CH 147

"......1251825 22......51......77 ?"

'Nice try. It's '125182522 5199."

"......It's hard to get 13 numbers out of the blue in a ...... moment."

Today, I am learning " business studies," which Chris said she would teach me before, from her in her room.

We are doing the basic training for it, and Chris shows me the numbers on a piece of paper for a moment.

I have to memorize them and answer the questions in that instant.

It may be similar to brain training, but Chris was very spartan, giving me 13 digits from the beginning.

After a few tries, I was able to bite down on it a little, but it was still hard work.

I think I'm doing pretty well,......," I shrugged and looked down.

'No, , Master Rid, you're doing great. Besides, it's important to be able to do it, but it's also important to try to remember. When you get used to it, the next step will be to speak up. Let's do our best."

", change ......"

It's hard enough to write on paper for a moment, but it's even harder to write on paper.

She looked at me and smiled a happy smile and said, "Couscous.

"Hmmm...even ......Rid-sama gives you that kind of expression. I understand. Let's leave it at that for today. Besides, you have something to discuss with me, don't you?"

" Actually, I've made some progress on the charcoal and I'd like to discuss something with you again Chris. I'll do my best to get a good result for ...... 'Commerce' by next time."

Chris put away the materials she had used for "Commerce," and when she heard my words, she looked at me with an expression that said,

"I am looking forward to the "Business Studies". I'm looking forward to seeing your work on "Commerce". That's right, the charcoal has finally been finished, hasn't it? My native Astoria will be surprised when they find out. ......"

"......　Chris's hometown, Astoria, is the elven nation, right?　Do they make charcoal or something?"

She made a puzzled face when she heard my words, and then replied curiously

'Huh?　Didn't you know that they manufacture 'charcoal' in Astoria?　I thought that was why you were asking me about the charcoal."

"What?　Is that so?"

I had thought that Renalute would be producing charcoal, but I didn't think that the elven nation of Astoria would be producing charcoal as well.

I mean, I don't really have an image of elves as "charcoal".

I took the opportunity to ask about charcoal in Astoria.

Chris pretended to think for a moment, then said, "Well, I think ...... Lid-sama will be fine?" After saying that, he told me a story.

Elves live with forests, but wood is essential to their lives, so they use the knowledge they have acquired from living in the forests to create a forest dedicated to wood production from long ago.

The "timber" from the forests for timber production can be used for export or charcoal in a variety of ways.

However, charcoal is exported only for the domestic consumption in Astoria, so there is not much to export.

"The charcoal produced in Astoria is exported almost exclusively to the nobility of neighboring countries, isn't that right?'

'I didn't realize that. Then, is it difficult for the Christie Trading Company to handle 'charcoal' made in the Bardia territory? ......"

I was not aware of Astoria exporting charcoal.

Hearing my words, Chris looked a little surprised, then huffed and said with a nasty smile.

"Yes, that's right. I think my family's Safron Trading Company might get a little sarcastic from the home country. But I don't think there will be any at my place. I am an elf, but the trading company's base is in Bardia territory. Besides, if anything should happen, Rid-sama will take care of it, won't he?"

"Chris, I'll protect Chris."

'Hmmm... ...... Don't forget that , okay?　Don't worry, you can handle charcoal at Christie Trading Company. In fact, it could become our signature product, and we would be happy to sell it to you."

Hearing my words, Chris laughed happily.

Do I look like I'm being made fun of?

When I looked a little doubtful, she coughed while looking at me like that.

"...... Rid-sama, is charcoal the only thing you want to talk about this time?　I thought you had something else in mind,......."

'Oh, yes, I did. I also asked for father's permission regarding the slaves as soon as the accommodations are ready, is that okay?"

I told Chris as much as I could about what I could tell about the size of the dormitory, in addition to the fact that my father had granted me permission for slaves, and about the educational program I was requesting Deanna, Capella, and Sandra to build for me.

I thought it was better not to hide anything when seeking personnel.

After Chris finished listening to my story with a serious face, she thought about it for a moment and then said,

"If we are going to have the number of slaves under the terms that ...... Rid said, we will probably have to gather the slaves from the Beast Tribe, is that right?'

"The "Emma" at ...... Chris's place is also a Beast Tribe person, isn't she?"

"Emma is originally from the beastman nation of Zubera. My father brought her back as a slave when he went to Zubera. Well, to me, she is more like afamily member than a slave."

Chris finished with a bit of a tease, then changed the mood, looked at me, and said,

"If ...... you don't mind, may I speak to 'Emma' about this as well?　She should know more about the beast people than I do"

"Okay i will leave that to Chris. By the way, is there any difference in lifestyle, , or anything else that might be a problem between the different races?"

The part I am most concerned about is health care.

Even if they are to live in Bardia territory in the future, if there is some kind of extreme health problem with the human race, they will be in a lot of trouble.

Chris groaned and said, "Hmmm," as she thought about it.

'I'll ask Emma to confirm, but I don't think there will probably be any differences in , health, or anything else. I've also heard that the appearance of the beastmen differs slightly from that of the humans, and that some of the beastmen have magic that can be used only by the humans, while others don't."

"I see, that sounds fine. By the way, if the appearance differs slightly from tribe to tribe, does that imply that Emma is from the tribe of cat people?'

'Yes, I have heard that Emma is of the cat tribe. I heard that there are many other tribes of beastmen, such as "wolf" and "fox. I don't know everything about them.'

I looked down thoughtfully as I listened to Chris.

I have an idea about the "magic that only some beastmen can use," so I should be able to confirm that in the near future.

The problem is the tribe.

I had not thought that there were so many different tribes within the beastmen tribe.

As I recall, the beastmen characters in the original game looked cat-like.

I wondered if there was an exposition of the tribes of beastmen in the original game, which I had just skipped over by skipping the unread parts of the game.　

I was making a grim face, and Chris spoke to me fearfully.

'Master Rid, is the beastman tribe a bad idea?'

"Huh?　No, that's not true. But if it is the beastman tribe, it might be helpful if people from all tribes get together. They may have their own strong points and weak points."

"I understand. I'll check with Emma and then I'll get in touch with contacts in Barsto for the entire tribe of beastmen."

Chris continued speaking, looking a little relieved at my reply.

Come to think of it, there are some people in the world who look down on others just because they are not of the human race.

I would never do such a thing.

I smiled at Chris and said,

"I don't think anything of it just because they' re beastmen. When I first saw Emma's cat ears and tail, I was surprised at how cute they were."

"...... Hmmm...yes, I suppose it could be cute indeed. I'll let Emma know what Master Rid said."

Chris was smiling and replying to me with a happy expression on his face when she heard what I said.

Not many people would call the characteristics of the beast race "cute"?

I felt that way about Chris's reply, and after that, I continued to talk with Chris about the business plan and future plans that we had discussed earlier.

I stayed up late discussing and double-checking with her about other things that we thought were important.