Goblins Were Profitable.

Life after the wedding changed in that he slept in the same room as Adrina every night. It truly drove a man mad—every time he moved his body, he had to barely restrain the desire that tried to rise up.

‘Ghn… Let’s think of this as continuous training, too.’

He told himself it was great for strengthening willpower(?) as the days went on, and once it crossed into August, he had grown somewhat used to it. In the midst of that, the news arriving from the front by the hour was nothing short of bizarre.

‘Is this really the kind of war I thought it was?’

From the moment the Magnia Empire joined and those so-called bioweapons appeared, it felt like it was no longer the war he had imagined. Those pale-skinned things, named “Grow,” were still sweeping across the battlefield.

Seeing them roaming around in plate armor had become a common sight, and they were apparently sturdy enough to wear fairly thick armor and charge straight into trenches again and again. Of course, they were not invincible, so they inevitably fell.

The important point was that their participation alone made the speed of trench capture skyrocket. Photos were spread out before him, filled with images of them dying. They lay dead after being riddled with bullets until their armor was reduced to rags, and inside it he could see their corpses turned into lumps of meat.

There were even scenes where tanks charged them and crushed them flat. They were certainly useful, but not something that could not be killed. And yet, as if they were being mass-produced, they kept appearing on the battlefield without end.

“Have you found out where they’re being produced?”

“Yes. They made no effort to hide it—there was a large building near the clustered military factories. It was often photographed with new batches coming out from inside.”

“If they can produce that without limit, it’s an enormous advantage, but…”

Why was the Doicheun Empire being pushed back in the first place? Those things, now called Grow, were acting as living shields as they charged, so it was inevitable the lines would be forced back. And since the casualties were all those things, their side likely felt little burden.

“They said the numbers appearing are in the thousands now, didn’t they?”

“That’s right. And because of that, the number of armored ones has decreased little by little.”

“Well, armor is still a resource. They can’t help but find it wasteful.”

With numbers that large, it made more sense to use the metal for other weapons instead. More than that, he could not help but admire their seemingly tireless stamina and vitality.

“Can’t we produce something similar ourselves? If we can, it would help a great deal.”

“We are currently conducting research under the assumption it is related to the White Crystal, so shouldn’t we see concrete results soon?”

“I won’t expect too much. They’ve likely researched it for quite some time, and we’re late. Even if it takes time, all that matters is that results come.”

In truth, those words could be a burden. Saying they were late and it would take a long time might sound like an order to work harder and produce results faster. Even knowing that, Ian deliberately shifted to another topic.

“Still, we’ll need properly equipped machine guns to kill them.”

“Yes. We secretly obtained some of the corpses and airlifted them to the mainland, and after examining them closely, we found their skin itself is thicker and tougher than most animal hides.”

“To kill something like that, will 8.1mm rounds be enough?”

“More than enough. No matter how tough their skin is, as long as they are living creatures, the bullets used by our standard rifles will pierce them.”

Hearing that firm answer, Ian thought, of course. How powerful was the destructive force of 8.1mm rounds—how could a living creature block it? The problem was that their tenacious vitality let them endure even after being pierced.

They were beings that required far more ammunition than humans to kill.

“Then with the Mag heavy machine gun, they’ll be torn to rags in an instant.”

“With 13.1mm rounds, they’ll be shredded.”

For reference, the Mag heavy machine gun was a heavy machine gun developed and produced by the Polia Kingdom. It fired the new standard heavy-machine-gun cartridge, 13.1mm. It weighed as much as 35kg, so soldiers needed a mount to fire it.

Naturally, it was often used as armament on things that could mount it—fighter aircraft, or the half-track armored vehicles that had been developed and were now being produced and deployed. It was even being mounted on ships to help form anti-air defenses.

Until now, the kingdom had mainly used the Amul light machine gun, a water-cooled weapon firing 8.1mm rounds. But the Mag heavy machine gun, completed during the war, was larger in every way, and with larger rounds, its destructive power was tremendous. As a result, it was gradually establishing itself as a mainline machine gun.

“They said the Doicheun Empire’s import volume of the Mag heavy machine gun increased, didn’t they?”

“Yes. They must be desperate. They’re even making pleas to us they never used to.”

“It’s certainly amusing. Those people who were so stiff with us are now begging.”

“Doesn’t that mean the pressure on them has grown even more? They say it won’t be long before they’re pushed back all the way into territory that used to belong to the Riemann Federation.”

“The Riemann Federation… I truly pity them.”

Not only was their entire homeland in ruins, but the people who had lived there were in a worst-case situation where they had to flee. Experts said that even if they reclaimed the country, it would take at least fifty to a hundred years to recover to prewar levels.

“After the war, what do you think will become of them?”

“There is a possibility that a completely different form of state will emerge, rather than the former federation.”

“You think so as well? I think so too. Their leadership has already lost the people’s trust.”

In a situation where the entire nation had been swept clean and nothing remained, could those who once ruled truly continue to rule? The chances were very low. After all, they were the ones who chose to abandon their people first and run.

“If the Allied forces keep pushing like this, the war might truly end next year.”

“From how things are going, that seems quite likely.”

“Then shouldn’t we begin preparing as well?”

“You mean…?”

“I mean we should start adjusting the quantities of military goods we sell.”

“The Doicheun Empire won’t like that. They’ll want to keep receiving weapons and ammunition from us.”

