Sign Merigold

8.

Thinking about it, the Caravans in this world were very different from 21st-century corporations.

In a civilization where even the concept of division of labor didn’t exist, a Caravan was simply a group of people who gathered together saying, “We’ll do anything for money!”

In that sense, Mary’s Trading Company was a bit unique from the start.

“We’re doing salt! We’ll only handle salt! We’ll gather all the salt scattered across the continent, pile it up here, and then resell it when the price goes up!”

“Won’t you handle leather, oil, or spices?”

“Only salt!”

“What about beeswax or honey…”

“Only salt!”

“Textiles…”

“Salt!”

What had happened over the past few years? Marigold had become fixated on the keyword “salt” and insisted on it exclusively.

When asked why later, she said,

“I once crossed the prairie without salt while traveling as a merchant… Ugh…”

“…”

Marigold trembled as if recalling a trauma. I figured it would be something like that, and sure enough, it didn’t stray from my expectations.

Of course, Lancel didn’t stop Marigold’s decision. He didn’t want to get too involved in this playthrough, as his goal was a vacation.

Coincidentally, the value of salt was about to skyrocket from this point onward.

The increasingly heated war was the culprit.

‘Salt is the most necessary thing in war.’

Where many humans gathered, a lot of salt was needed. An army that ran out of salted food would have its morale plummet to the point where it couldn’t fight anymore.

Lancel knew very well from past experiences how devastated an army could become just because it couldn’t have that salty taste.

There was a time when the moment a pinch of salt entered his mouth, he felt a dizzying sensation, blood rushing to the top of his head, and an overwhelming sense of life. He had never experienced anything similar in the blessed 21st century.

His intense obsession with the sea and seafood might have been due to spending most of his early playthroughs on the battlefield.

‘He’s like that because he couldn’t eat salt.’

Salt.

In just three more years, a Special tax would be imposed on salt. The Imperial Family couldn’t possibly allow anyone other than themselves to buy and sell that precious salt.

==========

—Market Price Alert!!! The price of purchased salt has increased 7.5 times! Rumors are spreading that Mary’s Trading Company’s vaults are piled high with salt!

※There are suspicious people offering up to 10 times the price! Should we secretly sell it off and make some money?

==========

And as expected, the price of salt soared.

There was no need to go and resell it. Merchants who heard the rumors came to Viscount Dante’s territory with their wagons.

“Kuhahaha! Tell all our Wise ones to stop farming from today! Tell them to come and hammer Rock salt!”

“Kyaa!”

Watching Viscount Dante, who had lost his dignity in front of the gold coins, dancing around with Marigold on his shoulders, Lancel chuckled silently.

Caravan leader Marigold.

She had hit the jackpot.

“I will revive this Dante family!”

Around that time, Marigold’s nose was in the air. It was also around this time that her eccentric behavior began.

“Hey.”

Lancel found the 21-year-old Marigold hiding under the blanket.

9.

An odd sensation detected in the bed he had casually laid down in. Sensing a clinging presence, Lancel lifted the blanket.

Marigold, with her eyes closed, had snuck into his bed. She was breathing rhythmically as if asleep, and subtly snuggling up to him.

Lancel narrowed his eyes at the heat emanating from her body.

“Are you asleep?”

“…”

Ah, is that the concept?

Lancel reached for the table. He picked up a quill and gently brushed the feather part against Marigold’s ear.

“Hieeek, hieeeuk!”

She startled and flinched.

But it was only for a moment. Marigold quickly resumed pretending to be asleep.

“…Asleep?”

“…”

Once more.

“Geegigeek!”

It was an extreme reaction, but Marigold stubbornly maintained the sleeping act.

Lancel eventually put down the quill and this time blocked her nose. When she tried to open her mouth in a hurry, he sealed it shut with his hand.

“…”

She’s holding out for a long time?

At 30 seconds, 50 seconds, 60 seconds. Marigold’s face turned red and she gradually began to struggle.

“Puhahaaak!”

Marigold gasped for breath and raised her upper body.

“Ah, um, Benefactor, why are you here…”

“I came because it’s my room.”

“Ah, aaaaah! I think I mistook the room!”

The acting was awkward.

“It’s too much trouble to go back, can I just sleep next to you? Good night, Benefactor.”

“It’s a quick walk, what’s troublesome about it.”

Marigold brazenly lay down next to Lancel.

This strange behavior that had been noticeable for some time.

Lancel already had an idea.

——————————

Charm 75.

Morality 19.

Elegance 58.

Sensitivity 63.

Allure 152.

Magic Power 1.

Strength 38.

Stamina 33.

Faith 21.

Condition 77.

——————————

‘Why?’

Lancel wondered why that stat alone had increased so much in the merchant route, of all routes.

What was certain was that this girl was a beast right now. Yes. A beast constantly eyeing something of his.

“You must be tired, please sleep well, Benefactor. I’ll get some sleep too.”

“Move your hand.”

“…There’s nowhere else to put it…”

A hand slithering towards his leg like a snake.

Lancel ended up picking her up and carrying her to her room.

What was the biggest change when ‘that stat’ increased?

From a gamer’s perspective, it meant that the variety of outfits Marigold could pull off had widened.

Taking advantage of the warm weather after spring, Marigold’s indoor attire became increasingly revealing.

“Benefactor.”

