Vincent placed the matter of the welcoming speech to the back of his mind. His first matter of business was making money. He didn’t plan on living off the allowances given to him monthly; he was considered a grown man, it was time to wean himself off his families’ money.
There were plenty of methods to make money. Vincent's knowledge of the novel Blaze Fantasia gave him many options. The only problem is the fact that many of these avenues are not accessible to him at the moment and other various methods required him to put too much effort into them; specifically, extraction, processing, and commercialization. He knew where various rare resources were hidden, but first of all, it would require a highly skilled team to reach the site. Then comes the labor of extracting the resource and skilled workers to process it. Then the hard part was finding a way to distribute said resource in a form that will not bring attention to himself.
Vincent kept mulling over these few things when a regal woman stepped out of the carriage in the front yard.
“That’s it! Juno is my solution!” exclaimed Vincent as he rushed down the stairs to greet his step-mother.
“Good afternoon, Vincent. How are things going here in the capital? Is your grandfather doing well?” asked Juno as she stepped off the coach.
“Everything’s as it should be. Mother, do you still remember what we talked about before I left? About the limited…”
Juno shifted her eyes quickly before she stopped him, “These matters aren’t appropriate to be discussed out here in the open. We will talk about this inside.” They both hurriedly entered and found a secluded study room. “Now we may speak.”
Vincent quickly recounted their discussion about Emerald Wood. “On top of that, with the current political atmosphere, Emerald Wood will become a strategic resource. However, this is an investment a year into the future. I also have some information on the location of another precious material. If Mother wishes, I can sell it to you at a discount.” Vincent flashed his evil smile like a fisherman before a bite.
Juno looked furrowed her brow but still asked, “Can’t you tell me? I thought we were family; we shouldn’t hide secrets from one another.”
“Family does come first, but I’m not inheriting Father’s title; I will also need a way to make a living, Mother.” From the short time he arrived in this world, he had understood Juno’s nature. She adored the prestige and regal lifestyle of a lady of nobility and money was at the peak of her interests. She was the head of a merchant guild after all.
As if a switch had been flipped, Juno’s eyes became calculative. “And your price?”
“Let’s go with the usual. 20% of the profits.” Vincent lightly said without much thought. “But I need an advancement pay for the information. How about 3000 gold coins?”
Juno’s eyes bulged from the high price. “Wait a moment. Let’s both take a step back and let me ask you something. What is the material in question?”
Vincent knew she had taken the bait so he continued, “It’s something that every woman would want. The poor can’t get it, but for a lady of nobility, it’s very accessible.” He pointed to Juno’s necklace, “A ruby gemstone mine.”
Juno took in a sharp breath. “Gemstones?” Gemstones weren’t rare, but at the same time, they weren’t common either. If a person were to discover an averagely sized vein, they would become wealthy enough to live the rest of their lives without worrying about food. The only problem is that gemstone mines are usually seized by the lord of the territory if discovered.
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“Don’t worry, I know what you are going to ask, and I can say it’s technically within our Redwall territory.”
“Technically?”
Vincent shrugged, “Since you’ll take my offer anyways, I’ll tell you where it is.” He took out a map and pointed to a spot that brought a bit of fear into Juno’s eyes.
“You can’t be serious? How did you find out about that location?” Her eyes stared at the triangular shapes on the map.
“The Sorin Mountain Range is also a danger zone, but it’s located on the edge of the outer region. There might be some danger, but it wouldn’t pose too much of a problem for the extraction teams.” He circled an area about 50km northeast of Redwall.
“As that may be, it still would be expensive to hire mercenaries and personnel to trek there and extract the gems. On top of that, it’s a gemstone mine, so it’ll require a higher executive’s supervision. I’m starting to think 20% of the profits is a little bit too much.” She resignedly smiled, but from her tone, she had already accepted the deal.
“It’s not much of a problem. The only things you have to watch out for are the cave trolls.” He sternly warned. Cave trolls are precisely what their name means; they live in caves and are vulnerable to sunlight and fire because their skin is flammable. The only problem with cave trolls is that they like to come out at night to hunt and are huge creatures nearly three times larger than a man.
“They won’t be a problem.” Juno studied Vincent for quite a while. Her eyes looked like they wanted to ask him where he got his information. In the end, Juno sighed and said, “I’ll have my secretary draft out a contract and send it to you, Vincent. In the meantime, I need to send a group to verify your information.”
“Take your time.” Vincent evilly grinned and left.
“So young and already acting like a seasoned tradesman.” She didn’t know whether to feel happy or disappointed at her step-son.
---
*Knock Knock*
“Enter.”
Vincent swiftly walked into the room and silently closed the door behind him. Behind a comfortably cushy sofa sat his grandfather, Tidus Redwall. Tidus was leisurely leaning back on his throne whilst fiddling with a mandola. His aged fingers nimbly danced across the strings like an artists’ brush over canvas.
Vincent felt a breeze of fresh air, but when he looked over at the window, the panes were closed. Feeling like it would be rude to interrupt, Vincent closed his eyes and let his mind travel with the music. Once the music came to an end, Tidus spoke up.
“Whilst traveling through the fields of Eidolon, I chanced upon a troupe. My company and I weren’t in a rush so we invited them to dine with us for the night. When the evening sun had laid to rest, the troupe performed from their repertoire of songs. It was there that I fell in love with the mandola.” He played a classical tune that seemed to brighten up the room.
“You wanted to see me, Grandfather?” Vincent eyed the mandola but didn’t say anything else.
“I have been informed that you were selected to perform a speech for the welcoming ceremony. How has your preparations come along?”
“It’s ready. In a few days, when the welcoming ceremony commences, I shall go and give the speech I’ve drafted.” In honesty, Vincent was nervous. In his past life he never really had much contact with large groups of people. However, in the past few days, he had been vigorously rehearsing his words and could recite it by heart.
“Excellent.” Tidus stowed away his mandola and presented a letter towards Vincent. “That wasn’t the only reason why I called you in. The previous morning I received this letter from Duke Evergreen.” While mentioning the Duke’s name, Tidus closely studied Vincent’s expression.
“The Duke? Is this related to me?” Vincent racked his brain to think of the reason why the Duke would send him a letter. “It can’t be because of his daughter again…”
“It is as you’ve said. However, you must be having the wrong impression.” Tidus handed the letter over. After a quick scan of the paper’s contents, Vincent released a relieved sigh.
“That’s a relief. The Duke wrote to congratulate me for successfully entering Lancelot and wishing me well.”
“That’s not all there is, did you happen to read the last bit?”
“He wants me to take care of his daughter? Naturally, as my benefactor, I would watch over his daughter.” Vincent tilted his head quizzically.
“…” Tidus was at a loss for words. His face flashed colorful shades of red, but he ultimately stayed quiet.
“Are you alright, Grandfather?” Vincent worriedly ask.
“I suppose it would be wrong for an old man like me to interfere with youth. I’ll let fate run its course.” Tidus shook his head in dismay and picked up his mandola once more, playing a tune of season’s past.