That seemed a bit too dramatic, but I decided to keep quiet until I had a real reason to talk.
“I will be gone for a while since our allies asked for assistance and I have experience with naval battles. I decided to take Ulric with me since that would do him a lot better than swinging a wooden sword.”
“The Aquarian kingdom?”
“That is right, the number of members of the Darkhand raiders has increased a lot recently, and they can’t guard all their territory. I can’t say when I will return.”
He had a point, training wasn’t enough for Ulric, he needed confidence more than anything. In any case, that was a minor issue, I had heard about these two groups. Rather, I had read about them.
The Darkhand Raiders are a group of goblin pirates, bandits, and thieves who believe in living through plunder and pillage. They see life as one grand party, and their goal is to take as much as they can.
The Aquarian Kingdom lies beneath the waves of the Great Sea, where the Merfolk rule vast underwater cities of coral and magic. Tritons serve as warriors, patrolling the ocean and defending the realm from surface threats. The kingdom thrives on control over the sea, its currents, and trade routes, with strict rules governing magic, diplomacy, and marine life preservation.
I wanted to ask if he would find another wife there, but Rayner wasn't someone who had a good sense of humor, it was easy to tell since he was always frowning. While talking with him, I could almost hear his blood pressure rising.
“I can train by myself if that is what you are worried about. I also don't want to make you waste any more money on me.”
That came out a bit harsh and cold, so Rayner studied me for a bit. He should have watched us sparring and could tell that I didn't need to follow Rowan's instructions to become skilled.
“That isn't the only thing I am worried about. My men are loyal to me, but they are also loyal to Rowan. I can't guarantee your safety now that he isn't here. You might be targeted if you leave the house.”
Rayner was the head of the house, but if he stayed far away for too long or if he disappeared again, someone else would take charge. I heard that before I was born, he disappeared for one year and that was what gave birth to me. A one year fling… He must be insanely popular with the ladies, considering how little he talks, I couldn't say that he was charming, so his face solved things for him in that aspect. That is just how my tiny monkey brain understands things
“You don't seem worried and I can tell that you won't back down either. Since you are like this, then I just have to tell you not to do anything that will taint my family's name.”
I wasn't planning to follow the family's rules, so I couldn't be considered part of the family. It would be weird if there was any other option, so I just silently nodded. If things go well, then my plans will go a lot faster while he is away and I won't have to wait four years.
“You can leave now.”
I nodded and then left the office. In the end, it was unavoidable that neither of us would see the side of the other. Still, I didn't feel particularly bad about it. Rayner was my only connection to that family and he had too much on his plate already.
Once I returned to my room, I checked the blueprint of my new product. Even in the hands of non-scouts and archers, it would come in handy for a lot of people and increase the selling power.
It would have been a lot faster if I could just sell some ideas for a fixed price, but it was hard to assume that things would work that easily. In any case, before things became troublesome for me, I had to make a lot of preparations. The main one for now should be to avoid leaving the mansion for a while after everyone leaves.
The next day, I left the mansion as soon as Rayner and Ulric left. The other kids stayed at home with their mothers and sisters since Rowan had asked to change his job. As usual, a very annoyed guard followed me while keeping a distance of five meters.
This time around, I didn't check the merchant that I usually talk to. I checked around the shops in the area, mainly the ones that sell glass products and similar things. I soon found a shop that specialized in selling monocles. It was exactly what I needed. They were used by appraisers to check the quality and verify if some products were the real deal or not.
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“I want to buy a large lot of lenses exactly like these ones.”
The clerk was an old man with a fancy mustache and he frowned while looking at me. Buying a lot of that was nonsensical Moreover, I chose the ones that were of low quality. He could tell who I was, and since he probably heard of my actions in the city, he thought for a moment about what I was doing, but soon he decided to forget about it to make money.
The old man had enough lenses to make me spend eighty percent of my earnings in the last year. That was equal to two Aqua coins… it was also enough to buy twenty sets of four. It was a good start for me.
The box that had them was pretty light, so I carried them with ease and soon returned to my room to mess with them using the remaining materials I had that I got from that merchant.
