Black Gold (6)

The seasons were slowly shifting.

Just as I was thinking that spring was finally arriving, Idlen from the Dust of Sands Trading Company visited after a long time and brought some exciting news.

“The Black Gold Merchant Company is causing quite a stir. That’s the company you established, right, My Lord?”

“In what way is it a stir? Our domain is a bit cut off from outside affairs, you see.”

“Well, first of all, everyone is desperately wishing for the foodstuff called ‘Black Gold’ to come to their ports. Some royal families have even dispatched envoys to neighboring countries’ harbors and are waiting with bated breath.”

“Is that so? Not a single ship has returned yet, so I had no idea how things were going.”

It had been nearly a month since the ships left the harbor. It was quite a predicament, as not a single vessel had returned.

Furthermore, thanks to the chocolate piled up at the harbor, I was frustrated by how many warehouses were being wasted. To make matters worse, the Lilith Trading Company had recently brought in iron ore from the Northern Continent. Since it was the first trade and they couldn’t secure a large quantity, they had brought in various foodstuffs that grow there instead.

At that time, Galea Lilith had earnestly requested that I expand the warehouse space quickly. To achieve this, I had to speak with Princess Riana, who was staying in the hotel annex of the manor, and purchase high-grade mana stones worth 300,000 gold coins.

Princess Riana had annotated that since high-grade mana stones could be used as war supplies, she couldn’t trade them unless I revealed their purpose; thus, I was forced to disclose information about the harbor.

After the harbor was revealed, Princess Riana said she would be the first to go public with the location and develop a route to import goods from the Northern Continent into the interior. However, I had earnestly requested her to keep it a secret for three months, effectively gagging the information for the time being.

‘Well, thanks to that, I’ve expanded the warehouses and can activate the harbor in the future… but there’s bound to be talk later regarding the iron ore imports. Before that, I must build my strength and secure the fortress.’

This was the best I could do for now.

Just then, Idlen’s voice broke through my thoughts.

“There are rumors that Black Gold is literally being traded for its weight in gold. Surely you realize what an incredible value that is.”

“It seems they are fetching quite a price. It’s beyond my expectations…”

“It’s likely because of the rumors, but also because most of those who want it are nobles and royalty. Moreover, I hear some wealthy commoners buy several boxes and flip them for exorbitant prices.”

“There isn’t much we can do about that side of things. We’ll just have to leave them be.”

I didn’t expect this issue to pop up again. It felt a bit different from war profiteering, but it was still displeasing to see strangers profiting off the goods I had created.

I wanted to do something about those middlemen driving up prices, but the truth was that the conditions weren’t right to intervene just yet.

If a separate organization were formed to deal with them, it might be different, but even the negotiations to pull in an external Information Guild were currently hitting a snag.

The reason was that I kept getting rejected; they claimed it was more profitable to focus on the situations in Atoon and the Terakan Empire rather than our domain.

I couldn’t really blame them, but I wasn’t so desperate that I’d create and operate an organization made of amateurs who knew nothing.

Eventually, various methods would emerge and a system would be established, but there was a concern that if existing guilds started interfering, it would just turn into a money-sucking white elephant.

In other words, it was best not to touch what I didn’t know.

At the very least, selling the goods I manufactured was the most appropriate course, but my stomach turned thinking about those taking unfair profits.

“By the way, isn’t the Dust of Sands Trading Company going to the battlefield?”

“We don’t necessarily need to expand to such places. We’re busy enough just handling our current trading locations.”

“That’s something to be envious of.”

“I am most envious of you, Viscount.”

“Well, aren’t we both envious of each other then?”

Idlen laughed lightly and handed me a product list. As I began to inspect the details, I noticed something peculiar: the amount of Mansia seeds had decreased, while the amount of Kanapa had increased sharply.

“Hmm, was the change in these two volumes based on your personal judgment?”

I wondered if Idlen had made a separate call after tasting the chocolate. However, she gave me an unexpected answer.

“People have started trying to imitate coffee. So, there are starting to be some setbacks in procuring Mansia seeds.”

That was troubling news. However, setting that aside, if they couldn’t make sugarcane sugar, they would literally be drinking ‘no-sugar coffee,’ so they weren’t exactly competitors.

Still, if obtaining coffee beans became difficult, the long-term loss would be significant.

“How did the word get out?”

“To be honest, we believe some people who were part of our merchant company left and are playing their own tricks. When I came with my grandfather, there were a few who felt resentful about me inheriting the leadership.”

“So, you’re saying the information was leaked by them. Since there are no specific laws for such things… there’s no way to block them, and using force lacks a proper justification. Is that it?”

“Yes. So, I have nothing to say except that I’m sorry.”

