〈 Howard Industries (2) 〉
The transfer to another world and the appearance of returnees were a major inflection point in human history.
The existence of all kinds of mysteries and supernatural powers, which until then had been considered fantasy, was enough to shake the paradigm of the time, and humanity, swept up in the huge upheaval, had to somehow adapt to it in order to minimize the damage.
Each country’s supernatural ability management organization, the World Returnee Association, Guardians who work in the sun to protect public order, villains who hide in the shadows to prioritize their personal desires, etc…. The
Earth began to change rapidly amidst global chaos, and one of the changes occurred. There were not only returnees on the axis, but also new cultural artifacts that came from this world through them.
Various organizations, including countries and corporations, studied the abilities of awakened people, willing to offer money in exchange or even threaten them.
I analyzed the ingredients of potions and elixirs that had all kinds of magical effects, and disassembled mysterious magic tools to uncover their principles.
Not only was an astronomical amount of capital invested, but top scholars worked hard to solve this difficult problem.
but.
Even after so many years, I have gained absolutely nothing.
All they knew was that no mystery could be recreated on this Earth.
Of course, there were some who did not give up until the end and devoted themselves to research, but the mainstream opinion had long since become entrenched in that direction, and no theory that could overturn it has been developed since then.
In the end, vested interests had no choice but to acknowledge the unavoidable situation and change their course to accommodate it as much as possible.
Twenty years like that.
Those who have adapted to the changes to some extent have become accustomed to the present.
Through indirect influence alone, overall technological power has developed rapidly, guardians and villains clashing in the city has become a daily occurrence, and otherworldly cultural artifacts have become luxury goods that are difficult to buy only with money.
In particular, magic tools were not only the exclusive possession of the awakened, but were a symbol of wealth representing those who had them, as they were not only rare but also practical.
“oh? What are you doing? “Is this a bracelet I’ve never seen before?”
“Ah—this? A magical oracle that creates a protective shield when in danger. “My dad bought it for me because he was worried about me.”
“Wow… where on earth did you get this deal? “I heard it’s very hard to find.”
“Hey, I’d rather buy you a subspace handbag. “How many times do I have to use something like this?”
“This is something to prepare for danger, but it’s better if you don’t have to use it. “I have to tell my dad too.”
“Would you like to ask my dad where he got it? “They might be selling more.”
“Oh really? “Then thank you!”
Rising value due to overwhelming demand and limited supply.
The clan led by Heterosis, a group belonging to Heinz II, took advantage of the situation to quickly expand its power.
He gave valuable magical tools as gifts to the families of those with vested interests, and also subtly bribed the guardians with whom he was bound to have frequent friction.
He gave potions to those with sick family members as a charity, and hired ordinary people based on huge amounts of money, spreading his roots throughout Korea.
In a capitalist society, with so much money, finding a ‘voluntary blood donor’ was a piece of cake.
Direct blood sucking based on compensation, not indirect blood sucking using blood packs.
This soon led to an increase in not only the size but also the quality of the organization, and also led to loyalty to Heinz, who had brought about such a miracle.
And now.
The clan was about to take another leap forward.
From shade to sunlight.
From Korea to the world.
There was no one who could stop their actions, which had already thoroughly laid a foundation.
***
“…Howard Industries?”
Yoon Ji-yoon, branch manager of the Korean Returnees Association, frowned and checked the documents in front of her once again.
But no matter how much I looked, nothing changed.
“What is this?”
Finally, she turned her attention to the secretary who brought the documents.
In fact, all of the information that the association had found was contained in it, but I couldn’t bear it without questioning it like that.
“As you can see, this is the current action of the clan. It seems like they are trying to increase the scale of the magic tool trade that has been going on in secret by bringing it into the open. “We have already completed the establishment of the corporation…”
“No, no. “I know that because I’ve seen it…”
She cut off the secretary’s long conversation and looked down at the documents again as if in bewilderment.
The actions of the clan so far have been surprising enough.
He was so resourceful that even those who should have put the brakes on the expansion of his power long ago remained silent and watched.
Even among the guardians under her, there were quite a few who were not only reluctant to clash with the bloodsuckers of their clan, but were even close to them on a personal level.
‘But this isn’t at that level now, is it?’
A company that specializes in selling magic tools from another world.
