Reborn As A Beastman With A System

Chapter 54: Siblings Rivalry!

"Who are you to judge, kid? I've been an adult for three whole years!" Jean glared at her brother, her dissatisfaction palpable.

"Really, still calling me a kid? Can't you see I'm grown up now?" Fisher retorted, a hint of mischief in his tone.

"But it's just astonishing how time flies. You're practically at the altar!" The young beastman Fisher gazed at his sister Jean and let out a wistful sigh.

"Humph!" Jean scoffed, clearly uninterested in continuing the conversation. She grabbed Logan by the arm and pulled him down onto the sofa beside her.

"It pains me, sister, that you'd forget your own brother once you have a husband." Fisher clutched his chest dramatically, staggered backward, and collapsed onto the sofa behind him, feigning distress.

"Brother, aren't you thirty-one now? Isn't it time you acted like it?" Jean shot a helpless glance at her theatrically lamenting brother and rolled her eyes.

"Speaking of which, what's your business with Logan?" she inquired, shifting the topic.

Immediately, Fisher straightened up, looked at Logan seriously, and declared, "My name is Fisher. You might hear Jean call me Brother Fish, and you're welcome to do the same. Or, if you prefer, Mr. Fisher will do."

"Brother Fish it is!" Logan quickly decided, opting for the more familial address. He knew from Jean that the siblings shared the same mother, which naturally forged a deeper bond among them.

As Logan engaged the system exploration again, he couldn't help but think about the formidable nature of Fisher's family. After all, Fisher was no ordinary figure; he was a tenth-level warrior.

Name: Fisher

Age: 31

Race: Wolf Beastman

Strength: Tenth level warrior

...

Logan quietly closed the system interface and slowly came to terms with the information.

Indeed, they were an extraordinary family, a family where even the youngest sibling was a mighty tenth-level warrior. Yet, despite Fisher's impressive prowess, he likely still fell short of their legendary father-in-law, a quasi-legendary figure himself.

Nevertheless, Fisher was substantially stronger than Logan himself, who felt a mixture of relief and awe knowing he was allied with, rather than opposed to, such strength.

And from Jean, he had learned that aside from Fisher, all of her six brothers were integral members of their father-in-law's mercenary group, which spoke volumes about the martial calibre of the family.

"How large is the mercenary group led by your father-in-law?" Logan queried with a mix of curiosity and awe. "All I know is that it numbers in the tens of thousands, but even I am not quite certain of the exact figure."

Logan pondered this, suspecting the group must indeed be vast. "Given that my father-in-law is a quasi-legendary figure, I wouldn't be surprised if it were even larger. After all, in the tribes, a leader of his stature might command hundreds of thousands, especially someone of his legendary prowess."

Unlike the others, Fisher had chosen a different path. "Brother Fish didn't join the mercenaries; instead, he ventured into commerce," Jean shared, a hint of pride in her voice.

"Yes, he's quite the successful grain merchant," she continued. "Rumor has it that he handles nearly a tenth of all grain traded across the southern wilderness."

Fisher laughed heartily, "Haha, well, we're all family here now!"

"I'll call you Logan," Fisher declared with a smile, pleased by Logan's sensible demeanor.

"Feel free!" Logan responded amiably, though inside, he noted the informal truncation of his name. His full title was Logan Silver Mane, and 'Logan was merely a casual shortening, somewhat inaccurately splitting his name.

Fisher's gaze softened as he looked over at Logan, "I was eager to meet the man who's captured my sister's heart. The whole family is buzzing with excitement about Jean's upcoming wedding."

"Huh, I've got good taste, don't I?" Jean teased, joining in the light-hearted banter.

"Not bad at all!" Fisher chuckled, then turned his attention back to Logan. "Speaking of which, I heard you're the creator of this new candy?"

"That's right!" Logan acknowledged, noting Fisher's keen interest.

The anticipation was mutual; Logan had realized that if Fisher was eager to meet him, it likely had something to do with his maltose candy. Successful businessmen like Fisher always had a keen eye for potential opportunities.

