Life truly works in mysterious ways… and whether it’s us humans, the demons, or even the monsters, no one will ever be able to truly comprehend what goes on where our eyes can’t see.

A fact and a conclusion, both of which were deeply imprinted on my mind the day I truly started my life, the day I underwent my Appraisal Ceremony.

You see, I, Ellois Hafton, grew up as a very precocious child.

Instead of playing around like other noble children of my age, I invested my time into what I considered… productive? Profitable? I did not know the correct word to describe it at that time.

I just felt like I could better invest my time, so I did. This led to me unknowingly developing a goal oriented mindset very early on in life.

When my father complained about issues concerning our fief, I pondered how to improve the situation without harming the interests of anyone involved.

When he spoke of demons and our eternal war with them as humans, my thoughts immediately went to possible ways this eternal hatred could be resolved.

However, I soon found that to be impossible, so I shifted my efforts towards devising the best ways to profit from said war.

I felt no such thing as anger, disdain, hatred, or even fear. I simply pursued the most efficient methods to solve the problem at hand while gaining enough benefits.

In many ways than one, I was different, and I knew it.

And as such, the day I walked up to that Appraisal Stone while being watched by a large number of people, I was fully aware that the next few minutes will determine what will become of this short, insignificant life of mine.

…But deep inside, I refused to believe that my worth was to be dictated by these fools.

It is not that I looked down on them, nor did I harbor any ill-will towards them. 

It’s just that life and reality are two concepts that care not for what their victims feel, and I personally felt that following in the footsteps of these two great concepts is what would be best for me.

So I decided to ignore what others thought or felt about me, and single-mindedly pursue what I believed was right.

And so before I placed my then tiny, frail hands on that stone, I had already prepared for all the possible scenarios that could follow.

At first, everything went exactly as I expected it to.

I had trained in swordsmanship ever since I could handle a sword’s weight, and I was rewarded with high physical stats and the swordsmanship skill.

I had started taking lessons with tutors far earlier than others and I put in much more effort than they did, so I was rewarded with the Memory skill and the Thought Acceleration skill.

The results clearly dictated that I was to be a great person who would undoubtedly become a great asset to the kingdom in the future. 

It was a completely expected development, simple cause and effect. Surely, nothing could go wrong, right?

Oh, but there was.

Right at the bottom of my status, in the title section, there were two grayed out words that were only visible to me.

 

<Business God>

 

The presence of this title changed everything, at least for me.

I had learned of the Rexandt Empire’s prized sword saints in my history, geography, and swordsmanship lessons– just like every other noble.

But being the son of an Earl made me privy to some deeper, more confidential details, if you could call them that.

Even amongst the sword saints, there was the best and the worst, the older and younger, the stronger and the weaker, but most importantly, there were those who were simply more skilled with swords than the others.

Of all the sword saints in history, there were five who truly stood out.

During their meager lifespan, they had been able to transcend their saint titles, being acknowledged by the Word of God itself as Sword Gods.

The real reason why the militaristic empire which boasted the strongest army and individuals in the entire world remained holed up in the Kasanagara continent pretty in a what is basically an idle state is a direct result of the legacies left behind by those five legendary swordsmen.

I believe the thought process of their top brass at that moment must’ve coincided with mine: If there is a Sword God, then who says there can’t be gods of other weapons?

What would happen if our own weapon god died and another weapon god was born amongst our enemies?

And many other terrifying conclusions were concocted inside my immature brain at the time, yet I could only imagine what those who are fully aware of their nation’s circumstances and the global power dynamics came up with.

Nevertheless, it appears that in my ignorance, I didn’t take an obvious possibility into my considerations.

…Was it only weapon users who could be gods? Were there any natural laws that Word of God dictated saying that it could only be so?

It was because I had overlooked this that I just stood there in dazed silence right in the middle of the hall Father had prepared for the ceremony.

I only regained my bearing when I felt a strong, firm hand rest on my shoulders.

Startled, I hastily turned around, only to see my father standing there, his usually strict face decorated with a proud smile.

…This was the first time I experienced what I later learned to be heartache.

Father was a man who dedicated his utmost loyalty and zeal towards his kingdom and the current king.

At that moment, his heart was filled with pride for his son and relief that he was able to cultivate a great human asset for his beloved kingdom.

