Lyon Kingdom, the mayor of Colmar, Ordo.
He swallowed his saliva, facing the biggest deal of his life.
"...Are you truly offering us such a proposal?"
Orsini, who had come here on Fabio’s orders, nodded and answered.
"As a merchant who deals with such large sums, I never lie to my trading partners, no matter the circumstances. Because the moment you tell even a small lie to your customers, you become a fraud."
Fabio always adhered to that principle without fail.
He had never lied to anyone he traded with.
When he sold tulip coins to the Holy Empire, he simply bought a few at a high price because rare tulips started selling well.
Even when he sold cotton and wool at a cheap price and ruined the economy of the Lyon Kingdom on the border of the Holy Empire, he hadn’t exactly committed fraud.
"I am doing this merchant work because I want to get rich by making money. And if I ever deceive someone and lose their trust, I’ll never have the chance to make money again. So, I can’t just deceive my customers for short-term gain."
The mayor nodded unconsciously as he listened to those words.
At the same time, he lowered the level of his caution toward the man in front of him.
If Orsini had simply said that he prided himself on honesty and integrity, the mayor would have been suspicious of him until the end.
Nobles who babbled about doing what was right for the people and the country were often the dirtiest and most corrupt.
And merchants who said they only cared about their customers were the ones most eager to overcharge and lead the way in fraud, as the mayor had experienced many times.
‘Being excessively honest is a good thing.’
"We plan to make a deal worth six thousand gold coins in Colmar."
The mayor's expression immediately stiffened upon hearing those words.
With that amount of money, it would be possible to rebuild Colmar, which had been half turned into a wasteland due to the war.
If this were true, he would want to shout in joy right now, but...
‘It’s too much money for a single merchant to handle.’
Even among the baronies, Colmar was one of the smallest. The total taxes collected from the territory each year were only ten thousand gold coins.
For a single merchant to handle over half of that, six thousand gold coins...
"Six thousand gold coins...? Isn’t that too much for a single merchant to handle? I’m not saying I don’t trust you, but... that’s not something you just throw around like it’s some dog’s name."
Orsini responded calmly, as if he had expected such words to come up.
"I anticipated you’d say that, so I’ve had a cart loaded with gold coins waiting in front of the city hall. If you need, you can confirm it yourself."
The mayor swallowed again.
Seeing the confident attitude, it didn’t seem like this was a fraud...
He must be the savior who would rescue this city and the surrounding region.
‘Colmar is saved now!’
"As you must have seen on your way here, our situation is quite urgent. I may have overreacted, but I hope you understand and forgive me."
There’s a law that applies universally, no matter the era.
Regardless of status, the one in urgent need becomes the subordinate.
The one in urgent need of money here was not Orsini, but the mayor of Colmar.
So, the mayor decided to swallow his pride a bit.
Normally, it wouldn’t be so easy, but right now, pride wouldn’t fill his stomach.
"I completely understand, Mayor."
Orsini didn’t want to push the mayor any further.
While pride wouldn’t feed anyone, unnecessarily stripping someone of their pride could turn them into an enemy.
"We wish to buy weapons, armor, and various military supplies from Colmar. If you have timber, we would also be interested in that. If you have anything else you want to sell, we will buy it at a reasonable price."
"If we had won this war, that would be one thing, but after our crushing defeat due to that golden ghost from the Toscana Empire, weapons and armor aren’t selling."
As the battle between the Holy Empire and the Lyon Kingdom raged, Colmar naturally accumulated weapons, armor, and other supplies.
Once the war ended, these goods would sell for a decent price, which would be a great help in post-war reconstruction...
But the Lyon Kingdom, which had suffered a devastating defeat, didn’t have the resources to buy weapons and armor.
‘Our Baron also can’t help in the reconstruction of the territory.’
"Golden ghost... That’s an appropriate nickname for Count Rothschild."
"That bastard will do anything if there’s money to be made! He’s the type who would sell his soul to heathens. He’d even sell his own country if it meant profit."
Orsini barely stopped himself from laughing out loud.
Although Fabio hadn’t sold his own country, he had certainly caused chaos in other nations’ economies multiple times.
Orsini had also ruined the economy of the Holy Empire with tulips.
The mayor spent almost 30 minutes ranting about how that Count Rothschild was a devil so vile even Satan would be terrified and demons would give him standing ovations for his evil deeds.
The mayor even marveled at how he could learn such military tactics just before Guillaume City was about to fall.
"Surely Deus abandoned the world for such an evil man to be born. How else could a person be so wicked?"
Orsini thought to himself.
If our Count ever heard about this, he’d probably laugh and mock those who speak ill of the victor, saying that criticizing the winner is a privilege reserved for the losers and a form of escapism.
"The next thing I want is to take a few people with me..."
"As long as you’re not kidnapping them with mercenaries, feel free to do as you wish. The city and surrounding areas are overflowing with people beyond our capacity."
Before the war, Colmar and its surrounding population had shrunk by about 20%.
However, due to the devastation of fields and the plundering of nearby villages...
There was simply not enough food to support them.
"Thank you."
**
Orsini quickly began his trade in Colmar.
As everyone was in urgent need of money, once word spread that trading had begun, people flocked like a cloud.
"Armor, matchlock guns, swords, spears. We’ll buy everything, buy it all! If you don’t sell now, who knows when the next chance will come!"
Fabio planned to send the weapons, armor, swords, and spears purchased here to the Maasai Confederation.
After all, that place was in a constant state of war, expanding its power 365 days a year...
There was an explosive demand for weapons and armor.
"These seem a bit cheaper than the market price."
"Then don’t sell it."
"But this is half the price, isn’t it?!"
A shabby-looking man protested to the merchant, who was slashing the price of a suit of armor in half.
"The buyer has the say, not the seller. And if you don’t sell this, won’t you starve?"
That was the truth.
Right now, in Colmar, even serfs, and small farmers with their own land were on the verge of starving.
The man in front of him was a serf who had only managed to get one suit of armor by luck... He had been nothing more than a stray dog before.
"Sell this and buy some food. Or else, starve to death."
"...Could you raise the price just a little?"
"No, go away."
As the saying goes, "Others' crises are my opportunities," Fabio was buying the weapons and armor at a very reasonable price.
Some might criticize him for it, but Fabio wasn’t the type to feel guilty ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) about it...
It was very much an English-style approach.
"If it goes on like this, we’ll starve to death."
Then the merchant pointed to the side.
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"If that’s the case, send over your son who’s getting old enough to be independent. For every man you send, I’ll give the person who introduces him one gold coin. And they won’t be slaves, they’ll go as mercenaries."
The second sons and third sons of serfs, who couldn’t even do farm work, had almost nothing they could do except become bandits.
Becoming a mercenary would at least be a better option for them.
"I’ll send my three sons. Just wait here!"
And soon, more people came behind him, selling armor, weapons, and all kinds of items at half price, or even less.
To make up for the lack of money, they sent their children to work for Fabio’s mercenary company.
As a result, enormous amounts of money flowed into the hands of the serfs... But then another problem arose.
With so much money circulating in the area, the value of the currency plummeted.