At first, she wore clothes that only exposed her shoulders, but later she approached him in outfits that showed her stomach. Some were even see-through.

“I’m tired, Benefactor. I must have worked too hard today.”

“You’ve been auto-hunting at the Caravan all day, how shameless.”

“Auto…?”

“There’s such a thing.”

It was commonplace for her to cling to Lancel’s body.

It was no exaggeration to say that she was always like this, except when Lady Dante was watching.

Unlike Viscount Dante, who had no interest in arranged marriages, his mother had a very firm belief that nobles should marry nobles.

And the next day.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

Lancel grabbed a Caravan member who had visited the mansion. The man was carrying something wrapped in silk.

He had been suspiciously looking around since earlier, as if gauging the situation.

“Let’s see what you’re carrying.”

“Ah, this, this is nothing, Young Master, just, uh, that, uh, whatchamacallit…”

“If it’s nothing, it’s okay to see. Bring it here.”

“I, it’s really nothing…”

Lancel grabbed the collar of the guy who was trying to sneak away. He forcibly snatched the object from his hand.

“Ah, you can’t!”

“What is it?”

Inside the silk was a small wooden box. When he opened the lid, a spherical object with a sweet fragrance was inside. A well-rounded shape.

‘Medicine?’

Could it be poison?

When Lancel glared at the Caravan member with sharp eyes, the man immediately prostrated himself on the floor.

“T, the Caravan leader asked me to deliver it! Please! Please keep it a secret! That’s why I was trying to deliver it secretly, I didn’t know it would turn out like this…!”

“What is it, then?”

“That… that thing that noble ladies are looking for, Young Master. Expensive medicine.”

‘Noble ladies?’

The Caravan member gestured with his hands without saying anything.

Lancel immediately understood what it meant and closed his eyes.

“…Give it to her.”

“Yes… Young Master, please keep it a secret that I was caught…”

Lancel waved him away.

No matter who it was, he didn’t want to interfere with Marigold’s secret private life.

‘Is this also the influence of that stat?’

The next day, for some reason, Marigold began to emphasize something to Lancel, puffing out her chest.

“My shoulders are stiff these days. I wonder why, Benefactor? I must have worked too hard, haa, it’s strange. Benefactor, do you have any idea?”

“…”

“Hmm, why are they so stiff? It’s strange.”

Of course, Lancel, who knew the whole story, tried not to react.

If he provoked her, she would definitely buy and take the medicine regularly. That stuff is expensive.

“I think I got scammed.”

“What?”

“There’s something.”

A few days later, Marigold was listlessly wandering around the mansion, looking dejected.

“…It was an expensive item.”

There were many other things that happened.

In any case, the time in Viscount Dante’s territory passed by for a year or two, and finally, when Marigold’s age reached twenty-three.

==========

Fame Event: Congratulations! Marigold has obtained the title of ‘Tycoon’! Now you don’t have to look at the price tag when buying things! (Charm, Elegance, Allure UP!!)

==========

Finally, she became known as a Tycoon.

Considering that she was once a con artist in the village, it was an amazing success. She was still far from her goal of becoming the richest person on the continent.

.

.

.

A while later, ominous news began to spread from all over the Empire.

10.

“It seems like a war is breaking out.”

That was the story that came out of Viscount Dante’s mouth that evening. Everyone who was dining together turned their attention to him.

“Isn’t war always happening?”

When Lancel asked back, Viscount Dante shook his head.

“That’s true if it’s a war with an enemy country. The war I’m talking about is a different war. I’m talking about a war that’s happening within this Empire.”

Ah.

That’s what it was.

Lancel felt the events of his past playthroughs flashing before his eyes for a moment.

A war within the Empire.

It was also the essence of the war that he had devoted a long time to.

“Your Majesty seems to be no longer in this world.”

“What are you saying, there are many ears listening?”

Lancel’s mother was startled and questioned him, but Viscount Dante simply ran a hand over his face.

“It’s okay, everyone will find out anyway. A rebellion broke out on the eastern battlefield due to supply problems, and it seems to have caused some problems. They say there was a shortage of salt.”

“Yes?”

Marigold mumbled with a blank face. Viscount Dante waved his hand.

“Don’t worry. It’s not because of Caravan leader Marigold. The salt we’ve collected is only a small part compared to the entire continent. The real problem is the other Caravans that stockpiled salt following us. They say they hoarded it very recklessly.”

Anyway, she was the start of it because they followed Marigold. Lancel understood it that way.

“The Fifth Prince, who was on the front lines, announced that Your Majesty was absent and raised an army. If that’s really true, then this war will be… a war to decide the next ruler of the Empire.”

Civil war.

A fratricidal war.

It was a signal announcing the beginning of a great war that would encompass the entire Empire… no, the entire continent, to seize the next imperial power.

‘This time, the Fifth Prince has become the flashpoint.’

The timing and reasons were all different, but one thing was certain.

This Empire would no longer be a single nation.

Sooner or later, it would be divided into pieces by their respective forces, and finally, the reincarnation of the Warring States period would be welcomed.

-It’s going back to before it was an Empire.

A familiar voice was playing in his mind.

“Then…”

Suddenly, in the silence.

Marigold opened her mouth with a nervous face.

“Should we raise the price of salt even more starting tomorrow?”

“…”