"Sir. We have arrived," said Elmon as he stopped the car.
"What? We have arrived? While my territory is not that far, I still usually need a single day to reach the Stargaze family's territory. But with this car, will we reach it before dusk?"
"Yes, sir. The conference will be held in two days." Elmon nodded as he walked out to open the door for him.
Earl Mayzion was in utter shock. Everything had completely changed. When he turned around, he could see several cars parked in that inn. Instead of a stable, this inn was actually made to allow the cars to park.
While admiring the new car, he realized that other nobles were experiencing the same thing. Those who took Noel's offer ended up talking about this car and how they tried to purchase it.
After all, having a luxury was always what nobles wanted. Those who tried to go with their own carriages ended up staring at them in jealousy.
Still, most people looked at the conference very positively, especially since this might be their way to get the luxury car or even other inventions that hadn't been out in the market yet.
Their surprise aside, they didn't forget what kind of matter they wanted to discuss here.
...
Two days later.
Seventeen nobles—fifteen of the invited nobles, the Stargaze family, and the Ardagan family—were sitting behind a round table. Since the host was the Stargaze family, it would only be right for the host to open the conference.
Dylan stood up, saying, "I'm grateful for all fifteen lords to accept my invitation and grace your presence in my humble place.
Noel answered it as if he had expected this question. "Don't forget that the lords' complaints matter."
"But you're the..." He wanted to say Noel was the one owning the train, but that would just make his reason justified. In the end, they came here because Noel wanted to get them involved, not the other way around.
And Noel revealed his card by stating, "And this project is just the beginning for not only the merchants, but also for all of you."
"What do you mean?"
"It's simple. Exports and Imports."
"!!!" They widened their eyes in shock. Noel was talking about expansion to other countries. If they could get the goods from other countries easily, the economy would transform even further.
It just made Noel's position clear. Join on board and accept his kindness, or leave and get destroyed by your own foolishness.
At the same time, having a bad reputation, whether it was a merchant or a noble, would do them no good. Other countries or even other nobles wouldn't want to have a trade with them.
That was why everyone had to do it correctly. Corruption would just make them a target. And if Noel also abused his privilege, he might lose all of it after a few years or decades when people found a way not to rely on his trains.
The nobles finally understood Noel's sincerity. They all looked at each other and nodded. In fact, two of them looked pressured as if they had done a shady deal with their merchants.
"Any other questions?" Noel simply asked as if reminding them that he would be there as a judge.
Since no one opened their mouths, Dylan took over again. "The purpose of this project is for all the northern lords to prosper. With that in mind, let's continue to the first session. Please suggest a merchant... starting from Earl Mayzion."