kscans

Chapter 38 - Chapter 1: Middle Part, The Shareholders

The shareholders' meeting was held in the grand hall of the ducal residence. While not quite as large as the one at the academy, it was certainly spacious enough for a wedding.

At the circular table arranged in the center of the hall sat people from entirely different walks of life. On the right was the Vinder contingent, which included myself, Mia, and my father. In other words, the commoner group. On the opposite side were Alfina and the Grand Duchess, the noble and royal group. It felt as if the round table could lose its balance at any moment.

Behind the Grand Duchess stood her usual butler and maidservant. In addition, a middle-aged man in monochrome attire waited in attendance. Before we began, he was introduced as her financial manager. His eyes held no trace of contempt as he looked our way, but he stubbornly maintained a blank expression.

Incidentally, Mia had also tried to stand behind us, but the Grand Duchess stopped her. She insisted that since Mia was invited, she was a guest. Fine by me. I have never once thought of her as a mere attendant or subordinate.

"Well then, you may begin."

Glancing at me, my father stood up. Had this been any other setting, he would have surely let out a sigh.

"As the head of the company, I would like to explain the future business policy of the Vinder Company."

With a formal expression, my father began to explain the honey business. Once he started speaking, he showed no fear or strain. His ability to perform under pressure is a blessing in times like these.

With the Grand Duchess's investment and the loan from Kenwell secured using that trust, we now had the capital for business expansion. Most importantly, we had the Grand Duchess's backing to protect the business. The new guild master was, for the most part, an ally. We were no longer the Copper Company that had trembled in fear of Dorefano.

The stage was finally set for our beekeeping business to realize its full potential.

Plans were underway to introduce beekeeping not only in Leylia Village, which had begun to ramp up production without reservation after becoming Alfina's fief, but also in several other villages, primarily within the Grand Duchess's domain. We would dispatch experienced villagers from Leylia to the new beekeeping villages.

While it was impossible when it was just a side job to farming, on this scale, we could guarantee wages and hire dedicated staff. The village orphans were also being given work, tending to the empty fields or getting involved in the beekeeping itself.

The market for copper honey is limited to the urban populace. Our objective of creating a new market for sweets among the citizens remains unchanged. However, through our partnership with Plural, it is beginning to gain a reputation as an ingredient for noble confections. Eventually, we can aim for the upper market, the nobility. Combined with our new sign as purveyors to the nobility, we can overturn the nasty rumors that have spread about us at any time.

Mia handed a paper to my father. The previously expressionless finance manager, upon hearing the projected revenue for this term, suddenly began to move his pen. It was no wonder. While a small percentage compared to the management of the Grand Duchess's domain, the profit margin was astounding, and it was projected to expand further.

Moreover, it was close to passive income. While revenue from a domain can be massive, the effort required to manage it is also immense. Depending on the year, it could even run a deficit. I could understand why he was so eager to run the numbers.

Considering how difficult it is to buy security from a secure partner, we had no complaints either.

"As a final confirmation, the investment ratio is as follows. I, the company president, will hold thirty percent, and director Ricardo will hold seven, for a total of thirty-seven. Her Grace the Grand Duchess will hold sixty-three."

This, however, was a problem. About two-thirds of the Vinder Company would belong to the Grand Duchess. We had effectively lost our independence. For now, my father was managing the company, and the Grand Duchess had absolutely no reason to overturn that, but still. In a situation with no legal backing, shareholder rights and rules are, to put it bluntly, just scraps of paper. If the Grand Duchess wished it, yesterday's Calest could be tomorrow's Vinder.

Is it fine because the Grand Duchess can be trusted? If you're going to assume eternal trust, then you don't need rules or systems in the first place.

"I wish to make one amendment. My share shall be forty-nine percent. The remaining fourteen shall be Alfina's investment."

So this was why the shareholders' meeting was scheduled for a day Alfina could attend. Seeing no sign of shock from my father, I gathered he already knew. This brought the Grand Duchess's stake below half. It wasn't a bad thing. But...

"I look forward to working with you. With this, we are on equal footing as shareholders."

"...There's a twofold difference, my dear majority shareholder."

In response to Alfina's smile, I hid my own expression by playing the fool. As the holder of the Leylia fief, Alfina was a respectable stakeholder. I knew that she and Luiza, who had observed the Shoken Festival operations, had both put in a good word to persuade the Grand Duchess. It seems she even used her experiences at the Vinder Company to explain things to her.

Even so, or perhaps because of it, Alfina's words and expression bothered me.

"And on that note, Alfina has a proposal to make."

Alfina turned her gaze to my side. Now, what on earth was she going to say?

"I will transfer half of my shares to Mia-san."

"Huh!?" "Eh??"

I let out a bewildered cry. Even Mia was frozen in shock.

I have no issue with Mia owning a part of the company. My father is so fond of her he's considered adopting her, and I fully intend to welcome her as a partner in the future. Even from a purely practical standpoint, Mia is more than worth that much.

