kscans

Chapter 19 - Chapter 3: Part One, The Essence of Business

"Milk and eggs are one thing, but honey and sugar too? ...Isn't that a little too sweet, Senpai?"

As I was working in the kitchen, a place with facilities even more inconvenient than a Japanese one-room apartment, Mia came up beside me and gave me a skeptical look. She was supposed to be supervising Alfina, but it seemed she'd gotten curious about what I was doing.

"Why not? You like sweet things too, don't you, Mia?"

"Never mind."

Mia glanced over at Alfina. The sight of a princess wiping down a shelf with a rag was chilling enough to send a bad horror movie running for the hills. Fortunately, no poltergeist-like phenomena had occurred. Though I did see a dripping ghost once.

Good thing it's summer. If she caught a cold, I'd probably die before she did.

Still, after three days, I'd grown used to it. People can get used to anything, even danger. I'm especially worried about Mia's future, seeing her trace a fingertip over the freshly wiped shelf and declare, "It's still dirty."

"Well, one bite of this should put you in a better mood."

The wonderful smell of melting butter began to waft from the frying pan. I picked up a slice of the yellow, soaked bread and dropped it onto the pan. A pleasant sizzling sound, pachi pachi, rose up along with a sweet aroma. The girls' chatter, which I could hear behind me, momentarily ceased.

Back on Earth, I was a man who dearly loved frozen food and convenience stores. This was about the only kind of confection I could make with the equipment in this world. But I'd taken my time soaking the bread, so I could guarantee the texture and taste.

◇◇

"'The Grand Duchess remains unyielding. My own spirit, however, is about to yield.' That's not clever at all."

I sighed, looking at my father's letter. The investment negotiations with Grand Duchess Bertold had hit a snag. With Dorefano gone, the Food Guild had transitioned to a troika system under its three vice-masters. Let's see, it was Kenwell, Calest, and... who was the other one?

We want to expand our market share now, so we're desperate for capital.

But if we accepted her funds without any protections, we could lose everything but the Vinder name.

That's why I proposed introducing a system that doesn't exist in this world. Stocks. It was created as a way to control risk, but it also excels as a method for coordinating the interests of people in different positions.

It defines the power dynamic more clearly than an abstract contract. Basically, the idea is to lure her in with the novelty of it all and pull her onto our home turf. A humble bit of wisdom from a commoner facing a great noble.

As expected, the Grand Duchess was interested in the method itself. The problem, however, was the investment ratio. I want to keep her stake below fifty percent. If we can just get the prestige of Grand Duchess Bertold's investment, it will be much easier to borrow funds from other sources. Given our profit margins, that's definitely the better route.

Besides, there's no way I'm letting some great noble just swallow us up.

"So you've been with Ricardo-kun since you were nine."

"Yes, and he's worked me to the bone. Well, for someone who pretends to be so pragmatic, he's surprisingly soft, so I slacked off whenever I could."

Behind me, Alfina and Mia were chatting. They've really warmed up to each other. As a mentor, Mia is clearly more suitable than me. She's the same gender, and she's far more put together than I am.

"Well then, let's take a break soon."

"A kyuukei? What sort of work is that, precisely?"

The princess was starting to sound like an employee at some exploitative company. This is fine... right?

"Anyway, time to make that." I headed to the kitchen to attend to the welfare of my two employees. For the past three days, to avoid treating her like a guest, I'd only served light meals of plain bread and cheese.

◇◇

"Alright, the snack is ready." I placed the frying pan on the table and sliced into the golden-brown bread, toasted just right. Mia poured the tea, a gift the Grand Duchess had sent with Alfina. It had a tart flavor similar to Earl Grey, which seemed like it would pair well with today's treat.

"Add the honey later, to your liking. Don't make it too sweet."

"......You make some strange things now and then, Senpai, but this is a first. Do you know what it is, Fina?"

"No. Is it some kind of flavored bread? I'm very much looking forward to it, Mia."

We decided on that name because Mia found it impossible to instruct 'Princess Alfina'. Just don't slip up and call her that at the academy.

I cut the steaming golden French toast into four pieces and placed them on plates. Mia watched as if appraising it. Alfina's eyes were sparkling. So the princess has never had this either. In this world, sweeteners like honey and sugar are ultra-luxury goods. When people think of 'sweet,' they think of fruit.

I'd heard that a popular dessert was a peach-like fruit glacéed with sugar and butter.

"Let's eat, Ricardo-kun." "Let's eat, Senpai."

The two of them took their knives and forks, cut off a small piece, and put it in their mouths.

"Mmmm." "......Well."

Seeing the two girls holding their cheeks, I started on my own piece. Of course, I just stabbed it with my fork and took a big bite. Yep, the juices just burst out. The bread was a bit firm, but thanks to the long soaking time, the texture was pretty good. A little honey is all it needs, it's definitely too sweet otherwise. Hey, Mia's pouring it on without any hesitation.

Don't blame me if you get fat.

"I've never eaten such a delicious sweet. I can't believe it's made from bread."

"It really is sweet, Senpai."

"Hey, I told you not to pour on so much honey..."

I felt satisfied seeing the happy looks on their faces after they finished in no time at all. But the main event was yet to come. For the past three days, I had let Alfina experience the atmosphere of a small-scale trading company. I think she did a great job, starting from zero experience.

But the reason the Grand Duchess sent her niece was for more than just an educational visit. Alfina herself had said she wanted to learn a merchant's practical perspective. Even though it's summer vacation, Alfina still has her duties as an Oracle Princess. Considering her schedule, it was about time we started on the less savory topics.

"This afternoon, Princess Alfina will..."

"Alfina, is it..."

Alfina looked a little sad, but this next conversation wasn't for an apprentice employee.

"The job the Grand Duchess gave you wasn't simply to 'learn about our company,' was it? This afternoon, you'll be studying the logic of business."

She needed to return to her role as an inspector. This French toast is also part of the lesson.

"So, here's a question. What is the most fundamental form of business?"

I said, addressing Alfina and Mia as they sat at the cleared table.

"Is it selling things?"

"It's earning a profit by buying something and selling it to someone else."

My two students answered. I shook my head.

"You're not wrong, but what I'm about to talk about is a little more abstract. The most fundamental form of business is using money to make more money."

I threw the words I had prepared at them. Alfina, and even Mia, tilted their heads in confusion.

"Let's say you have ten silver coins here. You use these coins to buy something, and then you sell it for twelve silver coins. In simple terms, your profit is two coins. That means you used ten silver coins to earn twelve. What the 'something' in the middle is doesn't matter."

I stacked ten silver coins on the table. They looked like casino chips. But what we were about to discuss might be something close to that.

By the way, the official currency in this world is gold, silver, and copper. One gold coin is worth ten silver coins, and one silver coin is worth one hundred copper coins. From my Japanese perspective, one copper coin is about a hundred yen, and one silver coin is about ten thousand yen.

However, the perceived value is different for food versus other goods. Luxury items, in particular, are on another level entirely.

The average citizen in the Royal Capital lives on about three silver coins a month.

"I'm sorry. That's a little difficult. It's hard to grasp."

"I understand, but it's too abstract."

Neither of them seemed convinced by my words, which could even sound a bit provocative. That's exactly why I prepared this.

"Alright then, let's use a French toast shop as an example."

As I said that, both of their gazes shifted to the last remaining piece on the frying pan.