The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 178

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 178. A Gift
Marzen had sought me out to purchase monster meat.
And his purpose was to present it to me as a gift.
I wondered if that could possibly be true.
But seeing the earnest gleam in Marzen’s eyes now….
‘It seems genuine.’
He truly appeared to have come seeking me out because of me.
The phrasing was a bit odd, but regardless.
‘Well, I suppose.’
Marzen’s life practically depended on Kim Fujiwara.
We were now in the same boat.
A boat that would only sink Marzen if it went down.
Therefore, Marzen seemed intent on purchasing monster meat as a bribe to curry favor with Kim Fujiwara.
Of course, Kim Fujiwara was me.
Only, Marzen had no idea whatsoever that I was Kim Fujiwara.
The moment my thoughts reached this point.
“I’m not certain if you’re aware, but.”
I rapidly calculated everything in my mind before continuing.
“I’ve recently begun distributing a product called Night Ale.”
“I’m well aware of it.”
Marzen nodded as though it were obvious.
It would have been stranger not to know, given how thoroughly it had shaken Caravana.
“Fortunately, distribution within Caravana has proceeded without issue. However, when I attempted to expand into other regions, cooperation became rather difficult.”
These kingdoms had such numerous and varied demands.
The anguish I’d endured during the early days of the Allied Forces formation came rushing back like a nightmare.
Getting the product distributed even to Caravana had been challenging, but distributing from Caravana to each kingdom was an entirely different matter.
Simply put, I needed to grease palms in each kingdom.
“To smooth the distribution channels across the kingdoms, I believe some… consideration will be necessary.”
“I understand what you’re saying.”
“So I intended to demonstrate goodwill with monster meat, but the quantities are insufficient to provide any.”
“Ah….”
Marzen’s disappointed expression lasted only a moment.
“Surely there must be some way to make it work?”
“I do have circumstances to consider….”
“I beg you. I’ll pay whatever amount you ask.”
Finally, Marzen lowered his head.
He seemed genuinely prepared to pay whatever sum I demanded.
…For a moment I wavered, but I suppressed it with superhuman restraint.
“I apologize. No matter how much money you offer, this isn’t a matter of money.”
“Then I’ll pay with something other than money.”
Caught.
“For the head of the Trade Union to visit in person, and to speak so earnestly at that….”
I drew out the silence deliberately.
All the while, I continued to gauge Marzen’s reaction.
And after deliberation upon deliberation.
As if I truly had no other choice.
“If you would grant me just one request, I believe I could provide the goods you seek.”
“What might that be? Please, speak freely.”
“Could you lend me the influence of the Trade Union?”
The Trade Union was a free commerce association that operated primarily out of Caravana.
A commercial coalition established to mediate negotiations and resolve distribution friction among merchant guilds crossing kingdom borders.
To the merchant guilds, it was a negotiating partner.
To the kingdoms, it functioned like a merchant embassy.
That was what the Trade Union essentially was.
It wielded tremendous influence, and Marzen was its head.
A single word from him?
The customs officials of each kingdom would be rendered powerless.
“If you would reduce the Predator Merchant Company’s border tariffs to zero percent, I believe I could provide the goods.”
Zero percent border tariffs.
The value was immense.
It wasn’t merely a matter of financial advantage.
Zero tariffs meant unrestricted passage.
With trade and distribution across borders rendered free, I could freely coordinate between kingdoms with divergent interests.
Through this, I could gain tremendous assistance in forming the Allied Forces.
Marzen had no immediate response.
He fell into deep contemplation, his lips sealed.
It was only natural.
Even I recognized that zero percent tariffs was an excessive condition.
But the fundamental principle of negotiation was to aim high first and observe the response.
Call high initially, feign concessions, and extract gains—that was the essence of negotiation.
Now it was Marzen’s turn to pull the terms down to something realistic.
Then I would bluff and raise the conditions again.
Marzen would appear to retreat while recalibrating.
A delicate psychological warfare of calculated moves.
Marzen was a man of cold rationality.
Particularly, Marzen’s ability, Context Reading [E], allowed him to interpret non-verbal and situational factors to discern hidden intentions and purposes.
This psychological battle would be far from easy….
‘It’s been a while.’
Yet I was confident.
My experience as Special Forces Duke Commander remained intact within my mind.
