Be Careful When Agreeing to Terms and Conditions - Be Careful When Agreeing to Terms and Conditions chapter 43

5. Signora (7)

Creating an organization was not a simple task. This was even more true the larger the organization. In that sense, it was a somewhat unreasonable plan for me to rush to form a top group.

First of all, an organization needs an organizational chart. The structure in which the organization would be run was one of the top priorities to be decided. That wasn’t all. There were a lot of important issues such as discipline and personnel within the organization, and experienced employees were needed to be in charge of finance-related departments or practical tasks that manage accounting and taxes.

Furthermore, my top activity stage was the Tivat continent. This is a place where it is not uncommon to encounter thugs like treasure hunters while walking down the street, as well as to be attacked by Chuchu tribes or unidentified monsters. Of course, combat-related talent was also needed to escort cargo.

The good news was that Mond’s distribution network was now shattered. Due to the impact of the long-running Pungma Dragon incident, the commercial traffic in Mond had been almost cut off for a long time, and as a result, many merchants had closed their doors or were on temporary suspension.

Of course, the experienced talent who worked at Mond’s existing top level had not received their salaries for a long time. And since I had plenty of ammunition, or cash, at my fingertips, I had no trouble hiring such people. No matter how important loyalty to your workplace is, it doesn’t matter if you can’t earn a living right away.

Nevertheless, the manpower shortage at the top was a problem that could not be easily solved. Although there were people who could take charge of the actual work immediately, there was no talent to control the organization. Talented people who understand my heart and whom I can trust and entrust with work.

In the end, the only ones who died were Fissle and Mona. The two, who held their friendship hostage, were in charge of convoy escort work and secretarial work, respectively.

One night, Fissle was lying with her face down on her table, her eyes empty. She recently seemed to be having great difficulty hiring and scheduling convoy personnel. It was natural that although he had been on the front line fighting, he had never experienced office work before.

Still, there was nothing I could do. The only person around me who knew anything about combat and could be trusted was Fisle.

I carefully approached Fiseul, who was lying face down with a sad heart. And quietly called her name.

“…… Fissle?”

Then Fissle woke up. There was a dull vitality in her empty eyes. She grinned.

“Ah, my servant… ….”

Fissle spread her arms and snuggled into my arms. She then started rubbing her face. It was as if a pet was snuggling into her owner’s arms.

“I was having a damning nightmare. hehehe, the hell of numbers has tied up the princess. Working at night without even having time to rest your wings, ah… I’m glad it was a nightmare…….”

I looked down at Fissle with sad eyes. It seemed like something in Fissle had been damaged by her continuous hard work. I glanced at Fissle’s partner, Oz.

Oz also had eyes similar to mine. Unfortunately or fortunately for her, Oz had been exempted from doing her paperwork because she couldn’t hold her pen with her wings. So Oz looked relatively fine compared to Fissle.

Nevertheless, a trace of fatigue that she could not hide was visible in Oz’s eyes. She had been told that Oz didn’t need to sleep because she was a magical creature, so it seemed inevitable that mental fatigue would build up.

Oz opened her mouth as if to apologize.

“Hey, lady… ….”

Fissle’s blurry gaze turned towards Oz. Oz looked between me and Fissle in conflict for a moment, then eventually closed her eyes.

In Oz’s claws, there was a thick pile of documents.

“There are still a lot of documents left. Wake up quickly and take care of it… ….”

“…… “I hate it!”

Fissle ended up clinging to me, crying. Her whining was quite cute for a girl of that age. Tears began to well up in Fissle’s eyes. She had an earnest face.

“Do, help me, Siwoo…” There is no day in the week where I sleep more than 2 hours… No matter how much you have ‘God’s eyes’, if you continue like this, you might die…… !”

I looked down at Fissle for a moment, pleading with her in a mournful tone. Seeing that ‘Piseul-eo’ wasn’t even mentioned, it seemed like Piseul was quite desperate.

As if there was nothing I could do, I put on a bitter smile and placed my hand on Fissle’s shoulder. For a moment, anticipation filled Piseul’s eyes.

“…… “I will make sure to pay overtime.”

