Chapter 50
The demons were in shock.
“If you trade with the Fedwick Trading Company, you’ll be treated as an enemy of the Dragons?”
“Has anything like this ever happened before?”
“Not really. For a long time, demons and dragons only watched each other but avoided full war.”
Wars between Demon Kings over land happened, but a full-scale war between demons and dragons was something every Demon King today wanted to avoid at all costs.
Smashing an egg in secret was one thing—this was on a completely different level.
“Dragons love money, but they don’t care about land.”
It was true that dragons loved expensive jewels, works of art, and magic tools.
But unlike demons, they had no desire or reason to rule wide lands or hold many subjects.
As proof, most dragons only ruled a limited area around their lair.
“So Demon Kings always treated dragons as dangerous but never picked a fight. There was no good reason.”
“But this time, the dragons have a reason!”
“Exactly! What Demon King would jump into a war with no honor and no gain?”
The predictions proved correct.
The Demon Kings, who had been trading with the Fedwick Company, quickly cut off all ties.
Not only out of fear of dragons, but also using the excuse of “diplomatic sense.”
Even if the Fedwick Company was among the top three most powerful groups in the Demon Realm’s south, they weren’t the only option.
“No need to get burned by someone else’s fire.”
Their trading partners shrank fast.
If even Demon Kings pulled away, smaller businesses certainly wouldn’t keep the connection.
The company lost its main source of profit.
They couldn’t buy or sell anything anymore.
Goods piled up unsold in their warehouses, and their gold stopped flowing.
“Bagis Fedwick was already captured by the dragon, right?”
“Yes. That once proud demon is now a slave in a mine.”
“Hah… unbelievable.”
The dragons spread news of Bagis Fedwick’s fall throughout the Demon Realm.
It was a warning to all demons.
The Fedwick Company fell into chaos.
With no leader to command and control, the situation grew worse quickly.
And it didn’t stop there.
“Wait, isn’t this going to affect us too?”
“How much money does Fedwick owe our company?”
“At this rate, we’ll lose everything too. Take action now!”
As companies grew bigger, they usually worked on credit because they were trusted.
Now, the merchants who had sold on credit to Fedwick were nervous.
If Fedwick collapsed, they wouldn’t be paid back.
“You—what are you people doing here?”
The Fedwick officer was shaken by the demons who crowded in.
“We’re not causing trouble. We just came for our money!”
“Pay us for the gargoyle hides and unicorn horns we sold you! Right now!”
“Wait, we go first! You still haven’t paid for the carriage and driver you borrowed last time!”
“What about the mandragora fruit we delivered? When will that payment come?”
The officer sweated and begged.
“Please, calm down. Just wait a little—”
“Calm down? Pay up first!”
The creditors lost patience.
They stormed into the company’s headquarters, refusing to wait for deadlines.
Merchants always had sharp noses for money—but for unpaid debts and bankruptcy, their noses were even sharper.
Promises of “we’ll pay soon” meant nothing.
They even turned violent.
“There! Loot the warehouse!”
“Take everything valuable! We can’t let Fedwick’s mess ruin us too!”
They stripped the headquarters bare, from artifacts to furniture to supplies.
The company staff was left stunned and powerless.
Even the guards, who were supposed to protect the company, joined the looting.
“At this rate we won’t get our wages either.”
“No way I’m leaving empty-handed. Grab what you can!”
The destruction didn’t take long.
The mighty Fedwick Trading Company, once ruling the south of the Demon Realm, shattered into pieces and disappeared without a trace.
Listening to the report, Ludwig nodded in satisfaction.
“The troublemaker is completely gone.”
“Yes, just as we wanted.”
Ludwig snorted.
“Then we can sell our slime mixture freely. Shall we meet other companies to trade?”
“No, there’s no need to look for partners. We already have one.”
“Hm?”
There were countless businesses in the south that needed this mixture.
But Ariella couldn’t chase after all of them. She needed a new company to act as a middleman.
And she had already solved that.
“Do you remember that gnome we met at the Fedwick headquarters?”
“Of course. That stubborn old man.”
