CH 299

Chapter 299 – Merchants Association

After my physical condition had improved, I was led into a box carriage by Iphrita and brought to a building where people who looked like merchants were busy going in and out of the building. I looked at the sign above the entrance to the building.

“Merchants association, huh? Something like a so-called merchants’ guild.”

“It’s a mutual aid organization for merchants, but… it’s kind of a wicked place, you know?”

“A wicked place?”

“You’ll know it when you get in. Let’s go.”

As soon as she got off the box carriage, Iphrita strode swiftly to the merchants association building. She looked quite used to it.

“Why do you seem so familiar here, Iphrita?”

“Because I gather information on exotic goods, magic books, and such like. Even before I went to sleep, I was visiting this place quite a bit, you know.”

“You must have been a very nimble princess.”

“Dri-aneesama was going to take over the country in the future with her husband. I was free to do what I wanted. Mostly on the magic research side.”

“I thought that the second son or daughter would be educated in case of emergencies.”

“Ara, you know very well, don’t you? But it was not so in our case. If my mother had given birth to a boy, he would have been the heir of the country. Mother and father were very close, after all.”

“Ah, yes…”

What can I say? It’s hard to comment. So that Seraphita-san is now attached to me… Umm, I have mixed feelings. Well, it’s too late now.

When I entered the building through the large open door, I was met with a lot of stares. Well, that’s right. Iphrita stands out from the crowd. She is a beautiful woman, but her bright red hair is especially noticeable.

“…Hmm, there used to be someone who would jump in when I came in like this.”

“Well, it’s been twenty years… So, which counter should I go to…?”

“It doesn’t matter which one you go to. Just talk to them first.”

Saying that, Iphrita walked briskly to the counter directly in front of her. Yes… that’s good. I’m not very good at these bureaucratic places.

“How can I help――”

“I need someone with a high level of authority. Someone who can talk about platinum coins going around.”

“Eh?”

The young male staff member sitting at the reception desk’s face twitches at the sudden awkward customer move.

“Perhaps some of the older people will remember me. Tell them Iphrita is here.”

“U-um, do you have any appointments…?”

“Huh? There are no such things. Tell your boss. At least someone who has worked here for more than 20 years will understand. Come on, hurry up, hurry up.”

“I-I understand.”

The man at the reception desk, pushed aside by Iphrita, disappeared into the back of the association office at a brisk pace, his hands clapping as he hurriedly walked away. I stood next to Iphrita as I saw him off.

“Isn’t that a troublesome customer move… You shouldn’t do that. You’re making the receptionist uncomfortable.”

“It’s fine like this. Okay? I’m royalty, you’re a prince consort, and we’re not merchants. You don’t seem to understand that, so it’s fine. And while you’re at it, practice acting like one.”

“Yeah…?”

“I’m not going to tell you what to do in your personal life. But if you are going to do something in an official capacity, act accordingly. It’s in everyone’s best interest in the end.”

“Is that the way it’s supposed to be?”

“That is how it is. I know you have your own values that you have developed over the years, but at least in this world, that’s the way it is. So get used to it.”

“Nn… I will do my best.”

If that’s what Iphrita says, I guess so. I’m not too keen on it, to be honest, but Iphrita would never lie to me. I’m certainly not familiar with that area, so maybe I should ask someone else to tell me next time. Seraphita-san… Or maybe Ellen or Amalie-san would be the better choice. No, the situation may be different between the Holy Kingdom and the Merinard Kingdom, so I think it would be the more established Isla or Melty.

While I was thinking about such things, the staff member with a middle-aged man came back from the back of the office.

“Thank you very much for your patience. Please come into the back room…”

“Hmm, thanks. Let’s go, Kosuke.”

“O-oh…”

A middle-aged staff member led us to the back of the merchants association, where we were shown into what appeared to be a magnificent reception room. As soon as we entered the room, Iphrita looked around the room and smiled slightly.

