12 – Lapis Lazuli Refinement 4

One of the best ways to hunt was to lure the target with bait.

At this time, it is natural that the higher the quality of the bait, the higher the success rate of hunting.

In that respect, the bait that Bertina came up with was far too perfect.

To the point where I think it’s too wasteful to put it out as bait.

However… Despite the enormous value of the lure, Bertina was resolutely prepared to sacrifice it.

The value of the prey it would bring was such a fascinating thing.

Enough to keep her from knowing that she was becoming the prey for the bait.

*

“No matter how it is, do you think of eating all those countless people downstairs at once? In terms of scale, Lee Solda is worse than that bitch.”

Bahamut spoke lightly while looking at Bertina kneeling in front of him.

However, knowing the terrifying weight of his words, Bertina could only stare up at the man, trembling.

“Investment Seeking for Eastern Trade. Certainly not an attractive lure. The name “100% success rate” has a different feel. Of course, it’s not unreasonable for people to line up like that. But..”

With those words, Bahamut slowly bent his knees and looked at Bertina.

His face, which had turned expressionless for an instant, was reflected as if a grim reaper was standing with a scythe in Alberkina’s position.

“Was it all a lie? Dongbang trade… you didn’t even intend to start it in the first place. No, to be precise, I had no intention of starting properly.”

“That…that… ”

“It’s a trade item, and all the things we prepared are trash with poor quality that only has a shiny appearance. The merchants set off with loads of things they wouldn’t take even if they gave them that much, and took a boat from Benessa and crossed the sea to find a way to the Turkic Empire. And the trade goods that were transported to the Turkic Empire were all thrown into the sea due to an accident that occurred by chance. Thus, this Eastern trade failed due to an unexpected accident, and all the investors became ignorant!”

“… .”

Bertina was unable to say anything with a pale expression on her face as Bahamut spoke lively.

The fact that all the plans she had conceived were pouring out of his mouth was terrifying in itself.

In front of Bertina, who was trembling in fear, Bahamut took out the investor recruitment announcement she had spread.

“If you look here… it says that no compensation will be given for any liability in the event of an accident. It’s a very interesting topic. There was no such content when conducting the previous eastern trade. Now that there’s no one to challenge or compete with, they could have included something like that, right? If the small and medium-sized merchants who poured their money into this incident collapsed, this kind of crappy clause will increase more and more in the future. This… I’m really afraid of power, and people say there is no limit to human greed, but that’s really true, right?’

“… .Kuh.”

The words of Bahamut driving wedges.

At this, Bertina, trembling with the terrible feeling of defeat she felt for the first time, asked the man who knew all her plans in a sharp voice.

“You… how… how did you know?… all of this… how…”

“Hmm.. well? How did you find out? I’m sorry, but I’m not a fan of information..”

“… ”

Bertina lowered her head at Bahamut’s words.

Watching her taste the humiliation of defeat like that, Bahamut once again began to think of the ‘spoiler’ that only he knew.

The Blue Gold Lady, Bertina Minerva.

One of the main villains in the novel Fallen Warriors. A woman who took control of all the commercial districts of the Holy Empire and wielded the enormous power and money that came out of it to her heart’s content.

She, who is actually in charge of the first half of the work, recognized Isaac, the main character who killed Isolda, whom she supported, as an enemy and continued to attack. Eventually, due to the betrayal of his aides, his evil deeds are exposed and he is defeated.

Here’s why her aide betrayed her master…

It was because of the knowledge that Isaac came across by chance while in prison due to Isolda’s scheme.

A cure for a certain disease given by a doctor who was treated like a madman and imprisoned in the world.

It was about a rare disease that neither magicians nor priests could cure, and the main character was not very trustworthy, but he remembered his words well.

And later, the main character uses that knowledge to heal the incurable disease of the daughter of Bertina’s aide, and succeeds in catching Bertina’s hidden weakness through that aide.

The cure for that incurable disease was surprisingly simple.

Feeding them pearls made of mermaid tears, which are produced in the Dragona Empire and can be obtained with a little effort at the market in Vienna even now.

To the general public, it was simply regarded as a jewel, but Bahamut, as a reader of the novel, knew that it was a hidden secret drug for treating this kind of disease.

In addition, as he was well aware of the incident in which numerous small and medium-sized merchants were ruined by baiting the Eastern trade, he understood that Bertina’s scheme would proceed at this time, and thus perfectly dealt with her. was able to grab the back of the

*

Bahamut found out all his plots.

But… Even at this moment, as she knelt in front of him, Bertina was spinning her head without stopping.

It was clear that she had a formidable weakness in the man in front of her.

Given his reputation and influence as the owner of the Beden Merchant Merchant, it was possible to make this place a mess at once by announcing this fact to those people who are still in a huge crowd.

Even if she didn’t do that right away, it was clear that the Uranus Merchant Army would be destroyed in an instant, simply by conveying these materials scattered in front of her eyes to the Emperor of the Holy Empire.

For the Emperor of the Holy Empire, if he had such an enormous justification in his hands, he would proceed without hesitation, even with the aim of extorting the enormous wealth of the Uranus Merchant Army.

In addition, it is a bonus that both the former and the latter lose Bertina’s life in the process.

‘But… this man didn’t do that. They came to me right away like this without announcing the truth or handing over this data to the emperor.. That doesn’t mean…’

It’s a new story, but the man in front of her eyes was also a merchant like her.

A person who knows how to make the best choice for profit.

Destroying Bertina and the Uranus Merchant here might feel good right away, but it wouldn’t be of much benefit to him.

In other words, this man came here to make a deal with her with a card called weakness.

Bertina, who had thought that far, asked him in the calmest voice possible.

“What do you… want?”

“Hmm.. Well.. How much will our lady of blue gold be willing to listen to?”

Talking in a funny tone, Bahamut sat down on the chair.

From Bertina’s point of view, her life was in fact at stake, but on the contrary, Bahamut’s appearance seemed excessively comfortable.

In fact, considering that he was in the position of holding the hilt, Bahamut took an attitude that couldn’t be more appropriate than this.

But Bertina didn’t show any emotion at all about this.

The most important thing now is to survive no matter what.

The only thing he could do was get away from the blade hanging from the nape of his neck.

Even if it means losing all of your limbs in the process…

After completing the calculation, Bertina automatically began to frown.

It hurt so much.

This blow… was so terrible and deadly that it was incomparable to anything she had ever suffered.

Everything she has accomplished over the past nine years will fly away in an instant.

Her dream, which seemed to fit in with her hand… was really just a dream, and would go away to a place where she could not hold on to it forever.

But, nonetheless, she had to.

to survive.

Only then will 9 years… no, even if it takes 90 years, there will be even the slightest chance of a comeback.

Swallowing such a bone-crunching feeling, she…

Bertina… politely bowed her head and answered Bahamut’s question in a calm voice.

“..anything..if you want it..everything.”

“Good!”

The moment he heard that, a deep smile began to bloom on Baramut’s lips.

And..

“Well then, first of all, shall we test how far your loyalty will go?”

“… what?”

For a moment, Bertina began to have doubts due to Bahamut speaking incomprehensible words.

And while looking straight at Bertina’s face, Bahamut erased the smile from his face and spoke in a quiet voice.

“Take off your clothes, lady.”

“!”