Step By Step! (4)

After meeting with Balsen, I spoke with the Hameureun siblings as well—who had been watching with tense faces—and began coordinating the construction schedule.

I had lazed around for a day, so I meant to work hard and finish what had piled up, when Tein asked me cautiously,

“If you become enemies with Duke Balsen, things will get difficult… what are you going to do?”

“We are already enemies. Not ‘if we become’—I can’t laugh and chat with someone who already sees me as an enemy, can I?”

“He might have come to talk, though. No matter what your relationship was before, your position is different now, Viscount…”

“That’s exactly why I hate it more. People like that don’t change their minds easily. You can call it conviction, but it’s stubbornness to the point of sheer obstinacy. If someone like that suddenly ‘reforms’? Nine times out of ten, it’s only because they plan to use the target and ruin them thoroughly. It’s theater.”

Tein’s expression turned awkward at my cynical answer. Perhaps she was also thinking of my relationship with them in the same way.

She was that sharp—quick-witted and perceptive. But to be honest, I didn’t want to waste that much mental energy on the Hameureun Barony, which didn’t look like it had anything worth “chewing on” in the first place.

I hesitated over whether to say it, then brought it up indirectly.

“This project—if we end up taking a loss, what do you think the Hameureun Barony will lose?”

Maybe it was an unexpected question.

Tein mulled it over with a careful expression before answering.

“Our honor as nobles… perhaps.”

“Right. Then what will I lose?”

“…I don’t know.”

“I’ll lose customers across multiple classes. Trust and credibility. Most of what I sell is ‘medicine’ and ‘food.’ Would you easily eat what someone untrustworthy sells?”

“…No, I wouldn’t.”

“It’s an extreme example, but realistically, there’s a high chance it ends with me losing a large amount of money. And as a long-term effect, I’ll lose several ways to generate revenue, which becomes a financial loss over time.”

It could mean losing millions of large gold coins.

Was the Hameureun Barony worth losing that much?

I didn’t know yet. Depending on how well they performed, I might have to reassess their value. But right now, nothing had produced results. We were still at the stage of putting the first shovel into the ground.

“Right now, neither side can truly trust the other. We need time. For now, all we can do is press forward steadily. As of this moment, I’m choosing to trust House Hameureun.”

“I apologize. I didn’t mean it that way, but…”

“It’s fine. We’ll fill in what’s lacking little by little.”

After wrapping up the talk with Tein, I called for Linda and began the paperwork for schedule coordination.

It was basically drafting a contract.

We split the prepared documents into two sets, each signed our own signature sections, then exchanged copies to keep.

“I hope we’ll become good business partners.”

We clasped hands and shook, and that day I had to commit a total of 180,000 large gold coins across twelve domains.

They were truly chaotic days.

Between developing the stamina recovery potion, selecting coffee and bread varieties, and managing businesses across multiple domains, time passed faster than I realized—and today, my head started to throb because the Dust of Sands Trading Company and Princess Riana had arrived together.

‘Why did they have to come together? Don’t tell me they matched schedules on purpose?’

I ran through every possibility as I went to greet Idlen and Princess Riana—and the atmosphere between them looked downright savage.

“Did something happen?”

At my question, Idlen gave an awkward smile, and Princess Riana turned her head away. Since Idlen’s group had entered the lord’s official residence first, it looked like she felt she had “lost” some kind of contest. And then Princess Riana said something unexpected.

“This Dust of Sands group looks fairly large, so deal with them first and send them off quickly. I have things to discuss, so I’m planning to stay a few more days.”

“Understood. I’ll have you shown to the VIP rooms.”

As I said that, I asked Idlen for his understanding and moved to take Princess Riana toward the lord’s official residence—when she spoke again.

“You said you’d prepare it so I could stay at the lord’s castle anytime. Is that difficult today?”

“The lord’s… castle?”

To be honest, there was no VIP room there. The best-appointed place was my own room. The maids’ living area had been decorated by them on their own, so I hadn’t bothered to check, but the point was: I had nothing ready, and I had to tell Princess Riana as much.

“The VIP accommodations aren’t prepared properly. To be frank, it’s hard for our domain to match the furnishings in the lord’s official residence, so aside from my room, the inner keep itself hasn’t been outfitted at all. In other words, it’s simply shabby.”

“Hm. Then what do you need?”

“…Pardon? Why all of a sudden…?”

“Staying only in the lord’s official residence is starting to feel stifling. I want to rest while looking out over an open view.”

I wondered what was with her today, but it couldn’t be helped. Unlike Balsen, she wasn’t someone I could treat roughly.

And she was, for now, someone who earned me a lot of money. There might be some trickery and skimming somewhere, but the profit was still too big—so I could only nod and agree.

“Then for now, would you stay on the side of my bedroom? It’s humble, but…”

Princess Riana’s face reddened at my words, but she simply nodded without saying anything. If she settled in the inner keep, I could use my room in the lord’s official residence instead.

So I decided to give it up. I ordered a nearby maid to move the bedding from the VIP rooms into my room to set it up, and—thinking of Riin working hard in the dining hall to make something with chocolate—I lightly guided Princess Riana toward the inner keep.

I judged I couldn’t let it be discovered yet.

After showing her a few things and entering the inner keep, she spoke to me with a slightly surprised expression.

