14. The Blue Hourglass and the Merchant Leader
The scenery beyond the window was busier than anywhere else. Caravans lined up, moving along the main road. Merchants bustled about, tending to their business.
This was Goldport, a city near Hispoth Town, known as a hub for merchants.
“We’ve arrived.”
The carriage stopped in front of a large building.
As my dad, Theon, and I stepped out one by one, passersby turned to look at us.
It was understandable.
‘Appearance matters in business!’
Standing in a row before the building, the three of us exuded an air of wealth from head to toe.
We were dressed in tailored suits from Trang Atelier. Theon, seemingly uncomfortable in his expensive outfit, kept lowering his head.
“Theon, stand tall.”
To be honest, I felt awkward in my own attire too. Wearing a dress was one thing, but lace gloves and a bonnet—something I had only seen on dolls—made it even stranger.
‘But this is a battlefield where we must prove ourselves!’
No matter how awkward, we couldn’t afford to show it.
“We’re here as investors.”
“Alright.”
Theon responded, straightening his back and looking forward.
Ahead of us was a grand entrance. Above it, a blue sign bore the image of a white hourglass.
‘The Blue Trading Company!’
My dad, looking at the same sign, sighed in resignation.
“…We’ve finally arrived.”
My dad had started from nothing in Bonwell Village and had managed to secure a home. It was an impossible feat through labor alone.
During the time he did whatever it took to support me, he had learned about investments from Grandma Marshall. It turned out he had a knack for it.
That’s why I asked him to invest in the Blue Trading Company—as a way of apologizing.
“Invest in the Blue Trading Company? Without even asking why?”
–
“Yes!”
“I still need to know the reason.”
“Grandma Marshall says it’s a goldmine! If it takes off, you can buy Theon an entire crate of healing potions. She wouldn’t give them away for free, you know. And you have to take care of Theon, Jeffrey, and Anne, so you’ll need a lot of emergency funds.”
“…I’ll look into it.”
Unlike Grandma Marshall, who relied on experience and instinct to succeed in investments, my dad was the type to conduct thorough research before making a decision.
After investigating, he confirmed that the Blue Trading Company was worth investing in. However…
‘He found out that Uncle had already been offered an investment opportunity.’
Because of that, he initially refused to invest.
It took a lot of pleading on my part to get him to come here today.
That was why he remained so unenthusiastic.
“Dad, should I ring the doorbell?”
“We should.”
Just then, the entrance door swung open, and a neatly dressed middle-aged man stepped out.
In that brief moment, his experienced gaze swept over our attire and the carriage behind us.
He noted my dad’s striking appearance, the sword at his waist, the two children standing to his left, and the eagle emblem of the Travel family etched onto the carriage.
“Welcome, Reytan Quartz Travel.”
The man immediately identified my dad and bowed politely.
“We have been expecting you ever since we heard of your visit. It is an honor to meet you. I am the manager of the Blue Trading Company.”
“Pleasure to meet you. Where is the merchant leader?”
“He is waiting for you.”
The manager led us to where the merchant leader was. It was a lavishly decorated reception room.
There, a man dressed in foreign-style clothing greeted us.
He had wavy gray hair, a tall and slender frame, and sharp, narrow eyes that nearly disappeared when he smiled.
“Welcome, Master Reytan. I am the merchant leader of the Blue Trading Company.”
Victor Stings.
A man known by the nickname The Serpent’s Tongue.
‘Because he’ll say anything if there’s money involved, right?’
The merchant leader gestured for us to sit on the sofas in the center of the reception room.
“You have come all this way. Please, have a seat. I have prepared refreshments. Master Reytan, this seat is for you.”
A walnut table sat in the middle, surrounded by three leather sofas.
My dad took the single-seat chair at the head of the table, while Theon and I sat on the sofa opposite the merchant leader.
“Greetings.”
He said, shifting his gaze toward Theon and me.
His gray eyes studied us intently, contradicting the gentle curve of his smiling expression.
‘Oh?’
It might have seemed like a simple greeting, but it was more like an industry-specific show of dominance.
In negotiations, it was common practice to establish superiority early on if the opponent seemed easy to pressure.
‘Is he trying to intimidate the kids into staying quiet?’
But that kind of thing didn’t faze me at all.
Compared to my grandfather’s silent glares or my dad’s angry stares, this was nothing.
I stared at the merchant leader for a moment before flashing him a wide grin.
“Hello!”
“Hello.”
Theon added in a calm tone.
“…You’re quite cheerful.”
