[Third Person POV]
It was several weeks after everyone had settled in, and Hajime was organizing his inventory.
He hadn't gotten anything new from the gacha since he was currently saving his points for greater rewards, but he was preparing for some important business.
After finally setting up his organization, which he only last week came up with a name for, Silent Echo (A/N: Yes, it's chunni, I know), Hajime immediately started preparing meetings with magic families across Japan.
None were considered major clans, with each having fewer than 100 people.
Hajime's plan was rather simple.
He owned products that were otherwise impossible to get. Since he was the only source, he planned to sell the ultra-rare materials to smaller clans. Over time, word would spread to the larger ones.
Most major clans have been around since at least the early 20th century. That meant they'd, for the most part, already established themselves in the fields and businesses they desired.
Those clans would only expand if they saw potential in doing so.
That was even more true for minor clans. Almost all of them were suppressed by the stronger clans, meaning that unless they had a valuable breakthrough, their positions were unlikely to change.
Now, imagine if minor clans got rare materials with special properties that the major clans couldn't?
The major clans would be forced to buy the materials, if only to avoid risking losing their relevance.
It would create a minor magical arms race with him as the sole supplier of materials. Hajime was currently only selling plants, as his senjutsu could accelerate their growth; he would eventually add animal parts to the list once he figured out how to clone them.
Back on Kinkow, Hajime had collected dozens of different plant samples to bring back. After all, you never know if a plant might contain the cure to some rare disease. For all he knew, Hajime already had a cure to cancer and didn't know it.
Hajime decided to limit the catalogue for now, since all the work was being done by himself. Well, his clones, but potato potahto.
Waiting would also allow him time to discover the uses of his other plants and increase stock for when he eventually puts them on sale.
The first plants on the list were the fireproof tree and the lightning crystal tree. Aside from their unique woods, they both produced excess materials that he would sell alongside them.
Next was a herb that was rare even on Kinkow, the aguallary.
The herb only grew in a specific location on the island, making it extremely difficult to obtain. It was located in the Gissorm Bog on the dark side of the island, where a giant, prehistoric-looking dragonfly lived.
The herb, grossly, only grew there because the dragonfly excreted a strange liquid into the water, which gave it the powerful ability of curing blindness.
There were probably other uses for it, possibly even in artifact making, but Kinkowian shamans never focused on artifacts, preferring rituals and medicines.
Then Hajime chose a simpler plant, the red root. Despite the simple name, the plant had a consumer base that covered almost a quarter of the islands' population.
Why?
It helped deal with menstrual cramps.
Whether it was burned like incense, eaten raw, or snorted like cocaine, the plant had the miraculous ability to deal with a woman's biggest health issue.
That's also why a previous leader, who was a woman, created a company owned by the royal family, specifically to farm the red root. It was sold in a way that barely made a profit, but still provided a decent income for the castle every year.
The root didn't have any special breeding restrictions, but it wasn't easy to find if you weren't farming them.
Finally, there was the trelda, an apple-sized fruit in the shape of a sea urchin. It was one of the many native foods of the island and a delicacy. Though more dangerous than even a durian, the trelda was an island staple, and something Hajime ate almost every day while there.
With his catalogue ready, a large stock of supplies, and a hopefully decent sales pitch, Hajime henged into an older version of himself and headed to his first potential client.
-----
A few hours later, Hajime was at the first house on his list, the Murai clan.
This small clan, located in Kitakyushu, was formed by a former member of the Nakiri principal clan decades ago. The clan leader left their original clan after their child awakened a sacred gear. Knowing their child would never be accepted, but unable to bring themself to abandon them, he left the clan and never looked back.
Since then, he'd developed his new clan, after taking his wife's name, recruited a few independent magician families, and grown it into what it was now. He'd had more children with his wife and even had some grandkids.
The man's history with one of the principal clans was exactly why Hajime chose them.
It's one thing if some random person you've never heard of gets something good, but when it's someone you know, wouldn't you want it too?
Once the principal clans got word of it, Hajime was certain they'd be willing to buy from him.
Even if Silent Echo's reach never went past Japan's borders, he'd still be in a great position.
The only problem was that his organization was too small to make any major moves. Most of the strength lay in Hajime himself, who was infinitely close to supreme class. Following that, the only elite he had was Monet at high class.
If anyone got into a fight with them, they'd be the only real line of defense.
Sure, only a few people might try messing with a supreme class enemy, but since only Yasaka truly knew about his strength, there would likely be many people probing Hajime for weakness. Not to mention that most of his members were low class.
There were many ways he could make them grow stronger, but right now, he didn't have access to them.
With Telos Karma, Hajime had access to all the strongest, most efficient, and overall useful power systems imaginable, but in the end, it was still down to luck if he got anything good.
Alerting the Murai clan by touching their barrier, Hajime waited for one of them to arrive. Less than a minute later, two people were standing in front of him.
The first was a tall, dark-haired man wearing a modern, black business suit, with a casual look on his face. On his back sat a bisento that stood taller than he did, looming over the man like a shadow of death.
