Monopolizing Goods (1)
"Excuse me, sir. You wanted the boot sole and the pommel repaired, right?"
The mercenary carefully examined the leather boots and pommel handed over by Andrew, and seemed satisfied as he pulled something out of his pocket.
"Good job. Here's your payment."
Andrew, who caught the thrown shilling, spoke with a bright smile on his face.
"Please call us whenever you need something! We'll do our best to help you."
"Alright. I'll call you if I need anything."
"Yes!"
"So, where did you get these repaired? They look really good. You fixed the broken parts so well. There must be a skilled blacksmith around here."
When the mercenary asked while showing the neatly repaired pommel, Andrew grinned.
"I know a blacksmith, sir. He once worked in a dwarf blacksmith's workshop."
"In a dwarf workshop? Really?"
"Yes, it's close to the dwarf kingdom. I heard that he learned the skill somehow. Dwarves are usually picky, but they don't care once they become friends. Especially if they are drinking buddies."
"Oh, really? I think I heard somewhere that it's good to be a drinking buddy with a dwarf."
The mercenary nodded unconsciously, as if he had learned something new.
"Anyway, come back later. I have something else for you to do. Not right now, though."
"Oh, of course. Please call me whenever you're comfortable. If I'm not available, you can call my brother. He knows just as well as I do."
"Hold on. What were your names again?"
"I'm Andrew, and my brother is Joshua!"
"Andrew? You said you were a commoner?"
"Yes! We're the Rothsmedici family. That's our family name."
"Rothsmedici... Alright, I'll remember that. I'll call you if I need anything."
"Yes!"
The brothers' work, which began with grocery errands, gradually expanded to cover various errands for the mercenaries in the camp.
Even the mercenaries who were reluctant to interact with the residents of the territory began to actively use the two brothers, and as a result, their income grew day by day.
Squeak, squeak.
On their way to the village, pulling the donkey cart they had naturally bought as their errands increased, Joshua, who had a cheerful expression, called out to Andrew, who was pulling the cart instead of him.
"Andrew, I earned three shillings today!"
Andrew was also in a good mood.
"Hey! I earned five shillings!"
"Wow! Five shillings, huh? That's a lot. How did you manage to earn two more shillings than me?"
"Well, unlike you, I didn't just ask the visible men. I poked around everywhere. There are men who don't come out much because they are stuck in the barracks. You need to target them. They find everything bothersome, so they often ask for errands."
"Oh, really? Then I should do like Andrew too."
Joshua couldn't hide his joy at their ever-growing income.
"Andrew, are we really going to be rich like this?"
"Rich? To be really rich, you have to earn like Rockefeller Hyung. Compared to him, we're just a drop in the ocean."
Rockefeller and his siblings always gathered at dinner to share how they spent their day.
For this reason, the two brothers had heard all about how Rockefeller had recently made a fortune.
"Rockefeller Hyung said he made 500 dalants from the bank this month. I didn't know you could make so much money at a bank. Did you know, Andrew?"
Andrew shook his head.
"No, I didn't know either."
"Right? You didn't know either, Andrew?"
"Yeah, but Rockefeller hyung is really amazing. How can you make so much money just by lending money?"
"Rockefeller hyung said that real money is made by sitting down, not by labor."
"Even though half of it is Mr. Carter's profit, it's still 250 dalants. Wow... We're nothing compared to that."
"But it's a bit of a shame. It seems like Rockefeller hyung made all the money, but Mr. Carter made 250 ducats without doing anything."
"That's true. But it's Mr. Carter's shop. You have to consider that."
At Andrew's words, Joshua felt a little disappointed.
"Andrew, should we start a bank or something later? Then we don't have to give the money we earned to someone else."
"Idiot! Do you think anyone can start a bank?"
"I know. You need a special permit issued by the royal family."
"If you know, why are you saying that? You can't start a bank without it."
"That's why I'm saying we should get the permit later. I heard that many people are reluctant to work in a bank because they say they'll go to hell even if they make a lot of money. And it seems that even commoners can do it. But we're already commoners, so isn't it easy for us?"
"Well, that's true. But is it true that nobody does it?"
"No, not really. Anyway, people are a little reluctant. Andrew, haven't you heard? People don't like moneylenders."
"I know. But they make a lot of money."
"But even if they make a lot of money, they still go to hell."
The two brothers, who had been talking, paused for a moment to think about the relationship between moneylenders and hell.
"But Andrew, do you really go to hell if you become a moneylender? The church says that all people who lend money at high interest rates go to hell."
"Idiot! Didn't Rockefeller hyung tell you? You don't have to go to hell if you make a lot of money and do good things for the church."
"Then if we earn a lot of money and do good for the church, we won't go to hell?"
"Of course! The priests pray for us, don't they?"
"That's true. If the priests pray for us, God won't just send us to hell, right?"
"That's what I think, too."
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Happy reading!
Damit, this novel needs evil Protagonist tag.
ReplyDeletelol! I mean... he isn't hurting anyone except people who goes into too much debt.
DeleteIt's interesting how the novel breaks down earth's credit and lending system into fantasy trope.