Chapter 175

War to recapture Elte Chamber of Commerce (4)

– ‘I am thinking of taking down the acting chairman of Lortel at the chamber level and reorganizing the power structure within the chamber.’

– ‘The Deputy Lord Lortel, the adopted daughter of the previous Lord Elte Kecheln, is a remnant of the old era and has been imprinted as someone who should be erased from within the Society.’

Secretary Rienna, who came with documents in hand, hesitantly presented a negotiation plan.

“...”

As I walked along the trading floor, the employees looked sideways at me wearing a robe with the trading company’s mark on it.

I’ve been to the Sylvania branch of Elte Chamber of Commerce quite a few times, so most of them are old. The employees of the trading company, whom I had occasionally exchanged greetings with, were all looking at me with one eye.

After becoming close to Lortel, the employees at the store became noticeably friendlier and spoke to me a lot more often.

Now that I’m naturally sticking to Dune, I feel like I’m attracting more attention.

The sight of him casually splitting up with Lortel, with whom he had been so close, may have impressed them.

Of course, you won’t hear people say you’re the scum of the world or how you can do that.

First of all, the reason Dune is able to stand against Lortel to such an extent is because Dune’s voice has become louder within the company.

The employees of the commercial association are also merchants to their core. These are people who can join anywhere depending on the trends of the leadership and the flow of power.

The environment Lortel has lived in since he was young has always been like this.

“As you know, Lortel is not a person who can be solved by tying his arms like that.”

Dune, who was walking side by side, smiled and answered.

“You’re not going to say that you completely defeated Lortel, who is treated as the real power even at the Elte Company’s main branch, just because you took over the Sylvania branch of the Elte Company, right?”

“Of course. I never make a move without a certain level of confidence.”

I passed the commercial warehouse, which was full of vitality, and went up the stairs and passed through the employees’ offices.

“There was some kind of movement on the part of the Elte Chamber of Commerce head office to push out the deputy CEO of Lortel. Of course, taking advantage of the vacation, the assistant manager himself went down and suppressed them all, but in the meantime, our Sylvania branch was out of sight, so we were able to move freely.”

“How do you plan to subdue Lortel, who can’t even do it at the headquarters? I don’t think they’ll come up with the bizarre idea of killing him and burying him. There’s no way it can be solved that way.”

The character Dune Grex never moves without any basis. This was an opinion directly given by Lortel Kecheln, who had been his subordinate for several years.

Although he cleverly takes advantage of small-scale embezzlement, he never crosses the line... If you really want to be honest, he is said to be close to a petty person.

The reason Dune is making such a radical move is probably because he has a backing.

“Vacation will end soon and a new semester will begin in Sylvania. This will be resolved as long as we keep Deputy Lortel from doing anything until then.”

“I need to know what you believe in so I can deal with it too.”

When I said that, Dune turned around and looked at me and smiled softly.

“You will know when you watch.”

This means I won’t tell you.

Even though I signed the agreement and declared in front of Lortel that I had stabbed you in the back, Dune never believed me.

In any case, merchants do not easily trust people. This is why I don’t like merchants very much.

“I didn’t expect Mr. Ed to join in so quickly. I’m quite close with Deputy Lortel, so I thought I’d take some time to persuade him.”

“I stick wherever the conditions are good.”

As someone who attaches great importance to Sylvania’s diploma, graduating early is definitely an attractive proposition.

“But I have to guarantee you what you can guarantee. Are you really capable of subduing Lortel? How can you, a mere member of a small company, let him graduate early?”

I walked along Dune and soon stopped in the hallway.

Dune, who was walking down the hallway alone, turned around and looked at me.

“If you don’t have that confidence, there is no cooperative relationship. If the terms of the contract are not followed, there is no reason to hang on to the contract just because you are me.”

“...”

“Don’t just talk, give me confidence. Otherwise, I won’t be able to cooperate any further.”

From my perspective, this is a request that is reasonable enough.

“Do you know how risky it is to break the contact with Lortel Kecheln with your own hands? I showed my sincerity.”

“...”

“If you continue to want my cooperation, give me a reasonable guarantee.”

Dune observed my expression for a while, then smiled and opened a door in the hallway.

This is the office space that Dune used personally.

When I went inside, I couldn’t help but hold out my tongue.

In a space of about five to six pyeong, there is a large work table, a bulletin board that acts like a blackboard, and a pile of documents.

If you look at the documents stuck to all the walls and furniture, everything from documents indicating the logistics distribution details to changes in the macroscopic power structure were analyzed.

This is not the amount of data accumulated through one or two months of hard work. He has been rotting here for several years, studying the flow of power in the Chamber of Commerce and the entire continent.

Such things cannot be learned simply by studying them in the corner of one’s room. This is something that can only be done by investing time and labor while going to and from the site.

“It’s already been more than five years since I was attached to Elte Trading Company and was looking for a chance to succeed.”

He is a man who gave up all his studies at a young age and decided to live solely as a merchant.

“Even when the Golden King Elte came down from his position, even when Alldeck was in chaos due to the logistics crisis, and even when Sylvania faced several crises, I sat quietly and waited for the right time. It is not the time yet. A more golden opportunity will come.” While thinking about it.”

“You, who had been holding your breath despite so many variables, saw this as an opportunity and made your move?”

