Chapter 371 More Than I Thought
When Sara returned to her room, she wrote letters to the Lady of Duke Arbal and Count Harrington.
Elizabeth wrote to Victoria, the Lady of Duke Arbal, about finding a place for Sara's birthday party, and they got a good reply. Sara just needed to write a thank-you letter, mentioning when she would arrive in the capital and her wish to visit. Elizabeth asked Sara to check the letter before sending it, so Sara gave the completed letter to Maria to take to the main house.
Elizabeth and Victoria were planning Sara�s birthday party, including the venue and guest list, without asking for her input since she was still a child. Rebecca, who hadn�t officially adopted Sara yet, also had no say in the matter. For a moment, Sara felt a bit worried and thought, "Can I really trust them?" but she was too busy with other things to dwell on her birthday party.
Meanwhile, Sara learned that Count Harrington had a meeting with the king at the same time she wanted to visit the capital. So, she decided to visit Count Harrington�s home disguised as Sophia. Count Harrington was already friendly with Sophia, and through the late Mrs. Harrington, they were connected to the Grandchester family. Sara hoped they could help her with selling wheat.
It was a happy coincidence for Sara that the Count Harrington family was a relative. Even though she hadn't met him yet, she wanted to work with a noble who owned a wine region since she was the guildmaster of the Sophia Merchant Guild. To prepare, she decided to introduce Elma brandy and cider, even though it was a bit soon. She whispered to herself that these drinks could be made from grapes and hoped to persuade the lord to join her in making sparkling wine and brandy. If Count Harrington, who seemed very interested in Elma brandy, became her partner, it would be perfect. She could easily imagine that he was curious too.
'Elma brandy is delicious, but when I think of brandy, I really think it should be made from grapes. I should even find a way to use the leftover grape skins.'
The absence of distilled spirits means that there are no drinks like Marc or Grappa that use the leftover skins. It's likely that they are throwing away the leftovers. It seems worth sharing knowledge about this.
Thinking it was worth a try, Sara bought some white wine from the Harrington estate in barrels and secretly had Fran distill it. Since it was a very small amount, she didn't tell anyone in the Grandchester family, and it was slowly aging in a time-accelerated storage space. She hadn't checked the finished product yet, so it might be a good idea to secretly have Mike taste it later.
If the methods for making sparkling wine and brandy become widely known, the sales of Grandchester's Elma brandy and cider will inevitably decline. As a member of the Grandchester family, it might be best not to reveal these production methods. They could just buy wine from the Harrington territory and handle the distillation and aging in Grandchester.
However, Sara believes that the drive to create better products comes from market competition. She worries that if Grandchester monopolizes the market, it will stagnate, making it hard for new industries to emerge.
Of course, as the head of the Sophia Merchant Guild, it's hard not to have the desire to monopolize and sell products. It's easy to steer towards the mindset of "make as much money as you can while you can, and ignore everything else." Sara doesn't intend to deny that way of being a merchant. The Commerce Guild is made up of merchants who share that perspective.
The main difference between Sara and the other merchants is that she is also involved in governance. From the start, Sara was not just a typical merchant. Because of an embezzlement scandal, Grandchester is in a lot of debt, leading to the creation of the Sophia Merchant Guild to help solve this issue. This guild is like a company where the government has a big share.
Because of this situation, the Sophia Merchant Guild is expected to make decisions that help the Grandchester region. Sara, being part of the Grandchester family, supports actions that benefit her territory. However, her role is different from that of other merchant guilds.
The Sophia Merchant Guild wants to create new jobs and industries to improve the local economy. By making the market more vibrant, they hope to offer more products and services.
As people's incomes rise, they will spend more, turning the previously poor into new customers. This gives the guild a chance to make even more profits. Sara, a key figure in the guild, is more ambitious than many corrupt merchants.
Sara's ideas align well with the local lord because when new businesses thrive, tax income increases too. This is a beneficial situation for everyone involved.
However, many nobles in the country think differently. Most don't understand the need to "work" for their income. They believe that owning land alone will ensure their wealth and often neglect to consider how to increase their profits. Lords in places like Grandchester often don�t even know about issues like corruption because they let governors handle everything.
From Sara's perspective, these lords are lazy, and it's a waste of land and people. It seems that Robert plans to leave the Viscount Astley territory to a governor, but she still wants him to think about how to enrich their own land.
Count Harrington is one of the few nobles in this country who truly cares about making his land thrive. Two years ago, he became lord after his father, and they first met at a hunting tournament. Since then, they�ve exchanged letters. However, he is worried because his land's wine isn�t popular with the Crown Prince and his wife, causing sales to drop.
Sara believes that working with the Harrington territory, which is nearby and connected to Grandchester, would be good for everyone in the long run. Instead of just helping them during hard times, she wants to build a partnership where they can solve problems together. They don�t need to compete directly with Harrington's brandy and sparkling wine. Instead, the Sophia Merchant Guild should focus on promoting the Elma brandy and cider from Grandchester. Sara thinks developing a strong branding strategy is key to making sure their products stand out and are chosen by customers.
