The Chamber of Commerce was a single organization that controlled the commerce of the human race.

　It secured local distribution channels and sent all kinds of valuable local products to every place.
　They made commerce a licence system and drove corrupt merchants out of the market.

　Although a mediator is essential for legitimate business, such a mediator is always involved with the interests of the people and can become a haven for wealth-seeking parasites.

　In fact, the merchant associations of the human domain have reached the end of their organizational life, and instead of protecting the common merchants, they only bring about harm due to their exorbitant usage costs and needlessly complicated rules that restrict them.

　It had become a mere stronghold for vested interests.

　Now, there is one entity that is an eyesore for such a trade association.

　Lax Village.

　Just a few years ago, it was a cold village with nothing to offer, but it has grown rapidly since then.
　This was all due to the existence of the Mithril Mine.

　What was once in the hands of the demon tribe was reclaimed by the humans, and the mithril produced from the mine was distributed to human territory.

　Its value is supreme, as it is as practical as iron and copper, and its performance surpasses all existing minerals.

　On the contrary, with the help of the Adventurer's Guild, that village has brought in skilled blacksmiths to create all sorts of armor using mithril as a material.

　The Adventurer's Guild's side was probably already wary of the movement of the Chamber of Commerce, which was only vicious.

　When I noticed, everything was completed and there was no room to get in.

　Everything was completed only within the Lux Village, and the sale of Mithril Armor did not bring any benefit to the Chamber of Commerce.

　This was not the case.

　With a sense of urgency, the Chamber of Commerce moved belatedly to bring the mithril business under the control of the Chamber of Commerce.

　But the man who leads the village of Laxx is even more difficult to deal with than you can imagine, and he stubbornly refuses to comply.

　Normally, I would have used all sorts of threats to bring him to his knees, but as a marginalized village, the Chamber of Commerce has done no harm to the village, which had never had any contact with each other.

　Even more than that, there is also a great backup from the Adventurer's Guild.

　Most of the items made from mithril are the weapons that adventurers handle, so if the Adventurer's Guild trades directly with the adventurers, there is no reason for the Chamber of Commerce to be involved.

　In fact, the involvement of the Chamber of Commerce would only lead to extra steps, increased costs and delayed distribution, but the Chamber of Commerce doesn't care.

　For the Chamber of Commerce, it was supreme that it was profitable for them, and they didn't care how much the retailers and consumers lost as a result.

　All commercial principles were meant to benefit themselves and there should have been no commerce that was not.

　So the mithril trade in Lax Village must be firmly under the control of the Chamber of Commerce.

　This is no longer just a matter of interest, there is also a religious motive at work: to get rid of those who go against their doctrine.

　Lax Village........or rather, Dariel was now the enemy of such a troublesome opponent.

　Those who eat into people's lives, hijacking the law and distorting it for their own convenience were in a sense even worse than Inferno.

　Nevertheless, Dariel was experienced in dealing with such parasitic creatures since his time in the Demon King's Army, and he didn't go into it ineptly.

　With the help of reliable relatives such as Aranziel and the President of the Center Guild, Dariel has somehow managed to maintain his commercial independence until today.

　However, the other side had finally begun to become numb to that as well.

◆

I hear the President of the Center Guild is feeling better and back on duty.
"Tch, that old demon........ How long do I have to keep clinging to the pinnacle of power to make you feel better...?

　The top brass of the chamber of commerce have gathered in one place and are holding a meeting.

　Without exception, they are all dressed in extravagant clothing, and there are several rings shining in seven different colors on their hands.
　Each one of them may be an exorbitantly priced luxury item, but they were not bought with their own hard-earned money. They were not bought with money earned by their own sweatshops, but with money that had been put into their pockets in their sleep by vested interests.

　However, they were still greedy for wealth.

　They wanted the huge profits that Mithril generated.
　Even though they had nothing to do with it.

If Chancellor's retirement is postponed, the future of our control of the Mithril mine is more and more distant...?
It's the only proper future...!
'The current chancellor has turned his back on us!　Why do you shut out our Chamber of Commerce every time the Adventurer's Guild is involved in distribution!

　It was because it would cost too much.

''It is our Chamber of Commerce that has jurisdiction over the business of the Human Domain!　Then it's only natural for us to control the flow of money that happens in the Adventurer's Guild!
'I'm going to set up and do the buying and selling much more efficiently than an amateur does!
For a nominal fee!

