”

“No. If I do that, I’ll just be going with my body, benefactor. I don’t want to go there without a penny and wander the streets.”

Marigold sighed as if lamenting.

“If a foreigner goes there without any preparation, there’s no place to work, it’s difficult to get permission to do business, and there are dangerous people everywhere, so there’s a risk of something going wrong.”

‘She’s smart?’

Lancel was purely impressed when he heard the thoughts he always had when he saw Marigold entering the Imperial Capital penniless and without a plan, coming from the person herself.

‘She’s even aware of it?’

What kind of 5 years did she spend? Did she hole up somewhere and get some lessons on current affairs and economics?

Lancel put down his glass and asked.

“So your goal is to go to the Imperial Capital with a lot of money.”

“Yes! I’m going to build a big mansion there first. I’ll have servants and gardeners, and I’ll have them bake fluffy bread every morning…! Ah, I heard that if you donate a lot to the Martyrdom Church, they’ll treat you like a quasi-noble, is that true?”

From Marigold’s goals, which she began to list with sparkling eyes, Lancel felt a glimpse of Baron Ibil Shen.

Yeah. Even if you’re pointed at as a nouveau riche and a fake noble, it’s best to have a lot of money.

“The goal is good. But if you spend 10 years gambling, you won’t be able to afford a mansion, let alone a maid’s room. It seems like the punch that flew at your face today will turn into a knife faster.”

“Kn, knives are a bit…”

Marigold quickly began to rub the area around her bruised eye with an herbal pouch, as if it was throbbing.

“I don’t have any intention of continuing to make money by scamming… I mean.”

She confessed.

“I’m not going to keep making money by gambling.”

“Then how are you going to make money?”

A knowing smile appeared on Marigold’s face.

“That’s obviously Shipping Investment.”

“Shipping Investment.”

Lancel sighed. Shipping Investment. In simple terms, it meant investing in merchant ships.

It was a business where you prayed for about 10 to 20 months that the merchant ship you invested in would leave for some distant continent and return full of valuable goods.

In this world, where most of the logistics were done by wagons, and even the few trains that existed were mortgaged to the Imperial Family and the military, Shipping Investment was quite a jackpot.

The most representative were salt and spices. There were not many items with such high value per weight.

If successful, it was said that the return on investment was often dozens to hundreds of times.

‘But… how is this different from gambling?’

Yes, if it could return.

Weather anomalies, outdated navigation, pirates, corrupt nobles, provocations from warring countries, the possibility of fraud or mutiny on board, and so on.

To succeed, you had to overcome all those obstacles. The probability was too low compared to the money spent.

This was why Shipping Investment was considered a do-or-die gamble.

‘Well, she’ll figure it out.’

Lancel rummaged through his pockets. He handed Marigold what he found.

“Take it.”

“Yes?”

Marigold blinked as she received the shiny object. She wondered if she had seen it wrong and opened her palm to check.

Three gold coins shimmering in her hand.

“……!”

Marigold was horrified and jumped up from her seat.

“Go…gold…!”

“Shh.”

“Eup! Eubeup!”

Lancel quickly covered her mouth.

“U, u, benefactor? Why are you giving me so much money…?”

Hugging the gold coins tightly in her arms as if she would never let them go, Marigold began to sweat profusely. Her wide eyes were constantly shaking.

“Think of it as an investment because you have big ambitions for a kid. Pay me back double later if you succeed. I’m giving you my travel expenses, too.”

“Even just two times the amount, giving me so much money… with only two times the interest…!”

Marigold knelt on the floor.

“I will definitely double, no, tenfold your money, benefactor! I, Mary, will definitely keep my promise. If I fail… I’ll pay you back somehow!”

“……Get up quickly, you’re making me uncomfortable.”

“Yes!”

Marigold’s face was beaming as she saw the gold shimmering in her hand.

“They said you can invest from five gold coins, so if I collect a little more… euhi, euhihihi.”

How did she become such a miser?

The money she stole from her family for travel expenses was a total of ten gold coins, so she had given Marigold a whopping 30% of it.

He didn’t have high expectations anyway.

He had no intention of sticking with Marigold in this iteration. Perhaps this was the last time he would see her in this iteration.

Lancel was supposed to be enjoying his vacation. He decided to consider the three gold coins as a minimum allowance he was giving her instead of leaving.

“I wish you good luck, future tycoon Mary.”

“Yes! Please come find me in the Imperial Capital, benefactor.”

Leaving Marigold, who was burning with motivation, Lancel went up to his lodgings. Suddenly, he heard her voice from behind.

“Benefactor! I haven’t heard your name yet!”

“Lancel.”

“Yes?”

Lancel replied again without looking back.

“Lancel Dante.”

The answer came after a moment of silence.

“Please! Come to the Imperial Capital!”

Her voice felt slightly trembling.

“I’ll build the biggest house in the Imperial Capital, and I’ll leave a spacious room for you to live as a freeloader…!”

“That much?”

Lancel chuckled and went up to his room.

“Do your best.”

2.

The next day, Lancel left the village immediately. It was going to be a long 10-year vacation.

But a problem arose after 2 years.

“I need to bring some money.”

He ran out of money. He had definitely been spending too much. After much deliberation, Lancel boarded a ship again to secure travel expenses.

And so he arrived at the port city.

“From now on, I will execute the 11 people who made unjust profits by investing in pirate ships!”

“I, I didn’t know they would become pirates! This is unfair…!”

“Shut up! Do you even know what ship your pirate ship attacked!”

There, Lancel met Marigold on the gallows.

Her face was pale and she was trembling. He could see the rope tightly around her neck. The moment the floor opened, she was destined to dangle.

“……”

Lancel silently wiped his face.

‘I expected the investment to fail, but…’