Chapter 158 (1)
Who would have thought they'd not only buy up all the beer, but even the hops that go into making it?
Sam began to have many thoughts.
'I never expected them to buy up even the hops...'
He felt like he had lost, as he was late to the game.
"Congratulations. With the rising price of hops, you'll soon become rich."
Despite Sam's words, Bel and Bob, who didn't seem to care, talked to each other.
"Did you know there was someone who bought up everything before us?"
"That guild master's younger sibling is really scary. Somehow, they were steps ahead of us and took control of both hops and barley."
"Speaking of which, isn't the guild master planning to produce beer in collaboration with the church this time? They have the ingredients that their sibling supplied, so they sent it to the beer factory on this side. It's true."
"We should buy beer from there, but they're not selling."
As the two discussed, Sam's ears perked up.
'There's a place that hasn't sold beer yet?'
"Where is that place? I've never heard of it before."
Bell and Bob looked at Sam and said,
"Even if you go, there's not much to gain. We've been there several times, but they have no intention of selling. Maybe they're planning to sell it themselves later."
"But you never know, right?"
"Then go and see for yourself. I don't think they'll ever sell, though."
"You never know."
As Sam left the bar with determination, Bel, who had been watching him, spoke.
"What will he achieve by going there? They don't seem to sell to anyone anyway."
Bob frowned and said,
"If you were in their shoes, would you sell? The price of beer is going to rise again tomorrow."
"But it's really strange. What's so special about that beer? We can't even find it now, and the price is just getting higher."
"Someone said that their wish is to taste that beer."
"They must have hoarded a lot of it."
"Should we be the ones to say that?"
The two laughed and began to joke around.
"Hahaha, there's only one thing left now."
The people who had hoarded beer and its ingredients were eagerly waiting for one thing.
The declaration of war by the dwarves.
Only waiting for that, Bel and Bob were still in high spirits.
"Here's to the war!"
As Bell raised his glass, Bob, who clinked his glass with Bell's, shouted again.
"Long live the dwarves!"
"Long live the beer!"
The next day.
Sam, out of curiosity, went to visit the brewery that was said to be run by the church.
The entire road to the brewery was lined with fields of barley and hops, and the scale was enormous.
'At this rate, it's almost...'
Although he didn't know for sure, it was definitely the largest brewery he had ever seen.
And the brewery he visited was also supported by the guild master, with dozens of buildings lined up.
The scale was enough to handle all the beer consumed throughout the empire.
Seeing the breweries, Sam had many thoughts.
'Money should be earned like this.'
It wasn't a joke; this was the right way to make money.
Compared to the beer produced here, hoarding a few barrels of beer circulating in the market was like a drop in the ocean.
Moreover, the price of beer was skyrocketing day by day, and Sam couldn't even estimate the revenue this brewery would earn later.
'They'll really make a huge fortune.'
After a while, Sam met a man named Priest Peter, who was actually managing the brewery, after asking the priests.
He tried to secure a certain amount of the beer produced here by explaining various circumstances, but...
Priest Peter, who had already colluded with the guild master, simply snorted at the small amount of money Sam offered.
So, Sam had no choice but to return empty-handed and saw Bel and Bob, who were already drinking at the bar.
'Is this really a drinking party?'
When Sam greeted the two, the intoxicated and cheerful Bell and Bob welcomed him warmly.
"So, how did it go?"
"Judging by your expression, it doesn't seem like things went well?"
The two asked, and Sam answered in a deflated voice.
"Yes, the trade itself seemed difficult. Not just me, but several nobles tried to get beer as well. But there wasn't much beer available other than the ones for simple consumption."
Bell reacted to his statement.
"The place is affiliated with the church, so even the nobles can't easily interfere. And who's the head there? Isn't he the real power in this empire? So there's no chance."
Bob also supported Bell's words.
"That's what I said, right? Going there would be meaningless."
"I think I'll have to be satisfied with this much."
"So how much did you collect?"
"Not much, about 500 barrels. I secured about 50 carts of hops."
Upon hearing the number 500, Bell and Bob, who were clinking their glasses and laughing, quickly hardened their expressions.
For some reason, Sam, who had moved slower than them, had more beer than they had secured.
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