Regressor of the Fallen Family

It had taken only a day to pay off Philip’s debt and sort out the remaining burden he carried. In his only remaining asset, his mansion, Logan explained to Philip what had to be done going forward.

“I may take you with me, but you won’t be formally employed by the family right away.”

There was no need to tell him the unpleasant truth that hiring him could potentially tarnish one’s own reputation.

“So for now, I just wish you’d do what I ask of you here.”

“Yes, I understand, Lord Logan.”

Despite likely having questions, Philip’s response showed no hesitation.

Was it because he felt there was no need to question since he had already signed a contract, or was it simply a lack of drive?

As Logan viewed Philip’s potential with some doubt, he knew he needed to test him.

‘We’ll see once I give him a task.’

Initially, he thought to take advantage of the merchant’s skills not in making money, but in procuring goods. His second objective in the trading city of Kail was to secure necessary supplies for the immediate operation in his fiefdom.

“The first task I’ll set for you is to purchase large quantities of cartridges, springs, and glue made from the southern imperial ironwood.”

“Yes?”

Philip looked perplexed, so Logan, instead of explaining the reasons, outlined the specifications of the materials needed.

“And it would be good if we could get about a hundred samples for various experiments beforehand.”

“Are you planning to sell toys?”

Putting aside his cheeky attitude and the mocking tone, since the purported purpose of employment was to make money, it wasn’t strange that Philip’s mind went in that direction.

“Um, something like that.”

However, there was no need to discuss right now the plan to create weapons for the war.

For the time being, Logan was more focused on producing the samples based on his memories from his previous life.

As for the matter at hand,

“The southern imperial ironwood is known for its durability, so quality springs will only need to be standardized, and as for glue, the stronger the adhesive quality, the better, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“Then, there’s really no need to buy them here or even from the empire.”

Philip spoke quite quickly and unexpectedly.

“What?”

“Ironwood from the northern king’s territories is even sturdier than the southern imperial ironwood. They are mainly produced in the northern Triton estates. There are many artisans who make goods from ironwood there, and naturally, there’s glue too. Personally, I think it’s far superior to imperial produce. Buying directly rather than through merchants here would also mean a cheaper price.”

“Oh?”

Logan, now a mercenary, had used weapons made from these materials only after the collapse of the kingdom, an unknown fact to him.

“I still have connections from my ancestors in those places. If you wish, I can contact them to have about a hundred samples sent to the MacLayn estates purely on credit. Shall I make the arrangements?”

“… Yes, do that.”

Logan nodded, simply taken aback by Philip’s rapid and unexpected response.

‘More competent than I thought.’

But Logan still held back on his assessment of Philip.

With that in mind, he brought up the most significant matter he had contemplated.

This was an item that, even with his current shortage of business acumen, could be enough to make money, leveraging information from the future.

‘He’ll probably panic, though.’

With the feeling of playing a mischievous prank on a fussy friend, Logan casually dropped the bombshell as if nothing was wrong.

“I’m also thinking about buying monster meat.”

“Ah, I see… What?!”

Philip’s surprise was only natural.

Monsters weren’t natural creatures; they enjoyed destroying nature and tormenting other life forms—byproducts of ancient demon kings or the remnants of unrecorded ancient civilizations, or perhaps simply born from sorcery.

According to scholars, their opinions varied, but they shared a common perspective:

– Monsters are antagonistic to other life forms, their blood and flesh carry toxins and continue to harm living beings and destroy the environment after death.

That’s why, when vanquishing monsters, it was customary to burn anything other than their bones and hides. Only special parts of particularly unique monsters were harvested for magical or specific purposes.

“I must be hearing things because of bad ears, you meant the byproducts of monsters, not the meat, right?”

“No, I meant the meat.”

“… Are you serious?”

Despite the polite words, Philip’s expression clearly read, ‘Did I just see a madman?’

Logan just grinned and added more to his explanation.

“I’m planning to buy and stockpile the meat of the lower-class monster Karok.”

“… Karok, you said?”

The lower-class monster Karok looked similar to a wild boar with a horn on its forehead.

Even if they resembled commonplace livestock, their blood possessed toxins, which meant their meat was not fit for human consumption.

