I'm Actually Not Overpowered!

"During our next trip to Dulum, we should take some of our products to sell..."

The problem with that, however, was that Dulum wasn't exactly a place that appreciated the kind of foods I was bringing to the market.

Sure, they were novel and exotic, but no Adventurer would want to pay extra for a luxury meal.

Only the top ones would be able to constantly afford it, and seeing as they were few, it would make for bad business.

'Fruits are healthy and are an excellent source of nutrients, so ideally they should be more expensive here.

But, Adventurers live short and risky lives. It'll be hard convincing them to neglect meals that give them an instantaneous boost in energy and go for the options that were more nutritious and beneficial in the long run...'

I wasn't ready to devalue my products to suit the crappy tastes of the Adventurers, so a new idea occurred to me.

'I have created a good relationship with Dulum, but it's time to expand my influence. If I leverage on the City, as a trustworthy ally, I could reach out to other areas.'

The place I had in mind was the Merchant City. It was the perfect trading hub to introduce my products!

'The market is established, and I can make many connections too!'

In addition, there were several items and information I could obtain from the Merchant City that I didn't have access to in Dulum.

'For example, the current state of the world. The regions that are in dire straits, and those who could use a Hero.'

Merchants traveled far and wide, so their information network was second to none.

Unlike them, Adventurers were muscle heads who could only think of violence and money.

Definitely not my style!

'I'll use Dulum to make contact with the Merchants!'

A few of them had to stop by the Adventurer's City frequently—for issuing Quests of protection, procurement, among several other reasons.

If I introduced my products to those merchants, and they took it back with them... I was sure to make a name for myself.

'This world is lacking in a lot of resources, due to their current state...'

Leveraging on this, I could do good business. After watching several anime and reading Light Novels for so long, I knew that for sure.

But, I also knew that delving into business could be dangerous.

There was the risk of making enemies out of other merchants who would be on the losing end due to my entry into the market.

If I brought a great deal of groundbreaking technology, it would definitely ruin their business with other consumers. I could run them out of business, and that would cause them to bare their fangs at me.

Acrimony was the last thing I wanted, so I had to tread carefully.

"I'll start with foodstuff, since those were always in demand—more demand than supply! The moment I had enough information on the market, I'll branch out.'

There was no need to rush.

Until we had enough power and influence to defend our interests, it was better to start small.

'It'll be even better if I can partner up with merchants and create a scenario where we all win.'

That was my duty as a Hero, wasn't it?

I was meant to be the pillar that defended this world, and not a greedy person whose only interest was money.

"Haa, I guess I have to betray my capitalist upbringing."

A Hero was for everyone!

As much as I loved this settlement and its people, the fact remained that I was meant to save everyone here.

That included the innocent merchants who simply wanted to make a profit.

"Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, I just have to make sure this first business plan is successful."

The way our food resources would be received by the market was going to affect any future projects regarding commerce.

Everything was one step at a time.

"Now, for the second matter that requires consideration..." I sighed while staring far into the horizon.

I squinted my eyes and felt the wind brush my face while inhaling the cool breeze.

My heart felt a pang of both disappointment and unease.

It wasn't due to any apparent danger, but because I was worried about something.

"Those Adventurers have still not said anything about the weapons I told them to make for me..." I murmured.

Back when I first went to the Adventurer's City, I made sure to kill that Earth Dragon, making a name for myself as the Legendary Dragon Slayer.

I specifically told Zabdel—the Vice Guildmaster— to make the parts into weapons.

Some of the parts they could not process were taken by me since I could process them myself.

But, since Adventurers were experts at weapons, I needed them to forge the good stuff for me.

Of course, it wasn't for free.

I planned on compensating them for their efforts. But, even looking at all I had done for them already, they should have readily agreed without expecting a reward.

Yet, not only had Zabdel been tight-lipped about the whole thing, I was yet to receive a single weapon made from the Earth Dragon.

"Hold up... I hope it's not what I think it is."

After spending time making a series of plans concerning the Merchant City, it dawned on me that Dulum could have been a step ahead of me.

"Those bastards! Did they really sell my precious Earth Dragon parts?!"

Tears nearly dropped from my eyes at the thought of their treachery. Why would they do something like that?

"After saving their lives and risking my life to look cool while doing it. Those guys... they wouldn't have done something like that, right?"

The more I thought of it, the more it seemed probable to me.

I mean, I had read stories where the Vice Guildmaster was actually a villain in disguise.

'And he seemed so nice too. What if he sold the goods and ran away with the money?

Shiiiit!!!'

I couldn't control the feeling of pain and loss swirling within me.

"No.... no way! My precious... my precious Earth Dragon..." As I sniffed, I looked above me—watching the cloud turn dark all of a sudden.

Yep! The future looked bleak already