Chapter 247: Investnt
[It seems we have caused you so trouble this ti…]
Ramon explained in a strained voice.
Koharii is currently living in the mansion of Knight Bermakan. It must’ve felt lonely for her waiting alone at Newnelly Castle while I went to the royal capital, so she moved to the castle grounds.
Because of Ramon’s ties with the Bermakan family’s daughter, it can be said that it beca easier for the siblings to et each other. At least it’s much easier for Ramon since he won’t have to deal with the troubles related to visiting the castle.
[I don’t think it bothers at all. It was cute.]
Koharii was shocked by his brother’s marriage. At first, she was cheerful and happy, saying things like, [Congratulations, brother], but as ti went on, she seed to slowly start to feel lonely. And now that I, her new protector, was gone, Koharii’s “loneliness switch” was finally turned on, and she ended up spending hours alone in her room.
The other day, when I went to see Koharii in the castle town, she snuggled up to and was cute, as if trying to make up for the loneliness she felt after losing his brother.
[And it was refreshing to see her being stubborn.]
I tried to take her back to the castle, but Koharii wouldn’t budge. If she resides inside the castle, Ramon won’t be able to co visit her easily. She hated it.
The sight of Koharii clinging to and repeating, [I want to stay here], ekly invoked my desire to protect her.
In the end, I couldn’t ignore that request. If I give it so ti, she should be able to organize her mind.
[I humbly apologize…! Once my life settles down, I think Koharii will feel at ease, so please forgive …]
This older brother must have been horrified by Koharii’s actions, even though she was in the position of a mistress. I guess he took my words like sarcasm when I asked how Koharii was doing, and the room was so nervous that I felt sorry for the people watching. Well, it’s not like there’s no sarcasm at all.
[I don’t mind that much. No need to be afraid.]
Despite being a mistress, she has not beco pregnant yet, so as her elder brother, Ramon must be worried about various things. Now, if I run out of affection, Koharii’s position will beco extrely delicate.
However, I had no interest in her brother’s apology. I should probably change the topic a little here.
[…By the way, what kind of girl did you marry? I haven’t t her this far.]
Apparently sensing my feelings, Ramon naturally changed his attitude from apology mode to small talk mode.
[She is such a wonderful person who is too good for soone like .]
Ramon finally talked about the beauty of his new wife, emphasizing that he was truly happy for her.
This is the correct attitude. A commoner would not be allowed to openly deny the wife he received from the Bermakan family, a senior vassal among the Quordenze knights. It will destroy Knight Bermakan’s face.
[You seem to understand your position well.]
He is highly valued by a nobleman, his younger sister becos my mistress, and he is given a wife from a knight’s family. If he showed any sign of getting carried away, I should have reconsidered how to deal with Ramon, but if it looks like this, there shouldn’t be any problems.
I hadn’t received any particularly bad reports from the civil officers, and I think I can trust his future work.
[Based on that, I’ll ask you again. Answer honestly. I have high hopes for you to work in Nambonan City. I want you to work as hard as you did before marriage.]
Ramon is very easy to use. Not only does he have excellent administrative skills and strengths in the fields of logistics and business, but he also can accurately read my intentions and take action. I would like to continue to use this service in Nambonan City.
What I’m concerned about is the possibility that Ramon has gotten himself a demon-like wife. It would be a big problem if he continued to suffer from stress as the in-law of a knight family without complaining, and as a result, worsening his work. Besides, if I forced her brother into a painful marriage, it would affect Koharii’s trust in .
[I will do my best to et the expectations.]
[…Will there be any problem in continuing to serve ?]
The most important thing is to serve wholeheartedly and to et my expectations. It’s heavier than a knight’s face. I tried to offer him an escape route, thinking that at this mont, he wouldn’t be criticized even if he said that he has a demon-like bride.
[None. Since I have been blessed with a good companion, I am confident that I will be able to do my best even more than before. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Young Master for his generous consideration.]
It seed that the real aning of my question was conveyed. Apparently, the bride who ca from the Bermakan family is a decent human being.
[In that case, that’s fine. Besides, I don’t mind being referred to as the Mayor. You will return to Nambonan City soon.]
It felt kind of strange to be called Young Master by Ramon. It would be more natural if he calls the Mayor.
[So, how’s Newnelly? I reckon soone from Bermakan has shown you around.]
