First, the negotiations with Eleanor.
Let's get one thing straight.
Why is there a merchant group named 'Nox'?
There's only one reason.
'Grin, you bastard… did something I didn't ask you to do...!'
A wave of frustration washes over me.
My brother's gaze is different! I can clearly see his expression as he smirks at me.
Should I kill him or let him live?
As I pondered, I looked at the girl in front of me, sitting somewhat uncomfortably.
Eleanor took a sip of her tea and spoke.
"I never would have thought, Nox, that you'd have a merchant group named after you, much less that you'd have already gone through all of ... the rigors of the Arkheim Empire's approval process."
"It just happened to be the way it was."
"I don't lie, and when I asked you why you'd incorporated the Chasers, I couldn't believe you'd kept this secret from me. I suppose I'm still not good enough as a merchant."
Eleanor, who had gotten the situation under control, looked at me and spoke slowly.
"I'll say it straight: I'll buy all the Chasers-derived material you've put on the market, and I'll pay you well. I'll make sure it's done right, because it's the name of the top of Rivalin on the line. What do you say?"
Yep.
I knew it would go something like this.
Eleanor would be this eager for anything that would make her money.
Even though she already has a lot of gold coins, she never stops.
Grabbing more and more and shaking people down.
That's what she wants.
The love she never received as a child from her father, Clarkson.
She craves it in a twisted form.
The name 'Fox of Gold' was not derived from nothing.
'She's a sympathetic character in many ways. It's a shame that Nox was a part of her trauma. But… the last thing we need right now is to sell all of our materials to one family.'
What if one family has too much of a monopoly on the material?
There wouldn't be enough artifacts for all the other families, and their progress would be stunted.
For immediate profit, it would be better to sell all the materials to House Eleanor, but I'm not in a hurry for money right now.
For now, it's important to increase the stat averages of the other units as much as possible. This will allow me to take advantage of the main storyline later on.
It's not the only way to make money anyway.
So, before I returned to my family from the Chasers.
I told Grine in advance.
I told him not to sell too much of the beast material at once, but to market and dispose of it in small increments.
In particular, don't allow one family to monopolize it. Never give away more than 15 percent of it, I added.
For the rest, it's better to release small amounts slowly and in controlled quantities, so that the value of the material doesn't spike too much.
It's a great way to popularize artifacts and save lives.
Also.
Chapter 3, where capital becomes extremely important. As for Eleanor and the upper part, this would be a great help. {Elanor's Capitalist faction}
As such, there is only one answer I can give her.
"Not everything on the market. Fifteen percent is the limit."
Eleanor's fine brow creases slightly.
"Why, I've already looked into it. There's a lot more than that at Chasers, and in the warehouse in your name, so selling that much shouldn't be a problem."
Eleanor was quick on the uptake.
She guesses the exact amount of demonic materials I have, and says so.
But I don't let it get to me.
"It doesn't matter. I'm not in it for the money anyway."
"You made the choice to acquire the Barren Chasers, and yet you say money isn't your goal?"
"Money can't buy everything. I don't know about you yet."
I say as sharply as I can.
I hear Eleanor grit her teeth, but I can't help it.
There's no other way. There is only one choice she can make.
Her face hardened into a grim line.
Then, as if she's finally made up her mind, she turns to me and asks.
"I honestly don't know what big picture you're painting. It's changed so much, I really don't get it. Are you... No, what does Nox von Reinhafer want?"
"None of your business."
"None of your business…?"
"Yes. And there's no reason for me to answer any further, so just so you know. If you're not going to take the offer, be my guest. It doesn't matter if it takes three months, I'll find someone else and that's that."
It's a game I'm bound to win anyway. Eleanor doesn't know that I can only make the armor I want through Arson.
Information is what gives you the edge in a merchant's conversation.
I have a complete advantage in that regard. Naturally, her responses are all predictable.
"... Okay, we'll make it a 15 percent purchase, and I'll pass on the gear crafting, since we can't craft without it anyway."
Eleanor quickly takes a step back.
This is why she's scared. She realizes her position perfectly.
Then she makes the most profitable choice.
"I... Well, do you mind if I make this Young Master's equipment first…?"
Seeing Arson's untimely interruption, Eleanor sighed heavily and nodded.
"Of course, 'Dwarf 1'-ssi. You may make this client's item first."
"Oooh, my fire of crafting is blazing!"
Arson exclaimed excitedly, turning up the heat. The forge heated up in a matter of minutes.
Eleanor's face flushed slightly, but she barely showed it.
'So, is that how [Acting Genius] works?'
Realizing another overtone, I steadied myself.
This was a crucial moment, and I couldn't afford to let any negativity creep in.
I took a deep breath, kept my composure, and spoke.
"We'll take our time with the crafting later, and we'll start with the equipment enhancements. It'll take some time to prepare new contracts, and as far as I know, there's no waiting list for the enhancements, is that correct?"
"Uh, yes, but… the probability hasn't been properly established yet. There are too few samples, and it's possible to lose valuable materials, so I can't recommend it...."
"Yes. In the case of enhancement, the blue stones that are left behind when hunting demons are used with a low probability… that is, objects with the academic name of enhancement stone, but it is said that the probability of success is not very high."
"Okay. All right. I tend to be pretty lucky."
"Young Master…?"
Zitri stammered, unable to finish the sentence. But it's true. I'm close to invincible, at least in terms of enhancements and crafting. The overwhelming luck of a Luck Stat of 10.
It was obvious that this would serve me well in the long run.
Especially in enhancement and crafting!
"Let's get started."
"Even if you lose, you won't put the blame on me...."
"My master is a gentleman."
"A gentleman…?"
