Alice was headed to the tailor with two small cardboard boxes.
"In the end, I bought it.
Could Takeo and his tea be rescheduled for a tea party at home?
And I'm a little sorry. I wonder what Takeo thinks? I think I already bought it now.
"Found a favorite," "Full of seats," "I bought them all because the rest were 3"
Excuses float around a lot... but I was trying to convince him to manage to eat at home.
------------------------
Alice arrived at the tailor... but there was a "CLOSE" tag on the door of the store.
"Well, what's this all about?
I'll think about it for a while, but the store is bright so I decided to come in for now.
The door is not even locked and opens properly.
"Miss Alice. Welcome back."
and Takeo welcomed me with pleasure.
"Ah... I'm just here.
Um... what's this?
and look inside the store.
There were several people who would be store clerks arguing that one piece of clothing was not, uh, here.
Also, at the desk at the end, it looked like the three of them were making some kind of estimation with the book in one hand.
"Um, if I was talking about the coat I wanted to make, all the people in the store would join me in the development..."
and Takeo laughs bitterly.
"Huh?... are they all?
Alice said, "It's just one coat. Why? ♪ And wonderfully surprised ♪
"The inside line will come from me.
and the store manager starts explaining.
The clerk who accompanied Takeo since he entered the store was the manager of this store.
"Actually, we had a certain ambition that was dull.
That is an expansion of the business.
Thanks to you, we are able to increase the number of employees a little bit, and the city is now known for its name.
However, everyone thought it was basic to wait for the customer, as they were tailors.
Even as we were about to leave our branches in other big cities, the city where we opened our store already had a tailor with a well-known name, so we refused even on a pro forma basis without being profitable.
"Huh. I see.
Alice strikes a match.
"But Kitamizato's proposed coat was truly advanced.
Isn't it possible to open stores in every city with this in mind? I began to think about it.
"Erm. Master Takeo?
"Yep. I just told you some tips on products and stuff..."
and Takeo start explaining to Alice.
"I mean, Miss Alice.
They're trying to launch their own brand.
"Is it a brand?
"Yes. I'm trying to start wholesale my clothes myself from the state of waiting for an order.
"... can you sell that much in general?
Alice throws a normal question.
"Miss Alice... how about if it's not common?
"Huh?"
"Certain... no, let's stop saying words farther away.
What if it was for soldiers?
"... but isn't a few dozen a year the limit?
"If it's a frontier area... right?
"Ah!"
Alice realizes.
"Right. Multiple peripheral territories... no. Think on a national basis, hundreds a year... it's going to be a great scale.
"Yeah. But the journey is very tough.
Existing tailors are tearing up the city, as we talked about earlier.
"Yes. I think the whole kingdom is tough.
"However, that's usually as a tailor... isn't it? Why don't you start offering something completely new there?
"... you'll get an order here when it's useful, but it can't be done by previous tailors.
"Right. It is also necessary to keep prices somewhat lower, if possible.
"Why is that?
"Because they will definitely imitate you.
Alice makes a face that Takeo's explanation doesn't understand.
"I mean, right? The lowest price exists to maintain some quality.
That would be the main cost of materials though. How much you can lower that will be the battle.
If a tailor imitates it, it becomes expensive, so you can't beat that brand.
Besides, if we can't make it ourselves, they'll be asking us to put it in our own store.
"I see."
"If we go well with that, it will benefit the Elvis family in the future, too.
"Huh? Really?
"Hopefully, yes?
"... what do you mean?
Alice is troubled. Why does the development of this shop benefit the Elvis family?
"Actually, I'm trying to get a contract between this store and me for the right to design and sell this coat.
"Is it a contract? Why?"
"Simply put, I don't approve of 'trench coats' other than what I made in this store.
The store side has the prospect of stopping other stores from lining up similar products of the same name.
I ask you to apply that to my knowledge as well.
As for my coat, I'm going to make it through the store.
"So all the shops are in your favor, and Master Takeo has nothing in return?
"In return for me, you will be promised a certain amount as a design fee when it is sold.
I also ask you to promise to leave your headquarters here no matter how big this store gets.
"Do you base this city?
"Yeah. For example, the Wang capital will have all the people, things, and money.
But there is no need to have headquarters in Wang Du this time.
More importantly, I cannot find the need to set up a shop in Wang Du.
"Why? I've heard that every merchant dreams of raising a flag in the King's Capital one day?
"... Really?
Takeo decided to ask the clerk.
"Yes, most merchants, including me, consider it 'someday in the Wang capital'.
"That's what it is.
and Takeo replied unwillingly so far because he was not interested in Wang Du.
"Well. From here it will be my reasoning.
I think the Wang capital has a large scale of things.
But that should be all the adhesion.
"Is it adhesive?
"Yeah. To be exact, I think you have a lot of stores.
Miss Alice, how many families live in the Wang capital?
"Right. Is it about 20?
"... that's surprisingly little.
Let's say every one of them has a store for you.
The stores also have aristocratic faculties, so they are always fighting over good looks and quality.
And those who hold things in their nobility will also use the store they hold to keep them from cutting off from the nobility.
"I guess.
"This is why I don't feel the need to have a store in Wang Du.
"Huh? What do you mean?
"In other words, you can't sell things where you're new to a society that uses connections to maintain connections.
You wouldn't bother asking me to do it in a new store until you jeopardized your relationship with the noblemen you're now asking for?
If you need to be the embrace of some nobleman in order to succeed in the Wang capital, you're going to have to kick down your colleagues you're currently dealing with, so you're going to have to win a defamation match, right?
Even if it became a favorite of a certain nobleman, there wouldn't be any guests other than the nobleman's associates there, would there?
That would make sense as a job, but not to make things out of your own ideas, just to satisfy a certain aristocracy.
... you don't find me attractive.
"Sure you will, Master Takeo. That's as much as it takes..."
"Yeah, it would be too much leap. But you shouldn't be able to call this a total lie.
Sometimes it's not each house, it's each noble group.
Soon the clerks stopped and listened to us.
Did Takeo taste this? I thought.
"... you're absolutely right.
After listening to what I'm saying, I'm no longer willing to open a shop in Wang Du either.
"No, I'm sorry that I said something very rude.
I'm not going to deny raising a flag in the King's Capital.
Takeo apologizes to the clerk.
"No. I do not have that strong aspiration to be in the King's Capital.
It's just. I was just thinking 'one day I'll be too' because the merchants around me say it with their mouths together.
"I see."
Is Takeo close to collective psychology? I thought.
Alice was listening.