However, Sara is also aware that this kind of thinking is quite premature. The Elma brandy and cider still need to be aged with the fairies' magic before they can be sold. Until it can be made entirely by human hands, the industry won't be sustainable.
Even though she understands that an industry can't just rise overnight, she often feel the urge to push everything forward at once. She tend to rush ahead, and it can be frustrating when those around her can't keep up. Considering that a long life is ahead of me, she think she might settle down eventually, but for now, there's no sign of that happening. It seems like she need a brake soon, but who can take on that role?
"Still, the Harrington territory, huh? I wonder if I can drink wine when I become Sophia."
Sara's honest thoughts reached the ears of the fairies.
"If you're in the form of Sophia, you can drink alcohol, but please avoid getting too drunk."
"If you can consciously remove the alcohol from your body when you return to your original form, then it shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Can you really have that kind of self-control when you're drunk?"
When Sedrick expressed his concerns, Mike and Pochi also shared their thoughts about Sara drinking.
"But, I'd like to drink with Sara when she becomes Sophia. Will has been busy lately and hasn't been able to drink with me."
"Grandfather seems to be having a tough time too."
Seeing Mike looking lonely, Sara gently patted his head with her fingertips. Maybe feeling envious, Sedrick transformed into a small leopard right there.
"Since meeting with the king about the Coastal Union's plans, it seems like there's really no time left."
"Does that mean the royal family is in a hurry too?"
"It seems the king also sensed the uneasy atmosphere. He probably had doubts about the riots in the Grandchester territory. Plus, with the strange demands from Roisen's Crown Prince, it looks like he reached a conclusion similar to Miss Sara's."
"Strange demands?"
Without realizing it, Sara was petting Sedrick on her lap, showing her weakness for fluffy things, but the conversation continued normally.
"It seems he noticed that the amount requested for wheat imports or support was unusual."
"I see. The king of this country is doing his job well."
"Normally, I think kings are quite busy."
"But the Crown Prince of Roisen looks busier. I wonder if he gets sulky about his wife being taken away."
"Miss Sara, that's not a very ladylike observation."
"But it's true, right?"
"He does lack a bit of masculine charm, I suppose."
"Is that so? I thought prince Gerhart could be considered a wild handsome type, at least somewhat."
"Well, how should I put it... he has a rather plump physique."
"Like Pochi?"
"Hey! Isn't that a bit rude, Sara!? It's not my fault I look like this because of Sara!"
Still holding onto her magic power, the chubby Pochi complained to Sara.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It was just a little joke."
"Enough already! Mike, I'll give you this magic power, so can you hurry up and age the alcohol that Sara is holding?"
"Sure. I really want to drink it too. Sara, bring it out by the barrel."
"Got it."
Mike and Pochi pressed their noses together, exchanging a warm flow of magic. Suddenly, Mike's fur stood on end, and his body swelled to about 1.5 to 2 times its size.
"Wow, if there's this much, it seems easier to take a human form."
Saying that, Mike transformed into a beautiful woman and began to shine brightly.
"Mike, you're sparkling a lot, aren't you?"
"Hehe. This is the glow of Sara's magic that we can see."
In her human form, Mike placed her hand over a barrel that Sara had taken out from her spatial storage and poured in a lot of magic.
"If I pour all the magic I received, it will turn into something aged for about 20 years. Are you okay with that?"
"That's fine. I haven't tasted it, so it might be a failure, though."
"With a drinker's intuition, it's definitely going to be delicious."
"I'll trust your instincts, Mike."
Mike quickly poured in the remaining magic, and a rich, indescribable aroma wafted from the barrel.
"That really smells amazing."
"Right?"
Sara used magic to create 4 glasses and a decanter, gently pouring brandy from the barrel into the decanter.
"Mike, just the smell is making me feel tipsy."
"First, you need to become an adult."
"Oh, right!"
With Mike's help, Sara smoothly transformed into an adult.
"Oh, how strange. In this form, it smells really good!"
"That's the body of a drinker."
"I can't deny that."
Afterward, Pochi and Sedrick also took human forms, and the 4 of them happily tasted the brandy together. Normally, they would spit it out after tasting, but it felt too wasteful to do that after such a long time without alcohol.
"It's delicious, but... it feels a bit lacking."
"Really? I think it's really tasty. You're tough on drinks, Sara. I bet Will would say it's delicious."
Sara, feeling curious, took out a bottle of Elma brandy that had been opened. This was a bottle that Marquis Grandchester had been drinking from without permission, so it should be 20 years old.
Sara created another glass and took a sip of the Elma brandy.
"Ugh. Elma brandy isn't as good as I thought..."
"Aren't you tough on alcohol, Sara?"
"Well, I drank a lot in my past life. Both of these drinks could be much better. I really need to train people who specialize in this."
Sara noticed that people in this world don't appreciate alcohol like those she knew before. She saw that there was a lot of room for improvement. Simply using magic to make the drink taste older wouldn't work. This showed her that magic can't solve every problem.
'That's why I can't stop, though.'
It seems that Sara's ambition as a merchant and her instincts as a drinker have teamed up. Watching her with admiration was Mike, the fairy who loved alcohol.
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