Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 410 - A New Business

“Hmm.”

When the news of Ethan receiving the Master title spread, quite a few people rushed over, not just Yerica.

Among them, the last to arrive was Etting Hunt.

Etting, who was in charge of managing all the commercial activities led by Ethan, had quickly developed the traits of a Merchant Guild leader guiding merchants in a short period.

Previously, she had shown a rather sharp demeanor, but now that sharpness was no longer visible.

She now had the appearance of someone hiding a sharp knife behind a gentle smile.

“Count Ethan, my sincere congratulations. Truly, every time we meet, you shatter my common sense. It’s been decades since Lord Regia Malcher received the Master title, and since then, several teachers have received the title of Master. However, there has never been a case of someone receiving the Master title in just one year.”

The authority that comes with the Master title.

As it was a title bestowed upon an outstanding individual like Regia Malcher, the title of Master was strictly managed to maintain its authority.

Since it was officially bestowed by the Imperial Family, the criteria were extremely strict, and even if all the criteria were met, the qualifications were double-checked once more, demonstrating its great value.

Just having the Master title alone allowed one to work anywhere and receive respect from anyone.

The pinnacle that a teacher could reach.

In fact, this Master title was far more impressive than even being the principal of an academy.

Such a Master title was not only difficult to receive.

Ethan had managed to receive that title in just one year.

“On my way here, I wondered if this might be a surprise party.”

Etting said with a bright smile.

“As soon as I arrived at the territory, I knew. It really had a festive atmosphere.”

Only then could she believe it.

And understand it.

The tasks that Ethan had entrusted to her were very ordinary tasks by Ethan’s standards.

“As you said, I thought I could somewhat follow in your footsteps, Lord Ethan, but as expected, you’ve given me quite a challenging goal.”

As she achieved each of the goals Ethan had set, to be honest, she thought she had somewhat caught up to Ethan.

But Ethan had advanced dozens of steps further.

While chasing after him, she thought she had narrowed the gap quite a bit, but instead, the distance had widened.

While feeling a sense of futility, on the other hand, she could accept it. She realized that he could demand such a high ideal because he had confidence in her abilities.

If she hadn’t taken over the David Merchant Guild and sold special golems to build high trust and connections with the nobles, she wouldn’t have been able to even have a cup of tea together, let alone become a business partner.

“If I hadn’t listened to your advice back then, Lord Ethan, considering how inadequate I still feel…”

“You wouldn’t have been able to work with me. Even if I wanted to work together, Etting.”

“I’m glad.”

Etting said, taking a deep breath.

“Once again, congratulations on obtaining the Master title. That’s why I didn’t come empty-handed.”

Although she hadn’t prepared a gift specifically for the Master title, the timing just happened to be perfect.

“Material things don’t really have much meaning, after all.”

Etting thought this was far more meaningful than an expensive gift.

“All the noble families in the central region have purchased special golems. Numerous nobles are now using our David Merchant Guild’s special golems.”

Just as Yerica had brought the rights that two Twelve Families had tightly held onto as a gift, Etting had brought a similar gift.

Now, the David Merchant Guild had established connections with all the high-ranking nobles.

Since the David Merchant Guild was firmly connected to the Whiskers family, if they were to harbor any ill intentions towards the Whiskers, information would flow directly through the Merchant Guild.

“I was about to say that we need to accomplish that from now on. But you’ve already done it all, Etting.”

“Isn’t this much expected of me?”

Only then did Etting smile comfortably.

“I’ve finally made an achievement. And Lord Ethan,”

Etting talked about Entrosa, whom she had been introduced to.

The reason Etting was able to establish connections with all the high-ranking nobles and sell special golems was thanks to Entrosa’s eloquence.

In fact, after the sale of special golems to the children of noble families, the special golem business had been stagnating.

However, after Entrosa, whom Ethan had introduced, joined, various special golems were developed, and the stagnation was resolved in one fell swoop.

“Sir Entrosa, whom you introduced, is quite capable. Not only does he create numerous new products in a short period, but when we went around the noble families together, his eloquence, wow.”

Etting couldn’t help but stick out her tongue in amazement.

She had lived as a merchant and reached this position.

She thought her innate eloquence in persuading and selling was second to none.

But Entrosa’s eloquence was overwhelming.

“How can someone who’s not even a merchant speak so well? He’s been a great help more than once or twice.”

She had clearly heard that Entrosa was a golem artisan specializing in special golems.

And as she had heard, Entrosa had excellent skills in creating special golems.

Bold ideas. And the skill to implement those ideas as they were.

Moreover, when combined with eloquence that surpassed even that of a merchant, it was truly astonishing.

“Where on earth did you find such a person?”

Entrosa wasn’t someone who should be under others. With that level of ability, he would have no problem starting his own business right away.

His abilities were real, after all.

“People with the ability to change the world often hit walls with a high probability. When you do something that didn’t exist before, people tend to dislike it quite a lot.”

“Because many people dislike change.”

When you try to do something that didn’t exist in the world before, many people get in your way.

They mock you and deny your challenge, saying it won’t work.

