CHAPTER 136

As they continued walking and conversing, they soon found themselves in the merchant district.

"But, are you only going to spend the money you just received?"

Baros, who was walking alongside him, suddenly asked.

"Wouldn't it be better to spend a lot more? You already know it's going to be successful anyway."

He was suggesting they also use the reserve funds from the Jestarad estate to aim for an even bigger profit.

Karnak shook his head.

"That's too risky. There's no guarantee that this will succeed."

The world had already changed enough.

Even the Tekas Merchant Group, which had grown tremendously, wasn't originally destined to become so large at this time.

"Likewise, the Altas Merchant Group could fail earlier than expected."

In his previous life, the Cult of the Dark God didn't even exist.

There was a significant chance that the Altas Merchant Group could face unexpected calamities.

So, when making investments, it's not about glimpsing into the future; it's about assessing the people. People don't change easily.

"Owent is certainly a reliable merchant. He's someone who overcame countless hardships and became a tycoon."

Of course, no matter how talented someone is, there are often times when luck isn't on their side.

There was no law saying Owent couldn't end up being one of those cases.

But is there any investment in the world without risk?

Just the fact that Karnak could assess someone's abilities beforehand gave him an advantage over others.

"Besides, this is free money. Even if it's lost, it won't hurt too much. It'd be a bit of a waste, though."

Serati glanced at Karnak, as if noticing something new.

"You're surprisingly cautious, Lord Karnak."

"I've lived long enough to see things go wrong in many ways."

It wasn't that Karnak lacked ambition.

He had already entertained thoughts similar to Baros'.

"If everything went exactly as the future dictates, I'd become the god of investments. But life doesn't work that smoothly, does it?"

Karnak muttered while looking around.

"By the way, where's the Merchant Group building? I heard it was around here."

Baros pointed to a two-story building in the distance.

"There it is."

***

The Merchant Group's building was quite large, but overall, it looked shabby.

The building itself was old and worn. Only the sign that read "Altas Merchant Group" was new.

"They must not have been in business for long."

Karnak's group entered the building.

Several servants were busy packing goods for trade.

A woman with dark brown hair, seemingly in her mid-thirties, was writing in a ledger and giving various instructions to the servants.

Baros cautiously called out to one of them.

"Excuse me."

One of the servants turned and asked gruffly, "What do you want?"

At the moment, Karnak's group wasn't dressed as knights or mages but in ordinary clothes. Baros and Serati hadn't even brought their swords.

In the capital, carrying blades longer than 30 centimeters was prohibited by law.

They looked like ordinary citizens, so it was no wonder the servant's attitude was rude.

Baros straightened up and changed his tone.

"This here is Baron Karnak of the Jestarad family. We've come to meet with the head of the Altas Merchant Group."

'A... a noble?'

Startled, the servant quickly bowed his head.

"Please wait a moment."

The servant called over the woman writing in the ledger.

She approached the group and asked, "Welcome to the Altas Merchant Group. May I ask what brings you here?"

Given that the purpose of their visit was investment, they couldn't talk to just anyone.

Karnak cautiously replied, "It's an important matter. I'd like to speak with the head of the company in private."

"I understand."

The woman led the group to the company owner's private office on the second floor.

Owent was still nowhere to be seen. The woman spoke again.

"You can speak now."

"No, I'd like to speak directly with the head…"

Karnak, feeling awkward, trailed off, but the woman smiled kindly.

"Oh, you didn't know?"

"Know what?"

She bowed her head politely.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Baron Karnak. I am Edia, the head of the Altas Merchant Group."

For a moment, Karnak was taken aback.

"Isn't Mr. Owent the owner?"

Did he get kicked out of the company?

No, that didn't make sense either.

'The company's still named after Owent.'

After all, the name 'Altas Merchant Group' was derived from Owent's surname. If the ownership had changed, the name would have, too.

At that moment, Edia's expression twisted with annoyance.

"Don't tell me that fool is going around claiming he's the owner?"

"...Pardon?"

"If that's not it, then how do you even know about Owent?"

Karnak and Baros exchanged confused glances.

They had no idea what was going on.

Serati cautiously asked Edia, "Excuse me, but could you explain the situation?"

It wasn't until she explained in detail that they understood the situation.

Her full name was Edia Altas.

She was Owent Altas's wife.

"Although it's been over a year since I've last seen him."

Back when Owent was just a small-time merchant, they were a regular married couple. Though they didn't have children, they lived relatively well.

Things changed after the founding of the Altas Merchant Group.

"That lunatic suddenly got obsessed with some cult called 'Tesra' or something."

Claiming that the world was about to change and that worldly ties were useless, he abandoned both his wife and the company and joined the Cult of the Dark God.

"Since then, I've been the one running the Altas Merchant Group."