After one week, I had a good enough prototype and then went to talk with the usual merchant that I had business with. He had this sour look on his face that he wanted to ask me why I didn’t bring more slingshots to sell.
“I have two proposals for you today. I have the blueprints of the best slingshot I have developed. I can sell it to you to produce them yourself. The price for it is one aqua coin.”
It was a high price for such a simple tool, the merchant knew that he could reproduce it without my help, but an improved version was another history. He could sell more of the old versions, but the new ones could be sold for more and also would sell more because people usually would want an upgrade of their old things.
“All right, deal.”
The merchant would have to use all of his savings for that, but it was a worthwhile investment. I probably could have made more by selling the blueprint to someone richer, but I wanted to avoid those who had too much influence, this merchant here was a simple one with not many connections.
“My second offer is this. Another item that will help some classes evolve faster… and prevent surprises in the field. Even those without the scouting classes can use this.”
The merchant looked at my simple scope and then frowned when he saw that one side made his vision really bad… he was really dumb, using the wrong side. As if that wasn’t enough, when he found the right side, he tried to point to the sun. I stopped him.
“Don’t do that. This is what will happen to your eyes if you point it to the sun.”
I pointed one end to a nearby box behind and then soon smoke began to rise from it when I pointed to the sun. The merchant began to sweat bullets when he saw that… that was a quick way to lose an eye.
“Here is the deal. You will sell ten of those in a few weeks and then instruct them how to use them. You will also tell them that the next lot will be sold in two months. This will be enough time for people to desire the product and pay more. You will also tell them that only a certain amount will be sold. A limited item will sell more too.”
“... In that time, someone will eventually figure out how it works.”
“I did something about that if someone tries to open the scope, the lenses will crack.”
The merchant didn’t understand that, but he could tell that I had already planned for that kind of issue… it was a pity that I didn’t have a crafting class. Otherwise, I would be swimming in experience.
Regardless, it was a pain to make that kind of mechanism. I had to hide the type of lenses being used and the right order as well. With the materials I had, I didn’t have many options. In any case, I eventually made a mechanism that would crush the lenses once someone tries to open the scope. It was only a temporary solution to a problem that won't last for long.
When the merchant understood all my ideas when it came to this business, I could almost see his eyes turning into dollar signs. This one was a bit old, but he didn’t give up on hitting the jackpot on his businesses.
Making business and crafting things were fine and all, but I had no plans on doing that for too long without the proper classes. It would be much better and easier to make them with those classes and I would gain experience too to improve my parameters. Thanks to that, I was planning to make as much money as possible in the next four years with the scope of making as few of them as possible.
Since I had the extra capital, I returned to the mustache guy of the lenses and then told him that he could send a certain amount of lenses every month to my home. He would be paid there and he readily agreed with it.
‘All right… time to get to work.’
I still did sword training and precision training, but I spent most of the time of the next year producing the scopes… the quality had to be the highest and I had to make sure to keep the production process hidden. I also had to adjust my plans in case something happened, but nothing major happened when it came to the businesses.
The difference that I noticed was at home… I was the only son remaining there, but the girls soon went to school as well. The twins Lizzie and Linnet were only one year older than me, so when I turned nine, I would be the only kid at home.
Their mothers often would leave home to do other things. The first wife, who was also the high priest of the holy order rarely stayed at home, but always there were two or three of them at home. Still, they began to leave a lot more once Rayner didn’t show up for a year.
‘I don’t think that they will kill a kid and risk breaking the family, but… better safe than sorry.’
It was a tough spot to be in, but I already considered that kind of situation too. Call me a pessimist, but I didn’t care. In fact, I was expecting that something would happen to make things easier for me. That would make me realize that I couldn’t count on anyone and I just had to strengthen my will to not rely on anyone else.
Still, the atmosphere at home was normal for the next few years… they only began to change when I turned nine. I was pretty tall for a child, already 150cm tall, almost five feet. But that wasn’t the issue… my ears started to become a bit pointy… and that was how things became moody at home. My luck is always the worst...