Still, something about this felt wrong.

Mia stood up. I realized it then. The dress was prepared as a way to show she wasn't here as a servant. That, too, was part of the surprise gift.

I understood the source of my discomfort. It felt like I was being made to play along with a noble's game in a business setting. That after all my explanations, the princess still hadn't understood a thing.

But I had no reason, right, or interest in stopping it. As a small act of resistance, I looked to the Grand Duchess. Isn't it a guardian's role to admonish this sort of thing?

"With all due respect. Stocks are not something to be used for such games."

With everyone's attention on her, the girl in the light green dress spoke decisively. She was on equal footing with the Grand Duchess, the princess, and us, her employers. And what she was offered was, by a farmer's standards, worth decades of income. No, considering the dividends, she could live a life of leisure even if the business plan achieved only half its goals.

And yet, Mia flatly refused it. The system I had devised, the one we were struggling to build, was not a game of make-believe. That was what she said so clearly.

"There is no issue. This is part of your reward for helping to prevent the Monster Flood. An achievement that averted a national crisis must be rewarded."

But the Grand Duchess shook her head. It was true that by handing over the credit to others, I had also inadvertently passed over Mia's contributions in data collection and calculations, which had been bothering me. ...Hmm.

"In that case, please give my reward to Senpai... to Ricardo. I am his subordinate."

"That will not do. That activity was conducted under Fulsy's supervision. Officially, you and Ricardo were on equal footing as students. You should be rewarded separately. Since Alfina's investment is paid for by taxes from Leylia, it is not so strange to use a portion of it as Mia's reward."

"Th, but..."

No matter how she justified it, this was likely the result of Alfina's idealistic thinking. Three friends, each with seven percent. Regardless of their difference in status, they would be equals as shareholders.

But I found myself starting to think that if it was justified this properly, then maybe it was fine. I couldn't help it, I had felt a certain warmth in this overly sweet approach.

Mia's words before we came here, that she was nothing more than an attendant. Being able to deny that was, I suppose, something that made me happy too.

"Just accept it. Or are you planning to obstruct our efforts to strengthen the management's voting power?"

"W, well..."

At my words, Mia bowed her head with a face caught between tears and laughter.

"I understand. Alfina-sama. I will gladly accept."

"Yes, I look forward to working with you from now on, Mia-senpai."

Alfina smiled. Perhaps this was fine for her. Relying on interests and rules is the way of a tactician like me, someone lacking in virtue. Well, further education on being a shareholder is definitely a must.

◇◇

"Well then, Ricardo-kun, I'll see you later."

"Senpai, we'll be heading off."

Alfina and Mia headed toward the baths together. Two girls in a bath together, I'm so jealous. Wait, that's not it...

"Did you want to join them?"

"...Please don't tease me."

I forced my eyes, which had nearly started to imagine the sight of them, or rather, what was to come, back to the noblewoman. The fact that she kept me here could not possibly be for a reason like keeping an eye on a potential peeper. By the way, my father, his great task completed, had retired to the room assigned to him.

"What did you think of the earlier measure?"

"Honestly, I thought it was a bit naive."

"Indeed. But your association with them is likely to be a long one. It is best to grant the next generation its own share of responsibility and rights. This, too, is a valid application of the stock system, is it not?"

The three of us together hold twenty-one percent. In other words, if the Grand Duchess and my father were to disagree, our unified vote would carry the day. And for anything the three of us agree on, we would only need to persuade one of the others to get it passed. In a way, it was a distribution that gave the academy group the casting vote.

Considering the time frame for the Vinder Company's stated goal, the establishment of a general trading company, it was certain that we would have to bear that responsibility. Thinking of it that way, one could perhaps say she was betting on our long-term potential.

"If you've considered it that far."

I decided to cast aside my final reservations.

"Even so, that girl's words were magnificent. She is far too good for you."

"I know that."

"Mind you, Alfina is certainly naive. I tried to stop her at first. I told her that such a simple-minded act could damage their friendship. But then she said the cutest thing, something about feeling she had to be on equal footing with that girl. Heh, I wonder how much she herself understands..."

Just as I was beginning to feel convinced, the Grand Duchess added something I didn't understand. But that wasn't what was important right now. I looked straight at the woman who was, by all rights, a powerful figure far above my station.

"So, what is the reason you kept me here?"

Before one mixes business and friendship, there are lines that must be properly drawn. A relationship with royalty, regardless of the individuals' intentions, is never just a simple friendship. At least, that's not how those around them see it. The fact that I was the subject of baseless rumors at the academy about being Alfina's favorite made that clear.

Now that Mia was involved, I had to clarify what the Grand Duchess needed, and to what extent.

"It is, of course, for my own convenience as well. Thinking of the future, Alfina needs steadfast allies. That is what we shall discuss now. There is a good place for it, follow me."

Uttering those ominous words, the Grand Duchess pointed down the corridor with her feathered fan. Good grief, time for the second act. The management of risk, something far more important than the distribution of profits.