In fact, there are still a significant number of ‘intermediary’ and ‘distribution’ companies that acquire foreign cultural artifacts and sell them to other places.
However, since it was a market with a severe supply shortage in the first place, it was closer to the concept of premium service through a small number of brokers…
“…is this the right size? Opening stores nationwide? No, you are opening branches overseas? Have you already finished talking with Europe?”
Now, this scale has already surpassed the limits of what can be accepted in that way.
This was a plan that could never be attempted with existing broadcasting transactions.
Even if someone came to Earth with a lot of magic tools, it would not be possible because they would eventually run out.
“No matter how I look at it, I can only see that there is a producer. No, it’s not just that level….”
Mass production system on Earth.
There was no doubt that a vampire organization growing in the shadows of Korea had taken possession of something that even world powers and mega-corporations had abandoned.
‘how? Even if you could arrange for a craftsman, how did you get the materials? And in such large quantities…’
Her mind became complicated.
Until now, we had been living an unprecedentedly peaceful time thanks to the cooperation of Hahoetal, Phantom, and the clan, but it felt like we could see a huge storm approaching from afar.
“No, no. The headache is that the president of the association will coordinate with the government first, so there is no need for me to worry about it already. “Well, I’m just a branch manager.”
As expected, being satisfied with the appropriate position and sitting down was the best choice.
Inwardly praising herself, she looked through the documents again with a much more at ease mind.
“But Howard Industries… Howard, not Heinz?”
“The Intelligence Department is suspecting that a person named Howard is a key figure in the production of magic tools. “It’s almost impossible to obtain information through heterosis, so I haven’t found any clues.”
“…The solidarity there is famous. “The ability to subjugate all vampires regardless of origin is Phantom’s exclusive patent.”
Unlike Hahoetal, who moved alone, Phantom Heinz was a magnate who not only owned a clan but also an overseas vampire clan.
In some ways, from the national perspective, it can be seen as a greater potential threat than Hahoe Mask.
Because of that, entry bans had already been imposed in each country, but of course that meant nothing to him.
‘Should I try contacting you again after such a long time?’
Yoon Ji-yoon has a bit of a relationship with him because of his cooperation with Beoncheonhoe.
Perhaps this plan was promoted with the thought that it would also help with that, but the scale was so large that a spark was created in this area as well.
‘He’s a guy that’s hard to have a conversation with because he’s so busy running around. First, let me tell the spokesperson of Heterosis.’
She sighed again and turned her gaze to the few pictures on the last page of the document.
There are various banners on the background that look like they were captured from an Internet screen, and even a neat poster that looks like it was painstakingly created by an expert.
“…This?”
“Ah, this is promotional material for Howard Industries. They must have really planned it out, but they are pouring out advertisements on various media, including the Internet, even though they haven’t even officially opened yet. In addition, the website and social media have already been created.”
“Huh.”
Her hands, which had been leafing through the paper with a sigh, stopped.
“…are you looking for an elixir? Or rather, custom-made top-quality magic tools? “You didn’t plan on hiding this from the beginning, right?”
I couldn’t help but laugh out of frustration, but when I thought about it again, it was worth it.
Phantom Hines, the owner of the Howard Industries clan, is a top-level transcendental who has proven himself by defeating one of the few level 9 vampires in the world.
In particular, since it is certain that even the ‘Duke’, who was once called the strongest in Europe, died at his hands, there will not be many crazy people who would recklessly go against his wishes.
‘If it weren’t for that, no matter how well the clan was oiled, there would have been limits to its ability to grow to what it is now. ‘Because the greedy pigs were not satisfied with what they received and rushed to eat more.’
A fairly large force already knows all about his activities in Europe.
If I didn’t want to become a mummy by having my blood sucked by a stranger who broke in in the middle of the night without my knowledge, I would have taken care of myself.
“I’m curious. “How confident do you have to be to promote something like this so openly?”
Jiyoon Yoon put down the documents on the desk and gently stroked her chin.
There were two main issues contained in the promotion.
Mass supply of magic tools that cannot be produced on Earth and custom production of top-quality special products.
Among them, I already knew the level of the magic tools they handled.
It has been quite a while since the clan expanded its power by distributing it, and above all, in the process of cooperating with the Buncheonhoe, I personally used the items I received as gifts.