“Yeah, Karok meat.”

“Why are you emphasizing meat? You don’t mean there are people who eat it?”

“I just want you to purchase and gather that meat.”

As Logan focused on dictating his request without answering Philip’s question, Philip gave him a look as if he had been presented spoiled food.

While his gaze silently conveyed, ‘Are you seriously out of your mind?’ Philip attempted to reason clearly.

“Monster meat is best disposed of by burning. No matter how much you pay for it, it will only ensure a loss.”

“It won’t be, in this case.”

“What kind of nonsense…”

Philip choked back a curse that was about to escape as he looked at Logan, but Logan appeared to be undeterred, his eyes shining even brighter.

“Haah… Well, if you say so. How much do you intend to use?”

Philip eventually asked, signaling surrender with a raised hand gesture.

However, the ensuing answer made him involuntarily leap to his feet.

“One million.”

“One million?! Have you gone insane!”

Philip’s near-hysteria was laden with unfiltered emotion, but Logan simply responded with a smile, firm in his assertion.

“I’ll spend even more if it turns out to be profitable. Definitely.”

“No matter what rumors you’ve heard, a rumor is not a reason to invest such money! For a rumor to become reality, you need indisputable, concrete evidence!”

Philip spoke with a voice so loud and flushed in the face, turning heads of people passing by outside the mansion, yet Logan’s demeanor remained unchanged.

“Evidence will come, definitively.”

“How can you be so sure with…”

To Philip’s exasperated protest, current common sense dictated that his response was entirely logical.

Yet in a few years, the situation would drastically change.

Next summer, in one of the empire’s towers, a serum neutralizing monster blood would begin being sold.

It was a neutralizer made from common ingredients, without rare herbs or magic.

Though it only worked on the blood of low-level monsters, its cost-effectiveness was extraordinary.

Moreover, anyone could make it if they knew the ingredients.

Since monster hunting by mercenaries and hunters mostly involved low-level monsters, this serum would rapidly spread across the continent.

Soon after, in regions where food was scarce, the consuming of Karok meat and other livestock-looking monsters began.

This shocking new culinary culture spread, and during the winter of the same year, numerous cases surfaced of people curing ‘impotence’ by eating Karok meat.

Even those physically castrated due to injury reported its effectiveness.

And the moment the Grandia royal tower officially confirmed it,

The capital Gran saw a sudden explosion in demand for Karok meat.

Less than a year later, the already rare-monster species Karok became all but extinct in the continents.

Afterward, its meat was traded for more than its weight in gold.

Even dried jerky slices became as valuable.

Although humanity fought monsters for thousands of years, never had they eradicated an entire species.

Yet, due to research indicating its benefits to virility, a single low-ranking monster species disappeared.

‘It’s absurd.’

But Logan couldn’t exactly explain to Philip that he had seen the future.

“You’re certain about this, even though I am firmly opposed?”

“That’s correct.”

With a resigned sigh, Philip seemed to ponder for a moment, though the contemplation did not last long.

“So, what price are you thinking for the purchase of Karok meat?”

“At the current time, Karok meat has no value. No one’s buying, and it’s probably all being burned anyway.”

Despite questioning why Logan would buy something evidently useless, Philip refrained from voicing this.

“So if just delivering the carcass can earn money, with the carriage fee considering the standards of the kingdom, 200 gold might be enough. That’s per carcass, and if we catch a lot of Karok at once, transportation would be much cheaper. Bulk shipments would be best.”

“Oh? You’ve even considered transportation costs to no end.”

Philip’s commendation came with a hint of sarcasm, which was particularly irritating.

“Is my calculation wrong?”

“No, it’s not incorrect.”

“Then?”

“If you set the price and budget at one million… Were you thinking of commissioning a royal-grade hunt from the mercenary guild and then having me purchase them?”

“… That’s the idea. What’s wrong with that?”

“Oh, nothing. The calculations are accurate, but you’ve completely misdirected the approach.”

“Huh?”

“Why go to the trouble of paying mercenaries expensive fees when you can get the same results cheaper? Why act the fool… Ah, suddenly I’m feeling stiff all over.”