“It’s completely different from what I saw before.”

“I’ve brought in a few things, but it’s still lacking.”

She asked if she was allowed to look around and walked ahead. As we toured the banquet hall and other areas, I quietly passed an order to Beni who had slipped alongside me.

“Tell Riin to clear everything away. Not a single thing left—no traces whatsoever. Understood?”

Princess Riana, excited, didn’t notice me giving Beni orders. Thanks to that, after arranging things properly, I could lead Princess Riana into my room.

She looked around, clearly pleased, and asked questions. I answered honestly, then guided her to the terrace that overlooked the lord’s official residence courtyard at a glance—where Princess Riana showed a bright, childlike smile like she owned the world.

“What a wonderful view. Amazing. You put a lot of thought into defense for the outer keep, but you also made sure the view wasn’t obstructed when looking out from the inner keep, didn’t you?”

The correct answer was “no,” but I just nodded along. Princess Riana kept chattering happily—yet I couldn’t stay trapped there forever. So I told her to unpack and moved to the lord’s official residence where the Dust of Sands Trading Company waited.

There, Idlen welcomed me, along with a woman I didn’t recognize—though I could tell at once she was connected to the Lilith Trading Company.

“So that’s why you weren’t visible earlier?”

“The goods you’re trying to purchase are considered sensitive by the state, so for caution’s sake, I asked her to step down from the carriage a bit later.”

“I see. It’s a pleasure—I’m Viscount Ingrad.”

When I held out my hand, the woman—short black hair, pale eyes, and deep brown skin—took my hand and said,

“I’m Galea Lilith of the Lilith Trading Company.”

“Ah. I figured you were a representative, but are you the company head?”

“No. My father is the company head, and I mainly handle receiving noble clients.”

“She has decision-making authority, so don’t worry.”

At Idlen’s words, I nodded. We moved to the VIP room of the lord’s official residence. On the way, I called Matilda and Linda, and once we all sat together, the real discussion began.

First was the site for the trade.

I brought out a map of our domain, spread it on the table, placed several small models on top, and asked,

“Can the Lilith Trading Company’s fleet come in through here?”

The place I pointed to was a cliff-lined coastline. Confirming whether it was possible was the top priority, and Galea studied the map closely as she asked,

“Coming isn’t a problem. But it’s marked as a cliff. Could the information be wrong…?”

“No. The cliff itself isn’t the issue—I’m considering building a large port here that can accommodate many ships.”

“A port…? So you’re not planning to be satisfied with a single deal?”

“Of course. Demand for iron will arise no matter what. And I hear the Northern Continent’s iron is high quality and abundant. On top of that, perhaps due to price competition, it’s relatively cheap. With such a good import source, how could I afford to waste it?”

“Even so, ships can’t carry unlimited volume. You might profit the first few times, but later there’s a risk the shipping costs will become more expensive. What do you plan to do?”

“First, I want the Lilith Trading Company to deliver the iron ore from the trading nation to this location.”

It was the boundary of the Forest of the Demon Dragon—near a large hunters’ village. Galea looked at me, puzzled.

“Is there a reason to do double work like that?”

“For now, the Lilith Trading Company will deliver the agreed volume through this point, and I’ll store the accumulated volume here as a reserve in case market prices spike.”

Idlen even asked whether it was necessary to go that far, but I couldn’t say I planned to bring the ore through the Forest of the Demon Dragon.

So I kept quiet about that part and began setting the schedule. In the end, we signed a contract for steady deliveries of iron ore until the silkworm thread-pulling season.

And I had another request.

“Is there any way to buy around twenty old ships?”

“Old ships…?”

When I nodded, Galea said,

“If you’re planning to buy and haul iron ore with them, you should give up. The northern seas are rough, so you need sturdy ships. You also have to watch for icebergs…”

“No, it’s not for iron. It’s to store medicinal materials and the like at a few locations. I’m thinking of setting up several points where we can trade even without coming all the way here.”

Besides, most of the twelve domains were coastal. For delivering coffee and chocolate products, I planned to use sea routes rather than land routes.

And even if the ships were old, if the “story” was handled properly, I had people who could use them for me.

‘If I went right now and gave the order, they’d obey…’

Through a few experiments, I’d learned that the authority the goddess gave me could forcibly compel Beastkin. So it wasn’t a major problem. Still, I also wanted to keep what I planned to do hidden on the surface.

“There are quite a few older ships that are still usable. We’re due to refresh part of our fleet anyway… I think it would be good for you to take over some of our ships. They were built as merchant vessels, so they won’t be lacking for carrying cargo.

Seeing Galea’s sales instincts kick in, I asked,

“How much per ship?”

She considered for a moment, then wore what looked like a classic capitalist smile and answered,

“Three thousand large gold coins per ship. If you buy ten, I can do 29,000. If you can buy all twenty, I can reduce it to 57,000. What do you say?”

I gave a small snort of laughter.

“Then what if I buy up to fifty? How much discount do I get?”

I expanded the scale because I thought ships were relatively cheap, and Galea—eyes wide like a startled rabbit—answered cautiously.

“At most… I can discount ten thousand large gold coins. But… is that really possible?”

Galea looked like she might be underestimating Viscount Ingrad’s finances.