“I hate it!”

Fissle, who had been betrayed by the world, shed tears and let out her screams. But what could I do, this was the continent of Tivat.

There was no such thing as a labor standard law on the Tivat continent. What about the 52-hour workweek? There was no room for such a thing.

And Fissle’s hardships were in many ways self-inflicted. Fissle, who had heard that Signora had pierced her arm with an ice pick, had sworn with her blazing eyes that she would join in my revenge.

This was the result. The weight of an oath was too heavy. I was fortunate to be able to teach Fissle her life lessons.

However, it wasn’t just Fissle who was struggling. A sharp sound came from behind me.

“It’s noisy… “It gets in the way of calculations.”

When I turned around, there was a beautiful woman wearing a cone hat and hair resembling the night sky. She was rubbing her temples with her eyes slightly frowning as if she was tired.

Her eyes were fixed on a piece of paper. The document was full of words and numbers. Many of the tasks listed above would have been recorded in the document.

Her name was ‘Mona’, and she was a skilled astrologer and wizard. She was now effectively my secretary, handling various tasks at the top.

Mona, who had been looking at her papers for a while, left a note in the margin of her paper and leaned against the back of her chair as if she was tired. Her whole body seemed to have lost strength.

Mona placed the back of her hand on her forehead. She had a dejected face,

“Ugh, I don’t like it anymore… I am an astrologer, why do I do this…….”

“You are the smartest, Mona.”

Mona glanced at me at my naturally virtuous words. She huffed and snorted her laughter.

“…… “If you can’t even talk.”

At the same time, Mona secretly avoided my gaze. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she seemed a little proud of receiving the compliment. Like this, Mona had a pretty cute side.

I was wondering if I should start cooking. Among my dishes, there were some that helped me recover from fatigue. It was the same type that I made for Director Jin in the past.

The only problem is that my cooking only restores physical fatigue, so it is not of much help in a situation like now where mental fatigue is accumulated. Still, it was better than not eating, so it didn’t seem like a bad idea to have a late-night snack to take a break.

As I was thinking that, it was Mona’s words that stopped me in my tracks.

“You know, I have two questions… ….”

I gave Mona a quick glance as if asking her to speak. Mona continued her words in a weak voice.

“First of all, is it okay if we start ascending now? Mond’s distribution network hasn’t been restored yet. “As the number of convoys increases, we may see a deficit considering the target price.”

I said, “Hmm,” And placed my chin on my chin. It was definitely as Mona said.

Although the resolution of the Wind Demon Dragon incident was made official some time ago, Mond’s distribution network was still not in good condition. In the first place, the problem was that various risk factors took root after being neglected after the Wind Demon Dragon incident. The roads were in disrepair, and the destruction of such a vast distribution network naturally required a huge amount of time and resources to repair.

In other words, Mond’s current distribution network is not much different from during the Wind Demon Dragon incident. Risk factors still existed, and the only difference was that because the Knights of Pebonius maintained minimal control, they could not attack commercial routes as openly as before.

In this situation, there was naturally no choice but to increase the number of convoys. And combat manpower has always been scarce on the Tivat continent. This was because there was too much demand. Especially now that the number of escort missions had increased rapidly due to the Wind Demon Dragon, it was meaningless to even consider the ransom price.

So, Mona’s point made sense. I don’t know if I can make profits by slashing distribution margins, but right now I’m paying attention to Mond’s prices. Of course, that method was impossible. In conclusion, there was a very high possibility that this commercial trip would result in a loss.

But I still had to do it. That was a problem I had also carefully considered.

“Even if there is a loss, we have to go. That way, we can keep the Wooindan in check and it is also advantageous to take control of Mond’s distribution network. “There is also a symbolism issue.”

There are problems in the world that cannot be measured in terms of surplus or deficit. A representative example was ‘symbolism’. It is not a small-scale commercial operation, but a large-scale regular commercial operation promoted by new merchants. It was an opportunity to receive symbolism that the Wind Demon Dragon incident had finally come to an end.

