Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 176

The harvest season in McLane was over, and the budget from the collected taxes was set.

This money came from all over – from McLane, the Bifrost Plains, and even the new lands they got after the war.

It was a huge budget, over 80 million gold.

But Logan still looked unhappy.

“It’s not even as much as the gold mine makes,” he said.

Dwain looked at him, surprised. “Young Master, do you realize how spoiled that sounds? Remember a few years ago? You shouldn’t be saying that.”

Logan chuckled, seeing Dwain’s disbelief, and quickly changed the subject. “Good thing the reorganization after the war is almost done. Let’s put more money into the Magic Tower. And we sorted out all the people who applied for jobs, right? The grains and carriages are ready too, yes?”

“Yes, Young Master, all done. The grains, carriages, and the people for the new jobs – all ready to go, just like you asked.”

“Good. Then call Philip.”

“But are you really going to do it? I like Philip, but are you sure he’s the right person……?”

“Dwain, don’t make me say it again. We’ve already decided.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Dwain looked uneasy, like he didn’t fully trust the situation, but he couldn’t disobey Logan.

Soon, Philip was called to the office.

Drip, drip.

The sound of tea being poured filled the quiet office, and Philip’s grey eyes darted around.

*Why did he call me?* he wondered, feeling anxious.

With more people working in the office, Philip, who was just a temporary worker, had been slacking off lately.

He’d been doing the boring paperwork without much effort, spending his time instead finding out what was happening in the town, listening to rumors, and thinking about what would sell well where.

And now, the boss had called him in…

Plus, Dwain Pilsner, the head of the office, was watching him from behind with a look that could kill.

So…

Logan leaned back in his chair, looking at Philip. “Are you enjoying your work here, Philip? Not finding it too… dull?”

“I apologize!” Philip blurted out, dropping his gaze to the floor as if he’d been caught stealing.

Logan blinked, surprised. *What in the world is wrong with him?* he thought, a little confused. “What is it, Philip?” he asked gently.

Philip shuffled his feet. “Well… I haven’t been focusing as much as I should. I’ve been… distracted. I haven’t been doing my best work lately. My apologies.”

“What’s been distracting you?”

“I’ve been listening to rumors about what’s popular in different areas, like where to do business to make money. I think I’ve been here too long, and I’m getting restless… I’m sorry!”

“Hmm… So, what have you figured out?”

“Pardon?”

“What’s the result of your distractions? What do you think would sell well in McLane, and what would be good to take and sell somewhere else?”

Philip’s eyes darted around again.

“The most valuable thing in McLane is weapons, of course… but you wouldn’t sell those, right? Haha. Then, it’s the grains from the two plains. And what we need here are everyday things.”

Like a dam bursting, Philip’s words flowed out without stopping.

“Looking at the whole area, there are still more displaced people, and even if we give them land, they need tools to live. Even if they’re not made by the best craftsmen, we can get enough from Luthspellheim, the eastern capital, which has lots of handicrafts. If we can, we could send the grains from here to the Tritan area in the north…”

“Ah, stop, stop. I get it. You’d rather run a trading company than work in the office. Is that right?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

A small hope began to grow where his anxious eyes had been.

*Maybe…* he thought.

He felt something good was about to happen because of Logan’s positive tone.

After signing a contract that was like being a slave and getting lucky with something called Imporic, he had only been doing boring work.

He had a feeling that his boring life was about to change a lot.

And Philip was right.

“People should do what they’re good at. So, I’m thinking of putting you in charge of the McLane Trading Company, the main trading company supported by our family.”

“Are you… are you serious?”

Philip stood up without realizing it.

A noble trading company that showed the family’s name and had their support had strong money and power behind it. It could do things that smaller trading companies couldn’t.

Plus, McLane now had almost all the power in the kingdom.

Even just the basics would make it almost unbeatable in the kingdom’s business world.

No matter what they traded, no matter what they did.

Most merchants would be happy to make less money to work with McLane and sell their goods to the McLane Trading Company.

*You’re trusting me with a company like that? What do you believe in? Oh, right. The contract…*

The excitement he had felt cooled down when he remembered the contract he had signed, which was like being a slave.

A trading company that would make money for the kingdom no matter who ran it.

There was no one more trustworthy than him, a slave in all but name, to be in charge.

*Still, it’s better than doing boring paperwork. If I make more money than expected, they’ll think better of me.*

Philip clenched his fist, trying to calm down.

“The paperwork with the royal family and the Merchant Guild is done, and like you said, we have 10 million gold worth of extra grain ready. We’ll also give you a thousand people to work as laborers, 30 knights to protect you, and ten office workers to help you with your business.”

“Pardon?”

He heard more than he had expected.

“Why, is it not enough?”

“Ah, no. Absolutely not! That’s more than enough to start with!”

“Good. We’ve also put 10 million gold in a Cooper’s Bank account as a backup, so you can use it as much as you want in the eastern capital of the continent.”

“Ten million more…”

Philip’s eyes glazed over at the huge amount, but…

“And you’ll get 0.5% of the trading company’s profits as a bonus.”

