Chapter 403 The Commerce Guild Of The Royal Capital III
"I'm sorry. It seems I talked too much. Since this meeting was requested by Lady Sophia, we should also hear what you have to say."
Harvey, the guild manager of commerce guild, straightened up and turned to Sophia.
"I have many things I want to discuss, but to start with the most important matter, the famous alchemist Mr. Paracelsus has appeared again in the Grandchester territory. It seems he has received the blessings of the fairies, so he is living a very long life."
"""What?"""
The 3 people present were stunned, their mouths hanging open.
"He says that he hasn't graduated from the Academy, so he calls himself a Self-proclaimed alchemist."
"He's still alive? And he has formed a friendship with the fairies...?"
Harvey managed to collect his thoughts and spoke, but then Sophia dropped a big bombshell.
"From now on, our merchant guild has signed a contract to exclusively sell the inventions made by Mr. Paracelsus."
"What? That's amazing!"
"How enviable!"
"Lady Sophia, you're truly lucky to have discovered a gold mine!"
'It's true that Rihito and the maidens are like a gold mine, but isn't that a bit too blunt?'
Sophia felt a little annoyed, but she didn't show it on her face. More importantly, there was something even more crucial to discuss.
"However, I have come to believe that the 'medicine' initially proposed by Mr. Paracelsus should not be exclusively sold by our merchant guild."
"Did you say medicine?"
"Yes, Mr. Paracelsus has invented a special medicine for fevers using his rare wisdom."
"What!?"
In winter, fevers spread and take many lives every year. It is commonly believed that there is no special medicine for this disease, and that healers can only provide symptom relief.
"I don't mean to say that I don't think about making a profit as a merchant, but our merchant guild doesn't have enough resources to meet the demand in Avalon. In fact, I believe no merchant guild can manage it alone. It would be difficult without cooperation from the Commerce Guild, the Alchemist Guild, and the Pharmacist Guild."
"Well... that's true, but still..."
"The situation is urgent. Mr. Paracelsus believes there will be a big outbreak of fevers this year. In Grandchester, the fever is already spreading. Mr. Paracelsus is giving special medicine to patients in a clinical trial."
"So, what kind of cooperation does the Sophia Merchant Guild want to request?"
"We plan to share the recipe for the medicine and knowledge about fever prevention. We would like the Commerce Guild to control the prices of materials. While merchants naturally want to raise prices when demand is expected, many lives are at stake."
"I see."
"Regarding this, I also intend to report to His Majesty the King to ensure that merchants who unfairly raise prices are legally punished."
"Are you really going that far?!"
"If this matter comes to light, I believe that His Majesty the King will issue a decree, even if we do not present it ourselves. If the Commerce Guild takes the lead and declares that they will 'monitor to ensure that no merchants weigh human lives against money,' I think His Majesty will not respond too harshly."
"Hmm..."
The 3 (Harvey, Archibald, Cecil) who heard Sophia's opinion fell into deep thought all at once. However, Sophia continued to press on with her words.
"To be honest, it would be easy to sell a small amount of the special medicine without revealing the recipe, allowing only our merchant guild to profit greatly. But I cannot accept that many lives would be lost as a result."
"That is indeed a noble thought."
"Noble, you say..."
Sophia chuckled softly before continuing her words.
"Mr. Harvey, I am not a saint; I am a merchant. I care about the lives of those who could become my customers, and I value the goodwill from those I save. I want to gain greater profits rather than just short-term greed."
"I, I see."
Harvey and the other two felt they were learning about being a merchant from a young girl who appeared to be just a child. They had learned early on that "business is a service to the world and to people, and profit is its natural reward." However, over time, as they continued in business, their original ideals and principles began to fade.
"Understood. The Commerce Guild promises to cooperate fully. I will request cooperation from the Alchemist Guild and the Pharmacist Guild."
"Thank you very much. Then, I will present this to His Majesty the King through Marquis Grandchester."
"That's right. Since he is the lord of a region where a fever is actually spreading, it will be more convincing."
"I will have someone else provide you with the details later."
Just as the 3 were about to agree that the discussion was over, Sophia dropped another bombshell.
"By the way, I almost forgot!"
"W-What is it?"
The members of the Commerce Guild started to look at Sophia with increasingly fearful expressions, but she smiled brightly and said,
"The Sophia Merchant Guild is planning to create new alcohol outside of the Grandchester territory. In fact, we have already made some!"
Sophia turned around and glanced at her almost invisible bodyguard, Daniel, and the golem, Marcato, who served as her driver and secretary. Together, they pulled out 4 bottles of various sizes from a wooden box placed at Marcato's feet and lined them up on the table.
"The first one on the left from Mr. Harvey is cider, and next to it is Elma brandy."
"This is the alcohol that was showcased at the Grandchester hunting competition, right?"
