9 – Lapis Lazuli Refinement 1

-“Cheer”-

Hearing the birds chirping in his ears, Bahamut opened his eyes feeling deep fatigue.

Bahamut slowly wakes up from bed while bathing in the bright morning sun.

Beside him was the figure of Ophelia, who was sleeping peacefully.

“Umm… Master… Bahamut… I love you..”

Ophelia curls up under the covers and talks in her sleep.

Watching that, Bahamut gently caressed her hair.

The woman who first fell in love with him after coming to this world.

At first, it started as a simple investment relationship, but now, seeing her who has become a very important person to him, a smile slowly began to spread on Bahamut’s lips.

at that time..

“… ?!”

“yes? Woke up?”

“Ah.. Lord.. Master..”

Ophelia wakes up from Bahamut’s touch and opens her eyes.

Then, she suddenly started to cover her face with the blanket, as if she felt ashamed as she remembered what happened yesterday.

“Sorry, was I a little harsh yesterday?”

“Ah..no.. not really.. good.. very much..”

Ophelia speaks with a voice that seems to be crawling into Bahamut’s words.

Then she looked at Bahamut and asked in a low voice.

“Uh.. Uh.. what did you do?.. When the master wakes up…”

“me? I guess I was happy enough. Thanks to Ophelia’s hard work.”

“Ugh… Well… ”

Ophelia, even more ashamed of Bahamut’s words, burrows into the blanket and disappears.

Seeing this, Bahamut felt the urge to hug this cat-like woman. Unfortunately, now was not the time.

“Well… let’s have fun again next time. Shall we go out soon? Since I overslept a bit, you and I will have to hurry a little.”

“… ”

At Bahamut’s words, Ophelia poked her head out of the blanket and nodded.

*

east trade

In today’s world, it is a business that can reverse life and explode at the same time, such as Bitcoin, which has both profitability and risk of enormous high-risk high-return.

The only difference is that unlike Bitcoin, which is done in real time, Eastern trade takes at least half a year.

In other words, there is a strong risk that it cannot be reversed once it is decided.

However, if you fail, you will be blown away, and if you succeed in bringing in goods, you can hit the jackpot at least tens to hundreds of times.

However, this Eastern trade was not carried out in a simple way commensurate with its benefits and risks.

Basically, in order to prepare for Eastern trade, they had to prepare enormous ships or organize a large merchant procession with a large number of adventurers.

Unlike modern times, it takes at least half a year to go to the east, so considering the travel expenses consumed along the way and preparations for various accidents, it was impossible with a fairly large upper end.

Even the top of Beden had to endure so much blood loss to proceed with this alone, so it was possible, but they were not hasty in trying it.

Accordingly, each of the upper ranks developed a method to increase stability and minimize risk even if a certain portion of profit was given up.

That is, the concept of investment was introduced.

The start is basically made by the large guilds that can frame the eastern trading guild.

After they decided on a leader and other basic means, they started to recruit investors who would finance and cooperate with the business by posting a notice to the Merchants Association.

In that case, small and medium upper tiers, or individuals or nobles who can afford to invest funds and manpower in exchange for a certain share of the profits from trade, and in this way, many people and forces gather their strength to form one giant trader.

When a large number of people move, the stability is much higher than that of an individual, and furthermore, even if an accident occurs on the way, some benefit can be obtained. In addition, as much as the risk burden in case of complete failure is reduced, it is a business method that has many advantages in many ways.

In fact, in the novels Bahamut read, there were stories about people who made a whopping 1,000-fold profit from Eastern trade, so it was worth investing enough to make a lot of money.

and today.

In Bahamut’s hands came the news he had been waiting for all along regarding the Eastern trade.

“Finally, the announcement came out.”

“Yes, it is, sir.”

At Bahamut’s words, Ashbel also said with a look full of anticipation.

One of the businesses that the owner has been interested in ever since he came to his senses.

It was an announcement about the recruitment of investors for Eastern Trade by the Uranus Merchant, one of the giant merchant corps of the Holy Empire.

In terms of size, it was one of the continent’s largest colossi, even larger than the top of Bahamut’s Beden, and had a solid foundation holding more than half of the commercial district of the Holy Empire in the center of the continent.

It was self-evident that investors flocked to the trade led by the Uranus upper house, and as it had already hit the jackpot with trade success without a single failure several times in the past, it could be said that not only the reputation but also the objective probability of success was very high. .

‘Bitcoin has a 100% chance of winning a cake.. Of course, people will gather like clouds, right?’

With that thought in mind, Bahamut slowly began reading the contents of the announcement once again.

Basically, the Uranus upper house’s stake was set at 40%, and investors buy the remaining 60%.

However, in order to prevent excessive competition, each investor and upper level cannot purchase more than 5% of the shares, no matter how many.

In addition to that, Bahamut nodded slowly as he read the details such as the time and place of the auction and other minor regulations, such as ‘even if the trade fails completely, we cannot be held accountable’.

‘Certainly… you seem to have prepared very well. Really… well prepared… that lady.’

As he recalled the description of a woman he had read in the novel, a smile slowly began to form on Bahamut’s lips.

“Then, I will prepare someone to send right away. Since the auction is held in the Holy Empire’s Vienna, the time can’t be guessed..”

“No, there is no need for that.”

“Yes? What… did you not intend to invest here?”

Ashbel is embarrassed by the owner’s unexpected words.

Looking at him, Bahamut spoke in a bright voice.

“I have to invest, I go myself.”

“N.. Yes?”

“Get ready, from now on we go to Vienna.”

“Ah.. yes! I understand, master!”

At Bahamut’s words, Ashbel responded with surprise and a little joy at the same time.

*

Vienna, the capital of the Holy Empire.

It is a strategically important place bordering the Dragona Empire. As one of the commercial centers of the continent, this city was always overflowing with numerous merchants and the goods they brought.

“sell! Silk from the East! We invite only those who know the price!”

“ruler! Buy flowers! Flower! Not just flowers! Tulips are a rare item that can only be found in the Turkic Empire! It’s popular even among nobles, so make sure to get one at home!”

“Hey lady, why don’t you take a look at this? Mermaid’s Tear Key, the finest pearl necklace imported from the Dragona Empire. They say it brings good luck, so you should buy one too!”

Merchants who sell high-end goods imported from other regions.

As she casually passed between them, she…

Ophelia quickly made her way to where her master was waiting.

“I’m back, Master.”

“Yeah, it was hard. Did you get what you asked for?”

“Yes, merchants from the Dragona Empire were selling them at surprisingly low prices.”

With those words, Ophelia carefully takes out something.

A deep smile began to form on Bahamut’s lips as he looked at it contained in a small bottle.

“What is that… Master? The sale of equity rights will start in two days, but you’ve been looking for something ever since you came here…”

The Bahamut party arrived ahead of schedule as the selection process was skipped.

However, no matter how much he could afford, since he came here, Bahamut has been diligently searching for something by releasing Ophelia and other people.

At this, Asubel could not hold back his curiosity and asked a question, and Bahamut looked at him and said with a deep smile on his lips.

“It is the key. A key to open a treasure chest containing billions of dollars.”