The merchant leader murmured in amusement before turning his attention back to my dad.
“When I received word from you, Master Reytan, I was quite surprised. To think I would meet the famous man from the sold-out wanted posters in person.”
“…Sold-out wanted posters?”
My dad echoed, looking uncomfortable.
He clearly hadn’t expected his wanted status to be mentioned here.
The merchant leader maintained his ever-smiling expression as he spoke.
“Did you not know? As soon as Master Reytan’s wanted posters were put up, they were taken down just as quickly. They were gone the moment they appeared. That’s what we call sold out.”
“How does it feel to be a popular figure? I wouldn’t know myself, but I imagine it hasn’t been easy.”
“Well, I wouldn’t know either.”
“A humble response. But today, have you come here as Count Travel’s second son? Or as a Grand Master?”
“Does it matter?”
“Of course, it does.”
The merchant leader smirked.
“As a Grand Master, your investment capital is far less than that of the Travel family.”
As expected. He was exactly as I remembered him.
The merchant leader of the Blue Trading Company was obsessed with money.
According to recent intelligence from Butler Cerberus, the Blue Trading Company still hadn’t secured a firm investment commitment from my uncle.
‘If things aren’t going as planned with my uncle, and my dad suddenly offers to invest…’
Even if it was a low-ranking opportunity, this was still a chance to form a connection with the wealthy Travel family.
My dad would insist on a condition: that no other direct relatives invest alongside him.
For the merchant leader, this would mean severing ties with my uncle, eliminating any risk of having leverage used against him.
“There doesn’t seem to be much of a difference.”
“Is that so?”
At my dad’s words, the merchant leader briefly fiddled with the signet ring on his index finger before continuing.
“You mentioned that you wanted to invest in our trading company. Since Master Reytan has taken time out of his busy schedule, I will get straight to the point.”
Then, without any warning, he dropped the bombshell.
“I must refuse your investment.”
***
Bang.
The sound of the reception room door closing echoed.
“……..”
Victor, who had been bowing until Reytan’s group had fully left, slowly straightened his back.
The ever-present smile on the merchant leader’s face quickly faded, his expression hardening.
His gray eyes darkened as his vision grew hazy.
“…Damn it.”
It was as if he were looking at the world through a hollowed-out tube—his field of vision had narrowed to a pinhole, with the edges fading into darkness.
A hereditary disease of his family.
Victor’s eyesight would be completely gone within a few months.
“I just kicked away the chance to secure investment from the Travel family.”
He hadn’t been trying to approach Hevant Cornelian Travel.
Instead, he had sought out the eldest son of the Travel family.
Rumors had it that the alchemists under his employ had developed a new potion capable of temporarily restoring eyesight.
Victor had reached out to Hevant under the pretense of an investment, hoping to verify the potion’s effectiveness.
“Are you having some trouble seeing?”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“The plate on your left—it’s about to fall off the table. Can you not see it?”
He had nearly exposed his own weakness.
That day, he had managed to brush off the suspicion, but Hevant had definitely caught on.
Not long after, he had received a letter along with a sample of the potion developed by the alchemists. The letter requested a private meeting.
Just to be safe, Victor had the potion examined—it was not poisoned.
The potion he had tested that morning had worked.
However, only for half a day.
As his conversation with Reytan’s group progressed, he had felt the effects wearing off and had hurried to end the meeting.
‘Getting entangled with the Travel family would be a disaster.’
For a merchant, losing one’s sight was a critical weakness.
Trust was everything in this business.
If word got out, the Blue Trading Company would collapse.
“I worked so hard to build this up. I can’t let the company fall apart just because the merchant leader goes blind.”
Victor clenched his teeth and muttered to himself.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the closed reception room door.
The manager?
Good timing.
“Come in.”
The door opened at Victor’s command.
However, the figure that entered was small.
A boy with black hair.
And behind him, a bright, cheerful voice called out.
“Dad!”
Victor was stunned.
It was undoubtedly the voice of Reytan Quartz Travel’s daughter—the doll-like girl who hadn’t flinched under his pressure.
“…Young lady? Why have you come back?”
“Dad isn’t coming out!”
“……….”
A chill ran down Victor’s spine.
His gaze shifted slightly to the side.
Within his limited field of vision, he saw a man leaning casually against the wall beside the door.
Golden wheat-colored hair, a model-like physique, and a sword at his waist.
“This is…”
Victor was at a loss for words.
Reytan spoke with a calm but pointed tone.
“Apologies for the inconvenience. I tend to conduct thorough investigations before investing anywhere.”
