Let’s Just Give It A Try First! (10)

After that, Matilda’s report continued.

She said that the schedule she had to process late yesterday concerned mineral trades, such as weapons and iron ore.

“These are five merchant companies introduced by the Dust of Sands Trading Company. All of them are subsidiary merchants under Dust of Sands, ranging in scale from those that own full trade fleets to those that cross the Dragon Mountains on foot caravans. Among them, the most convenient group to trade with is one called the ‘Lilith Trading Company,’ which owns a fleet. The problem is that the goods they mainly handle aren’t weapons, but silk.”

“Silk, huh… Is there demand for that on the Terakan side as well?”

“It’s used more by the knightly class than by ordinary nobles.”

“Knights?”

“Because of silk’s unique properties, it’s said to be easier to remove arrowheads when struck by arrows. Rather than being pierced through, the silk wraps together with the arrowhead and burrows into the body, dulling the sharp edges and allowing the head to be pulled out more smoothly, reducing aftereffects. Moreover, wearing it layered under chain mail has apparently become popular lately.”

“Hm… I see. That makes sense.”

It felt familiar somehow. Even back on Earth, silk wasn’t valued only for decoration; I could recall how it had been preferred to achieve effects similar to what knights here sought.

I also remembered that generals in Korea’s Joseon era had often used silk as an inner lining.

It seemed the same kind of trend had emerged in this world as well.

“Do people really think alike…?”

That said, this world had forces that couldn’t be dealt with so easily—magic power and mana. I had heard that arrows themselves could be fired while imbued with mana.

Those capable of doing so were called “Arrow Experts” or “Masters,” though I didn’t really know what that felt like in practice.

To be honest, ever since coming to this world, the number of truly brutal scenes I had witnessed could be counted on one hand—and even those were limited to dismantling sites.

I briefly recalled Debik blasting off the Ogre Lord’s jaw, sighed, and asked Matilda.

“So you’re asking a silk-specialized merchant company to procure iron instead. How are you planning to handle transportation?”

“There’s a coastline about three days west of our domain. It’s connected to the coasts of other domains, which is somewhat concerning, but I thought that if we adjust things properly, it could be put to good use.”

“…Well, we do have a coast. If you look at it that way, the Forest of the Demon Dragon side… ah, that might be difficult?”

I had heard that the coastline near the Forest of the Demon Dragon was full of sheer cliffs. Still, if thought through carefully, it could become a useful location depending on how it was developed.

“If I put my hand to it, I could deal with those cliffs without much trouble.”

“….”

Matilda looked at me as if to say, what kind of person are you?, but I was the one who had built the Sky Bridge. Making a sloped path down a cliff wasn’t impossible.

“Could you review the data and see which side would be more efficient to develop?”

“Understood.”

It felt like I had unexpectedly added to her workload, but Matilda continued her report without looking bothered.

“The place we’ll be importing minerals from is the Northern Continent. Considering that the reason you summoned us this time was also to build a bridge toward the Northern Continent, I was wondering if it might be better to draw the Lilith Trading Company in more deeply.”

It was practically a sudden proposal, but when I thought about it, involving them didn’t seem like a bad idea. Especially since I had judged it best to keep the Forest of the Demon Dragon bridge hidden if possible, staging things so it looked like we were importing minerals through them might not be a bad piece of show administration.

When I said as much to Matilda, she replied that it was a good idea, and Linda also expressed that she had no objections.

“All right, then we’ll proceed on that basis. When would be a good time to start construction?”

At my words, Matilda pondered for a moment before posing a question.

“If you’re not too busy, my lord, I’d like to take a longer timeframe for the construction.”

“And why is that?”

“Even if the cost-performance isn’t great, if we link it with the Sky Bridge, it would effectively mean guiding merchant fleets toward the cliffside coast. So I was thinking that we should first build the coastal embankment, and then secretly construct a bridge into the Forest of the Demon Dragon without the Lilith Trading Company knowing.”

Was there some particular reason for that?

I looked at Matilda in silence, puzzled, and she continued.

“If we start bringing in large quantities of iron ore through the bridge, the Empire will certainly move to keep us in check. The emergence of a domain with overwhelming power could provoke backlash from neighboring lords, and that’s not something the imperial family would want either. And I believe that what we’re planning won’t end with simply importing iron ore.”

“…Well, true. The other continent will probably need just about everything our domain produces, so a fairly large set of interests would be at stake. Am I right?”

“Yes. Even though we’re currently granted tax exemptions, if this turns into enormous profit, the imperial court could change its stance. That’s why I think we should accurately report the volume traded through the Lilith Trading Company, while secretly purchasing additional quantities on the side.”

“But there’s a problem.”

It was a chronic issue for our domain. I spoke to the two women, who looked at me questioningly.

