Chapter 144: 145

I’m not a regular they know well… it’s my store. The staff at the General Goods Store don’t know me, but they do know about Hugo, who is the General Manager of the Royal Capital Branches, and Bianca, who is the Assistant Manager of this one. I didn’t say anything because those two were letting me silently pass through. Well, I was stared at a little bit, but if I worry about that on a case-by-case basis, there is no end to it.

I didn’t go inside the General Goods Store because the staff would find me out after it opened, but I knew the structure well because I had instructed and confirmed the interior before it opened. Without hesitation, I entered the reception room.

“Are sure about this, Mr. Hugo?” Bianca asked quietly. “We’re doing this without permission…”

I can overhear them, but I don’t mind it as step into the reception room and sit in the back. Hugo sat next to me, Bianca next to him, and Christa sat facing me on the opposite end. Seeing this arrangement, I could see the “? ? ?” floating from the two ladies both.

“Well then… ah, that’s right,” I said. “Let’s start by introducing myself. I’m Flora Charlotte von Carruthers, the eldest daughter of Margrave Carruthers. I’m also the owner of Caanza Trading Firm, Sir Floto von Caan.”

“”Huuuh?!”” Christa and Bianca squealed in unison.

Is it that surprising? There aren’t many people around our age with titles, but it’s not like there aren’t any of them at all. Even though it’s rare to be conferred a peerage on your merits like a knighthood, it’s not uncommon for the House Head to suddenly die and a young heir to inherit the title.

And the recent batch of new nobles is gradually starting to dabble in business. Most aristocrats first work with their House purveyors, and many of the larger Houses are starting trading firms in their name.

“Caanza is your business, Floto?!” Christa yelled. “Why didn’t you tell me? Ah…! I see. So this is how you know how to make crepes, huh?”

I don’t have time to answer the barrage of successive questions. Is she just wondering out loud than asking?

“Mr. Hugo! Why didn’t you tell me!?” Bianca yelled at Hugo. “Have I not realized I’ve wronged someone?!”

I don’t think there’s any point in saying such things while I’m present but… did Bianca do something rude to me? I don’t remember that, but she might have.

“I’m sorry, Christa and Bianca,” I said. “I wanted to keep the fact that I was the owner of Caanza as secret as possible, so I told people who knew me to keep quiet about it. And now that you two know, please keep quiet about it, as well.”

“Y-Yes!” Bianca said immediately as she stood up.

“But I wonder why?” Christa asked, looking unconvinced. “Why don’t you tell everyone more about it…? I think if word gets out that you’re the owner of Caanza, Floto, there wouldn’t be anyone harassing you, know?”

“I think it would be even more troublesome if they found that out,” I said. “You know, people will keep complaining about me not selling my products to them or something of the sort.”

“Ah… I see… that’s fair,” Christa said, falling silent like she was convinced.

Caanza never sells members-only products to non-members, even if they are high-ranking aristocrats. But, for example, if a student at school finds out that I’m the owner of the entire firm, what would they do? Obviously, they’d start asking me to sell the products directly to them.

Of course, just because you were negotiating directly with me, its owner, doesn’t mean I’ll bend the rules about business with non-members. But if someone like that keeps coming up to you persistently, wouldn’t it be too much of a hassle? Above all, if it’s well-known that I am a business owner, and if that person is not a member and cannot buy my products, they may harass me out of resentment, or even attack me more personally than just damaging my business. I don’t want that kind of trouble.

“Anyway, first of all, I would like to ask Bianca what she thinks of pudding,” I said. “Katharina.”

“Yes,” Katharina said.

After waiting so quietly for so long, Katharina lined up puddings in front of Bianca and Christa. Then she put a pudding on the empty seat opposite Bianca and sat down at the table herself. Huh? Katharina? Before you came here, we ate together at the Carruthers Residence, didn’t we? If you eat too much pudding, you’ll get fat, right?

“Wha–?!” Bianca cried. “What is this!? It’s sweet and soft and seems to just melt away!”

Bianca seems surprised when she eats pudding for the first time. Christa and Katharina are eating pudding, as well. Everyone really likes pudding… I wonder if that soft and crumbling texture is the key. If it’s just sweet, there are other types you can get. I think that’s why pudding is so popular.

After they finished eating the pudding, I listened to their various impressions. After all, they all say the same thing. It seems that the sweetness and texture are the key points, and it seems that the new physical sensations that have never existed before seem to be what makes it especially popular. I want to at least add vanilla flavor here, but I can’t help that.

