NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 32
Chapter 32
While the stunned merchants stared vacantly at Nahun, he raised two fingers.
“I have a total of two proposals for you.”
“Two proposals?”
‘Wasn’t there only the weapon transaction?’
All twenty merchants were thinking the same thing. What other proposal could there be aside from the weapon transaction? A slight sense of unease and anticipation coexisted as the merchants waited for the next words.
“The first proposal, as you may have already heard through rumors, is the weapon transaction. Let’s discuss that first.”
Nahun received a document from Citri’s attendant standing next to him. He unfurled it and began to read.
“First, you will grant us the rights to sell our weapons throughout the Demon World, and we will also give you the right to exclusivity.”
“…You mean you will grant exclusivity?”
“Yes. Of course, it is not permanent exclusivity. The contract period is three years, after which exclusivity will be lifted.”
Even if it was not permanent exclusivity, it wasn’t bad. Three years was enough time to reap sufficient profits. The merchants who remained began to feel pity for those who had left first.
“The profit distribution will be 60 to 40.”
“60 to 40, you say…? Which side gets 60?”
“Naturally, we do.”
“Excuse me?”
“I hope you understand that this is unavoidable. This business is a joint venture between Her Majesty Seere von Debata and Her Majesty Citri. The structure necessitates that the two tiers share the profits. So, in practical terms, the profit distribution is 33 to 33 to 34, meaning you’ll actually take a little more.”
It was a blatant lie. Citri would only receive a measly 5 percent of the profits. However, Nahun was deliberately reminding them of their separate factions, cunningly suggesting that the merchants would actually take home a bit more.
At that moment, one merchant raised his hand.
“Shouldn’t we consider Her Majesty Citri and Her Majesty Seere as co-founders? How can that distribution be fair?”
It was Bernet.
“Your point is certainly valid, but that is why I am saying they are not co-founders.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m only going to share this with you, but this business is being conducted simultaneously on two levels. Weapons made by the blacksmiths of the 72nd floor exist separately from those made by the blacksmiths of the 71st floor.”
This was also a lie. In reality, they were all collaborating on the 70th floor to create weapons, but Nahun cleverly worded it to imply ‘separate’ manufacturing by utilizing the blacksmiths from the 71st and 72nd floors.
“You will receive weapons made from both levels. Therefore, it is only right that you also claim the profits derived from that.”
“…I understand.”
Since the labor and materials were consumed separately, it made sense that the profits should also be separate. When Bernet nodded in agreement, the other merchants followed suit.
After all, according to Nahun’s logic, the merchants would be taking a larger share.
“Now, let’s move on to the next topic. This concerns the quality of goods that you are most curious about.”
“!”
“First, show me the sword.”
One of the attendants carefully brought a sword and presented it to Nahun. He picked up the sword and slowly drew it from its sheath.
“Oooh…?”
“This is….”
Life sparked in the eyes of the merchants. They had seen numerous weapons while traveling around the Demon World. Whenever they discovered weapons of considerable quality, it was said to be made in the human world.
But now, the sword Nahun drew was almost on par with those weapons. While it might not surpass them, it was certainly of equal caliber.
“This is a sword we made ourselves.”
“You… made this yourself?”
“I will compare it to a human sword.”
As Nahun extended his hand, another sword was handed to him. He quickly drew it to show. It was a fairly high-quality sword obtained from a human adventurer.
“You’ll want to see it up close.”
Nahun placed the two swords on a stand brought over by the attendant. He gestured to the attendant to bring them closer to the merchants. As the attendant approached with both swords, the merchants’ eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh, no….”
“They’re not inferior in quality at all!”
No matter how you looked at it, the two swords possessed equal quality. As Bernet gazed at the swords, he couldn’t help but think of Wayne, who was likely returning to the 69th floor by now, and swallowed hard.
‘Wayne.’
He was always a merchant who made wise judgments. However, he also had a tendency to lack a sense of adventure.
‘This time, you were wrong.’
Bernet smiled with the triumph of a winner. He turned to Nahun and asked.
“How many can you supply?”
“Four hundred swords a month.”
“Then….”
“Twenty swords per merchant present here.”
“That seems a bit lower than expected…”
At Bernet’s words, Nahun scoffed.
“You’re rather greedy, aren’t you?”
“F-Forgive me.”
“And you should listen more carefully. What we’re preparing is a transaction for weapons, not a transaction exclusively for swords.”
“!”
Weapons. It did not only refer to swords. It didn’t even refer exclusively to simple weapons. It encompassed all tools used in warfare.
