Arcane Innovator

I was currently on my way to the Merchant's Guild building located in the Outer Fortress to meet Alaric. It felt kind of weird going there without Myra's lively presence beside me, but there was nothing I could do about that.

For now, I try to at least write her a letter from time to time. Now that I have so much money, purchasing paper and ink is not a problem. I also hoped that her father would come around in time and allow us to meet once again now that Chubby and his shenanigans were no more.

He still appeared somewhat grateful to me for warning him about the monsters attacking the village a few years ago. So I had high expectations that everything would resolve favorably in the end. However, for the time being, I can't do anything about it but wait and see how it plays out...

Soon I was standing in front of the doors leading to Alaric's office. I somewhat remembered the way, but I still had to ask for directions once as I still couldn't quite figure out this maze of corridors in the Guild's building. Alaric's pretty assistant led me into his luxurious office and then left us alone after she served us tea.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Alaric said after we exchanged greetings, "I was quite surprised you reached out to me... However, I have to say right away that I can't do anything about your current situation with my niece."

"Oh, don't worry about it... I have already accepted the situation. Today I'm here to talk about something else." I smiled at him innocently.

"Hmm? What else might you need from this old merchant?" Alaric said curiously as he stroked his beard.

"Hahaha! You're not that old, Master Alaric, but that is exactly why I'm here." I replied respectfully. But when I saw Alaric's raised eyebrows, I quickly realized my mistake. "Oh, I'm sorry, I meant that you are a merchant; that is why I'm here."

"Hahaha! I was just jesting with you. But now you've made me curious..."

Seeing his interest, I nodded happily and quickly moved on to the main reason why I came here.

"You see, I have a special arrangement with my master, Isadora. She allows me to gather herbs in my free time, and I can sell them to her for a fair price..." I began my explanation.

"Recently, I managed to find quite an amount of precious herbs during one of my expeditions outside the city, which earned me a hefty profit... So what I wanted to ask you is how I could invest my money, as I have no need for so many coins at this time and I don't want them just laying there collecting dust." I said as I looked at him expectantly.

"Hmm? You are asking for investment advice?" He looked at me with wide eyes before bursting into hearty laughter. "Hahaha! I like you, boy! Most kids your age would have just spent it all on expensive clothes and other frivolous things, but you actually think about your future..."

Alaric thought for a bit and then said, "There are, of course, many options to appreciate your coins, and I'm more than happy to tell you all about them." He then explained various ways one could invest their money. The most common and safest option was to invest in one of the city's businesses.

Many business owners who were looking to expand their operations were often strained for cash, so you could provide them money in exchange for a share in the business and a portion of the future profits.

Another more riskier option, but with the promise of much better returns, was to invest in one of the merchants' caravans. It was apparently very risky for merchants to travel between cities over long distances because of the constant threat of monster or bandit attacks.

That is why the individual merchants often joined forces to form a caravan, and they hired experienced guards to protect them along the way. But it was very expensive for the merchants alone to procure all the goods and pay an advance for their protection...

That is why each caravan was considered a standalone business. And it offered shares that anyone could buy. When the caravan returned to the city in a few months, or even years in some cases, you would then be paid back your share along with a hefty profit.

Compared to owning a business, which can get you somewhere around 10 to 30 percent profit, caravans were a lot more lucrative as they offered anything between 30 and 100 percent returns depending on the length of the trip and the risks involved.

However, there were, of course, the risks of the caravan becoming "lost" along the way, which means you get nothing, so it was something to keep in mind.

I pondered it for some time. There were, of course, more options, like buying an apartment and becoming a landlord or starting a business of my own, but that was something I couldn't do right now as I was still considered a minor.

"But how do I get paid back if I have no idea when the caravan will come back to the city?" I asked Alaric.

"They would, of course, try to send you a message after their successful return." He said. "But the easiest way is to set up an account with the Merchants Guild, then they would just deposit your share there and you wouldn't have to worry about anything..." Alaric eagerly explained.

'It looks almost like talking about making money is his favorite topic.' I thought amusingly.

Alaric then looked at me thoughtfully while stroking his beard. "Hmm, but it might get a little complicated for you to set up an account as you are still a minor. However, if I set up your account myself in your name with me as a guarantor, I think it could work just fine..."

"You see, many wealthy merchants set up an account with the Guild for their kids so that they could practice making transactions while they were still apprentices before they inherited the family business. It would be a little unorthodox in your case as you are not a merchant, nor am I your parent, but with my reputation and position within the Guild, it will be enough so that nobody would make any fuss about it." Alaric explained

"Thank you very much, Master Alaric; this would mean a lot to me."

"Hahaha, don't worry about it! As I said, I quite like you. You remind me of myself when I was young and eager to make some money of my own. Ah. Those were the times..." Alaric smiled, full of nostalgia.

"So now that we have come to an agreement, how much money are we actually talking about?" You didn't tell me before..." He asked with curiosity.

My smile froze on my lips, and I sweated profusely because I wasn't sure what to do. 'I can't possibly tell him the real amount, as he would never believe me. Even I would struggle to believe it if I didn't see the pile of coins with my own eyes...' I thought.

I decided to play it safe and give him a modest amount. "I managed to save around 20 marks of silver so far..."

Alaric leaned forward; his eyes widened in disbelief. "So much...? How in the world have you managed to accomplish such a feat? Not even the heirs of the most prominent families in the city get such an allowance until they are much older than you..."

I smiled weakly. "As I said, I recently discovered several patches of precious herbs. Besides that, I work hard every day, saving as much money as I can."

"Even so... you're lucky you came to me first. If you tried to deposit such wealth on your own, it would raise a lot of questions." Alaric said.

He then continued, "Come back here tomorrow with the money, and I will handle everything else for you. We will pretend I provided you with a loan, as I saw tremendous potential in you, to avoid any questions about the origin of the coins. After you pay the taxes and fees to the Guild, you will be free to invest the money as you see fit, and all the profits from your future investments will be deposited directly into your account..."

I smiled with excitement, as this was as close to a perfect solution as one could get. Not only will I be able to directly launder a small portion of my coins, but I could then reinvest them, and all the interest I will get from it will be perfectly legal income.

Not to mention, with Alaric as a backer, I would be able to deposit a few silver marks each month to my account on top of it, and nobody would find it suspicious in any way. I will, of course, continue to pay for all my living expenses out of pocket, as there are usually no written records of what you buy and where unless it is something truly expensive.

With this, I will be able to slowly legalize all of my income, and within a few years, I'm pretty sure I will become one of the richest people in the whole city, second only to the Count itself. I was smiling the whole way back to my apartment after I left Alaric's office with the promise that I would come back tomorrow with the money.

But as I walked, I couldn't help but think about Dominic and his gang. 'If I'm making this kind of money, what about them?' He must already be one of the richest gang leaders in the city...

Since I didn't hear any rumors about a sudden increase in available potions in the city, that must only mean they are smuggling them out of the city and selling them somewhere else where they can get even more coins for them.

I was actually quite surprised that Dominic hadn't made any kind of move against me yet, given the amount of money this little side hustle was generating.

He is either fine with it as long as the money keeps coming, or he is wary that I have some powerful, noble backers behind me. Either way, I'm fine with it—for now, that is.

I know that I won't be making the potion forever. I also knew that there would be some kind of reckoning between me and Dominic on the day the potions stopped coming, and I needed to be ready for that...