My Servant System

Jahi PoV

Letting out a long sigh, I spun the pen around atop my hand and stared down at the three papers in front of me, going over the numbers once again and linking them together to see just what was needed of me, needed of us as a group, and needed to earn in returns to at least break even within a certain amount of time.

It was far more complex then I had initially realized, and seeing it flowing all together to create a picture in my mind on what I needed, what I wanted, and how I was supposed to get it was almost enough to make me balk at the mere idea, but I was going to need to do this eventually, even if that idea was still frightening...

I needed a large quantity of gold - scratch that, make it platinum - to even begin considering this idea of ours, and then I needed to continue pouring more and more gold into the idea to even get it operational, adding to the overall cost and making it even more hurtful to think about as I imagined spending that kind of coin.

All for the CHANCE to make it back in a few months, maybe not even until the year itself was out from the start date; that was what truly made it scary to think about.

The thought that this might just fail and we would simply lose all of that coin in a single moment, forever lost and never to be regained?

Yeah, it was more than enough to make my stomach do twists already, and I didn't actually have that kind of coin on hand at the moment, so... all of this was just hypothetical, which made it worse.

If this was how I felt just thinking about it, how would I feel actually doing it..?

Place me in front of a Fiend again and I would be just fine, but ask me to invest in one company out of many and earn enough to cover that investment and then some, and I feel like quaking in my boots.

So I kept spinning the pen as I tried to think on what would make the most sense, was relatively risk free, and would be enough for me to earn experience and build confidence in this new field that I wanted to learn about; what could I invest in and try to fund out of my own pocket that was a stable field, had low risk margins, and a comfortable profit margin?

Of course it took a few minutes to come up with an answer, my mind defaulting to the things that I thought would be obvious, but after giving them another modicum of thought, I realized they weren't as profitable and 'friendly' as I believed.

Food is something everyone needs, and yet the amount of variables that go into each and every single day is far too volatile to be worth it.

Carpentry is another worthwhile trade, but enough people do their own repairs or have a close friend or a relative who can help them, so there isn't much available there, especially not if I don't have contracts lined up.

Potions would work if I could find someone to brew them consistently, but then the realization of the equipment cost, ingredients, and so much more made me sigh and write that off as well.

So what could I go with then if those were closed to me..?

What was something I could appraise and understand enough to mitigate most of the risks and instead be comfortable selling to someone for a reasonable price?

Of course, the first thing that popped to mind was muscle, and I leaned back in the chair as I mulled it over again and again, looking at it from all sides.

Investing in a mercenary company or adventuring party would be 'relatively' cheap if I went with lower level people first and trained them up into a higher level, or I could just start at a high level too; either way, they were going to need funds for gear, repairs, rations, normal pay and then a few smaller expenses, all to have them delve into a Dungeon and hunt monsters for me.

It wasn't extremely lucrative at the lower levels, since the split in pay between me and them would be minuscule; if they earned 10 gold from the Guild, and I took 2 gold and 50 silvers, they would have 7 gold and 50 silvers to split amongst themselves, which could be a nice payday... or it could barely be enough to sate their greed.

And that pay split would only get more and more egregious and volatile the stronger they got, seeing how much money I was taking from them for doing none of the actual work, so would it even be-

"Whatcha thinking about? Rarely see you with more than two or three thoughts behind your eyes."

Lowering herself into the seat opposite me, Mom gave me a teasing smirk as she slid the papers over to herself, raising a brow instantly and saying "Thinking about investing your pitiful wealth already? Just save up and wait."

Another sigh escaped my lips as I placed the pen on the table, staring at her and replying "Kat wants to think about investing now, and honestly... I should start now. At the very least, I should try to dip my toes into the business side of being a part of a Noble Family. The idea of having to rely on you and Mother for everything is just..."

I shuddered a little, making Mom snort as she rolled her eyes and shook her head, the older Demoness instantly saying "What do you think your Mother and I saved up all that coin for? Because it looks pretty in the vault? Makes a cool number on the bank statements each month? No, we saved it up so that we - and by proxy, you - would never need to worry about money in our long, long lives. I have more than enough coin to last my lifetime, most of yours, and make sure whatever brats you beget will have some freedoms too."

