The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 32: Predator Merchant Group (2) (Part 1)

A man dressed in a flamboyant outfit adorned with all sorts of jewels, exuding arrogance with every fiber of his being.

Just one look at him screamed, “I’m high-class!”

“Ahem! I am the man known as Viscount Dunar of the Denar Kingdom.”

A noble.

Unlike Free Cities, which have no absolute authority figures like monarchs or lords, other kingdoms were different.

From the Battenberg Kingdom, to which the House of Whitewolf belonged, to all the kingdoms across the continent—it was the nobles who moved them.

In other words, if you could sway the nobles, you could move an entire kingdom.

I gave a subtle nod to a member of the merchant group. Understanding my signal, he retrieved a carefully managed piece of meat from inside the carriage.

Then, he discreetly offered it to Viscount Dunar.

“And what might this be?”

“It’s from a monster called Rex…”

The merchant began explaining the details about Rex.

It was the monster from which I had acquired the [Promote Metabolism] ability.

Rex was a monster that balanced its metabolic rate by severely atrophying its muscles.

As a result, it had a thick layer of fat compared to other monsters, and the texture of its meat was exquisite—truly phenomenal.

I had personally tasted it, and among all the monster meats, Rex’s stood head and shoulders above the rest.

That’s why we never sold Rex meat to the people of Frecce.

“It’s one of our highest-grade special products.”

We were planning to sell it at a premium to nobles from other kingdoms.

That way, we could let the rumors spread even into noble social circles.

The social scene—where the elite culture of kingdoms is born and shared.

As a noble myself, I was eligible to enter Battenberg’s social circles.

But joining those of another kingdom was no easy feat.

“It’s not something we normally sell…”

The merchant glanced at me, then continued.

“But Lord Adrian said to offer it ‘especially’ to you, Viscount.”

“Especially…?”

“Yes, especially.”

The viscount’s lips twitched in satisfaction.

As expected of a noble—just like the others I’d encountered, they were obsessed with the concept of “privilege,” and loved hearing the word “special.”

The nobles I saw in the Allied Forces had all been like that.

The Allied Forces were a coalition of every kingdom and city on the continent, so I could confidently say I’d seen nobles from across the land.

And regardless of the kingdom, they were all the same—deeply entrenched in a sense of entitlement.

In fact, the lower the rank—like barons and viscounts—the more obsessed they were with status.

“Aha! My, my! Hahahaha!”

As expected, Viscount Dunar was delighted by the word “special.”

He was still a noble, after all. By mingling with others of his kind, he could spread our name among them as well.

And the thing about rumors is: once they spread, they take on a life of their own.

Once alive, they grow and inflate on their own.

For example, if someone named A farted on the street, in the next village it might be said he soiled himself.

If someone named B caught a cold, the next neighborhood might hear he was on his deathbed.

What starts as a needle turns into a cudgel—such is the miracle of word of mouth.

And that miracle was exactly what we were aiming for.

“Thank you! I’ll try it, and if it’s good, I’ll definitely recommend it to others.”

The moment we made our debut in the noble social circles of other kingdoms—

The name of the Predator Merchant Group would spread like wildfire across the continent.

There were other Free Cities besides Frecce on the continent.

These Free Cities were formed around specific industries like mining, agriculture, and livestock.

Frecce, in particular, had developed around commerce.

That’s why it had more merchant groups than other Free Cities.

“Hmm…”

Adelon was also the head of one such group.

His main trade was grapes and wine from the Kingdom of Venice.

Since they were luxury goods sold only to the middle and upper classes, demand was never high.

And with the recent economic downturn, his sales had plummeted compared to last year.

As if that weren’t enough to sour his mood, something else had been getting under Adelon’s skin lately.

“The Predator Merchant Group…”

They’d been setting up shop in Frecce’s central plaza for several days now.

At first, he thought they were some ridiculous upstart.

Predator? What kind of name was that for a merchant group?

It sounded awful.

But despite the awful name, the influence of the Predator Merchant Group was anything but awful.

“Wherever you go—it’s Predator this, Predator that.”

Now, there wasn’t a soul in Frecce who hadn’t heard of them.

They were sweeping up every single customer in the city.

Just like their name suggested—predators.

“I heard even the nobles are starting to talk about them?”

Which meant the rumors were making their way to the social scene.

And once it reached that stage, the road ahead was smooth.

After all, the social scene was where the best thinkers, writers, and cultured nobles of the era gathered.

In other words, it was where the core nobles who governed their kingdoms came together.

Networking with them brought immeasurable benefits.

You could find new business partners, investors, and sponsors across kingdoms.

You could raise your credibility and reputation as a merchant, opening the door to more clients and deals.

Most importantly, you could gain access to high-level information and insider trends in politics, economics, and culture.

And that wasn’t all.

With the right connections, you could gain legal and administrative advantages, expand your political influence to steer commercial decisions your way, and even receive tax breaks.

And although rare—

You might even rise in the world by marrying into a noble family.

All of that was available through the networking grounds of the social scene.

So for any merchant, entering the social scene was a dream come true.

Adelon had tried to make that dream a reality.

“Those damn nobles…”

But of course, he failed every time.

He couldn’t even get near the entrance.

“Always acting like they’re so much better…”

Especially the central social circles of the kingdoms, where power was concentrated—he didn’t even dare dream of entering those.

And yet, a merchant group barely a few days old—led by some random upstart—was now doing what he couldn’t achieve in decades.

“I don’t like this… I really don’t like this…”

Translatin_Otaku

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