Chapter 32: A Financial Crisis!

“We-We don’t have any money…!?” I screamed.

“I am deeply sorry…” Helmut said, lowering his head.

“Ho-Ho-How-How can this be?” I stammered.

I-I-I-I-I-I-I’M LOSING MY MIND! I can’t… calm down. Hii-hii-fuu, hii-hii-fuu… 1

“It’s in here…” Helmut said, a solemn look on his face as he handed me a piece of poor-quality paper.

I was talking with Helmut and Isabella in a room that resembled my business office. The start of this incident was about my social debut and the complications mentioned by Father.

It seems that King Wilhelm instructed me to debut as a Knight of Caan instead of as a daughter of Margrave Carruthers. A knight’s pension is insignificant, so Father told me that I could use the income from my business, then I asked Helmut to report on how much my budget would be.

Father granted me this room in the mansion after I started conducting business. There is a desk for office use and a table and sofa for receiving guests. I usually leave the business to Helmut and Isabella, so I don’t often come to this room, but there are some materials and documents.

When I summoned Helmut, he came immediately, I asked much I could spend from the surplus for my social expenses, and the answer I got was “We don’t have any money.”

The explanation is written on the document Helmut gave me. Normally, you wouldn’t give a 10-year-old child a document with business details written on it, but Helmut seems to report it to me without hiding or hesitation.

“How could this have happened…?” I asked.

I was astonished to read the contents. The amount of beet sugar sales are unusually low. The reason is simple. It’s because we sell less than we make. The sales volume is overwhelmingly small compared to the production output.

“Helmut… the sales volume is small compared to this production output… but what about the rest of the beet sugar?” I asked.

“It’s piling up as inventory…” Helmut replied.

I see… yes, that figures…

Proceeds from beet sugar sales are mainly used for maintenance and operation costs of the farm and the ranch. It goes without saying that maintenance and operation costs include employee salaries. The rest is mostly repayment to my father. Feed for livestock, new purchases for equipment and supplies, wages for employees, then repayment of the initial startup loan. It’s a reasonable amount, but judging from the price and production output of sugar, it should have some money to spare.

But the reality is that I don’t have much disposable income. It seems that we are selling to the extent that we do not run a deficit, but they do not seem to be profitable. It was easy to see why this was happening.

In this country, trading firms do everything from wholesale purchasing to retail, but all the companies are members of the Merchant’s Guild. It’s a system where those who don’t join the Guild can’t do business openly. Of course, there will be some illegal traders behind the scenes, but if they are found, they will be treated accordingly.

That’s why it’s not an exaggeration to say that the Merchant’s Guild is the real force for business in this kingdom, but the business I started isn’t a member of any such guild. If you’re a craftsman, there’s a guild for each type of craftsman. The Merchant’s Guild stocks goods produced and controlled by those other guilds. That’s why they don’t buy products from suppliers who aren’t affiliated with anyone, such as my business.

Of course, not everything is like that. Among them, some firms engage in black market transactions without permission. That’s why Helmut and the others seem to have earned cash by selling directly to each company without going through the Merchant’s Guild.

However, it cannot be done on a large scale. If too much sugar is in circulation, the Merchant’s Guild will find it suspicious. Or maybe they’re not bothering to notice our current volume of sales. It’s just a small amount, so it’s possible that it’s just been overlooked.

It’s not like each guild is completely shutting out business outside its organization, and in reality, it’s somewhat frustrating to do so. Thanks to that, the beet sugar we make is also sold to some extent without going through the Merchant’s Guild.

But it’s a small amount, so it’s a matter that can be forgiven, but if we sell our beet sugar at large commercial volumes, it will develop into a big problem. How come I hadn’t thought of that until now…? I guess my thoughts were a little shallow with my light novel-educated brain. Even if the main characters of the novel made their products, they sold them freely without any backing from established businesses…

In reality, if you do such a thing, you will receive a strong backlash from those who are currently producing and profiting, and it will become a big problem. On the other hand, it’s not realistic for me to tell my father to join the Merchant’s Guild as Margrave Carruthers and sell beet sugar.

If nobles start doing business without permission, there is a high possibility that the Merchant’s Guild with all its vested interests will start losing money. That’s why the Merchant’s Guild doesn’t like it when their rights and interests are arbitrarily violated, no matter how high of an aristocrat the opponent is. The trick for nobles and merchants to get along well is to not infringe on the interests of the other party.

