Allen the Reincarnated Merchant: A Plan to Get Rich in Another World

In the Sakura Empire, nearly a thousand planets are currently inhabited by its people. Some, like Zerad, are dedicated to mining mineral resources, while others focus solely on timber collection. In total, the Empire oversees close to ten thousand planets.

The Saioji family alone controls 140 inhabited planets and manages around 2,000 resource planets, which gives them considerable influence even among the Five Blossoms, the noble families. By comparison, the Fuji family controls about 20 inhabited planets and 800 resource planets.

“In terms of power structure, the royal family stands at the top, followed by the Saioji, Mikasa, Tojo, and Akimiya families, with the Fuji family last. However, since the Fuji family holds priestesses, they are treated differently from the other four.”

Yuzu’s frank explanation felt surprising, but knowing the power balance between these families is crucial to avoid trouble down the line, so I listened without asking too many questions.

If we’re to look at the proportions, the royal family controls around 40% of the Empire’s total power, with the leading noble family, the Saioji, controlling roughly 30%, and the remaining three—Mikasa, Tojo, and Akimiya—dividing what’s left. The Fuji family, though traditionally close to the Saioji due to their historical ties and their unique role as guardians of the priestesses, is declared inviolable and exempt from the nobles’ power struggles.

“What exactly do they mean by ‘power struggle’?”

“It mainly involves economic competition, as well as attempting to attract influential allies.”

In Galaxy Alpha-12, under the Empire’s control, six main families, including the royal family, govern vast territories. With a population in the hundreds of billions, the Empire has firmly established itself as a superpower.

While they typically engage in peaceful economic rivalries within the Empire, if there’s an invasion, these six families work together to mount a defense. Direct confrontations are rare despite occasional disputes.

“Just as I’d expect from a futuristic society; the scale is beyond anything I could imagine.”

“Typically, this isn’t feasible for most nations. Even the Holy Kingdom of Royfana, which rules Zerad, is considered a major power overall.”

Listening to Yuzu’s explanation, I could feel the overwhelming scale of this world. It seems that even in this advanced future, the level of control they exert is exceptional.

“In about two weeks, Master Allen, you’ll board a First Space Fleet ship to Seisen, a planet owned by the Fuji family.”

Seisen—translated as “Clear Spring” in Japanese—is a Fuji family planet where I’m scheduled to meet their representatives.

“Will I meet with the Saioji family too?”

“That will likely be later… The journey to Seisen alone takes nearly a month.”

Even with warp navigation, moving across such vast distances in the galaxy requires considerable time. Geographically, the Fuji and Saioji territories are adjacent, and even though they’re relatively close, it still takes about a week to reach the nearest planet.

My ability to travel between worlds works somewhat like teleportation magic, so once I know the coordinates, I can arrive instantly. However, I have to make the first journey the traditional way, so even meeting with the Saioji family will likely take about half a year, as Yuzu explained.

—

“…?”

“What’s wrong, KAEDE?”

After Yuzu finished her history lesson, we returned to the capital at just the right time. Despite Yuzu and KAEDE warning me of potential dangers, I couldn’t resist using a Moon Gate to teleport to the safest place I knew—the capital’s home.

After arriving in a dark, empty room, KAEDE suddenly froze, standing stock-still, blinking several times as if recovering from something.

Curious, I asked what was going on. It turned out KAEDE was retrieving information from the silver killer hornets, Jill Killer Hornets, which I had deployed in the capital earlier that morning.

“I’ve identified the mastermind. Four units are already stationed nearby and can execute the target at any time… Shall I proceed?”

“Hold up—no need to go that far. Could you tell me the situation?”

I managed to stop KAEDE, who was set on eliminating the threat, and asked her to share the information gathered by the hornets. A series of photos and videos flooded my access gear, displaying several images of men on the screen.

“The perpetrator is Alex Bern, a merchant based in the capital. His aim is to increase his influence over the team you’re part of and to capture an elf that belongs to you.”

“Alex Bern?”

The name sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it… until KAEDE sent more images. They showed a gaudy, overweight middle-aged man covered in flashy jewelry, laughing heartily with a presumed associate across the table.

“It wasn’t a coordinated plot; he acted alone, arranging the assassination through multiple intermediaries.”

In the video, Bern was laughing, his large belly shaking as he spoke, looking every bit the villain as he shared a gleeful conversation with his friend.

“What’s this footage?”

“It’s a live feed from the silver killer hornets currently on-site… Translation complete. I’ll render it in Japanese.”

—

“I can’t believe an elf from the black market was bought by some young guy… Quite a twist of fate, don’t you think? I’m sure he just stumbled upon a red potion that fit the conditions by pure luck.”

“That kid’s nothing but a lucky fool with no money or power. I’ll make good use of that slave he has.”

Watching Bern laugh with that stereotypically villainous ‘Gahaha!’ made my skin crawl, even as a fellow man.

“The young guy’s part of that infamous brigade, right? What are you planning to do after he’s gone?”

“With him out of the way, I can maneuver things however I like. The other merchants who have contracts with them are nothing compared to me.”

The mention of “that infamous brigade” by the man sitting across from him sparked a memory.

“Oh, so he’s the merchant who angered the Saioji.”

Rarely one to show anger, Saioji had spoken about him with open disgust.

This was the same man who had demanded to take Saioji and some brigade members as his concubines, provoking the wrath of Lafin, the brigade’s deputy leader, and earning Saioji’s disdain as a “repulsive, middle-aged slob.”

The president of Bern Trading Company, Alex Bern, was indeed the mastermind behind the plot to assassinate me.