"Sir. We have arrived," said Elmon as he stopped the car.
"What? We have arrived? While my territory is not that far, I still usually need a single day to reach the Stargaze family's territory. But with this car, will we reach it before dusk?"
"Yes, sir. The conference will be held in two days." Elmon nodded as he walked out to open the door for him.
Earl Mayzion was in utter shock. Everything had completely changed. When he turned around, he could see several cars parked in that inn. Instead of a stable, this inn was actually made to allow the cars to park.
While admiring the new car, he realized that other nobles were experiencing the sa thing. Those who took Noel's offer ended up talking about this car and how they tried to purchase it.
After all, having a luxury was always what nobles wanted. Those who tried to go with their own carriages ended up staring at them in jealousy.
Still, most people looked at the conference very positively, especially since this might be their way to get the luxury car or even other inventions that hadn't been out in the market yet.
Their surprise aside, they didn't forget what kind of matter they wanted to discuss here.
…
Two days later.
Seventeen nobles—fifteen of the invited nobles, the Stargaze family, and the Ardagan family—were sitting behind a round table. Since the host was the Stargaze family, it would only be right for the host to open the conference.
Dylan stood up, saying, "I'm grateful for all fifteen lords to accept my invitation and grace your presence in my humble place.
"As much as I want to express my gratitude, I believe we have to go directly into the heart of the discussion.
"Hence, I'll be explaining about the three steps of this discussion. First, a noble will suggest a person if they have any, explaining to everyone in this room why it's necessary to have him in using the train. As you all know, the current supply of trains is limited, so we have to focus on the one we will benefit the most.
"The second step will be a question and answer session. If any lords have a question, please ask it in this session, but before that, please don't say anything to avoid wasting our ti. In addition, please don't bring any conflicts here. There might be a conflict of interest, but we're here for a discussion, so please keep it civil.
"The third step will be the judgnt. 17 people in this room will have one vote. However, it is not a matter whether you have more than the majority. Instead, we'll actually count the number of votes.
"The higher the votes, the more we'll prioritize them. For the ti being, Marquis Ardagan has shared that we will be accepting 5 rchants. Those who are not picked imdiately might still have the chance to be picked after three months.
"That's right. What we want from the rchants is to maintain a stable supply of goods. In exchange, their trade volu will increase, which also ans their profits will increase. However, if the rchants are black-hearted, trying to increase the price after receiving the deal, we reserve the right to take away their privilege.
And those who will replace them will be those from the 6th rank onward. And last but not least, this rule will also apply to those who haven't been picked."
After the explanations, the nobles looked at each other.
"It is understandable. We don't like it if the rchants abuse their privilege. And I believe this is the right for all the nobles here, correct?" One noble asked.
Dylan nodded. "Indeed. To avoid any noble from taking advantage of the price manipulation, we'll also monitor the complaints. Any suspicion will be taken seriously and investigated."
"What if the investigation itself is not conducted by a neutral party?" One noble asked, his eyes glancing between Noel and Dylan.
It was clear what he ant. Noel could easily give a lot of benefits to the Stargaze family, considering it was his wife's family. While it was understandable, they didn't think it was fair in this matter.
Noel answered it as if he had expected this question. "Don't forget that the lords' complaints matter."
"But you're the…" He wanted to say Noel was the one owning the train, but that would just make his reason justified. In the end, they ca here because Noel wanted to get them involved, not the other way around.
And Noel revealed his card by stating, "And this project is just the beginning for not only the rchants, but also for all of you."
"What do you an?"
"It's simple. Exports and Imports."
"!!!" They widened their eyes in shock. Noel was talking about expansion to other countries. If they could get the goods from other countries easily, the economy would transform even further.
It just made Noel's position clear. Join on board and accept his kindness, or leave and get destroyed by your own foolishness.
At the sa ti, having a bad reputation, whether it was a rchant or a noble, would do them no good. Other countries or even other nobles wouldn't want to have a trade with them.
That was why everyone had to do it correctly. Corruption would just make them a target. And if Noel also abused his privilege, he might lose all of it after a few years or decades when people found a way not to rely on his trains.
The nobles finally understood Noel's sincerity. They all looked at each other and nodded. In fact, two of them looked pressured as if they had done a shady deal with their rchants.
"Any other questions?" Noel simply asked as if reminding them that he would be there as a judge.
Since no one opened their mouths, Dylan took over again. "The purpose of this project is for all the northern lords to prosper. With that in mind, let's continue to the first session. Please suggest a rchant… starting from Earl Mayzion."
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