The current challenge for Nambonan City is to function as a city in the Quordenze territory while maintaining its unique identity. Nambonan City’s special feature is that the vitality of its citizens is unusually high compared to other places, so there is no point in destroying that.
Considering these circumstances, it would be better for Nambonan City to use more locally hired staff. However, if they act too much on the citizen’s side, there will be friction with the officials dispatched from Quordenze, and it may also be inconvenient for cooperation with other cities in the territory.
That’s why I wanted to create executive staff from the private sector who were familiar with Quordenze’s administration. The first step was to have Ramon tour the city.
[I learned a lot of things. I was able to understand things by looking at things from the inside. I began to see, albeit vaguely, the logic of the Knights… sothing that should be called ethics or norms.]
In a sense, the administration of Newnelly City can be said to be the actual output of the underlying ideas of Nobles and Knights. It seems that a lot of things made sense to Ramon after visiting the site. Back in Nambonan City, he seed to be having a lot of trouble communicating with civil officers.
[Also, the Bermakan family did a lot of face-to-face work.]
[People in Newnelly City co from Knight families from all over the territory. There’s no harm in selling your face.]
[I’m very grateful for the chance.]
Since Ramon cos from a rchant family, he naturally understands the importance of personal connections. Since he had the perfect opportunity to marry the daughter of the Bermakan family, he actively showed up here and there to say hello.
[It’s great to hear that your stay in Newnelly has been aningful.]
After listening to a few more stories, I decided to move on to the main topic.
[…Well, that’s just the way it is. I called you today because there is sothing I wanted to ask you.]
[Understood.]
I continued talking while looking at the person in the room who was feeling a little more nervous.
[I heard that Nambonan City used to have communication with St. Navenpos and the Mammushred Federation. It was around the ti when they were in conflict with Quordenze. Is that right?]
I also heard about it from Viscount Galiana, and I’ve heard several similar stories myself during my stays in Nambonan City.
[…It’s…more than a city, it was a place where powerful rchants had their own connections with various parts of the continent…]
Ramon seed to be having a hard ti answering. But, I knew what he’s worried about.
[I’m not blaming them in any way. Nambonan City’s punishnt has already ended. I’m not thinking of punishing them again based on the answer to this question, or indicting anyone else. It would be disrespectful to the rule.]
I would like to demonstrate that I value faith and honor. If it turns out to be too inconvenient for us, we can bring it back as much as we want, but that won’t happen this ti.
Perhaps relieved by my words, Ramon began answering questions indifferently.
[As the Mayor said, we had connections. Among them were St. Navenpos and the Mammushred Federation.]
However, he quickly corrected himself.
[Strictly speaking, regarding the Mammushred Federation, there was no direct communication to the Great King’s Office. We were just secretly dealing with local organizations. In Mammushred, the power of the governnt is absolute. Rather, local areas are not necessarily obedient to the central governnt. Therefore, local officials and military personnel are trying to enrich their own pockets…]
[Are you saying you’re doing business with smugglers?]
When I said that, Ramon looked a little surprised.
[What’s wrong?]
[No, indeed. I was just surprised at how quickly the Mayor understood.]
According to him, when he explained smuggling to people from the Knight family, it was difficult for them to understand. This is probably because the relationship between the central and local areas is completely different from the common sense in Noble’s territories.
[Does that an it was connected to so areas facing Lake o?]
[Yes. All smuggling trade uses the lake. The official trade carried out by the Great King’s Office goes through the Angata Mountain Pass, but I heard that it was not possible to intervene there.]
[…..why doesn’t the lake be used as a formal trade route?]
[We just didn’t know how. It’s only in the last 100 years that water transportation technology has improved enough to cross Lake o. Even today, it’s said that out of every 10 comrcial ships sent out, seven will sink to the bottom of the water. Therefore, it is by no ans a safe route. I think that is why there are no territories under the direct control of the Great King’s Office in the coastal area of the lake.]
It may be unavoidable that the first Great King of the Nagi dynasty did not place importance on the shores of Lake o. However, it is said that because of this, in today’s era, local powerful people are busy engaging in smuggling as they please.
The governnt, fearing a chain reaction to rebellion, cannot force the bla and only partially tolerates it, and as a result, the Nagi dynasty is stable at a low level in a sense.
[Nambonan City also doesn’t face Lake o, so how did they do business in that area?]
[It seems that the Mammushred smugglers traded through Noble families like the Evenafis family, who had territories along the shores of Lake o. They often used Noble territories that did not belong to either the Kingdom or the Empire.]
