The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 369

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 369. Priorities (2)
200,000 Gold spilled across the table.
No, sweet potato wine.
“…*cough*, *hack*! Th-this is precious *cough cough*!!”
Marzen suppressed his coughing and wiped his mouth.
His face flushed crimson.
His eyes trembled violently as he stared at the scattered wine.
…Should I lick it up right now?
It hasn’t even been three seconds yet.
Whether Marzen’s inner turmoil was known or not.
Kim Fujiwara Bloodhound.
He took his seat across from Marzen as if nothing had happened.
Marzen’s insides churned and boiled with fury.
“Didn’t I tell you to announce your presence next time…?”
He barely managed to suppress his rising voice.
Getting angry wouldn’t help.
No, fighting would only end in certain defeat.
“Ah, my apologies. This is a passive ability, so I can’t help it.”
Kim Fujiwara scratched his head as he spoke.
Marzen exhaled a deep sigh.
A sigh was all he could manage.
Fighting would only result in certain defeat anyway.
He’d genuinely considered flicking him on the forehead, but every imagined outcome left only a corpse-like Marzen in his mind.
Marzen spoke as if in protest.
“…Do you know how much this costs?”
Kim Fujiwara glanced at the sweet potato wine bottle and answered.
“Isn’t it 198,000 Gold?”
“You know the exact price and still act so nonchalant?”
“What’s there to be concerned about?”
“Well, obviously—!”
…Come to think of it.
Kim Fujiwara had several trillion Gold.
To him, 200,000 Gold would be worth no more than 20 Copper.
What could he possibly say to someone so devoid of financial sense?
Marzen swallowed his words.
Then Kim Fujiwara asked.
“By the way, doesn’t the Director of the Distribution Bureau earn a substantial salary?”
“…Not enough to throw away 198,000 Gold.”
“How much do you earn?”
“Less than one million Gold.”
“The Empire seems rather stingy, doesn’t it?”
“Stingy…?”
“I assumed I would receive at least 10 million gold annually.”
“That’s absurd.”
10 million gold would rival the annual revenue of a major merchant company.
Even the Empire wouldn’t pay such a sum as salary to a single bureaucrat.
“There isn’t a single official within the Empire who receives that kind of compensation.”
“Is that so?”
“It is.”
“Since I negotiated contracts in the billions with you, I naturally assumed the Empire’s officials received proportionate compensation.”
“How could the entire Empire’s budget possibly equal what a single individual receives?”
“Yet isn’t the Empire’s budget essentially the Emperor’s personal assets?”
Kim Fujiwara shrugged as he spoke.
“When you think about it that way, the Emperor is rather excessive. With so much wealth, yet he pays his officials such meager wages.”
“100,000 gold isn’t meager, is it? Besides, where on The Continent pays 10 million gold in annual salary—”
“Our company’s chairman receives that much.”
“…?”
Marzen’s head tilted in confusion.
“…What did you just say?”
“The chairman of our professional Raven Dung Merchant Company, that is.”
What is he talking about?
Professional?
It seemed his tongue had twisted trying to say “professional.”
Regardless.
“His annual salary exceeds 10 million gold slightly.”
“That’s… that’s an annual salary?”
“Indeed.”
“….”
Marzen fell silent for a moment.
‘He receives that much…?!’
Was that even possible?
A mere merchant company chairman?
Receiving ten times more than Marzen, the Director of the Empire Commerce Ministry Distribution Department?
“Is that… truly real?”
“What good would lying do? Since I’ve earned considerable wealth through Runesteel, I should know how to give back generously.”
“But… why to such an extent…?”
“Because it ensures Runesteel’s secrets remain protected.”
“….”
“There is no tree with deeper roots than money. That is my principle.”
Certainly.
With an annual salary of ten million gold, who would dare open their mouth?
There would be no reason to sell information.
No justification for betrayal.
Not even a temptation to desert.
Take Marzen himself—even with a blade at his throat, he would never breathe a word.
Marzen found himself turning his gaze away without realizing it.
The position of Chancellor, half-surrendering one’s very life.
…Today, it felt unusually shabby.
“In that case, allow me to treat you this time. However, since time is short, let’s dine in The Empire instead.”
Kim Fujiwara raised his hand as he spoke.
“Here, one bottle of sweet potato wine to go, please.”
At that moment, someone darted out from the back of the restaurant.
