"Two mithril coins per year!?" Kit exclaimed as he read over the finer details of the contract. "That's 20 magic crystals by the time a thousand years have passed, and you want me to pay that much minimum, with a maximum of 10% of my profits?"
"Yeah," Bastion replied. "It cost me 10 magic crystals and an exceptional Rank 2 armor and weapon set to free Daisy from being married off, you know. I just want to recoup my losses from that transaction, with a bit of interest. Don't forget, I also have to help you reach Rank 1 and start a business for you that can generate that much in yearly profits after taxes before that clause even activates."
Since they were in a Rank 3 kingdom, taxes were lowered to 40% of profits above a platinum coin per year, compared to 80% in Rank 2 kingdoms. It meant more money for the wealthy, but conversely higher demand for raw materials and workers due to increased economic activity. Overall, it was quite bad for the poor and weak while being beneficial for the rich and powerful.
In exchange, the kingdom had fewer protections from outsiders, so it had to invest more heavily in security and defenses. There were also more people in Rank 3 kingdoms due to the lower taxes and higher demand for workers. These tradeoffs balanced the kingdom's stability against the profits its owners were able to keep for themselves.
All of this basically meant that Kit wouldn't have any problems earning far more than 2 mithril coins per year once he started selling to Rank 2 and Rank 3 individuals. After all, higher-quality goods demanded higher prices, and that meant higher income for the business.
Quietly, Kit noticed a loophole in the contract Bastion had given him. Essentially, once 10% of his profits surpassed 2 mithril coins per year, he could theoretically hand the business over to Daisy or a trusted individual. That way, he would only be on the hook for 2 mithril coins per year at most, while the rest of the profits would be routed through the trusted individual, who wouldn't be bound by the same contract. Then, that person could simply hold everything in a trust for Kit and provide him with whatever he needed instead of him directly owning anything. That was likely the primary reason the minimum clause had even been included, to ensure Bastion recouped his losses from this investment.
Kit immediately considered returning to his initial plan of waiting out the rest of his 2 years of servitude, then spending time at the Adventurers Guild learning to fight and gearing up before heading into the dungeons on his own. Once he reached Rank 1, he would start everything from scratch without relying on anyone else.
Unfortunately, he also remembered Bastion's plan, which would undermine that future. Bastion intended to launch his own business without Kit, selling higher-ranked versions of Kit's products to the public. That would inevitably create competition strong enough to suppress Kit's own market before it even had a chance to develop. Worse, Bastion would easily have a decade-long head start building infrastructure, leaving Kit with significantly lower profits even in the long term, potentially even below the minimum payment Bastion demanded.
As he was about to sign the contract, Kit suddenly remembered Daisy. They were in this together now, if Bastion's magnanimity was to be believed, and he wouldn't actually marry her. This meant whatever future he decided upon would also affect her.
Unwilling to treat her the way her father treated her, Kit turned to Daisy and asked, "What do you think, Daisy? Should I accept this contract or should we just go our own way?"
"I'll follow whatever you decide," Daisy replied as she hugged him tightly from behind.
Kit smiled before signing his name on the line and marking the contract with his blood, solidifying its binding terms. With this, he was now indebted to Bastion for better or worse, a decision that immediately yielded returns beyond his wildest imagination.
"Excellent," Bastion said, checking his status with a smile on his face.
His Fortune stat had increased from 9 to 19. It had increased by 5 when they first met and another 5 for locking Kit into a contract. Perhaps it would increase even further in the future if Kit managed to accomplish his task with Bastion's help.
"Looks like you'll be getting that mansion you wanted since we'll be staying here for a long time," Bastion said, turning to Seraphina.
"Yey!" Seraphina cheered. "I'll go look at the listings right now."
"Ariel, go familiarize yourself with the dungeon scene. Find out the most efficient way to power-level Kit to Rank 1."
"You got it," Ariel said before heading out of the carriage.
"Ely, familiarize yourself with all the ingredients available in the kingdom, as well as those available through regular merchant caravans. I want you to know every ingredient accessible in this kingdom, its sources, and what becomes available when the right merchants are incentivized."
"Yes, Master," Elyra said before disappearing into the shadows.
"What about me?" Lilia asked, the only one whose role wasn't immediately apparent.
"We get to stay in the carriage and man the shop. We have an influx of nobles who will want to purchase Seraphina's hair products."
"Aw…"
Seraphina's shampoo was quite popular with the girls at the cat brothel, to the point that rumors began spreading and more and more discreet visitors came to the shop to purchase it in bulk. It seemed Bastion had completely underestimated how strong a motivator envy could be among women. As a result, he couldn't leave the carriage for long without risking an angry mob forming outside.
