WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Ryuu

Editor: Ilafy

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Pulled Out Excalibur

Chapter 171

──────

Interlude – On the Continent (3)

The city of Lancert, located near the Outland.

An employee of the Dieta Trading Company’s branch there blinked at the emblem placed before him. That emblem… where had he seen it before? It didn’t take long for him to remember.

Ah, he had seen it during employee training. He recalled being told that anyone bearing an emblem with the company’s insignia was a VIP and should be treated with the utmost respect.

When that memory surfaced, the employee’s eyes widened. His eyes nearly popping out of his head, he examined the emblem before him.

The Dieta Trading Company produced various types of emblems, and their value varied depending on the design. The emblem before him bore a “golden flower.”

Not a gold coin, but a golden flower… It was an emblem granted to only one person.

The employee remembered how the branch manager and executives had repeatedly emphasized, “If someone with this emblem visits the company, do not question it or hesitate—send them straight up.”

He also recalled who the bearer of the emblem was: a distinguished guest of the Dieta Trading Company’s chairwoman, someone who could meet her privately at any time and have her cancel all her schedules. On top of that, that same person had prompted the company to establish a branch in the remote city bordering the Outland.

The employee swallowed hard, shot up from his seat, and stared at the man before him. The face hidden under the robe finally came into view, revealing a young man with grayish hair and sunset-colored eyes—the one who had recently stirred up the Empire.

“P-please, follow me!”

The youngest Sword Seeker, the youngest to achieve four stars, the Star of Dawn… Najin.

The man was the company’s most distinguished guest, who had contributed immensely to the rise of their stock.

The employee bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle, greeting the figure who deserved multiple “V’s” before the word “VIP.”

Not long after, a carriage provided by the trading company arrived for Najin.

When he fumbled through his pockets to pull out his wallet, which he hadn’t used in a long time, the employees panicked and waved their hands.

“No, no! Please, feel free to use it! The Lancert branch of the Dieta Trading Company welcomes your return, Sir Najin, and we will do our utmost to ensure your comfort during your stay in Lancert…” The branch manager himself bowed deeply.

Najin boarded the carriage, which set forth with a smooth start toward the Empire’s capital, where the Dieta Trading Company’s headquarters was located. The ride was quite comfortable.

He glanced out the window of the moving carriage at the blue sky, warm sunlight, fresh air and peaceful atmosphere. It was so relaxing that it made him sleepy. Having not experienced the continent’s embrace in four months, it felt strangely unfamiliar.

‘It’s peaceful. Normally, you’d see a Forgotten One or two by now…’

- Common sense says such things shouldn’t exist on the continent, right?

The journey to the capital took a while, so they stopped at small towns along the way for food and lodging. Eating a well-cooked steak, Najin suddenly remembered the “giants’ special meat” he had eaten in the Outland and couldn’t help but smile.

‘That was pretty good.’

After about a week, he arrived at the capital as a distinguished guest of the Dieta Trading Company. Thus, he was able to enter the city without any formalities.

The Empire’s capital, Camelot, was always astonishingly splendid, but neither the dazzling artifacts nor the architecture could capture his attention. He simply looked up toward the Imperial Palace, surrounded by five towers symbolizing the Empire’s ‘Pillars’.

Najin’s gaze fell on the tower at the forefront, the residence of the First Horn of the Empire, Gerd.

The moment he looked at that tower, he felt a gaze in return. Just as he was looking at it, the old man residing in that tower was also looking at him—he was certain of it.

‘Come to think of it, they say the capital is like that old man’s front yard.’

From the moment you set foot in the capital, you were within Gerd’s range. Najin had heard such rumors. Believing the rumors to be true, he stared at the Empire’s ‘First Pillar’ and moved his lips.

Though countless people, noise, and buildings stood between them, he and Gerd conversed.

The seven stars hanging above the Empire’s ‘First Pillar’ twinkled briefly as Najin informed Gerd that he would visit soon, and the man granted his request.

