Ch.5Flesh from Bone

“How is it?”

“Very well done, Sir Ignatz.”

“Hehehe…”

I’d like to stamp a ‘well done’ seal on him if I had one. Ignatz had faithfully carried out my orders.

After personally commending him, I ordered my servants to take the carcasses of beasts and monsters he had brought to the butcher shop. Simultaneously, I moved my hand to establish the foundation for a tannery workshop away from the residential area.

Soon, workers would be busy processing those raw hides into leather that craftsmen could use.

“By the way, were there any casualties?”

“None, Your Majesty. Ah, one soldier who was hit by a manticore’s tail will need at least a few months of recovery.”

“Well, that’s to be expected.”

I myself had my head literally cracked open by bandits’ stone throws, and a manticore’s tail must be at least stronger than stone throws.

Damn, my head hurts again just thinking about it.

“You may leave now. I have work to attend to.”

“Yes! Your Majesty.”

As Ignatz closed the door behind him, I sat in my chair and began to feel the sensation of the medicine Michaela was applying.

It was encouraging news that no one had died. Honestly, I had expected about 10-20 casualties.

For me, it was all gain and no loss, which meant I could now show off to the merchants who would soon arrive.

Who am I?

A ruler who made the roads safe.

Who am I?

A ruler with a damn impressive inventory.

Those lowly merchants will probably go cross-eyed just looking at it.

Leather was surprisingly valuable, always in short supply relative to demand, making it a commodity where the asking price was the price.

Since shoes, clothes, belts, hats, armor, and gloves were all made of leather, there was simply no way for prices to come down.

And most importantly, parchment.

Honestly, it’s just called parchment. It’s simply processed leather used for writing, but since processed leather is essential for administrative work, flawless long pieces of leather were coveted by any merchant.

“Is anyone there?”

“Did you call, Your Majesty?”

“Reward the soldiers who participated in this subjugation with one sack of flour each.”

“I shall carry out your order.”

What I gave to my soldiers was flour.

Is that enough as a reward? Of course it is.

In this world, a sack of pure wheat flour unmixed with other grains was an extremely expensive item.

Most people in my city were at the level of eating famine crops like potatoes garnished with leaves gathered from mountains. Even the more well-off households could only afford to make pancakes with rye or buckwheat.

After working hard for days, soldiers who got to eat white bread at home would shout “Long live Lord Tiberius!” even with their throats full of bread.

*

Clatter! Clatter!

“You’ve arrived earlier than expected?”

“With no monsters or beasts around, we got excited and picked up speed. I apologize for increasing our pace without permission.”

“No need. The sooner the better…”

The caravan leader said this while gazing at the small city before him.

It could only be called a city rather than a large village because of the castle that arrogantly looked down on the people from the edge of the settlement—a place with no stone walls, not even a palisade.

Now that winter was in full swing, most goods had already been sold, but for small and medium merchants like the caravan leader, winter was a time for purchasing.

Winter was the season to carefully consume what had been gathered, but if one had surplus, it was common sense to trade it for necessities.

“Well, I don’t expect anything spectacular from this city though…”

It was a rude remark, but shouldn’t a city at least have a palisade?

Even with the protection of the earth god, it seemed too careless.

“Halt.”

“Who goes there?”

“A guard. Probably a checkpoint.”

“A checkpoint, huh.”

At least they had posted sentries. A soldier armed with an arming sword approached the caravan leader’s wagon at the front of the caravan.

Knock! Knock!

Creak!

When the soldier knocked on the door, the caravan leader opened it and came out. The cold air instantly froze his body, but that couldn’t erase the merchant’s smile.

“My, working hard in this cold weather!”

“Well, we have to make a living somehow. Who are you?”

Bribing the guard or being overly familiar would be counterproductive. Here, just making an impression was enough.

“I am Dimitri, leading a modest caravan.”

“Selling? Buying?”

