In the castle study, Lucas was engrossed in his books. He was self-studying economics to better prepare for the financial governance of his territory. As his business ventures grew in scale, he knew that a lack of theoretical knowledge would eventually lead to him feeling overwhelmed.
Knock, knock, knock...
The study door sounded. Without looking up, Lucas said, "Enter."
Creeak!
Mina walked in carrying a file in one hand and a small cloth bag in the other. "Master, here is the inventory of the goods brought by that group," She said softly.
"Oh? That fast?" Lucas was surprised. It hadn't been long since they arrived; he expected the counting to take at least half an hour.
"Master, you'll understand once you see it." Mina's delicate face wore a peculiar expression as she placed the document on the desk.
"I take it that something interesting has happened?" Knowing the cat-girl's personality well, Lucas set aside his book and picked up the file.
"Huh? This..." As he scanned the list, his eyes widened slightly. His expression turned odd—the names of the goods on the document were far too familiar.
Linen, ceramics...
"Master, every single one of these items was originally sold by our own Sedona city," Mina said, stuck between a laugh and a sigh, her tail swishing back and forth.
"What's going on?" Lucas frowned. Goods he had sold were now being circulated back to him? He had received word that Ayesha's sister had sent followers with trade goods, but he never expected them to be his own products.
"Master, I've already looked into it. These goods were all stolen by Ayesha's sister and her crew," Mina explained with a helpless shrug.
"Stolen?" Lucas's hand paused as he flipped the page. He looked at her in astonishment.
"Master, only this item is actually theirs," Mina said, placing the small cloth bag on the desk with a soft thud.
"What is it?" Lucas rubbed his temples. This was a bit of a headache.
"It seems to be some kind of ore," Mina said, opening the bag. "They don't know what it is either. Apparently, they brought it to see if we think it's worth anything."
"How absurd..." Lucas began, but as his eyes landed on the ore, his voice trailed off.
"Master, what is it?" Mina asked, glancing at the stones. To her, they just looked like ordinary rocks.
"I've finally found it." Lucas picked up a piece of the ore, inspecting it closely before letting out a light chuckle. "I didn't expect it to be delivered right to my doorstep."
Mina blinked her blue eyes, her ears perking up. "You recognize this ore?"
"Saltpeter. This is the good stuff. Summer will depend entirely on this," Lucas's eyes flashed. There were some things he couldn't say out loud—saltpeter was one of the key ingredients for gunpowder.
Originally, he had considered getting gunpowder from Earth, but after weighing the consequences, he had dropped the idea. He preferred to find saltpeter in this world and manufacture black powder himself. That way, even if the secret eventually leaked, he would already have improvements in place, always staying one step ahead of everyone else.
However, he didn't intend to use gunpowder for war just yet. It was meant to be a strategic reserve—a hidden trump card. Based on his plans and observations, there was a high probability he wouldn't even need it for several years. He didn't want to release the demon of modern warfare too early; once the secret was out, ambitious men would stop at nothing. He understood the power and danger of gunpowder all too well. If someone desperate used it against him, it would be catastrophic. So, it had to stay at the bottom of his chest, kept for emergencies.
"Summer?" Mina was confused. What did a rock have to do with the summer season?
"You'll see when the time comes. Anyway, summer isn't far off." Lucas put the saltpeter back down. Its other major use, of course, was ice-making. He hadn't experienced a summer in this era yet, but Nicole and Helen had told him it got incredibly hot.
"Oh." Mina pouted, sensing he wouldn't say more. She knew him.
"Where are they now?" Lucas asked, staring at the saltpeter.
"Ayesha is taking them around the streets. I think they were headed to get something to eat." Mina walked over to the water stand and poured Lucas a cup.
"How do you think we should handle this?" Lucas took the cup and asked, "We can't accept those goods."
"Are you worried people will say we're profiting from stolen property?" Mina immediately grasped his concern.
"The news will spread; there's no hiding it," Lucas sighed. Coming from Earth, he knew exactly how vital reputation and credit were.
"True." Mina nodded. The merchants who were robbed would eventually make their way to Sedona city, and they had likely seen the beastkin who robbed them. If those same beastkin showed up here and the city accepted the goods—even if they were bought unknowingly—it would still create a massive scandal.
"How much is the haul worth?" Lucas asked.
"About five hundred gold coins," Mina replied. She had sent people to estimate the value while the inventory was being taken.
"That much?" Lucas was stunned. How many caravans did they hit?
"From what I gathered, they mostly targeted small merchant groups." Mina could already imagine the awkward position Ayesha would be in once she realized the truth.
"It looks like we'll have to rely on this." Lucas tapped the saltpeter on the desk. He had the beginnings of a plan.
"What's the plan, Master?" Mina asked curiously, her ears swiveling toward him.
"Don't let those goods enter the city," Lucas said with a slight smirk. "Tell them to abandon the cargo and sell it off quickly at a low price elsewhere."
By selling at a low price, he meant selling it to other passing merchants outside the city's jurisdiction. This way, no one could link the transaction to him. It was a well-known rule that Sedona City maintained fixed, fair prices and never engaged in dumping or suspicious low-cost sales.
"Will they agree to that?" Mina frowned, referring to Ryan and her group.
"They will," Lucas said calmly. He had already thought of a way to make it worth their while.
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