A few more days passed, on a sunny afternoon.
In the castle of the Weinstein family, a tense atmosphere lingered.
And no wonder, today was the day very important guests were coming.
“Hmmm…”
Looking in the mirror, Rudell made final adjustments to his outfit.
His neatly slicked-back hair and the uniform embroidered with the seal of the Count Weinstein.
For Rudell, who hated tight clothes, it was an incredibly uncomfortable attire, but there was no other choice.
This was not an occasion to take lightly.
“Phew…”
“Are you nervous?”
“Of course. The opponent is who they are.”
As Rudell let out a short sigh, Kyle asked, and Rudell nodded.
The large trading guilds he had to face were akin to chaebols from his original world.
They were those who would ruthlessly trample the weak and have no qualms about breaking the law for their own benefit.
If the Count Weinstein had not been under the protection of the Duke Lagrind, he might have starved to death long ago.
“It’ll go well. After all, it’s you, my lord.”
“I hope so too.”
Though plans had been laid out, there was no guarantee everything would go as planned.
The future was an area even Rudell found hard to predict.
At that moment, when Rudell was calming his mind with a composed face…
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on his door, and as it opened, Janice entered.
“Janice? What’s up?”
“My lord. Mr. Bering has arrived.”
“Good day. Count Weinstein.”
With her words, Bering entered and bowed to Rudell, who nodded in return.
“Welcome, Mr. Bering. Have you been well?”
“Haha! I’ve been very busy, but it was a delightful time.”
Anyone hearing that might think it was sarcasm, but his face genuinely showed joy.
For merchants, the best moment was when a deal went smoothly, and they made a huge profit.
So, the past few days could be considered his finest hours.
“Glad to hear that. How’s the preparation?”
“All preparations we could do are complete. How about you, my lord?”
“We’ve finished all preparations as well.”
“Then, that’s a relief. I hope everything goes well…”
The opponents were none other than the heavyweight trading guilds controlling the kingdom’s economy.
Having a trump card in the form of the byproducts of monstrous beasts, yet it might still be tough for the head of a medium guild, Bering, and Count Weinstein’s Rudell alone to deal with them.
“We’ll just have to do our best.”
“Indeed, that’s the only way. May the gods watch over our path…”
With no space to pull back now, they gazed skyward, looking at the clear, cloudless sky.
As the promised time drew closer…
*
In the reception room of Count Weinstein’s estate.
Having undergone extensive renovations to welcome guests, four people were seated there.
“It’s been a while. I think it’s been over two months.”
“It seems about that much, yes.”
“…”
“Uhe~ I want to go home~”
All of them had different appearances and traits, but they shared one commonality.
That was, aside from their original purpose of trading with Count Weinstein, they all had other motives.
‘Those guys have probably come to hear about the monstrous beasts.’
‘They must have heard rumors about this deal as well.’
‘If this goes well, it could lead to higher positions…’
‘I want to go home…’
As they felt the growing tension, the reception room door swung open.
At the same moment, they all stood up from their seats…
“…?”
“Wha, what…?”
“…”
“Eh…?”
Seeing the figure who entered, they could only wear blank expressions.
And that was because, in front of them stood not Carlos Weinstein, the head of the Count Weinstein family.
With neatly swept back hair and a uniform embroidered with the seal of the Count Weinstein.
Behind thick glasses, emerald eyes glimmered with confidence and leisure.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Rudellheit Weinstein. The Count’s son.”
As the representatives from each guild stared blankly at the boy before them, Rudell politely bowed.
The representatives seemed to catch on, responding with nods.
“I’m here in place of my father because he entrusted me with full authority for today’s negotiations.”
“Whoa…”
“I see.”
“…”
“Uhe~ This is quite something~”
As he continued speaking, the representatives in attendance made no effort to hide their discomfort.
And rightly so, this meeting was crucially tied to the fate of the Count’s domain.
In such a situation to send not the Count himself but his son as a proxy?
From their perspective, it could only be perceived as being belittled.
‘As expected…’
Of course, it was Rudell’s strategy.
Provoking them to slightly lose their composure.
That was the first step of the plan.
“As you all know, you’re supposed to supply goods to our Count’s estate through the agreement with Duke Lagrind. Isn’t that right?”
“About that, we sincerely regret it. We’ll do our best to resolve it quickly, so we’ll definitely supply it soon.”
The first to respond to Rudell’s question was a woman with sky-blue hair.
