Chapter 412 Short Arms And Legs
"I knew it wouldn't be easy..."
Sara muttered to herself, glaring at the documents scattered on her desk in the royal capital. She saw the same message over and over: "We can't meet your expectations." She had no luck finding a middleman for wheat, which meant no way to sell it.
Avalon was big on farming, especially wheat, but its trade had strict traditions. Even if the Sophia Merchant Guild offered amazing deals, they were still newcomers. Long-established merchant guilds had been handling wheat for ages, so no one wanted to deal with this new guild messing with the system. To the lord, these merchant cartels were a pain, but they made distributing products easier, even if they kept prices high.
And the Commerce Guild had control over these merchants. Officially, it was a support group for merchants, but really, it ran the show. Leaders like Kojimo, who headed the Commerce Guild in Grandchester, managed wheat cartels there. Most markets, especially for farm goods in Avalon, were tightly controlled by the Commerce Guild.
"Hmm. I sold to the Midran merchant guild for less than the market price..."
Midran Merchant Guild is one of the top 5 trading companies in Avalon, and they have many strong connections with wholesalers. Sara thought she could make a good deal with Archibald, their representative, when they met at the Commerce Guild in the royal capital, even though there was some back-and-forth.
In fact, thanks to Archibald's influence, several merchant guilds have come to buy wheat. However, after getting the minimum amount of wheat they need, none of the merchant guilds want to make any more deals with Sophia Merchant Guild.
"I don't think the wheat prices have dropped, but it feels like the price increase is being kept lower than expected. Did the Coastal Union stop intervening in the market...?"
"That can't be true. If they pull out now, all their investments will go to waste. Aren't they trying to starve Roisen?"
Musashi, who had been listening to Sara's muttering, jumped down from the cushion by the window where he usually sits. He walked over to Sara with his short arms and legs, struggling to climb onto the sofa.
"Musashi, it's cute how you have that habit."
"My short arms and legs make things really inconvenient."
"That was the first thing that came to my mind. Which is better, a clay figure or something else?"
"That has even less movement than a bear."
"If I make it, it will move all wiggly."
"If it dances, does that lower the opponent's level?"
"If that really happens, I'll call you Dirty Honey."
"Am I a crazy cop shooting a Magnum or a transforming magical girl android? It's hard to decide."
"I'm both happy and sad to have someone to have this kind of conversation with."
"Hey, your knowledge seem kind of old-fashioned, okay?"
"I can't deny that, and it makes me sad."
Seeing Musashi struggling to get up on the sofa, Sara picked him up under her arms and placed him on her own lap. Since they were by the window, Musashi smelled like sunshine.
"So, about what we were talking about earlier, Coastal Union is raising the prices of food they export to Roisen. They probably plan to sell it for even more in the future."
"Yeah. I think that's true, Musashi."
"The king thinks the same way. So, Roisen will likely try to stop them from buying cheap wheat from Avalon."
"That makes sense. I believe that's also why there were riots in Grandchester."
"They probably wanted to make it look like Roisen was behind it to break off negotiations."
"Whether the riots work or not, if Avalon starts suspecting Roisen, that's half the battle won. Grain is a valuable resource, so the king has to approve any exports. If King Avalon gets suspicious of Roisen, he'll probably stop selling."
"Do you think they would use such a simple trick?"
"I think the other side has set multiple traps. Each scheme is relatively simple. Even if the success rate is a bit low, if one scheme works, it increases the chances that others will succeed too."
"Wow. That's some serious trickery."
"Coming from a con artist like you, that's a compliment."
"I'm not a con artist!"
Musashi flailed his arms and legs, protesting against Sara... or at least it looked like he was trying to.
"Okay, okay. If you keep acting up there, you'll fall."
Sara patted Musashi's head gently.
"Well, getting carried by a pretty girl isn't so bad. But if I had a choice, I'd wait until you're 10... no, maybe 20 years older first."
"Can I throw you against the wall?"
"Of course, that's a joke. More importantly, don't you want to hear about why the wheat isn't selling?"
"Yeah, that's it. Why isn't it selling?"
"Because Sophia is a young girl."
"What do you mean?"
"They're already annoyed that a new merchant is coming in and messing with their territory, but it's even worse because she's a young female merchant."
"I get that it's annoying, but I can understand it. Similar things happened in my past life too."
"No, I don't think you really understand, Sara."
"Really?"
