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The streets of Elden Village were crowded with many people after a long time.
In the past, it was a village full of only Beast-people, but these days many Demons could also be spotted.
Residents and merchants from other villages flocked to Elden Village, especially on the day of visit by the merchants, like today.
It was very rare for two giant merchant groups such as Golden clock and Orphine to visit such a small village.
Therefore, on the day of their visit, the village gets crowded as if a festival was being held.
When I first saw Elden Village, it was a rural village that seemed to be full of cute and innocent people.
Now, many sophisticated buildings have been newly built, and the streets have been neatly maintained. It was developed to the extent that it could be compared to that of a city.
“Are you thinking that it has developed a lot?”
Locus, who was next to me asked in a calm tone.
“It’s still not enough. It could be considered good, probably great if it was a normal village. But, this place is going to be the Capital, the heart of the Cardis estate. There’s a mountain of improvements to come.”
“Well, that’s true.”
I reacted a little timidly at his cold point.
Then Andras, who was on the other side, smiled and opened his mouth.
“Of course, there are still many shortcomings. Considering the pace of growth so far, it’s true that we can look forward to a positive growth.”
“That’s true.”
“It’s not just the town that’s changed. Look at the residents.”
Residents were busy on the streets while preparing for the visit of the merchants. And the noisy atmosphere was full of excited children.
“The clothes everyone is wearing have become neat, and their expressions are relaxed. Just by looking at the villagers, it feels like the village is full of life.”
“It’s really a strange village with a really strange lord.”
I scratched my head with an embarrassed look. Andras burst into laughter when he saw it.
“Hahaha! Isn’t it good to have a lord like this?”
Locus replied with a smirk.
“Well, it’s not bad.”
While the three of us were talking like that, Greg came toward us sniffing his pig nose. “
“There you are, my lord.”
“Oh, Greg. What’s up?”
“Mr. Ergin and Mr. Algott have arrived. They’re talking to the chief right now.”
“Already? They arrived a lot earlier than I thought.”
I was a bit surprised that the people who had a higher position in their respective merchant groups had arrived earlier than usual.
“Hahaha. As expected, merchants are like ghosts. They must have already smelled the money and warmed up properly.”
“It’s natural in a way. They’ve already made a huge profit with the strawberries and strawberry jam business.”
“Sihyeon, let’s hurry up and go. There’s nothing more interesting than dealing with fretful merchants.”
“Let’s go, Lord.”
“Let’s do that. Maybe it’s gonna take a long. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to finish things early.”
“Lord, let me guide you.”
We followed Greg, who led the way, to where Ergin and Algott were.
“Ergin of the Golden Clock Chamber greets Lord Cardis. How have you been, my Lord.”
“Lord Cardis, how have you been? You haven’t forgotten Orphine chamber of commerce’s Algott, right?”
“Ha ha! No way. How can I forget you two? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you in person like this.”
I greeted the two merchants warmly.
Recently, Locus conducted all the transactions on my behalf, so the two merchants also visited this place less often in person. So it’s been a long time since I’ve met them face to face like this.
“But you two came much earlier than you usually come, didn’t you?”
“I was so excited about the honor of meeting the Lord. I guess my body moved early without realizing it.”
Is this what they call glib-tongued?
My expression was shaken for a moment by the merchant’s unique flattering words I heard after a long time.
We’ve talked quite a few times, but still, I’m not used to this blatant flattering.
But what can I do?
This is normal manners in this world. I managed my expression thinking it was also part of the lord’s job.
“Ha ha… I see. By the way, you seem to have brought things much more than usual today?”
This time Algott replied, stroking his mustache.
“Originally, the goods brought in were focused on food. Recently, the villagers’ pockets have become very abundant, hence merchants are bringing in various products.”
“Oh, I see. That’s really good news.”
“Isn’t it all because the Lord took good care of the residents of his territory?”
Algott also added flattery without missing an opportunity.
This time, I only smiled awkwardly.
After the long greeting, Ergin, who was looking at the atmosphere, brought up the topic with a subtle look.
“Hmm, Lord Cardis. While I wasn’t able to see you, I heard some interesting rumors about you.”
Finally, it’s here.
As I had expected, I pretended not to know.
“An interesting rumor? I don’t know much about the outside world… …so I wonder what kind of rumor it is.”
“It’s not a great rumor. I heard that the Lord is preparing for a new business….”
“A new business? I don’t know. I don’t think there’s any particular business I’m preparing.”
Let’s keep the lukewarm response.
Urgency began to be seen on the faces of the two merchants.
“I heard you’ve built a big brewery just a short distance from here.”
