Needless to say, Duke Brans was also one of the shills arranged by Ren Kuroda.
His purpose was obvious—to bring substantial profits to Rimuru's Tempest Federation and Carrion's Beast Kingdom.
The Tempest Federation was doing just fine. Under Rimuru's leadership, the place had always been prosperous, with plenty of good food and drink.
But the Beast Kingdom Eurazania was a different story.
Not long ago, the entire kingdom had been thoroughly wrecked by Milim. Although the nation had since been rebuilt, the wealth they had seized from Clayman had already been spent down to the last coin.
While Carrion had now become one of Milim's subordinates—and Milim herself was one of the oldest Demon Lords—the problem was that Milim was completely carefree.
She had absolutely no interest in managing territory or running a government.
Aside from the Dragon Capital and the dragonfolk living there, most of her lands were dirt poor and unable to provide Carrion with much support.
As a result, the citizens of the Beast Kingdom were now living in a state where they sometimes ate and sometimes went hungry.
Albis in particular had been running back and forth to Rimuru's territory every few days.
Part of the reason was Benimaru.
But the other reason was much more practical—she often came to borrow food supplies from Rimuru.
After hearing from Rimuru about the Beast Kingdom's difficult situation, Ren had come up with this plan.
At first, Carrion had hesitated.
As monsters, they were not particularly good at interacting with humans.
And because monsters and humans had historically been enemies, Carrion doubted that humans would come all the way to the Beast Kingdom just to purchase what appeared to be ordinary farm produce.
But on one side were his starving citizens.
On the other was the pride he carried as a former Demon Lord.
After wrestling with the dilemma, Carrion ultimately chose his people and agreed to follow Ren's plan.
And as it turned out—
Carrion's decision had been the right one.
Thanks to Ren's brilliant series of business maneuvers, once Duke Brans's so-called "confidential information" spread from the noble banquet, the first wave of visitors began cautiously making their way toward the Beast Kingdom.
The Beast Kingdom had once been the domain of the former Demon Lord, Lion King Carrion.
In the past, it had practically been considered a forbidden land for humans.
But in order to obtain the "Proof of the Strong," some nobles from Falmuth were willing to take the risk.
After all, they had heard that their king had an excellent relationship with Carrion.
Surely, as nobles of Falmuth, the Beast King would give them at least a little consideration for the sake of their king.
In truth, the original destination of these nobles had not been the Beast Kingdom.
Their first choice had been Rimuru's Tempest Federation.
Compared to Eurazania, they were more familiar with Tempest, and humans had already been conducting trade there for quite some time.
Unfortunately, the competition there had become too intense.
As a result, Rimuru—the leader of the Tempest Federation—had implemented the same policy as Ren.
The Proof of the Strong cards were now issued in limited quantities each day.
With the competition becoming so fierce, those who wanted tickets to the Underground Labyrinth could only head toward the Beast Kingdom and try their luck.
The newly rebuilt Eurazania was even more magnificent than before.
Yet on its streets, one could see raggedly dressed beastman women and children everywhere.
Their clothes were worn and tattered.
They stared longingly at the fruits displayed on their own stalls, swallowing their saliva again and again.
Yet they still tried their best to suppress their hunger.
Walking through the streets, two members of the Three Beastketeers—White Tiger Claw Suphia and Black Panther Fang Phobio—looked at the scene with expressions of deep sorrow.
"I really don't understand what Lord Carrion is thinking… trusting Lord Ren so completely," Suphia muttered.
"Our people are starving like this, yet we're still selling the last of our food."
"If we kept these fruits for ourselves, we could at least hold out for a few more days."
The Three Beastketeers were extremely grateful to the new Demon Lord Ren.
But seeing the miserable state of the Beast Kingdom still filled them with pain and confusion.
Falmuth was such a powerful nation.
If they truly wanted to help, they could have done what the Tempest Federation had done—providing food and supplies as relief.
Instead, they had helped Carrion come up with this… strange idea.
"You two are being incredibly disrespectful."
A cold voice suddenly sounded from behind them.
Startled, Suphia and Phobio turned around.
Standing there was Albis, the Golden Serpent Horn of the Three Beastketeers.
She had appeared behind them without warning and had clearly heard their conversation.
"Lord Ren is the benefactor of our entire Beast Kingdom," Albis said sternly.
"He is also a close friend personally acknowledged by Lord Carrion."
"To speak about him like that behind his back… if Lord Carrion heard you, he would certainly be furious."
"But Albis…" Suphia began hesitantly.
"Even if Phobio's words were somewhat rude, we truly are grateful for everything Lord Ren has done for the Beast Kingdom. But right now—"
Before she could finish, Albis raised a hand and interrupted her.
"I know what you want to say."
"But what I can tell you is this—"
"Lord Ren Kuroda… that man is far more terrifying than you imagine."
"Every action he takes, every step he makes… carries a deeper meaning."
She paused for a moment.
"To be honest, he is the greatest strategist I have ever seen."
"The current Council of the Nine Demon Lords may very well undergo a transformation in the future—simply because of Lord Ren's existence."
Her words left Suphia and Phobio standing there with their mouths hanging open in shock.
They knew Albis well.
Never—not even once—had they heard her speak so highly of anyone.
Not even their own lord, Carrion.
"You're surprised, aren't you?" Albis said with a faint smile.
"You think my evaluation of Lord Ren is exaggerated."
"But Suphia… Phobio…"
"I truly believe that the Beast Kingdom is incredibly fortunate."
"That we became Lord Ren's allies, rather than his enemies."
"I just returned from Lord Rimuru's Tempest Federation."
"But this time, I didn't bring back food or supplies like I usually do."
"Because the Beast Kingdom will soon no longer need assistance from other nations."
She gestured toward the fruit stalls lining the street.
"You were wondering why Lord Ren and Lord Carrion would ask starving citizens to sell their last remaining food."
"That's because these foods can create far greater wealth."
"If we eat these fruits ourselves, they'll only keep us alive for a few days."
"But once they're sold—"
"They can be exchanged for an entire month's worth of food."
Hearing this, Suphia and Phobio looked at Albis as if she had just said something completely absurd.
To them, it sounded like a wild fantasy.
"Lady Albis!"
A human voice suddenly called out nearby.
A well-dressed noble hurried toward them with an excited expression.
"Could you please tell me where the largest market in the Beast Kingdom is located?"
"As long as it's edible, our family will purchase everything this time!"
"What do you mean everything? Don't be ridiculous!"
Another noble immediately snapped back.
"You're only from a viscount's family—how dare you talk so big?"
"If anyone is buying everything, it should be our count's household!"
"Gentlemen, gentlemen!" a third voice chimed in nervously.
"Before we came here, didn't we agree that the Beast Kingdom's resources would be shared equally among us?"
Humans.
And not just a few.
Large groups of humans.
Suphia and Phobio stared in astonishment.
Only now did they realize—
When Albis had gone to the Tempest Federation this time, she hadn't brought back food at all.
Instead…
She had brought back a massive wave of human buyers.