Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Business (2)

“You?”

“I have quite a lot of money.
So, please sell the mana car business to me.”

Mitchell had realized from a report he had seen before that Caden had recruited a banker.

If that was the case, Caden would also know how much money Mitchell had.

That was why Mitchell naturally thought Caden would accept his offer.

“No.”

But Caden answered firmly.

When Mitchell asked for the reason, a completely unexpected answer came from him.

“Wasn’t that money your mother’s inheritance?
Taking over a business means taking on the risk of failure as well.
Don’t use your mother’s inheritance for something like that.
If you run the business well anyway, some of the profits will eventually come into your hands.”

“The family’s situation isn’t very good right now.”

“That is something I, as the family head, will handle.
You can share the responsibility after I step down as family head.”

Seeing that there was no way Caden would accept his words, Mitchell finally revealed what he had been hiding.

“But I can only invest my money without worry if I take over the business.
Since I’ve already decided to take responsibility for the business, I’ll be investing money somewhere anyway.
Wouldn’t it look better in many ways if I were the direct owner?”

Caden thought about it for quite some time after hearing those words.

Eventually, he accepted Mitchell’s proposal.

The moment Mitchell invested his own money, the family’s honor would surely be dragged through the mud.

People would say that they had adopted him just to take his money.

“Phew…….
If that is truly what you want, I suppose it can’t be helped.
Go and tell Lord Loren and Silvia yourself.
You can tell the two of them everything you mentioned.”

“Yes, understood.
And I need your permission for one more thing.
We must rescue the Thunder Rock Tribe.
That way, along with mining the mana stones, we can also make sure the secret remains safe.”

In other words, they would have to clash with Braxton.

But Caden knew how important rescuing the dwarf tribe was.

He firmly closed his lips and nodded.

“I understand.
I’ll look into that as well.”

“Thank you…….
Father.”

A faint smile appeared on Caden’s face, which had been stiff until just a moment ago.

Mitchell lowered his head and left the family head’s office.

Then, a voice filled with mischief came from behind him.

[You only call me Father when you really need me.
Hehehe.]

Mitchell hid his reddened face and quickly walked away.

His next destination was the workshop where Loren and Silvia were staying.

“Yes, I’ll follow your plan.”

“I understand too.
I’ll follow what Mitchell oppa wants.”

After Mitchell finished his brief explanation, the two accepted it much more easily than he had expected.

It was certainly a good thing for him, but wizards tended to hate leaving a place where they had already settled down.

After all, moving all kinds of experimental equipment and materials was difficult, and some things could be damaged during the process.

“But Lord Loren and Silvia, you’re agreeing surprisingly easily.”

However, the two looked at Mitchell strangely as if they did not understand why he was asking that.

“Have you forgotten what is most necessary to make the mana car you designed?”

“What?
What do you mean?”

“Metal for the frame and exterior.
Mana stones, which are the power source of the mana car.
And complicated components that will replace some of the magic circles.”

“Ah……!”

Mitchell understood immediately.

As for the metal, there was already a furnace at the iron mine, making it a convenient place for processing.

Some mana stones would also be mined there, making secrecy and supply much easier.

Finally, they could even receive help from dwarves who were extremely skilled at working with metal for the complicated components.

“Mitchell oppa, are you sure you don’t need to come with us?
You said Braxton might attack.”

“It’s fine.
They won’t attack immediately.
And we’ll hire a large number of workers as soon as we arrive, so it won’t be easy for them to attack us.”

“Wow!
You’ve thought that far ahead too.”

At Silvia’s admiring gaze as she clapped her hands, Mitchell quietly turned his head away.

“I’ll go ahead first.
I’ll call you once the equipment is ready.”

“No.
We’ll follow you right away.
After you left, I thought about the components, but I don’t know much about them, so it was difficult to make the blueprints.
It seems we’ll need the help of that dwarf chief.”

“Then that’s great for me.”

Mitchell was satisfied that things at the family had been settled much more easily than expected.

Since Caden had decided to handle the takeover of the mana car business himself, Mitchell’s next task was to prepare the foundation.

‘Should I spend some money?’

For now, he had more than enough money.

It had been his mother’s inheritance, but he thought of it as the foundation that would eventually be used for his revenge.

So, the first thing Mitchell did was look for the largest construction guild in Ranga, the ‘Golden Pillar.’

“What brings you here?”

“I’d like to place a commission.
Please call the guild master.”

The employee looked Mitchell up and down for a moment and scratched his head.

Mitchell usually wore ordinary clothes that were comfortable to move around in, so he did not look like someone important enough to meet the guild master.

“I’m sorry, but you need to make an appointment separately if you want to meet the guild master.
What name should I give him?”

“I’m Mitchell from the Runei family.
I’d like to meet him as soon as possible, so please tell him that as well.
I’ll wait here.”

“Ah…….
If it’s the Runei family, then…….”

At Mitchell’s words, the employee immediately headed toward the guild master.

At present, the name Runei was not something he could easily ignore in Ranga.

“Guild Master, a guest from the Runei family has arrived.”