“It’s not that big of a brewery. It’s just a normal one.”
“I heard that the brewery is making a very special beer.”
“I actually tasted it the other day. It tastes much better than I thought. Personally, I was very satisfied.”
Oh, I’m drooling again.
I smiled happily, recalling the fantastic taste of the beer I had tasted.
The farm members around me nodded and showed similar expressions.
The two merchants felt frustrated by this reaction and began to come out more explicitly.
“Could you elaborate a little more on that beer?”
“I don’t know much about the beer either. The only thing I know is, that honey, is an important ingredient of that beer.”
Algott, who was listening to the story, stepped in with his eyes shining.
“Are you talking about the honey that’s used in the [Cadris strawberry jam]?”
“Yes. The same honey. The maker said the quality of the honey was really good, so the taste of the finished beer seemed to be much better.”
When the story went this far, there was confidence in the eyes of the two merchants.
It seemed to me that they had smelled the money from what they heard from me.
Ergin immediately asked me with an expression of urgency.
“Lord, do you have any intention of selling that beer?”
“Selling? Well, the brewery just started producing beer. On top of that, I made it because I wanted to drink a good beer with my family rather than to sell it…”
“Considering the size of the brewery, don’t you have some room to sell?”
“If the people who work in the brewery got used to working and increase production in earnest…. Maybe in the future, it’s possible…?”
I added words to make it a little bit easier to sell later. The two merchants rushed in hearing the answer they wanted.
“Lord, why don’t you join with Golden Clock Chamber for the new beer business? We promise you a satisfactory return.”
“You need barley for beer, right Lord? Orphine chamber of commerce will provide you with the high-quality barley you need to make beer at a low price. How about joining Orphine Chamber, my Lord.”
“Come on, come on! Calm down, both of you.”
I calmed the two merchants with a relaxed smile.
“We haven’t seen each other in a long time. Are you only going to talk about things that hurt my head?”
“I’m sorry, my lord.”
“In a hurry, I made a mistake… forgive me, my Lord.”
They apologized for the mistake by quickly bowing their heads.
“I’m not angry, so raise your head. Let’s talk about the complicated business later, and just enjoy the taste now.”
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”
“I didn’t expect you to come this early, so the preparations are not done yet. Soon beer will be brought from the brewery. Both of you have helped us a lot, even if it’s hard to sell right now, I thought I should treat you guys.”
“Oh!”
“My Lord!!?”
The two merchants were excited when I said that I  would serve beer.
When everyone’s attention was on the beer.
“Am I allowed to join the party?”
A woman’s voice came from behind.
Everyone’s eyes turned to where the voice came from.
There, Surin of Blue Crystal Chamber of commerce was smiling softly.
“Surin!”
“I’m sorry, my lord. I’m a little late, wasn’t I?”
She bowed her head slightly and apologized.
When she visited with Murain, she said she would come back in two weeks, but she couldn’t.
“It’s all right. You contacted me separately and said something unavoidable happened. It’s fine”
“As always, my lord is generous.”
“I brought some gifts as an apology.”
“Gift?”
Several wagons were entering the village where she looked. Each carriage was marked with a blue crystal.
“That much?”
“I’ve prepared some things personally, but most of them are gifts from my father. I’m visiting you as a merchant today.”
Unlike her personal visit last time, she seemed to be here as a merchant of the Blue Crystal group this time.
The expressions of the other two merchants who were listening seem to have taken a great shock.
Ergin opened his mouth cautiously.
“Lord Cardis. I’ve never heard of the Blue Crystal Chamber visiting. Did you happen to know?”
“I got a call not too long ago. She said she’d come, so I thought it would be nice for you guys to greet each other, and I told her to come today.”
“I’ve heard a lot from the lord. I’m Surin, from the Blue Crystal Chamber of commerce. It’s Sir. Ergin and Sir. Algott, right?”
When Surin politely greeted them first, the two reacted with a slightly bitter expression.
There was an awkward atmosphere around the three merchants.
Locus and Andras whispered looking at the scene.
“Hahha. It seems like, the fact that that woman named Surin was coming here was thoroughly hidden.”
“I think so. If it is enough to evade the information networks of the two giant merchant groups, it must have been deliberately hidden.”
“This is going to be fun.”
At the time when there was a mysterious atmosphere around. Alfred’s cry came from the distance.
“SENIOR! I’ve brought the beer!”
From afar, Alfred and Kroc came toward us with a cart.
The cart was loaded with several large oak barrels of beer, and soon, a delicious smell began to fill the area.
I smiled broadly when I realized that everything was ready.
“Shall we go? To taste the fantastic beer made on the Cardis estate!”