“What are you saying…?”

As Logan fixed him with a disdainful glare and attempted to retort, Philip quickly changed his expression and continued his thought.

“It’s not carcasses you need but the meat, right? And you said that meat is currently being discarded.”

“That’s right…?”

“Then simply put out an offer to the merchant guild at the price of beef, and everything will be resolved.”

“What?”

“Merchants who will buy and sell anything for profit are dime a dozen. Especially if what they’re acquiring is essentially trash, there’ll hardly be any cost to them.”

“Wow…”

Logan’s mouth fell open in speechless surprise.

‘This guy, he’s already proving his worth.’

As it turned out, the top ten merchants of the empire were not just more competent than expected but exceeded all imagination.

“From now on, leave all money-related matters to me, Lord Logan. My fate is now tied to your future, after all.”

Only Philip’s reassuring yet unsettling words slightly ached in Logan’s heart.

* * *

“How much?”

“The deposit is 50,000 gold. We will buy smoked Karok meat sealed or dried jerky at 1 gold per kg. The merchant guild’s guarantee must be clearly included. If the deposit runs low, we’re prepared to deposit an additional 100,000 gold.”

“Wow…”

The deposit proved the sincerity of the request, ensuring the merchant guild’s handlings were not wasted.

Despite the contract signed and a deposit made, every pair of eyes at the guild remained locked on Philip in disbelief.

“Crazy…”

“Buying monster meat?”

“Claude Trading went bankrupt, was it because of the mad owner?”

Although the surroundings buzzed with skeptical voices, there was no shortage of merchants willing to take on the order.

“Would you be interested in meat from other monsters?”

“Our company specializes in monster by-products; if it pleases you…”

Many were ready to sell the meat of all monsters as if hungrily eyeing vulnerable prey.

Within a mere two days of leaving the request with the merchant guild and placing a deposit, strange rumors spread throughout the commercial circles of the Kail estates.

The rumors spoke of the disinherited son of the fallen MacLayn family going mad and amassing monster meat.

Logan’s reputation spread rapidly.

“…I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were going through such hardship.”

Philip apologized with a bow—he was the one who spread the rumors, ensuring faster dissemination of the Karok meat request as part of a larger plan.

The unintended side effects never crossed his mind.

“Ha, what’s to fuss about? That made things spread even wider. Good, very good. Well done!”

What was shocking beyond anticipation was the laughter and applause of the person in question.

“Th-thank you… Ha ha.”

Despite having spread his supposed disgrace, Philip received compliments.

*’This guy really must be mad,’* Philip thought, but fortunately, he didn’t voice it aloud.

* * *

To care for the imported Triton estate ironwood and accumulate Karok meat to send to MacLayn territory, Philip stayed behind in Kail.

To achieve these goals, Logan had entrusted him with an astonishing sum of 500,000 gold.

– As long as you carry out the job I’ve given you, you’re free to invest that money into other businesses. If you’re confident of succeeding, even borrowing is an option. And I will generously reward the outcomes.

Shedding any doubts about Philip’s abilities after the Karok meat affair, Logan made a bold decision.

Philip himself was stunned, unsure why such trust was extended with the money.

*’It’s all money saved thanks to this guy anyway.’*

Having budgeted 1.5 million gold for expenses in Kail territory, he had spent only 450,000 gold.

Even accounting for the expected 150,000 gold for purchasing ironwood, over 900,000 gold was saved.

Therefore, there was no reluctance in entrusting—or rather, investing in—Philip.

In fact, Logan felt quite relieved.

*’Philip Claude. The mission of securing financial support has been perfectly cleared.’*

The amount of 500,000 gold also represented a successful first step in recruiting talent for the future.

While employing Philip was part of overcoming the imminent crisis, the real preparation was for the aftermath.

Now he needed to find talents to triumph in the first crisis of the estate war.

*’We need an engineer.’*

Someone who could recreate a concept discussed only with an experienced user.

*And, if possible, an instructor to train a mercenary troop.*

It would be beneficial to find a mercenary capable of training and controlling the troops that Dwayne was arranging.

Both of Logan’s plans required exceptional talents, and luckily, the place to recruit such people was not far from Kail.