Furthermore, I was the one who was running the new business, and I was credited with stabilizing the prices of Mond Castle and serving as a supply officer when the Chuchu tribe attacked Mond Castle. And there was no one in Mond who didn’t know that I was a colleague of Lumine, the hero who ended the Wind Demon Dragon incident.

For the people of Mond, the first ascension of my top would have been perceived as a signal that Mond was returning to normal after the Wind Demon Dragon incident. My upper body hardens like a symbol of hope. It was painful to even list the benefits that came from it.

And if we forced our way up the mountain despite the deficit like we did now, we could naturally achieve the effect of keeping Wooindan and other top merchants of Mond in check. Wooindan monopolizes the supply chain within Mond and is attempting to control prices. However, if I were to supply prices at the previous year’s level, even if it meant giving up distribution margins, Wooindan’s plan had no choice but to suffer from the start.

And for Mond’s other merchants, it was inevitable that it would be a great burden to force upward movement at a loss in a situation where upward movement was cut off for a long period of time. There were few people in Mond who had a lot of cash like me. However, even after taking into account the distribution margin, it could not be compared to my top in terms of price.

While they were hesitating to go up, my top could become an irreplaceable option for a while. However, since I did not make profit, my position at the top became even stronger, and the speed at which I took control of the distribution network was bound to accelerate.

So, we could not give up commercial business even if we had to risk a deficit. I was already prepared to be at a loss for the next few months.

Clever Mona quickly figured out what I meant. Mona nodded her head, indicating that she agreed with my opinion, and then she asked a second question.

“Then the second question is… ….”

Mona then gestured with her eyes to a corner of the restaurant where we were working. I moved my gaze there. There, there was an androgynous-looking boy wearing a turquoise hat and a cape.

He was gulping down the liquid in his beer glass. As soon as everyone had finished drinking the liquid in the glass, he wiped the corners of his mouth and exclaimed in a satisfied voice.

“Wow, Daun Winery’s cider is always great!”

I shifted my gaze to Mona once again. Mona asked with anxious eyes.

“…… “What is he?”

“Well, first of all, it is the god ‘Barvatos’… ….”

Mona frowned, probably thinking I was joking. In the end, I couldn’t say anything and trudged towards Venti.

What about Venti, who was drinking cider from a beer glass? And he turned his attention to me.

“Oh, is that you? “Is the work over now?”

I made a shocked expression at that sly question. It was a similar expression to the one Mona had made just moments ago.

He was an innocent boy on the outside, but inside he was a transcendent being who had lived for over 3,000 years. ‘Barvatos’, a legendary god who blew away all the cold waves of Mond, which was covered in snow and ice in the distant past, with wind.

He had collapsed with Lumine in front of the cathedral not long ago, and before we knew it, he had recovered and was staying at our lodgings. He needs to take care of himself, so he will stay here for a while. Even though it seemed obvious that it would disappear like the wind someday.

I had no choice but to accept him. Because he owed him. No, everyone in Mond was indebted to him. Venti was credited with providing key help in helping Lumine resolve the Wind Demon Dragon incident. What’s more, he had been mistreated by Signora not long ago. It was impossible to throw Venti away mercilessly.

And actually, I had some expectations deep down. A simple hope that maybe he could help keep the Wooindan in check. It was not because of military power, but because they believed in the wisdom given by over 3,000 years of history.

But it didn’t take long for those expectations to be shattered. After starting to stay at the hostel, Venti was living a truly leisurely life. In other words, he did no work at all. It made me wonder if ‘Guts’ from the story of Ants and Guts was made into a person, and he would probably look like Venti.

I took a deep breath and washed my face with both hands. Still, the fatigue did not go away. Not only Mona and Fissle, but I too was suffering from heavy work every day.

“No, there is still a long time left… And would you please refrain from enjoying your leisure time like that around hard-working people?”

Hearing what I said, Venti let out a cute laugh, saying, “hehehe.” To me, it could only be interpreted as a request to feed me honey chestnuts.

“No matter how close the threat of the Wooindan is, isn’t everyone doing things too hastily? “It’s important to take a break sometimes.”