Ludwig nodded.
That gnome had once clashed with Bagis Fedwick and lost politically.
The scale fragment he gave them had helped greatly in solving this problem.
“Fedwick’s assets were almost all stolen, but some things still remained. The gnome acted quickly.”
“Didn’t they say the warehouses were empty? What was left?”
Things that couldn’t be turned into material wealth.
Things everyone wanted, hard to gain but easy to lose.
“Fedwick’s trading connections—his network.”
Back when Geru was alive, that gnome had asked him to create a new company.
Now, the situation had changed. Geru belonged to Ludwig, and Bagis Fedwick was gone.
So the gnome decided to build a new company himself.
The dragons had only targeted Bagis Fedwick’s company, after all.
Right after the old owner disappeared, the gnome moved fast and secured promises from important clients to trade with his new company.
That sped up the collapse of Fedwick even more.
Of course, he made sure to finalize conditions with Ariella first.
“From now on, our slime mixture will be sold through him.”
And unlike Fedwick’s terms, this new deal was overwhelmingly in Ariella’s favor.
Naturally so—none of this would have been possible without her.
Ludwig’s face filled with satisfaction.
“Then everything is solved.”
He nodded.
“That Fedwick bastard, always showing off in front of me… serves him right. Now he’ll stay trapped in the mines until he dies—”
Ludwig suddenly froze.
He remembered something he had forgotten.
“Wait!”
“What is it?”
“Bagis Fedwick isn’t dead, is he? Sure, his life is worse than death now, but he’s still alive.”
“That’s right.”
“Then what about our promise with Geru?”
Ludwig frowned.
“The deal was to kill him. Becoming a dragon’s slave is satisfying, but now he’s even farther from us.”
“That’s why I’ve been waiting for you. Let’s go wake Geru and explain everything.”
With Richmond joining them, the three went down to the castle basement.
Like before, Richmond chanted, and the zombie rose clumsily to its feet.
Ariella calmly explained everything that had happened to Bagis Fedwick.
The zombie listened in silence, his face hard to read.
After a while—
“Ha… ha…”
His shoulders shook with strange jerks.
It grew more violent with time.
“Ha… ha… hahaha! Ha! Hahaha!”
Even with stiff, limited movements, the zombie laughed with his whole body.
Bones rattled as his laughter filled the basement.
‘I’ve never seen a zombie so happy.’
His face twitched like spasms, but he laughed in pure delight.
“B-Bagis Fedwick! Ohhh, Bagis Fedwick! That cursed bastard… he’s truly ruined! Completely ruined!”
For him, there was no better news.
His old rival from the company days, who later had him assassinated—
“The scoundrel who k-killed me for money… now he gets not a single coin! Forced to dig dirt forever as a dragon’s slave?!”
He almost looked ready to dance.
“U-unpaid labor! For a man obsessed with gold, that is the p-perfect punishment!”
‘You’re just as obsessed with money as he was…’
Ariella swallowed the thought.
But for merchants who valued money above life, working without pay was the cruelest curse.
“Haha! Hahaha!”
Ariella waited until the storm of laughter passed.
At last, he calmed a little. She opened her mouth to continue—
But she didn’t need to.
“I accept!”
This time, he spoke clearly without stuttering.
The zombie’s dirt-colored face shone with joy.
“The original deal was to kill him… but it doesn’t matter! He now suffers a fate worse than death. I ask for nothing more.”
Then, swaying, he stepped forward and knelt before Ariella and Ludwig.
It was a clear sign of loyalty.
Ariella had achieved another goal.
Ariella and Ludwig left the basement.
As they climbed the stairs, Ludwig noticed strange marks everywhere—scratches and cracks along the walls.
“What happened here?”
“The hatchling did it.”
“Hatchling?”
“Maybe because it’s growing—it was full of energy.”
Ludwig sighed.
“Good thing Kaliserd took it away. If it stayed a few more days, this old castle might have collapsed.”
“Ah, about that…”
Ariella was about to explain.
Dudududu!
Heavy footsteps rushed toward them, making the ground shake.