Yet his son would not go down the route he envisioned, not even close. I was simply unsuited for that life.

Being an official felt so… inefficient.

Yet I did not have any plans for such an anomalous situation. Or rather, this exceeded both my worst and best expectations at the same time.

I could have never been prepared for it in the first place, unless I could see the future.

I muddled my way through the small reception that followed the ceremony, met, and forged my first few connections in this world before returning to my bedroom and locking the door behind me.

A new goal. A new plan.

At that time, I needed to find or create those two as soon as possible.

And for that, I needed to be fully aware of where my advantages and disadvantages lie at the moment.

That was an easy task before, but everything changed when that title finally came into effect.

Indeed, I actually had to activate the title for its effects to come into play.

It was truly a relief to confirm that my bizarre mindset and personality were in fact completely natural.

 

<Business God: Acquired skills: [Appraisal LV 10] [Heretic Nullification]. Acquisition Condition: Own the best innate talent for business in the world. Can also be obtained by crushing the Business God by pure business means. Effects: Grants an acute intuition. +Correction to Perception-type skill proficiencies. Description: A title awarded to the one who is best at business.>

 

I had used my superior memory to memorize everything about the enigmatic title I’ve been granted without my knowledge.

Nonetheless, I understood nothing save for the fact that I was granted the well-known Appraisal skill at its highest known level.

I could understand each word by itself, but I couldn’t make heads or tails of them when placed together.

Innate talent…? +Correction? Perception-type skills?

Such words sounded completely foreign to my ignorant young self. 

As a result, I tasted failure for the very first time in my life.

It wasn’t even an issue concerning one of my plans, I was simply unable to understand my own abilities, let alone actually concoct a plan based on them.

Despite that, I felt no frustration or anxiety. Instead, I felt intrigued, like I had found an interesting new toy to play with!

The next few years of my life were basically spent moving in between my bedroom, the knights’ training grounds, and the library.

That changed when my first sister came of age however, as I decided to set aside some of my time to tutor her in the subjects required to take my position as an official.

Yes, even though I had decided not to take the route Father had wanted me to, I wouldn’t just leave it open. That would be utterly irresponsible of me, would it not?

In the first place, I hail from one of the rare kingdoms where misogyny is frowned upon in all walks of life, so it wouldn’t be an issue if my sister took my place.

But I wouldn’t force her either. There was no way I could be cruel to my own sister, even if it was inefficient.

Something deep inside kept telling me this, and I understood what it was when I grew older and more mature. It was the last shred of humanity left inside me.

For years, I served as her exclusive tutor in all the subjects she’d need for that position, but I always emphasized that she could ask me to stop at any moment if she desires.

Luckily for both of us, not only did she turn out to be extremely talented, but she was also very interested.

I was honestly relieved.

However, both of us were unaware that someone was always watching over us from the shadows.

The day I graduated from the royal academy, I slowly made my way back home while dreading the upcoming confrontation.

Yet when I entered the study, I found the man I–my father–gazing at me with his usual serious face while gesturing towards his desktop.

Following his directions with my eyes, I find three items placed in front of him.

The first was our Earl family’s symbolic dagger which functions as a free pass permit to basically everywhere in our kingdom, as well as a free jail letter unless the case involves higher-ranked aristocrats

The second item was a sealed letter with our crest on it. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s probably some sort of all-purpose recommendation letter that I can use to apprentice under any master of my choice.

And lastly, there was a hefty money pouch that contained enough money for a commoner family to spend for at least five years.

I didn’t know what to say nor what to do. I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I just stood there, dumbfoundedly staring at him.

As he was also a person of few words, Father just stood up and pushed all three items into my hands while curtly ordering me

“Don’t shame the Hafton name.”

Even if he had no insights to what my true thoughts were, he supported my decision anyways– no matter what it was.

His only request was for me to do my best.

 

Thinking about it now after twenty five years had passed, it was truly strange that I was unable to detect his presence with my intuition.

…Or maybe I did, but I subconsciously refused to spoil the wonderful moments we shared back then.

After that happened, I set out on my very own journey.

Hiding my identity as a noble, I worked as a mere porter for a medium-sized company that mainly specialized in selling grains, but sold several other types of foods as well.

