Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Himanshu02

Why did Bryan, who later became known as the Golden Merchant, come to the empire so unexpectedly? This started after Eurius left the Savior Academy.

Dean Dipetra had carefully considered and called one of the academy graduates to his office.

“Oh! Bryan, welcome!”

“Dean, I’m glad to see you looking well as always.”

Bryan had been his favorite student since he enrolled.

Dean Dipetra had a reputation for being good at judging people.

As an educator, he wondered where to send such a talent.

‘Marius, I owe you one, don’t I?’

Dean Dipetra actually respected Bryan’s choice, as he thought he was a talent who would excel anywhere he went.

He could have gone to a bigger kingdom, but his aspiration after graduation was to return to his homeland.

“This might be a bit sudden, but I’ll write you a recommendation letter. How about going to the empire?”

“The Scharnos Empire?”

“Where else? As you know, Marius, who is the most successful among my peers in the empire, is my friend. He’ll take good care of you if I ask him.”

“…!”

Seeing Bryan hesitate, Dipetra persuaded him with a subtle tone.

“As you know, the empire is hiring a lot of talents lately for its northern development. You’re from a commoner background, right? To be honest, I think the Simon Kingdom is too small for someone like you.”

This was Dean Dipetra’s honest opinion.

He also felt sorry for Marius because of the issue of opposing Eurius’ study abroad, but the biggest reason was that he wanted to send him to a better place.

“I appreciate your kindness, but I think I need some time to think.”

“Sure, take your time.”

Bryan had to think hard after that.

He didn’t have much ambition for success.

But Eurius’ speech at the academy last year was quite interesting to him.

“I need talents!”

Lately, he also heard some rumors about that first prince from faraway countries.

“He volunteered to go to the far north and subjugate the barbarians?”

“He’s definitely the most talked-about person among the high-ranking people in the continent lately.”

On top of that, Dean Dipetra was a great benefactor to him.

He trusted his talent and gave him various privileges even though he wasn’t from a wealthy family.

With his request added, he eventually chose to go to the empire.

“I’ll make sure to succeed with this opportunity you gave me.”

“Haha! You made a good choice. Marius will recognize your talent well enough.”

[You’re my most favorite student in the last ten years, except for His Majesty whom you sent me. Please take good care of him. He’s not very ambitious, so I had to work hard to send him to the empire.]

-Dipetra-

“Hmm?”

Marius looked at Bryan who came with the recommendation letter and frowned at first.

‘Hmph, what can a student recommended by someone who judges His Highness by hearsay do?’

“Your name is Bryan, right? If you want to work under me, you better be prepared!”

But after giving him some work and seeing him for a month or so, Marius couldn’t help but be surprised.

‘Is this really the lucky charm he gave me?’

Bryan could do more than basic tasks no matter what he asked him to do.

He had excellent overall administrative skills and above all, he had exceptional talent in commerce and financial management.

‘At least in terms of finance, he’s more talented than me’

As months passed by, Marius naturally came to favor him.

“I think he’ll be mainly in charge of managing the mines. And I’m planning to hand over some other things gradually.”‘I’m too old already. His highness needs more loyal servants who can support him.’

Marius had been worrying about this issue for a while.

But he was also a genius who had no match in administration in the continent for decades.

‘Bryan has enough talent to be my successor.’

Eurius finally understood why Marius had been acting coy after hearing his situation.

“Handing over? That’s disappointing. I still need your help a lot.”

“Hehe. Of course I won’t retire from the front line all of a sudden. But he’s that good.”

Eurius also said that but he was very happy.

‘I unexpectedly got another good talent. It’s a pleasant surprise.’

Eurius offered him a handshake.

Emperor and commoner!

They were worlds apart in status but Bryan was a person worthy of his handshake.

“Thank you for choosing the empire as I mentioned at the academy! I look forward to your great work.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Bryan was also a bit flustered because he never dreamed that the first prince would welcome him so much.

‘Is it because he trusts Marius so much? Or something else?’

Marius, who was watching them with a smile, opened his mouth again.

“Well, you must be tired from the long journey. You should rest for tomorrow’s negotiation.”

That’s how their meeting ended that day.

Tomorrow is finally the start of the deal he had been waiting for over a year.

***

The next day.

“The location of the meeting is the same as before. Will you have to go alone again?”

“Wasn’t there no problem last time? As I said before, they are quite reasonable people, so there won’t be any trouble.”

Eurius, who was led to a secret room within the Azure Dragon , received a polite greeting as soon as he entered the room.

“I apologize for the rudeness last time. I am Jegal Hwayoung, who is in charge of the affairs of the Western Continent from our clan. It is an honor to meet the Emperor, whose reputation is well-known.”

Behind her, Jegal Geon, who was called the Guild Leader last time, also bowed his head deeply.

“It’s been a year since then, but it was actually a very impolite thing. Since the real Guild Leader came out this time, let’s pretend that nothing happened then.”