I’d been confident I could negotiate the border tax down as far as possible, even if not to zero percent—.
Marzen, you too.
“Is that sufficient?”
…He really did want to make a good impression on me.
* * *
A room without a single window.
A faint mana lamp flickered, casting pale light across the space.
Marzen sat motionless in his chair, eyes closed.
He steadied his breathing with deliberate calm.
Yet his fingertips unconsciously fidgeted with the hem of his garment.
Then, in that very moment.
“What’s the matter? You suddenly wanted to meet.”
A voice cut through the silence.
Marzen’s body flinched.
Both hands reflexively shot up to his face.
Beyond his partially obscured vision, Kim Fujiwara Bloodhound regarded him with a peculiar expression.
“What are you doing? What’s that?”
“…Nothing.”
Marzen remained rigid for a moment before slowly lowering his hands.
Kim Fujiwara Bloodhound shrugged once and took a seat across from him.
His face, illuminated by the faint mana lamp.
…Truly, it was an impossible face.
An appearance that defied classification as human.
“Is there something on my face?”
“…Nothing at all.”
Marzen remained rigid for a moment before slowly shaking his head.
Then he reached into the void, withdrawing something from his subspace.
Whoosh—!
“…What is this?”
“A hump from a Camirus, I’m told.”
“Camirus, you say….”
Kim Fujiwara paused in thought before speaking.
“You mean the camel-type monster that inhabits the Desert?”
“Precisely.”
“Why…?”
“Monster meat purchased from the Predator Merchant Company.”
“You’re serious?”
Kim Fujiwara’s eyes widened as he asked.
“I haven’t heard of any new menu items… but more importantly, how did you obtain this? Lately, with all the night beer and whatnot, they’ve stopped selling monster meat entirely.”
“It required considerable expenditure.”
“How much did you give them?”
“I set the condition that the Predator Merchant Company would receive zero percent tariffs at all borders.”
“…?”
Kim Fujiwara’s head tilted in confusion.
“Isn’t that excessive?”
It was. Excessive indeed.
Monster meat and zero percent tariffs.
Naturally, the zero percent tariff held far greater value.
In other words, Marzen had taken a severe loss.
Marzen knew this well enough.
And naturally, the Trade Union couldn’t simply grant zero percent tariffs without consequence.
The interests at stake with customs officials spanning each kingdom.
The bribes that needed to be distributed to each royal family and nobility.
The documents and systems that required adjustment, and so forth.
Simply put, it required wagering every connection, every ounce of influence, and every capital I’d accumulated thus far.
All of that for mere monster meat?
It was more than excessive—it was catastrophic.
Yet the reason I accepted such a catastrophic loss was—
“Surely… it’s because of me?”
“Yes.”
“You surrendered zero percent tariffs as payment to present this to me as a gift?”
“Only then would it appear as a legitimate negotiating card for runesteel, wouldn’t it?”
Kim Fujiwara’s elegant brows twitched slightly.
After a moment of contemplation, he slowly opened his mouth.
“…So the scenario is: I secured monster meat through considerable effort, won your favor with it, and succeeded in the runesteel negotiation. Is that correct?”
“Precisely.”
Monster meat obtainable only through the price of zero percent tariffs.
Kim Fujiwara already had precedent for trading monster meat in exchange for runesteel.
Therefore, if I succeeded in negotiating with Kim Fujiwara by offering rare monster meat as the condition?
“The Information Bureau would view this negotiation as a sufficiently realistic transaction, not collusion.”
“Certainly….”
Kim Fujiwara nodded slightly.
“It’s quite a rational scenario.”
However.
“This alone won’t completely dispel their suspicions, will it?”
It was true.
I could evade interrogation, but completely erasing suspicion would be difficult.
The Empire’s Information Bureau were relentless hunting dogs that missed nothing.
“Don’t worry. I’ve already devised a way to completely avoid the Information Bureau’s suspicions.”
“You’re more capable than I expected.”
“If the table is set, one should wield the fork themselves, wouldn’t you say?”
Hahaha.
Kim Fujiwara laughed lightly.
“Your words inspire confidence in me.”
“So how much Runesteel can you secure?”
“We currently have approximately 50,000 tons available.”
“50,000 tons…?”
Marzen’s eyes widened considerably.
He understood the value that 50,000 tons of Runesteel possessed.