　That little commission was to collect fifty percent of the sales as a profit on the part of the Chamber of Commerce.
　Inevitably, the retail price would jump twice as much.

''Well, let's leave the Center Guild Chancellor alone.

　One calm voice rises amidst the discussion of the ragtag crowd.

'Either way, he's an old man. No matter how well he takes care of his health, he will soon be gone from the stage. Yes, in less than ten years, he will be taken up to heaven.
''Well.........?　There's no point in worrying about an old man with a short life expectancy. That's the wisdom of the chairman of the board!

　The man called "Chairman of the Board of Trade," however, was even younger than the executives around him.

　In appearance, he is around forty, about the same age as Dariel.

　But he has a carefree appearance, and his eyes never miss a moment of profit.
　In a creature of the kind that can only live off of profit, he had an agile air about him.

'I want to be on good terms with all the people in the world,'

　Commerce Chairman Litges said.

　He said that the number of people he has ruined to be at the head of the Chamber of Commerce at this young age is more than two hands.

'Business is built on trust and peace,' he said. You sell things to people you trust, and they pay you through trust. No one will buy anything sold by someone who doesn't trust you. Therefore, we, the Chamber of Commerce, must have the trust of all the people on earth.
You are right, Trade President!

　The Chamber of Commerce executives all agreed with him.
　Only his drummers can now survive in the Chamber of Commerce.

"Especially Dariel, the mayor of Rax. I'd like to get to know him better, wouldn't you?　If he and our chamber of commerce join forces tightly, we can turn around a pretty big business. It's an ideal world.
You are right, Trade President!
'But alas, he has no intention of getting along with us. We've been sending him love calls for a long time, though. It's sad that our feelings aren't reciprocated.

　Merchants do not make a living out of fighting.

　Therefore, even if there are people in the way, they will not be outright eliminated.
　They wither away slowly and quietly as if to dry them out, and if the opponent who cannot bear it gives in, it is fine.
　This is called 'getting along' in their value system.

　But it doesn't translate to Lax Village, which has its own livelihood and has the powerful backing of the Adventurer's Guild.
　That's why they were in a hurry to get along.

''Since the trusted Mr. Gandomirahu has been disqualified, it's safe to say that we have run out of ways to pigeonhole Lax Village.
We don't think we have the luxury of time. Will our trade association be taken a dim view of others if we allow the tyranny of Lux Village to continue?
No. We mustn't speak ill of them. As I have said many times before, trust is the most important thing.

　It was an empty word.

'But you're right about that, too. Maybe it's time to move on to plan B.
''That's the Chairman of the Board of Trade!　Did you already have a plan for your stomach!
"Don't you think it's cheating in Lax Village?　Misuris keeps the treasures of the entire human race to himself. This is an inexcusable imbalance. So.....

　You can arrange for another to handle the mithril.
　Until now, the geographical factors didn't allow it.

　It bordered the Demon Race territory and was a delicate piece of land, and to transport the mithril dug up by the deep mountainous terrain to human territory, one would always have to pass through the village of Lux.

''How is our new friend?''
''Haha, as per the Shangguan Chairman's wisdom, Campbell Street near Lax Village is growing in resentment!　They can't allow a neighboring village to prosper unilaterally and gain nothing for themselves!

　It was the merchant's specialty to look over the situation and find the available pawns.

　That's how he found the city of Campbell, which was located near the village of Lax.
　It was a troublesome neighbor who had had several skirmishes in the past.

We've already funded a new route to the Mithril mine with funding from our chamber of commerce. When it opens, the village of Lax will no longer be the only mithril road in the village!
'Good. It will be a sight to see the look on the faces of the Lax Village when their own immovable position collapses. I wonder if Mr. Dariel will be my friend then.

　The Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce was confident that he could take the mithril that had been forcibly produced and sell it through the Chamber of Commerce's channels if only he could connect the routes.

　But he didn't know it yet.
　He did not know that the Mithril mine was going to be the center of a great confusion.

　The conspirators are conspirators and are no match for direct military force, no matter how proud they are of their numbers.

　Once they enter the historical arena of war, they are more helpless and pathetic than a mole dragged to earth.

　Even the Demon King's Army, which has been fighting on the front stage alongside the Adventurer's Guild, has its sights set on Mithril.
　The parasites of vested interests should have anticipated this, but it was impossible for their imagination to extend outside of what had long been the world's only human territory.

　For this error of judgment.
　They would lose the vested interests they loved above all else and perish.

　Everyone is after the Mithril mine.