CH 91

The next day, when I came to school after the day off, troublesome things happened.

“Haah… I was wondering if they’d do something sooner or later, but this is…” I muttered.

When I arrived in the morning, there was something dark on my desk. Is this ink or something? Looking at the surface, it’s pretty dry, so it doesn’t look like it was spilled this morning. After I left the day before yesterday, or during yesterday’s day off, it seems that someone broke in and threw it on my desk.

I never thought that noble ladies would harass me like this…

Of course, there is no proof that the quintet did it. It’s just that I don’t have anyone else who is directly involved with me that much, so I’m just suspecting them. It’s possible that there may be a line of criminals other than the quintet, but I can’t find out if that’s the case.

As I was wondering what to do, the quintet entered the classroom with chuckles. They got to school quite early this morning. Perhaps they came early to see me troubled.

“Oh my, oh my? What’s wrong? Did you spill the ink yourself? You’re such an idiot, aren’t you?”

“Goodness me~eee, it’s so hard to be so incompetent and unable to do anything well, hmm?”

“Kusu-kusu,” the others snicker.

These girls… isn’t that the same as saying you all did it? Even up close, I wasn’t sure it was ink. Even so, if you declare that it’s ink without prompting, doesn’t it mean that you know exactly what this is?

And to come all the way earlier than usual and harass me, it’s special just for today, they seem to either enjoy seeing me troubled or are trying to interfere with my dealing with the problem.

How should I put it…? This is a really childish thing or a child’s idea. Well, 15 years old would be a child in my original, but in this world, it’s enough to be treated as an adult. It’s never the age of a child that needs to be protected. 1

I wonder if it’s okay for the children of nobles, who should have received a high level of education, to have ideas like a child would have. It’s not something I worry about, but I’m worried about the future of these girls and their Houses.

And I still don’t have their reasons yet. Why are these five blatantly harassing me? What is their purpose and who’s directing it? Until I can confirm those, I shouldn’t engage in any unnecessary provocation.

I don’t have a fetish for being bullied, so I’m honestly annoyed. It shouldn’t be pleasant to be harassed by young girls who have only lived about a third of my total life before and after reincarnation. However, the idea is too terrible and it becomes stupid to deal with it. It’s the same as adults that are not going to beat children one-by-one when they get called stupid, dumb, old, fat, or bald by them.

No… even in my previous life, there were more and more adults who were mentally immature and caused stupid incidents and accidents… around the time before my death in my previous life, my days were overflowing with mentally immature adults who hadn’t fully grown up. Incidents like unfair complaints, monstrous parents, and tailgaters are all due to the increase in mentally immature and childish adults.

If these people found something even just slightly not to their liking, they tried to get their way with childish harassment and violence like this quintet. They are the same. They’ve been immersed in the privilege of being a high-ranking aristocrat and grow up believing that they can do whatever you want with their family’s power. That’s why when things don’t go your way, you get angry and harass others like a child.

It’s easy to punish them a little here. But that’s probably what the other party is waiting for. They must be waiting for me to react or get my hands on them in anger. Now is the time to prepare without forcing yourself to fight. I wouldn’t go out of my way to get on the ring where these guys are setting traps already.

“Hey! Where are you going?”

“Are you going to ignore us?”

When I tried to leave the classroom, I was blocked and surrounded.

“Would you please step aside?” I said.

The words I said resonated with something in me and I stopped there. “Would you please step aside…?” … I remember what that girl said to me. Come to think of it, that matter’s still unresolved, too. I don’t know why that is, but I’m surrounded by problems.

No one’s life is smooth sailing. But I feel like there are too many problems around me. I’m not going to say I’m unhappy. Recently, I was able to reunite with Katharina, and my feelings for Louisa have been cleared up. There are many good things. But more than that, I feel like there are too many problems with this and that…

“Who do you think you’re talking to?”

“You speak like you’re important… hii!”

“Step aside…” I growled.

