“I have absolutely no connections.”
[Hmm. So, you’re saying you’re trying to sell an unproven drug to the nobility without any connections, and I have to figure out a way… is that what you’re saying?]
“Yes.”
At Logan’s casual response, Phillip temporarily lost his words.
[…If this goes wrong, Logan might be fine, but I’m surely done for.]
“Don’t worry about it.”
[You say that as if it’s not your life on the line…]
“What was that?”
[Ah, nothing. Hmm. To make noble connections, a party is indeed the best option.]
“Party? A party, huh…”[Yes. But I’m a commoner and can’t attend noble parties. So at least Logan should…]
“Me? You’re telling me to go to a party?”
The McLain family, hardly in a position to afford a party, never had such an experience, and in his previous life, the only parties he knew were disorderly victory celebrations with plenty of mercenaries and few knights.
That alone was a troublesome enough request, but there was more.
[Even if you attend a party and make connections, it will take time before those are useful for business. You can’t just sell there either.]
“Hmm? Selling directly? Ho!”
[Not to put a damper on your plans, but really, you shouldn’t do that. Not just for Logan’s sake but also for the reputation of the McLain family within social circles.]
“No. That’s not what I’m talking about. As long as we’re not selling, it should be fine.”
[Excuse me?]
With a rising sense of foreboding, Phillip asked in a concerned tone.
“Hmm. Thanks to you, I’ve got a great idea. Let’s meet in the capital.”
[Me too? I have work to do here…]
“It’ll take a week to arrive. We’ll meet inside the West Gate of Gran in a week’s time, in the morning.”
[Logan, are you even listening to…]
Crack.
Click.
Contrary to Phillip’s desperate cry, Logan, who seemed lost in thought, stepped out of the communication room with notably light steps.
* * *
“Are you going out again?”
“Yes. After such a significant event, I need time to calm my shocked spirit.”
“…You do?”
“Yes.”
The big son, suddenly requesting a meeting, gave an absurdly nonchalant excuse, making Patrik sigh.
“Huh… Hm. Well, where do you plan to go?”
“To the capital for a bit.”
“The capital?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re saying you’re going to a large city to ‘calm your mind’?”
“To broaden my horizons.”
“…I’m supposed to believe that?”
“Yes.”
Patrik couldn’t hide his astonishment but saw no movement on his son’s unfazed face.
‘I can’t exactly tell him I’m going to sell aphrodisiacs in the capital.’
Even if it was a profitable item, it wouldn’t sit well with the trade guild without intermediaries, and certainly not if he announced such personal business ambitions.
‘He’d object, citing the family’s dignity.’
So the best approach was sheer brazenness.
“Fine. You must have something in mind. Go ahead.”
To his surprise, he was granted permission rather easily.
Thankfully, his reputation built on prior achievements was still solid enough.
The capital was uncharted territory in his current life.
The prospect of a noble’s son, with no servants in tow, driving a carriage loaded with nearly 2000 boxes, caused a bit of an issue within the family.
Due to his demonstrated performance in the war, no one dare oppose Logan’s assertive insistence.
Thanks to that, for the first time in a while, Logan could prepare to sleep alone under the starry night sky, using the road as his bed.
“It’s inevitable. Rick has to work.”
If reliable Rick, already tired from daily labor in the warehouse, had heard this, he would have been exasperated.
Rick wanted to keep the relationship between the meat from Karok and this ‘medication’ a secret for as long as possible.
Because he still lacked completely trustworthy confidants.
“Still, sorry about that…”
Logan did have a conscience.
“Alright. Your name shall henceforth be Impo-Rick.”
He named the abundant results produced by Rick’s hard work after him.
‘The Rick that cures impotence. Nice!’
At that moment, Rick, barely able to sleep from exhaustion, shivered with an inexplicable chill.
* * * People were crowded densely in front of the city gate, leaving hardly any space to set foot.
Even from a great distance, where they appeared as mere dots, the gates and walls of the city were impressively majestic.
They seemed like dwarves entering the castle of giants.
Such was the overwhelming size of the Grand Castle of the Thousand-Year Kingdom.
The massive walls, reaching 20 meters high and periodically enhanced by protective magic, had withstood a millennium, neither crumbling nor wearing down easily.
In tales, even the aura of Aura Users supposedly couldn’t easily scratch the city walls.
‘That may be an exaggeration.’
Remembering the walls falling helplessly in his previous life, Logan felt uncomfortable, as they now seemed to emphasize the empire’s might.
And that feeling intensified as the walls drew near, and the bustling crowd grew denser.
‘The capital, with a resident population of one million and a transient population exceeding two million, is the largest and most important city in the eastern part of the continent.’
For the people of the Grandia Kingdom, the capital, Grand, was a symbol and a source of pride representing a millennium of history.
A fort constructed in the distant past, unlike anything possessed by the Ares Empire.
Still, Logan’s view of it was entirely different.
Staring at the gates reminded him of the scene where the gates fell, and countless people perished.
“Ugh…”
Leaving the burnt McLain Castle behind, the frantic charge toward the capital.
At the sight of his brother’s dear face, falling broken before the very Western Gate.
‘…Lonian.’
And the memory of powerlessly watching his younger brother dragged away amid the chaos.
Crunch.
‘Never again…’
Whinny.
“Ah!”
Involuntarily tightening his grip on the reins, the horses reared up as if startled.
