Chapter 55: The Clover Trade Company’s Crisis (2)
Magpie rchant Group. A newly rising rchant guild in recent years.
What made it unique? Every mber of the guild was a beastkin.
And yet, even within LAMPAS, where prejudice against non-humans still lingered, the Magpie rchant Group had gained a surprisingly positive reputation.
So credited their exotic and creative designs, distinctive of beastkin culture.
But above all else—it was thanks to the unrelenting effort of the guild mbers.
“When it cos to non-humans… you always think of things like the ‘Witch Queen’s Curse’ or the ‘Beast King’s Rebellion.’ Honestly, I was afraid of them.”
“But that was just my own prejudice! They’re incredibly kind and good-hearted!”
The Magpie Group had made it their mission to break down discrimination and promote harmony. They voluntarily hosted charity events and offered relief efforts across the continent.
The North Continent was constantly torn by conflict.
Its six kingdoms were always at war, leaving countless people to suffer.
“Truly, if it weren’t for the Magpie Group, I don’t know what would’ve happened to my family…”
“So many mouths to feed, my husband dead, our hotown in ruins—we were fleeing with nowhere to go. If the Magpie Group hadn’t taken us in, we’d have starved or frozen to death.”
The Magpie rchant Group, grown under a banner of coexistence and unity, was beloved by many in the North Continent, boasting a stellar reputation and public image.
anwhile, at the Magpie Group headquarters…
“What a fine day.”
Enjoying a leisurely tea ti beneath the warm sun was an elderly man: Fitztz Magpie, head of the Magpie rchant Group.
“Grandpa!”
A loud, familiar voice called out as a young girl ran toward him.
“…Enaka?”
To one’s surprise, Fitztz Magpie was Enaka Clover’s maternal grandfather.
In other words—they were blood relatives. A true family bond.
It was almost strange. The Clover and Magpie clans, destined to clash one day, sharing family ties?
Though both the Clover Trade Company and the Magpie Group had earned goodwill, they were ultimately competitors—constantly vying for a larger slice of the economic pie in the North Continent.
—Because at heart, both were rchants, after all. Driven by profit.
Was it a strategic alliance?
Or perhaps, as the Magpie Group claid, a genuine embrace of unity and harmony?
“My sweet granddaughter, what brings you here at this hour? Sothing bad happen?”
“……”
“There, there. Let Grandpa hold you.”
What was clear, though, was that Fitztz deeply cherished Enaka.
“There, there. What could’ve made my darling girl so sad? Don’t cry, now, don’t cry.”
He gently patted her back as she collapsed into his arms.
After how long, warmth passed between them.
“So, my dear. Won’t you tell Grandpa what happened?”
“Ugh… Grandpa…”
Enaka could no longer hide her distress.
Unlike at the council chamber, where she had tried to bury her emotions, here, she let the tears fall—raw and painful.
“It’s just… today…”
She poured it all out—everything that had happened recently at the Clover Trade Company.
How angry she’d been, how humiliated and ashad.
Hi there, Enaka! I’m Aajen Clover. Nice to et you. Let’s be friendly rivals!
And… how, just a little bit, she was actually sad about it.
“Phew…”
After sharing it all with the one who had always believed in her, she finally felt lighter.
The knot in her heart began to unwind.
“Hmph. My poor granddaughter… you had every right to feel that way.”
“…Yeah.”
No one else would’ve understood.
Logically, inheriting the position because the rightful heir had died should be a good thing.
It was, after all, the position she had long yearned for.
—The unification of the Clover Trade Company and the Magpie Group.
It had been Enaka Clover’s dream since childhood.
Born of a Magpie beastkin mother and a LAMPAS-born human father, she always believed—
Clover represents trust. They have the capital and technology. The Magpie Group excels in design and creativity. If these two joined forces… if humans and beastkin worked together…
It would beco a truly one-of-a-kind organization.
A real symbol of harmony. A rchant guild of unparalleled caliber.
And more than anything—
Dad only needs you two.
After her father was forced out of succession for marrying a beastkin, she wanted to prove sothing to him.
That his daughter could do it.
But...
Could she really accomplish her ideals from a position she hadn’t earned through her own rit?
Enaka bit her lip.
“No, Enaka. Try thinking about it the other way.”
Fitztz stroked his long white beard as he spoke.
“No one knows how hard you’ve worked more than . No one is more suited to lead the Clover Company than you.”
