How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 69

Episode 69

77. The Start of Business is from the Streets (3)

“Kugh!”

Their eyes widened, showing they understood the threat to some extent.

I made it clear again, even more explicitly.

“Consider that a warning. I have no business with anyone who throws invitations like that, so get lost.”

“Tch, so you do have some skill.”

It would be nice if they backed down, but they wouldn’t be that easy to deal with.

They’re surprised, but not enough to give up.

“Doesn’t matter! Surround him!”

He spat out the blood pooling in his mouth and rushed at me, closing the distance to surround me.

“Don’t blame us!”

“…Who should be saying that.”

Still, it was what I wanted to hear.

Since they told me not to blame them, they have no reason to whine to me, either.

Thanks to that, I feel lighter.

“Then sleep well, friends I don’t know.”

Before they could close the distance to even 10 meters.

They screamed and tumbled as a flash of lightning struck.

“Uwaaaaaaagh!”

It’s impossible for mere third-rate mercenaries to evade my electricity.

Even those who barely managed to hold onto their sanity couldn’t move, lying face down as if their entire body was numb.

They’re probably not dead.

I kicked the twitching guy and spoke to him.

“Hey, you listening? When you go back to the client, tell them exactly this… If you come like this again, I’ll go and flip them over myself without an invitation.”

I’m half serious.

I don’t know if he answered.

He’s mumbling something, but his tongue seems paralyzed, so he can’t speak.

Since they’ve tasted bitterness, they won’t plot anything foolish anymore.

These guys will judge that it’s too difficult to handle and won’t take on the request anymore.

I entered the inn room and sat on the bed, thinking.

‘What should I do now?’

Just in case, I summoned Sylph again with spirit manifestation and sent her flying around.

Fortunately, there’s nothing suspicious, as if they’ve retreated.

‘I guess they don’t come out politely from the start.’

If I had followed those guys, they would have stubbornly insisted on conditions unfavorable to me.

Was I being too optimistic?

‘Should I watch for a few more days and then switch to a hardline approach?’

Fortunately, the warning from earlier had an effect, and there was no situation that kept me up all night.

* * *

And two days later.

The maid working at the inn suddenly came to find me in the morning.

“…Actually, there’s someone who came to see Eilon. They’ve been asking me to call for Eilon since a while ago.”

At this hour? How annoying.

“Someone is looking for me? Who is it?”

“They only said they’re from Pilleros Merchant Guild.”

“Oh ho?”

“Do you know them?”

“No. I don’t think so.”

Feigning ignorance!

“Then, could they have come to the wrong person?”

The maid asks again, just in case.

I guess she’s asking because it sometimes leads to ominous incidents like this.

“It’s not like I have no idea, so I’ll meet them. Those people, they’re waiting downstairs, right?”

“Yes.”

It seems the guest is still waiting for me downstairs.

“Then tell them to wait there.”

There’s no need to rush.

It’s not me who’s in a hurry anyway.

I slowly changed into my coat and came down to the first floor.

Scanning the tables on the first floor, there are people staring at me as soon as I come down.

It seemed like two men were waiting for me.

However, I checked their names, and they were all people I’d never seen before.

‘But I think I know roughly what they want.’

I nodded appropriately when I made eye contact with them and approached the table.

“I’m Eilon. Well, I’m sure you already know.”

“…Nice to meet you, Eilon. I’m Mallo from the Pilleros Merchant Guild.”

The man sitting on the left side of the table spoke first.

He looks to be in his early 40s.

His attire is neat, and his tone is polite.

At least he’s not a low-level employee.

“…And this person is.”

Mallo glanced at the pretty young man sitting next to him as if introducing his companion.

The young man, who looked to be in his early 20s, smiled gently as soon as he made eye contact with me and slowly introduced himself.

“I’m Rowell. I’m also affiliated with the Pilleros Merchant Guild.”

Quite a beautiful voice.

That’s what I thought as soon as I heard it.

I pride myself on having a decent face, but Rowell is quite handsome even by my standards.

Well, I don’t have a hobby of evaluating men’s faces, so should I get straight to the point?

Since that young man is young, is his position lower than Mallo’s?

Maybe he’s an apprentice in training.

I judged so and focused my gaze on Mr. Mallo.

“Mr. Mallo, what is the reason for your visit?”

“…Uh, um.”

What’s wrong? Why is he embarrassed?

Mallo looked at Rowell, the young man sitting next to him, as if he was in trouble, instead of me.

Somehow, Rowell has a subtle smile on his face.

“Please don’t mind him, Eilon. It’s not Mallo who has business with you, it’s me.”

“…Pardon?”

“Let me introduce myself again. I’m Rowell, the head of the Pelpuk branch of the Pilleros Merchant Guild.”

Rowell introduced himself once again to correct my misunderstanding.

In other words, the person in charge is that young man, and Mallo is… his subordinate or an escort.

‘Judging by his appearance, I thought he was the boss, and this guy was the subordinate.’

I guess you can’t judge people by their appearance.

This is my mistake.

“I apologize for the discourtesy.”

“No. It’s a common occurrence, so it’s okay. Sometimes we play around with this kind of position, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

Rowell lightly brushed it off as I readily apologized.

I guess the fact that it’s a common misunderstanding isn’t just lip service.

“Um, then I’ll ask Mr. Rowell again. What brings you here to see me?”

I asked innocently, as if I had no idea.

I wonder what they’ll say.

A threat? Or a plea?

“I heard you’ve had quite a big incident recently.”