If I ever want to reach the top, I must know everything about those below me.

That’d make it easy for me to make the correct and more efficient decisions.

I kept on accumulating experience, eventually getting noticed by an old, lower-ranked merchant who took me in as his assistant.

He taught me everything he knew, and I absorbed it better than a sponge absorbs water.

In less than a year, my intuition and intelligence granted me a position on par with his.

The more time passed, the more my experience grew, which would in turn sharpen my intuition, allowing me to experience more things from different perspectives.

…It was an endless cycle, one that still persists until this very moment.

It didn’t take me long to realize how great of an advantage an acute intuition grants a person in life.

Not just in business, but also in life as a whole.

I easily took the company chairman’s position in less than five years, then proceeded to make it one of the world’s greatest chambers of commerce in less than ten.

But what truly mattered was the number of times I was able to escape death.Rising to the top was never an easy task. 

I encountered many setbacks and dangerous situations on my way there– especially since I never revealed my identity as the second son of Earl Hafton before I actually arrived.

From simple embezzlement by greedy employees or deliberate obstruction from jealous superiors, to straight out assassinations and monster attacks out in the wild.

Today was also one of those days.

As our hired escorts for this journey were setting up camp for our night rest, we heard an earth-shattering roar coming from the forest, followed by a childish female scream.

Moments later, a petite figure broke through the trees while bringing along a most rare pursuer– a huge Grizlak.

Everyone’s attention was solely focused on the huge monster after hearing the loud road, but I didn’t even register it, only the girl’s figure entered my eyes.

Danger! Death! Fear! Flee! Hide! Cry! Despair!

Those were my thoughts upon gazing at her sweet face and weak body– nay, her sweet and weak facade.

I encountered a similar situation once in my early traveling days, so I recognized what I was truly gazing upon.

 

Back then, it was a rainy night.

I was on my way to another city when I noticed a black-haired child of no more than twelve slowly traversing the same road.

I had stopped my carriage, calling out for her to offer a ride in case we shared a destination, but that’s when she turned back.

Her eyes… Oh, her eyes.

Just by making eye contact with her, my entire body froze as never-ending chills of terror went down my spine and my heartbeat rate shot through the roof.

Her hair had a bizarre white tuft, what she wore was anything but decent, and she even had six… arms? claws? legs?– things growing out of her back.

But my eyes were glued to hers. 

Cautiousness, fear, fatigue, anger, desire for destruction, and many more. Her eyes contained a truly marvelous mixture of emotions that had me mesmerized.

“What?” She opened her mouth, letting out a single word in a tone that expressed obvious irritation.

“Ah, pardon me.” Recovering, I shook my head in hopes to clear my mind. “I merely wanted to offer a lady a ride and shelter from the rain.” I offered with my practiced amiable smile.

“...” She paused, seemingly surprised with my manner of speech. “That would be appreciated.”

“Marvelous!” I let out a genuine smile this time. ”That’s my carriage over there. Would you grace me with your name?”

I felt excited, elated, and giddy among many things. 

A new toy for me to play with– and a very dangerous one at that!

Those were my thoughts as I welcomed that monster into my world.

“Ariel.” I heard her voice. “My name is Ariel.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Ariel. My name is Ellois. Ellois Hafton.”

 

Just like Miss Ariel, this little girl, Miss Letisia was it? is also a monster in human skin.

And just like Miss Ariel, I felt like I found a new dangerous toy to play with. A toy that could help me to climb a few more steps on the ladder to the top.

Miss Ariel gifted me a few tamed taratects upon our separation, but what she considered an insignificant gift laid the road for me to become the most well-known fabric merchant in the world.

Would Miss Letisia grant me something similar? Or is it her personal aid that I would be bestowed with?

I do not know for sure, but that’s fine, is it not?

Surprises are best left unknown before their time comes,after all.

However, I truly hope none of the fools I brought alongside me on this trip would make the foolish mistake of earning her ire with their tomfoolery.

One thing is for sure though, I must get on her good side myself.

Fortunately, I’m told I am a very amiable person whose charisma draws people in, so it should be okay as long as I do not commit a foolish mistake myself.

Oh, how mysterious the workings of life are.

It never ceases to amaze me.

---