Surely, her name was Claire, representative of the Kallroad Trading Union…
As Rudell squinted at her, he said…
“If I remember correctly, you mentioned that to my father a month ago. At this point, it’s becoming suspicious whether the Kallroad Trading Union even intends to fulfill the contract, don’t you think?”
“Cough…!!”
“…”
“Uhe~ That’s right on point~”
The guild representatives averted their gazes, reacting differently to his words.
It was only natural since the ones not properly fulfilling the contract were on their side.
From Rudell’s standpoint, he had ample justification to take a tough stance.
“Keleborn Transportation Guild is the same. While I can overlook issues on a personal level, this is a transaction between the Count’s estate and the guild, and it’s a business matter. From that standpoint, it’s impossible to be lenient any further.”
“…I understand.”
At his words, a short dwarf man nodded…
“And Kirk and Katz Market… you have supplied half of the goods due today, so I’ll let that slide.”
“…!!”
“Uhehe~ Thanks~”
As a man with brown hair responded in a drawn-out voice, the other guild representatives looked at him in astonishment.
If needed, they could stab one another in the back without hesitation.
That was the nature of relations between guilds.
Even if they were heavyweight guilds controlling the kingdom’s economy, it didn’t differ much.
“Finally, the Gold Rush Guild…”
“…”
With a short sigh, Rudell shifted his gaze to the man sitting at the table.
With an insatiable greedy figure and a condescending gaze, he was none other than Gord, the head of the Gold Rush Guild’s Priscillium branch.
And he was also the one who had drawn in other guilds to create this delivery delay.
“Compared to other guilds that have supplied even a little, the Gold Rush Guild hasn’t delivered a single item yet. At this point, we might need to discuss penalties.”
“If it’s that issue, we will deliver half of the goods due within a week.”
As soon as that response came, Gord immediately answered.
In that moment, Rudell could confirm one thing.
‘Looks like the rumors have already leaked over there…’
Now it was unnecessary to check why the guilds, which had previously acted so unreasonably, were backing down.
Somewhere along the line, information about the monstrous beast transactions had reached their ears.
If not, there’d be no reason for them to adopt such a submissive stance.
‘Then the discussions will progress faster…’
Smirking, Rudell looked at them.
And at the same moment, the representatives’ eyes were on him…
“Well then, let’s put the delivery issues aside and move on to the next topic?”
“The next topic refers to…?”
“In fact, our Count’s estate has secured a route to supply byproducts of monstrous beasts steadily.”
“…!!”
At those words, the expressions of the representatives sitting at the table changed.
Surprise, confusion, anticipation.
As he saw their mixed emotions, Rudell continued with a subtle smile.
“Since the representatives from the guilds are present here, I wish to discuss trade matters.”
“…”
“If anyone is uninterested, you may feel free to leave.”
Of course, no one got up from their seats.
And rightly so, because who would leave when a deal reeking of money was right in front of them.
“The amount we secured this time consists of the leather, bones, organs, and byproducts of five medium-sized monstrous beasts.”
“Impressive… the amount for five medium beasts must be considerable…”
“How on earth were you able to secure such a volume?”
“Uhehe~ That’s amazing~”
In response to Rudell’s words,
“The important thing isn’t that, the critical aspect is how much you all are willing to pay for it.”
Selling to the highest bidder.
It was the basic tenet of trade that even a fool could understand.
“Our Kallroad Trading Union will pay this amount!”
“The Keleborn Transportation Guild will provide additional fine weapons crafted by dwarf artisans alongside this amount!”
“Uhehe~ We’ll go with this price~”
“The Gold Rush Guild is willing to pay this amount.”
Simultaneously, the representatives of each guild handed Rudell notes indicating the amounts.
It was as if watching an auction in the marketplace, but this demonstrated how crucial it was for them to secure supplies of monstrous beast byproducts.
Depending on the outcome of this deal, their positions could skyrocket…
‘I absolutely can’t just let it go.’
However, Rudell had no intention of simply handing it over to them.
Thinking of how much trouble they had caused for the Count’s estate up to this point, he couldn’t just give in.
“Everyone please calm down, and… I plan to receive this delivery not in cash, but in goods.”
“Are you implying… a barter trade?”
At that remark, the representatives from the guild displayed expressions of shock.
Barter trade.
It referred to the method where payment was made with goods instead of money.
Since it wasn’t commonly used in regular transactions, their startled reactions were more than understandable.
“What do you say? Want to give it a try?”
Looking at the guild representatives with a gentle smile, Rudell said just that.
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