The Immortal Genius Spear Knight (7)
The list of successful candidates for the third training camp was announced.
The list was posted in a large format at the entrance of the third training camp, and early in the morning, applicants crowded around the entrance.
“……There are so many people.”
Would I be able to find my name among all these people?
Damian muttered as he started looking for the list of successful candidates posted at the entrance.
“No, no! Noooo!”
“Damn it! This is absurd! Why didn’t I make it?”
The first sounds of despair came from those who were dissatisfied.
One common reaction among them was to repeatedly read the list, believing their name had been left out.
Of course, accepting reality was just as difficult.
“Woohoo! I made it!”
“Mother! I passed!”
On the other hand, those who had passed expressed their gratitude to an unknown deity in ecstatic voices.
Seeing this, Damian had a slightly bewildered expression.
‘…Is this really something to be so happy about?’
In times of war, there was a shortage of soldiers, so conscription was enforced.
Everyone tried to avoid being drafted by any means necessary, and some even went as far as breaking their limbs to dodge the draft.
‘But now…’
People are clamoring to be the first to go.
It was so different from what he had imagined that it was disconcerting.
But at that moment.
“Hey, Damian!”
“..Apel.?”
Damian saw Apel approaching. Apel smiled broadly and spoke to Damian.
“Congratulations. We’re comrades now, right?”
“Oh, did you pass?”
“Yeah, I also confirmed your name. It’s right at the top.”
“At the top?”
At Apel’s words, Damian looked up.
[Damian, 13 years old]
“Oh, there it is.”
When Damian smiled broadly, Apel said.
“Let’s take care of each other from now on. Of course, we might not end up in the same unit, but hahaha.”
“Same here, having someone my age around is more reassuring than I thought.”
“Isn’t it?”
Damian smiled faintly and agreed. Then Apel asked,
“We have a week until we join, what will you do in the meantime?”
“A week… I think I’ll be quite busy. I have some things to take care of.”
“What, another secret?”
“Haha, it’s nothing special. Just need to buy some things before joining.”
“Hmm, okay? I don’t know about other things, but make sure to get heel and sole patches. The issued combat boots are so stiff that every single recruit gets blisters.”
“Oh, really?”
Damian asked slyly, laughing inside.
Because he had experienced all those blisters himself.
“Yeah, there’s a military supplies store called Lion Eagle in the bustling district near the capital’s east gate. I heard their patches are good.”
“Thanks for the info, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“It’s nothing.”
As Apel shrugged his shoulders, Damian asked.
“What will you do for the week?”
“Me? I have some things to take care of too.”
“…You seem to have just as many secrets as I do, huh?”
Apelpel chuckled softly at Damian’s words.
“Hehe, I’ve always been a mysterious person.”
“Well, prepare well, and see you in a week.”
Damian shook hands lightly with Apel and then turned away.
As Damian moved on, an old man approached Apel from the side.
“Young master, everything is ready.”
“…Allen, I told you not to call me young master in places like this.”
“Ah, my apologies.”
“Ah, let’s just go.”
Apel turned in the opposite direction of Damian.
Swoosh.
He then glanced back at Damian.
Allen asked.
“Who is he?”
“Just someone I feel I’ll be seeing a lot more of.”
“…Pardon?”
“Never mind. Let’s go.”
With that, Apel walked away with the old man.
For Damian, the capital held many different meanings.
‘I used to come here quite often.’
When the outskirts were collapsing and becoming more isolated, whenever battles occurred outside the capital, he would come to the capital for supplies.
‘It wasn’t this beautiful back then.’
It couldn’t be called a famine, but after a long war, there was no room for leisure on people’s faces.
Just because it was the capital didn’t mean everyone was well-fed.
On the contrary, because many people fled from ruined cities to the capital, there were quite a few beggars in the back alleys.
…Unbelievable.
The capital seemed to be shining brightly.
It was hard to understand how the atmosphere could change so drastically.
But what Damian experienced was all true.
In five years, when the era of war comes, changes will occur so rapidly that ordinary common sense cannot comprehend it.
‘I need to hurry and prepare.’
However, the regret was that the information Damian had was only about the major trends of the era.
In terms of detailed parts, the information was very sparse.
‘But…’
He thought it was most important to make the best use of even that small amount of information.
That’s why Damian sought out the Yurk Trading Company.
During the time of war, the Yurk Trading Company was a trading group that grew tremendously by quickly noticing and trading skyrocketing food and weapons.
Damian had only heard about their name and achievements later, but the surprising thing was that the head of the trading group, Yurk, was not much older than him.
‘When the era of war comes in five years, the first thing to change will be food.’
Luxury items of this era will be meaningless then.
Only practical artifacts, weapons, and food that can help survive on the battlefield will be important.
“Hmm…”
Of course, there were many other things to do, but time was too short.
‘First……’
He would look for the Yurk Trading Company.
Damian began gathering information about the trading groups in the capital by heading to the bustling district.