[Which Noble family were they dealing with the most?]
[The most often was the Eudion family. I’ve heard several tis about the Nambonan rchants who own rchant ships in Eudion territory.]
[Eudion family? Ah, those Spierzeig family’s ilk.]
[…..yes.]
Ramon seed apprehensive because his answer implied that the Spierzeig family, the nesis of the Quordenze family, was also benefiting from the smuggling forays. However, this is nothing new. The fact that Nambonan City and the Spierzeig family were connected in various ways behind the scenes has already been exposed to the light of day and is being judged. At least I don’t care.
[Until now, Nambonan rchants were unable to own ships in Evenafis territory and had to rely on independent Noble families. However, it seems that most of them now move their ships to Lake Hartinos Port in Evenafis territory.]
With Nambonan City becoming part of Quordenze territory, it beca possible for rchant ships to berth openly in Evenafis territory.
I heard that Nambonan rchants who engaged in smuggling paid high taxes to feudal lords who owned ports. The Eudion family and others who have been sucking in the sweet juice must be greatly lanting the fall of Nambonan City.
[Do Mayor need to know anything else about Mammushred? Like what kind of water transportation they used in Lake o?]
[No, that’s an interesting story, but I called you today because I wanted to ask you sothing about St. Navempos.]
[I see, St. Navempos…]
Ramon’s expression beca even more tense. Maybe he sensed sothing strange about the relationship between the Nobles and the priests. It felt like the air in the room was getting a little tense.
[First of all, let start by saying that I am thinking of growing sunflowers.]
[Sunflower…?]
Just like that, Ramon remained silent with a serious look on her face.
Sunflowers represent the Zeth Holy High Society, and raising it ans that the next Head of the Quordenze family is trying to approach Saint Navempos… It would be unbearable if it was taken in a strange direction.
[I’m thinking of planting and growing a field of sunflowers. That’s it. There’s no deeper aning behind it. I’m talking about agriculture.]
[I-is that so…]
It seems that my concerns were valid. Don’t you think you’d be suddenly summoned to a castle and a nobleman would talk about agriculture? It can’t be helped that you misunderstand.
[There are just a few problems. Particularly to get it started around here.]
When I told him about the issues I had listed, such as land issues and the reputation of the surrounding area, Ramon seed to understand imdiately and nodded repeatedly.
[From what I’ve heard, it seems like the scale of the farmland envisioned is quite large…]
I talked with civil officers before Ramon arrived, but for now I would like to start with sothing about the size of a track. When I explained that, Ramon groaned.
[However, I don’t think sunflowers are very efficient when it cos to extracting oil…]
[If you’re just thinking about using it for oil, you’re not wrong.]
[Then, does it have another purpose?]
So, I signaled to the civil officer and asked him to put the things I had prepared on the desk. They were two wooden boxes of different sizes.
[Newnelly soap?]
[Oh, so you know about it?]
It’s surprising how quickly he could tell only by looking at a package that doesn’t even have any words written on it.
[I’ve been using this a lot lately… I used to use the one in this box at ho, so…]
Ramon said that the one he used a lot these days was the one on the large box on the left, and the one he used a long ti ago was the smaller box on the right.
[I see.]
The soap on the left is the cheapest of the several Newnelly soaps we sell, and the soap on the right is the highest quality. It was a story that clearly illustrated the changes in Ramon’s economic situation.
Furthermore, in order to protect the brand value, the cheapest soap is priced at a reasonable price. Even ordinary civilians can buy it, but it’s not exactly cheap.
[Do you know what the difference is between these two soaps?]
[The oil used as the raw material?]
The manufacturing thod for Newnelly soap is basically kept secret, but it is known that one of the ingredients is vegetable oil. It was kept a secret until a certain point, but as soap production increased, so did the amount of oil purchased, so it beca sothing of an open secret within the city. Well, it seems that the difficult-to-use soap that originally existed on the Eruo continent was also made from vegetable oil, so it may have been known from the beginning.
That’s why they are now starting to open up and promote the fact that they use high-quality vegetable oil in their luxury products.
[Yes, the raw materials are different. This is high-quality olive oil…]
I can’t say with certainty that it’s the sa plant as Earth’s olives, but at least it looked and tasted like an olive fruit.
[…And this one is made from soybean oil.]
