CH 112

[Another Viewpoint] Conference of Merchants

In the reception room of the lord’s mansion, there were three figures with faces that looked as if they had lost their souls. Sitting on a beautifully decorated one-seater sofa were Apollo, Diane, and Rosalie.

Unbeknownst to the three of them, this reception room is the most luxurious and opulent room in Seat Village. Not only the lighting, furniture, and furnishings, but also the walls, floor, and window frames are carefully crafted.

However, there is no maid in the room, and on a side table next to each sofa is a fruit juice and pancakes. The dishes are silver.

Rosalie looks at them as they sit on the comfortable sofa and opens her mouth.

“…I still can’t believe it, but this is a frontier village that has been deemed worthless, right?”

She mumbles. At these words, Diane looks up with her eyebrows raised in the shape of a c.

“Please don’t say that now, it makes me feel really incompetent… The information the Chamber of Commerce has about the frontier village in the past; I will create the information after Van-sama becomes lord as soon as I return to Royal Capital. Also, let’s get ready to send caravans to this village on a regular basis, since the Belrango Chamber of Commerce seems to be doing a great job, but they are not keeping up at all.”

Diane laughs to herself after answering that with a sigh.

“But even so, the astonishing development of this village is one thing, but above all, I was surprised by Van-sama’s magic. The way he uses magic is one thing, but his imagination is extraordinary. Even if we exclude the fact that he is less than ten years old, is it possible for him to come up with such a novel and useful idea?”

Apollo crossed his arms and pulled back his chin as Diane spoke with an expression of regret, as if in penitence.

“…Especially the shape of these walls, the defensive weapons…Van-sama seems to be a very mild-mannered man, but his talent is clearly suited for fighting. If Van-sama were so inclined, it is possible that a country with Van-sama would gain supremacy.”

“That’s a bit of a stretch…”

Chuckling at Apollo’s words, Diane and Rosalie turned their heads, but realizing that they were not in the mood for joking, they kept their mouths shut.

Looking at them sideways, Apollo let out a deep sigh.

“…A newly established trading company was in cahoots with a frontier aristocrat to make a few coins…it would have been much less troubling if that were true. The results of this investigation are not something that can be easily divulged. But we can’t just leave them out.”

Diane nodded in reply to Apollo’s words.

“Of course. However, as the Commerce Guild, we have no other choice but to build a good relationship with Mr. Van if we want to expand our roots on this continent. We, Mary Commerce Guild, would like to have a good relationship with Mr. Van as well.”

Diane smiles thinly as she says this, and Apollo shakes his head from side to side with a wry smile.

From what Van-sama said, it seems that most of the necessities are self-sufficient. What we need are seasonings, food from different regions, and items from other cultures. He is such an imaginative person that he is always on the lookout for things that stimulate his imagination. That’s what we at the Commerce Guild do best, since we deal with so many different countries.”

Apollo put one hand on his own chest, and Diane put her hand on her own chest as if to imitate him.

“And with the most distribution channels and merchant corps in the Kingdom, we will be able to help the Commerce Guild with their business without a hitch. Well, the cost may be a little higher when transporting Seat Village’s goods to other countries.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

While the two were having such an exchange, there was a knock on the door, as if to time it right.

Hearing a voice outside the door, Apollo and the others unconsciously turned toward the door. It was the maid, a former slave, who opened the door and appeared. The maid bowed quietly and opened her mouth.

“Excuse us for interrupting your pleasantries. If you don’t mind, Master Van would like to hear what you have to say.”

With that, the maid looks at the three of them. The three look at each other and then immediately turn to the maid.

“Of course.”

“We will ask her.”

Apollo and Diane replied, and Rosalie nodded her head in agreement.

The maid led the three of them to the back of the second floor of the lord’s mansion and they stood in front of the double swinging door at the end of the hall. The maid standing at the head of the group knocked, and the doors were opened from the inside.

The view on the other side of the doors was like that of a museum. At the entrance of the room was a pure white stand on which was displayed an elaborately decorated straight sword.

Around the room, white stands were lined up at equal intervals, displaying a variety of objects.

