Chapter 338 Like It Never Happened
After the meeting ended, the participants quickly returned to their headquarters. They were all important figures in the busy Grandchester territory, and it would have been hard to hold an unexpected meeting without the lord's strong summons.
Sophia's golem also went back to the main office for work. It had to postpone meetings with merchants looking for wheat because of the meeting, so it needed to hurry and adjust the schedule. Kojimo seemed like he wanted to talk to Sophia for a moment, but Daniel shut him out, and he ended up having to return to the Commerce Guild without getting close.
Alicia was preparing to distribute magic stones that could recharge magical power and magical tools, so she rode in the same carriage as Sophia to the main office of the Sophia Merchant Guild. She would probably get bombarded with questions from alchemists and pharmacists, too.
Rihito and Amelia returned to the knight's dormitory, where they were set to officially start the clinical trials for the treatment of the fever. The medicine they would use at the dormitory was old stock that had been stored in Rihito's space for over 40 years. Rihito predicted that the medicine would likely work if the fever virus hadn't mutated too much, but they wouldn't know for sure until they tried it.
Meanwhile, Sara was carried by Robert and stopped by the bureaucrats' offices in the administration building for the first time in a while.
"Miss Sara, it's been a while since you showed your face here."
"Mr. James, how is the preparation for the tax declaration going?"
"The documents are already prepared. The cash for taxes and wheat will be ready soon."
James, who had been responding cheerfully, suddenly showed a serious expression.
"By the way, Miss Sara. Is it true that, as Mr. Paracelsus said, the fever is likely to spread?"
"No one knows how far it will spread. But based on my years of experience, we should be prepared. Even if it doesn't spread much, we can just think, 'I'm glad it turned out okay'."
"Hmm... By the way, does the medicine for the fever really work?"
"Actually, there have been tests done in the past. If the fever hasn't mutated much, it should work."
"Mutated, you say?"
"I'm not an expert, but the virus that causes diseases like the fever... to put it simply, it replicates itself and spreads more damage."
"Like rats, huh?"
"It multiplies even faster. The virus duplicates itself, but sometimes it makes mistakes when copying."
"Like making a mistake in a manuscript?"
"That's close. But the lower-quality copies created that way are different viruses from the original, right?"
"That's true."
"That's why even similar fevers can have worse symptoms, or the same medicine might not work. We need to experiment to see if the medicine that worked for past fevers is still effective. There might even be serious side effects."
"I see."
As James nodded in understanding at Sara's explanation, Benjamin, who was next to him, smiled at Sara.
"Still, Miss Sara, you are as ruthless as ever. How much money do you plan to squeeze out of the merchants?"
"Hey Mr. Ben, that sounds bad. It's like I forced them to donate or something."
"It sounds like you didn't force them at all."
Benjamin smirked while teasing Sara.
"That's terrible! I just asked my grandfather and Sophia for help!"
"How much of that was planned? We were told by His Excellency the Marquis to quickly make a list of needed supplies before the meeting. Everyone knows your Excellency's comments were all part of the plan."
"Let's pretend we didn't notice that."
"Yeah, that's impossible. I remember when Miss Sara made the Alchemy Guild and the Pharmacist Guild pay for the monster extermination costs. Theofrastos and Alexander probably caught on to your fake crying. Oh, and maybe Jean too. I appreciate them holding back their laughter."
As Benjamin pointed out, Theofrastos and Alexander had noticed Sara's act at that moment. And the usually arrogant Kojimo was secretly laughing inside while watching the donations being squeezed out.
"Are you not going to support me in my efforts for the Grandchester territory?"
"Of course, I support you. But since your true nature will be revealed soon, I want to squeeze as much money as possible from the merchants while I can."
"I'm not that bad of a person!"
"I do think you have a nice personality."
"...I'll admit that. But this plan wasn't bad, right?"
"Sophia Merchant Guild would definitely not stay quiet if they were used as a bargaining chip."