“I’m good at finding people who are wandering. It’s very easy to bring out the abilities of such people.”

Etting nodded as if enchanted by Ethan’s words.

It was certainly true. There were quite a few such people in Ethan’s workshop.

If someone else had taken them in as subordinates, could they have created such a large workshop? And could they have continued to maintain it?

They might have been able to create it somehow. But maintaining it is a different story. With such talented people, they would have all gone out and walked their own paths.

The fact that these amazing people were gathered together without such incidents was entirely due to Ethan’s ability.

“It’s an honor to be considered worthy by your discerning eye, Lord Ethan.”

“Speaking of which, with this, we can consider the special golem business as essentially stabilized.”

Ethan had no intention of stopping here.

‘Now that it’s done, we need to move on to the next task.’

“I’ve found more talented individuals. I’m planning to start a new business.”

“What?”

Etting expressed surprise.

“What kind of talent, and where on earth did you find them? Moreover, you’re continuing with business without rest? I thought business wasn’t your main focus to begin with.”

Just how many bodies does this man have?

“I met them during the recent inter-academy exchange.”

Ethan talked about the new talents he was going to recruit.

“Herbology? And entomology? Wasn’t entomology already an obsolete field? I had also tried to recruit magicians specializing in entomology to target a niche market, but there was essentially no commercial viability.”

The commercial viability Etting was talking about was the productivity of the business material.

It doesn’t need to be an enormous quantity.

It would be enough if they could produce just as much as the special golems.

If they could maintain consistent quality on top of that, it would be perfect.

After all, potions made by magicians through entomology could be sold at quite high prices.

“The quality isn’t consistent either… and to begin with, the magicians who push entomology to the extreme showed considerable reluctance to create and sell products. To be honest, the magicians from the magic tower that you brought, Lord Ethan, are unusual. No, rather than unusual…”

Expressions that could only be described as raw came out involuntarily, causing the flustered Etting to stumble over her words.

“Magicians are noble. They are magicians because they are noble. When dealing with magicians, magic can never be a means of business. For them, magic is the only means to gain recognition in the world.”

“That’s the most difficult part. But it’s not impossible. I’ve already persuaded the magicians in the workshop like that.”

Etting closed her mouth at Ethan’s response.

It wasn’t that Etting didn’t know this fact. Nevertheless, magicians were not something that could be moved at will.

It was already surprising that Ethan was succeeding in business with magicians from the start.

“But… I’m not sure if it will be commercially viable.”

“I haven’t overlooked that either.”

Ethan had already come up with a brilliant idea after learning Fabre’s Insect Research.

“Herbs are difficult to procure, and the quality varies, making them hard to manage. Even if we grow them ourselves, it’s problematic. Herbs are too delicate in many ways; they die if there’s too much water, and they die if there’s too little. If there’s too much sunlight, they die, and if there’s too little, they die. Even the slightest deviation can kill them.”

Etting nodded at Ethan’s words.

That’s why even if you set up a potion specialty workshop, every year was a crisis.

If the herb supply isn’t properly managed that year, you can’t make the desired potions. The result directly leads to a decline in the workshop’s reliability.

That’s why most potion specialty workshops collaborate with businesses specialized in herb cultivation.

They also contract with individual magicians or alchemists who deal with herbs, trying to manage quality as much as possible while running the workshop.

“I have a way to solve that. We will run a potion business based on herbs and insects that we grow ourselves.”

Ethan said.

“I also have the technical skills.”

“!”

At Ethan’s words, Etting remembered something she had forgotten.

He was so versatile that she had forgotten he had an illness.

He had excellent healing techniques to control his own illness.

He had even treated Imperial Princess Evangeline. In fact, his potion-making skills were likely to be superior to those of magicians in most workshops.

“What you need to do, Etting, is create a structure where our workshop can exclusively use the ingredients we cultivate.”

The potion market is already tightly held by the continent’s leading workshops.

There are magic towers famous for potions and the Magic Association, which is a union of magicians.

The largest among them was the Magic Association.

It was an organization formed by renowned magicians, producing high-grade potions, but they didn’t sell to just anyone.

“They say they don’t sell, but select. It’s wordplay, but the Magic Association’s potions do have that much value.”

Ethan used to favor the Magic Association’s potions in the past.

“The fact that they don’t sell to just anyone also stimulates the desire to consume.”

As they were high-grade potions, the users had to be those who could appreciate the true value of the potions.

Although there were various complicated conditions attached to purchasing, the effects were certain, making the Magic Association’s high-grade potions a powerful weapon that kept the association running smoothly.

As the Magic Association had a tight grip on the potion market, it was quite difficult to squeeze into that gap.

“We’ll deal with everything from high-grade potions to low-price potions.”

“What?”

The Magic Association doesn’t deal with low-price potions.

Therefore, she thought that while it would be difficult, they could try to challenge by focusing on low-price potions.

But Ethan was saying without hesitation that he would expand the range to include high-grade potions.

“I’m going to turn this Whiskers territory into a general store. I plan to expand the scale even more.”

“Can it be expanded even further from here?”

Ethan grinned and said with a confident expression.

“This is just the beginning, Etting.”