“It’s the highest quality… It’s not as high-quality as it is, but even the highest quality isn’t that common. “You can custom-make something like that?”
As special grades higher than that were only given to items whose value could not be put on, such as the recently famous ‘Holy Sword’ of Saint Heinrich, the highest grade was in fact the best of the magic tools that awakened people could handle.
‘The things I used were only intermediate-level on Earth.’
It was the equipment of the woman who was called a hero, so it was of the highest quality there, but the world itself had a strong emphasis on the abilities of the main body, so the technology for making magic tools was not very developed.
Instead, he had quite advanced technology related to elixirs…
“Hmm, shall we say something first?”
She muttered lowly as she remembered all the elixirs she had packed, just in case.
Still, we have a relationship, so I don’t think he will cheat.
Day 1 of promotion, which has not even officially opened yet.
The Howard Industries project was going smoothly.
***
‘As expected, it is worthwhile to lay the foundation in advance.’
Complex preparations, such as establishing a corporation and opening a store, proceeded quickly as if driven by a tailwind.
Perhaps because it had been well-oiled, no one came out against it, and thanks to the convenience offered by many people, the plan began to move forward quickly.
〈What is this? A lot of ads are popping up all of a sudden?〉
-Howard Industries? Does anyone know that he specializes in magic tools?
└Specializing in magic tools from another world? Where is that? Isn’t it a scam?
└No, if it’s a scam, it’s probably advertised on some small site. This was also posted on the main portal?
└It was also reported in major newspaper news. No, it was all over the place, not just in major newspapers, but also in so-called newspapers. Is this a subsidiary of a large corporation? How much money did you spend?
└Lee Waejin;;
Promotion was also going smoothly.
We were preparing to open stores across the country, but we had no intention of focusing solely on offline stores.
‘As expected, the Internet is the best for accessibility. ‘To obtain information and purchase goods.’
Of course, since it was a jaw-droppingly expensive product, I had no intention of using a general transportation service.
When purchasing a product, you should show a level of sincerity by going to the customer’s desired location and dealing directly with them.
‘The bloodsuckers of the clan are directly taking action, so no one would dare carry out a scheme against this side.’
From security management to store security and delivery of goods.
It was so easy to get the job done because we had manpower available in all weathers.
‘As most of the vampires in the clan have become members of Heterosis, their resistance to the sun has also become stronger.’
At first, Heterosis was just a faction within the clan, the Korean vampire union.
However, as their activities began to emerge, more and more people joined this group without being forced to do so.
As they watched from the sidelines, they learned that the benefits of re-establishing a dependent relationship were much greater than the inconvenience caused.
‘Because I’ve never used my subordinates to do anything particularly unreasonable.’
Isn’t there a chain of command based on hierarchical relationships everywhere anyway?
Heterosis, which gradually expanded its size, has now taken up more than 90% of the entire clan.
At this level, it would be safe to say that it is in fact a ‘blood alliance = heterosis.’
“Of course, it will be difficult to achieve the goal in the near future.”
Although it has been distributing magic tools in the shadows of Korea for quite a long time, to the outside world, ‘Howard Industries’ is just a new company.
No matter how much you promote something, there are bound to be people who question its reliability.
Since the only answer was time, there was no benefit in rushing.
‘But it may be possible to shorten that period. If you set up a famous celebrity model and start selling potions as well…’
Magic tools were not the only valuable things on Earth.
In some ways, potions that seemed like a panacea were also treated as expensive.
Rather, since it is a product directly related to health, a more dramatic effect could be expected.
‘Because the Hubert Company’s potion production plant has just finished preparation. ‘It took some time to hire a lot of alchemists, though.’
The funds that went into it were made up by distributing various spices from around the world and various items that can only be found here.
My goal was mutual growth through exchange between both sides, not a relationship where one side unilaterally gives away.
“A lot of other promotional events will be needed, but smart friends will take care of it.”
If performance is achieved, appropriate compensation is paid.
That alone should be enough to fulfill your role as an employer.
There were a lot of elites with deep roots in that field, so there was no need for me, an amateur, to interfere there.
‘I should only focus on supplying goods. Let’s see. First of all, as for top-class magic tools to be used for publicity and showing off…’
Was it because he was feeling at ease like that?
The response to ‘Howard Industries’ started to explode much earlier than I expected.