Soybean oil is a vegetable oil made from pressed beans called habla. This is probably a plant that doesn’t exist on Earth. It is said that this plant was introduced from the Mammushred region, but its authenticity is uncertain.
As a plant, it looks very similar to soybeans, but it produces beans that are so bad that the only use for them is to extract the oil. However, it is cultivated in many regions because the oil extraction efficiency is very high and it produces a light oil with little odor. Basically, when we talk about vegetable oil in this area, we can say that we are referring to this soybean oil.
[The soap made by soybean oil is the cheapest, but this soap was the first to be completed as a product. It was the origin of Newnelly soap.]
As soone who used to work in a rchant family, Ramon was looking at intently.
[In other words, Mayor is thinking of sunflower oil soap for your next product? And the sales target is mainly in the St. Navempos area…]
[It’s a good thing that we talked quickly. Do you know that the priests of the Holy City have a ritual where they anoint their bodies with sunflower oil?]
[I’ve heard about it, but I don’t know much about it…]
[Let explain. To put it simply, sunflower oil is believed to contain the blessings of the great spirit of the sun. The reason they apply it on their body is to absorb that divine protection into their body.]
Like holy oil, it is sothing that is applied to the body, so I think sunflower soap is suitable for high-ranking priests to use on a daily basis. When I expressed my thoughts, Ramon nodded deeply in agreent.
[I see… Certainly, I think that would make for a good sales pitch.]
I didn’t think it’s an empty complint. If anything, he sounded like he was interested.
[I heard an interesting story while I was in the capital. Zeth Holy High Society is regaining its forr power.]
Perhaps thinking that I was about to say sothing really important, Ramon kept his mouth shut.
[Will the relationship with the priestly forces deteriorate and lead to war, or will the confrontation continue, or will we build a new good relationship and coexist…I don’t know what the future holds.]
The Levios family was very motivated, but to be honest, I’m not interested. Unless they call when they have to kidnap beautiful won or plunder works of art. If that’s the case, I’ll be happy to join in.
[There’s only one thing we know at this point. Getting power back ans having money.]
If the economy is good, the flow of money should also be good.
[No matter what kind of future awaits us, be it war, conflict, or coexistence, Quordenze is not very happy about money gathering in the Holy City. I think we need to drive a wedge in now. The first step is sunflower soap.]
Soap is a very popular product in the Kingdom and Empire, and I want to brand it properly in the Holy City as well.
[Sending soldiers is not the only way to fight… Do you understand what I an?]
When asked that question, Ramon nodded loudly. He showed a really good response. This idea of building a beachhead in the economic field is difficult for people from the Knight family to understand.
[That’s why I’m thinking of growing sunflowers.]
After I stated the conclusion again, Ramon lowered himself as if he were going to prostrate himself.
Judging from this reaction, selling sunflower soap doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.
[I’m going to gather experts and decide on a policy soon. There are probably a lot of holes in my plan alone. …I’ll leave the selection to you. When you return to Nambonan City, gather them as soon as possible.]
[Yes. Leave it to .]
With this, my work is almost finished. If I leave it to Ramon, he will probably manage it pretty well even if I leave it alone. Perhaps.
[The rest is farmland.]
[Yes. I think that is a difficult problem. If it was near Nambonan City, there would be no problem with land or water, but in that case…]
[…Is there a problem?]
I was thinking of building one around Nambonan City. It’s easy to forcibly expropriate land because it just beca Quordenze territory, and it’s easy to get water because it’s close to the Alia River.
It may be a little troubleso to move Cynthia around, but compared to land and water availability, it’s not a big problem.
[No, if you are thinking about selling them in St. Navenpos, I think the sunflowers grown near Newnelly would be better to sell. As Mayor may know, Lydia Plain was once famous throughout the continent as a famous sunflower production area. We have a history of achieving great value. If we can incorporate that kind of value into our products…]
…Ah, I feel like this will succeed on its own without my involvent. He’s a reliable man.
[Even if the sunflowers used as raw materials are from Nambonan, the factory that ultimately manufactures the soap is located in Newnelly City, so wouldn’t that an the soap was made in Lydia Plains?]
[I, indeed!]
This was the mont when modern Earth’s technology for disguising the country of origin was brought to the Eruo continent.
[If you look at it from a broader perspective, there is no difference that both of them are Quordenze territory. Don’t worry about the details.]