Contrasting him was a teenage girl, wearing casual clothing. Her face, unlike his, had an extremely serious look on it as if she'd never told a joke in her life. Where the man had his weapon on his back, ready to draw it at any time, she held hers like a soldier standing at attention.
"So you're the one who sent us that message? Not gonna lie, I kinda thought you'd be taller," the man spoke.
"Father! Show some courtesy as the heir of the Murai clan!" The girl chastised her father, who was clearly used to this, judging by the eyeroll he gave.
"Right, right. Etiquette and whatnot. Welcome, Suko-san, to the Murai clan headquarters," the man said, giving a polite bow before quickly turning around and heading back inside.
"Anyway, I'm sure you won't mind my daughter showing you around. Despite her rigidity, she's the most capable member of her generation."
And just like that, the man vanished into the compound, leaving his daughter alone with an unknown man, something practically unheard of in any anime world.
The girl turned to Hajime and told him to follow along, taking him into the compound.
Arriving at an office on the second floor, she knocked on the door. "Come in," an old voice called from within.
Opening the door, a man with half his hair graying sat in a chair at the large desk across the room.
"Ah, Rin!" The older man got up from the chair and quickly made his way across the room before pulling the girl into a hug. "Seems you've finished your hunting mission in record time. Now, what did you come here for?" The man says with a soft smile.
"Grandfather," Rin said, her voice tinged with embarrassment, "we have a guest!" She said, tilting her head in Hajime's direction.
"Oh, where are my manners!" Letting go of his granddaughter, the man stretches his arm out in greeting. "Hello Mr. Suko, I'm Murai Daisuke. You've already met my granddaughter Rin. I also imagine you ran into my son out there." He said bemusedly, likely knowing how his son passed on the work to Rin. "He never was one for politics or business. Anyway, I believe you came here because you had an offer for me?" Daisuke asked as he brought the two to sit down at the desk, Rin standing off to the side.
Hajime nodded.
"Recently, I've found some magical plant specimens that are unlike anything I've seen before. I've also formed a magician group, for which I don't have enough funds. I came here to sell some of the plants' materials, which I'm sure you'd be quite willing to buy."
"I see," Daisuke said. "What kinds of plants are they, and how much do you have?"
After giving a brief rundown of what he was selling, Hajime watched as Daisuke took out some paper and started writing on it.
Several minutes went by before he eventually crumpled it into a ball and threw it out.
"Sorry about that. Helps when I'm thinking."
Hajime waved him off, not caring in the least.
"So," Daisuke began, "while I am tempted to buy all your stock, you also should know that I risk bringing my family into something potentially dangerous, right?"
"I do, but I also think you understand the risk of doing nothing. The Nakiri clan specializes in farming and medicine, and as a former member, I'm sure you picked up some of what they know. You're one of the few people I know who could actually make use of these plants in some way.
I have other people that I plan to sell something to later, but all of them specialize in lightning or fire magic, but you're the only ones who truly specialize in plants."
The two went back and forth about it, but in the end, Daisuke relented. He knew he was getting the better part of the deal.
A plant that cures blindness and one that deals with menstrual cramps? Those were considered invaluable to those willing to buy them.
Hell, the red root alone would be bought at whatever price was given and still be considered a good deal.
While there were spells and rituals to deal with cramps, they weren't true solutions. The spells usually minimized the pain, rather than removing it entirely. The rituals removed the pain entirely, but the cost ranged between $100,000 and $1,000,000, depending on the materials used.
Although lots of people could afford it, only a fraction would ever actually buy it, since paying that much money every month wasn't feasible.
Sure, he knew his family could afford it for Rin, but alongside their necessary expenses, they'd have almost no money to buy more materials. And that was purchasing it for one person. To buy it for every woman in the family? They'd be bankrupt in less than a year.
Only families like the principal clans or devil pillars would be able to afford such a thing for decades on end.
Yeah, decades. Magic made it quite easy for women to have children, even into their sixties. And devils? They were always capable of it.
Needless to say, he could easily undercut what those suppliers were charging and make a killing. That still left Daisuke with one question.
"Why not sell it yourself? Surely you know the value of such a plant if you're selling it."
"I could," Hajime admitted, "but I don't have any real contacts. Your family has been a minor player in the market for years, but I'd need to put in a lot of work for anyone even to believe me.
I benefit by turning you into an intermediary for red root, since it allows me to sell it faster, and you benefit by getting a profit when you sell it yourself. You're also the only person I plan to sell red root to for now, so you'll basically dominate the market.
Working with you, even if it cuts into my profits, will allow me to spread my group's name more easily than I would by myself. Considering you're getting rare plants and a possible revenue increase, I wouldn't say you're losing out."
"Fine, how about I do as you want, and sell the red root under my clan's name, but I want exclusive distribution rights for a year and a guaranteed supply each week."
"Every two weeks."
"Deal."
The two shook hands before Daisuke quickly wrote out a magic contract. Once it was ready, the two men signed it. Daisuke and Rin escorted Hajime out, with Daisuke telling him to come back sometime.
Hajime, smiling that things went well, started heading toward his next potential customer.
__________
Author's Note:
Thanks for reading; I'll see you next time!