If There's a Buyer, All That's Left Is to Sell

"Trying things really does pay off. Some ventures failed, but I never expected the inn business to take off this fast."

"I think Kazusa-chan's personality plays a big part too."

"Of course. She's motivated, she's got guts. And having dealt with all kinds of eccentric adventurers, she's great at communication."

I chatted with Elza as we walked home.

Among everyone in our group, she was the closest to my age, which might be why she was easy to talk to.

She was a priestess yet well-versed in worldly matters, with a broad perspective.

Her only drawback was being a bit too… forward at times.

"Helping out was fun though. I haven't been that busy in a while."

"Labyrinths and quests have their own rhythm of busy and slow. I'd heard that a popular food business is grueling if you don't have an aptitude for it, but I had no idea it was that intense."

The kitchen and floor had been like a battlefield.

Even with a streamlined menu for the light-meal format, it was that hectic. I couldn't imagine running an actual restaurant.

Well, opening a restaurant would mean dealing with the food-industry guild, and I had no intention of going that far.

A sideline operation attached to the inn was about the right level.

Things had changed a lot since the days when I just ran the shop.

The day I bought Azu was undoubtedly the turning point.

When we got home, Azu and Orleans were wearing aprons and preparing dinner.

They said they'd made fried river fish and stewed beans in tomato sauce.

The smell was appetizing.

"Welcome back, sir."

"Welcome home, Master. Dinner's almost ready!"

Drawn by the aroma, Elza's stomach growled.

Her cheeks flushed slightly in embarrassment.

"I'm starving."

"Same here. After that breather, I'm getting hungry too. Thanks, you two."

"Oh, it's nothing. I wasn't part of the mission."

"I had a nap and felt much better, so I'm fine!"

We helped carry out plates and such to speed things along.

I also set out pickled herring and salted vegetables as side dishes.

Soon Finn and Alexia showed up, lured by the smell.

The tomato bean stew was a bit salty, but after all the sweating we'd done, it felt like it soaked right into my body.

The fried river fish was sublime when dipped in sauce and sandwiched in bread with the salted vegetables.

Sea fish had been good too, but this suited my palate better.

I even asked for seconds, a rarity for me, and Azu happily took my plate and refilled it.

After dinner, I saw Orleans off as she headed back to the inn.

She bowed respectfully before leaving.

Apparently she'd taken care of most of the work while we were out.

Documents requiring my review were neatly arranged on my desk.

Flipping through them, I found a new price list had arrived from the Merchants' Guild.

I remembered staring at these obsessively back when I was trading silver.

That had been a nice little earner.

"They're really going at it."

The words slipped out as I looked at the numbers.

What I checked were the prices for burning stone and iron ore.

Both had jumped about thirty percent from last time.

No doubt due to Alsarm stockpiling supplies for military operations.

It was affecting prices across the entire kingdom.

If this was Kassad's market, prices in Alsarm itself had to be even higher.

Producing quality steel for armor, swords, and horse barding in bulk required massive amounts of iron ore and burning stone to heat the furnaces to high temperatures.

Sharp-eyed merchants had surely already sprung into action.

My company needed to capitalize on this opportunity for a windfall.

First, burning stone.

Winter had passed and things were warming up. Demand for heating fuel was about to drop sharply.

I'd ship everything except what I supplied to the blacksmith and kept in stock at the shop to Alsarm.

Large-scale hoarding would draw unwanted attention, so I'd avoid that, but buying up from the small shops I had relationships with should be fine.

Iron ore was… not something my company normally dealt in.

There was zero demand from households or adventurers.

I'd only ever handled it at small scale, buying from nearby cities when the blacksmith asked, adding a handling fee, and selling to him.

I'd sent the current inventory to Alsarm along with the alcohol shipment, so there was none on hand.

But I had a supply route through the Empire and a customer desperate enough to salivate for it.

That was a business opportunity. As a merchant, I had to act.

To make the transaction smoother, I'd visit Lady Anatia tomorrow and ask if she could write me a letter of introduction.

It would help Alsarm, and with Lady Anatia backing me, Princess Tianis shouldn't interfere.

Having made my plan, I decided to turn in for the night.

The next day, I gave everyone the day off except Alexia.

A full day off would've been fine, but I'd been told it was still better to have someone with me.

Bringing Alexia along to see Princess Tianis would be awkward, but since she'd already met Lady Anatia, that wouldn't be an issue.

I'd heard Lady Anatia was staying at the royal castle, so I traveled to the capital and requested an appointment at the castle gate.

The reply came immediately.

I'd thought I might wait half a day, but it seemed she had time on her hands.

We were shown to a detached annex of the royal castle.

Apparently it was a guest residence.

Inside, I spotted familiar maids at work.

Their uniforms differed from the castle's regular staff, making them easy to identify.

Lady Anatia's personal attendants handled everything around her.

They were probably doubling as security.

… Nobles had it rough.

Not that I had much sympathy for nobility in general. Lady Anatia was about the only one.

Jacob was reliable and a good man, but I had no inclination to feel sorry for a middle-aged guy.

"Welcome, Yohane-san, Alexia. I'm so glad you came. I've been bored stiff."

She greeted us with a radiant smile.