Nowhere is it possible to display the production area of agricultural products, and it is almost impossible to check. Moreover, the quality of sunflowers grown in Nambonan is not bad. On the contrary, I think it will be of high quality since it is a project that I put a lot of effort into. Okay, there’s nothing wrong.
[Then, would it be okay for us to move on to considering the site with a view to creating farmland near Nambonan?]
[I leave it to you… Now that the land issue has been resolved…]
When I blurted it out, Ramon picked it up with a sharp ear.
[Any other problems yet?]
[Hmm? Ah, this has nothing to do with the sunflower field.]
I was a little hesitant, but decided to talk to him since it was a good opportunity.
As long as I cherish Koharii, this brother of hers will never betray Quordenze.
[No, it doesn’t matter. It’s also the place where soap is made.]
[…is it about the Pioneering Association?]
Ramon asked in a low voice.
[That’s right. The production departnt of the Pioneering Association has beco quite cramped recently. They want to mass-produce new products, but they don’t even have the space to build the equipnt to do so. It’s a problem. If only I could sell it…]
I would like to sell the white pottery that was popular in the Royal Capital on a large scale, but there is nothing I can do since I don’t have the land anymore.
The fact that the raw material is thick-haired rabbit bones is also a problem. Thick-haired rabbits are livestock that farrs raise and sell on their own ti, so if I want to collect a large number of them, I’ll have to contact many farrs. In other words, if a large-scale purchase is made, the manufacturing thod may be leaked. If security is to be ensured, everything should be completed within the production departnt.
[Is it a new product from the Association? I don’t know what it is, but if the rchants of Nambonan hear about it, I think they’ll rush to Newnelly City again.]
[…..hey, show it to him.]
I gave instructions to the civil officer and showed Ramon the white vessel that I had left as a sample.
[What do you think? I think it’s a good product.]
But there was no reply. Ramon was at a loss for words.
[What’s wrong?]
[…………….Umm, is this one really produced by the Association? Isn’t it supposed to be a precious antique?]
He froze in a half-hearted pose, almost bowing toward the plate.
[It’s not an antique. In fact, it was sothing made recently.]
[Is production halted because the land is small?]
[That’s right. As a result, only a handful has been made so far.]
Ramon sohow understood what I wanted to say. I’m sure he wanted to scream, [What a waste!]. I bet the reason his body was trembling is because he is trying hard to suppress those words.
[We have land around Nambonan City. We have enough manpower, so if Mayor is willing…]
[Nambonan City is no good.]
He must have expected this answer to so extent, but he was still disappointed.
[The Pioneering Association has now beco one of Quordenze’s industries. It’ll be dangerous to keep it outside. There is also the fact that the Spierzeig army invaded at the beginning of this year.]
Important secrets cannot be placed in areas close to enemy territory. It’s different from a sunflower field.
Of course Ramon also understood this, so he didn’t chase for relocation.
[I see… However, it is regrettable that such a wonderful product cannot be produced due to lack of land…]
Even though it wasn’t for his own benefit, he was staring at the plate with regret.
[Many people are looking forward to that vessel. I’m thinking of resolving the land issue as soon as possible, but…if it’s going to be a large-scale relocation, I think it would be best to move inland.]
If the Spierzeig family perished, would Nambonan City still exist? …No, the people involved in Quordenze are sowhat conservative, and they seem to be saying that foreign land is high risk, so we should move inland.
[Mayor. Are you sure?]
It seed like he couldn’t give it up yet.
[If you are considering reorganizing your land, I think one way is to take it outside and think of activities that will not cause problems. For example, in this case, the cultivation of sunflowers does not need to be carried out by the association, so we have outsourced it to Nambonan City. In a similar way, I think it would be possible to increase the amount of land available by proactively entrusting non-confidential work that had previously been done within the association to outsiders…]
In modern terms, it would be a proposal for outsourcing. I feel that if we bring soone who can think of things like this to the Pioneering Association, they will be able to operate it efficiently. Should it be considered in the future?
[…In that case, please use Nambonan City.]
[Quite ambitious, aren’t you?]
Hearing that, Ramon looked a little troubled.
[So areas are a little worrying. There are so areas in Nambonan City that are currently overstaffed…]
It is said that people who lost their villages in the war are flocking to Nambonan City in search of work. Although the Quordenze family has set up checkpoints outside the area to restrict the movent of people, there are still many people who sneak into the area.
