| Credits | |
| Translator | Champsy |
| Editors | Miraclegrass, Chombok |
Day 233
I decided to make a base in the Labyrinth City Radha Lo Dara. Simply put, I like it here, but thats not the only reason. I’m thinking about integrating it with Parabellum so it can trade with the Sternbild Kingdom in the future. I’ve been thinking for quite a while about having a base in another country to be able to hide in.
While this is an extreme example, but let’s assume the countries around the Kingdom are conspiring together in order to crush it. As their trading partner, we can’t stay silent. But if we work alongside them as trading partner, people will be talking about our connection.
Most of our staff will escape after being warned by the Kingdom. The other that remain will yield to the pressure before long. If the impression is created that we’re being blackballed by 2 or more countries a lot of fruitless effort is needed to turn it back around.
Even if we’d give the Tomboy Princess some help, the Kingdom still wouldn’t be able to oppose all of their neighboring countries. In the end, the collapse of the Kingdom would be unavoidable. Even with the Tomboy Princess, even with the First Queen, the power difference between nations is too big. When that happens, it be obvious for the nation to cut us off.
Some things cannot be forced by military prowess alone, or it would be very hard to do. Again, that’s a very extreme example. Most likely will never happen. However, there’s still the possibility that something similar occurs, and in case of any emergency, I want to avoid those issues.
That’s why today, I secretly create a subsidiary firm for Parabellum: labyrinth company Snake's Heart was founded. However, since Snake's Heart was just formed, naturally there’s no store at the base yet.
I did contact a member already to come this way and become a sales clerk, and I’m holding a number of commodities in my item box for a while. However, there’s no store. There’s no location that can do business as its core function as well as function as a base.
Therefore, I went to a big real estate that buys and sells land and houses in order to buy a store. However, some negotiation is needed. I might create a clone as a replacement to hide the connection between Snake's Heart and Parabellum as much as possible. This time around I decide to use my abilities【Shapeshift】and【Metamorphosis】to create an entire different persona.
After all, it’s easier to directly engage in business discussion by using the clone. On top, it has the【30% Price Decrease】 effect. Using my abilities, I transform my face into that of a young, sincere businessman with blonde hair and blue eyes. I choose immaculate, elegant clothes that stood out and I wear some accessories, while making sure it doesn’t become tasteless.
I look into the mirror in order to confirm that no one will know it’s me if they see me. Then again, Kanami-chan can see through my disguise with just one glance, but that doesn’t mean anyone else can see through it, right? That aside, how about I go outside alone after finishing my transformation. I decide to make some rounds.
I used【Intermediate Summoning: Fishman】promptly, but as expected, it’s unnatural for the fishmen to be on land. I wanted to use the lungfish-type Gillman that are able to live on land, but seeing as they’re quite rare, I stop it for now.
So, as a compromise, I summon a black skeleton with【Lesser Summoning: Undead】and coated it with my clone. Normally the process is finished at this stage, but I added some other small features with【Metamorphosis】.
Like that, a conspicuous old butler with white hair was born. He stood immovable, wearing a high-quality butler uniform. Due to his old age, he carries an atmosphere that will reprimand anyone misconducting himself. I created him in order to follow around my transformed appearance. It looks like that was the correct idea.
After the preparations were complete, I took a normal carriage instead of the Skeleton Centipede and directly went to the real estate agency.
I arrive at the real estate agency. It was a large building of three stories high. It was made out of many building materials, such as wood and marble, gathered from the labyrinth. Just from a glance, I could understand that it costed more than anything in the neighborhood. The financial power and authority of the company was clearly shown.
The only thing more overbearing, is the gut of a small merchant? Meh, I disregarded it and swiftly went inside to tell the clerk what I wanted. After I had to wait for quite a while, I was guided to a room in the back.
It was quite comfortable. There was a sofa of decent quality and I was served the same tea and cake that the Tomboy Princess has. I thoroughly enjoyed it without holding back, as the negotiator entered the room. It was a young person. He was a slender man who wore round glasses. He put up an everlasting smile. To be honest, it looked pretty suspicious, so I quickly pushed the talk forward.
The requirements I had for the store this time around:
- The location should be equally far from the 3 derived dungeons that Radha Lo Dara hosts.
- The store shouldn't be small.
Just those two. If you draw a line between the 3 derived dungeons, it nearly forms a triangle. Thats why it would be nice to be around the middle of the triangle but of course, its a popular place for lodgings and various facilities. You could say that its highly unlikely a good spot is left.
As expected, no normal lot remained, it was impossible to find one. However, there was one lot left, because there were some problems with it. When hearing about it in detail, I found out that the building was a huge mansion that held all the loot and prisoners of war during old times.
The mansion was located slightly north of the center of the triangle. It was 3 stories high with a basement and it had a “工” structure when looking from above. It was around 5 meters in height and around it was a square-formed wall that was approximately 50cm wide and 80cm high. It has a lot of potential to be used as a base.
As for the area it was located in, it looked perfectly located. I would be able to create a store on the spot that functioned similarly to the flagship store in the Royal Capital. However, currently, a lot of illegal immigrants have been occupying the building for a few months.
It wouldn’t have been a problem if it were simple hooligans or poor people settling in. Regrettably though, the type of people that had settled there didn’t have high morals. They were groups that were very well versed in backroom deals and kidnapping. While they obviously did try to evict them several times, everything they’ve tried seems to have failed.
Because there was quite a strong person mixed in to the group that was occupying, it became a rather troublesome topic. Naturally, after hearing the circumstances, I kept negotiating. This opportunity is too good to pass up. All the more since the building has such a history. It’s a good thing, because I can pick up a property that’s better than expected for a cheap price.
As I negotiated through various means, in the middle, a middle aged supervisor took over, then lastly an old man who was the head of the company directly negotiated the deal to sell me the mansion. Not only was the initial price drastically dropped, if I was able to remove the squatting adventures, they would remodel at a bargain price. Man, what a great deal.
Alright, let's make a few detours in this appearance then head back. That night, in just one night, the illegally squatting adventurers suddenly disappeared. I may have gotten ahold of some information on how the squatters may have been planted there by a rival company, but you know, that stuff happens. I wasn't able to get any abilities but there were some useful drop items so that was fortunate.