“There are many things worth doing. So I hope Mr. Ed will trust me and let me do it.”

Dune sat down in his chair and put his beret down on the right side of the table and continued speaking.

“We must capture Lortel Kecheln.”

Dune sits still and speaks in a low voice.

The intention of those words was clear.

“So, it’s okay if you don’t know anything right now. If you insist on knowing, it will actually make me more anxious.”

“You look at me too much.”

“The next chairman of the Elte Chamber of Commerce is scheduled to be chosen by Slog, the elder of the 6th Colossus. He has always been at odds with the acting chairman of Lortel.”

This is a name I heard in passing when the lower-class students occupied the Ofilis Building and caused a stir.

Although I am not familiar with the local situation in Old Deck, I have heard well about how self-centered the Old Deck merchants are.

“It is a very sensitive issue for the imperial family as to who will take the position of chairman of the Elte Chamber of Commerce, the continent’s leading commercial association. It is one of the largest chambers that holds economic power.”

“...so?”

“The three imperial power candidates would also want to appoint someone who is friendly to them as the chairman of the Elte Chamber of Commerce. It is a huge political advantage to have the support of such an influential person.”

Dune, who is good at judging the situation, figured out the results of all the flows by only looking at the documents flowing here and there.

“So, there are frequent cases of trick-or-treating, where a merchant who supports him is helped under the water so that he can sit in the position of governor. Now that the dispute over the imperial power has intensified, it is a good time to devise a plan.”

“Then who does the giant called Slog support?”

In response to that question, Dune smiled softly and spoke.

“Persica Delphinir Cloel.”

It feels like the sketch is finally being revealed.

“I am the second princess of the Chloel Imperial Family.”

Second Princess Persica Delphinir Cloel

Oldeck’s Colossus Slog

Einderk Sylvania Academy Vice Principal Rachel Teislinn

Elte Chamber Executive Committee member Dune Grex.

This is the name of the opponent that Lortel Kecheln must face, having lost the real power of the Elte Chamber of Commerce and being tied up in his office without even the power to move... with no one left around him.

From the princess of the empire to the vice principal of Colossus Academy, to the traitor who was under me.

The enemies were too great to be dealt with with shabby hands that had nothing left.

Now that the whole story has been revealed, I can see why Dune revealed the background without adding or subtracting anything.

Even though the situation has come this far, taking Lortel’s side is suicidal.

Above all, Lortel himself would know this.

I’ve only just confirmed the contents of the negotiation plan, so I don’t have much of a grasp on the situation, but I’ve probably finished organizing my thoughts by now.

Lortel, who has senses, will be able to easily infer what I have inferred.

If you look at the situation objectively like that, Lortel will probably come to his own conclusion. No one would make a choice to help themselves at this point.

Same goes for me.

The reason I have maintained a friendly relationship with Lortel so far is because her position as the person with real power at the top was of great help to me.

Whether it’s camp life or navigating a scenario, the support of a powerful person named Lortel Kecheln has always been of great help.

Lortel is now on the verge of losing all control.

The reason I was always able to survive in this wild life was because I did not ignore reason and rationality, no matter how extreme the situation.

If you want to make a rational and rational decision, the right answer is to throw her out here.

If you’re going to reach out to her, there has to be some other rational reason.

She is already on the verge of collapse, and there is even a mouth-watering escape route called Dune’s negotiation plan right in front of her.

If you think about it in terms of understanding and calculation, no matter how you think about it, what helps her is a handshake.

Lortel Kecheln probably thinks so too. As she was always rational, she must have accepted without hesitation that no one would take her side.

If you want to reach out to Lortel any further than this, what you need is a reason beyond ‘rationality’.

In other words, human-to-human communication must be assumed.

I am not siding with the owner of Elte Trading Company, nor am I siding with the powerful person in power.

You just have to grab the hand of the human Lortel Kecheln and drag him along.

The cost of that decision may be greater than you think.

However... traces of the ‘people’ I saw on the battlefield bloom in my memories.

Even in times of war so horrendous that the life of Paris is considered more precious, people’s hearts sprout.

Whether it was love, friendship, or camaraderie. As you make your way through hell in some way, you will find people who will casually die on someone’s behalf, share their supplies, or protect the corpses of their comrades instead of running away.

What defines a person?

It is ‘irrationality’.

It is only possible for humans to save someone who has fallen into a gutter.

In addition, there is nothing more to say if that person came to the camp once in a while to chat, showed interest as a member of the opposite sex, became a companion by the campfire on a cold winter’s day, or tried to help in some way when times were tough.

It was only then that I realized something. It is a fact that it is hard to even guess when it started because it has seeped in like melting snow.

At some point, she was not accepted as the owner of the Elte Company... but as a person called ‘Lortel Kecheln’.

Once my thoughts reached that point, I was able to easily come to a conclusion.

─First, find it and see it.

Even such a monologue was so obvious that there was no reason to say it.

“Okay, by the way... I also want to ask you a favor. If you help me with one personal errand, I will definitely join your plan.”

Only after all the conclusions had been reached did I open my eyes and speak.

“What is it?”

“I’m going to kidnap someone.”

From here on, the plan is entirely mine to lead.

“Please help me at the Elte Company level.”

Dune smiled vaguely at those words.

“I don’t know the circumstances, but you aren’t a clean person either.”

“It’s all like that.”