[I’d like to make new jobs available. So civil engineering will be required to open a sunflower field, so I guess that’ll open up so job vacancies…]
Even so, once it’s completed, it’s over. The number of people who can beco farrs is not that large. That must have had sothing to do with why he was thinking about getting so work from the Pioneering Association.
[Recently, the number of comrce ships has increased, so I guess we’ll have to do port expansion work for now.]
I was told this at dinner last night, so let’s give the instructions before I forget.
[My grandfather said that he had trouble crossing the river because there were so many private rchant ships. I hope that this will be resolved as soon as possible.]
Perhaps because I said it in a slightly stronger tone, Ramon’s face turned serious.
[…In that case, wouldn’t it be better to ask for investnt?]
[What do you an?]
According to Ramon’s explanation, it would be faster to solicit investnt from the city’s wealthy rchants than to build a port using the city’s budget, and the funds would be plentiful to build a good port.
[However, port usage fees will increase for about 10 years after construction. Dividends to investors will be added on top of that.]
Well, what idiot would invest money without getting anything in return?
[Of course, we will not collect any money from anyone related to the lord.]
[You can choose a better thod as long as there is no harm to the Quordenze side. Please head back to Nambonan City and make arrangents with the local people.]
I suddenly thought that the fact the money could be collected from it ant that the wealthy rchants in the city considered investing in the port a good deal.
[Can I also invest in that port?]
[You, Mayor? …it’s possible, but why would Mayor need to?]
If the lord wanted the benefit from the port, they could simply raise the price. So, Ramon said there’s no point in investing.
[Well, common sense might say that, but… I don’t know, I feel like it’s healthier to invest properly and get dividends than to raise port usage fees just based on the lord’s wishes.]
[Haha. I think it’s an interesting initiative, and as a citizen of Nambonan, I’m happy about the Mayor’s idea. However, if the investnt is made in a regular manner, I think the minimum investnt amount will be quite large. Is there no problem with that?]
When it cos to port construction, we have no choice but to target wealthy rchants to be the investors, making the hurdles for participation high. As the number of investors increases, the hassle of paying dividends increases, so we do not dare to deal with small fry. In this case, it is expected that we could only gather ten investors.
[That’s alright. I’ve been wasting money lately. Well, if I suddenly invested a large amount of money, it would cause unnecessary confusion, so I’ll decide to invest only one unit at a minimum.]
[I suppose that’s good.]
This is the beginning of a dream dividend life. It is quite attractive as the dividend would increase as Nambonan City develops. It makes want to do my best to make the city a better place.
…Is this the reason why Ramon was so keen on my investnt?
[However, it’s quite an interesting chanism. Is this type of investnt common in Nambonan City?]
[Yes. Investnts were made not only in the city but also all over the continent. There is a wide variety of events, from large-scale events that only large rchants in the city can participate in, to small-scale events held by the general public. Of course, there are many failures as well as success stories.]
[For example?]
[A small-scale example is investing in a bridge that will be built near Nambonan City. This can be done with a relatively small amount of money, but the bridge has to be finished before it is washed away by the floods from the Alia River. It is difficult to recover the usage fees, and if you are lucky, you can receive dividends many tis the amount invested, but in the worst case scenario, the bridge could be washed away by heavy rain the year after construction, resulting in a huge loss.]
There are many rivers that branch off from the Alia River around Nambonan City, so there is a high demand for bridges.
Although it seems to be enjoyed by the citizens as a bit of gambling, there are so idiots who get serious about it and risk all of their assets and go bankrupt.
[Interesting. What are so large-scale examples?]
[A large-scale example is the construction of facilities within the city. When it cos to investing in other places, there is less collaboration between large rchants who may beco business rivals. This is a story that could end up being a big deal. Inevitably, there are many investnts that are completed on their own, and many that are unknown to those around them.I also learned about many investnts for the first ti during the post-war processing of Nambonan City. Most of the investnts from the Noble families were made in secret.]
[I see, so sotis the Nobles are also involved. That would involve a lot of money. …Where did the biggest amount of money move? Is it around the Spierzeig family invasion?]
I thought it was a difficult question to answer, but Ramon replied imdiately.
[It was the Orville family from the Rickarga region. They have recently started calling themselves the Rickarga Allied Nations, and there was a rchant in the city who helped raise funds for their military.]
He ntioned the rchant’s na in a tone that implied, [Mayor must know it already], but I couldn’t rember it at all.
[Who was that again?]
[…After the city fell, the entire family was executed together, so I guess it’s no wonder Mayor doesn’t know about it. Please excuse .]
