Chapter 22: The Last People for Preparation (3)

When Raion’s voice was heard, Fordman hurriedly stepped inside.

Inside, Raion was standing in front of the desk in his workshop.

“Are you the wandering merchant, Fordman?”

“Ah…! Merchant Fordman greets the Prince. I haven’t properly learned the formal etiquette, so I offer my greeting in this humble way.”

Fordman scratched his head and awkwardly went down on one knee.

Normally, such a manner before royalty would be considered highly improper. However, Raion did not seem to care much.

“It’s fine. You may rise. Rather, Patrick told me you’ve been traveling across the kingdom selling goods until recently. Have you made much profit?”

He gestured toward the sofa placed in the middle of the workshop, inviting him to sit.

Once both had taken their seats, Fordman scratched his head again and replied.

“It’s more or less the same everywhere. Wandering and selling goods as I do, I end up losing more than I earn. There are plenty of cases where the merchandise gets spoiled or damaged.”

“I see, I suppose there must be many problems. Then, do you have any interest in making some real money?”

Raion’s tone was far too meaningful and mature for a thirteen-year-old. Because of that, Fordman felt a strange sense of pressure as he looked at the boy, who was much smaller than himself.

“Well, of course, every merchant wants to make big money. But, Your Highness, do you really know such a way?”

“It’s simple. You just need to produce and sell the goods I’ve created. Can you manage that?”

“That depends on what kind of goods they are, doesn’t it?”

At that moment, Fordman thought his instincts had failed him.

The young prince’s words sounded like childish arrogance — just some odd whim of a boy playing business.

“Before I show you the goods, there’s something you need to sign. Once you’ve done that, I’ll show them to you.”

Raion pulled out a parchment contract from his desk and handed it to him.

[Confidentiality Agreement]

[Merchant Fordman shall not disclose or record in writing any conversation or transaction with Raion Canel. Should he violate this agreement, he will pay 100,000 gold to Raion Canel.]

The content was simple, yet frightening.

Of course, Fordman couldn’t fully comprehend what he was reading.

“100,000 gold?!”

In modern terms, that was equivalent to ten billion won.

For a mere wandering merchant, such an amount was absolutely impossible to pay if he ever broke the contract.

“As long as you don’t tell anyone, there’s nothing to worry about. Isn’t that so?”

“Hmm…! That’s true, but still…”

It wasn’t a wrong statement, but Fordman hesitated nonetheless.

Raion then added, as if to stir his thoughts further.

“If you don’t want to, you can leave now. I’ll never come looking for you again.”

Fordman’s conflict deepened with every passing moment.

There was a strong scent of money in the air, yet at the same time, a dreadful feeling that one wrong step could plunge him into an abyss he’d never climb out of.

“…Understood! I’ll sign!”

In the end, unable to resist his curiosity, Fordman took the quill before him and signed the Confidentiality Agreement.

“Then, I’ll show you.”

Raion pulled off the cloth covering one side of the workshop.

Underneath were strange tools and several rolled parchments.

“What are these?”

“To explain it simply, those are toys for entertainment. And the parchments are for cooking.”

The toys he showed were janggi and chess.

And the parchments contained the cooking recipes that were currently all the rage in the royal capital.

“May I take a closer look?”

“You may.”

Fordman stepped closer and examined them carefully.

On a flat, colorful board were many small pieces, each different from the others. They looked delicate and elaborate, though he had no idea how the game worked.

The parchments beside them also caught his eye, so he unfolded one.

Each parchment contained a single cooking recipe.

“This can’t be…”

At the top of each parchment was the name of a dish — dishes Fordman had recently tasted himself at restaurants since returning to the royal capital.

“These are the dishes that have been gaining great popularity in the capital lately. You’ve got a good eye for noticing that.”

“Why are these here? Don’t tell me… are you saying you made these, Your Highness?”

In truth, after tasting those dishes, Fordman had gone around several restaurants and discovered that their origin traced back to the Sailden Trading Company.

Naturally, he had thought that taking those recipes and selling them in other territories would bring in a fortune.

However, the Sailden Trading Company never revealed the owner of the recipes.

Since then, Fordman had been racking his brain trying to find out who that owner was.

“I made them, so you could say I’m their owner.”

“But how could Your Highness possibly…”

“Let’s just say I discovered some ancient recipes by chance. Anyway, do you think you can sell goods like these?”

As Raion asked, Fordman’s hands trembled as he gripped the parchments.

Even setting aside the toys, just the recipes alone could generate an enormous profit.