Venti spoke leisurely and poured cider into a beer glass. He originally asked for ‘dandelion wine’, but since it had some appearance issues, he replaced it with ‘cider’ as a non-alcoholic drink. Surprisingly, Venti liked the taste, and he often enjoyed cider from then on.

With a squeak, liquid was poured into the glass. Venti smiled and continued her story.

“Anyway, the Wooindan won’t be able to act carelessly for a while. “Because it hasn’t been long since the ‘Heart of God’ was taken from me.”

My brows narrowed slightly as I heard the information for the first time. ‘Heart of God’? It was the first time I heard this story. And because of that, the Wooindan can move carelessly for a while.

I instinctively realized that this was important information and immediately asked Venti.

“…… ‘Heart of God’?”

Huh? And Venti tilted his head at my question. Then he let out an exclamation, as if he realized something.

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? The reason I clashed with the executioner of the Order of the Wooin in front of the cathedral at that time was because of the ‘Heart of God’ that I possessed. So to speak, it can be said to be a vessel containing the power of God.”

Venti’s voice as she said that was extremely calm. It was as if he had thrown the snack he was holding to a dog that looked hungry. However, the content was not trivial at all. As the saying goes, the ‘Heart of God’ would have tremendous value.

I couldn’t hide my absurd feeling. A voice of astonishment came out naturally, hitting my uvula.

“What if I don’t say something so important?”

“Ahahahaha. Sorry sorry… “I somehow forgot.”

Meanwhile, Venti sipped cider. Every time I saw him, he had a calm and weak attitude.

“I don’t know why, but it seems like the Wooindan is interested in the ‘power of God.’ What on earth is ‘her’ thinking? ….”

Venti, who continued speaking like that, deepened for an instant the moment she mentioned ‘her woman.’ His memories seemed to be swimming at some point in the past. ‘Her’ probably doesn’t refer to Signora. If Venti was thinking of someone right now, it would most likely be the queen of Snezhnaya, the god who presides over the ice element.

However, my thoughts deepened in a different way from Venti. This was because I found a hint in what Venti said. ‘The power of God’, I had heard that phrase somewhere. Not too long ago, from Venti’s mouth.

“Venti, come to think of it, did you say that the ‘Sword of the Sky’ contains the power of God?”

Venti, who had been lost in reminiscence for a moment, suddenly came to his senses after hearing those words. Venti seemed a little embarrassed to be mesmerized by me and let out a faint laugh, saying, “Ehehehe.”

“Did you remember? That’s right, when I signed a contract with Dvalin, I used five weapons as tokens. At that time, my strength was contained. “At that time, it was not as weak as it is now, so its strength will probably remain the same even after time has passed.”

‘God’s power’ and heavenly weapons. And Wooindan. Those three things started to come together in my head. I felt like I had a glimpse of some possibility.

My brain, which had been sagging from fatigue, suddenly became energized. I asked Venti with a bit of anticipation in my voice.

“…… “Do you know where those weapons are now?”

At those words, Venti closed his eyes and began to ponder. He tilted his head to the right and left, lost in thought.

When Venti finally opened his eyes, he was smiling innocently, as always.

“I’m not sure? At that time, I just threw it somewhere. Lol… ….”

I sighed deeply at those words that, in a way, did not betray my expectations. And then he covered his face with both hands. Soon a sighing voice came out of my mouth.

“Do your job, Barbatos… ….”

The plan to borrow God’s wisdom came to naught that day as well.

**

A few days later, ‘Angel’s Share’.

I had free time after a long time and stopped by Angel’s Share to complain to Mr. Dairuk. As I gulped down the drink, a burning sensation passed through my esophagus. It was a drink with a fairly high alcohol content. I’ll have a hard time tomorrow, but I’ve been so stressed out that I couldn’t stop drinking once I started drinking.

Mr. Dai Luke looked at me without saying anything, and eventually shook his head. Mr. Dairuk opened his heavy mouth.

“It’s not something I would say as a bar owner, but… ….”

I looked at Mr. Dairuk with a questioning look in his voice. Mr. Dairuk’s gaze was directed towards my right arm. The arm, which had just had its bandages removed, was where Signora had received a penetrating wound not long ago.