Listening to Rowell’s opening remarks, I frowned openly.

“Was that your doing?”

The change in my tone was enough to show my displeasure.

However, Rowell shook his head.

But he’s not flustered.

He probably anticipated that I would react this way.

“I hope you’ll calm down, Eilon. That was probably the work of the branch manager of the Kalluon Merchant Guild, not us.”

“Hmm? Your expression is a bit ambiguous.”

It feels more like a guess than a certainty.

“Because there’s no one else.”

Is that it? He has suspicions, but no evidence?

Anyway, judging by the way he’s talking, he must be certain.

“But what about it?”

“It’s nothing else. Aren’t you curious as to why he committed such rudeness against you?”

Is he going to tell me if I’m curious?

‘Is he trying to tease me on purpose? If so.’

I smiled slightly to tease them and then.

“I see. Is his client Grand Duke Falgent? Or is it Marquis Selond of the Forellos Empire? Which one is it?”

I asked, recalling the contents of Volume 4 of the original work, half in jest, and they soon widened their eyes and couldn’t hide their surprise.

I guess they don’t have the余裕 [room to spare] to play around anymore.

“Did you… know?”

“I have quite a wide network.”

In fact, I just leisurely read novels while working overtime at the company.

“So, who is it?”

“It’s probably Marquis Selond…”

“In other words, your trading partner is Grand Duke Nilphas Mel Falgentania… that is, the Falgent Duchy. Am I right?”

“…”

To corner them, I immediately exposed the person who should be their main trading partner.

It’s inevitable that Rowell’s lips, which he was trying to cover with a pretentious smile, collapsed.

“Eilon? How much do you know? No, more than that, how?!”

“I was just guessing. Judging by the fact that you brought up that story earlier, it seemed to me that your merchant guild has ties with the Falgent Duchy.”

“…”

Rowell bit his lip slightly, as if he thought he had been caught up in something.

I guess he realized his mistake.

It’s not that friend’s fault in the first place.

Originally, I know the original work, and what I’m talking about now is a setting included in Volume 4 of the original work.

《The Returned Great Hero》 Volume 4.

It mainly deals with the conflict between the Falgent Duchy and Marquis Selond of the Forellos Empire.

‘And that’s why I came here.’

Why would I bother making potions specialized in emergency treatment and come all the way here?

Why would I be leisurely playing around while running a street stall?

From the beginning, I wanted the other party to contact me first.

‘In the first place, that potion is something they would be interested in.’

In the first place, the reason why the protagonist made the ‘Blood of Baghest’ potion in the original work was because it was something they would want, so I just reproduced it.

The problem is that even if I recall the contents of the original work, there was too little basis to determine whether it would be good to trade with them.

So, I released the bait to make them interested first.

“Let me tell you, Mr. Rowell, I didn’t even know that you were the ones trading. I only knew the atmosphere on the side of the Duchy and the Empire.”

“Ugh, that’s my mistake. But the fact that you’re bringing up that story means, Eilon, you’re perhaps…”

“Yes. I was also a little interested in your trading partners.”

In fact, I don’t care if a war breaks out or not.

However, since it’s an event that happens in the original work, it was too good to just let it pass.

More than anything, there’s no time as suitable for selling something as a war.

In fact, the reason why they were flustered when I told them the information.

The fact that the war might break out is a very important secret.

Perhaps other merchant guilds besides them don’t know yet.

“I’m sorry, but this matter is…”

“I know. You’re the first people I’ve told this story to. More than anything, my information route is special, so it probably won’t spread within the Selvas Kingdom.”

The atmosphere softened a little when I said that.

I don’t think they believe my words completely, but they must think I’ll keep the secret.

“Let’s get back to the main topic. So, did you come to buy the remaining quantity of potions from me? Or for another reason?”

I asked Rowell, urging him.

Rowell frowned as if his head was hurting from the embarrassment earlier, and then sighed as if he had resigned himself to something.

He probably made up a suitable excuse in advance to bring me in, but he must have concluded that it was all useless.

He probably can’t even gauge how much I know.

“It seems like everything I have to say will be useless, Eilon… I’m sorry to say this, but I think it would be better to hear what you have to say first.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll tell you first. First, I’ll ask you on the premise that you are a merchant guild that trades with the Duchy.”

I immediately proposed my original purpose to them.

The Duchy is facing a war.

And there are not many businesses here that can make as much money as war.

“You’re probably trying to sell them all sorts of things.”

There are countless things needed for war, including weapons and food.

As far as I know, even though a declaration of war hasn’t been issued yet, the Duchy is sensing suspicious movements and preparing for war.

It’s already almost certain that the war will break out.

In other words, it’s the preparation period.

“I don’t know how you did it, but you’ve seized the opportunity well.”

“We have some ties with the Duchy. Thanks to that, we were entrusted with the main trade this time.”

“Well, the Duchy’s land is not very fertile. At least they had to import food and supplies. Instead, the mines are abundant, so I heard that their economic situation is quite good.”

“…You know the situation well?”

“I’ve just heard a little bit.”

In fact, I don’t know more than that.

I just recited the geographical environment of the Duchy that was mentioned in Volume 4 of the original work.

But that alone will change the way they look at me.

They’ll evaluate me arbitrarily in the future.

That’s enough.

Just don’t underestimate me.

“Then, let me tell you about our situation first.”

Rowell lowered his voice for a moment and began to explain.

“As Mr. Eilon said, we mainly promised to supply food and other supplies this time. We’re actually having a hard time right now.”

That’s a hardship I envy.