kscans

Chapter 27 - Chapter 6, Part Two. Preparations

"Looks like it went well."

"To wrap it all up in a single meeting. You're every bit as capable as Rilka claims."

After the independent companies and the two from Kenwell left, two students entered the room, guided by Rilka. The boy and girl, who had identical faces, were both third years. They were the twin siblings from the great merchant house Kenwell, the second in command of the Food Guild and the ones in charge of Rilka's group.

The condition for them providing chairs and desks was that they wanted to talk with me. Since I was involving three of their subsidiaries, it was only proper to show them the courtesy, but what could the heirs of a Gold Member company want? I wondered just how much trouble this conversation was going to be for me.

One was a beautiful woman with a gentle air, her long brown hair styled in loose curls. The other was a refreshing, handsome man who looked just like her. Their bearing was so refined they could have been mistaken for a young noble master and lady.

Well, I suppose they might get an honorary title someday and become nobles in name only, so it's to be expected.

"Jean-senpai, Maria-senpai. It's not like I approve of Vinder or anything."

Seeing Rilka get angry at being teased about her relationship with me suggested their own relationship was a good one. But the fact remained that despite the main house's heirs being here, they had left their subsidiary in a pinch.

For my part, I was able to gain new members because of them, and them lending me desks and chairs was a huge help. But I'd heard that Calest was giving its subsidiaries the spaces it had bought up. Wasn't there some kind of profit competition between the Calest group and the Kenwell group?

"I know what you want to say. That we should at least look after our own subsidiaries, right? Unfortunately, it's our company policy. Each company is to be independent. As important as this is, we can't interfere in an Academy event."

"Father strictly forbids it," they said, perhaps noticing my suspicious gaze.

"A company culture, is it. Seems different from Calest."

"That's right. They call it Vertical Calest, Horizontal Kenwell. That's another thing we don't get along with them on. It wasn't a problem when Dorefano held all the power, but as soon as that crumbled, it turned into this."

I see, so it's like the rivalry between Mitsubishi Shoji and Mitsui & Co.

"What do you think?"

"Each has its advantages and disadvantages, so either is fine as long as it's working. As long as you don't mix them, it should be okay, right? If I had to say which I prefer, it would be Kenwell's method, though."

"That's an honor. But the Holdings company you proposed. It seems like it could flexibly adapt to either format. It might even be possible to mix the two to some extent. Am I wrong?"

They must have heard about the meeting's contents from Rilka and the others. But that's impossible under the current circumstances.

"Who knows. It's just an armchair theory. This time we had a common objective, or rather, a common enemy. And it's under the limited condition that it's only for the duration of the festival. Otherwise, it couldn't be managed."

In reality, if I hadn't driven them to the point where Calest couldn't participate, a scheme like this never would have worked.

"That's right. No matter the rules, without the backing of profit and power, it will eventually collapse. The more complex and large it is, the more certain that is. Putting that aside, it's still an interesting idea."

"When I heard you were gathering small companies, I wondered what kind of romantic you were. But you say you had a common enemy. Rilka has a very impressive friend. I was surprised when I heard you attended the princess's tea party, but now I understand."

"Speaking of which, your presentation was brilliant. Starting off by using the Sage's room to stun everyone. Then finishing them off with the Princess at the end."

"No, using this room was Rilka's idea."

I was simply thinking of the best place for maintaining confidentiality.

"Hmm. But the connection to the princess is your own, right? Then let me ask you a question. Why didn't you use the princess from the start?"

Maria looked at me. It seemed like a casual question. But with four eyes from her and her twin staring at me, I could tell it wasn't a simple one. Compared to the Silver Members who had just left, their attitude so far had been friendly and calm. But these two were the heirs to a Gold company. In the future, they would be in a position to be called representatives of the entire merchant class.

"Because nothing good comes from merchants making decisions based on noble authority."

So I answered honestly. Commoner students don't defy noble students. The reason is that you don't defy your customers, and in a society built on status, doing so could be fatal. But merchants surely aren't truly content with that.

It's not about some rebellious spirit or a desire for equality. Merchants and nobles have different positions and different roles. If you're going to go all the way like Dorefano, cozying up to nobles and getting fat by suppressing other companies, that's one thing. But otherwise, disagreements are bound to arise.

That's why a system where the Guild Master is an honorary noble is a bad idea.

In other words, if this meeting's decisions had been made using royal authority, internal dissatisfaction would have definitely remained. This patchwork group is already carrying a bomb as it is. There's no telling what kind of trouble could erupt.

"I see. You seem to understand the baggage that comes with your connections. That's right. We are merchants. And merchants have their own way."

Jean narrowed his eyes as he spoke. I couldn't let my guard down, but it seemed he was more reasonable than Dorefano.

"It's not a connection I wanted or sought out."

"My, what words from the Saintess's first partner."

"Could you stop saying it like that, Kenwell-senpai?"

"No need to be shy. I heard it from the viscount's daughter."

"You know Lady Luitza?"

"Since Rilka was kind enough to forge the connection, I decided to make use of it right away. She was quite an interesting person."

Right, that whole dance mess was Luitza's doing. I still can't figure out her intentions.

"Well, anyway. We're grateful for what you've done this time. If things had stayed as they were, Rilka and the others would have had no choice but to give up on participating."