Zitri proudly spoke nonsense, and Eleanor shook her head in disbelief.
Well, that's a natural reaction.
You know, Zitri, sometimes you go overboard with your praise of me.
It makes me notice.
Anyway, the time for reinforcement has finally arrived.
The time that has made countless gamers cry and laugh.
Before crafting my gear, I decided to have a quick appetizer.
* * *
"Let's start with this."
Of course, it's hard to just start enhancing items unless you have a lot of them.
Therefore, the first thing I chose was Tailor Puller's pride and joy, the school uniform. It's basically armor, but it's more aesthetically pleasing due to its formal nature.
However, since this is an academy arc where I'll be going into battle in it quite a bit, I wanted to make sure it was maximally enhanced first.
"It's a school uniform… I'm guessing this will be enough for one Enhancement Stone."
"Okay, here's a hundred for starters."
"A hundred! You're going to burn that many power stones in this school uniform…?"
Eleanor is stunned.
Is it just the price of the enhancement stones? Of course not.
Even with the Chasers, there's a gap between her and me.
The Rivalin family, with their mastery of all things and their money here and there, and the Rienhafer family, who are just starting out in this market.
Technically, it doesn't make sense for Nox's Merchant Group to be closing the distance already.
However, right now she's freaking out about the number of Enhancement Stones I have.
A precious commodity that money can't buy at this point.
The truth is that even later Enhancement Stones aren't that easy to come by.
There's always a market for Chasers, because the way in which lower-grade and higher-grade items are enhanced is different.
"Well then, let's get started."
"Very well. Arson, payment will be made at once."
Arson picked up my hammer, seemingly pleased to be called by name. He places my item on the anvil, gives me a quizzical look, and lightly strikes it with the enhancement stone.
kkaang-!
I hear the usual noise, signaling that the enhancement has begun in earnest.
The blue enhancement stone shattered, and the magic within it began to be sucked up. Eleanor and Zitri {sic}. Even I couldn't take my eyes off the unfamiliar scene.
It's only natural that games and reality are two different worlds.
[You have successfully enhanced 'Eldain Academy Uniform (Noble)' by +1!]
Phew.
(huu.)
I hear a short sigh from Zitri.
Actually, I wasn't nervous at all, but she doesn't know the odds yet, so it can't be helped. Arson is naturally overjoyed.
[Return] and [Clean]. A total of two enchanted equipment.
It's even better that he's succeeded in strengthening them.
'For armor, each additional enhancement increases physical and magical defense by 2 percent. That's still the same, and it's not too bad.'
I nodded, nonchalantly giving the instructions.
"One more time."
"Whoa… If it breaks, I won't know...."
He looks up at me with slightly pleading eyes.
But I know.
With Arson's genius talent and my 100,000 luck stat, I know I'll be straight until the quarterfinals.
After that, the odds start to drop to 90 percent.
After that, it drops back down to 85 percent, or 5 percent.
Finally, it's fixed at 1%, with a maximum buff of +25 strength.
Of course, there is a limit to the buff per artifact class, so unless you're a top tier artifact, you're stuck with a maximum of 15 buffs.
[You have successfully buffed 'Eldain Academy Uniform (Noble)' by +2!]
[You have successfully enhanced the 'Elysdain Academy Uniform (Noble)' by +3].
'I don't know what the second part will be like when it opens… but for a uniform that I'll be using often, I think I'll aim for full strength.'
A few more rounds of hammering followed.
It wasn't long before the long-awaited news arrived.
[You have successfully enhanced 'Eldain Academy School Uniform (Noble)' by +15!]
[You have successfully enhanced the artifact to its maximum enchantment. The additional enchantment will open one additional slot. Visit Tailor Puller to have it enchanted!]
Done!
With this, you've gained one more enchantment slot.
I've enhanced my school uniforms with an excessive amount of magic stones.
For reference, I've only managed to upgrade two uniforms without blowing them up.
This is nothing short of a miracle.
Luck 10!
Praise be to God.
"Oh, my God... I've never seen an enhancement go so well before!"
"Holy shit… I've never seen this happen before, even with the rough odds off the top of my head...."
However, I ignored the two of them and casually put my uniform back on.
Then I felt the cool feel of the uniform against my skin with a pleasant message.
A uniform with nearly 30% additional physical and magical defense.
On top of that, I see an additional slot open up… and a shiver of excitement runs down my spine.
This is… irresistible.
"The next enhancement is this."
"What…?"
"That… looks like an expensive item, even for a pretender...?"
Upon seeing the next artifact I held out, Eleanor's brow crinkled slightly and her gaze turned to me.
Her arms are crossed in firm disapproval, but I don't back down.
Why?
Because the item I'm holding out to Arson is the Archmage's Superlative Orb that Eleanor gave me as a reward in the past.
It simultaneously corrects magic and health, and has special effects. But I'm willing to shell out the cash to enhance it.
Something worth well over a hundred gold at least.
"I really don't know what you're thinking."
"That's a compliment."
"It's not a compliment!"
I retorted moderately, pulling out more reinforcing stones. I dumped them out, and Arson winced.
"You didn't drink that much…?"
"You'd better think you're not sleeping tonight."
"...."
With that, the sound of hammering began to echo through the forge.
Along with a groan of exhaustion from one dwarf.
***
Meanwhile, on the hour.
Grine back at the Chasers recalls Nox with a proud expression.
"Ha-ha-ha… He'll be so happy to know he's got a merchant group named after him, I'll finally get some praise, now that's what I call being on the right track, ha-ha-ha!"
Unfortunately, he hadn't read Nox's mind at all.
It wasn't until a little later that he realized that Nox was nashing his teeth for doing something Grine hadn't been asked to do.