“We’re short on people. There’s no one with enough knowledge to operate on the Northern Continent. I was about to ask you two for ways to find suitable personnel—do you happen to know anyone appropriate, or a way to look?”

Both women fell into serious thought. We had talked about the future without bringing up the most important issue.

To do all this, we needed people—reliable people. And yet, there was no one suitable in the domain.

Guts was out of the question, as he was being used like a pack mule by Princess Riana, and Rita already seemed stretched thin just running the Adventurers’ Guild. Vincent and the maids went without saying, and beastkin were treated with the worst discrimination on the Northern Continent as well, shunned and despised.

Otherwise, why would the kingdom bordering the Forest of the Demon Dragon on the Northern Continent carry out regular beastkin exterminations?

“Hiring academy students would be the most ideal option, but… most graduates will have already found jobs or returned to their hometowns. In our case, we remained only because of special circumstances…”

“Are there really none?”

“…I’m sorry. I don’t know of any.”

At Matilda’s words, I had no choice but to look to Linda, but there was no reason she would know either. In the end, we were stuck in place, the meeting grinding to a halt.

Moreover, beyond the issue of importing iron ore, there were other problems piling up.

“Running a domain really is difficult, isn’t it?”

At my words, the two women slowly nodded. After that, I considered only the immediately necessary points and sent them off for the day.

“This is complicated. I wish things would just get solved in one sweep…”

Asking the imperial court for people would likely result in spies being planted. Trying to coax Princess Riana would make information control impossible. Borrowing personnel from the Dust of Sands Trading Company or others would mean sharing profits, which was troublesome. Just then, some people came to mind.

“Hm… if it’s them, it might work somehow…”

Even if conditions were improving, I wondered how much change that really meant for them. Still, I hurriedly began writing a letter. Then I jumped up from my seat, went to find Vincent, and said,

“Could you commission some mercenaries for me?”

“A letter, I presume?”

“Yes. Please tell Baron Hameureun that I urgently wish to see him.”

“Hameureun. Understood, my lord.”

Vincent carefully accepted the letter and immediately left the lord’s residence. I then went to Riin, handed over several recipes for dishes and snacks that could be made with chocolate, asked him to prepare them in a few days, and returned to the lord’s castle.

Then, to clear my cluttered head, I stopped by the banquet hall, picked up a bottle of rum aged for seventeen years under one-hundredfold acceleration, and headed back to my room—when I noticed a woman hesitating in front of it.

“Matilda? Haven’t you gone home yet?”

Surprised to see her, I tilted my head, and she startled visibly upon seeing me, fumbling for words.

Wondering what was going on, I opened the door and stepped inside, and she asked me,

“You’re going to have a drink?”

“It’s one of my small hobbies… but is something really the matter?”

She looked restless, which worried me. She followed me in, quickly shut the door, and leaned against it—Matilda.

So I set the bottle down on the table, took out two glasses, sat down, and asked,

“I don’t know what it is, but if you’re okay with it, would you like a drink?”

“…Is it really all right?”

“That’s what I’d like to ask you. I thought you came because there was something you needed.”

We had been talking late into the night often these past few days because of work, so I hadn’t thought much of it, but something felt off.

Especially since I even heard the door handle click as it turned, which made me think, surely not…

I didn’t press the issue, but Matilda cautiously came over, pulled out a chair, and sat across from me. Then she asked,

“You seem to drink well, my lord.”

“Well… I do like alcohol. And aged liquor has that distinctive oak aroma and depth of flavor.”

“I don’t know much about alcohol.”

“Is that so…? Well, if it’s not rude to say, I heard you did just about any work to pay your tuition…?”

“So you mean that kind of work?”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just thought that if you’d worked in a brothel, you might have drunk alcohol to some extent.”

“Actually, drunken women aren’t very popular with noble men. They don’t like it when women don’t act exactly as they want, when they want.”

“Ah, sounds like there are a lot of people with nasty tastes.”

Matilda nodded. Then she picked up one of the glasses placed in front of me and said,

“Could you pour me a glass?”

She looked at me with quite a bewitching gaze. That’s when I understood—she had come to see me in a private capacity today. I didn’t dislike it.

‘Virgin or not?’

Rather than that, I felt that a person’s heart mattered more. Right now, Matilda seemed to be asking me a question.

From beyond her gaze, the question flew at me—would someone like her be all right?

I gave a small chuckle, pulled the cork, and asked,

“I didn’t hire Ms. Linda or Ms. Matilda for something like this. But if it’s what you want, I won’t refuse. Even if nothing changes in how you’re treated afterward, I hope you won’t be disappointed. Is that all right?”

“Of course. If anything changed instead… it might be awkward.”

Matilda smiled softly. Into her glass, the seventeen-year-aged rum poured down with a beautiful, trickling sound.