Ch.228Head of All Trading Companies, Dieta (2)

Dieta was busy.

After bathing, combing her hair, and despite having already decided what to wear last night, she still laid dozens of outfits on the bed and spent a long time contemplating which one to choose.

Some might say she was being excessive, asking if they weren’t all the same anyway…

But what did it matter? Dieta was enjoying this moment. She was simply indulging in the instinct that all humans possess—the desire to look good for someone. Spinning once in front of the mirror, Dieta nodded in satisfaction.

This one will do nicely.

Only after applying a light perfume did Dieta finally leave. The meeting place was the same reception room as always. Sitting on the sofa sipping tea, she glanced at the clock. About 10 minutes until the appointed time.

How long had it been since she’d waited for someone like this?

Merchants and nobles lined up with bundles of money just to speak with Dieta for even 10 minutes. Her appointments were booked solid for months ahead, and for someone who lived her life divided into minutes, time was literally gold.

An expensive commodity that nothing could buy.

But there was someone who could freely purchase—no, perhaps “purchase” wasn’t quite the right word? Dieta changed the word in her mind. Purchasing was one-sided. This wasn’t one-sided.

There was someone she could share her time with.

With a pounding heart, Dieta kept looking back and forth between the clock and the door. She strained her ears, focusing on sounds from the corridor. She would even sigh with disappointment when footsteps approached only to pass by the reception room.

Then, tap.

Footsteps approached. The moment she heard them, Dieta knew. They’re here. It’s that person. That person’s steps were always like this—light but powerful.

Three, two, one.

Dieta took a deep breath as she counted down. She knew that her composure would shatter after just a few words of conversation, or even just seeing that face, but she breathed deeply anyway. She always wanted to make a perfect first impression.

A few knocks. The door opened.

Dieta looked at Najin standing in the doorway. Her heart was pounding, but fortunately, she could pronounce her first words properly without her tongue getting tied.

“Welcome. It’s been a while, Najin.”

* * *

Sweet tea and an array of refreshments.

Najin felt almost moved as he finally ate proper food after so long. Ah, so this is what food tastes like? Having lived in the Outer Continent where one didn’t need to eat and food was hard to come by, food had started to feel unfamiliar.

“So,”

Najin told Dieta about his adventures in the Outer Continent.

“Did you see it in the newspaper? Let me tell you how I toppled one of the largest trading companies…”

Dieta told Najin about politics on the continent and how she had devoured the Roctid Trading Company. The two laughed often as they shared their stories without holding anything back. Just talking was enjoyable.

“So you’re close to controlling the Empire’s gold flow, as you said you would? I think I saw nothing but your company’s flags on my way here today.”

“Only Cornelhild remains. The groundwork is already done. If things go well, three months? At the latest, I’ll have consumed them by the end of the year.”

Najin smiled at how casually Dieta talked about swallowing another major trading company. While Najin was approaching the pinnacle as a warrior, the girl before him was infinitely close to the pinnacle as a merchant.

Though their fields were different, they had promised to walk their own paths and meet again at the top.

She was truly keeping that promise. Perhaps she might even reach the top before Najin did.

“You might reach the top before I do, Dieta.”

“What do you mean?”

Dieta tilted her head curiously.

“You said it back then. Controlling the flow of gold is your ‘first’ goal, and after that…”

She pointed to the towers surrounding the Empire’s imperial palace.

“There’s no law saying only Grand Magicians and Sword Masters can enter those towers, right? In the Empire’s 1000-year history, there was one time when a merchant was a candidate to become a Pillar.”

A certain merchant magnate in the Empire’s history.

There was once a merchant who controlled logistics, monopolized waterways and shipping routes, and accumulated immense wealth, becoming a candidate for a Pillar. Though ultimately unsuccessful, that merchant had succeeded in demonstrating the possibility.

“When you become a Sword Master, I plan to become one of those Pillars. It’s my dream, but I also have a reason why I must.”

Saying this, Dieta glanced at Najin.

“A reason? You mean revenge?”

“Revenge? Oh, against the Albania family? That’s already in progress. I’ve destroyed about twenty of their business partners, so they should be contacting me soon… Anyway, it’s a different reason.”

Though she casually mentioned something chilling, Najin nodded slowly. So what was the reason?

“So I can stand beside you.”

“You don’t need any qualifications to stand beside me…”

“I don’t want to be a burden to you. Even less do I want to be your weakness. I want to be helpful to you, not hold you back.”

And then, Dieta smiled.

“That way I can stay by your side for a long time.”

Only then did Najin realize what Dieta was talking about.

“You mean lifespan.”

“Yes, that’s it.”

Najin was still growing, so he was aging, but once his body finished developing in a few years, he would stop aging. Even at his current level, Najin had achieved immortality.

But Dieta was different.

She wasn’t a warrior, and no matter how much gold she spent, she could only hide the effects of aging. As time passed, she would grow old and die. Like most humans.

“But if I obtain a Star, things would be different.”

And Dieta had no intention of remaining like most humans. If she obtained a Star, she could achieve immortality like Najin.

“If I become a Pillar of the Empire, with that level of achievement, wouldn’t I be granted at least one Star? I’d be the first in a thousand years of history.”

“Well, I suppose so.”

“Your reaction is so lukewarm! As if having collected five Stars yourself, one is nothing…”

Seeing Dieta’s pouting expression, Najin smiled and shook his head.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what?”

“I think you’ll obtain a Star regardless.”

Najin narrowed his eyes.

With his perception approaching that of a transcendent being, Najin couldn’t tell exactly how many Stars someone possessed, but he could sense a newborn Star.

Starlight dwelled within Dieta.

Though not yet coalesced into a single Star, Najin could see the flowing starlight that would soon become one.

“What? What do you mean?”