That made me roll my eyes back at her as I shot back "And why would I want to use YOUR coin for MY children? I can provide for myself, my wives, and my kids... whenever they're born."

"If you don't want it, fine~! That'll all just go to Lakshmi and Alessandra then, and whatever other children come along down the line! Ungrateful brat... So, what did you come up with? Ah, wait... let me guess... Mercenary company."

Her ruby eyes sparkled with amusement when I remained quiet, before I sighed as she let out a bark of laughter, unable to help herself.

"Thought so~! Like I said, less than three thoughts behind those eyes~! Simpleton~! You have three uniquely talented, sexy women pining after you with skills that earn more than enough money on their own. Meanwhile, all YOU are good for is to swing around a sword. I can find myself a warrior easily; they're about a gold a dozen these days. But an enchanter? Blacksmith? I'm lucky to find a competent handful in that dozen. And alchemists? Hells! I might - MIGHT - find one in ever dozen."

Sliding the papers back over to me, Mom smirked at me as she added "Don't bother with warriors for now. When you have a solid, consistent flow of coin coming in, that is when you get into the volatile things. And with the people around you, the amount of cost mitigation that would come from having all three of those sectors on your own payroll is astronomical. I got lucky cause Ria's parents are well connected, so in turn she is well connected, and since I own her and she owns me, I'm well connected. You're in a similar boat, but luckier since you don't have to deal with in-laws constantly reminding you about that fact..."

She let out a sigh this time as she leaned back, glancing towards the door that led back towards her room - where Mother and Miss Julie were certainly lounging around in bed recovering - before looking back at me to say "Speaking of, you get to meet your grandparents soon, and you'll sort of get to see what makes Ria... Ria. She's got the screws loose, but the overall structure is easily identifiable. The old man is calm, collected, quiet and unbelievably savvy, but not really a people person. Likes his books over everything else, and doesn't care if that is a business journal or a novel."

With the conversation switching over to what Mother's parents were like, I blinked away my surprise and leaned closer, listening to her as I got to assuage my curiosity.

I vaguely remember them from when I was extremely young, still just a baby and unable to do much except for exist; honestly, most things before me 'returning' to the Manor and uniting with Kat were a blur, so I wasn't surprised, but I seemed to recall that they were interesting people even to young me.

Even with my parents being very interesting on their own, my grandparents were even more so, which... now made me slightly worried.

"Yeah, they aren't the most normal people around, but they are damn good at masking that fact. The old man is just quiet and reclusive, even for an Elf. Thing is, he doesn't really like people, but he can read them like a book, and he's quite... serious when it comes to anything that could make him money. Like... deadly serious. Part of the reason I have so much wealth is because he threatened me with financial death if I didn't do the things he wanted, which would net us both profits most people couldn't imagine.

Then there's the old lady. Sharp, forwards, honest, dangerous, versatile... She's a warrior, an assassin, a spy, an archer, but most importantly... she's a Mother. Her own words. Threatened to get rid of me if I turned down Ria back then, and she also threatened to use her magics to castrate me if I ever cheated on Ria, which..."

She shuddered, and I glanced at the door as well as I asked "Does... she know about Miss Julie?"

"Yes..."

That one word answer was enough to make me shudder as well, wondering what she would think and wondering if she was terrible enough to warrant a shudder; I had only seen Mom do that once before, and that was with Lady Fenryas... which certainly warranted more than just a shudder.

Obviously my Grandmother wasn't of similar strength to Lady Fenryas, but I imagine the fact that she was Mother's Mother gave her a certain... boost in strength and dangerousness against Mom, something that made me blink a few times as I realized that my own in-laws were far 'worse' than what Mom had to deal with.

The Empress...

The Sultana...

Miss Julie...

I... really didn't have any leeway at all, did I..?

One small mistake that gets any of them involved will have me regretting many, many things all at once... things that I didn't even do, I'll likely regret as well...

That was more than just a scary thought; it was almost a nightmare, and considering Mom just gave me a small smile, she was more than aware too... and she was relishing in my 'pain' once again too.