Chapter 4
Chapter 4. Quitting Everything to Sell Cola (4)
Lily Fontaine is competent.
How competent, you ask?
Competent enough that when the Minister of Internal Affairs fled in the night, the Royal Council entrusted her with the vacant position within just a week.
Britannia's foundation is meritocracy, and even though Lily had declined promotions several times before, this was an exceptional advancement.
The Minister of Internal Affairs is personally appointed by the Queen.
Not only that, but they hold the right to request audiences at any time or report directly to her.
She had gained real power that ordinary nobles could hardly approach.
It wasn't a coincidence that Lily lately heard envious and jealous gazes, excessive friendliness, and flattering remarks whenever she walked through the palace corridors.
"Minister Fontaine..."
"Please correct yourself. I'm not the Minister of Internal Affairs, but the Acting Minister of Internal Affairs."
"Ah, yes... My apologies."
Lily gloomily gazed out the window as she corrected the administrator's slip of the tongue.
"Sigh..."
To her, the meaning contained within the title 'Acting Minister of Internal Affairs' hit more vividly than the title itself.
That day when Hanbin suddenly left.
Lily was greatly shocked.
She had thought they would always be together.
She believed they shared the same heart in caring for the kingdom, dreamed of the same ideals, and looked toward the same goals.
But it wasn't so.
[Quitting as Minister of Internal Affairs. Don't look for me. — Hanbin Ainsworth]
Without a single word.
He disappeared suddenly, leaving behind only a single line in a letter.
At first, she was dumbfounded.
Then bewildered, and as more time passed, she even felt resentful.
Why did he leave?
Couldn't he have explained the circumstances a bit more?
After sharing such a long time together, couldn't they have at least exchanged a word?
Did he have to run away as if abandoning everything?
The bond between the two that she believed would last forever—
Had it been so light to him that it could be swept away with just a letter?
Lily's heart was mixed up like muddy water.
But there's no muddy water that stays turbid forever.
As time passed, Lily found her composure.
Then what began to weigh on her mind were her own actions she had shown him all this time.
'Of course we have to work overtime.'
'Hanbin. Please stop the exaggeration.'
'When we suffer, our homeland Britannia shines more gloriously. Conversely, if you take a week of annual leave, it means the nation's development will be that much slower. Do you understand this far?'
Her selfishness in believing he would naturally understand.
Her immature complacency in dismissing his groans of pain as jokes.
It all came to mind at a point that was already too late.
Looking back, he had been enduring all along.
Without any complaints, he had silently sacrificed himself and played along with Lily's dreams.
'I have no intention of accepting the position of Minister of Internal Affairs. However, if it's Acting Minister of Internal Affairs, I'll bear this excessive burden for a while. Because that position doesn't suit me.'
Lily accepted the appointment letter written in the Queen's own hand.
It was atonement.
In some sense, it was also an indefinite waiting period.
She considered it minimal atonement to silently fill his vacant position from this seat.
And through doing so, there was a vague expectation that perhaps someday Hanbin would return.
"Acting Minister of Internal Affairs, this is a report from the Soltera Governor-General."
The administrator's report broke through Lily's reverie.
"Soltera... Another emerging cartel, I suppose."
"Unfortunately, yes."
The southern continent, the Soltera Protectorate under Britannia's rule.
There are generally three words people think of when they hear Soltera.
Tropical rainforest, magical crops, and cartels.
Soltera has a tropical climate with high temperature and humidity year-round.
Due to volcanic activity, the soil is fertile, so vast tropical rainforests have formed across most of the territory.
Thanks to the optimal climate for growing crops without greenhouses, alchemical crop plantations developed in Soltera.
However, alchemical crops didn't bring only prosperity to Soltera.
Soltera's plantation industry was certainly profitable.
But it was too profitable.
So much so that bad people wanted to stick their straws in by any means necessary.
Even when Britannia established a governor-general to manage it, there were limits.
The physical distance from the mainland, the excessively vast tropical rainforest, and native nobles colluding with cartels obscured the eyes of surveillance.
This is how Soltera became a cartel theme park housing various types of cartel organizations.
"The organization's name is Montagra Cartel. A cartel that has rapidly grown recently, centered around the Montagra region in northern Soltera."
The one leading the organization is Lofo.
A 5th-rank Knight combining cruelty and charisma.
His organization had grown in power over the past two years through hostile M&A of surrounding minor cartels.
"The Governor-General also dispatched a special task force once to eliminate them... but they failed."
"That's understandable."
The combat power displayed by a 5th-rank Knight rivals that of a killing machine.
It's strength worthy of being called a one-man army.
Even in the great power Britannia this is so, let alone in the backwater Soltera.
"The problem is indeed the jungle. If a Knight of that caliber conducts guerrilla warfare in familiar terrain, the expected damage becomes even greater."
"Did you find confirmation that the Alcand Empire is backing them?"