“Did you also make armor?”
“…Then, helmets too!?”
“No, what you’re supplying us with is….”
Nahun smiled slightly.
“You’re finally starting to understand. Yes, we will trade most of our weapons with you.”
#
Citri was slightly narrowing her eyes. The more the negotiations progressed, the more greedy she felt. Watching the merchants’ reactions made her think that perhaps she could have taken a bit more profit for herself.
‘…No, that’s not it.’
Shaking her head at those thoughts, Citri reminded herself of who Nahun was. If she had continued to insist on taking more profits there, he would have likely proceeded with the plan while completely excluding her. Citri understood better than anyone that he would have used whatever means necessary to ensure the success of this plan.
‘Let’s just be grateful for receiving 5 percent….’
Meanwhile, those merchants who understood Nahun’s story were beaming with excitement. Nahun spoke to them.
“What I can supply right now includes swords, spears, battle axes, heavy and light armor, shields, and helmets. We cannot provide anything else as they are still in the development stage.”
“That should be sufficient for initial business offerings! You will continue to supply more items over time….”
“Yes, during the three years, new weapons will be supplied solely to you as they are developed.”
Nahun seemed to be wrapping up his discussion. The merchants felt they had heard enough for now.
“Then how about the contract…?”
“I will write a contract directly with everyone here. However, there is one more thing I need to mention. I said earlier that I had two proposals, didn’t I?”
The merchants, distracted by the weapon transaction, finally remembered what Nahun had initially said. This time, however, they looked at Nahun with anticipation before he even started to speak.
“What is this second proposal?”
They expected him to present something as intriguing and rare as the weapons. Nahun, however, gave a rather unusual response.
“This time, it’s fine if not all merchants here agree to participate in the transaction. After all, there won’t be that many supplies.”
“Excuse me?”
“…So you’re saying there is sufficient value in this transaction?”
At Bernet’s sharp question, Nahun admired him sincerely and replied.
“You’ve grasped it correctly. Some among you may hesitate, but there will always be those willing to push for this transaction.”
“What on earth could it be…?”
“It’s faster to see for yourself.”
With that, Nahun stepped down from the podium. He turned to Citri and Seere and said.
“I’ll be back shortly to show them the items.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
“Be back soon… or, yes!”
With Citri and Seere’s permission granted, Nahun instructed the attendants to open the door to the cell and turned to the merchants.
“Follow me.”
#
Bernet felt slightly bewildered. The other merchants felt the same. Nahun, who had promised to show them goods, was leading them lower.
No demon would be unaware of what lay beneath the Demon King Castle. Regardless of its various shapes or structures, there was undeniably something down below.
‘Why is he taking us to the underground prison?’
If he claimed to be showing them goods, the only reason to take them to the underground prison could only mean one thing: that there were goods hidden within the prison….
‘What kind of items could be kept in a prison?’
That aspect puzzled them. It wasn’t just Bernet; other merchants followed Nahun with expressions full of curiosity.
When Nahun and the merchants arrived at the door to the underground prison, the guards inclined their heads.
“Welcome.”
“Open it.”
The door to the underground prison creaked open. The key to resolving the merchants’ questions lay within. Nahun entered the dark area silently, and Bernet and the others hesitantly followed, split between fear and excitement.
“Oh, no!?”
One merchant gasped in shock at the sight within the underground prison. The other merchants, along with Bernet, were equally bewildered.
‘…Humans?’
Inside the dungeon, a considerable number of humans were imprisoned. Estimating it by sight, there were at least 200 people, a number that could hardly be considered small.
“Are those… humans?”
“This is my second proposal to you.”
“Excuse me?”
“Here are the humans captured from the 72nd floor.”
Upon hearing about the captured humans, Bernet and the merchants’ eyes widened in disbelief, quickly calculating Nahun’s intentions.
“…Wait, are you proposing a slave trade to us right now?”
Bernet was the first to catch on. Nahun nodded and asked him.
“You’ve been particularly quick-witted since earlier. What’s your name?”
“…Bernet.”
“Bernet? Ah, I see.”
Nahun nodded as if he understood. Bernet could not comprehend the reason behind Nahun’s reaction to his name, but this reaction was something only Nahun, as a player, would have.
Bernet was a character who would emerge as the head of the greatest merchant guild in the demon world regardless of the player’s selected build. His foundational tier might change based on the player’s build, but that fact remained unchanged.
Thus, he was a shrewd character whose motivations were driven more by profit rather than morality, yet he did not overstep and create many enemies. With that in mind, Nahun made his proposal.