I can’t talk to Bianca about the detailed manufacturing method, ingredients, and price of the pudding because Christa is right there. I just told them that I was thinking of selling this in a limited quantity per day at the members-only store. Once it’s only staff again, I would like to ask Bianca various things, so I would like her to think about it.

“Then let’s get into Christa’s problem,” I said. “I haven’t heard the details yet, but you said you want me to serve crepes and pudding at Lady Helene’s evening party. Is that about right?”

“Yes, that’s almost exactly what I want,” Christa said.

Understood. I thought it was just a brief version outside, but it turns out that was all. Christa came to Caanza to ask if we could serve crepes at an evening party, but she doesn’t really know who to ask. It seems that she went directly to the crepe cafe to see if she could find whoever was the boss who had that authority.

Bianca couldn’t decide what to do, and just when she was at a loss, Hugo and I arrived and witnessed the scene.

Bianca, Assistant Manager of the General Goods Store and the Crepe Cafe, has been given considerable authority despite being an “Assistant”. But Bianca doesn’t have the authority to go to other places outside our stores and produce or sell our products there.

It’s not a business trip service, but if the store manager decides on that kind of thing without permission, things will get out of control. There is also the possibility that leaving the store alone without its manager and going on business trips to noble’s homes or evening parties will become far too frequent an occurrence. Also, just going in itself could cause troubles and disruptions in the business. It’s a bad system when one store manager can take such a job without authorization from a higher executive.

If the store manager can decide such a thing at their discretion, you open the risk of bribery from nobles or bias and bending the rules to specific people. Besides, if the other party is a noble, if they take the easy way out in a dispute, even if there is no fault on our side, we may be legally charged with a crime. Right now, I’m the only one who can handle that sort of thing.

As for me, I don’t want to sell our products at an evening party. If word gets out that Caanza has catered for Duke Bayen’s evening party, there’s a chance someone else would ask for the same thing. If I refused then, they’d question why it was only for Duke Bayen. On the other hand, I intend to reject any and all such requests from now on.

But… I also want to help Christa. She is my classmate and the first new female friend I’ve made in school. That friend of mine is in trouble and I can help her, so I don’t think I can just turn a blind eye and pretend my hands are tied.

Nominally, though… yes, that’s right…. if only there was a nominal justification for Caan to cater Duke Bayen’s evening party… it’s okay to be a little forced or convoluted. If there is something we can say that explains it’s only for this time for that reason, this may just come off as a special exception than personal bias.

“Something… if we have an excuse on the face of it…” I said.

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“Hmm…” Bianca hums.

My staff seems to be thinking it over. Christa may not understand, but Hugo and Bianca understand the principles and philosophies of Caanza, so they probably know what I’m saying from just that. If only I had an excuse to lend a hand just this one time…

“How about something like this?” Bianca asked. “From now on, puddings will be sold exclusively to members, right? To promote that, how about giving out samples at Lady Helene’s evening party?”

“I see……” I said.

Bianca’s idea isn’t bad. Everyone is captivated after eating pudding, but it seems that the first bite takes a lot of courage. It looks creepy to people who aren’t used to it because of its novel appearance and color. Therefore, it would make sense if you cooperated with Duke Bayen to promote it at his evening party since there are going to be so many guests who are already members of Caanza’s.

It’s certainly a bit of a stretch. If that’s the case, there will probably be the talk of offering samples at some other evening party every time a new product is released. This is not the intention, so it is a special case only this time. Maybe this whole favor will repeat all over again in the future, but just for now, should we just force our way through this?

“Then let’s do just that,” I said. “The rest is now the number of guests we need to prepare for, the staff needed to serve them, and the cost of bringing in all the materials and equipment.”

And with that, it’s done. At times like this, it’s good to have a One-Woman President because it’s quick from the decision to execution. However, if this One-Woman President fails, there is a danger that the company itself may fail with her. I don’t know which one is the best system, but it’s the strength and weakness of small and medium-sized companies that one person can decide everything and move so quickly.

Once you decide to do it, the rest is speedy. Hugo and Bianca were also there, so the arrangements were decided in no time. From Christa came the size of the evening party and the number of guests. I will ask for the number of necessary crepes and puddings to prepare then.

“Then this cost is a rough estimate, but it will be about this much,” Hugo said, handing Christa a paper.

Christa read it and had her eyes widen. “It-It’s going to cost this much…?” she asked.