"That's correct. And the two bottles next to those are new alcohol. They don't have names yet."
In fact, these were sparkling wine and brandy that had been secretly made from wine purchased in barrels from the Harrington territory.
"Would you like to taste them?"
"Y-yes, thank you very much."
Harvey ordered a servant to prepare tasting glasses and opened the cider bottle himself. Since it was low-malt beer, it made a nice sound as the cap popped off.
"So, this is cider? I've heard rumors about it, but it really is fizzy."
"I wanted you to enjoy it cold, so I chilled the whole bottle with magic."
"Oh."
The moment the 3 of them took a sip of the cider, the carbonation strongly tickled their tongues.
"W-what is this!"
"It's quite a pleasant sensation."
"The flavor is amazing!"
Then Golem Marcato approached the table, opened a sparkling wine bottle, and poured it into a different glass.
"This is made using the same method as the cider, but the ingredients are different."
As Sophia encouraged them, the 3 took a sip of the sparkling wine and realized it was made from wine.
"W-wait, is this wine?!"
"It really is white wine."
"It must be wine from the Harrington region."
'Wow, these top merchants really have refined tastes.'
"You're absolutely right. Cider is made from Elma liquor, but this is made from wine."
When Sophia glanced at Marcato, she lightly nodded and poured Elma brandy and grape brandy made from Harrington wine into their respective glasses.
"I think it would be easiest to compare the next drink with Elma brandy."
"So, these are also made from Elma liquor and wine, right?"
"Exactly."
The 3 of them cautiously took a sip of Elma brandy and grape brandy. At first, they were surprised by the strong alcohol content, but then they closed their eyes and looked like they were enjoying the rich flavors.
"Hmm... this is wonderful alcohol."
"To be honest, I might like this one more than Elma brandy."
"No, no, both are hard to give up."
After they finished tasting, Sophia started talking again.
"In this way, I want to create and sell various types of alcohol. In the future, I plan to share how to make it, but for now, I want to keep it exclusive. However, I know I can't keep it a secret for too long. Making alcohol definitely requires people and equipment, so if someone looks into it, they will find out quickly."
"That seems likely."
"However, alcohol takes time to mature. It will be a few years before we can compete. Also, I hope delicious alcohol is made elsewhere too."
"May I ask why?"
"If there is competition, it makes you want to create even better things, right?"
"Haha. It seems that Lady Sophia really loves alcohol."
"I can't deny that."
In the next moment, Harvey turned to Sophia with a serious expression.
"However, if you dominate the market too much, you might earn the resentment of other merchants."
"I know there are such people. Of course, if there are benefits for both sides, we might collaborate. Besides, I believe we are more on the side of opening up a new market rather than just dominating it."
"It seems quite difficult to meet Lady Sophia's standards."
"How should I put this? At the very least, I don't think I can associate with someone who buys our products, processes them, and then sells them at a high price."
At this line, the jeweler Cecil (Guildmaster of Rose Merchant Guild) shifted slightly. The truth was, it was Cecil's relative's merchant guild that bought simple design music boxes from the Sophia Merchant Guild, carved the outer wooden boxes, and then sold them at a high price after embedding jewels.
"Y-yes, that's true."
"By the way, I was really surprised when I saw that my merchant guild's herbal tea was being sold in another box for nearly double the price."
This caught Archibald's (Guildmaster of Midran Merchant Guild) attention. He usually avoided small-scale business dealings, but he was aware that his wife's brother was making money by reselling herbal tea from the Sophia Merchant Guild. Many merchants were involved in reselling these products, so Archibald believed the conversation was not about his brother-in-law specifically.
"Is that so?"
"Yes, it is. Oh, Mr. Archibald, could you please pass a message to your brother-in-law? 'Some men's herbal tea can only be sold to those who have received counseling from our merchant guild'."
"Uh, y-yes..."
Archibald was completely defeated. Of course, all 3 of them understood exactly what they were hinting at, and cold sweat was dripping down their backs.
"Well then, I will take my leave here. I have to go register at the main building after this."
"N-no, we can handle the procedures here as well."
"I am not in a position to ask for your help."
"What are you saying? The Sophia Merchant Guild will be registered as the top merchant guild in the Commerce Guild of the royal capital."
Sophia smiled gracefully, but deep down, she was laughing at the 3 merchants.
"Please, don't worry about it. I have no plans to set up a store in the prime location of the royal capital, nor do I intend to outsource manufacturing or sales at this time, so there's no need for you to go out of your way for me."
With that, Sophia left the guild members, who were still in shock, and returned to the Grandchester estate after registering the Sophia Merchant Guild in the main building. Of course, she followed the usual procedures.
'Top priority rights? I'm so tired of the hierarchy among merchants. It's really ridiculous.'
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