Chapter 43: Abandoned Dog’s Pasta II (1/2)

Having reached a point where I could take a pause, I went up to the second floor of the Zavua merchant company.

It appeared that there was something that needed to be talked about.

「Souya-dono! Thank you for your hard work!」

While still sitting in a chair, a big-sized man head-butted the table. The name of the man was Karlgoff, and he was the young Chairman of the Eruomea merchant company.

「Well, it’s popular, isn’t it? Even from here, I could tell from the sounds from the crowd that business was thriving」

Sitting next to him was a slim man who had mastered the business smile to the core. This guy's name was Lonewell. In place of his mother, he served as the Chairman of the Zavua merchant company. Same as me, he was also the kin of Gravius-sama, a god of business.

「Hmm, would you be so kind as to introduce us?」

An elderly man was sitting facing the two of them.

He was a slim man with sunken cheeks and long hair that was streaked with white. He held a cane and was well dressed. The robe that he was wearing was embroidered with gold in several places. He didn’t have on a lot of rings and necklaces, but the ones he did wear were precious and expensive. He didn’t put on accessories until they were jingling like the nouveau riche did. It was a refined way of dressing.

「This is Souya-san, a consultant for the Zavua merchant company and the Eruomea merchant company」

Lonewell introduced me to the elderly man.

I bowed lightly. I didn’t sit down. I wasn’t sure why though.

「Greetings. I’m Souya from a foreign land」

「I see. So you’re a foreigner. Well well, you’re a rare talent」

It’s to the extent that it’s considered rare, huh?

How many people like me are there in this alternate world, I wonder? I’m subtly curious about it.

「Greetings from me as well. My name is――」

「Libera・Araruledo, I assume?」

I interrupted him and made a guess in a quiet voice.

There was a slight moment of silence.

「Hmm」

Without losing his cool, the elderly man spoke calmly.

「Now, what a surprise. If such a wise person is present, the merchant companies of these two young men should prosper」

「The prosperity of the merchant companies is due to the efforts of these two people, and my help is negligible」

I’m not being humble. It’s a fact.

「What are you saying, Souya-dono! Without the many products that were created from the knowledge of the foreign lands, we wouldn’t have had the kind of sales that we’ve had of late!」

Karloff had praised me in an oppressively passionate manner, but I wish he would stop acting like that. I mean, I had gotten the name right only because the king had tipped me off, alright?

「Well? The greetings and introductions are done, what business do you have with me?」

I'm not a merchant. I'm an adventurer.

I don’t need all the troublesome pomp and circumstance. It’s better to get him to tell his story and state his business quickly.

「Souya-san, the fact of the matter is that the Zavua merchant company and the Eruomea merchant company are currently considering doing business jointly with Libera・Araruledo-sama’s merchant company. We wanted to also inform Souya-san, our consultant, of our intentions」

Even though he’s down on his luck, he’s a wealthy merchant from the center continent. I think that this is a good business opportunity. His business experience is also likely in a different league compared to ours. Working together with such a person would become a valuable experience.

「I’ve been called a wealthy merchant in the center continent, but I still don’t know my way around this right continent. For that very reason, to do business in this region, I’m thinking of working together with young up-and-coming merchant companies as equals and――」

「Wait」

I interrupted him.

He said something strange, didn’t he? This old bird.

「What do you mean “as equals”?」

「Certainly, they may be young and inexperienced merchant companies, but even despite that, I’m working with them as equals, is what I meant」

「That’s wrong, isn’t it?」

I had thought that he would be a passable person because he’s a wealthy merchant, but his greed is transparently obvious.

「If you go down in rank and work together with these two as a lesser, then as their consultant, I’ll support it. If you don’t agree to that, then I oppose」

「Huh, Souya-san?」

「Souya-dono, Libera-sama is one of the top five wealthiest merchants in the center continent, you know? Just being able to work with such a person as an equal――」

Their opinions are absolutely right. The other party is a merchant who ”had” assets and influence comparable to royalty.

But now,

「”Was” a wealthy merchant, am I right? Along with the fall from power of the Seventh Pope, whom he has close ties with, this man fled for his life from the center continent. Sending his damaged ships out to sea again was probably a ruse that he came up with because he was afraid of pursuers. You sank the ships as you saw fit and snuck back into Lemuria covertly. Do you know that one of the ships that you sank destroyed a fishmen’s settlement? Will you compensate them using the small change that you got from selling the wheat?」

The two young Chairmen looked at the former wealthy merchant with doubtful eyes.

This man’s life is being targeted by Elysium, the largest nation on the center continent. He’s a tremendous liability.

「Even if you talk about compensation, something like the land races paying money to the fishmen is……」

Libera gave an extremely typical opinion.

He probably intended to talk his way out of it, but there were two people present who would take exception to that.

「Karlgoff and I have a close relationship with the fishmen. We can’t brush this aside and work with you」

「Souya-dono, is that true?」

「I heard it from Geto-san this morning. There’s no doubt」

With a grim expression on his face, Karlgoff spoke.