This was troublesome in its own way. But I figured it was something that would happen eventually. I expected that once people tasted it, they would somehow figure out the coffee bean processing method.

However, since I knew quite a few different roasting methods, I didn’t think it was a major problem. Still, rather than just letting it go, I tested the waters to see if I could get something out of it.

“You realize the loss I’ll be taking is quite large, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. That’s why, after discussing it with my grandfather, we decided to give you this.”

Idlen pulled a ring from her bosom. As I took it and looked at her with a questioning expression, she explained.

“Think of it as a ring that allows you to purchase necessary items 30% cheaper when trading with the Dust of Sands Company in any region.”

“30% off? Regardless of the quantity?”

“Yes, he said you may buy as much as you like. He made that decision because, considering the damage we’ve caused, the loss might be manageable in the short term but unsustainable in the long term.”

Amode—that old man who must have swallowed hundreds of sly snakes—had offered this as a suitable way to keep me quiet.

With this, even if the price of Mansia seeds rose a bit, I figured I could obtain the necessary amount without too much loss.

Even if raw material prices rose, there would be limits in the beginning due to the distribution network. While there’s no telling what might happen later, it wasn’t a bad compensation.

“Tell him I will use it well.”

After sliding it onto a fitting finger, I asked about the drop in Kanapa prices.

“Why has the price of this decreased?”

“Kanapa trees are quite abundant in the south. Most people usually throw the fruit away without eating it, but since someone appeared looking for these ‘useless’ fruits, everyone is picking them and coming to sell them.”

Is this what it feels like to look at bananas in the tropical regions of Earth? I chuckled and spoke.

“Isn’t it interesting? Strictly speaking, it has become more valuable than the Mansia fruit.”

“But since you are the only one who knows how to use it, My Lord, we don’t think it’s something we can just touch carelessly.”

They might be able to imitate the simple process of picking, drying, and grinding the fruit into powder. However, to bring out the cacao aroma, a fermentation process was essential.

Without that, they couldn’t produce proper cocoa powder.

Moreover, since they didn’t have the sugarcane sugar needed for sweetness, the fruit was likely useless to the Dust of Sands Company in many ways.

“Let’s increase the Kanapa order this time. How about it?”

“Hmm… Understood. I will increase the quantity as much as possible. Will that be alright?”

After telling her it would, I was able to gather a few more pieces of news from Idlen.

First, regarding the war: the Atoon Kingdom was holding up quite well.

The cited reasons were that Jillien de Atoon had become a ‘Master’ and that a being known as the ‘Sword Saint’ was supporting Jillien. This Sword Saint was taking personal charge of Branne and Agnes on the battlefield, making it impossible for them to even get close to Jillien.

“Do you have any information on the Sword Saint?”

“Information on the Sword Saint, ‘Talia Gernesch,’ is extremely limited. The Atoon royalty kept him thoroughly hidden, and he rarely stood at the forefront.”

“But he came to the front this time, didn’t he?”

“According to rumors, it seems the Atoon royal family can make a request to the Sword Saint’s family exactly once. They used that to have Jillien de Atoon face the Empire’s Master.”

I could understand that. In terms of justification, Jillien de Atoon’s actions were being lambasted by the entire continent.

The fact that he tried to claim and kill someone who could be called a hero of humanity using a ‘Charm Potion’ was enough to cause public outrage.

Yet someone was shielding such a person? Unless there was something special, it was something that could never happen.

“How is the battlefield with the demons?”

“They say that 200,000 troops sent by the Empire and the Heroes of the Mirkas Federation are performing well there. It seems that Count Ishtain taking the head of a Demon Realm Marquis recently also played a part in lowering the enemy’s morale.”

“It seems the Heroes are doing quite well.”

That was a relief. I guess a Hero is still a Hero. Afterward, I felt a bit taken aback when Idlen mentioned the flow of logistics and that food supplies on the continent were gradually decreasing, leading people to say a ‘Barley Hump’ (lean season) was coming.

‘I didn’t expect this world to have a “Barley Hump” as well.’

There was likely another term for it, but the word delivered to me was exactly ‘Barley Hump.’ As long as the meaning got across, it was fine, but the problem was that our domain couldn’t escape it either.

‘Food… Do I have no choice but to buy it at a premium…?’

If I had known about these internal affairs in advance, I would have prepared somehow; I felt it was a bit of a shame. Perhaps Linda or Matilda knew about this.

There might even be a report buried under the mountain of paperwork on my office desk asking me to handle it. However, I hadn’t been able to finish everything lately because I was busy with various matters.

It could be that my processing speed was slow, but it was also likely because those two women worked incredibly fast.

I began to feel the need to expand the workforce and divide the final inspection stages of reports into several levels.