“Careful!”
“Move away!”
The ensuing commotion forced the people to retreat.
“Master Logan!”
The early disturbance allowed his meeting party, waiting inside, to spot him sooner.
* * *
“So, what will you do now?”
“First, I need to make a list of customers.”
“Customers?”
“A list of nobles with erectile dysfunction. Can you get it?”
Phillip stared at Logan, incredulous.
“…Is there such a thing?”
“Right? They’d keep that secret, yeah?”
“Of course. Obviously… wait, you don’t mean.”
“Exactly. In a place like the capital, there will be those who sell such secrets.”
And thus began Logan’s venture into sales.
Those who dig for secrets, the real information guilds, often collect private information from the shadows.
The customers are chosen carefully, and if anything feels off, they’re ready to sever ties and disappear.
Among those info guilds, Nox, one of the most notable, had a branch in Grand.
“…How did you know all that?”
“No need for you to know. Just stay here and rest. I’ll be back soon.”
“No, I’ll come too!”
Despite the offer of a safe stay, Phillip’s voice trembled slightly as he insisted on joining Logan to a potentially dangerous destination.
However, his eyes shone with genuine desire.
Every merchant knew the value of information.
For all magnates, establishing ties with a competent information guild was a must, the dream of all traders.
“You might die in a dangerous place.”
“…I’ll stay put.”
Phillip’s surrender was swift; nothing mattered more than his own life.
Smirking at his response, Logan hurried off.
* * * Although Logan had arranged for an expensive, 50-gold-a-night accommodation in the inner city, the place he cautiously sought out was located in the slums outside the eastern walls of the outer city.
With the western rise of the Ares Empire transforming it into the new trade center, those with wealth and power migrated westward.
The impoverished left behind could not afford to move and were mostly the poorest of the poor.
Many such people gathered on the outskirts of Grand’s east side, where criminals escaping justice or societal misfits mingled, forming a slum.
But the corrupt upper-class did nothing for the ‘trash’ they had created, leaving them to their decay.
It led to an escalation in lawlessness, and soon enough, the area was given up on by the state, becoming the ultimate lawless land.
Even at high noon, an ominous aura pervaded the place: the unsightly side of Grand, hidden by the grandeur of the inner city and its busy outer areas.
Nox’s Grand branch was hidden deeper within this lawless expanse.
‘If you look weak, you’ll be stripped down to your intestines in an instant.’
Logan ignored the beggars reaching out asking for coins as he confidently strode down the alleys of the lawless zone.
Though the notion of a shadowy guild remaining in one place for long was laughable, ‘Nox wouldn’t move their branch that easily.’
It was an open secret, in a sense.
Being the most renowned information guild in the continent meant a constant stream of clients.
If they moved each time an issue arose, they’d struggle to service their clientele.
Fortunately, Logan’s guess was correct.
Knock. Knock-knock. Knock. Knock.
After rapping on the door of an abandoned building in a particular pattern, a slot in the door slid open.
Blue eyes peeked out, voicing their annoyance.
“What do you want?”
“Nox.”
“…Password.”
“Lunai.”
“Tch. Wait.”
Luckily, not only Nox’s location but also the password remained unchanged from his previous life.
The only difference was that he had to wait outside for well over an hour.
That reason, of course, was reasonably predictable.
“Come in.”
The abandoned building’s interior was deceptively spacious, and the underground was even more expansive.
The nondescript middle-aged man inside greeted Logan as he opened and stepped through a worn door.
“Welcome, young master Logan McLain, coming all the way from the southwestern fringes of the kingdom. What business brings you here?”
Logan wasn’t surprised to be instantly recognized by a stranger.
Rather, he found it reassuring that Nox could verify his identity within an hour, a testament to their capability.
“I’ve come to an information guild to buy information. Why else?”
“Oh ho. And who may have provided you with our branch location and password?”
“That’s something for your side to figure out.”
Regardless of their inquiry, no answer would come of it.
With a relaxed expression, Logan sat across from the middle-aged man at the table.
“…All right then. As long as the price is right, why should we care? What do you want?”
“First, the list of nobles who have married in the last ten years but have no children. Second, nobles without concubines or mistresses. Third, nobles who often seek foods touted for improving virility. Focused on those residing in the capital.”
“…Excuse me?”
Logan was probing for a list of nobles with potential erectile dysfunction, suspecting Nox might have such information.
Even if they had such sensitive details that could undermine a noble, they wouldn’t sell them cheaply.
For a high-ranking noble’s secret, they might not sell at all, to avoid backlash.
So, instead of going straight for the hardest info, Logan asked for information that he himself could use to infer the delicate details.
“Is it difficult?”
“Not difficult, but why do you seek this…?”
“Would it count towards my payment if I told you?”
“…We will accept your request.”
And the deal was made.
* * * Nox delivered the information the very next day.
The competency wasn’t surprising, but the cost surely was – shockingly so, but not in a good way.
“This sort of almost-rumor-like information cost me 900 gold? Three thin booklets?”
Phillip picked up the booklets, each no more than a centimeter thick, with an astonished look.
“Yes. Nox is expensive, indeed.”
“If we had the time, we could’ve done this…”
“You pay to save time. Now, just focus on finding the people who match all three criteria. And those who match two.”
“…Yes.”
With the merchant from his past life learning from a mercenary’s past life, targets became apparent before even a few hours had passed.
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