"Well... we haven't found any physical evidence yet."
"Please tell them to refrain from hasty responses. It could escalate into a diplomatic issue."
"However, if the Montagra Cartel, supported by the Alcand Empire, grows too large, it could lead to loss of control over the entire Soltera Protectorate and security issues..."
Lily pressed her throbbing temples while listening to the administrator's report to the end.
But until the report finished, no sharp solution came to mind.
Northern Soltera borders the south of the enemy nation Alcand Empire, and deploying troops there would itself violate the ceasefire agreement.
In the end, 'monitor the situation for now' was the conclusion of this tedious meeting.
"Yes, I'll take action as instructed."
After the administrator left, Lily covered her delicate face with both hands.
"Sigh..."
She felt Hanbin's absence once again.
If he had been beside her, wouldn't he have given some kind of clear answer?
Today, his absence felt particularly large.
Today, Lily particularly hated her own insensitivity.
***
Starting from nothing, he had seized control of Montagra in just three years.
He had beaten down petty thugs and grown strong enough to use the regional name 'Montagra' as his organization's name.
The Montagra jungle was Lofo's domain, and Lofo was the king of the Montagra jungle.
In this jungle, he was confident he could handle any enemy.
"Huk...! Heok...! Huk...!"
Lofo ran.
Moss-covered and slippery rocks broke under his sprint.
Each time, his body shot across the jungle like a cannonball.
However, the sprint that exuded power just from watching wasn't for the jungle king to pursue prey.
It was a sprint solely for escape, like a frightened prey animal.
"What is it! What the hell is it!"
Lofo recalled the scene from earlier.
It had been a peaceful day like any other.
Until a man wearing a rabbit mask suddenly appeared.
'How are you? I came to buy some coca leaves. How much?'
'Make an offer.'
'I'll buy at 1 penny per ton.'
'1 penny per ton? Do you think that makes sense?'
'Well... I can't give money to criminals who are eating away at the kingdom, can I?'
Rather than anger, Lofo felt absurdity.
To come to the heart of a cartel and spout such nonsense.
What kind of ridiculous situation was this? Just as he was opening his mouth in bewilderment.
The man in the rabbit mask took out a mysteriously glowing cube from his chest and muttered.
'Material Creation—'
In response, particles scattered from his fingertips along with tremendous magic power.
An outburst of magic power that shook the air.
Eventually, a great miracle bloomed from the man's grasp as if a small universe was being created.
'—Gravity Element.'
Swirling pitch-black particles became a black curtain that covered everything in the area.
'What, what is it?'
What the bewildered Lofo discovered when he looked out the window was a giant black screen.
Not just the mansion but the garden.
Not just the garden but the coca plantation.
Not just the coca plantation, but the fluttering black screen stretched all the way to the distant hills, eventually covering even Soltera's hot sun completely.
Without a doubt, that power wasn't a miracle that a single individual could create.
However.
What followed made Lofo even more astonished.
—Kugugugugugugugu!!!!
The splendid mansion was uprooted from its foundation with a thunderous roar.
Like a leaf caught in a whirlwind, it flew high into the sky very lightly.
—Kwaaaaang!
And like being crushed by a giant's hand, it was smashed into the ground at an abnormal speed.
Even up to that point, Lofo couldn't exactly understand what had happened.
He could only guess that 'some unidentified monster lifted the entire mansion and then slammed it down.'
Lofo, who barely escaped from the completely destroyed mansion, chose to run without looking back.
"What is it! What is it! What the hell was that!!!"
He knows the man in the rabbit mask is an alchemist.
But Lofo didn't know of any magic with the power to blow an entire mansion into the sky.
He didn't want to know either.
"Huk! Huk! Huk!"
Who is he? Where was he sent from?
He'd never heard of such a tremendously powerful alchemist.
The Soltera Governor-General? Britannia mainland? Or perhaps the Alcand Empire?
Whatever his identity, there was only one action to take now.
Escape outside the unidentified curtain that spread wide enough to embrace heaven and earth.
"Did you come this far already? You're quite a fast friend."
The rabbit mask landed with a thud in front of Lofo, who was frantically making his way through the jungle.
"Damn it!"
"Don't curse. I'm older than I look. Wouldn't you feel bad if someone much younger cursed at you?"
After an emergency stop, Lofo backed away while drawing up his magic power.
Blue sword energy rising above his machete displayed an ominous aura.
Instead of fighting spirit, it was full of resentment.
"I don't know who you are or where you came from, but what grudge do you have against me to do this?"
"I don't particularly have a grudge against you."
"If you're going to do something this outrageous just because I run a cartel, how is a small business owner like me supposed to make a living? Just let me go this once! Please?"
"Small business owner, my foot. Didn't you devour all of Montagra?"
"That level makes me a small business owner! If you go south from here, there are plenty of guys worse than me!"
"Thanks for the good information. Then shall I bury you here and go meet those guys?"