Aristocrats also want to make money by doing business, but if they do so on their own, the Merchant’s Guild will oppose them. That’s why we provide funds to purveyor merchants, invest in them, and receive money in return for making profits for the trading firm by doing various things with our political power for their convenience.

If I put a large amount of beet sugar on the market now, the previous sugar producers will suffer a big blow, and the trading firms that sell sugar will also suffer. Helmut managed to sell the latest transaction so that we would have our necessary operating funds. After all, Helmut is an excellent subordinate.

I just can’t make more money at this rate. When my father’s repayment is finished, the amount I’m currently using for repayment will probably remain as a surplus, but at this pace of sales, that will all be for the time being. Also, sugar doesn’t spoil, but it’s hard to store. There are no plastic bags like today, and there is no easy way to store them for the long term if you have too much inventory.

“This is… I’m in trouble, aren’t I…?” I groaned.

“Miss Flora?” Helmut said, dumbfounded. “I haven’t even explained anything yet, I’ve only shown you the document… but it appears you’ve understood what it’s implying?”

A Mr. Handsome can’t make that kind of face, right? Well, that kind of expression may also tickle a woman’s heart, but I don’t have a woman’s heart, so I can’t understand the appeal.

“It would be difficult to increase sales without openly antagonizing the Merchant’s Guild, yes? The current sales volume should have reached a dangerous amount. Any further than this and we’re going to get in trouble with both them and any other guilds who rely on sugar for their production, won’t we?”

“That’s right, but…” Helmut said.

But… what? What’s bothering you?

But even if I wait, Helmut won’t say anything more, so I’ll forget about it. We have to do something about more pressing issues than that.

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“It would be difficult to tell my father about my business going large scale as a daughter of House Carruthers… so shall we sell sugar here as the Knight of Caan, instead?” I said.

“Miss Flora, then wouldn’t that put you in danger instead?” Helmut said.

That we haven’t joined a guild until now is because if we did, we have to take on various obligations, and if we mass-produce sugar, there will be people who snoop around our business and figure out how we’re producing it, though I was certain it would come out eventually. Beet sugar production methods will soon be imitated, but I’d like to collect some of the profits exclusively before then. That’s why it’s a little troublesome to have imitations right away.

That’s why I’ve been trying not to join the guild so openly, but that won’t increase sales. At this rate, the beet sugar production methods will be exposed before I finish paying off the debt. In that case, one way to do it is to sell it on a large scale here and there. We’ve already got a large backlog. Even if others try to imitate it, they will not be able to catch up soon due to the capital investment required to catch up.

We can’t reform ourselves as Nobunaga did. To begin with, the Rakuichi Rakuza economic policy did not suddenly abolish all guilds and trading exclusivity rights within a territory, and on top of that, they only managed to court supporters from those who would benefit from the reforms.

Roughly speaking, you can think of the guilds as being similar to the regulatory boards in the modern world. In this case, if you interpret it as those who had a monopoly on the industry they’re regulating, it would make more sense.

Nobunaga’s reform included the abolition of border checkpoints and the Rakuichi Rakuza. You must have figured out that by abolishing the border checkpoints, the circulation of goods among territories improved, and those who did not participate in the Rakuichi Rakuza were able to do business freely. However, it did not mean that all the original guild masters and members were suddenly abolished, nor did it deprive them of privileges. It was just that on certain days, non-members could freely trade.

And such reforms were possible because those who would benefit from doing so supported Nobunaga. Rather, it should be said that Nobunaga shared the profits with that in mind. He did not completely destroy their lifestyles and advantages, and even if the border checkpoints were abolished, the guild members still benefited. If he had taken everything away from them immediately, the backlash would have destroyed him, the very scenario this “carrot and stick” method is supposed to prevent.

If I take my farm’s beet sugar and injected it into the market in large volumes, I would be the only one who would benefit from it, and all the other sugar producers would be in trouble. Even if I try to reform the system, the only people who will be on my side will be ordinary people who can buy sugar cheaply. However, even if the commoners become allies, if various guilds gather as one and turn their backs on me, House Carruthers will suffer considerable damage.

“Miss Flora, how about selling sugar exclusively to a company that I know?” Isabella asked.

“Isabella?” I asked.

After being silent until then, Isabella spoke up, and I momentarily suspected that she was plotting something suspicious. But as I took a closer inspection, I decided to hear her out and then investigate.

