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The demi-human waitress quietly cleared away the empty dishes.
Whether it was the beauty of the southern coral reefs, the latest trends in pastries within the Imperial Capital, or even the state of this year’s winter wheat harvest, Rikyu handled each harmless topic with remarkable skill. To call it masterful would not be an exaggeration.
But this man had not reserved the White Heron Pavilion merely to discuss wheat.
「In truth, the main purpose of this invitation was not solely to request the honor of becoming your appointed merchant」
「I thought as much」
「The Sarkai Company also wishes to lend its support to Helga-sama」
「Support, you say. Merely by becoming our appointed merchant, the Sarkai Company would already be offering more than enough assistance to the ducal house」
That was simply the truth.
To put it plainly, association with such a merchant would lend prestige.
Even so, Helga could not leap at the offer so readily.
For she worried whether Rikyu might bear resentment toward the previous head of the house, Damian.
Or perhaps it was a trap.
Such thoughts naturally made her cautious.
「It is a most generous offer, but──I would like to hear a little more before making any decision」
Helga smiled.
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Rikyu nodded inwardly, as though to say, of course.
Naturally, he had anticipated Helga’s concerns.
「As expected of Helga-sama… Nothing escapes your notice」
「It is not that I understand everything. However──」
「No」
Rikyu quietly shook his head.
「It would be faster to show you」
Saying that, the elderly merchant──opened his mouth wide.
Then, from the positions of his upper canine teeth, the rounded teeth there slowly began to extend.
They lengthened soundlessly, growing sharper toward their tips, reflecting the light of the candle stands with a wet gleam.
There could be no mistake.
They were unmistakably the fangs of a beast.
Helga’s eyes widened.
「That is──」
「Indeed. I, too, carry the blood of the demi-humans」
Rikyu slowly closed his mouth.
The fangs smoothly shrank back into their original rounded shape.
Before them once more sat nothing more than an ordinary elderly man.
It was as though they had witnessed an illusion.
「I usually conceal them with magic. My grandmother was of beastkin descent. By my generation, the blood has grown quite thin, but these fangs alone have stubbornly refused to disappear」
Hein continued to watch Helga and Rikyu with his usual air of disinterest.
That was merely his outward demeanor, however.
This deranged, mother-obsessed madman would reduce Rikyu to minced meat in less than a ten-thousandth of a blink if the merchant so much as showed the slightest disrespect toward Helga.
Murder was, of course, a grave crime even in the Empire.
The problem was that Hein fundamentally possessed no regard for the law.
Rikyu continued speaking.
「Under the Racial Hierarchy Act, it is no easy matter for one bearing demi-human blood to engage in honest trade within the Imperial Capital. And should one wish to build great wealth──there were only two choices: break one’s fangs, or hide them」
However, he continued, a sharp gleam flashing in his sunken eyes──
「Helga-sama seeks to bring a new wind to this Empire. Therefore──」
Rikyu lowered his head deeply.
「──perhaps the day may come when we no longer need to hide. That is what I have come to believe」
「Rikyu-dono…」
「I am a merchant. I am not so foolish as to ignore profit and loss. Yet this matter cannot be settled by profit and loss alone. As one who carries demi-human blood, I wish to place myself beneath Helga-sama’s banner. That is what I am saying」
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In the original history, there had also been a merchant by the name of Rikyu Sarkai.
Like in this world, he had been born a commoner and risen through talent alone.
And he had been a man who despised the Aster Ducal House from the bottom of his heart.
The Rikyu Sarkai of the original history had volunteered to serve as the quartermaster of the rebellious Three Dukes.
Logistics, transportation, funding──in the end, war is decided by these things.
No matter how sharp a sword may be, starving soldiers are useless.
No matter how mighty the bloodline magic of the Three Dukes might be, no matter how the demi-humans gathered in great numbers beneath their banners, without proper logistics the rebellion would inevitably collapse.
And yet, the man who sustained those logistics was none other than Rikyu Sarkai himself.
In the end, the Three Dukes were victorious.
But Rikyu never tasted the fruits of that victory.
Each of the Three Dukes claimed the military achievements as their own, and there was no reason for the name of a mere merchant working behind the scenes to be recorded among the victors.
And there was another fact that must not be forgotten.
To the Three Dukes, Rikyu had been a convenient purse.
But at the same time, he was a man who carried demi-human blood.
Even the Three Dukes, who had raised their banners against the Racial Hierarchy Act, maintained only that much closeness to demi-humans.
As for his end, it was a rather ordinary one.
At a certain banquet, he was stabbed through the chest by remnants of the old Empire and died.
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