ALL NOVEL Chapter 34
Business isn’t as simple as just buying goods and selling them at a higher price.
If you’re only buying in small amounts as a regular customer, it’s one thing. But when you’re dealing in bulk to run a business, it requires more than just money; it demands trust between you and the producers or wholesalers.
Most business in the royal capital runs on these trust-based relationships, and merchants won’t easily give up their limited resources to some outsider who suddenly appears.
Priority is given to those merchants or individuals with whom they’ve built long-term relationships.
That’s precisely why Seioji wasn’t trying to build new connections from scratch in this royal capital, but rather to incorporate existing merchant guilds into our operations.
“…Wow, the influence of nobles and royalty is incredible.”
“What did you say?”
Aina, sitting next to me, reacted to my muttered words.
The two of us were currently in a reception room at a merchant guild in the capital, where we had come to discuss supplies for the brigade. Aina is responsible for managing our supplies, and I was here to assist her.
The purpose of this visit was to secure a stable supply of everyday goods for our brigade.
While I’ll probably handle this kind of work myself in the future, for now, I don’t have the connections or manpower.
At the very least, we can’t run the brigade without relying on external support at the moment.
That’s why, after several discussions with Seioji, our leader, we decided to visit the merchant guild we thought would be most beneficial for the brigade.
The reception room of this guild was somewhat less luxurious than the one we’d been in before, at the Great Eagle Dorm where we met with Ray and Sakakibara, but it was still quite splendid.
As expected of a merchant in the royal capital, the level was completely different from the merchants I knew in Elacton. Even the snacks they served during this meeting were the kind of luxurious treats that regular citizens could only dream of.
“Well, I’ve somehow ended up knowing the heir of the Castellano family and the second princess of this country.”
“…How do you even manage to build relationships with a family of magic nobles and the princess of this kingdom?”
The purpose of this meeting was to finalize the regular supply of everyday goods we consume in the brigade. Seioji had already settled most of the major terms, so all that was left were the finer details.
I had prepared a chart in advance, calculating the quantities of supplies the Akatsuki Brigade would need.
The numbers on this chart were generated using spreadsheet software, so they were probably accurate. Of course, I couldn’t bring over a printed copy, as it would look suspicious, so I rewrote it by hand… Still, it should be fine since Akira and some people from the Seioji Group’s accounting department had helped me with it.
“Your calculations are scarily accurate. You really do seem like a future merchant.”
“I didn’t do it all myself, you know.”
In reality, my computer back home in Japan had done most of the calculations for me. However, explaining the concept of computers to Aina, a person from this other world, would be difficult, so I let her believe someone else had helped with the calculations.
To be honest, Akira had also taught me everything about using the spreadsheet software from scratch, so I was basically relying on others…
“Yes! The items you requested have been accepted by the Copen Merchant Guild!”
“Then, please proceed as discussed.”
Copen, the president of the merchant guild, bowed deeply—unusual for a merchant in the royal capital. In this world, merchant guilds are often named after their presidents, so Copen’s name is also the name of the guild.
Copen, the guild’s head, had a surprisingly robust build for a merchant in the capital. His physique suggested he had done some sort of physical labor regularly, which piqued my curiosity.
“President Copen, were you ever an adventurer?”
“Yes, I originally came from an adventurer background… My wife’s family has been merchants in the royal capital for generations, so I opened this store when we got married.”
He was a former adventurer, and his wife’s family had been merchants in the capital.
“What kind of business did your wife’s family run?”
“The same kind of everyday goods business… Although, their focus was more on supplies for the capital’s residents, so the range of items is a bit different.”
The Copen Merchant Guild is located not far from our brigade’s team house, in a slightly off-the-beaten-path area of the southern district.
The southern district, where adventurers gather, is primarily filled with stores selling weapons, armor, and potions, but despite being a bit away from the main road, the Copen Merchant Guild still draws a fair number of customers.
That said, the Copen Merchant Guild is about mid-tier, maybe even slightly below that, in terms of scale within the southern district.
Nevertheless, what stood out to me was President Copen’s pleasant demeanor. Despite dealing with a twenty-something like me and Aina, who was probably still in her high school years, he treated us with great respect and was very polite.
After Seioji’s unpleasant experience with the Bern Trading Company, she’d started prioritizing reputation and character over the status of the shop.
Of the many self-recommendations and recommendations from others, the Copen Merchant Guild had been chosen, and I could now see why—it lived up to its reputation.
Of course, in a capital full of schemes and intrigue, it’s possible that he had different faces for different situations…
But at the very least, I could appreciate how rare it was to meet someone who didn’t judge people based on appearances and handled things with genuine care.