The quantities they produced domestically were enormous, but the amount produced and sold by the Polia Kingdom was also substantial. If those sales began to decline, it was only natural the Doicheun Empire would not be pleased.

“It can’t be helped. If we produce too much, we’ll be left with an excess of surplus goods afterward.”

The moment the war ended, weapons and other military goods would become dead stock—unwanted burdens. Some reserve stock was fine, but letting it pile too high was not good. After all, they were produced at their expense; they would be the ones to bear the loss.

“But wouldn’t it be better to earn more?”

“If you don’t abandon greed, you end up taking losses.”

Times like this demanded cold thinking and action. Others would keep producing until the war fully ended, and then those goods would become surplus burdens on them. The factories that failed to secure proper payment might suffer severe damage afterward.

“And in a situation like this, we must act more cautiously going forward as well.”

“Ah, I see. To avoid becoming the Allied forces’ next target, we must reduce supplies.”

“Exactly. Even now, we’re supplying the Doicheun Empire. If we keep doing so, they’ll have no choice but to raise unpleasant voices about us.”

“Indeed. For that reason too, it seems we must adjust the production volume of our military factories.”

In addition to reducing future surplus inventory, they had to consider relations with the Allied forces as well.

“Set that aside—didn’t you say the investigation into goblins was finally complete?”

“Yes, it is. Through the investigations so far, they produced various results using goblin bodies.”

“And what benefit is there for us?”

“Surprisingly, the blood and bones are proving to be highly profitable.”

“Blood and bones?”

“First, the blood—astonishingly, it serves as an antibiotic and is exceptionally effective. Especially regarding diseases, it’s beyond comparison. They even used it during the recent epidemic, and the results were far better than expected.”

“That goblin blood has such an effect… That’s truly surprising.”

“Those who discovered it were shocked as well. They predict we may be able to save many lives with it in the future.”

‘It might be an antibiotic on par with penicillin—or perhaps even better.’

In his mind, he was already envisioning the work of capturing goblins and literally drawing out their blood. It was close to abuse, but he felt no pity for them. Even now, women whose lives had been ruined by goblins were struggling to survive.

‘Feeling sorry for monsters that violate human women is nothing but a luxury.’

“Then what use do the bones have?”

“They are extremely effective for skincare.”

“Skincare?”

It felt a little absurd. They were just goblins, yet their bones contained such an effect—it made him think he had judged too much by appearances.

“They say that if you grind the bones into a powder and make a cream to apply, your skin becomes firm and smooth.”

“Did they say there are no side effects? For example, rashes?”

“So far, none at all. They say it’s optimized for the skin.”

“Then I truly shouldn’t judge by appearances.”

“That’s true. However, they said the hide and flesh themselves aren’t particularly useful. Perhaps it’s because our technology is still insufficient and we simply haven’t found the uses yet.”

“I see. We’ll know once technology advances further. Still, blood and bones alone will bring enormous profit—that’s enough. We should capture goblins and breed them to increase their numbers.”

“It’s a good idea, but there is a problem.”

“What is it? Are there too few goblins on the island?”

“No, that’s not it. Their numbers are increasing even now, so supply isn’t the issue. The problem is breeding them artificially to increase their numbers.”

“What problem could that be… Ah? Do they not have females?”

“Yes. There are no females at all. It seems the way they increase their population is the problem, so raising them outside the island will be difficult.”

That was the truth. They were filthy monsters that increased their numbers by violating human women and forcing them to bear children. It was impossible to take human women to breed goblins.

Such an act was ethically abhorrent and also something no rational human being could justify.

“Then breeding them separately is impossible. We’ll capture goblins and draw their blood. When they die, we’ll store the bones separately.”

“That would be best.”

“If we keep capturing the goblins on the island, they won’t disappear, will they?”

“We still don’t know exactly how their numbers keep increasing, but we believe they will continue to appear. So we can capture them and keep harvesting blood, and slaughter some to collect only the bones. And if we make skincare products, it would be best to pursue a high-end strategy. The rarer something is, the higher its value.”

“If the efficacy is outstanding, that kind of premium strategy isn’t bad in the current situation.”

Noblewomen spent a great deal of money on maintaining their beauty. For them, cosmetics that visibly improved the skin would be something they would obtain even at a premium.

“Good. Establish a state-run pharmaceutical company to harvest goblin blood and produce antibiotics, and also create a separate cosmetics company to begin selling through a premium strategy.”

At the thought of money flowing in, his eyes were already sparkling. If handled well, this could become an excellent means to earn enormous wealth.

‘Goblins were profitable.’

With that in mind, Ian’s next move was to establish state-run companies. Creating such companies was not easy. First, they needed facilities to harvest goblin blood and bones, and they needed to secure equipment.

They also had to coordinate with those granted permission to go to the goblin island and bring goblins back. Within the company, another company—he even had to found a separate enterprise to handle goblin distribution.

On top of that, he needed executives to run it. There were plenty of nobles who served as professional managers, and after reviewing the dossiers, Ian selected someone capable and acceptable. Naturally, he also applied mind control so they could not embezzle funds.

After going through all that, it was already October. Establishing the goblin-utilization companies alone had taken two full months. They had already brought in goblins, and through various experiments, they were learning efficient methods of harvesting blood.

The collected blood was then reborn as antibiotics and began piling up as stocked medicine.