“…… “I wonder what it would be like for someone who has just had a hole in his arm to drink like that.”

When I heard those words, I felt a pang and didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, I finally put down the glass I was holding. At the same time, I began lamenting my situation.

“But I can’t bear it without alcohol…” In the past week, I have rarely slept more than 4 hours. I am an ordinary person without ‘God’s eyes’. But suffering like this, huh? Does that make sense?”

Mr. Dai Luke shook his head as if he could not stop me from hearing my lament. In the end, Mr. Dairuk said that there was nothing he could do.

“Do whatever you want… Instead, it would be better not to be caught by the honorary knight.”

I nodded at those words. It was obvious that if Lumine caught him drinking, he would be scolded for hours.

Lumine’s obsession with me has become even stronger these days. Not long ago, she had a hard time refusing an offer to escort me around all day. Even so, we have privacy, so how can we be together all day?

Still, it was fortunate that Lumine was busy these days. Lumine, who lacked common sense about the Tivat continent, was still hesitant to entrust her with top-level tasks. So, only Lumine was enjoying freedom among our group, and Lumine was investing her free time in defeating the Woindan.

It seems that Lumine was upset that I was harmed by the Woindan. For a while, the sound of the Woindan’s cries would echo around Mond Castle. Thanks to that, I was able to go out for a drink without Lumine’s knowledge.

“…… Mr. Dairuk, is running a business really this difficult?”

As soon as I drank alcohol, I couldn’t help but lament about my situation. Mr. Dai Luke, who was cleaning his empty glass, answered as if he was asking the obvious.

“No matter what organization it is, sitting at the top requires a lot of determination and responsibility. “You even have to deal with the Wojindan.”

At those words, I fell silent again. Yes, ‘Wooindan’. Those guys were also a problem.

Right now, we were able to keep Wooindan in check while enduring a deficit. Even if Wooindan tried to control prices and control prices, it would have been difficult for Wooindan to act carelessly if I intervened and controlled prices.

From Noble mtl dot com

But that couldn’t happen forever. In any case, the top had to make a profit to run. Even if it was possible to keep the Wooindan in check at the cost of a deficit right now, this fight was inevitably going to be a long battle unless there was a decisive blow.

If that happens, it will be my inevitable defeat. Wooindan was backed by international capital called ‘Northern Bank’. No matter how much I was the tycoon of Mond, I could not compete in terms of capital power with the Northern Bank playing on the continent.

At least one line that could make a profit was needed. Only then would the Wooindan realize that this fight could be too long, and they would look for an opportunity to somehow deliver the final blow. That was the opportunity.

The moment when my opponent can land the final blow will be the moment when I can also land the final blow on my opponent.

However, even that was a problem whose possibility could not be predicted at this time. A sigh naturally escaped from my mouth. It was a sigh that became especially frequent recently while working at the top.

“Ah, that damn Wooindan… Something to do with them…….”

“Oh, who is this? “Aren’t you the ‘honorary supply officer’ of the Knights of Pebonius?”

What stopped me as I was hesitating and lamenting about my situation was a voice coming from behind me. I had heard that somewhat relaxed voice once a while ago.

My eyes turned to the back. Standing there was a tall man with dark blue hair and bronze skin. ‘Keia’, was the cavalry commander of the Knights of Pebonius.

As soon as Ms. Dyruk saw Kea, she frowned slightly, tsk, and clicked her tongue. The relationship between the two didn’t seem to be that good.

“…… “Why did you come?”

“hahahahaha, is there any other reason to come to the bar? Of course I came here to drink. “I also want to meet my friend who has become a hot topic these days.”

‘Friend’? I frowned slightly at those words, then remembered what happened when the Chuchu tribe attacked Mond Castle.

If you think about it, we decided to be friends at that time. Keia naturally sat down next to me as if my guess was not wrong.

I looked at Keia with wide eyes. She was typically the type of person I was wary of. I had no idea what these people, people whose true nature was unknown, would do. It goes without saying that he even had good hair.

But Keia didn’t seem to care what I looked at. He asked me in a coy voice.

