Chapter 49

The silver-haired young man who approached Otto introduced himself as <Julius de Overhauzer>. He was the owner of the <Overhauzer Trading Company>, which operated across the continent, and was an SSS-rank hero unit. Additionally, he was a direct descendant of Emperor Argon, who had betrayed Kairos and unified the continent in the past. Of course, the fact that he was a direct descendant of Emperor Argon was a well-kept secret, and at this point, only Otto knew about it...

- What? You mean that guy is a descendant of Argon?

'Yes.'

- Get out of my way! I need to beat him up!

As soon as Kairos heard that Julius was a descendant of Emperor Argon, he foamed at the mouth and went berserk.

'Ah! Calm down!'

- How can I calm down! Even if I can't take revenge on Argon, I should at least beat up his descendant!

'What if you can't beat him up?'

Otto said bluntly.

'If you touch him, everyone here will die.'

- What...?

'Really, everyone will die. Everyone here, including your maternal grandfather.'

Otto knew Julius all too well.

'Julius... he's a notorious villain.'

In the game, Julius was a character like a mastermind. On the surface, he pretended to be a merchant operating across the continent, but in reality, he was an ambitious man who dreamed of unifying the continent. Moreover, he was an absolute powerhouse, hiding an overwhelmingly powerful force that was even stronger than Conrad. The reason he operated as a merchant was to secretly gather funds and power for his future grand plans.

'I'll explain later, so just calm down.'

At that moment,

"Are you alright?"

Julius, noticing that Otto was standing there blankly while talking to Kairos, approached him again, looking a bit worried.

"Ah, yes. I'm fine. I just felt a bit dizzy for a moment."

"Oh... You must be tired."

"No, I'm fine now. It's an honor to meet you. I am Otto de Scuderi."

"I am Julius de Overhauzer. I manage the Overhauzer Trading Company."

"By the way, what brings you here...?"

"I was passing by and wanted to pay my respects to His Highness Duke Conrad, and coincidentally, a party was being held, so I was lucky enough to attend."

"Ah, I see."

"I heard you recently became the young lord of the Kuntachi family. Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"May I ask, if you have some time, could we share a drink and have a chat?"

"Of course."

Thus, Otto found himself having a conversation with Julius earlier than he had anticipated.

* * *

Otto and Julius chatted about various topics.

"I heard that a ruler had opened a new trade route in the western frontier, but I didn't know it was you, Lord Otto."

Julius mentioned Otto's achievement of slaying the ogres and developing a new trade route, praising him.

"To think that someone like you would open the sacred territory of the Kuntachi family... That's truly remarkable."

"You flatter me."

"I hope we can maintain a good relationship and exchange often in the future."

"I share the same hope. As a great merchant like Lord Julius, your perspective on the world must be unique."

The conversation wasn't particularly substantial.

Otto, who had been possessed by a game character, and Julius, who was hiding his strength and waiting for the right moment, were not in a position to have an open and honest conversation.

This was just an opportunity to get acquainted.

"By the way... If I need help in the future, would it be alright to contact you?"

"Ah?"

"Running a trading company inevitably leads to various incidents and accidents... Sometimes, there aren't enough hands to handle the situation. In such cases, the help of a capable person like you, Young Lord, would be necessary. Of course, I'm not asking for free service. In exchange for your assistance to our trading company, we will provide you with various forms of support."

At that moment, a quest window appeared in front of Otto.

[Notice: The <Julius's Proposal> quest has been triggered!]

The details were as follows:

[Julius's Proposal]

Content: Accept Julius's request and receive a reward.

Type: Normal / Repeatable

Reward: (Variable)

Note: The Overhauzer Trading Company, run by Julius, is of an enormous scale, so the rewards will be very generous. If you continue to complete the quest, your relationship with Julius will improve, potentially leading to even greater rewards.