"Hehe. There's no way the Sophia Merchant Guild would choose their partners just based on donations."
"Still, Guildmaster Sophia is beautiful. There must be a lot of guys thinking, 'I want to impress Guildmaster Sophia!' Well, they're just easy targets."
"How foolish. A merchant should be more calm and assess the situation."
"That's just how guys are."
"I feel like I might lose hope in men at this rate. My chances of getting married seem to be getting further away."
"Don't worry, Sara! I won't let you get married to anyone!"
Robert was completely in doting parent mode.
"Father, that's really annoying, so please stop. I plan to get married properly when I grow up!"
"Ugh. No way."
Just then, Marquis Grandchester and Edward entered the room.
"Robert, stop it. It's embarrassing."
"If you don't hold Sara, I might consider it."
"Ugh."
He was also a doting grandparent. Edward, standing behind Marquis Grandchester, was exasperated by his father and brother's behavior.
"Seriously, both of you need to cut it out. And why didn't my child turn out like this?"
"Because she's not cute?"
"Chloe is cute, isn't she?"
Edward was also a doting parent.
"Please stop it already. The bureaucrats are getting really uncomfortable."
Sara managed to stop the Grandchester boys from their confusing rampage and had Robert gently set down on the floor.
"Well, since Grandfather and Uncle Edward are here, let's get back to the topic."
"Hmm. That's true."
For now, the Grandchester family members sat on the sofa in the office and quickly drank the beverages served by the office maid.
"First of all, I think we can gather a decent amount of donations."
"That's thanks to Sara's fake crying."
"No, Father. It's because of the deal with the Sophia Merchant Guild."
Edward let out a sigh and smiled wryly.
"Either way, seeing you being played by Sara reminds me of my past self, and it really hurts."
"Do you really feel that way?"
"Sorry, to be honest, it's a bit amusing. They should know my suffering too."
"Do you have a grudge against merchants?"
"Of course. After all, I have a huge debt because of them."
"It's normal for money to run out when you shop. If you don't waste it, you can pay it back easily. Besides, you're the Young Marquis of Grandchester. Also, if you use the merchants wisely, you can increase your money."
"Are you saying I should accept bribes?"
"Well, that's one way to increase it, but I would choose to invest in merchants. For example, if you invest in the Sophia Merchant Guild, you'll get dividends."
"Oh, really?"
"Well, since Uncle Edward is the next head of the family, I'll teach you how to increase your money soon."
"That would be helpful."
"--Ah, Sara. I want to know that too. After all, I'm going to be the head of a noble family."
"That's true. Then let's set aside some time next time, Father."
Edward and Robert nodded. They both had this honest side, which made them very similar.
'I bet Dad was like that too. I wish I could have seen the 3 of them together.'
"...Let's get back to the topic. No matter how much donation money we gather, I don't think we can help all the patients with fevers. We don't have the luxury to provide free medical care. As Grandfather said, there are parts where we have to be ruthless."
"Oh? Is Sara not going to cry?"
"I can cry, but if I do, will you offer up the Grandchester family's treasures?"
"Are you planning to sell your own tears too? Seriously..."
Marquis Grandchester let out a deep sigh, looking exasperated.
"As for how the donation money will be used, I think it will mostly go to the costs of the medicines and medical equipment that the Alchemy Guild and Pharmacist Guild are working hard to create. They will sell these at low prices to the pharmacists. The specific operations on-site will have to be left to each pharmacist, but since these medicines and medical equipment are supposed to be expensive, there might be greedy pharmacists taking advantage of the situation. If you find any, please take action against them."
"Understood. I'll make sure the knights and bureaucrats can work together to handle this."
The bureaucrats nearby, who had been working, quickly started coordinating with the knights as soon as they heard Marquis Grandchester's words. Of course, the office maids did the same, beginning to create a list of pharmacists operating in the Grandchester territory. They were all quite capable.
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