CH 33

First of all, I think of elements that can convince Victoria. …… I have a few ideas, but I feel that none of them are decisive. I don’t think I can persuade Victoria, the female president who’s scaled mountains and plumbed the depths of the sea, with something off the cuff.

I still have to do it. I, myself, haven’t gathered my thoughts yet, but if I keep silent for too long, her impression of me may worsen. I’ll just try to persuade her with as much as I can think of.

“I have also… come here suddenly today, so I don’t have all of my thoughts in place, so please forgive me if the conversation gets a little back and forth or I don’t get to the point,” Flora said.

“I see. Please, tell me your thoughts, Sir Floto,” Victoria said, smiling softly and urging me to continue.

“First of all… even if we sell a large amount of sugar at a low price, the only people who will be troubled are the vested interests,” I said.

Victoria’s eyebrows twitched for a moment. This is close to total denial of the Merchant Guild’s existence. A guild is like a mutual aid organization that has monopoly rights for specific regions and products and distributes profits by coordinating among the members so that there is no dissatisfaction with each other.

By eliminating free market competition, peaceful coexistence between its members is tweaked and created. It is no exaggeration to say that this organization is explicitly for that purpose. In modern terms, it seems like an illegal system that eliminates free competition by each company cooperating and deciding everything through cartels and bid rigging.

Of course, there are disadvantages, but there are also advantages. Just because something is considered evil in modern society due to how it is perceived now, it would be too shallow to judge this as evil without considering the background of the country, the era, and the needs of the society that the guild system arose in.

The vested interests I just mentioned are exactly the Merchant’s Guild. I’m basically saying they should not exist, that they do not deserve their territory and product monopolies, right to the face of a member of said guild.

“I don’t want to abolish the guild system all of a sudden and leave everything to free market competition,” I said. “We just want the guild to deal with new products that have been created through technological innovation, new technology, new wisdom, and new research. How does that sound?” I said.

One of the demerits of abolishing free market competition is the stagnation of technology, products, and services. In the case of free market competition, if we do not provide better products and services than others, we will lose customers to competitors who do provide the market what they want, so we will continue to think and provide new products and services.

In comparison, if you monopolize everything by colluding with each other, you don’t need new products and services. If you sell only standard products at a fixed price, you can get a fixed profit. Since stable profits can be obtained without the need to develop new products or invest in new facilities, the producer side does not want to do such a wasteful thing as taking risks on innovation.

But that does not mean that all new product development and research will halt. Someone, somewhere, always thinks about and creates something new. It can be a product, technology, or just knowledge.

Vested interests hate change. If new products and processes become mainstream, their equipment and currently manufactured products will become obsolete. They will also have to sell new products and have to invest in equipment for that. That’s why, since they dislike change, even good new products are often destroyed in order to protect their interests.

However, if someone has already done it on a large scale, they will have no choice but to get on board. After all, if they don’t sell new products even though they are selling well, the guild which only sells old and obsolete products won’t make a profit. That’s why sometimes new products come out and sell well.

“I understand what you’re saying, but why do you want us to run at the forefront?” Victoria asked. “It’s true, those who start first may be able to make a profit, but they may also be opposed by those around them and earn grudges. What do you intend to about that?”

She has a point. I should have thought that it would be Victoria who’d question someone who isn’t also the head of a major trading firm and was also trying to launch a new product without earning hostility from the Guild. The question, is how do I push through? Will this deal be recognized as legitimate by the Guild? And she must be exhausted, ensuring the safety of this company.

“I don’t know how effective it will be, but for the first one, I don’t mind if you mention the name of the Knighthood of Caan,” I said.

I don’t think this will work. The prestige of the lowest-ranked knight, who was only knighted this year, would not be effective. However, Knighthood of Caan should be a flickering light in the shadow of my parent’s peerage, the Margraviate of Carruthers, even if the King also gave me my title and name. Actually, neither of them is cooperating with me, but if you’re a merchant who does background research and dives deeply into the fine print, you’ll think much about my potential backers.

“You mean to use the name of the Knighthood of Caan?” Victoria said.

“Yes,” I said. “Please, be clear that I’m not affiliated with House Carruthers, much more backed by the royal family. Please be prepared to say that other parties are reading too much into the matter or something of similar effect.”

This is half fraud, or borrowing the authority of the tiger, you see? In some cases, you may be charged with a crime for using the name of the royal family without permission. In this case, it means that I will cover everything and be liable for everything. However, Victoria must use the name of the royal family as my reference even if I didn’t want her to. If Victoria abuses that connection on her own, I’m going to make a proper claim about it.

“And as for the sugar wholesaler, let’s sell it to the royal family, shall we?” I said. “How about having this company act as an intermediary to sell the sugar purchased from the Knighthood of Caan to the royal family?”

This shouldn’t hurt the Guild’s interests too much. Of course, it would be a good nuisance to the firm that currently sells sugar to the royal family, but if we can arrange some kind of arrangement instead, it will work out somehow. Since the Guild is the organization for adjusting that profit, it should be better to have the new profit adjusted within the Guild and settle it peacefully rather than fighting in vain with the wholesalers.

If it’s about the amount of beet sugar produced by the Knighthood of Caan, it’s impossible to supply the entire market with the necessary volume. If it’s the royal family, our production will be large enough, and if their consumption is low now, it’ll be fine to try to increase their need for sugar.

The problem is that it’s not that easy to get the royal family to buy sugar just because I asked for it, and even if I succeed and sell sugar, that means I’m indebted to the royal family.