Fisher's expression grew serious. "I tried one of those candy bars when I returned home and spoke with our mother. She mentioned it came from my future brother-in-law. Made by you, I presume?"

As soon as he tasted it, Fisher was taken aback by its quality. "I was quite impressed!" he admitted, intrigued by the prospect of what this could mean for future business.

As a seasoned businessman, Fisher had traversed not only his own vast country but had also journeyed across several continents. His wealth of knowledge might not rival the elites, but it certainly eclipsed that of the ordinary folk.

Despite his extensive travels and experiences, Fisher was taken aback by the unique candy he tasted, nothing like it existed anywhere else, not among the orc tribes, in the royal courts, or any other humanoid race's nations. It was a novelty even for someone as well-traveled as him.

This realization dawned on him: Logan had crafted something truly original.

In the human kingdoms, sugar was considered a luxury, accessible only to the nobility. Fisher knew that if this candy were introduced to the market, the affluent human nobles would clamor to buy it. Given its uniqueness and the vast number of nobles, over a million, the potential market was enormous.

Fisher saw this as a monumental business opportunity. "Would you consider selling this recipe?" he asked Logan, his eyes twinkling with the prospects of profit.

"Name your price!" Fisher chuckled, his mind already spinning with visions of being honored as a Trade Prince by the Trade Federation.

"Not for sale," came the swift reply.

But it was not Logan who spoke. Jean had cut in, her voice firm, disrupting Fisher's daydreams of grandeur.

"What are you doing interrupting our business discussion, little sister?" Fisher scowled at Jean, annoyed by her intrusion into his entrepreneurial fantasies.

"Hmph, no wonder our eldest brother says you're blinded by greed," Jean retorted sharply.

"Logan is your future brother-in-law, my husband, and here you are trying to exploit him!" she accused, her eyes blazing with anger.

Logan, witnessing the unfolding scene, chose not to intervene. Although he hadn't considered selling his maltose recipe, still flush with several thousand gold coins, he pondered the potential earnings from such a deal. How much could it really fetch?

Pondering the figures, Logan felt that even 180,000 gold coins was a steep loss for his unique technology.

"One million? No, I couldn't possibly offer that much to my own brother-in-law," he thought, mulling over the value of his invention.

"Why am I cheating him, you little girl?" Fisher erupted, his voice laden with indignation. "I'm your brother! You used to respect your elders, and now you're so heartless. Since you got married, you dare to scold your own brother!"

"Humph, do you think we're fools?" Jean shot back defiantly. "This technology is ours alone. Why should we sell it? We can simply continue to produce and sell the sugar ourselves. It's a perpetual goldmine."

"And why exactly should we hand you a fortune on a silver platter?" she continued.

"If you really want to buy it, it would be no less than one million... no, make that five million gold coins!" Jean declared boldly.

"Five million? You really don't hold back, do you? You think your brother is easily duped!" Fisher exclaimed, rising from his seat in a mix of anger and disbelief. While a million might be considerable, five million was beyond negotiation, especially when he envisioned the lucrative returns from owning such a coveted technology.

As the siblings' argument intensified, Logan, still somewhat of an outsider, intervened courageously, "Fourth Brother, Jean, please, let's sit down. Arguing like this won't solve anything."

Fisher, though still agitated, took his seat once more.

Jean, with a huff, settled next to Logan, her demeanor frosty.

"Brother Fish, selling our sugar-making technology isn't an option," Logan stated firmly.

"Yes, we're not selling!" Jean chimed in, her head nodding emphatically in agreement.

"However, there might be another way, partnership. I have the technology, and you have the distribution network. Together, we could both benefit immensely," Logan proposed, opening a door to a potential compromise.

"A partnership?" Fisher perked up, his interest piqued as he considered Logan's proposal. He realized that his brother-in-law harbored significant ambitions too.

In any other situation, Fisher might have resorted to more aggressive tactics to secure such a valuable secret. But with Logan, who was family, such extremes were out of the question.

"How would we structure this cooperation?" Fisher inquired, his tone shifting from confrontation to curiosity, ready to explore this new avenue.