Chapter 304 Maybe He's Gifted, I Don't Know
"Well, let's put aside the fact that Mister Thomas is cute."
'Wait, are we really putting that aside?'
Everyone around them panicked, but Sara easily brushed off Thomas's heartbreak.
"A lot of the luxury items, starting with this coffee, are monopolized by the Silt Merchant Guild. Since the Silt Merchant Guild is a supplier for the Lombart royal family, they have many noble customers from both inside and outside the country."
"Hmm. Do you have a list of the items they handle, milady?"
Even though he was feeling down, Thomas didn't slack off at work and immediately responded to Sara's statement.
"I'm still working on it, so it's not complete, but they are also known for handling various spices. And then there are textiles."
"Spices and textiles, huh?"
"Their diverse spices and the silk fabric carefully woven from silk threads brought from distant lands are the pride of the Silt Merchant Guild. They are also used in the wedding of King Avalon."
"Isn't that Lombart silk? It's the fabric for super expensive dresses, right?"
"Yes, that's right. It's bold to name it after the country even though it's not made in Lombart. It was also used in the dress my aunt wore at the opening ceremony of the hunting tournament."
"...Sara, you're ruthless."
"I'm just stating the facts."
Sara smiled sweetly at Chloe.
"What I'm trying to say is that it's impossible to compete with a big merchant guild that handles so many different products by only focusing on wheat. We might be able to cause them some losses, but I think it will just end up with another small merchant guild riding on the coattails of the Silt Merchant Guild going bankrupt."
"You said the same thing earlier, right? 'I'm not so optimistic that I think the whole thing will shake.'."
"Yes, that's right. But if we take on the wheat battle, there's no doubt that the conflict will definitely escalate."
Hearing the conversation between Thomas and Sara, Rihito turned pale.
"Wait, Sara. Were you talking about this while I was gone?"
"Uh, yeah, we've been talking about it the whole time?"
"Are you planning to start an economic war against the big merchant guild of the Coastal Union? That's way too reckless."
"Yeah, doing it without any preparation would be extremely reckless. If we can avoid a clash, that would be better."
"But!"
Sara stepped closer to Rihito and took the mug from his hands.
"I didn't explain this before. They've already declared war on us. The Silt Merchant Guild has noticed that there's a food shortage in Roisen and is taking advantage of it. They are the top merchants of the Coastal Union who are profiting from this. And to make sure Avalon can't support Roisen, they've bribed the bureaucrats of Grandchester to embezzle wheat. By the way, the wheat they stole is being sold to Roisen at high prices. They're really thorough about it."
"Huh? What is that?"
"Then, they caused a riot near the hunting ground and plotted to kill Marquis Grandchester. At the same time, they tried to burn down Grandchester's wheat. They even went so far as to make it look like Roisen's doing. Blaze was the victim at that time. He had terrible burns all over his body."
"Ah, no, my burns are because I lost control of my magic."
Blaze hurriedly interjected.
"But it's true that he was a victim. Avalon, or rather Grandchester, got caught up in the conflict between Roisen and the Coastal Union, but it's clear that the situation will only get worse if we leave it alone."
"That happened while I was sleeping?"
"And you know..."
"What else is there?"
"The bureaucrats who were caught embezzling all got killed by the mercenary group hired by the Silt Merchant Guild."
"That's a thorough method."
"The head of the Silt Merchant Guild is a guy named Meyer, and I think his personality is like that. He probably can't stand leaving any loose ends."
"I see. If we don't take action, we'll just get crushed."
"Most likely, he won't leave us... no, he won't leave me alone."
"Did you actually meet Meyer?"
"Yes. In the form of Sophia. I snuck into the hunting tournament's banquet under a fake name. I felt he was a very scary man, and I doubt he sees me as just an ordinary girl."
"He's someone who can make Sara say that..."
At that moment, Chloe joined in.
"My father is also targeted by the Silt Merchant Guild."
"Was he almost assassinated?"
"Not exactly, but..."
Suddenly, Chloe's voice got quieter.
"To be exact, I think the goal was to use the Young Marquis family to reduce the Grandchester family's cash. They played on their vanity, making my aunt and the kids buy expensive things, and uncle ended up mortgaging the mine he inherited from my grandmother. Honestly, it feels like it's partly their fault for falling for it so easily, but I think they did it knowing their personalities and lack of education."
"I see. It's a simple trick, but the nobles won't let it become public because of their pride."
"Also, they were buying up Grandchester family's promissory notes."
"So, if the attack on Marquis Grandchester had succeeded, Young Marquis Edward, who owes a lot of money to the Silt Merchant Guild, would have become the next Marquis Grandchester?"
"Exactly. They would have brought in the Grandchester family's promissory notes at the same time as the change of head of the family to shake things up."
"That's quite troublesome."
After Sara's explanation, Rihito responded thoughtfully.
"I just realized from Mr. Rihito's comment that maybe our father is the Young Marquis who owes a lot of money to the Sophia Merchant Guild?"
Christopher asked Sara.
"You just noticed? By the way, my grandfather and my father also have quite a bit of debt."