"In our past life, we were taught that 'discriminating between genders is bad.' Of course, the extent varies by country and religion, and we know that discrimination doesn't just disappear in reality."
"Yeah."
"But this world is different. Most people are taught that 'men and women have different roles to play.' There are even some people in the Academy seriously researching whether men and women are even the same species."
"Seriously? There are people who think like that even though we were born from our mothers' wombs?"
"There are. You, Sara, have received lady's education as a noble, but haven't you been taught to respect men?"
"That's true. But that was also common in my past life."
"Well, for women, maybe it's considered a virtue to 'not think about such things'."
"More accurately, it's 'to think it in your heart but not say it out loud.'."
"I see. Women can be really tricky. But, Sara, there's no gender equality here. Sure, there are female merchants, but most are connected to someone. They're usually former courtesans or someone's mistress."
"I think I understand that."
"To other merchants, Sophia only looks like a tied woman of the Marquis Grandchester family. They probably caught wind of her having a lot of magic stones as assets. Still, their common sense prevents them from recognizing Sophia as an independent merchant."
"I see. So, what do those 'male' merchants want?"
Musashi didn't answer Sara's question right away; he put his hand on his chin and thought.
"Merchants want 'money,' but they've been merchants so long, they hate the idea of bowing to a young girl. It's all about pride."
"Hmm. I kind of get it, but their pride is different from mine."
"Well, the Commerce Guild didn't expect their deal to flop, so they had to buy what they agreed on. It's like choosing the lesser evil. It must've felt humiliating for them."
"Is that so?"
"Of course. They're waiting for Sophia, with all her extra wheat, to ask for their help. Wheat's a crop, so it can spoil. They're probably thinking if they can get Sophia's Guild to owe them, they'll have influence over her products too. They figure no grain merchants should be outside the Commerce Guild, so it makes sense they told them not to buy any wheat from Sophia's Guild. By controlling these merchants, they get to shape the market how they want."
"Hey, Musashi, if you were close to the king, why didn't you push for anti-monopoly laws? Where's the fair trade commission?"
"Don't say crazy things. I couldn't control the king freely either."
"Useless bear. Seriously, this isn't the time to be fighting within Avalon."
Holding Musashi tightly, Sara tried to calm her troubled feelings.
"Probably, the Coastal Union has gotten into the Commerce Guild too, Sara. They might not have seen the Sophia Merchant Guild coming, but they should've known the Avalon royal family would step in. If that's true, most of the wheat and grains in Avalon are likely sold to Coastal Union merchants already."
"That makes sense."
"Basically, there's going to be a sudden wheat shortage in Avalon. We don't have much time left. When that happens, the Avalon royal family will tell lords, like those in Grandchester, to supply wheat."
"Of course, I expected that."
"Hey, come on, focus. If that happens, wheat will sell for almost nothing. The Sophia Merchant Guild and Grandchester won't escape this either."
Sara heard Musashi's words and suddenly sat up.
"I see. I should've seen the Commerce Guild as part of the Coastal Union from the start. I was going to treat them like allies. I thought Avalon's merchants wouldn't harm Avalon."
"Huh?"
"I wanted to use the usual route to distribute the wheat. I thought it would get to people's kitchens more easily. But if I do nothing, wheat prices will go up for sure. So, I planned to create my own route to sell wheat cheaply and lower prices through competition."
"Is that what you were thinking?"
"Yeah. I thought it would be impossible to sell all the wheat with just my own route."
"That's true; you can't create that overnight."
"But if the old men of the Commerce Guild get in my way with their silly pride, then I have no choice but to see them as the same as the Coastal Union."
"Are you saying they'll become enemies?"
When Musashi looked at Sara with concern, she smiled slyly.
"You're such a fool, Musashi. I'm a merchant. I may be a 'rival' in the wheat market, but we could work together in other markets, right? That's one thing, and this is another."
"Haha. You're tough. By the way, Sara, if you could tell me what's happening in Grandchester, I might be able to give better advice."
"Hmm, should we brainstorm? Maybe we should have the golem join us too."
Sara rang a bell and called over the golem, Grazioso, who was waiting in the next room.
"Did you call for me?"
"I want to brainstorm with Musashi. Will you join us?"
"That sounds like the best reward from a Magi."
"Right?"
Musashi leaned back against Sara's stomach and looked up at her face.
"Hey, Sara."
"What is it, Musashi?"
"Could it be that the Magi are 3 computers?"
"...They're not computers. But they are similar."
