Transportation Preparations

As soon as the discussion ended, we were kicked out of the room. According to Kanon, the princess was busy.

Upon leaving the royal castle, I rotated my shoulders to loosen up.

Orleans and I exchanged glances and wry smiles.

"I'm glad she approved this arrangement."

"For Princess Tianis, there's not much risk."

In form, she was simply canceling an attempt to stockpile excess food.

And if this produced results, it would raise Princess Tianis's standing as the one who granted permission.

If any disadvantages arose, she could find some excuse to shift the responsibility to us.

I envied those with power. But of course, I didn't want to be in that position myself.

Stay unnoticed, yet still secure solid profits.

That position suited me.

"What will you do now?"

"Let's see… Are the reception preparations ready on their end?"

"Yes. We've secured sufficient space in the food stores, so it's fine."

"They don't miss a beat, do they. Is it alright to transport it as grain?"

"Yes. We have milling facilities, so there's no problem."

"I see."

Whether to transport it as wheat or grind it into flour.

This was actually quite important.

Transporting wheat grain was bulkier. However, it could be put in coarse-woven hemp sacks, and once harvested and threshed, it just needed to be sun-dried before shipping.

But if they needed it as flour, the grinding was incredibly laborious and time-consuming.

The bags also needed to be tightly sealed to prevent leakage, and you had to watch out for moisture.

The advantage was that flour was less bulky, reducing the number of wagons needed.

Given the urgency this time, I'd go with wheat grain if that was acceptable.

"I'll arrange things immediately. We can simply swap out what was meant to be delivered to the royal castle from Luido."

"Please do."

"Don't mention it. This is work."

After relaying a message to Finn and Alexia, who were watching the house, I headed to the Merchant Guild straight from the royal castle.

Arranging wagons to transport wheat on my own was impossible.

Even renting them required arranging drivers.

It would be faster to pay transportation fees and labor costs to have merchants with their own wagons carry everything.

Normally, carrying your own goods was more profitable than hauling for others, so at first glance this arrangement seemed unlikely to succeed.

But no matter how prosperous times became, people couldn't instantly adapt to that prosperity.

There were plenty who weren't doing well and wanted any work they could get, even odd jobs.

When I put out a recruitment notice through the Merchant Guild, nearly twenty wagons were recruited.

Including small single-horse carts, with this many, we should be able to transport all thirty tons of wheat.

… Half apprentices, half veterans.

Apprentices lacking work was expected, but veterans taking this kind of job made me slightly worried about them.

I set the payment as a fixed sum per person, plus an amount based on cargo capacity.

The date was three days from now.

Loading the wagons to capacity, a round trip should take about ten days.

They'd probably load something on the return trip too.

Once the arrangements were complete, Azu and the others looked at me with respect in their eyes.

"That's amazing. Everything was decided so quickly. I've seen this kind of thing with quests too, but it usually gets all muddled."

"That's because there's no baseline."

"Baseline?"

"How much you're willing to pay. When you'll refuse. Things like that. If you're thinking 'a little cheaper' or 'make it more advantageous,' what could be settled won't be. When both parties' conditions match, these things are decided instantly."

"Take a loss to make a gain"—that was practically a merchant's motto.

That said, if you actually took a loss, you'd wonder what the point was.

Make it look like a gain for them, while appearing to take a loss on your side.

But still secure the profit you need. That was the trick.

Orleans watched me for a moment and nodded.

"… I see. So that's how it is. Being merely correct doesn't move things forward."

"Something come to mind?"

"Yes, somewhat. Looking back, many things might have gone more smoothly if I had given ground."

"What's important is flexibility. Well, you can learn from here on."

"Yes. Thank you."

No matter how much time you spent studying, there were things you could only learn through practice.

But what you learned through study proved useful in real situations.

Balance was important.

With the wagon arrangements finished, we moved to Luido.

Given the time, returning home wasn't feasible, so we decided to spend the night at the Luido base.

When I checked on progress in Luido, I was told the harvest was complete and they'd store it in the warehouse tomorrow.

When I told the representative we'd be selling it in three days, he first thought I was joking.

When he realized I was serious, his face broke into a beaming smile.

The processed food wholesale had brought higher income than usual, and now the wheat would become money right after harvest.

No wonder he was smiling.

"Payment for the wheat will be after I return. We'll be taking thirty tons' worth."

"That's nearly the whole lot. We'll have it bagged and loaded by the third day."

"That helps."

"Think nothing of it. Since you took over, we've felt positive changes. We'll get at least this much ready for you."

I shook hands with the representative and moved to the Luido base I'd prepared earlier.

Day-to-day management was delegated, but they seemed to be keeping it clean.

For dinner, we received various foods as gifts.

Here, you truly never wanted for food.

After eating, I took out a change of clothes to sleep in.

Then Orleans started undressing right there, and Azu hurriedly stopped her.

"Azu-sama, is something the matter?"

"W-we're one thing, but Orleans shouldn't undress in front of Master!"

"Why not? I don't mind. Or is it improper for someone like me to show my dirty skin?"

"That's not it…!"

"Both of you, calm down. A girl shouldn't show her skin so casually."

"Is that so?"

Elza mediated while holding back laughter. Orleans nodded and changed behind a makeshift curtain.

Azu glanced at me and seemed relieved.

Good grief. They say three women make a clamor, and it certainly was lively.