Was it because I was thinking about that girl? I think I had a surprisingly menacing voice. The eyes of the quintet as they stare at me are clouded with fear. If you’re afraid of this level of intimidation, it’s better if you don’t get your hands on me from the beginning…

But I was a little relieved. Even these stupid girls have common sense and emotions. A really stupid animal can’t feel fear and would recklessly challenge even an unbeatable opponent. The fact that they feel scared of me means they understand that you shouldn’t get involved with someone you can’t compete with, even if it’s just instinct.

I pass by the side of the quintet who collapsed on their butts and staggered back. Should I go to the so-called staff room where the teachers are and ask them to replace the desk? Even though I thought it was troublesome, I headed for there.

Since the incident in the morning, the quintet has stopped approaching me, so let’s just say it’s all right. Since I returned home without any particular incident, I decided to meet with the people I ordered Isabella to gather up.

I arrived at Caanza Head Office in the royal capital, not the Carruthers Residence. It’s different from the store I went to yesterday. It is located a little away from that store and is an office building where all the behind-the-scenes work is done, such as where the executives gather up for meetings and also for accounting work. That being said, even if I suddenly ordered all the people in charge to come into the office, I can get them all on short notice as it wasn’t that far to walk from where they were.

The reason why I’m heading here now is that yesterday, I came across various problems, so I ordered the royal capital branch’s executives to discuss them.

“Has everyone gathered already?” I said as I entered the room.

Everyone stood up in response.

“Everyone has already gathered,” said Hugo, manager of the royal capital branch store, and currently acting as the representative.

Even though he is a store manager, Hugo has a lot of authority and responsibility, unlike a store manager who is hired by a Japanese franchise store. Well, in terms of responsibility, the franchise store manager may be in a position to bear responsibility in case of an incident in their branch, but there are many cases where there is almost no decision-making power or authority in the business as a whole.

Hugo is the general manager of the Caanza Trading Firm’s branch in the royal capital. Come to think of it, does it easily convey the magnitude of his authority? Right now, there is only one branch in the royal capital, so it’s not a mistake to call him the store manager, he is also the general manager of all our operations in the royal capital.

In addition, there was Kyle, the treasurer, Leonor, the director of product development, and Edward, the ranch manager. Kyle is a young man and Leonor is a middle-aged auntie. I believe that our product development aimed at women is our most important aspect, so I recommended Leonor for her position.

I said that Hugo could refuse if he decided that he didn’t need her, but she was instated because Hugo accepted Leonor as the Product Development Manager of the royal capital branch. I also appointed Kyle as the treasurer. It’s not that I don’t trust Hugo, but if Hugo can do everything he wants, including personnel and staffing, there’s a possibility that he’ll be able to solidify the executive positions with only his protégés.

But I said that it’s okay to refuse my orders, for the time being, so he doesn’t don’t have to do everything I say. In fact, there are positions where other executive candidates I recommended are rejected and Hugo chooses someone else himself.

“Umm… Sir Khan… why am I in a place like this?” Edward asked as he was sitting awkwardly in a corner.

That’s because I need the ranch’s products for my future plans. ……I was thinking, but should I have brought him in? The royal capital’s ranch didn’t know that I was the manager of Caanza. In Caanburg and other places, I sell farm products via Caanza, so they both know that I’m the manager.

Compared to that, I didn’t take the lead of the royal capital branch, and I almost never touched the ranch in the same city. It doesn’t matter if the personnel here don’t know each other.

“Both the ranch managed by you, Edward, and the Caanza Trading Firm are all run by the Caan Knighthood,” I explained. “I wanted to call you all together to a meeting to discuss the future, such as deciding sell prices, which is why you’re here.”

“… Huh?” everyone except Hugo goes, dumbfounded.

Hugo knew that I was running the ranch because he was involved in the work of Caanza in Caan territory. Kyle and Leonor, who were scouted in the royal capital, and Edward, who was transferred to the ranch in the royal capital from Carruthers territory when Caanza did not even exist yet, all didn’t seem to know.

“Ah!” I said. “Please keep the fact that I run both businesses a secret as much as possible. I’ll explain from now on, but there are likely to be various troubles soon, so let’s try to avoid leaking unnecessary information as much as possible. It’s also for the safety of our employees, so keep your guard up.”

“Yes,” everyone said, nodding.