"So that means the Grandchester family is basically in the hands of the Sophia Merchant Guild, right?"
"Haha. Chris, you're smart. That's right!"
"Is Grandfather and Father just being nice to Sara because she's family? But you know, Sara doesn't seem like the type to spoil family members. I wonder if they realize they're in debt to someone scarier than the Silt Merchant Guild."
"That's a bit harsh. I think I'm really considerate to family. I'm even starting a business in Grandchester."
"Sure, you care about Grandchester 'right now,' but if you don't like it, you could easily do something similar in another territory or country."
"I won't deny that."
"If Sara leaves Grandchester, all we'll have left is the debt to the Sophia Merchant Guild, right?"
"The industry will still be there."
"But the magic stones and the maidens are controlled by the Sophia Merchant Guild, so we can't make magical tools. The members of Maiden's Tower will probably work with the Sophia Merchant Guild too, so cosmetics and herbal tea won't stay in Grandchester. That means the only industries left will be Elma brandy and cider. But, you know, we can't suddenly prepare aged stuff like Sara does, right?"
"Oh, you understand it well."
"Of course. I know that Sara is 'really' 8 years old, and that Sara just came to Grandchester this year. There's no way Sara could suddenly make 20-year-old Elma brandy. But, Sara, you did show us a lot of barrels, didn't you?"
"I did prepare them. You're really observant."
"Are you making fun of me a little?"
"Of course not. If anything, I'm impressed. I can't believe a 10-year-old without reincarnation could have such insight."
"I've been like this for a long time. I probably thought the same way when I was about 3 years old."
At this statement, Sara and Rihito exchanged glances.
"Hey Rihito, unlike us, Chris might be gifted."
"I was thinking the same thing."
Gifted kids are those who have a high IQ from a young age. Because they are often too sensitive, many of them struggle with controlling their emotions or expressing them.
'Speaking of which, Chris didn't really show much emotion. Acting like he wasn't thinking behind his older siblings might have been his way of socializing.'
"Chris, I want you to tell me the truth. Did you maybe slack off on the Mister Thomas test you took together?"
"Not really... I only did a little."
Then Thomas, who was sitting next to them, nodded as if he understood.
"I thought so. I actually felt something was off. There were many questions you didn't answer on purpose."
Sara turned to Christopher.
"Did you not want to stand out more than Adam?"
"It's not that I dislike it, but it just leads to trouble. You understand, right, Sara? I don't want to be a lord."
"So what do you really want to do in the future?"
"Being the son of the Young Marquis of Grandchester, I don't have that much freedom, do I?"
"I don't need that kind of half-hearted answer. What do you really want to do?"
Christopher sank a little into thought and then resurfaced.
"Maybe it's chess after all. I really like solving and thinking about chess problems and tactics."
"Is that so?"
"And I just realized, thinking of strategies like Meyer from the Silt Merchant Guild sounds fun too. Oh, I don't mean I want to kill or betray people like Meyer. I can't like someone who chooses those kinds of methods; I think it's an unrefined way to do things."
At Christopher's words, Sara's smile twitched a little. Rihito and Thomas probably had the same expression.
"Um... I truly hope your talent only shines on the board, but maybe you should consider studying military strategy in the Academy's Knight Department."
"I'm not very good at swordsmanship, so the Knight Department might be tough for me."
"I see. Then I think you should just keep doing what you love, Chris. Since it's a good opportunity, why not turn the chess problems you create into a book and publish it?"
"Oh, that sounds interesting."
"I don't know if you're interested, but in the country where I, Rihito, and the founder of Grandchester were born, there's a game similar to chess called 'Shogi.' You can take your opponent's pieces and reuse them as your own, so it's quite complex and fun."
"Really? Can you teach me sometime?"
"I don't mind, but I'm not that strong, you know? Is Rihito good at Shogi?"
"I've played it casually, so I'm decent at it."
"That's still good! If the founder played it, I want to try too!"
Sara consciously acted to shift Christopher's focus from actual strategies and military tactics to board games. It felt a bit ominous for some reason. Also, neither Sara nor Rihito dared to say it out loud, but they didn't know if Kazuya had ever played shogi. However, it was clear that they were okay with anything as long as Christopher's interest was on the board.
Thomas also noticed that Sara intentionally stopped the strategic talk about Meyer.
'Maybe we'll continue when Christopher isn't here.'
Then Thomas smiled brightly and spoke to Christopher.
"Alright, Christopher. Shall we do a retest? No slacking off, please."
"Oh, Chris. If you slack off, I'll take away your chess set."
Encouraged by Sara's harsh words, Christopher took the retest and scored 485 out of 500. Moreover, the only reason he got some wrong was that his handwriting was "too messy to read," so if his writing had been neat, he likely would have scored the same as Sara.
Thus, Christopher's study time was increasingly taken up by 'dictation' and the very important 'calligraphy' lessons for nobles. By the way, this is Jane's specialty.
By the way, Sara and Rihito are both modest about it, but they both really like shogi. Even though they are busy with work, they sometimes play Shogi Wars. Sara is a fan of the swinging rook strategy, while Rihito prefers the static rook strategy. Also, the author is not very good at it, lol.
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