The three were puzzled by this unexpected sight, but, as is the habit of merchants, they looked at the exhibits in turn.

Is this armor, material for magical beasts…ore…? No, I don’t think this is…”

“Oh, Orihalcum, is it…?”

Apollo and Diane were stunned, while Rosalie’s eyes widened as she stared at the Orihalcum.

“This is the Orihalcum… I’ve never seen it before.”

Diane shakes her head from side to side as Rosalie says this.

“This is the first time for me too. I’ve heard that it belongs to the royal family of a neighboring country, but…”

“…This is the second time for me, but it wasn’t as big as this one, you know.”

The three of us stare at the Orihalcum gemstone as if possessed by something on the spot. Behind them, Van appears with Till, Camsin, and Bell.

“Ladies and gentlemen!”

Van calls out, and the three of them turn around, their shoulders bouncing with surprise.

“Oh, this, this is Master Van!”

“I didn’t touch you!”

“Oh, I’m surprised…!”

Van smiled at the three of them and opened his mouth.

“We prepared this room on the spur of the moment, since you were all coming. Interesting, isn’t it?”

Van asked them an innocent childish question, and they nodded as they looked at the items lined up on the table.

“I see. So you are saying that this room is for introducing Seat Village’s specialties. This is a very interesting quaintness. If we are going to organize a business meeting, it would be better to see the products in person.”

“Yes. And it’s more uplifting than just seeing the goods as they are. It’s strange.”

“Normally, I would ask how well the condition and quality of the specialties shown would be maintained, but in Van’s case, there is no need to do that, is there?”

The three of them affirmatively show interest in the quaintness Van has prepared. Smiling happily at this, Van slipped between the three and touched the Orihalcum gemstone on display.

“These were given to us by the Apkallu people, who are good friends of ours. There are not many of them, but several times a year we receive something as good as this.”

“Apkallu…!”

“…I’ve heard rumors about them, but you actually interact with them.”

The three of us gasped at Van’s words, but we were even more taken aback by what happened in front of us.

As soon as Van stopped moving in silence, the Orihalcum gemstone gradually changed shape and became even more luminous.

The three of us could not move for a minute or two, which seemed a little too long to watch in silence.

Then, after confirming that the Orihalcum ore had been refined into Orihalcum, and had become a beautiful slender curved sword, Rosalie was finally able to open her mouth.

“…This is…”

Van nodded deeply and held up the newly made curved sword, a Japanese sword, to see how she received his murmur.

“Orihalcum is durable enough, so I made a sword called Katana that specializes in cutting to any degree. It is probably the best one I have made. It should be able to cut dragon scales and fangs like cutting paper.”

Van said something outrageous and waved the Japanese sword in the air. The sword was not even tempered, but it had a pattern on the blade, and even though there was not much decoration on it, it had a terrifying presence.

Seeing Apollo and Diane staring at the sword, Bell, who had remained silent until then, lifted the edge of his mouth and coughed deliberately.

“…Ohon. If you’ve seen this far, I’m sure none of the merchants would want to do business with you. So, from now on, let’s discuss the future between the merchants in a solid discussion. With your permission, we, the Belrango Chamber of Commerce, who have been doing business with Mr. Van, will take the lead in this meeting. Is that all right with you?”

Bell retracted his expression of fatigue as if it had been a lie, and instead smiled with the face of a merchant full of ambition and said so.

At this, both Apollo and Diane couldn’t help but laugh.

“…Of course, Commerce Guild will wholesale to Van first and then to the Belrango Chamber of Commerce when it distributes goods to this village.”

“The Mary Chamber of Commerce is also willing to help. We have several experienced merchants stationed here, so feel free to use them.

Rosalie’s eyes twinkled as she saw Bell rise to a position equal to or greater than Apollo’s. She wanted to get a word out of Van while he was still there, but it seemed a bit forced.

I wonder if that good-natured Bell boy has had a hard time in business…”

Seeing Bell’s relief at hearing the two promise to cooperate, Rosalie chuckled as she muttered to herself.