Jean gave me a slight bow, and Maria followed suit.

"I thought you valued the independence of your subsidiaries?"

"We do value their independence. That's precisely why we can lend them our strength if they try to break through a situation on their own. We're grateful to you for creating that situation."

"When someone helps the children of our subsidiaries, we feel indebted. We're a family, after all," the twins said. The word "family" is intimidating, but in this case, it probably has a normal meaning. Though in this world, family bonds, forged by a shared fate, are much stronger than in my old one.

"And I have a feeling there's one more thing we should thank you for," Jean said, looking at me with probing eyes.

Could he mean me crushing Dorefano? True, I had Jacob leak the Third Knight Order's information to Kenwell too, but I didn't think they'd notice. No, is it through Luitza?

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Even if I did, aren't we square with the desks and chairs?" I implied. I didn't do it for you, so it's fine.

"Hoh. I wonder if there's something on your scales that I don't know about. I doubt they'd balance at all. Well, let's put that aside. It's just speculation, after all."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Rilka asked, looking puzzled.

"A business secret," Jean and I said in unison.

"Indeed."

"Ugh, why are Gold and Copper business secrets flying over my head?" Rilka grumbled, but as expected, she didn't press the issue.

It's fine. We don't need to talk about me crushing your classmate's family business right here.

◇◇

"Regarding the tenant spaces, everything's on schedule. We all managed to get first floor spots, no problem."

"There was no competition at all, so it was cheap. Hah, but they're really just warehouses."

"Everyone's scornful looks were scary, ugh. But we saved money."

"..."

Two days after the meeting, the members of the Holdings group gathered in our usual spot. I had heard the gist from Rilka, but it seemed the bidding had gone exceptionally well. Now it was time to solve the problems unique to a food court.

"The food court needs a main attraction to draw in customers."

"That's right. The novelty of the space alone won't be enough to make those high and mighty nobles take a seat. What's more, with this many shops in one place, it won't be easy to choose what to get."

"Th-that's right. What if my vegetables get lost in the shuffle?"

"Well, our sweets aren't really the kind you eat outside anyway."

As soon as I brought it up, the members began listing the next set of problems. Their ability to switch gears like this was just what you'd expect from the children of merchant families.

We had cleared the physical constraint of space. But the next problem was bigger. Although the space faced the courtyard, the shops were all scattered. We couldn't exactly take orders through the warehouse windows.

I had a plan prepared. And since cooking is outside my expertise, I had no choice but to rely on the members' strengths.

"I have an idea about that. By the next meeting, I'd like each of you to prepare your specialty dish. But, in this format."

Mia distributed papers to each company. They weren't recipes, just specifications for color, shape, and size. The dish itself was vaguely specified as each company's recommendation.

"Dalgan's specialty is meat. Last year, we served a whole roast."

"Meat is fine. How about something like roast beef?"

"I'm telling you, something this measly won't be filling."

I subtly guided him toward his specialty.

"Our specialty is extravagant sweets that make lavish use of a wide variety of fruits. The white base is fine. But a bite sized portion can't convey that extravagance..."

"You can handle the base, so please just make the topping a single point of focus." I said it as if I were specifying the type of socks allowed by a high school dress code.

"..."

"So many different kinds of vegetables, just a little bit of each. How am I supposed to manage the inventory, how..."

"Ugh, green... Well, if Vinder says so, I'll do it."

It looked like Rilka and Belmini would at least give it a try.

"Just trust me on this one, please. There's value in just confirming each other's specialties, right?"

At my words, the five of them somehow managed to nod in agreement. It was true that since we were doing business in the same space, we needed to understand each other's strengths.

But if this went well, this would become the food court's main attraction. A gimmick to attract customers and promote each company's products. However, to achieve that, one more thing was needed.

I spoke to the senpai who had been silent the whole time.

"Roston-senpai."

"What is it?"

"Aside from the bread, there's a fruit I'd like you to procure. This one. Can you get it?"

"How did you know about such a minor fruit?"

I showed him a drawing of a small citrus fruit I had copied from an encyclopedia. Roston's face was painted with surprise. At the very end, I had finally gotten a genuine reaction out of him.

◇◇

"You do remember your promise, do you not?"

"An idea for a more sensitive magic receiver, right? Let me say this first, there's no guarantee it will work."

After the members left, Mia and I were paying Fulsy the rental fee for the room. For just a two hour rental, getting charged an other worldly technology idea was a total rip off, but all I could provide was the concept. Recreating it in this world was the job of an expert, the head of this hall.

"Ah, that will do. If it is your idea, there must be something to it."

No, I'm telling you that's not fine. Don't raise the bar for me. This was a field even further outside my expertise than cooking.

"Um, you make a ceramic dish, something like this, a little flatter than a salad bowl..."

I drew a schematic on a slate.

"Hoh hoh. So you use the curved surface to focus the collected magical wavelengths to a single point for measurement. I must have this made at once."

Fulsy seemed to understand the meaning of the shape I drew. As expected of an expert in magical measurement.

Still, I'm so busy even though it's summer vacation. What was supposed to be a summer of self preservation has become a summer of tension.

Thanks to all this, my work for the family business is just piling up. I wonder if Dad is doing okay.