The Uranus Merchant Company was situated in the Holy Empire and took the business district of Vienna as its headquarters.
However, the current owner of this organization, which was named after the male god of the sky in ancient mythology, was in fact, a woman.
A woman with dark blue eyes and glossy blue hair reminiscent of the sea.
The current owner of the Uranus Merchant Company, was her early 30s but still maintained a beautiful appearance.
She was called by the nickname— the Lady of Blue Gold (lapis lazuli).
The woman by the name of Bertina Minerva occupied the position of the owner of the Uranus Merchant Company nine years ago due to the lack of a proper heir following the death of her husband, who was the previous owner.
Of course, there were voices of dissatisfaction with the fact that the Uranus Merchant Company, a commercial giant, had fallen into the hands of a widow, but the results she had shown over the past nine years was stellar enough to eliminate such voices.
Bertina, who had accumulated enormous wealth by successively succeeding in high-risk trade with the East, and succeeding in defeating countless competitors, now had a firm grasp on the Senate of the Holy Empire based on the enormous funds she had behind her back.
Once an object of ridicule, she was now admired and feared by many, and she was actively using her reputation to expand the power of the Uranus Merchant Company.
"We have completely taken control of the commercial district in Frankfurt, Madame."
"Good job. With this, I won't have to worry about that annoying Maximilian Company any longer."
"Of course. Since we have erased their forces from the root, there will be no fools who will challenge us for a while."
At the secretary's words, Bertina quietly nodded in affirmation.
Over the past few years, the terrifying growth rate of the Uranus Merchant Company had naturally been a target of caution for the higher ups of the Holy Empire.
However, it wasn't an easy task for even the empire to stop the rise of Uranus Merchant Company, which used the astronomical funds earned through Eastern trade. So eventually, in a effort to contain it, the empire decided to divide the commercial district between the Uranus Merchant Company and the Merchant Alliance.
Thus, began a commercial war with money as a weapon in the background of the empire.
The two forces competed to take over the other side's business district by injecting funds and bribing people, and if necessary, mobilized mercenaries to attack the other's stronghold.
However, the Merchant Alliance, which had managed to flourish to some extent in its early days, gradually began to lose its power at some point.
The Uranus Merchant Company had temporarily united under the command of Bertina and moved together as one, while the Merchant Alliance, which was formed from a temporary alliance was still not well united due to factors like, enmity and envy. It was only large in size, but in reality was like a scarecrow with separate limbs.
In the end, two years after the commercial war broke out, the giants finally knelt down to Bertina.
The Merchant Alliance entered into a humiliating treaty with Bertina and was reduced to a position where they could either go bankrupt or barely survive.
Bertina's Uranus Merchant Company succeeded in seizing the throne of the highest ranked commercial organization in the Empire.
And now…
Bertina heard the news that she had succeeded in severing the breath of the Maximillian Company, which had resisted her until the end.
There was nothing to fear anymore for the Lady of Blue Gold, and now, based on the enormous wealth and power she had acquired, she was thinking of putting into action the things she had only dreamed of so far, one by one.
'The next thing to do is to organize the small merchants of the empire and take control of all commercial districts. If that happens, the Uranus Merchant Company will be able to lay a solid foundation, and expand beyond the empire!'
However, although the commercial war had ended in their victory, the Uranus Merchant Company wasn't completely unscathed.
The competitive investment to steal commercial rights resulted in huge financial losses, and many adventurers, who they had nurtured, either died or were no longer able to play an active duty.
'It would be unreasonable to directly touch the small merchants now, considering that we haven't yet fully recovered from the damage. If they suddenly form an united front, it'd be hard for us now to handle it. But… if we leave them alone, a new enemy might appear and try to fight us. Then…'
Thinking of something, a cold smile began to form on Bertina's lips.
Because she had succeeded in coming up with an appropriate ploy to achieve her ambition.
***
"Have you heard about the recent initiative of the Uranus Merchant Company?"
"I see, wasn't there a lot of talk about a commercial wars and whatnot? Now that the war is over, the trade that has been suspended for two years will be resumed."
"That's good news! Doesn't it mean that if we do well, there is an opportunity to secure a huge profit?"
"This time, the upper management of the Uranus Merchant Company also offered a large 60% stake! Considering that they never put out more than 40% before, it's quite unconventional."
"Yeah, that's right. In the aftermath of the commercial war, the other side is also short of funds, so they naturally have no choice but to raise the stakes of investors."
"I'm sure the small merchants will pack their money and flock like clouds, right?"
"The Uranus Merchant Company has never failed before! Let's take this opportunity to earn some money. Once we get our hands on the equity rights, wouldn't that be an instant fortune?"
The news of the investment recruitment of the Uranus Merchant Company, which was a major organization in Eastern trade, began to spread rapidly among the merchants.