Though his words were gentle and his smile soft, Enaka felt a chill crawl down her spine.
“Think carefully. The heir is dead. The president is unconscious. In such a precarious ti… we need a strong center. Soone reliable. Soone like you.”
His wrinkled hand gripped her shoulder—heavy, almost burdenso.
“Now, my beloved granddaughter. Go back—to where you belong. Everything will be just fine.”
The grandfather she once admired… felt more foreign now than ever.
***
On her way back from the Magpie Group...
“…Ha.”
Her mind was foggy, as if struck by a hamr.
rchants are supposed to cater to their custors' needs and desires.
That’s why they’re hypersensitive to emotion.
“Grandpa was… acting strange today.”
What Fitztz said had been logical. Sensible, even.
But sothing about it chilled her to the bone.
A sixth sense, perhaps—Enaka was a half-beastkin, and her senses were sharper than most humans.
“…Wait. How did Grandpa know that?”
Suddenly, a comnt from earlier surfaced in her mind.
The heir is dead. The company president is unconscious.
Enaka had kept her emotions in check earlier, never speaking about Clover's inner affairs.
Specifically… that Nonohen Clover had collapsed.
“No way. It can’t be—!”
Her sharp mind worked fast—piecing together what others might miss.
It was only possible because she was Fitztz’s granddaughter, and had seen too much.
“Could Grandpa be behind all of this? Aajen? Nonohen? The other rchant group mbers—all of them…?”
Her face contorted in shock.
She clearly rembered the nas and faces of every person who had died on that trade mission.
Hello, Miss Enaka!
They were more than statistics. They were real people—who had all died.
“If Grandpa is behind this… then yes. It’s possible.”
Fitztz Magpie wasn’t just a respected rchant.
He was closely tied to a villainous syndicate that ruled the underworld.
She never had proof. But she had long suspected.
...What is this?
During past visits to the Magpie Group, she had seen massive stockpiles of supplies.
They were war materials.
The Magpie Group—known for peace and harmony—should never have owned those things.
I thought he was just trying to profit from war, as a rchant...
After all, war—tragic as it was—often beca a feast for rchants.
Even the Magpie Group couldn’t ignore such opportunity.
But this? This slled like sothing bigger.
War. Or at the very least, sothing just as devastating.
Fitztz Magpie was not only the Magpie Guildmaster, but also the leader of the Magpie Clan.
If he allied with Depicio, the assassin’s guild and a non-human syndicate…
What could happen?
“A war… Sothing massive is coming. But against whom? And why? What’s the end goal?”
She didn’t know yet.
But her instincts told her this wouldn’t end well.
“Such a smart human, nyang. But oh-so uptight~”
“…! Who’s there!?”
A sudden, playful voice rang out.
“But I don’t dislike such straight-laced humans, nyang~.”
Turning quickly—there he was.
A feline beastkin with black fur and sharp yellow eyes.
“Ann-yang?”
Nero Chase grinned and made an offer.
“Don’t you want to set things right, nyang? Want to help?”
“…Can you?”
A stranger. A strange proposal.
Normally, Enaka would be deeply suspicious.
But now—she had no choice but to grab that outstretched hand.
She was desperate.
Tough and proud as she was—Enaka was still young.
She couldn’t bear the weight of knowing her own kin had committed such atrocities.
That her colleagues had all been slaughtered.
To her desperate question, the feline beastkin answered:
“Of course! That’s why my master is on his way right now, nyang~.”
His voice brimd with confidence.
As if declaring a universal truth.
“Everything will be restored, nyang.”
***
A few days later. At the Clover Trade Company.
“We will now proceed with the vote for the new heir candidate.”
Bang, bang, bang!
The presiding Clover Trade Company notary, seated at the highest position in the council, struck the gavel.
“If anyone opposes this motion, raise your hand. No one?”
The chamber was deathly quiet.
Most elders had already been swayed or persuaded to support Enaka Clover.
“If there are no objections, we will now finalize the appointnt by majority vote—”
At that mont—
“Excuse . I object.”
A calm voice interrupted the process.
Sohow, a golden-haired boy had entered the hall and was now standing with his hand raised.
“W-Who are you?! How dare you interrupt this assembly!”
“?”
The boy blinked innocently and pointed to himself.
“I’m Lewin Legisel, official proxy of the rightful heir to the Clover Trade Company—Aajen Clover.”
And with that—he dropped a bombshell.
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