First of all, I thought I’d give a quick explanation, so I started talking about the future.

“To begin with… the other day, I was able to inspect the Caanza royal capital branch incognito, but I found several problems. I would like to point out a few things to improve them, so please listen.”

I told everyone what I felt during the inspection. I have my own solution in mind, but I won’t say it until later. Let everyone else think about it first.

The clerk’s attitude was very nice. It seems that the woman who was taking care of us at that time was named Bianca. I complimented Bianca. On the other hand, I also praise the management team who found Bianca and put her in the customer-facing position to begin with.

Including Louisa’s reaction, the common people in the town are probably hesitant to join Caanza. They probably think that it is a high-class store that even high-ranking aristocrats are turned away from. In fact, as far as the members are concerned, this is true. No matter how high on the hierarchy of aristocrats they are, they will not be sold members-only products unless they are already members. Even if they want to become a member, they can’t because they’re told to wait in line for their application to be vetted.

Those kinds of rumors are probably floating out there. Among the common people, there is a growing awareness that the Caanza is not a place that can be casually visited.

But that’s not true. Caanza also has products for general use that are not different from other stores. Although there should be products that even non-members can buy, everyone avoids them because they think they are too luxurious and exclusive.

When I explained that far, everyone started discussing various ideas. Well, Edward is a ranch manager and does not interfere in the management of Caanza. While Edward and I were chilling out, we discussed whether the three Caanza executives would be fine without us, but it seemed like it would still take a while, so I proposed an idea.

“I also thought of a solution,” I said. “How about setting up a separate shop for general customers? It would be difficult for the general public to enter a store frequented by high-ranking aristocrats. And I think anyone would hesitate if they were to get in a confrontation with them like the other day. Therefore, we’ll prepare a separate store exclusively for non-member, general customers.”

That’s the extent of it. I thought of a few others, but this seemed the safest. Increasing the number of stores also increases the burden. An initial investment is also required. If you want to do it cheaply and easily, there is no such option. However, even in the future, there are various merits to investing in and separating the stores from now on.

“I see… then the new store should be a place where downtown shops and stalls are lined up, shouldn’t it?” Leonor said.

“But if we just open a store as it is, won’t it just compete with other stores of the same type?” Hugo replied.

Everyone seems to be taking this seriously. As has been mentioned already, opening a new store in a place where the common people gather is just competing with existing businesses. I think Caanza’s products are cheaper and better, but I don’t think it will work out right away even if we suddenly get on board because they probably have a long-standing relationship with these businesses and the people who run them.

So I will show them a secret plan.

“Certainly, opening a new store in a place where there is already a suitable store will only compete and crush each other,” I said. “In addition, our competitors have deep relationships with their communities. It is difficult to open a new store against one owned by the customer’s neighbors. That’s why I’m thinking of putting out a featured product. I want to attract customers with a new product that didn’t exist before.”

Everyone is listening to me. Only Edward seems to be confused as to why he’s in a meeting like this, but now it’s Edward’s turn.

I was disappointed with the line-up of food stalls while walking around the royal capital together with Louisa. They sold things like stews, grilled meat, and skewers, but the variety and taste were too poor. That’s why I decided to sell fast food that is easy to eat and delicious.

The new store not only sells daily goods but also has a café-like structure to attract customers. Once you enter the store, you won’t feel that Caanza is a high-ranking company or that you feel too embarrassed to even enter the store. You can’t sell any good product if you don’t get people to enter the shop, to begin with. If it doesn’t sell after customers enter, it’s probably because the product inside is bad or the price is too high.

Recently, the production volume of beet sugar and chicken eggs has increased, and the unit price has decreased. We also make fresh cream and butter from milk. It’s easy and delicious, and even common people can buy it as cheaply as possible. Wheat was already being produced, so you can get as much flour as you want. I thought about commercializing a certain thing using these products.

“I would like to purchase beet sugar, chicken eggs, fresh cream, butter, etc. from Edward’s ranch. I would also like to develop a product that also uses wheat flour,” I said. “If this succeeds, it will be very popular with women. I think a new class of product will be born.”

Everyone was tilting their heads at me speaking so full of confidence.