Chapter 547

Lily’s Public Power
After fighting Plum, the two from Dark Green Sprout also fought Talat and a Kiblinki Saltas.
The result was that against a single Kiblinki Saltas, the two of them made a fair match.
If there are two or more Kiblinki Saltas, they are completely outmatched.
As for Talat, there’s no way to stand against him.
Even against just one Kiblinki Saltas, it’s surprising that they can put up a good fight.

"... I see. So if you live surrounded by such strong monsters, even many of them, the skill of the guards isn’t that important, huh."

"Plum said it at first — all that really matters is name recognition. If you pick a fight with scam-like monsters that strong and get defeated, it’s going to be a huge problem afterwards."

"... As a platinum-ranked merchant, anyone you pick a fight with has to face proper punishment. The perpetrators are certainly executed, and even their family suffers. Just being a tamer doesn’t mean you can understand the strength of the opponent, and they might act rashly. That’s why having a gold-ranked adventurer party like us becomes a clear deterrent."

"Sorry, but that’s exactly it. To put it plainly, if you gather all of Lily’s forces, they could easily take on the entire military of the McFarlane Dukedom and win. Talat would act as the attacker, and everyone else would focus on guarding Lily — then the enemy is trapped. The Kiblinki Saltas can use mind-reading, so assassination is extremely difficult. In short, our greatest goal is to make sure ‘Lily does not oppose the country.’"

"We’ve been hired by quite an impressive client, Fanny."

"Once it’s decided, there’s no turning back. By the way, is there really a chance the McFarlane Dukedom could turn against her? And if so, what are our odds?"

"There is a possibility. The current crown prince, Sharon, has personal reasons to be at odds with Lily. If he succeeds to the throne, he might impose unreasonable demands on her. In that case, Lily would be forced to either abandon the country with her followers or take down Sharon."

Oh dear, Plum.
I wouldn’t go out of my way to destroy the dukedom.
If I were going to do something like that, I’d just take all my assets and move to the Darshe Principality instead.

When I said that, Plum sighed.
I didn’t understand.

"Listen. Your economic scale must cover more than half of the McFarlane Dukedom’s economy."

"Eh, really, Alizée?"

"Yes. It’s divided into various fields, so there’s no single area that’s especially strong, but in terms of economic scale, you are involved in nearly 60% of all commercial transactions in the entire McFarlane Dukedom."

Wow, I’ve become a big merchant without even realizing it.
Well, being a big merchant is why I became a platinum-ranked merchant.
But how did it get to this scale?

"It’s mainly thanks to the Saltas Company. Their main business is grain transport, but when a wagon returns empty, they load it with local specialty goods or monster materials and bring it back to the hub city. They rarely move empty, and most of the wagons are the latest models, so they rarely break down. On top of that, besides adventurers, the Kiblinki Saltas also ride along as guards, so they don’t suffer from bandit attacks. It’s literally a ‘safe, secure, and reliable’ method of transport."

"I-I see…"

"Now, there are countless merchants wanting the Saltas Company to transport goods in their spare wagons. Plus, because the Kiblinki Saltas teach the basics of guarding, even beginner adventurers find it popular. In addition, the Saltas Company assists in food production across various regions, so if they disappeared, the McFarlane Dukedom’s logistics and food production would fall into chaos. The Saltas Company has grown to that level of influence without the owner even realizing it."

It’s true!
I’m learning this for the first time!
I’ve been instructing them on food transport between towns and deliveries to remote areas, but beyond that, I let them work freely as long as the wagons weren’t damaged — and this is the result!
I never intended to become this important!?

What do you think about this chapter?