“You look worried about something? “This is also fate, so please tell me openly.”

“…… “Didn’t you already know that?”

At those words, Keia looked at me without saying anything for a moment, then burst into laughter.

“hahahahaha, I can’t handle this… Ah, I am ‘Death in the Afternoon.’”

Mr. Dairuk scoffed at Keia’s order, but as if he still wanted to do his duty as a bartender, he immediately started taking out bottles of alcohol. Keia wasn’t even looking at Mr. Dyruk, but was looking at me.

“Don’t be too guarded, I simply want to offer helpful suggestions.”

At that moment, with a whoosh, the glass slid in front of Keia. Keia slightly raised her drink and winked at me. I slightly raised my glass, still with a wary gaze.

And I drank alcohol. A fragrant scent tickled the tip of my nose, and soon hot alcohol vapor rose up my esophagus.

Wow, I let out a breath. I felt slightly drunk.

“As you know, the Knights of Pebonius are in need of a lot of materials these days. There were more than one road that was damaged during the Wind Demon Dragon incident. I would like to ask a top company to supply the materials… What do you think about it?”

At the same time, Keia seemed to be gulping down the liquid in the glass and frowned. ‘This is grape juice…’ ….’ I felt like I could hear something like that, but it was no longer of interest to me.

My mind began to spin. As Keia said, there were more than one road damaged by the Wind Demon Dragon incident. It was safe to say that the majority of roads in Mond were destroyed.

To restore a road of that size, not only time but also an enormous amount of materials were needed. An astronomical amount of money would come and go. In other words, it is a national project.

My boss takes care of that? Of course it was good. It was a trick that could solve the problem my top is currently having at once. So it was a problem. The conditions were very good.

I soon asked with a frown.

“Then the backlash from the existing top won’t be a joke? In particular, it’s obvious that Wooindan will play a prank. “It is unprecedented for a single company to monopolize a business of that scale.”

At those words, Keia, who was glaring at Mr. Dyruk, turned her gaze back to me. Well, Keia pretended to be worried, but his face was still relaxed.

Keia smiled slightly. She had a nice smile, but it was also a suspicious smile.

“Then how about this? It is already well known that the Knights of Pebonius are suffering from supply problems. And as of now, there is only one merchant that can satisfy the demands of the Knights of Pebonius, and what if they demanded exclusive rights to the road restoration project as a condition?”

I was silent at those words. Needless to say, the leader who could solve the supply problem of the Knights of Pebonius right now was me.

Now, Mond was short of daily necessities. This was the case with the distribution network that was damaged by the Pungma Dragon incident, but it was even more so because Wooindan was playing around with the supply chain. Wasn’t that the reason why I deliberately went to Liyue and distributed daily necessities?

But in that situation, I take charge of the supply with those conditions? Even as a member of the Wooindan, I had no choice but to have something to say. As a justification, it was perfect.

I hesitated for a moment. The conditions were good, but that made it even more difficult to know.

“…… “Why on earth?”

Those words had many implications. Why are they helping me like this? Are the Knights of Pebonius trying to entrust me with the work by giving them exclusive rights, and have they even prepared a justification for it?

Actually, I knew the answer. Still, I really wanted to hear the answer. Keia said without wiping her mischievous smile.

“Why? That’s right…….”

He raised his glass once again. I also suddenly raised my glass, and a toast that we didn’t meet was crossed in the air.

“…… If you have no choice but to give it to someone, it’s natural to give it to someone from Mond, right?”

Keia and I were silent for a moment. Then, I started laughing heartily.

Giggle, giggle, hahahahaha. Soon laughter broke out and Mr. Dyruk just shook his head and watched what we were doing.

Kia and I burst out laughing for a while, and at some point, we took a swig of the liquid in our glasses. The glass was now empty. With a thud, two glasses were placed on the table at the same time.

“…… “Okay, leave that business to me.”

“Then, we will have no choice but to entrust the supply of materials to your superiors. “I wish you the best in the future, my friend.”

A way to protect the Mond commercial district from large foreign capital.

It was ‘Mond’s version of collusion between politics and business.’