Seraphina, meanwhile, clearly understood women and the unquestionable drive for high-quality hair products. She had not only been prepared to sell to every prostitute in the kingdom when she first began marketing her products, but also to nobles and commoners alike. Her first day in the kingdom had been spent researching a distributor for raw materials, after all.
As for what she actually sold, all of her products used ingredients readily available within the kingdom. Only they in the party, and perhaps eventually the royal family, would have access to her best formulations, given the limited ingredients available, once they became popular enough. It wasn't a stretch to assume word would eventually spread once the nobility began taking interest.
Over the next few days, everyone got to work on their responsibilities. Kit finished listing all the products he could purchase from his personal website, along with their appropriate prices.
Seraphina and Elyra immediately spent 10 magic crystals, equivalent to millions of dollars in inventory, buying everything available in bulk to the point that they nearly ran out of magic bags to store it all. Not only did Seraphina drown herself in nostalgia, but they also needed ample samples for Elyra to recreate each product using only local ingredients. On top of that, she would need to improve their quality based on both taste and beneficial effects to maximize profit and fulfill Kit's task from the Goddess of Paws.
Once Kit finally finished stuffing magic bag after magic bag full of random Japanese food, he received his class from the Church of Paws before being sent off into the dungeon with Ariel, who had found an optimal path for him to rank up. Essentially, she would simply let her air elemental loose to wreak havoc on armies of giant ants in a Rank 3 dungeon until he eventually ranked up.
It shouldn't take long, considering there were more than enough rabble, while she had more than enough mana regeneration to keep the battle going. On top of that, air elementals were excellent at wiping out large swathes of weaklings, so all they had to do was keep up as they moved through the dungeon's underground tunnels.
While Kit was off screaming bloody murder from fright, Daisy spent her time with Seraphina, learning to become a Scribe. She apparently had the talent for it, as well as the support of Kit's wallet, so she wanted to take advantage of Seraphina's presence as a mentor while she was still here. Bastion and the party were unlikely to stay for an entire century, after all. As for any worries about her aging, it would be Kit's responsibility to see her through her rank-up for an increased lifespan. Being at Rank 1, he would have the ability to ensure she ranked up in no time.
Seraphina was the busiest of them all, juggling her time between mentoring Daisy, producing batch after batch of hair products ranging in quality from Apprentice Rank to Rank 2, and searching for a suitable property. Eventually, she found a place that met both her standards and Kit's future store requirements. They purchased the bottom 5 floors of an enormous tree for a magic crystal, located between the shopping district and the commoner district.
It didn't sound impressive at first, but the tree's trunk had a 50-meter diameter, providing over 30 meters of usable interior diameter without compromising its structural integrity. It was a vast and expensive property with significant upkeep, but necessary given their plans. The 1st floor was designated for Apprentice Rank customers, operating in a cafeteria-style setup. The 2nd floor catered to Rank 1 through Rank 3 customers with fine dining and corresponding prices. The 3rd floor was a boutique for Seraphina's body care products, alongside Wanderer's Trove goods during their stay in the kingdom. The 4th floor housed workshops, while the 5th floor served as living quarters, with each of them assigned their own rooms. All of which would eventually be sold to Kit for a tidy sum once they left.
Elyra hadn't been seen since she disappeared into the kitchen with the magic bags of Japanese food, likely cooking up a storm in an attempt to replicate their taste. Meanwhile, her shadows tracked every caravan merchant passing through the kingdom, taking note of their ingredients, prices, and competitors, preparing for the day they would be needed for bulk acquisition of raw materials.
Bastion and Lilia, meanwhile, manned Seraphina's boutique, their list of stealthy customers steadily increasing. Eventually, Bastion would be forced to give up the formula for Seraphina's lower-quality products just to keep up with the growing demand. It was inevitable, since they were sitting on too much of a gold mine, at least as far as the local nobles were concerned. Not to mention the fact that their party would eventually have to leave, so it wasn't as if they were particularly invested in the business. At most, it was just a source of additional travel funds.
Unfortunately, Bastion and the others weren't the only ones busy during this time. The Viscount was occupied as well, writing letters to all the nobles interested in Daisy's hand in marriage. Among them was a particular young noble who believed Daisy was his destiny. As such, he wasted no time upon learning she had already been sold to the highest bidder, making his way directly to the Wanderer's Trove Boutique.
"I demand you hand over Daisy at once!" he shouted as he entered the store, facing off against Bastion, who stood guard.
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