Arriving at his destination—the street where the continent’s most prominent trading companies kept their headquarters—he stepped out of the carriage after a slight bow.

Flags bearing each company’s emblem hung from the buildings.

He looked around, tilting his head.

‘Isn’t the Dieta Trading Company’s building supposed to be around here?’

He remembered it being nearby when he had visited with her, but the building in its place didn’t bear the company’s emblem. It seemed they had moved.

“This way, Najin.” An employee in the Dieta Trading Company’s uniform guided him directly.

How long had they walked? Najin blinked. “This is the company’s headquarters?”

“Yes, this is the correct location.”

In the central area, between the towering headquarters of Rocktide Trading and Corneld Trading—two of the largest trading companies on the continent—the Dieta Trading Company’s building stood tall, its flag hanging high.

It occupied a respectable building that didn’t pale in comparison to the headquarters of the continent’s top trading companies.

Looking at it, Najin couldn’t help but smile. It seemed that, while he had been struggling in the Outland for four months, the chairwoman hadn’t been idle.

The Snake that Swallows Gold, Dieta, had achieved a success story in the city of opportunities, Cambria and was a person of envy for many merchants.

Building a trading company that represented a city from scratch in just five years was no small feat, but merchants belonging to large trading companies, not small businesses, often pointed out the limits of Dieta Trading Company’s growth, saying, “Isn’t it just a company that only works in Cambria?”

To be called a large trading company, one had to exert influence across the entire continent, not just one city.

It was a frog in a well, a company only highly regarded in Cambria.

They looked down on the Dieta Trading Company and laughed, saying it wouldn’t grow any further, but it didn’t take long for that laughter to turn into astonishment.

After the subjugation of the red and white dragons, Dieta monopolized the materials and began to move, and the tide turned. In an instant, she established herself in the Empire’s capital and formed a contract with the Platinum Tower, a behemoth among behemoths.

Those who witnessed the process dismissed it as “Just luck,” “A seasonal business,” and said, “It will collapse as easily as it rose,” but those voices didn’t last long.

Exceedingly fast and aggressive, the Dieta Trading Company expanded. What spurred its expansion was none other than a statement from the Platinum Tower Master…

“You know the chairwoman of the Dieta Trading Company, right? She’s so diligent and bright. Not like the young people these days. She’s polite, well-mannered, and quick-witted. I muttered to myself, “It would be nice if there were something like this…” and guess what? She sent it to me the very next day! I didn’t even ask for it! How thoughtful of her!”

Cipria Gachevskaya, the Eternal Radiance, who was the center of the Empire’s logistics and managed most of the Empire’s artifacts—standing as one of the ‘Pillars’ supporting the Empire as the master of the Platinum Tower—didn’t think much of her contract with the Dieta Trading Company, but over time, her stance changed.

At first, she sent her secretary to sign contracts with Dieta, but at some point, she began summoning Dieta to her tower. A great mage, one of the Empire’s ‘Pillars’, was meeting privately with the chairwoman of a trading company?

Every time Dieta visited the tower, Cipria’s attitude changed.

“She’s so polite. She speaks so beautifully.”

She went from indifference to a smile.

“Chairwoman Dieta sent a gift? Again? What is it this time? Wait, this is from the Romarien Mountain of 134? How did she know I like this… What? She sent a letter too? Wait a moment. Where’s my pen?”

From calling her “that girl” to “Chairwoman Dieta,” Cipria even personally replied to the letters Dieta sent.

“Chairwoman! Welcome, I’ve been waiting for you!” At some point, Cipria began emerging to greet Dieta whenever she visited and went arm in arm with Dieta, chatting and laughing as they ascended to the top floor.

The mages of the tower were left wide-eyed. It was the first time they had seen their usually stern tower master smile so brightly.