“The furnishings have changed a lot. Well, twenty years have passed, I suppose…”

As she muttered this, Iphrita lightly played a white horse―or perhaps a unicorn, since it had a horn―figurine, which made a cool sound. Just then, someone enters the reception room. It is an elderly man with gray hair.

“Oh… Iphrita-sama, it’s been a long time. You look as lovely as you did twenty years ago.”

“Floyd? You’ve aged a lot.”

“Hahaha, as you know, I am a normal human being. I will be like this after twenty years.”

Saying that, Mr. Floyd scratched his head, where his gray hair stood out. From their conversation, it seems that they are old acquaintances. They had probably known each other since before the Kingdom of Merinard became part of the Holy Kingdom.

“Tea will be served soon, so please have a seat. Recently, we have been receiving a good amount of products from the Black Forest, and a caravan of flying dragons from the Dragonis Mountain Kingdom has also started to visit us. The good old days of the Merinard Kingdom are gradually being revived. We merchants are very grateful for this.”

“There are more business opportunities for merchants, aren’t there? You must be making a lot of money from the profits, right?”

“No, no. Our motto as merchants is to do everything with a steady hand. We put trust and customer satisfaction first… By the way, aren’t you, Your Excellency Kosuke?”

“O-oh, yes, that’s right… Your Excellency?”

“I’ve heard so much about you and the miracles you’ve wrought, and more recently, your success in pacifying the north and conquering the invading armies from the two northern countries.”

“O-oh…”

I’m getting an itchy feeling. How do I react to this? I don’t know.

“Yes, yes, you can stop buttering him up like that. I came here today for a consultation. Well, not me, but Kosuke.”

“His Excellency? What is it about?”

“Oh, let’s see… how should I put it?”

It took me a lot of effort to explain my abilities without making it clear what they were. In the end, I want to use my personal assets that are still lying dormant in my inventory―not only cash but also a large amount of gemstones and rare metals, including mithril―to help Sylphy and the others indirectly. For me.

“Do you have any specific directions…?”

“I believe that the main problem in the country today is to secure employment for the people of the subhumans. If they don’t have work, they don’t have a place to live. If they can’t afford to eat, they will have no choice but to die in the streets or become thieves. In the end, I think it’s all about money, isn’t it?”

“That makes a lot of sense. Unless you live by hunting and gathering in the wild using only your own body, claws, and fangs, you will need money no matter what. You need money to procure a bow and arrow to hunt your prey or to buy a knife to dismantle your prey.”

Mr. Floyd nodded.

“But it is practically impossible for the state to provide everything, from a place to live to everything else. In fact, there is already a shortage. That’s why I’m wondering if there isn’t a way to increase the number of people who can receive these services from a different direction.”

“So that’s where we come in?”

“That’s right. I think it is best to leave everything to the professionals. If an amateur starts a business on the spur of the moment and ends up blowing himself up in a spectacular way, I can’t even imagine it.”

“Hahaha… sometimes there are some noble people who collapse their ransom in such a way.”

Mr. Floyd laughs dryly. There are people like that, after all.

“So, how much money exactly are you planning to invest?”

“Well, I have three platinum coins, 207 large gold coins, 403 gold coins, a lot of mithril ingots, and a variety of rough gemstones.”

On a table in the large reception room, I piled up the bare platinum coins, large gold coins, bags full of gold coins, mithril ingots, and gemstones. At first, Mr. Floyd looked surprised, but when the mithril ingots appeared, he froze.

“Ara ara, Koeske likes to show off, doesn’t he? Is this all you got?”

“Cash. There’s still plenty of mithril ingots and gemstones available.”

“You’re right, Floyd. Take these and do what Kosuke wants to do. How about investing in a merchant association that is proactive in hiring subhumans?”

“A-as you wish…”

Mr. Floyd managed to squeeze out a voice that sounded as if it had lost its soul when Iphrita, who was smiling at him, said that.