「………………Libera-sama, I'm sorry, but as long as my common-law wife is a mermaid…… If you refuse to compensate, allow me to consider that our discussion about working together never happened」

Looking extremely remorseful, Lonewell said.

「I'm very sorry, Libera-sama. For the Zavua merchant company, if the Eruomea merchant company isn’t a part of this, then this discussion never happened」

「………………」

With nothing showing on his face, Libera was wrapped in a heavy silence.

「I see」

But he changed his tune in an instant.

「I’m sure that I’ll be able to do great business with a merchant company that has a close relationship with the fishmen. I’ll also pay the compensation immediately. And I would like to take back what I said about being equals. I’m fine with being the lesser to the three of you. However, I wonder if it’s alright if I add just one condition?」

I was surprised by the speed in which he changed his tune.

On top of that, he had brushed off the matter about his troubles with Elysium completely.

「I would like to request help with the livelihood of 54 of my employees and their families, as well as 145 of my slaves. If you are able to take care of them, please feel free to use the name of the Libera merchant company」

Use his name, huh? Both Zavua and Eruomea are young merchant companies.

The age of a merchant company is linked to its credibility.

Those involved with the Myriad Kings of the left continent, the nobles from the center continent that had been crowded out, advanced adventurers. All these people would be eager to do business with a well-established merchant company. If they’re able to get a piece of that market, it's a great opportunity for young merchant companies.

But is it an opportunity that we want to seize in spite of the fact that it would incur the wrath of one nation?

It’s certainly risky.

But in some cases, it’s especially profitable.

The two of them would likely not oppose. That’s because the general consensus among the merchants these days is that『Elysium doesn’t have much longer』.

But there is one problem.

「Slaves, huh………………」

Karlgoff’s expression turned solemn.

「Slaves are a little………...」

Lonewell had the exact same expression.

Slavery doesn’t exist within the Kingdom of Lemuria. Allowing it would create a situation where adventurers would surround themselves with slaves when exploring the dungeon. Something called『slave adventurers』had existed in ancient times, and it seemed that the country had been destroyed after they had rebelled.

“Adventurers are free creatures.”

So long as Lemuria flew a banner like that, slavery would likely not be allowed in the future.

However, there is just one exception.

And that’s the serfs that had been borrowed from the allied nation of Elysium.

They are here for the sake of sustaining the lifeline called food of an allied nation.………is the public stance. Elysium’s true intention is, “If the relationship between allies deteriorate, we’ll pull out all of the serfs sustaining your production of food!”, a threat like that.

It seems like something had happened to the king in the past.

If anyone brought a slave into Lemuria, they would be severely punished.

Last month, there had also been merchants like Libera who had kept slaves and had fled here from the center continent, but they were executed and had all of their property confiscated. I had felt that it was a little too harsh, but that wasn’t something that a mere adventurer pointed out to a king.

This is a matter that I need to be prudent with. Even I, who’s somewhat in the king’s good books, must be careful.

「Libera, what can those slaves do?」

「Farm work, preparing food, cleaning, laundering, looking after people, and menial work for all sorts of jobs. Of course, they can also take care of either men or women. They are all healthy and sturdy beastkin」

Through the merchant companies, it’s possible to help those who can prepare food, clean and launder. Farm work, huh? I’ll have to ask the king about that. There’s no telling what kind of trouble it might stir up. It’s scary…… As for working in the brothels, I can’t say anything until I’ve asked the slaves in question.

「We’ll work out the detailed terms later, but first off, the Zavua and Eruomea merchant companies will each take care of half of the employees and their families. Lonewell, Karlgoff, is that okay with the two of you?」

「Yes, I had wanted more manpower recently to expand the business. I’ll happily take responsibility of the employees of the Libera merchant company」

「I feel the same way as Lonewell」

The two of them gave their approval readily.

「Next is the issue of the slaves, but Libera, you know that slavery is prohibited in this country, right?」

「Yes, of course. But there are plenty of loopholes, aren’t there?」

「There certainly are. But there’s no reason for me to go so far for your slaves」

「They’re excellent slaves, you know? It’ll be a tremendous loss if they are cast out like this」

「This isn’t a matter of profit and loss. It's a matter of trust」

I have the king’s favor right now. I don’t want to lose the king’s trust for the sake of a washed-up wealthy merchant.

「But there’s something that you can do, am I right?」

As expected.

He’s very experienced. He’s seen through the fact that I have a way to solve this problem, hasn’t he?

「Yes, there is, but in the worst case, they’ll have to be cast out. Well, they’ll probably not die from starvation」

「Hmm………………If their lives are guaranteed, even if the treatment of the slaves is the worst, I suppose that will be fine」

If he had not been concerned about the predicament of the slaves, I would have canceled the deal right away.

Or had he seen through that as well?

「Excuse me for a while」