“The trading company I originally contracted with… what was it? Rocktide Trading? How much longer is the contract? Six months? Hmm. Sixty years is long enough. Maybe it’s time to change.”

When she casually mentioned being reluctant to renew the nearly sixty-year exclusivity contract with Rocktide Trading, the company was thrown into a panic; the chairman of Rocktide Trading personally brought gifts to the Platinum Tower, but Cipria simply sent him away with an indifferent expression.

At that point, it was only natural to wonder… ‘How on earth did Dieta manage to win over Cipria Gachevskaya? What method did she use to charm the notoriously difficult great mage?’

Merchants could only marvel at Dieta’s eloquence, which had won over a Transcendent in less than four months.

Four months after the Dieta Trading Company set foot in the Empire’s capital, large and small trading companies gathered under her company’s flag, and based on the companies she had acquired, she began expanding her distribution network across the continent.

Given she did it all in just four months, merchants jokingly said that the heavens should grant her a star.

The Snake that Swallows Gold, Dieta…

Just as the name “Najin, the Star of Dawn” was endlessly repeated by adventurers, knights, and mercenaries, the name “Dieta” was constantly on the lips of merchants.

「A merchant of legend.」

「A born trader.」

「Sit with her, exchange a few words, and you’ll find yourself signing a contract as if bewitched. If you want to negotiate properly, don’t talk to her for too long.」

「Don’t engage in long conversations. It’s better to face her in writing. She’ll enchant you.」

The young chairwoman with golden-flower-like eyes found that her status endlessly rose.

Of course, Najin had no way of knowing all of this.

“Ahh!” Recognizing Najin, the headquarters’ employee swallowed hard and guided him to the top floor.

While others had to bring all sorts of bribes to secure a meeting with Dieta, Najin had no such need. The moment he showed the emblem, the path to the top floor opened smoothly.

Thus, he arrived at the top-floor reception room. There, Dieta was waiting for him. Sitting primly on the sofa, brushing her hair to the side, she looked up from her coffee.

Startle.

The moment their eyes met, her shoulders twitched slightly. She had known about Najin’s visit for about a week and had been waiting in the reception room, fully prepared, but seeing his face after so long left her momentarily flustered.

It had been a long time since she had seen him. Perhaps because it had been so long, joy and excitement took precedence. If it had been the old her, she might have blushed and stumbled over her words.

She was different.

“Ahem, ahem.” Clearing her throat, she smiled brightly at Najin. “It’s been a while, Najin. How have you been?”

Her smile was perfect, even by her own standards. It was a smile that had melted countless men’s hearts and made them fall for her—the result of her honed expression skills over the past four months.

It came more naturally, more beautifully; more elegantly. During that time, she had refined every aspect of her expressions, gestures, and even the smallest movements, mastering the art of conversation to win people’s favor.

It was time to show that growth to him.

‘He’ll be happy to see me after so long, right? This time, I’ll make it more certain…’

Countless plans formed in Dieta’s mind. The corners of her mouth twitched as she imagined a rosy future. Since the distance between them had prevented their relationship from progressing, she would definitely close that gap. Just as she was about to ramp up her expression skills…

“I can’t say I’ve been doing well, but I’ve spent some valuable time away. Yes, it’s been a while, Dieta.” Najin gave a genuinely happy smile filled with sincerity.

That was enough to completely wipe away the bold future Dieta had been imagining. Caught off guard by the perfect ambush, her eyes wavered.

Her expression skills were shattered. Her tongue, oiled to spew out smooth words, creaked like an old hinge. Her breathing faltered, and she hiccuped after swallowing wrong.

“Hiccup.” Covering her mouth with her hand, she quickly turned her head away. The eloquent speaker who had charmed the Platinum Tower Master, the businesswoman who had firmly established herself in the Empire’s capital in just four months; the chairwoman of a large trading company that dominated the continent—it all vanished.

In the end, before Najin, Dieta was just a girl who had completely exposed her weakness.