After hearing Edia's story, Serati glanced back at Karnak in disbelief.

[Um, isn't this a case of a person changing in a different way?]

Karnak chuckled.

[Life really does have a way of throwing curveballs.]

A brief silence followed.

Edia cautiously asked, "You haven't told me the reason for your visit yet?"

"Well, I was thinking of discussing an investment. However…"

Karnak trailed off.

What he was after was Owent. Without him, there wasn't much of a reason to invest in the Altas Merchant Group.

But the moment Edia heard the word 'investment,' her expression changed dramatically.

"Please, take a seat."

Before Karnak could even decline, she led him to the sofa, served tea, and brought out numerous ledgers and documents.

"Our company holds a portion of the salt trade rights between the Kingdom of Etrial and the Kingdom of Tarum. We also deal in leather from the Barakant Mountains and wool from Tarum."

She meticulously gave a briefing, putting on the face of a merchant dealing with a potential investor.

Watching her, Karnak felt a bit conflicted.

He couldn't just tell her that he had come to invest in Owent, not her.

From what it seemed, Owent wasn't even involved in the business anymore. If she were to ask why he valued Owent so highly, Karnak wouldn't have a good answer.

'What should I even say?'

Meanwhile, Edia was internally rejoicing.

A good merchant knows that obtaining information about notable figures in society is essential. As soon as she heard Karnak's name, she recognized him.

'It's really him, the one from the rumors.'

Recently, a rising noble had appeared like a comet in the capital, Drunta.

He was the owner of the wealthy Jestarad Barony, which owned copper mines in the north, held a high position within the King's Order, and was favored by Prince Lloyd.

Moreover, he had two aura users under his command, and he himself was a 6th-circle high-ranking mage!

For a fledgling company like the Altas Merchant Group, this was a figure who couldn't be ignored.

'I can't miss this opportunity!'

A wealthy, capable, and well-connected investor was invaluable in many ways.

She didn't know how Karnak had learned about the Altas Merchant Group, but it was crucial to play her cards right.

"May I explain a bit more?"

Karnak nodded absently.

"Oh, sure."

He wasn't particularly interested; he just wanted to let her talk while he thought of an excuse to leave without arousing suspicion.

But as he listened, something seemed odd.

'Hmm?'

She was explaining the potential and vision of the Altas Merchant Group, and it mostly matched the information Karnak had.

'These are things the Altas Merchant Group will do in the future.'

Plans that Owent was supposed to come up with were now being discussed by his wife, Edia.

Curious, Karnak interrupted her.

"Did you come up with these plans yourself? Not your husband?"

Edia smiled wryly.

"That man never had the brains for this. He was just someone who carried goods around and drank."

She didn't seem to be lying.

Karnak had suspected she might just be parroting plans Owent had already laid out, but if that were the case, she wouldn't have been able to explain everything so naturally.

'So that means...'

Despite Serati's earlier teasing, Karnak hadn't been entirely wrong.

People don't change easily.

Even if the Cult of the Dark God had altered the course of the world, the essence of Owent and Edia hadn't changed much.

'So, from the beginning, Edia was the true owner of the Altas Merchant Group?'

Now everything made sense.

In his previous life, there had been no Cult of the Dark God, so Owent wouldn't have left his home for the cult.

Moreover, the Seven Kingdoms Alliance, unlike the Lacaenia Empire, held women in lower regard.

For credibility's sake, it made sense that Owent would have been the public face, even if Edia was the one running things behind the scenes.

The real talent who had elevated the Altas Merchant Group to one of the top three merchants in his previous life was the woman standing before him—Edia.

'Wait, so what does this mean?'

Karnak hadn't wanted Owent for the man himself, but for his business acumen.

And if that acumen actually belonged to Edia...

'There's no reason not to invest, is there?'

***

In the end, Karnak became an investor in the Altas Merchant Group.

The check he received from Deltros was handed over to Edia.

As they left the company and headed back home, Karnak grumbled.

"Ugh, I'm not sure if this was the right decision."

Noticing his unease, Serati asked, "Didn't you say Edia was the true owner of the Altas Merchant Group even in your past life?"

"It's just a theory."

"Well, if that's the case, won't things work out well this time too? Or is there something that makes you uneasy?"

Karnak scratched his head.

"There's no particular reason. It just doesn't feel right…"

Baros, his longtime confidant, frowned.

He knew all too well that Karnak had an uncanny tendency to be right when he trusted his gut.

"Do you think you're going to lose money?"

That didn't seem to be the case.

"No, I don't feel like I'm going to lose money. Yeah, that's not it."

But it did feel like something bad was going to happen.

"What does that even mean?"

"That makes no sense."

As the two looked at him in disbelief, Karnak shrugged.

"Right?"

Even he thought it was ridiculous.

"I have no idea why I'm feeling this way."

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