Hmm? She seems worried, so I’ll check Hugo’s estimate. Nothing’s wrong with it. It’s pretty much the same as what we were talking about. It wasn’t like Hugo was overcharging her, and if anything, it would be a pretty cheap service.

Considering the staff who’ll cook on the eve itself, the staff who’ll be serving the products afterward, the cost of raw materials, the cost of bringing in, installing, and then removing the equipment, and the cost of preparations in the days preceding the event, it is rather cheap. This time it’s a lowball because it’s on the pretext of offering free pudding samples. If we ever do anything like this again, the price is going to be a lot higher.

In the first place, considering the financial strength of the Bayen Duchy, an expense like this is pocket change. Considering the cost of the whole evening party, there is nothing wrong with adding this much to the bill.

“This is… um… is it okay if I pay later?” Christa asked.

Hmm~? It’s fine, but it’s not normal to do a deal of this magnitude without either a deposit or an upfront payment. This is the first transaction with House Bayen, not with a client we have a long history of equivalent transactions and have built up credibility. Normally, you wouldn’t suddenly defer paying the full amount. That much is a matter of course in this world where the economy is still underdeveloped.

With this level of expense, we can do anything without an advance payment. However, in the case of an ordinary small-scale company, the company could go bankrupt just by the cost of labor and the cost of procuring materials alone. If it’s your first transaction and you don’t have credibility, you can’t usually do it without any advance payment.

“I believe it’s customary to make an upfront deposit of at least this amount if it’s your first transaction of this size,” Hugo said, writing up more documents and showing them to Christa.

The numbers are reasonable, too. It’s not a rip-off or anything. If anything, it’s too cheap.

“I-I understand…” Christa said. “I’ll prepare the deposit on this…”

That’s strange……. it’s clear that something’s up with Christa. Just a little while ago, she was overjoyed to have us serve crepes and puddings, but as soon as we started talking about money, she lost her energy.

Did Helene have any orders about the budget? Is she over budget?

But if the situation was so urgent that you had to abandon your usual plans and outsource it, I don’t think the Bayen Duchy, of all people, would be stingy with this level of expense. Compared to the costs of the evening party’s impending failure, this amount is too cheap.

“Well then… thank you for listening to my unreasonableness, Floto,” Christa said. “Also, thank you very much, Mr. Hugo and Ms. Bianca.”

For the time being, the story was settled and Christa decided to go home, so I saw her off. Christa, who is a high-ranking aristocrat, bows even to Hugo and Bianca, both commoners. That’s not normal. But I knew well that Christa is a child who can do it. If Helene had come to ask, she would never have bowed. And we would have never accepted her request, either.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “It was my selfish decision to help my friend. If anything, I’ve caused trouble to both Hugo and Bianca… sorry to you both.”

“No, no, I feel it’s normal if I get swept up in your schemes, Sir Floto. Hah-hah-hah,” Hugo chuckles.

Hey… don’t say that too, Hugo. Maybe he was trying to calm things down, but Bianca seems to be nervous about Hugo joking around with me, the owner.

Anyway, Christa went home after I saw her off, so we changed venues and continued talking at Caanza’s Head Office. Since it is necessary to consult with Bianca about the pudding production, Bianca will be included in addition to the executives already there.

Since smart top management and general staff gathered, brass-tacks talk such as the manufacturing method of pudding, the personnel to entrust the production with, and the sales price was decided smoothly. Then the topic moved to Christa.

“Ms. Christa’s demeanor changed as soon as we started talking about money, didn’t it?” Hugo said.

“That’s right…” I said. “I don’t think a House as large as Bayen can’t afford to spend this much…”

Hugo tilts his head in confusion at the words.

Normally, it would be worth paying twice as much for it. We are not making a profit, we know that we will lose money by taking this on, so we are presenting this price. It is because it is clear that it is a free sample for advertisement. Even so, the minimum labor costs and material costs were all I asked for.

Is it because the budget is so small that she’s so upset? Christa promised to pay in advance, but it would be better to think that the situation is still unpredictable. In the worst case, it is necessary to consider that House Bayen will not pay their dues.

We don’t have anything to worry about if it’s this amount of expense, but if House Bayen doesn’t uphold their end of the bargain, it would be better to think about some future measures. The economy will not work if the nobles are allowed to default on their payments.

I have to dedicate a hand to these measures. It was a real hassle. I’m not hesitating if it’s helping Christa, but I couldn’t help but hope that it wouldn’t become an unnecessary dispute in the future.

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