But right now, I have to clear the problem in front of me, so I can’t turn my back on it. Moreover, if the royal family buys it, it can be made to look like it I have the backing of the royal family, and it is also convenient for getting approval for new products. If the Guild doesn’t approve of beet sugar as a new product even though the royal family approves and buys it from me, they will be in conflict with the royal family.

If beet sugar is recognized by the world and becomes a staple product, the beet sugar we wholesale will also sell with confidence. As a first step, we need to borrow a little from the royal family, but if we succeed, things will be considerably easier, including for the future.

“To the royal family… you said?” Victoria said. “It would be wonderful if we could really sell it to the royal family, but… has it already been discussed with their members?”

I’m going to take a risk here~…. if I just say what I want and there is no chance of winning, it’s just like trying to sell an ideal situation. I don’t think a merchant, who would be a realist, would go along with such a fantasy.

“No, that’s from now on,” I said. “But, there is a chance of success. Would you like me to take our sugar and go to the royal capital together with you, Ms. Victoria? Then, I’ll put together a business arrangement for you to sell it to the royal family.”

Yeah, I’m bluffing. There is no chance of selling at all. Moreover, even if I succeed, I feel that I will be indebted to the royal family and I will not be able to do anything about it. But I need money! I’m in trouble if the beet sugar doesn’t sell! We have to use whatever is available!

“… Fuu. Understood,” Victoria said. “Well then… that’s right. Let’s head to the capital in 3 days with wagons loaded with sugar.”

“Eh?!” I cried. “Are you okay doing it so soon?”

I was surprised to hear myself. As for me, I am grateful, but I never thought that after being suddenly asked to go to the royal capital in 3 days, I would immediately accept it. Traveling long distances in this world involves great effort and danger. I thought it wouldn’t be something that I could just go with, but…

“You don’t have a lot of time, do you, Sir Floto?” Victoria said. “Besides, if we were reluctant and you take the matter to another trading firm, it could also cause great damage to our company…”

I see. As expected, it seems that she really is the chairman of a major trading firm. I guess she knows how much it costs to miss an opportunity. The profit you can get is large if you conclude a business negotiation that seems to have the backing of the royal family. Even if I fail, my beet sugar won’t sell, but there’s no demerit for the company at the moment.

“Then 3 days later… I’m looking forward to working with you,” I said.

“Likewise, it will be my pleasure,” Victoria said.

For the time being, the talk with Victoria somehow came to an end. It’s not decided that she’ll sell beet sugar yet, and even though I’ve just returned to Carruzan, I’m going to have to go back to the royal capital soon, but this is also for my her social debut and ensure I have a pretty dress.

When I looked back at the company’s branch office, Victoria was seeing me off with her head bowed. I still don’t know what will happen, but I started preparing to head to the royal capital again.

After watching the simple carriage with no coat of arms leave, Victoria returns to the building and sits on the sofa, relaxing and drinking tea. Her cheeks loosen into a smile when she remembers the girl she met earlier.

She’s not even 10 years old yet, but she’s clever and cute. Even though she thought she wanted a grandchild like that, Victoria had tossed such thoughts far out of her mind.

The Kruck Trading Firm, headed by Victoria Kruck, is one of the largest members of the Merchant’s Guild, with the backing of a ducal family.

The previous king’s 3rd son had been conferred the title of Duke Kreff and founded House Kreff. His 2nd son was Karl von Kreff, Victoria’s husband. Karl did not become the head of his House and was reduced to commoner status. He was not disowned just because he was defeated in a succession dispute, and although he could have remained in the Duke’s family, he chose to go out to wider society.

With his interest in business, Karl was adopted as the heir to the Kruck Trading Firm. There, he fell in love with, Victoria, who was then a lady in the service of House Carruthers, married her, and together they built up the Kruck Trading Firm.

Karl died younger than the world’s average, and Victoria worked hard to protect the firm left by her beloved husband. However, while she worked desperately, the Kruck Trading Firm had grown into one of the largest companies in the Kingdom of Ploiss.

Of course, there is no doubt that Karl Kruck, the former chairman of the firm, was a relative of the Duke’s family, so he was given various conveniences and advantages. Victoria doesn’t think she’s gotten this far on her own, and she understands that it’s only because of the backing of Duke Kreff.

With the support of the Kruck Trading Firm and Duke Kreff, the Guild’s intentions can be manipulated in any way regarding the sugar trade that Floto, no, Flora, proposed.

It just doesn’t make sense. How far can Flora go by herself? In order to figure it out, Victoria needs to show her the way to do it with her own ingenuity and without Victoria lending her extra help. Ultimately, Victoria can’t bet on Flora unless she proves that she is a reliable business partner who can contribute like any other.

The royal family has already asked her to help Flora as the fiancée of the Third Prince, Ludwig. And Duke Kreff also seems to be interested in Flora, so he’s asked Vicotria to find out just how talented Flora is while helping her.

Originally, Flora was going to gain the help of both the royal family and Duke Kreff even if she just bowed her head and asked Victoria to help. However, she only agreed to this proposal for how Flora crafted and delivered it. Depending on how good it ends up being, she’ll change her mind on Flora, either continuing to favor her or only using her as a temporary business partner.

“You really are quite entertaining, aren’t you, Princess?” Victoria muttered to herself. “Your next trip to the royal capital looks like it’s going to be rather enjoyable indeed.”

She looked over to Manor Carruthers as she tilted her teacup to her lips, satisfied that Flora had been able to jump over the first barrier with this negotiation.