“It’s nothing. It’s getting late. Didn’t you say you made a reservation at a restaurant for seven? Let’s go.”

“Wait, Najin. What do you mean by…”

2.

Najin and Dieta sat at a window table in an upscale restaurant they had visited together during a previous trip to the Empire’s capital, continuing their conversation over dinner.

“That window table…”

“Those two people…”

But there were a few differences from the past, one being that all eyes were now focused on them. In this establishment where most patrons were nobles, everyone recognized these two faces.

No noble living in the capital could fail to recognize Dieta, the head of the trading company, and no citizen of the Empire could fail to recognize Najin.

Though they had heard he had briefly returned from the Outer Continent, no one expected to see him here. Among the whispering nobles, one person sat with an expression as if he had bitten into an insect.

“My appetite is completely gone.”

Ageshio Albania.

The eldest son of the Albania family sighed and put down his utensils. Glancing at the detestable face at the table drawing everyone’s attention, Ageshio clicked his tongue.

Having failed in his attempt to seize Dieta’s company in Cambria, he was now rebuilding his position in the capital. Normally, he would be receiving training as the next head of the Albania ducal family by now, but… one failure had completely shaken Ageshio’s foundation.

He had failed spectacularly, and that failure had been immortalized as a ridiculous theatrical performance. He had left an indelible stain on his family.

“If only that child were in your place instead…”

When Ageshio heard his father mutter those words, he couldn’t contain his irritation. Originally, Dieta had been merely “an eyesore” to Ageshio, but now he felt inferior to her.

‘Wasn’t that window table supposed to be impossible to reserve?’

The staff had clearly said the table was reserved only for VIPs and couldn’t be booked. Even when he argued that if the first son of a ducal family wasn’t a VIP, then who was, they refused to answer. So it was reserved for that woman.

Crunch.

Grinding his teeth, Ageshio rose from his seat. Though he had made this reservation with difficulty, it was clear he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the food now. With a deeply furrowed expression, he gestured.

“Let’s go.”

The knights accompanying Ageshio also stood up. Among them was Griffin, who had once been the captain of the Albania ducal family’s knights.

Sword Seeker, Griffin.

Also known as the Knight of Thorns.

Having received orders from the duke to watch over his son, and needing to take responsibility for failing an important mission, he was staying by Ageshio’s side in the capital. As a knight who silently followed orders, he was about to leave with his master when he casually glanced aside.

There was a young man looking in their direction.

A young man he had once confronted.

The moment their eyes met, Griffin stopped in his tracks. Ageshio, who had been walking ahead, also stopped. He looked at the rigid Griffin and urged, “What are you doing, Sir Griffin? Let’s go,” but Griffin didn’t move.

…If their eyes hadn’t met, it would have been fine.

But once their eyes met, there was a protocol that had to be followed between Griffin and the young man sitting there. It was the protocol of knights.

Click.

Griffin approached Najin. As Ageshio tilted his head in confusion, Griffin approached Najin and slowly lowered his waist. He bowed his head, offering a salute at an angle similar to how he would greet his master.

“Sir Griffin, what is this…!”

Ageshio’s eyes widened.

Griffin was a knight of the Albania ducal family. How could he salute someone else in front of his master? Before Ageshio could finish shouting “What are you doing?”, Griffin spoke.

“I pay my respects to Sir Najin, the Free Knight.”

He said this while keeping his head bowed to Najin.

3.

Free Knight.

A title that could only be granted with the consent of both the Emperor and the Knights of Atanga. The last time this title had been bestowed in the Empire’s history was during the era of King Arthur, meaning it hadn’t been awarded for a full 1000 years.

When it became known that such a title had been bestowed upon Najin, the general public simply nodded and said, “Ah, he deserves it,” but among knights, the story was quite different.

What is a Free Knight?

It was the title held by the most noble knights who fought alongside Knight King Arthur. No matter how much 1000 years had passed since that era, and how much the meaning of the word “knight” had faded… the Free Knight was an exception.

An exception, beyond comparison, and unchanging.

A Free Knight is a knight who protects knights.

The most honorable knight, the most prideful knight, and a being to whom all knights must show respect.

This was the unwritten rule among knights.

An unwritten rule that had existed for 1000 years. If Griffin had been an ordinary knight, ignoring this rule might not have been a big problem. He would face some criticism and his reputation would suffer. But Griffin belonged to the Albania ducal family and had been the captain of the duke’s knights.

If such a person broke the unwritten rule, if he failed to show respect after making eye contact with a Free Knight…

‘It would be a problem.’

It wouldn’t be a problem if no one made it one, but if the other side decided to make an issue of it, they could easily find fault. Moreover, not only was Najin there, but also a cunning woman who knew every minute detail of such protocols.

Snake-like gleaming eyes were watching Griffin.

With the gazes of nobles also fixed on them, Griffin didn’t have many options.

“…”

Najin was not only a Free Knight but also a figure who had the attention of the entire Empire, the protection of the Empire’s First Seal Gerd, and even the support of the Emperor. When confronting such a prominent figure had already become a weakness for the Albania ducal family, they couldn’t afford another vulnerability.

Griffin made his choice.

Having lived in noble society for many years, Griffin knew what he had to do. He approached Najin, bowed his head, and saluted.

“I pay my respects to Sir Najin, the Free Knight.”

Glory to the knight who protects knights.

With numerous nobles watching, Griffin lowered his posture. He felt a bitterness in his mouth as he bowed to someone he had once looked down upon. Though it was for his master’s honor, Griffin was still human.

However, he neatly tucked away his emotions. He didn’t display any childish behavior outwardly.

“What.”

But.

“What is this impropriety, Sir Griffin!”

His master was not so composed.

An enraged Ageshio Albania strode over with bulging eyes. Griffin felt the back of his neck tighten.