"No!"
At the casual threat, Lofo prostrated himself.
Being resentful was one thing, but he didn't want to be buried in the ground.
Besides, judging by his manner of speaking, it seemed like he might spare his life depending on how the conversation progressed.
"I'll do whatever you want! Coca leaves, whatever, I'll hand it all over! Just spare my life...!"
"Oh, you just said 'whatever.'"
At the suddenly delighted reaction after acting all serious, Lofo felt a crisis instinct run chillingly down his spine.
It was something like a beast's survival instinct that couldn't be explained otherwise.
In front of the rabbit mask approaching leisurely, Lofo struggled one last time.
The alchemist before his eyes is certainly strong.
But Lofo is a Knight, his opponent an alchemist.
If the gap between them narrows, a chance for reversal will come.
The essence of alchemy is magic, after all.
If distance is given to a Knight who has trained his body to the extreme, even the greatest alchemist would show an opening.
If he strikes the neck with this machete in a surprise attack...
Would his opponent be able to react?
Come a little closer.
Just a little more.
Lofo calmly gauged the timing with his head lowered.
Right now!
"Ugh!"
Lofo's crouched body shot up like a beast pouncing on prey.
He swung a full-power strike at the carelessly complacent alchemist.
No, he tried to swing.
—Kugugugugung
"Kyaaaak!!!"
But before Lofo could fully raise his upper body, tremendous weight crushed his entire body.
Overwhelming force that he couldn't budge despite struggling with all his might, as if carrying the sky on his back.
—Kwajijijijik
He felt his body being smashed into the ground, crushing the earth beneath by invisible force.
"Don't think nonsense. Wouldn't it be pitiful if a friend with a bright future ahead becomes a cripple?"
"B-big brother! Big brother! I was wrong! I was wro..."
"Why am I your big brother? Stop crying since it's pitiful to watch."
"Th-then you'll spare me...?"
"I'll spare you. But... here, sign this."
"Wh-what is this..."
"Didn't you say you'd do anything? It's a business contract."
A contract fluttered down beside Lofo's head after his bravado nearly got him killed.
Without even minimal formality.
A contract scrawled in terrible handwriting on a white napkin.
"Write your name in the blank space. I specially made you party A out of consideration for your dignity. Ah, don't be too grateful."
"Th-this... this..."
Looking over the contract, Lofo felt the blood drain completely from his head.
"I've never seen such a conscienceless bastard!"
"Tsk, don't talk about conscience when you're a criminal."
"Look here! Where in the world is there a contract full of such poisonous clauses!"
The contract's content was nothing more than 'yours is all mine!' written out long and elegantly.
It's robbery without guns or knives.
"Telling the plantation owners to keep all their wages while selling crops at bargain prices means I should give away my money! I can't do it!"
"Why only think about harassing plantation owners? Your organization members can farm directly, can't they? I saw you have many members."
"I have pride! You want a cartel to become farmers? That's ridiculous! Just kill me here instead!"
A moment of silence.
Lofo glared at the rabbit mask with wide eyes.
It was indeed the spirit worthy of a cartel boss.
However, Lofo's spirit crumbled in an instant.
"Listen here. I'm saying this out of concern..."
—Kugugugugugugung!!!
The rabbit mask lightly waved his arm.
Only then could Lofo see with his eyes the true nature of the force that had reduced him to this state.
It was, how should I put it.
Black particles.
Probably extremely heavy ones.
Black particles swept past the rabbit mask's back like a downpour.
At the same time, the jungle that had existed as background disappeared.
This is no exaggeration.
The jungle, which would be difficult to navigate properly without a machete, became flat ground after completing leveling work.
Without even needing to level the ground, it became wide and firmly packed enough to build a royal palace immediately.
Lofo witnessed this god-like power with his mouth hanging open stupidly.
"Don't think about ignoring the contract and running away. I'll find you wherever you are. And I'll repeat what happened today."
"......"
Lofo is seeing this monster-like rabbit mask for the first time today.
But he could feel it in his bones.
There are humans in this world who always keep their word.
And the man before his eyes is that type.
He understood perfectly.
He had picked the wrong fight entirely.
"I under... stand."
Lofo had no means of refusal left.
All he could do was stamp his seal on the contract that was no different from a slave contract with trembling hands.
Jurgen smiled at the satisfactory deal and shook hands with Lofo.
"Thank you for the good deal."
"Fuck you."
The cartel boss was happy to preserve his life, and Jurgen was happy to get coca leaves at bargain prices.
It was a satisfying business for everyone.
***
About a week later.
"Fo-Fontaine Acting Minister of Internal Affairs! Urgent news from the Soltera Governor-General!"
"What is it this time?"
"The Montagra Cartel has disbanded their organization themselves!"
"......?"
"A-and they've changed careers to become farmers!"
"????"
Lily received a strange report from the administrator.