The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 31: Predator Merchant Group (1) (Part 1)

A merchant group that was disorganized from the very beginning—even their seating arrangements were a mess.

“What kind of merchant group is run like that?”

Naturally, people’s eyes turned to the emblem engraved on the side of the carriage.

A large, sleek white wolf.
Poised to pounce at any moment, the wolf roared toward the front, radiating a powerful and imposing image.

“Isn’t that the emblem of the House of Whitewolf?”
“Yeah, it is! That white wolf emblem from the House of Whitewolf!”

A noble family affiliated with the Kingdom of Bartenberg, the House of Whitewolf was located at the northernmost edge of the continent.

Even here in the Free City of Frecce, the family was fairly well known.

“Are they here to sell monster byproducts again?”

It was because the byproducts harvested from the monsters of the Snowy Mountains were known to be of high quality.

“But still…”
“Has the House of Whitewolf ever run a merchant group?”

At most, they occasionally sent wandering traders. Never before had they operated a merchant group.

While people were still murmuring in confusion, a man stepped down from the carriage.

A handsome face.
Flawless, unblemished skin.

He looked exactly like a nobleman’s son.

No one recognized his face.
But among the merchants, who were hypersensitive to information, there were those who knew who he was.

First off, people with black hair on this continent were rare.
And a black-haired young lord from the House of Whitewolf could only mean one person.

“The wastrel of the House?”

Adrian Whitewolf.
He was the House of Whitewolf’s eldest son—and infamous for being a total disgrace.

“What’s the delinquent of the House doing here?”
“I heard he lost everything in the family to his younger sister…”
“Is he trying to run a merchant group just to scrape by now?”

Everyone laughed mockingly.
After all, running a merchant group wasn’t something you could just wing.

Even veteran merchants who had spent decades hustling in the market often ended up broke trying to run one.

So what could a pleasure-seeking scoundrel possibly do?
Even if Adrian possessed exceptional talent as a merchant, it wouldn’t change anything.

“What could they possibly sell from the Whitewolf County?”

You need goods to sell anything at all.

No matter how skilled a chef you are, if your ingredients are rotten, the food will turn out rotten.
Likewise, no matter how talented a merchant is, if their merchandise is garbage, they’ll just be running a garbage group.

“Nothing worth seeing here.”
“Tch tch, he’s bound to go belly-up.”

Everyone clicked their tongues and sneered.

But Adrian didn’t pay the gossip or stares any mind.

As the other members of the merchant group began setting up stalls, Adrian took out various cooking tools and began arranging them.

“What’s he doing now…?”
“Huh? Is that…?”
“Meat?”

And not just any meat—meat that looked incredibly appetizing.

Before long, Adrian lit a fire and began grilling the meat.

Chiiii—!

The gentle sizzle of the cooking meat echoed out, and the savory aroma spread across the entire plaza.

The Predator Merchant Group’s stall was located in a far, secluded corner.

“Hm? What’s that smell?”
“Something smells amazing!”

But the spreading aroma quickly drew attention.
Soon, a few curious people followed the scent all the way to where the Predator Merchant Group was set up.

“Welcome!”

The one greeting them wasn’t Adrian but another member of the group.
It was questionable whether they could even be called a proper merchant group, but still, that was how they presented themselves.

“Was there a food stall tucked away here?”
“We’re new arrivals.”
“Really? Hm… then I’ll give it a try. What’s your best dish?”
“Everything is excellent, but personally, I recommend the Alacron belly steak and the hind leg meat of Demexus.”

At that moment, people tilted their heads.

“Alacron belly steak…?”
“Demexus hind leg meat…?”
“Aren’t those monsters?”
“That’s right.”

And then chaos erupted.

“A-Are you insane?!”
“You’re selling monster meat?!”
“Have you lost your minds?!”
“You don’t need to worry.”
“What do you mean don’t worry—hiiieeek!”

People recoiled in shock at what they saw next.

Chomp chomp. Gulp.

The Predator Merchant Group members were openly eating the monster meat.

“As you can see, our Predator Merchant Group carefully removes all the madness from monster meat and only offers safe, high-quality products.”

At those words from the staff member, everyone was left dumbfounded.

“Eh…?”
“You removed the madness…?”
“Yes.”

Even with that firm reply, the crowd found it hard to believe.

And for good reason—such a feat had never once been achieved in the continent’s history.

Since the classification of monsters as a biological category first began, countless scholars and mages had attempted to purge the madness inherent in their bodies.

None succeeded.

Archmages who made it into the annals of continental history.
Magic scholars who elevated civilization by several steps.

Even geniuses beyond comparison had tried and failed.

Madness embedded at the cellular level couldn’t be removed.
It had been declared impossible—a true domain of impossibility.

“Lord Adrian personally conducted the research.”

And yet, Adrian had done it.

That pale-faced nobleman casually grilling meat over there—he did it!

“W-What…?”
“Are you serious…?”

It was too outrageous to believe… and yet, too visible to deny.

They had seen it with their own eyes.
No, they were still watching.

Merchant group members chomping away at monster meat—completely sane, not a hint of madness in sight.

“Is this really true…?”
“Did he really remove the madness?”

Most people were still hesitant to place an order. But there’s always someone who can’t resist curiosity.

“I’ll try one.”

One man boldly stepped up and ordered a portion of monster meat.

Translatin_Otaku

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