“By distributing these captured humans as slaves, I will be providing a way to acquire cheap labor for a lifetime across the Demon World. Since they are selected as slaves, we will have already filtered out the useful ones, and that will continue in the future. However, the downside is that the number might vary.”
Nahun shifted his gaze from Bernet to address the other merchants.
“So I won’t force this transaction on all of you. I expect the ones willing to trade to stay, and the rest to return to the surface and wait for the contract to be written.”
The slave trade. Even though it was a business aimed at humans, there was potential for numerous problems. Human slaves could cause issues, and the demon race, in general, disliked humans stepping even a foot onto their territory.
However, for those of high status, it was a bit different. Those who already had plenty and who had enjoyed everything were often looking for something new and interesting to entertain themselves. Human slaves fit that criterion perfectly.
“I’ll do it.”
The first to respond was Bernet. After him, a few other merchants joined, while the remaining merchants expressed their intention to withdraw from the slave trade and returned above ground.
Nahun smiled with satisfaction, as if he had anticipated this outcome.
“I’m glad more stayed than I expected. A joyous occasion. I’ll continue my explanation.”
Nahun began walking inside the underground prison, speaking.
“Here, these humans are for labor purposes. They are ideal for menial tasks, quite literally. These ones are for leisure. I’ve gathered those with outstanding looks. And over here….”
There was a prison where only a very small number of prisoners were kept. Their shoulder epaulettes bore labels indicating a minimum rank of AA or higher.
“These are for escort purposes. You can use them differently if you wish.”
“How strong are they?”
“Are you familiar with human regular knights?”
“Yes, I have heard of them.”
“They are on par with those knights.”
“…They’re useful enough.”
Unlike the humans classified for labor or leisure, the gaze of those classified for escort was still sharp and fierce. Bernet looked into their eyes and then asked Nahun.
“This could potentially cause problems.”
“Don’t worry about that. Just look closely at their necks.”
“…A curse?”
“Not just them; every human here bears that mark. It’s a curse that states, ‘If they harm a demon, their heart will explode.’”
Bernet nodded and asked.
“So what’s the range of application…”
“There is no limit, so rest easy.”
“Excuse me?”
A curse that takes a life upon meeting specific conditions. While such curses carried enormous power, there was always a range limit. If one moved beyond a certain distance from the caster of the curse, its efficacy would weaken or not activate at all.
But now Nahun was stating that such distance restrictions did not exist. This was something that Bernet, along with the other merchants, had never heard of before.
“Is… is that even possible?”
“It is possible. After all you’ve seen, do I have any reason to lie to you?”
“…You shouldn’t, no.”
“So, you can rest easy about any rebellious actions. Well, if they do rebel, that would just mean they seek their own deaths….”
Nahun shared another piece of advice with them.
“Even if you brainwash them, making them docile would be perfectly fine.”
Bernet and the merchants were briefly taken aback by Nahun’s intentions but soon nodded slowly. Bernet then asked Nahun one last question.
“…I understand. So, does that mean you’ll supply all the people here immediately?”
“Would you be able to handle the fluctuations in supply afterward?”
“I didn’t think so, that’s why I asked.”
Nahun spoke to the merchants.
“With five merchants remaining, each will initially receive ten people. Five for labor, four for leisure, and one for escort. After selling off the supplied slaves, you can take more as needed.”
“Is that acceptable?”
“However, you must understand that the quantity can continue to fluctuate.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Bernet and the merchants slightly bowed their heads. Nahun then chuckled softly.
“You haven’t even discussed the distribution yet.”
“I trust that Lord Nahun will handle that well.”
“The distribution is 50-50.”
“Excuse me?”
Bernet was slightly taken aback at the mention of a half-and-half split, distinctly different from the weapon transaction.
“Is it really alright for us to keep that much, especially with curses imprinted on the slaves? It would seem as if we’ll monopolize it like the weapon transaction….”
“The reason I’m offering such a generous profit is simple. It’s to earn your trust.”
“Our trust?”
“As I said, the slave trade can face significant fluctuations in supply. Humans will have to come to the Demon World to be caught. Thus, conversely, there may be times when the supply is completely cut off.”
Bernet and the merchants realized Nahun’s intent with their shared glance.
“Even when supplies are cut off, I hope you trust us to not suspend trading. Take that as a mark of trust from me.”
Upon hearing Nahun’s words, Bernet and the merchants exchanged glances before, without prompting, they bowed their heads.
“…Thank you!”
“I look forward to excellent dealings in the future.”