Volume 4 - CH 7

“Then, Mr. Minister,” I said. “Give me all the orders related to the construction of the city walls.”

“I still refuse.”

That came as quite a shock… well, not really.

I mean, it was natural for him to refuse. If all public works contracts were to be given to foreign merchants, the expected multiplier effect within Andersen would no longer be possible.

For example, suppose I were to take on the entire construction of the castle walls. In that case, the outsourcing and the profits might not necessarily be consumed in Andersen – or rather, since I am a traveling merchant, I will use them elsewhere. In that case, the money and materials that should be circulating in Andersen would be circulating elsewhere, and from the Minister of Finance’s point of view, such a thing should not be tolerated.

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Ultimately, this would mean that the whole public works project would become a mere purchase – a purchase from which the foreign merchants would benefit instead of Andersen’s economy.

So why did I say something that would be rejected?

It is none other than to reduce the amount of psychological burden on the other party. So that he would be more lenient with my second or third offers. After all, it is common practice in business negotiations to start with a blunt offer.

“Then I will ask you to leave us at least a share of the orders for the wall. The new wall extension will require a large amount of magic ore, am I right?”

“I cannot answer that question, as it is a matter of national security.”

What national security? It’s already an open secret that they used it for the existing walls, so it’s as good as guaranteed that they’re going to use it again here. What a mess.

“Well, you’re going to need it anyway, right? So instead, I want you to let me take care of all the magic ore procurement.”

“A- All of it?”

The minister asked, twirling his golden beard and looking deep in thought. This is where I should give the final blow.

“Andersen never gives statistics on the production of individual products and raw materials, but if you look at the tariff rates, you can see that you produce almost no magic ore in your territory. In other words, all you’re doing is changing where you import the stuff from.”

The Minister paused but finally nodded his head.

My offer must have been undervalued, so undervalued that he thinks it’s too lenient for a blackmail deal. Even so, he should not have agreed to order all the magic ore from me, but only a part of it, in order to maintain good relations with the domestic importers and other merchants. In other words, the price had also become a way of giving the Minister an unwitting excuse to tarnish his reputation.

That’s why you don’t negotiate unless you’re in perfect condition, children.

As soon as the contract with the Lecher Beast and the Minister of Finance was finalized by a notary, I landed my fist in the minister’s solar plexus. If yo u ar e a ble to re ad t his mes sa ge, yo u are rea din g fr om an un aut hori zed agg re gate sit e. Re ad at my WordP res s at st ab bing wi th a syr inge. hom e. bl og to s up port me and my tran slati ons.

The minister fainted slightly. I was not a traveler with good fighting skills, but knocking out a civilian was the least I could do.

“A wise decision.”

The Lecher Beast looks at me and says.

I have no choice, for you never know what a father would do if he saw his daughter mingling with a tentacled, misshapen beast. It would be better if he were unconscious.

“Well, I think it’s time… what a beautiful girl… my apologies, but I will have your fluids for my offspring.”

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Suddenly, the Lecher Beast’s atmosphere changed. His gentlemanly demeanor is still there, but his eyes look more menacing, and his fingertip tentacles and penis are moving around the room like crazy.

“No… nooo… you there, please do something!”

The horrifying sight frightened the lady again. Still crouched, she crawled backward across the floor.

“‘That won’t do, milady. You heard me just now. This is the best I could do, and I’ve already risked my life for it. You’ll have to give it up.”

“Hyaaaa!! No, I hate it! I don’t want it! Save me! Hyaaaaaaa!!”

The Lecher Beast’s tentacles reached out for the minister’s daughter, and she screamed half-crazed.

○●

“Kyaaaaah!”

“Please don’t struggle, milady. We won’t be done until you cooperate.”

Cries of horrible fear from the beautiful lady and the polite tone of the hideous lecher crossed the room.

To complete the request, the beast whirled his greasy tentacles around her limbs like a snake, but they stopped moving after only one whirl.

No, its whole body stopped moving.

“Kuh, Gghh… my body… doesn’t move…”

Just as he said, the Lecher Beast was not moving at all. When I looked closer, I saw that his whole body, every tentacle, and even his penis were bound in a translucent, shiny chain. Th is cha pte r tran slati on is ma de po ssib le by sta bb ing wit h a syr in ge tr anslat ions. Che ck o nly up- to-da te trans lati ons on my Wo rdpr ess si te.

“Hey, can I kill this guy now?”

The priestess asks, raising her hand towards the animal.

“This… is this Miss Priestess’ doing?”

“That’s right. Although I never expected him to be so tough. I don’t know if I can hold him for long.”

She said that, but holding back a Lecher Beast that has not yet communed with its mate is already incredible. As I mentioned earlier, the power of the Lecher Beast is not half-baked, especially in the early stages when they are yet to expend their energy. At this stage, its physical prowess surpasses that of the best monsters, and it is inconceivable that magic alone could completely suppress its movement.

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But a single woman is restraining the beast up to its head.

I thought she was good at magic, but I didn’t expect her to be this good.

“It seems you’ve already made the deal you wanted with the Minister of Finance, so I guess I can kill him now.”

The priestess raised her left hand to the heavens while holding the binding magic with her right, with so much magic power that her silver hair gently stood on end. Then a bright white light gathered and a huge holy lance, many times the size of her petite body, hovered above her head.

“Die.”

A single, cold word came from her tiny lips, and the Holy Lance flew to the location of the beast’s heart.

“No, please… at least let me get the girl’s fluids… noaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!! Eh?”

The beast cries out in horror, not matching its polite voice. But the Holy Lance did not pierce its heart. Its trajectory changed only slightly in mid-air.

CRASH!

The Holy Lance disappeared, sucked into the wall without doing any damage to anyone.