Eurius sat down with a dismissive gesture.

His appearance was an arrogant act befitting a first prince, but Jegal Hwayoung’s thoughts were completely different.

“Thank you for your forgiveness.”

‘He is not an ordinary person. I can’t be complacent.’

She had been using the clan’s power, which had established a solid foundation in the north, to monitor his activities in the north.

And the conclusion she reached was this.

‘I have to get closer to him if possible. If I make him an enemy, it will cause a huge setback in the clan’s migration plan.’

Of course, she knew the clan’s strength well.

It was a decision made with enough confidence to abandon the foundation they had built in the Eastern Continent and move to the Western Continent.

But Eurius showed outstanding performance in all aspects.

‘His ability as a martial artist is beyond my imagination, and judging by his actions in the north, he is excellent in strategy and tactics. He is also a person with charisma that attracts people.’

Her polite response had a calculation behind it.

‘She seems to recognize me as an equal or more than that.’

Eurius also had a lot of thoughts inside.

In his previous life, he had to pay a considerable price to borrow their skills, but this time it was different.

‘I have to shake them as much as possible and take the initiative on this side!’

And he had a few keys that would make it possible.

“First of all, I received a report from Marius about what happened so far. The development of the north was made possible thanks to your contribution.”

“It’s all thanks to your help.”

We are inseparable now, aren’t we?

Her friendly response throughout was a subtle request to take good care of them in the future.

After some light probing, Eurius brought up the topic.

He took out a map from his pocket and spread it out.“You must have heard from Marius, but this is a map of the Dite ore veins inside the northern mountains. You can judge their value for yourself.”

She carefully scanned it and couldn’t help but be surprised inside.

‘The reserves are more than expected. If we secure a stake in this deal, the clan’s migration plan will be shortened by several years.’

The Jegal Clan actually had a wide foothold in the Eastern Continent and the Azure Dragon Guild was only part of their power.

Naturally, it would take time to move out, but what they needed most was money!

Moving their main bases from the Eastern Continent was a problem, but more importantly, they had to bribe the authorities of the Western Continent.

The reason why she tried not to offend Eurius as much as possible was because his reputation was so solid in the north where the Clan had settled down that if they clashed with him now, all their efforts would be wasted.

“I will give you twenty percent of the stake as I said before. It’s actually too generous for a single Guild.”

“That’s certainly true.”

This Dite ore was a mineral that only existed in the Western Continent.

But since trade with the Eastern Continent began, it was also treated as a luxury item by the royal family and high-ranking officials of the Eastern Continent.

In other words, its value was considerable in the Western Continent, but it increased even more when taken to the Eastern Continent.

For the clan, who had connections in the Eastern Continent, this was an opportunity they couldn’t miss.

“Then can I hear your answer now? Honestly, it’s not a difficult condition, is it?”

“It’s simple if you just show it to me…”

She tensed up.

This was actually the biggest problem.

The Jegal Clan strictly limited the export of secrets.

But that’s why he offered such an outrageous condition.

“The answer from the clan is…”

She finished explaining.

The condition that he could view it when the clan moved their base completely or that he had to come to the Eastern Continent himself.

She quickly added an excuse.

“We know that you have given us a very generous condition. So even if you reduce the stake…”

Eurius, who had been listening with a grim expression, began to show anger on his face.

“Are you trying to play word games with me?”

“I’m sorry.”

He certainly didn’t have the value to wait for their conditions.

That’s why she didn’t expect him to get angry.

As she tried to continue, he interrupted.

“Twenty people on the first floor, twelve people on the second floor…”

“What?”

“And there’s one person here too.”

Eurius’s gaze turned from the ceiling to the floor and finally landed on Jegal Geon, who was standing next to her.

“You’ve moved quite a lot of your base, haven’t you? Do you need to have so many martial artists on standby during negotiations?”

Jegal Hwayoung’s face froze like ice.

‘How did he find out about the people we trained for espionage purposes so easily?’

She knew he was an outstanding martial artist, but she never dreamed that he would identify the clan’s experts that she had prepared for contingencies so accurately.

They also hid their presence secretly, but they couldn’t escape Eurius’s senses, who had mastered the White Tiger Protection Technique.

Seeing her face stiffen, Eurius smiled casually and spoke again.

“You seem to take me too lightly. I offered you a good condition.”

‘Did I make a mistake?’

She thought they had lost his trust at that moment.

But the words that came out of Eurius’s mouth were completely different.

“Then I’ll ask you for another condition. That would be fair, wouldn’t it?”

“…!”

He was smiling brightly.

“Please use the martial artists of [Hidden Moon Hall], the information organization run by your clan, to help me.”

Jegal Hwayoung was so surprised that she couldn’t speak. But she managed to keep her expression calm.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Do I have to say it again?”

Eurius repeated it clearly.

“The Hidden Moon Hall, Jegal clan’s secret intelligence group.”