“Really?
Are they planning to build another annex?
Or is it the newly appointed governor?”

“No.
He said his name is Mitchell…….”

“Mitchell?”

The guild master narrowed his eyes upon hearing the name.

It sounded familiar somehow.

After thinking for a moment, he soon remembered the adopted son of the Runei family, who was surrounded by countless rumors.

The rumors had not spread widely among ordinary people, but guilds were organizations extremely sensitive to profits and interests.

Naturally, as the guild master, he possessed plenty of information about the Runei family.

The guild master immediately stood up and hurried over himself.

Soon, he stood before Mitchell and bowed his head.

“It is an honor that you have come all the way here!
Please, come inside first!”

The adopted son of Runei whom he met was younger than expected.

And he was much more generous than expected.

Thud—

“Five hundred gold.”

A pouch of gold coins was placed on the table almost immediately after their greetings.

The guild master carefully picked up the pouch and opened it.

There was roughly the amount Mitchell had mentioned.

The fact that he had casually placed down this much gold meant that he intended to entrust them with a very large project.

And sure enough, the scale of the construction Mitchell soon described was enormous.

“I understand what you’re asking for, but to build something of that scale as quickly as possible, our guild alone won’t be enough.
The estimated cost will also increase slightly.”

“Yes, I expected that.
That is why I came here after taking it into consideration.
I believe the Golden Pillar Guild will be able to control the other people involved and carry out the construction properly.
By the way, the gold I just placed down is solely your payment for taking responsibility for and overseeing this entire project.”

Despite Mitchell’s praise, the guild master looked troubled.

If the construction costs were separate, then the five hundred gold in front of him would go directly into his hands if he accepted.

He was tempted by the money.

However, the conditions Mitchell was demanding were simply too unreasonable to accept immediately.

“Even so, three months is a little…….
Gathering workers and bringing in materials will take quite a lot of time.”

Mitchell nodded after seeing that the guild master did not outright say it was impossible.

Even he thought three months was pushing it.

But if the facilities for producing mana cars were not completed, everything would be delayed.

‘That won’t do.’

After thinking for a moment, Mitchell placed another gold pouch about the same size as the previous one in front of the guild master.

“I’ll give you another five hundred gold.”

“…….”

“I’m not asking you to build everything I mentioned within three months.
I’ll give you separate priorities, so proceed according to them.”

“If that’s the case…….”

The guild master quietly pulled the two pouches toward himself.

“Hahaha, I look forward to working with you.
I said it would be difficult earlier, but honestly, if it isn’t the Golden Pillar, there is no other place in Ranga capable of handling a job like this.
I’m quite friendly with the other construction guild masters.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“Don’t worry!
You’ll see the construction begin within a week!”

Mitchell and Grant returned to the iron mine first on Nok.

Loren and Silvia would probably arrive a day or two later.

After that, countless workers and construction materials would also arrive.

Before that happened, they needed to organize this place as well.

So, as soon as Mitchell arrived, he went to find Toolgram.

“Have you been uncomfortable in any way?”

“Hahaha!
No, I haven’t.
Didn’t I say this place was practically heaven?
The food is excellent too, so I’m enjoying myself.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“You seem to have something to say.
Go ahead and speak freely.
You saved my life, so I should repay you somehow.”

At Toolgram’s words, Mitchell and Grant exchanged glances.

After a moment, Mitchell spoke.

“Then I’ll speak comfortably.
People from our family will be coming here soon for the mana car business.”

“Mana cars?
Isn’t that the carriage that has recently become popular?
I heard there are still very few places that make them.
It’s impressive that you’re entering that business.”

“We’re just getting started.
But instead of using a large number of magic circles, we plan to lower the price by adding mechanical devices.”

Toolgram’s eyes lit up.

He had become interested upon hearing the words mechanical devices.

Mitchell was relieved and explained more about his plan to Toolgram.

Soon, Toolgram nodded.

“That sounds interesting.
All right.
I’ll help you make them.”

“That is the price for saving your life.
From now on, this is a business deal.”

“A business deal?”

“Yes, a business deal.
We, the Runei family, will rescue the Thunder Rock Tribe.
In return, I want you to help us mine the mana stone mine.”

Toolgram was greatly shocked by those words.

It was understandable.

The words he had expected to say first had come from Mitchell instead.

In truth, Toolgram had already half given up.

After Mitchell and Grant left, he had heard from the twin brothers that the Runei family was in a difficult situation.

On the other hand, the Braxton family was undeniably the current ruler of the north.

He thought that even if he got down on his knees and begged, they would not accept his request.

But now that Mitchell had brought it up first, thick tears streamed down Toolgram’s eyes.

To the dwarves, an entire tribe was one family.

The thought that he might be able to save his family overwhelmed him with emotion.

“I understand.
If you rescue my people, I’ll somehow persuade them.
No, we dwarves are a race that always repays a debt.
If you rescue them, everyone will willingly want to help Runei.”

Mitchell smiled as he watched Toolgram grab his hand and shake it vigorously.

But inwardly, he gave a cold smile.

Unlike last time, this time it was Runei’s turn to stab Braxton in the back.