It was not a staff member.
A man with the sharp features of a weasel.
It was Adlern, the owner of the Predator Restaurant and simultaneously the Chairman of the Predator Merchant Company.
‘The Chairman himself coming out to serve?’
Given that it commanded nearly two hundred thousand gold, it was possible.
‘But he wasn’t doing that earlier.’
Before Marzen’s eyes,
Adlern carefully set down the sweet potato wine.
“Schönne personally selected the finest vintage for you!”
His posture was thoroughly obsequious.
Hardly the bearing of a Merchant Company Chairman.
In that sense, one might wonder.
What was Adlern’s annual salary?
‘Surely it wasn’t more than mine?’
No, surely not.
That couldn’t be the case.
The Raven Dung Merchant Company’s success was possible because of rune iron profits.
The Predator Merchant Company, on the other hand….
‘The Predator Merchant Company does rake in staggering revenues, but.’
Night beer that swept across the entire Continent.
Successive blockbuster hits with the new lemon beer.
And that was far from all.
The specialty goods of Whitewolf Territory were also distributed by the Predator Merchant Company.
Dwarven equipment had become essential items for adventurers and mercenaries.
Elven herbs were used everywhere—in alchemy, cooking, and even cosmetics.
Especially the soap from Whitewolf Territory.
It was being exchanged for silver of equal weight.
It was no exaggeration to say they had swept up the entire Continent’s economy in their grasp.
‘…It couldn’t be, right?’
It couldn’t be.
Definitely not.
Marzen shook his head deliberately.
In the meantime, Adlern carefully wrapped up the sweet potato wine.
“This batch was made from only the finest honey sweet potatoes harvested by the Elves this year.”
Then he glanced around nervously.
After gauging the mood, he quietly—
Adlern placed a beer bottle on the table.
Kim Fujiwara asked.
“What is this?”
“A complimentary sample.”
“A sample?”
“Yes, yes.”
Adlern answered with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
“Schönne has been developing this recently, and now that the prototype is ready, I’m offering it to Adrenaline as a gift.”
…What is he talking about?
What does it mean to offer something to Adrenaline?
Marzen tilted his head in confusion.
Meanwhile, Kim Fujiwara showed no concern and asked.
“What kind of product is it?”
“Mango beer!”
“Mango beer?”
“Yes! Fresh from the Dwarf brewery—or rather, nice and cold beer!”
Adlern filled their glasses.
“Please, try a glass each!”
Kim Fujiwara lifted his glass first.
“You should try it too, Marzen.”
Marzen picked up his glass as well.
Golden foam bubbled gently in the glass.
The sweet aroma of mango pleasantly tickled the tip of Marzen’s nose.
Gulp—
…The sensation hit immediately.
This mango beer.
It’s absolutely going to be a massive hit.
Marzen’s eyes widened as he turned his gaze.
Adlern, bowing and scraping like a weasel.
Even rubbing his palms together—it didn’t look dignified for a director at all.
But the feeling was unmistakable.
‘…He’s going to be earning more than me.’
At least double, if not more.
* * *
Shortly after leaving Predator Restaurant.
As they walked through the streets, Kim Fujiwara asked a question.
“I asked this earlier, but why did you suggest we meet in Frecce rather than Caravana?”
“After the terrorist incident, Caravana’s function as a trading city became far more pronounced.”
Marzen continued walking as he spoke.
“Accidents and damages have plummeted compared to before, and merchant guilds and associations from across the Continent are now using Caravana as a transit point far more actively.”
“You mean….”
“It’s become difficult to hide one’s presence. Especially with 150,000 tons of Rune Iron.”
“I see.”
Kim Fujiwara nodded in understanding.
But soon he looked around and asked again.
“That said, Frecce isn’t exactly a city that draws less attention, is it?”
“True.”
“Then why?”
“Even as a Free City, it can’t escape the influence of adjacent kingdoms.”
“…Ah.”
“Right now, with Battenberg Kingdom in chaos from the rebellion, administrative functions are paralyzed and blind spots in surveillance have appeared everywhere.”
“I’ve noticed this since last time.”
Kim Fujiwara continued, sounding surprised.
“You’re quite thorough.”
“I’ve felt this since last time, but you have a tendency to underestimate me far too much.”
Marzen spoke without concern.
“More importantly, is the quantity prepared?”
“Of course.”