Once Dimitri identified himself as a caravan leader, the soldier asked if he had come to sell or buy.

“I’ve come to buy this time.”

“To buy… You’ve come at just the right time.”

“The right time?”

What’s this? Do they really have something good?

“His Majesty conducted a large-scale subjugation, so the butchers are busy dissecting carcasses. Other merchants have already arrived, so if you’re thinking of buying leather, you’d better move quickly. Pass through!”

Large-scale subjugation? Leather?!

This was an unexpected windfall. If he could buy leather in bulk from this backwater place, next year’s first-half sales would be guaranteed!

As soon as he heard the word “pass,” Dimitri urged his drivers to cross the town, and upon reaching the castle entrance, he pressed the castle guards to let him in quickly.

“Let me in quickly! The leather might all be sold out!”

“My, you’re in a hurry. You may enter now.”

Having received information that other merchants had already entered, Dimitri moved faster than anyone else, quicker than others.

And when I entered the castle, what the caravan leader saw was dozens of merchants with the same anxious look in their eyes.

*

“Are these all the merchants who have gathered?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Before me were no fewer than 20 merchants.

They were all prostrating themselves before me, waiting for my command to rise.

“All of you, raise your heads.”

At my words, the prostrated merchants all rose at once, and they all looked at me with eager eyes.

Thud!

I raised my hand and dropped a severed manticore head before them.

“Eeeek?!”

“Aaaaah!”

Startled by the sudden appearance of what looked like a human head, the merchants recoiled backward and to the sides. Only after someone gathered the courage to examine the teeth closely did they realize it was a manticore.

“Which road did you take to enter this city?”

“This humble one came through the forest path.”

“I did as well.”

“Me too…”

When all twenty said they had come through the forest path, I summoned to the floor the leather that the tanners had been working on without rest.

Splat! Flop!

“Ohh…”

“My goodness, such precious things…”

Seeing the long, processed leather strips, the merchants’ eyes began to fill with greed, and that’s when I spoke.

“Of course, this isn’t all the leather we have. Some hasn’t been brought out yet, and some is still being tanned.”

In truth, leather can be rolled up, so all the leather summoned here could fit in a single wagon.

However, items with such variable volume should be made to look as impressive as possible. By deliberately spreading out the leather pieces and stacking them neatly, I had completely focused the merchants’ attention on the leather.

“As a ruler with some economic sense, I don’t intend to price gouge. After all, this leather was obtained just this once, and there’s no guarantee I’ll get this much again.”

“Then…?”

“I will allocate a portion of leather to each of you, and you can choose whether to purchase it or not.”

“Then if someone declines, their share of leather…”

“Will be sold through auction to whoever offers the highest price.”

To put it simply:

I set a fixed price and offer an equal amount of leather to all 20 merchants. Those who want to buy at this price can buy, those who don’t can opt out.

If anyone opts out, their share of leather will be auctioned to the highest bidder among the remaining merchants.

A very simple system.

“Now then, let’s begin our market game.”

*

The market game ended in two hours.

Of the 20 merchants, 17 purchased leather, while the remaining three negotiated with me to buy surplus meat and bones, extra arrows, and winter clothing before leaving the castle. Afterward, a battle of nerves began among the 17 merchants for the three remaining shares of leather.

Surprisingly, only one merchant took all three shares, and his name was Dimitri.

“Hahaha! It’s all mine!”

As a result, he had to give me all the money he had on hand, but judging by the look in his eyes, the immediate loss didn’t seem to matter much. He was busy counting on his fingers, deeply absorbed in thoughts of future profits.

“Now that we’re finished, you may all leave. Show the document I gave you to the warehouse keeper, and he will provide your leather.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty! We will visit again!”

The merchants, all satisfied with their shares, rushed out of the castle toward the warehouse.

And I too had gained quite a tidy sum from this transaction.

Most importantly, I had secured implicit rights to the territory.