After hearing Isabella’s proposal, I rode a simple carriage without the coat of arms of House Carruthers and ran through the town of Carruzan. I am dressed as a man in formal attire for a knight, the same outfit made during my knighting ceremony. My long hair is just tied up at the back, so it’s easy to find out that I have long hair, but I’m not pretending to be a man, so that’s fine.

When I was offered to sell beet sugar exclusively to a trading firm my subordinate knew, for a moment I thought it would be a bad deal for a moment, but it was not. Rather than openly selling beet sugar, the trading firm Isabelle knew would hide the fact that they are buying beet sugar from me and just include it in their usual distribution.

If we do this, that trading firm will be in trouble. Other firms and the Merchant’s Guild will question you about where you are getting such a large amount of sugar from, and sugar producers will hate you for having trouble making their living because you are selling large volumes of cheap sugar. Knowing such risks, what profit is there for the company trying to purchase behind the scenes?

Of course, if a large amount of sugar is sold at a high price, the company’s sales will be huge. But it also buys resentment that is not worth it, and in the worst case, it interferes with regular business. There is no point in making a little profit if you are killed or your business is crippled. That’s why everyone joins a guild and distributes a decent amount of profit to each other.

“Here it is,” Helmut said.

“So this the place…?” I asked.

With Helmut acting as coachman and Isabella preparing a platform for me to get off, I found a fairly large building. However, the location is not so good. It is an area that is not very safe, far from the aristocratic district, the craftsman’s district, and the shopping district.

When Isabella went first to inform the staff why we were here, we didn’t wait that long and were let into the building promptly. We waited in the reception room for a while when a moderately elderly lady came in, dressed in an expensive but not ostentatious style.

“Welcome, my dear,” the woman said. “My name is Victoria, and I am the president of this trading firm.”

“My name is Floto von Caan. Pleased to meet you,” I said.

This will mean that the manufacture and sale of beet sugar are strictly carried out by House Caan. That’s why I called myself Caan instead of Carruthers as I offered my hand.

“Yes, I know you very well,” Victoria said. “I’ve heard about how recent your knighting ceremony was, Lady Flora.”

…… Well, I guess this is to be expected. It seems that Victoria’s trading firm is a fairly large company with its head office in the royal capital. Merchants are good listeners, so they probably know a lot about my knighting ceremony. Victoria is also Isabella’s older sister. She’s probably heard a lot about me from her, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew something I haven’t already told her about or wasn’t advertising openly.

“Isabella has been consulting me about business matters for quite some time,” Victoria said. “However, our trading firm cannot cross a dangerous bridge without any backing to give us confidence. That is why we asked you, Lady Flora, or rather, Sir Floto, to come here personally.”

Isabella was raised in a noble family where she could serve House Carruthers. Of course, her older sister also had a good upbringing, so Isabella served House Carruthers as a maid, and Victoria married the chairman of a major trading firm.

Her husband has already passed away, and it seems that Victoria, the female chairman, is in charge of the firm now. In this world, it would have been difficult for her to become the chairman of a major trading company as a woman. Even so, I think she’s quite capable because the rumors say she’s more active in the firm now than when she was acting with her husband.

It seems that Isabella had been having trouble finding a beet sugar wholesaler for some time now, so she consulted with Victoria. And just as Victoria told me, this firm can’t just accept my offer outright. As I mentioned above, various problems will arise, and if there is no backing to mitigate the risks, it’s impossible to accept.

Victoria isn’t doing business for fun, either. She can’t cross a bridge that might burn others because she can expect some profit as the company executive, because she’s also responsible for her employees’ lives and livelihoods.

So, to see if she can make a deal, I’ve been asked to come personally and show her what kind of person I am. The Knights of Caan are direct vassals of the royal family. It was also a position where I was given a name and a knighthood just recently. The fact that I’m going to be Victoria’s backer means that we can claim the company has the support of the royal family…

To be clear, I don’t know how much effect it will have just because it’s backed by something like a knighthood. However, it seems I’ve become quite famous among the Merchant’s Guild members in the royal capital, so if I was involved, they would avoid doing anything stupid for a while and if possible, keep me out of things entirely.

Just because it might be possible doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous anyway. So the key to this negotiation is whether or not I can persuade Victoria. If I can persuade her here, she will take over all the beet sugar purchasing. If it fails, the Knights of Caan will soon be in danger of financial collapse.

Even if I was suddenly brought here and told to do business negotiations, I didn’t think about anything and nothing came to my mind, but somehow, I have to persuade Victoria here and now.

Footnotes

Two rapid inhales and a long exhale.

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