‘There are roughly about 40 trading groups in the capital…?
Damn! That’s more than I expected.
The problem was that none of them were named Yurk Trading Company.
‘This is a headache.’
How should he narrow it down?
The only information he had was that Yurk from the Yurk Trading Company was the son of the previous head and that Yurk would be in his early 30s in 15 years.
“Oh, no, there is one more thing.”
That was the fact that the Yurk Trading Company had been continuously involved in charitable activities to help those in need.
Thus, even though they had grown tremendously wealthy during the era of war, they received public support.
“Normally, when one becomes a war merchant, it’s natural to make a killing,” Damian recalled the trading company’s distinctive management philosophy.
‘If I narrow it down to trading companies involved in charitable activities, the number will certainly decrease.’
Damian quickly began to filter out the trading companies in the capital that were either already engaged in or planning to engage in charitable activities.
And then…
“My head is going to explode!”
He had been running around collecting information, but doing it all alone took quite some time.
“Still, I managed to narrow it down.”
Even though he had filtered them from a broad range, the number of trading companies was reduced from over 40 to 7.
However, it took him 3 days just to gather this information.
‘I should have used an information guild.’
No, no.
Damian shook his head.
There was a reason he was personally searching for the trading companies instead of using an information guild.
‘I don’t let even a speck of information slip by.’
Information guilds are very sensitive to the circumstances and background of their clients.
They don’t just take on a request; they investigate why such a request was made.
Only a handful of people would know about the upcoming era of war in 5 years.
If others caught on, it could become problematic.
‘I can’t leave even a slight possibility.’
That’s why he was going through this arduous process.
“…I need to face it.”
He still had 4 days left.
It was enough time to visit the 7 trading companies.
Damian personally visited the 7 selected trading companies.
“Excuse me.”
“Welcome.”
He first visited the largest of the seven trading companies.
Since it had grown as a trading company, he thought the larger ones might have a higher probability.
“May I meet the head of the trading company?”
“What business do you have with the head?”
A staff member in charge of guiding customers approached Damian.
Damian responded with a faint smile.
“I heard that your trading company is involved in charitable activities. I came to invest to support such good deeds.”
“Please wait a moment.”
Although the staff looked somewhat dubious due to Damian’s youthful appearance, the mention of investment prompted him to relay the message to the head.
Soon, a man who appeared to be the head of the company approached Damian.
“Are you the one requesting to meet?”
“I’m Damian.”
Damian looked at the head.
The man seemed to be in his early 50s, with a considerably wrinkled face.
‘Yurk is currently in his late teens. This isn’t him.’
That means…
‘There must be a direct successor.’
From what Damian knew, the current head’s son was supposed to be the next in line, so he only needed to confirm that.
“You want to invest in our charitable activities?”
“Yes, it’s not a large sum, but I have some money left by my parents that I’d like to use for a good cause.”
“Haha, it’s admirable for someone so young to have such a thoughtful idea.”
The head smiled kindly and ordered some tea to be brought in.
While discussing the investment, Damian carefully asked.
“May I ask if you have a son?”
“Yes, as I’m getting older, I have to think about succession.”
The mention of a successor came up easily.
As Damian’s eyes sparkled, the head introduced his successor, his son. However…
The one introduced as the next head seemed to be almost 30 years old.
‘Damn it, another miss.’
Well, things in life aren’t easy.
Damian wrapped up the conversation appropriately and quickly left the trading company.
He continued to visit trading companies, gathering information while discussing investments.
“Is this the last one?”
Was it a mistake to approach based on size?
Damian stood in front of a small trading company that had been doing charitable work for three years.
“Hamel Trading Company.”
It seemed quite small. How were they managing to do charitable work with such limited funds?
‘Still, I should check it out.’
Having come this far, there was nothing to lose by visiting one more place.
Damian entered the Hamel Trading Company and spoke politely.
“Excuse me, is anyone here?”
“What can I do for you?”
A middle-aged man welcomed Damian.
Damian greeted him politely and said.
“I heard that the Hamel Trading Company is involved in charitable activities. I came to discuss investing to support such good deeds.”
“Investment? Haha, it’s commendable for someone so young to have such a good mindset.”
The man offered Damian a seat and brought out a cup of warm tea.
“I’m Yurk, the head of the Hamel Trading Company. Thank you for your kind visit.”
He handed Damian a business card.
At that moment, Damian’s eyes slightly wavered.
Yurk…?
He didn’t expect the current head’s name to be Yurk.
He had been looking for the Yurk Trading Company, not realizing that the head’s name could be Yurk.
Damian swallowed and asked.
“It might be a rude question, but do you have a son?”
“Yes, haha, but I only have a mischievous daughter.”
“…A daughter?”
What, another miss?
The moment Damian heard the name Yurk, he thought this could be the place.
But a daughter…
However, at that moment…
“Here I am back!”
Damian turned his head at the sight of a young woman entering the trading company, brushing the dust off her clothes.
“…Huh?”
