The Vastness of Magical Destiny

Gate’s "Marta" merchant ship once again became the vessel for Komer and his party, but this time there were many more passengers.

After Komer’s earnest persuasion and enthusiastic appeal, Eve’s group finally agreed to follow Komer back to Caucasus first. They would stay in Caucasus for a period of time to take in the local scenery before deciding on their next course of action.

Fortunately, the issue of the Catania River waterway rights had been satisfactorily resolved, the middle and upper reaches of the Catania River to Caucasus’ waterway rights had been secured in hand. The previously over a month-long land detour was now just a three to five days direct sail to the destination. This also made Eve, who had been hesitating, finally make up her mind.

Before Komer left Luxembourg, half of the thirty medium-sized ships and twenty-large sized ships’ waterway rights, which had been agreed upon with the Jellyfish Clan for the first year, had already been sold. Eight of those rights were acquired by shipowners from Luxembourg, while shipowners and traders from the cities and countries upstream of the Catania River outside of Luxembourg obtained ten. Adding to this the eleven promised to Maxim, Thomas, and the Dolomites, as well as Gate’s "Marta" double masted sailing ship, only twenty rights were left for the traders and shipowners of Caucasus, and most of those were for medium-sized ships, with just three large ship rights remaining.

However, Komer was not concerned. Although Bahomon and Mattdam had already opened their ports, the truth was that there weren’t many local merchants in Caucasus involved in shipping. Having twenty ship rights was already more than enough, and that was considering the possibility that the shipping industry in Caucasus might face major development opportunities once this route was formally opened.

After a celebratory banquet was held for Komer and his party by Maxim on behalf of the Rosenborg Duchy, they were finally able to set sail for home contentedly, not having to endure the lengthy land journey and its many hardships. From the Luxembourg port, downstream, if the voyage went smoothly, they could land in Bahomon, Caucasus, in five days.

The "Marta" became the witness to this ice-breaking journey. As the shipowner and merchant, Gate’s acumen was undoubtedly admirable. While Komer was busy negotiating the price of shipping rights with traders and shipowners from all over, Gate was already busily stocking up on food, preparing for trade with Caucasus.

Everyone knew that once the Catania River waterway opened, the vast market of Caucasus would undoubtedly open up to the middle and upper reaches of the Catania River. If one could take the lead in exploiting the significant price difference between food and various daily necessities between the two regions, then what awaited would be astronomical profits.