"Could they be 'Melchior', 'Balthazar', and 'Kasper'?"
"──Actually, it's 'Kaspar', not 'Kaspar', but you're almost correct. Sir Musashi, you know our names!"
Grazioso smiled brightly.
"Sara, you need to apologize to the relevant parties."
"Are you saying I should confess to the Pope in the Vatican, 'I have sinned by pretending to be one of the Wise Men from the East'?"
"That's so insincere."
"But I didn't design or actually create the Magi, you know."
"Huh?"
"Since I provided the materials and costs, I can't say I made it myself, but the basic design is Rihito's, and Alicia developed it and actually made it. I'll introduce you to them later."
"Seriously? There are 3 wise men in this world too?"
"Rihito is a reincarnator."
"I see."
Musashi made a gesture as if holding his head, then suddenly stared at Grazioso.
"By the way, isn't that girl over there not human?"
"Grazioso is a biological golem."
"Hey, wouldn't it have been okay for me to be in a body like that too?"
"It requires a lot of magic power to move. I don't feel the need to be that nice to Musashi. Plus, giving Musashi a body with too much freedom is a bit scary."
"Why's that?"
"Because in my past life, I was a criminal."
Grazioso, who had been watching the two of them, opened her mouth with a graceful smile.
"Sir Musashi is also a reincarnator, isn't he?"
"Uh, technically it's not reincarnation, but it's something similar."
"Let's have fun talking together from now on."
"──Musashi, be careful. The golems around me are all connected to Magi. Magi is very obsessed with gathering information."
"Wow, that sounds interesting."
"I don't know how much ethical control they have, so I hope that while I'm not looking, your teddy bear's body doesn't get torn apart."
"What!?"
"──Don't worry, Sir Musashi. If it's put back together, there's no problem."
"That's way too much of a problem!"
Musashi clung tightly to Sara.
"Being by my side might be safe, huh?"
"Sir Musashi, I won't hurt you, so it's okay."
"Absolutely not!"
Actually, this exchange was a golem joke, and Sara was aware of it. However, it seemed to have affected Musashi quite a bit.
"Why does the conversation always go off track like this? For now, let's talk about the Grandchester territory."
"Oh, okay."
"I want to know how much Musashi knows first."
"I don't know much, Sara. When Marquis Grandchester reported a riot, I noticed there might be a wheat conspiracy. At the same time, the Crown Prince of Roisen was secretly visiting Avalon. I gave him some information to see how he'd react, and he looked clearly shaken. This showed that it wasn't something Roisen planned as a nation."
"I see."
"Also, even though it's not very developed yet, there is futures trading for crops in Avalon. Because of my memories from my past life, I can't help but keep track of it."
"So, you know about the wheat price trends too?"
"To some extent. There isn't a public market, and only a few merchant guilds do big transactions, so I've been keeping an eye on it. When I heard that one merchant guild bought up all the wheat from Grandchester, I was so surprised I almost fell off the king's body."
"You should have fallen."
"It was impossible because of the connections."
Despite being a stuffed animal, Musashi grinned skillfully.
"However, both the king and I thought that the merchant guild in Grandchester wasn't really doing any money transactions. The Marquis Grandchester was probably using his own guild to control prices because he (the king) was frustrated with the wheat cartel."
"I see. That's how the king sees it."
"Isn't it different?"
"Well, in the end, we (the Grandchaster) did manage to crush the cartel, but we originally wanted to hide the fact that our wheat reserves were low."
"So, you guys have no reserves?"
"We didn't notice the embezzlement for years. When we checked after the embezzler escaped, it was all gone."
"That's surprising."
"That's why the Sophia Merchant Guild planned to buy all the wheat and sell only what each merchant guild needed."
"To keep the extra for reserves, right?"
"Yes, exactly. We couldn't let anyone know that Grandchester was buying back the surplus. If people found out, they'd see that our reserves were running low. It was lucky that this year had a good harvest. If a famine hit, not just Grandchester but the whole country could have suffered."
"That's true. If a famine happened, the king would immediately ask Grandchester to supply the wheat reserves."
Musashi crossed his arms in front of his body and thought... or rather, he tried to cross his arms, but since his arms were short, it ended up looking like a praying pose.
"So, does that mean there will be a shortage of wheat in Grandchester for a while?"
"No, Sir Musashi. Thanks to Miss Sara fainting, the wheat reserve problem has been solved."
"What does that even mean? I don't understand at all."
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