“Do you really mean I can take these and sell them?”

“There are a few strict conditions, but as long as you meet them, you can sell as much as you like.”

“What are the conditions?”

“These are my conditions.”

At Fordman’s question, Raion handed him another prepared parchment.

Fordman – Raion Canel Agreement Contract

Recipe Clauses

The provided recipes may only be sold to officially registered restaurants located outside the Canel Royal Capital.

Seventy percent of the sales proceeds will be distributed to the recipe’s owner.

Each recipe can only be used by the restaurant that purchased it. If any other restaurant uses the recipe, the violator must pay ten times the sale price of that recipe to the owner.

Under no circumstances may the sold or purchased recipe be transferred to another person without authorization. Any violation will result in the same penalty as Clause 3.

The sale price will be determined through agreement with the recipe’s owner.

Transaction Clauses

The division of sales proceeds shall be delivered to Raion through the Eye of the Moon branch.

Under no circumstances shall anyone reveal anything about Raion Canel or any person related to him. If violated, a fine of 100,000 gold must be paid to the owner.

These terms were even stricter than those of the Sailden Trading Company.

Of course, since Fordman had never seen that previous contract, he frowned the moment he read this one.

“I can understand the other terms, but isn’t it too much that I only get thirty percent profit?”

“Then sixty-five percent.”

“Come now, Your Highness, you can do a little better.”

“Sixty percent. If you don’t like it, we can cancel the deal. It’s not as if I need you for this.”

When Raion moved to take the contract back, Fordman hurriedly leaned over the table, covering it with his body.

“All right! All right, sixty percent! Let’s settle with that!”

For a traveling merchant who roamed from place to place, the required capital was always greater than that of a regular merchant or trading company.

Still, with Raion’s final offer of a forty percent share, it wasn’t a bad deal for him either.

“Then I’ll take that as a confirmation?”

“Yes, understood. I’ll sign. But how am I supposed to sell those toys?”

After all, toys whose use he didn’t understand would be useless anywhere.

“Here’s the manual. For now, sell them in territories near the capital rather than along the borders — especially to those who enjoy entertainment.”

Raion handed him another parchment.

On it were detailed instructions on how to play chess and janggi.

When Raion had lived as Kang Inhyuk, he had played chess and janggi countless times while growing up in an orphanage.

Mentally, he was far more mature than anyone else because he retained the memories of his previous life, and those two games were the only things he could enjoy at the time.

Of course, the chess and janggi sets back then were old donated items whose origins he never knew.

“This looks quite difficult. Will things like these even sell?”

Fordman had never sold such items before, so he lacked confidence.

“You looked so eager to sell anything earlier, yet now you’re scared?”

Perhaps irritated by the remark, Fordman’s brow twitched.

“Scared? Not at all!”

“Then let me give you some advice — try selling them first to the officers of the territory.”

“The officers?”

“They make their living by using their heads. They’ll find these toys fascinating. Once the interest starts there, it’ll only be a matter of time before word spreads upward.”

As Raion explained, Fordman’s eyes widened.

He immediately understood what Raion meant.

“Ah-ha! I see. So, all I need to do is take these and sell them, right? But… there are too few of them.”

The recipes could easily be copied if Fordman hired a scribe, but there were only two complete sets of chess and janggi.

Since the boards and pieces had to be carved, producing more would require a considerable initial cost.

“I’ll invest in that as well. But there’s a condition for that too.”

“You really do like conditions, don’t you? What is it this time?”

At Fordman’s question, Raion unfolded a map of the Canel Kingdom over the table.

The map showed the names of territories centered around the royal capital.

“I want the manufacturing site for chess and janggi to be here.”

As Raion pointed, Fordman’s gaze followed — and he froze.

His eyes widened as he stared at Raion in disbelief.

“That place…! No, absolutely not! That’s a dead territory! Anything built there is doomed to fail!”

The region Raion pointed to was Kanas, located on the westernmost edge of the Canel Kingdom.

On the map, the inland entrance to the territory was completely surrounded by the Clamen Mountain Range.

“I’m aware. The Clamen Range blocks off all inland access, making travel difficult. On top of that, dangerous monsters are rampant there, so even with mercenaries, it’s not easy.”

It was a surprisingly detailed explanation.

In fact, because of that, Fordman was even more bewildered.

“If you know that well, then why would you tell me to start production there?”

“Because that’s where my foundation will be built.”

“Pardon? Your Highness, what connection do you have with the Kanas Territory…?”