Chapter 601 – Assets That Grew Too Large

Looking at the total value of his assets in the records Garfish had shown him, Tauro couldn’t understand how the figure had become so enormous.

“Mr. Garfish… what exactly did you do when you managed my assets?”

Tauro couldn’t make sense of being told that such a staggering fortune belonged to him without hearing the details.

It was true that he had entrusted the Garfish Trading Company with everything involving his magic-tool inventions, from production to sales. Since those products were distributed throughout the kingdom, Tauro knew they generated enormous profits and that he received substantial compensation from them every day.

And Tauro himself had entrusted all of that money to the company for management.

“Your assets simply became far too large, Lord Tauro. Even for us, leaving all of it as idle cash seemed wasteful. As I mentioned, we purchased high-quality real estate in the Royal Capital—assets that could be sold quickly if you ever needed cash. But their value then rose sharply. And the cause was, in part… Black-Gold Wings.”

“Us?”

“Yes. While you were away, members of Black-Gold Wings brought us dungeon items. As I explained, we auctioned some of them, and they sold for extraordinary prices. Your assets grew even further. Those auctions drew attention to the dungeon-item market from across the kingdom and even from foreign countries. That was about six months ago. More people began coming to the Royal Capital, and land values—especially the properties we’d purchased with your money—rose steeply.”

“Even so, isn’t this far too much? This is on the scale of a small country’s national budget…!”

Tauro’s astonishment was understandable.

The assets Garfish showed him included not only property in the Royal Capital but also deeds to what had once been a noble domain.

“Well… about that. Around six months ago, when your assets had grown beyond anything we expected, the royal family took notice of how we were managing them. I consulted Prince Fleue, and His Highness said, ‘Tauro is already an honorary viscount, so there’s nothing strange about him owning land. Conveniently, the royal family is managing territory confiscated from a former noble. Why not purchase it, govern it properly, and hold it for Tauro? If he dislikes the arrangement when he returns, the royal family can buy it back.’”

“But simply improving the administration of a troubled territory wouldn’t increase its value this much, would it?”

“Normally, no. The previous lord’s management was dreadful, so under my direction my subordinates restored the administration and turned the territory profitable again. That raised its value, of course. But it’s a mountainous southern territory with little flat land, so the land itself was originally not very valuable. Then the residents, grateful for the conscientious administration carried out in your name, told us something.”

“They said there might be rare ore hidden in one of the old abandoned mines in the territory.”

“Ore?”

Tauro felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

He remembered how the discovery of mithril ore near Saisi, the town where he had begun his adventuring career, had dramatically increased the value of the former Saissi territory.

Was this going to be something similar?

“Yes. The residents believed it might be mithril, so we investigated the mountain. We extracted only a small amount, but… please don’t be too surprised. It wasn’t mithril. It was Orichalcum—the so-called metal of the gods. Naturally, we’ve kept the discovery secret from outsiders. Once that’s taken into account, your total assets really have reached the scale of a small nation’s budget, just as you said.”

Even Garfish had never anticipated such a development. Tauro’s wealth had snowballed throughout the year. At first Garfish had been pleased, considering it a way to repay Tauro for all the help he had given him in the past, but the discovery of Orichalcum had genuinely frightened even him.

“…Orichalcum, huh. I’m already shocked that I became a landowner without even knowing it… and now my assets have grown so much that I’m starting to lose any sense of what the numbers mean.”

Tauro could only smile wryly at how far the situation had gone beyond anything he had imagined.

Panicking wouldn’t make the amount increase or decrease.

“Mr. Garfish, thank you for managing my assets so well this past year. By the way, where exactly is this territory in the south?”

Realistically, Tauro needed to inspect the land himself before deciding whether he wanted to keep it or sell it back.

“One moment. Here it is on the map.”

Garfish spread a map out in front of him.

“…It borders the unexplored special regions under direct royal control and several autonomous territories belonging to other races.”

Tauro nodded as he studied the map.

“Yes. The territory originally earned much of its income through trade with those regions. But the previous lord caused one problem after another, and revenue fell drastically. He was the sort of foolish noble who thought only about squeezing taxes from his people, so he was hated. Because of that, when my staff restored proper administration, your reputation as the lord rose enormously.”

Garfish spoke almost proudly, as though this were entirely good news.

“Haha… I never planned on governing a territory. But if Prince Fleue recommended this particular land, I suppose it was because it’s close to unexplored regions and autonomous territories of other races, right?”

Tauro pictured his friend Prince Fleue and could easily imagine that reasoning.

“Indeed. His Highness said he was certain you’d like the location.”

Garfish nodded.

“Well… if it was the prince’s recommendation, I can hardly complain. And the territory has remained stable for the past six months without me even knowing I owned it. In that case… perhaps it really is possible for me to leave most of the administration to capable people?”

“If you choose to keep the territory, the Garfish Trading Company will support you fully! We’ve already established a branch there, and one of my subordinates is currently serving as your acting administrator. Once the territory is formally placed under your control, he can continue managing the branch and the local administration. Work him as hard as you like! Hahaha!”

Now that he had finally explained everything, the weight seemed to lift from Garfish’s shoulders, and he returned to his usual bold, hearty manner.