“…You really prepared 150,000 tons of Rune Iron?”
“You also have a tendency to underestimate me quite a bit, Marzen.”
….
“Follow me.”
Marzen followed Kim Fujiwara’s footsteps.
* * *
An ancient sluice gate leading to the Underground Aqueduct.
Kim Fujiwara crouched down and reached his hand into a puddle.
Though calling it a puddle was generous.
It was essentially a cesspool.
“What… are you doing right now?”
“As you can see, I’m conducting a special operation.”
Kim Fujiwara answered while stirring the cesspool.
Marzen furrowed his brow and asked back.
“That’s what you call a special operation?”
“Well, there’s nothing particularly special about a special operation.”
*Creak!*
“As long as no one catches on, it’s a special operation.”
*Rumble!*
Moments later, the wall beside the water gate swung open.
A secret passage revealed itself within.
“Let’s take a look.”
Marzen pinched his nose and stepped inside.
And then.
“Good heavens….”
The words escaped him involuntarily.
Rune iron stacked in an absolutely staggering quantity.
All of it was processed rune iron ingots—150,000 tons of them.
The sheer scale was overwhelming, but what truly shocked me was that all of this had been hidden here.
Without anyone discovering it.
This—this was what one could truly call a “special operation.”
Marzen drew a deep breath.
In that instant, a stench assaulted his nostrils.
He immediately grimaced and pinched his nose shut.
Kim Fujiwara spoke next.
“So how do you plan to move this quantity? Transport it by carriage like last time?”
“Once we leave Frecce, we’ll transport it by carriage.”
“And while leaving Frecce?”
“By air.”
“…By air?”
“Becoming a Grand Minister opens up many possibilities.”
Marzen shrugged as he spoke.
“This time, I’ll use what’s called aerial transport equipment. It’s an illicit transport method that ascends directly through the sky—.”
“…Already?”
“Already?”
“Hmm? No, never mind.”
Kim Fujiwara shook his head as if it were nothing.
Marzen glanced at him once before continuing.
“I can easily lift 150,000 tons of rune iron, but the problem is….”
“Landing it, right? Gravity reversal can lift it, but there’s no mechanism to bring it back down.”
“…How would you solve that?”
“I guessed correctly.”
“…???”
“In any case, I’ll handle that problem for you.”
With that, Kim Fujiwara turned and walked away.
Marzen was left utterly dumbfounded.
Aerial transport equipment was cutting-edge Imperial technology.
Top secret. The most classified of secrets.
The Emperor himself had spearheaded its development, and even cabinet ministers were kept in the dark.
Therefore, he could confidently assert that not a single word had ever leaked to the outside world.
‘Yet he knows about it…?’
He swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry.
Once again.
He was struck by a fresh realization.
“What are you doing? Move quickly, won’t you.”
…Just who exactly Marzen had found himself traveling alongside.
* * *
The Imperial Central Intelligence Agency.
Beneath the magical lamps casting their glow from the ceiling.
Elowin, her eyes a steely gray, spoke quietly.
“What’s the status?”
“Confirmed: a massive movement of Runesteel has been detected in the Western Region of Frecce.”
The Aide’s response.
Elowin pressed further.
“The scale?”
“Precisely 150,000 tons of Runesteel ingots.”
“Ha.”
A hollow laugh escaped her lips.
150,000 tons of Runesteel ingots.
She had never even imagined they would actually procure such a quantity.
Elowin closed her eyes, then opened them slowly.
“The entry route? Have you confirmed it?”
“…No detected route has been found.”
“So 150,000 tons of Runesteel ingots entered Frecce. Yet no one saw anything, and there’s no record of it. Do you honestly think that makes sense?”
It didn’t make sense.
Runesteel cannot be transported via spatial magic.
It nullifies mana.
It had to be moved physically, which meant traces were inevitable—yet none had been found.
“…My apologies.”
Kim Fujiwara had left no trace whatsoever.
Elowin drew a short breath.
“His current location?”
“Currently moving toward the Empire Border Region.”
Elowin drummed her fingers against the armrest of her chair.
Tap, tap, tap.
The silence stretched on.
“What should we… do?”
The Aide ventured to speak, her voice hesitant.
And then it stopped.
Elowin’s fingers, which had been drumming against the armrest, fell still.
“Execute it.”
Elowin’s cold voice cut through the room like a blade.

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