Chapter 19: Start of the Trade

Maris Vallon, head of the Trade Department, was the first to speak. His brow creased as he looked at me.

“Don’t tell me,” he said slowly, “you intend to trade in the city.”

“Why not, sir?” I replied innocently.

“The city is in chaos right now, Rowan,” Maris countered. “Do you really think they’ll have the time—or the sense—to conduct proper trade?”

“Yes,” I answered calmly. “They have chaos on their hands right now. But what about a month from now?”

Maris frowned. “What do you mean?”

I tilted my head. “Think for a moment. What happens when an enemy approaches a city?”

This time Rajan Holt, Lord of the Army, answered without hesitation.
“First, defensive formations are established. If the threat persists or multiplies—as it has now—offensive units are dispatched. Multiple groups, multiple fronts. Suppression becomes the priority.”

I nodded. “And in the case of dungeons?”

Rajan exhaled sharply. “Adventurers flock in droves. Glory-seekers. Mercenaries. Treasure hunters.”

“So,” I continued, “what’s the aftermath in both scenarios?”

Rajan’s expression hardened. “Loss of life. Broken weapons. Shattered armor.”

“Exactly.” I turned slightly. “We can’t provide lives. But we can provide metals.”

I looked directly at Maris.
“Sir Maris Vallon—what will the smiths, the lords, and the guilds need most?”

Maris didn’t hesitate this time. “Refined ingots.”

He paused, then looked at me more carefully.
“So that’s why you asked for twelve huge chests ... and one smaller one.”
He exhaled. “What exactly are you planning to provide?”

I pretended to think, tapping my fingers together and counting theatrically, just to irritate them. Maris sighed and began writing anyway.

“Let’s see,” I said aloud, voice casual.

“Eight hundred ingots each. Twenty kilograms per ingot.”

Maris’s pen slowed.

“Iron. Copper. Silver. Gold.”
He nodded grimly.

“Mana-infused iron.”
His eyebrows rose.

“Mithril.”
The pen stopped for half a second.

“And low-grade MIVSI.”

That earned me a sharp look.

“Then,” I continued, “ten thousand mana crystal shards—standardized, perfectly cut.
Ten thousand aether shards—same quality.”

Maris’s pen scratched faster now.

“Beast cores: one hundred and twenty lesser cores.
Six hundred standard cores.
Sixty greater cores.
And six sovereign cores.”

The room had gone quiet.

“Seventeen beast skill orbs.”
I paused deliberately.
“And finally—ten thousand elemental shards.”

I smiled faintly.
“That should suffice for the first shipment.”

Maris leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temple.
“ ... This isn’t trade,” he muttered. “This is economic warfare.”

That was when Eldric Thorne finally snapped.

He slammed his hand on the table hard enough to make the inkpots jump.

“You fucking piece of shit,” he roared. “This is your doing, isn’t it?”

I put on my most innocent expression and raised both hands.
“Core Head, calm down. How can this possibly be my fault?”

I tilted my head, feigning confusion.

“I’m just taking advantage of an opportunity,” I said mildly.
“Nothing more.”

The silence that followed was heavy—thick with the realization that the kingdom wasn’t just preparing to survive chaos.

It was about to profit from it.

The heavy silence shattered when four sharp blows landed on the back of my head in quick succession.

“Ow! What was that for?” I yelped, spinning around.

I was met with a terrifying sight—my three wives and my sister standing shoulder to shoulder, hands planted firmly on their hips, eyes blazing with identical fury.

I instinctively turned toward Varun and Ryn.
“You two were supposed to protect me,” I accused.

They answered in perfect unison.
“You deserved it. And we do not pick losing battles.”

“Traitors,” I muttered.

Varun crossed his arms. “Explain. Slowly.”

So I did.

I explained how I had anticipated this chaos, how the appearance of dungeons and dragons would destabilize the markets, and how—long before any of this—I had already secured the resources needed to exploit the situation. I told them about the stockpiles, the ingots, the shards, the cores—everything.

By the time I finished, the Core Head’s expression had eased, his anger replaced by reluctant understanding.

That was when Kael Ironhand spoke up, his voice cutting cleanly through the room.
“There’s one thing that concerns me,” he said. “What exactly is this MIVSI you mentioned?”

“Oh,” I replied casually, “that’s Mana-Infused Void Steel Iron.”