I rembered. Was it that Councilor who tried to talk back to my father in Nambonan Castle and had his head cut off without any questions asked? He was killed so quickly that I couldn’t rember the na at all.
[And you’re saying that Nambonan rchants were involved in the Orville family’s rise?]
[That seems to be the case. It seed like a considerable amount of gold coins were taken out.]
Imdiately after getting a job at City Hall, Ramon apparently checked the list of assets that had been taken from the Councilman’s house. The reason was that the wealth was much smaller than expected. If there were any hidden assets nearby, there was a risk that the Quordenze family would assu that Nambonan City was involved in the concealnt, so the locally hired staff, including Ramon, hurriedly set up an investigation team and investigated day after day. Apparently they went through a lot of trouble that I didn’t know about.
[Rickarga is quite far away, so what exactly did they want to do?]
[There were no records of the details, so I can only speculate, but…maybe they saw that the Orville family would dominate the neighborhood and decided that they should form a connection ahead of others.]
In fact, the Orville family unified the Rickarga region, so if the guess is correct, the Councilman had a good eye for it.
[It’s an advance investnt, isn’t it? However, since the person who made the investnt has been beheaded, the Orville family has made a profit. They no longer need to return the money. That’s so unfair.]
If the situation calls for it, a Noble can renege on promises made to rchants, but it’s better not to do so.
[If I have Mayor’s permission, I can send them a letter requesting a refund…]
If one considers that the debt has been transferred from the councilman to the Quordenze family, there should be no problem in filing a claim.
It seed that Nambonan City had not taken any particular action so far, as it could lead to interactions with Nobles from other places.
[Then, why didn’t anyone inform ? …no, would it beco a problem if Quordenze’s na is taken into account?]
[It can also be concluded as a transaction between rchants.]
Perhaps the rumors of the fall of Nambonan City have reached the south. Therefore, Ramon could’ve written sothing along the line of, [The son has inherited the rchant family after the father passed away. Please return the money]. The son in question had actually also died at the sa ti, but I don’t think that much detailed information has been passed on. You can fake anything.
I also checked with the civil officer, and received confirmation that there was no problem.
[…If anything, I think it would be better if the person delivering the letter had the purpose of exploring the Rickarga region rather than getting a refund.]
It’s not like in modern Japan, where you just put a letter in the mailbox and that’s it. In order to deliver the letters, we need people who actually travel.
[I think that would be better as well. It would be difficult to get a refund if it was in the na of a rchant family, so I think we should focus on reconnaissance of the recent situation. Since there is an investnt issue, the Orville family should be in a better condition than a normal peddler. I think you’ll be able to go deeper into the story. Maybe we’ll get a chance to have an audience with the head of the family. Perhaps because it’s so far away, not many people care about it, but we can also learn about the reality of the erging Rickarga Allied Nations. I’m curious. I would like to choose soone I can trust to deliver the ssage.]
Ramon is a convenient candidate because he understands my intentions and is capable of making quick decisions. The people around from the knight families don’t care about Rickarga at all. If the Orville family were a nearby feudal lord, they would probably suggest that we actively investigate, but the Rickarga region is too far away. It was too far away to warrant any caution.
It can be appreciated that Ramon is interested in the fact that it is an erging force regardless of distance. Is this the difference between a knight who is rooted in the land and a rchant who moves around in search of trade?
[I’ll leave the details to you. Don’t worry about making mistakes.]
[Yes.]
[I know I’ve entrusted you with various tasks, but the first thing you need to do is sunflowers. Probably not this sumr, but next year I want to visit the sunflower fields where they’re all in bloom.]
When I said that, Ramon was a little surprised. I guess he didn’t expect to go to the field.
[I’m going to take Koharii with .]
I’ve said all sorts of fancy things about growing sunflowers, but in the end, what I want to do is go on a date with Koharii.
After thinking about it a lot, I ca to the conclusion that out of all the people I can help with, the one who looks best in a sunflower field and a white dress is Koharii. She has a delicate and graceful aura that could be best described as a lady with a deep window, and long, straight hair. I felt a high level of sunflower index.
[That would be a blessing. I’m sure my little sister would be happy too.]
…..oh, now he’s excited to work on it.
He never would have thought that he would be playing a role in the white one-piece rape plan.
I want you to do your best and create a wonderful sunflower field for your cute little sister. I’m sure it will be a great picture.
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