He widened his eyes in surprise.

“Ah. Aaaah… what did you just say…?”

“A bonus. 0.5%.”

“Ah, yes. I thought I was hearing things… Haha. A 0.5% bonus from a trading company starting with 20 million…”

Philip, who had been muttering to himself, seemed to wake up and sat back down, holding the teacup with trembling hands.

“Ouch, hot!”

Logan chuckled. “Drink slowly. And think slowly. What to do and how to do it. You can leave now, or we can give you more time to get ready if you need it.”

“What, what do you want from me? Why so much…?”

“There are only two things I want from you and the trading company. One is to make money, which is what any trading company does. And the other is to make the Empire your main trading area and create your own network and business routes there.”

“The Empire… are you talking about the Empire?”

Every big trading company in the kingdom traded with the Empire.

A trading company that hadn’t entered that huge market couldn’t be called a great merchant.

But the second thing Logan said wasn’t just about normal business.

“You don’t have to think too hard. Just be good at business and make trustworthy connections inside the Empire.”

Even with Logan’s calming words, Philip’s eyes grew heavy.

*He really knows what he’s doing…*

The Golden Bug from his past life was a refugee from the kingdom who became one of the top ten merchants in the Empire.

Of course, even if he started an international trading company under the McLane name, he wouldn’t be able to have as much influence in the Empire as the Golden Bug had, no matter how much time and money he spent.

Even though the Empire liked talented people, it didn’t treat its own citizens and foreigners the same.

*They really discriminate.*

Only people who had proven their skills could give up their nationality and become citizens of the Empire.

At least a knight, a mage, or a merchant would have to be very successful to meet the requirements.

Even then, they would have to serve the state for the next 10 years to prove they were loyal.

So, until the Imperial War, Philip could only hope to have some influence in the eastern part of the Empire.

He just didn’t know how much influence he would have, or how much the talent of the Golden Bug from his past life would help.

“What kind of connections are you looking for? I don’t think you just mean trading partners. Do you want to be able to share information? Or do you want people who will never betray us?”

“…The second one would be nice.”

It would be hard, but that was what he had expected.

“I need people and time.”

“What?”

“I need at least 5 years and a great merchant who already has a strong trading business in the Empire’s capital. It’s too much for me to start from scratch.”

Philip gave an unexpected answer.

Luckily, both were possible.

“That’s enough.”

“Pardon?”

“Then I’ll give you someone to help you. Dwain, let that person in.”

“Understood.”

Dwain, who had been watching with an uneasy face, moved slowly.

Philip looked back and forth between Logan and Dwain, confused.

“Pardon? That’s not as easy as it sounds?”

A great merchant who had a strong trading business in the Empire’s capital was rare in the kingdom.

One had died in the last civil war.

One family had fallen apart.

And the other one was…

Creak.

“Huh?”

“You wanted to see me, Logan?”

“Hey. Why are you being so formal, Uncle? I told you to relax.”

This man still looked unhappy, even with Logan’s rare kindness.

He was Veron Kairos, the head of the Kairos Trading Company, known as a grain trading company and one of the top three in the kingdom, and the heir to the Kairos family.

“The head of the Kairos Trading Company will help you and the trading company. He has lots of connections, right?”

“Wow…”

Philip let out a small sound of surprise.

“Now, Uncle, say hello. This is Philip Claude, who will be in charge of the McLane Trading Company.”

“Haa… At least he has a last name. Is he a noble?”

“No. I don’t know about his ancestors, but now he’s just a commoner with a last name.”

“You’re telling me to be a commoner’s helper…?”

“You don’t want to? Hmm, I guess the Kairos family is getting too proud, even now.”

“…I’ll do it. Yes, I’ll do my best to help him.”

“I look forward to working with you, Veron Kairos.”

“Ye… yes. I look forward to working with you, too.”

“Just to be clear, Philip makes all the trading decisions. Uncle, your job is just to introduce him to your connections and help him. Understand?”

“O-of course.”

The unhappy look turned into a forced smile, but Philip could smile honestly.

Two months ago.

When Juan Douglas was killed in the Battle of McLane.

Kairos was one of the first families to surrender.

Before that, the family’s knight order had been destroyed, and there weren’t many soldiers left, so they had no choice.

But even then, the Kairos family was in a bad situation.

McLane, whom Kairos had rejected in the past, was now one of the families in charge of the country after the civil war.

They could only expect a bad future.

In the end, Simon Kairos, the old head of the family, had to ask his daughter for help.

– Please, save me. Isn’t it still your family home?

Merian, who got the message, told Logan with a very sorry face.

“You can ignore it, Logan. I’m just telling you as a daughter. I’m a discarded daughter, too.”

“No, Mother. It just so happens that I needed something.”

Logan agreed with a smile.

Because of that, Veron Kairos came to McLane, and the McLane Trading Company could start smoothly.

And now.

A large trading company group with a flame-patterned flag was waiting to leave from the center of McLane Town.