Moreover, if it were Runesteel ore with a purity of 18.1%, it would be sufficient to restructure a Corps-level weapons system.
Runesteel nullifies mana.
For this reason, it was unsuitable as a weapon.
To nullify mana meant it could not hold mana within itself.
But as armor?
It possessed extraordinary utility.
By blocking magic and dulling Aura Swords, a legion equipped with Runesteel possessed destructive power that was nothing short of catastrophic.
Marzen’s achievement in creating this could not be dismissed.
His standing would rise dramatically, and it was evident he would catch the attention of the upper echelons.
“Do you require more, perhaps?”
“Can you secure additional quantities?”
“One must set the table properly, after all.”
…I was left speechless.
And I could discern it then.
Kim Fujiwara’s plan to seat Marzen at the helm of The Empire’s leadership was far from mere fantasy.
“So first, dispel The Information Bureau’s suspicions entirely.”
If Marzen simply wielded the fork well at the table set before him, every puzzle would fall perfectly into place.
“Then I shall gratefully accept this gift.”
Kim Fujiwara stored every last one of Camirus’s horns into his subspace without remainder.
Though it had cost an enormous sum with 0% tariffs… it was far from wasteful.
Kim Fujiwara placed one of Camirus’s horns atop the table.
“This is my gift. Do try it.”
And with that, he departed.
Alone in the room, Marzen hesitated for a moment before conjuring flames with magic.
Whoosh!
Sizzle, sizzle—Camirus’s horn browning to a golden hue.
With bursting droplets of fat, a savory aroma spread throughout.
Soon, Camirus’s horn was roasted to a perfect golden-brown.
Marzen carefully sliced the horn with a blade formed by warping air density.
Slice.
Being a mass of fat, it parted without resistance.
…Is this really going to taste good?
Just looking at it, it seems like it’d be greasy.
Marzen carefully placed it in his mouth.
And then.
“…!!!!”
His eyes snapped wide open of their own accord.
The flavor… was insane.
It seemed like it would be heavy, but it was nothing of the sort.
Each pocket of fat was densely packed with fiber, unleashing an explosion of umami.
“This, this is…!!”
Monster meat that had turned The Continent upside down.
Monster meat that Kim Fujiwara had sought to obtain even by offering rune steel.
Before I knew it, Marzen was shoving a second piece into his mouth with greasy fingers.
Munch, munch.
…If I’d known it tasted this good, I should’ve swiped a couple of pieces.
* * *
A clandestine meeting place heavy with palpable tension.
The aura of the Fallen Soul Worshippers in black hoods twisted unnaturally.
None other than the mysterious entity that had vanquished the Ogre.
They had investigated by selling futures.
But buried beneath countless false leads, they could not discern its identity.
Yet they could not simply abandon the matter.
If they failed to reveal the identity?
There was no way to predict what variables might emerge in their future plans.
They had no choice but to mobilize additional funds.
They sold the future of futures to the future.
They pooled everything they could to deduce and comprehend the information.
And the result of those countless efforts.
“The identity of the one who vanquished the Ogre is a naked savage—.”
Thunk!
Aketa’s head rolled across the floor of the meeting chamber.
The identity of the Ogre’s slayer, investigated through the sale of futures.
But what was that?
A naked savage?
Just as madness has its limits, so too does nonsense.
Therefore, if that head rolling across the floor wasn’t empty, what that nonsense suggested was singular.
Someone had manipulated the information.
But even this had its limits.
If Aketa had spouted such drivel, it would require resources on at least a Kingdom scale.
Yet no Kingdom on The Continent had any ‘reason’ to conduct an information warfare operation of this magnitude.
Therefore, the entity concealed behind this false information.
I couldn’t merely assess the military might required to subjugate Ogre.
A strategist of absurd caliber—one capable of weaving deception across the entire Continent itself.
Such a monster was the true identity behind Ogre’s subjugation.
Precisely because of this, I needed to expose that identity all the more urgently, but….
The Continent had already descended into complete chaos.
All manner of information had become hopelessly entangled and scrambled.
It was no longer a tangled thread—merely a single, indecipherable mass.
Gathering any further intelligence had now become ‘impossible’.
“…I must report this to the Presence.”
The Worshipper, wiping blood from his face, spoke in a hushed tone.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————