I Became the Guardian of Big Shots in the Game

“Borka was born as the daughter of poor tenant farmers.
In the autumn of the year she turned eight, war broke out.
In Cragent, war was as common and annoying as winter snow.
Everyone believed it would pass safely this year too.
But contrary to their hopeful wishes, the village was engulfed in the flames of war.
Borka’s parents died, the village turned to ashes, and neighbors and friends were killed or taken as slaves.
Only Borka, who had hidden in the underground storage, was able to survive safely.
But survival was not just a stroke of luck.
That winter was unusually cold.
The world was too harsh for a child who had lost all her parents, relatives, and acquaintances to survive.
Borka struggled to live.
She begged for food by clinging to nearby villages.
She wandered around the north by following traveling merchant groups.
She developed a habit of stuffing food into her mouth whenever she got it, not knowing when she might starve.
But Borka never fully settled in any one place.
This was due to her innate magical talent.
In the north, magic was perceived as unnatural, and most had negative perceptions of it.
When Borka saved a child who had fallen into a well using magic.
Instead of being grateful, the parents cursed and slapped Borka’s cheek.
Ominous child, cursed girl.
Borka wandered from place to place, trailing a string of insulting modifiers.
But she survived.
The last place she arrived at was a village on the outskirts of the Maydan border command.

Then he was willing to go forth and crush them.
“A man from Etrion has brought in a large quantity of food supplies!”
“…What?”
Are you saying he brought a large caravan through the monster-infested road?
“Is that even possible?”
“I’m not sure of the exact circumstances, but…”
“Guide me there at once.”
The knight’s report was true.
A merchant was standing in the center of the square, pouring out an impossible amount of food.
‘With this much food, we can hold out for 3 more months.’
The merchant introduced himself as ‘Albert’ and politely paid his respects.
“Thank you so much. Your courage has saved the people of this domain.”
“I’m just a mere merchant. The thanks should go to my client.”
“I see. You there, go call the finance minister! I will purchase everything, so please wait. I’ll pay you right away.”
“The person I serve wishes to receive something other than gold coins.”
The border count worried he might have fallen for a high-level sales tactic, but.
Instead of getting angry at the man’s following words.
He could only tilt his head in confusion.
“What does he want?”
“He wants mana stones.”
“Mana stones? You mean those blue rocks?”
There are hardly any mages in the north, so there’s no demand.
They’re heavy and bulky, so only large merchant groups dare to transport them.
The transportation costs exceed the value of the mana stones.
Due to the recent civil war and instability in the trade routes to Etrion, the Maydan border command was in a difficult situation with piles of unsold mana stones.
Just then, a merchant named Albert volunteered to take away the stones filling the warehouses and fill them with food instead.
“Take them all. Food is more important to us than those mere rocks. Mairik! Call the soldiers to remove the stones from the warehouse and move in the food!”
Sir Mairik took the initiative to move.
“I’ll load the stones for you. Where are your carriages?”
“Ah, you can put the cargo in here.”
What he held out was a leather pouch the size of a fist.
Sir Mairik stared blankly at Albert, wondering if this was some southern-style joke.
“I was quite amazed when I first saw it too.”
Instead of a joke.
He untied the pouch and turned it inside out.
Clang clang!
Various weapons, armor, and shields poured out in heaps.
“I brought equipment too, so take it if you need any. Now then. Please take one of these each and fill it to the brim with mana stones.”
A pouch that kept accepting more no matter how much was put in.
Each pouch held the equivalent of one large cargo carriage full of mana stones.
The border count, knights, soldiers, and even passing domain residents all gaped at the sight.
‘Is this the power of magic that the federation has been ignoring and looking down on so much?’
It was the moment the Maydan border count’s eyes were opened to this new and mysterious item.

One week later.
Albert returned to Serdin.
Along with him.
High-purity mana stones flooded the free market.
“My goodness…”
“You brought all this quantity?”
“Now, now, I’ll only charge the usual market price.”
Since the usual market price already includes all distribution costs like carriages, horses, drivers, workers, and transportation time.
The cost remaining for Ethan was considerable.
From that, he paid 20% of the net profit as a bonus to Albert for his hard work.
The remaining amount was set aside as funds to establish a merchant group later.
“Thank you, Ethan. And Albert. Thanks to you two, we’ve put out the urgent fire.”
Not only the mayor.
Ailey also praised him and Albert.
But Ethan was still not at ease.
“Mayor, the civil war won’t end soon.”
“I’m sure it won’t. I’ve received information that the situation is serious.”
They also knew well that this was merely a temporary measure.
The civil war won’t end for a while.
And the remaining mana stone stock in the Maydan border command will run out after a few more uses.
So to solve the problem, they need to either end the civil war or.
Find a new source of mana stones.
The former is impossible with individual ability, so.
“Fortunately, I think I can resolve the situation with help from someone I’m connected with. So I have a request for you, Mayor.”
“You can resolve the situation? Good, tell me anything.”
“Would it be alright if I went on a business trip to the northeastern region?”
Ethan chose the latter option.

At the same time.
Serdin White Mansion.
“Here it is!”
“Here… you say?”
Levin and Dolty froze in shock on the spot.
Seeing the White Mansion as splendid as any lord’s castle.
“…Our daughter, you’ve really been indebted to an amazing person.”
“I told you, didn’t I? He’s a really amazing person.”
“Haha, so everything Ponya said was true after all.”
The couple came to their senses at Dusty’s addition.
As if aware of guests arriving, the main gate opened just in time.
“Welcome.”
“It’s the mage uncle! Wow~ Ponya!”
“Hwaryon! Have you been well?”
Hwaryon’s expression rapidly wilted.
“There are new kids, and one of them is weird…”
“Hmm?”
Leaving the children greeting each other happily behind.
Levi came forward to welcome the guests.
“Levi and Hwaryon, right? It’s been a while.”
“It has been a while, Mr. Dusty. Ethan-nim is out at the city hall for a moment. Shall we wait inside?”
“Let’s do that.”
The Douglan exploration team had arrived.