The Golden Lord has a perverted SSS-rank summoning system!

In total, Ron had brought along just over eleven thousand gold coins.

That was his life’s fortune. Every last gold coin scraped together from the sale of all the wine, his personal savings, and bank loans.

If pirates had attacked or this voyage had failed, he would have been ruined.

He had always known that, but such was life.

Merchants who traveled this route always bet everything. With a single voyage, they could become filthy rich or end up as slaves of their debts.

Ironically, Ron was not attacked by pirates, nor did he suffer any mishaps on his journey.

He simply handed over all his wealth to a young lord barely half his age, keeping for himself only a small reserve to cover the return trip and the sale of the goods.

The merchant had plenty of contacts to supply all those spiritual herbs and was already calculating the fortune he would make from them.

He also had many doubts about the origin of these herbs, but in the end, he kept his greed in check.

He wanted to be rich with his head still attached to his shoulders.

Naturally, before deciding to come here and bet everything on Ethan, Ron had done his own research on Goldenveil and Darkwall, who was supposed to be there.

It wasn’t hard to discover that the young master Ethan Darkwall, whose appearance was described as identical to that of Lord Ethan Goldenveil, had been banished to the small Darkwall settlement in the eternal forest.

It all made sense. Goldenveil’s rise, Ethan’s abilities.

The boy had a mother who was a Fourth-stage being and, according to rumors, on the verge of reaching the Fifth. A truly terrifying existence.

Most likely, Ethan had achieved all of that with her backing.

That knowledge alone was enough to dispel every last one of Ron’s doubts.

Ethan was the son of a woman who would soon become a fifth-stage archmage, just one step away from the realm of demigods.

Even the entire Kingdom of Burning Ice had only a handful of fifth-stage beings, including the Darkwall family’s ancestor, with only a single one in the sixth stage.

The fact that rumors of Ethan’s mother advancing so young already circulated showed that she had potential, however small, to reach the sixth stage and become a demigoddess.

How could Ron not get excited about something like that?

He needed to stick close to Ethan and ride the wave of that wealth.

Ethan knew nothing of any of this, and if he did, he would likely have to completely reevaluate his mother’s talent.

Not that he was concerned with what was happening on the rest of the continent, anyway.

In his office, with eyes gleaming, Ethan could only marvel at the amount of gold sitting in his safe.

Eleven thousand, three hundred and twenty-one gold coins.

The trade had been well worth it, but he didn’t plan to lean too heavily on the spiritual herb business.

A surge in supply could easily lead to inflation and a drop in prices.

Just one or two sales like this a year would be enough, allowing him to keep prices steady while making a real fortune.

All of this, of course, depended on Ron keeping his mouth shut.

Fortunately, Ethan wasn’t worried about that.

He stood, carefully locked the safe, and left his office.

With a sigh, Ethan stepped out of the mansion and found Ron waiting for him outside, accompanied by a middle-aged man.

The stranger wore a dark suit that hung loosely on his gaunt frame and had a weary look on his face.

"Is this the man?" Ethan smiled at the skinny figure.

He certainly looked the part of a scholar.

A thick book was tucked under his arm, and a look of disappointment crossed his face as he surveyed Goldenveil around him. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Yes, this is Tomas. He’s been a civil servant for most of his life and worked in one of the many courts in the capital.

His position wasn’t high, but it’s hard to find anyone who knows the law better than he does for his price."

"Greetings, L-Lord Ethan!" Tomas shuddered under the young lord’s gaze and bowed immediately.

Ethan smiled at the man and glanced at his status screen.

[Name: Tomas

Age: 43

Level: 27/60

Class: Scholar

Talent: C

Opinion of You: 53

Loyalty: 50%]

Nothing impressive, but it would do.

"I believe Ron has already explained exactly why I need you, hasn’t he?"

"T-to a certain extent, my lord."

"Good. Goldenveil is an independent city-state, and naturally, we need our own legal system. A system to punish criminals, collect taxes, and ensure social order.

Generally, I know that such a system would be built not by one man alone, but by a group of scholars who have dedicated their entire lives to the subject. But as you can see, Goldenveil has no such group, so we work with what we have.

You will receive a house, books, and blank scrolls, as well as a salary of one gold coin. Once a week, I will visit you to monitor your work and ensure that everything aligns with my interests."

Tomas listened carefully, nodding eagerly.

A gold coin as a salary? That was almost double what he had earned at his old job!

Wasn’t that wonderful?

Well, he was still in the eternal forest and could die at any moment, but if this place was everything Ron had promised, it would be worth it.

Soon enough, Tomas was taken to one of the newly built residences and set to work.

"When are you leaving?" Ethan asked, turning to Ron.

As soon as the merchant was gone, preparations would begin to explore the iron mine near Goldenveil.

Ethan also wanted to upgrade his mansion into something truly worthy of the name of a mansion, but he preferred not to use that ability while outsiders were still in town.

"In about a day or two. I want to sell everything as quickly as possible and then head back to pick up the new batch of green fairy wine," Ron replied.

With a soft sigh, Ethan patted the merchant on the back and headed home.

He hadn’t trained in a few days, and it was best to get moving before he got rusty.

That mine was probably crawling with monsters and would make a good place to farm XP and inch a little closer to the third stage.

"Besides, I think I’ve already accumulated too many gacha tickets..." Ethan smiled to himself, his eyes flicking to the system inventory.