CH 144

For both Tauro and Aeris, it was the first time in a long time that they had been in the royal capital.

“Well, thank you for coming this far.”

Tauro thanked the carriage Coachman who had taken care of them for about ten days as he paid him the rest of his fee in color.

“Take care of yourselves, you two. Oh! Pleasure doing business! I’ll stay here and look for a passenger for the return trip…… I’m looking for a passenger to take back to the village of Dansas via the Daredar territory. Departure is tomorrow morning! Who wants to go in the same direction?”

With a smile on his face, the man put his reward in his pocket, wrote the destination on a wooden board and began to call out to the crowd gathered at the transfer station, holding it up for all to see.

“What do we do now?”

Aeris asked Tauro.

“We’ll go to the Garfish Trading Company, which is supposed to mediate between us and the nobles.”

“Tauro, we’re in the royal capital. The Garfish Trading Company is a big company that even the local branches are not sure if they can deal with, and going directly to them and asking them to introduce us to the nobility is just too reckless!”

The Garfish Trading Company’s guest room.

“Tauro-dono! It’s been a long time!”

“It’s been a while, Mardai-san.”

The representative of the Garfish Trading Company, Mardai, was personally waiting for Tauro’s visit at the front desk, so the meeting took place immediately and the two shook hands.

“…Eh….”

Aeris was unable to comprehend this sudden development.

When she was first shown into the guest room, she was grateful to her father that the prestige of the Marquis of Van Dyne had extended even to the Trading Company, but apparently Tauro and the representative of the Company were acquainted.

“This is Aeris, the daughter of the Marquis of Van Dyne, whom I mentioned in my letter.”

Tauro introduced Aeris to  Mardai, the representative.

She hurriedly stood up and bowed.

“I am Aeris!”

“I am Mardai Garfish, the representative of this Trading Company. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Mardai bowed politely.

“So… what do you think?”

Tauro immediately cut to the chase.

“I’ve been asking around for a meeting with a number of people, but it’s going to cost a lot of money just to meet with these powerful noblemen.”

“It can’t be helped. Please make the payment as usual.”

“I understand. By the way, if you haven’t decided on a lodging house yet, I can prepare one for you.”

“That would be great.”

Aeris could only listen to the exchange between the two of them in amazement.

“I sent a messenger to Sharga, the scholar mentioned in the letter and he was the first to reply that he would cooperate. He introduced me to the Count, who is the head of the King’s guard, and I have just received a letter from the Count himself.”

“Commander of the Kingsguard?”

Sharga was a scholar and  a self-proclaimed fan of Tauro, he was the man in charge of the dungeon investigation team in the village of Dansas.

Tauro thought it would be helpful if he could be introduced to a nobleman of the same scholarly field, but he was surprised by the unexpected choice.

“He’s a well-known figure in the country’s military, so I know he’ll be able to introduce you to someone there if you establish a connection.”

Mardai advised, looking at Tauro and Aeris.

“I understand. Can you set up a date for us to meet as soon as possible?”

“Of course. For some reason, the other side made an aggressive offer to make out time, so I will reply to them so that you can meet tomorrow. Hey, someone! I want to send a messenger to the headquarters of the King’s guard immediately, someone please prepare!”

Mardai stood up and took a piece of paper and a pen from the desk away from him and wrote something down easily, sealing the envelope with wax.

He knocked on the door and handed the letter to the maid who came in and immediately left.

“Now that we’re alone. By the way, Tauro-dono. I heard from the branch office that you have signed a contract with a local trading company for a product registered under the name of Giro Sugar. We are indirectly involved, but… why not us?”

He must be talking about the “refrigerator” and“cooler”.

“…Oh, I’m sorry. You’re right, I’ve been indebted to the Garfish Trading Company. Then, how about an exclusive contract between our two local merchants, Marches and Garfish, for the recently registered product?”

Tauro suggested with a wry smile.

Aeris looked relieved beside him as the atmosphere became much more relaxed than before.

“What’s it like?”

Mardai quickly put on a merchant’s face.

“It’s a magical lantern and a tent or rain gear made of cloth that won’t get wet…”

“Fufufu… Let’s start with the magic lantern. Oh, I’m sorry, Aeris-san. Do you want me to show you to the inn right away?”

Mardai apologized for dismissing Aeris’s presence.

“No, don’t worry about me. I’m used to talking about these things from being around Tauro. More importantly…”

When he said this, Aeris’s eyes lit up and she happily began to explain the lantern’s beauty to Mardai on Tauro’s behalf. Mardai was very intrigued by the explanation and the two began to exchange looks face to face.

“…but… It’s a product that I made …”

Tauro was dumbfounded, but inwardly he was pleased to see that Aeris, who had been depressed for some time now, seemed to be feeling a little better.