Sebastian looked so happy when he explained things to me.
“Due to its high potency, it is in high demand. However, it is not known where exactly they will grow, and they never grow in great quantities. In other words, they are very rare medicinal plants. And being rare and in high demand results in them being very expensive.”
“Rare…”
In Japan, you could see aloe growing almost anywhere.
They were usually spotted in places that got a lot of sun. And since they could be planted in simple pots, they were common in most households.
However, the effect and rarity of this plant was very different.
Also, perhaps the climate in this world was not very suited for aloes to grow.
“I had been hoping that you would be able to make something for our storages…but I never expected something so valuable…”
“…How valuable are we talking?”
“Indeed… The Loe that you created has over ten leaves. You could build a house off of the profit.”
“…A house…”
It was that valuable…
“So, do you think that I could start a business by selling medicinal plants…”
“Indeed. Even if it’s not Loe, I think that it can be done. At least, if you can make them easily with your Gift, you could start a business without any funds.”
“Mr. Takumi. Are you going to make a business selling medicinal plants?”
“…No. I haven’t decided anything yet. But I know that now that I am in this world, I can’t just allow you and the others to help me. I need to work… That is what I think.”
You could not take advantage of someone’s kindness.
But more importantly, I didn’t think that I would be able to bear the thought of not even working while relying on them.
Perhaps it was because I had been doing nothing but work in my old world… And so it made me uncomfortable to be idle.
Was this what they called a workaholic?
I did intend on taking things easy, but I didn’t want to live without working at all.
Besides, if I could use Weed Cultivation to grow and sell medicinal plants, then I could make money without too much work.
And it might lead to finding other ways to make the most of my ability.
“…Obviously, if you sold only Loe, the price would fall greatly and it could disrupt the market.”
I had not known about the value of Loe, but perhaps I could give it to them as a way of paying rent for now.
In any case, it seemed like Ms. Claire had some idea when it came to starting a business.
As for me, including my part time jobs and full time work, I had always been far away from anything related to customer service and trade.
And so if Ms. Claire knew the best way to go about it, I would leave everything in her hands.
“Earlier, Sebastian said something about disrupting the market. Is this for cases where I make great quantities of them through Weed Cultivation and sell them?”
“Yes. If something used to be rare, then it would cause great confusion if there is suddenly so much of it available.”
“I see.”
Yes, that did make sense.
There was no doubt that all the merchants who had been trading it would become frantic.
Sebastian and Ms. Claire nodded.
“And so I have an idea. We, the Liebert family, will take charge of this business of selling the medicinal plants.”
“The Liebert family. The duke’s house?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I see…so that’s what you mean.”
While Sebastian seemed to think this was a good idea, what did it mean to have a Duke’s house take charge?
In the first place, was a duke even allowed to start a business like this?
“The Liebert family already has various businesses, both in and outside of our lands. After all, there are expenses that the taxes we receive as landlords will not cover, such as maintaining the lifestyle of nobles… Most of the tax money goes to the army, which guarantees the safety of these lands. And so we are living off the profits from these businesses.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Of course, there are other nobles who do not have businesses. Instead, they raise their taxes and live off of that. It is their choice to conduct or not conduct business, just as it is their choice to raise taxes. That being said, the royal family may intervene, if taxes are raised to the point where the people can barely survive.”
“Well, there are also plenty of nobles who squeeze all they can from their people and fill their coffers, while hiding it cleverly.”
So the noble landlords could raise taxes as they pleased.
And they could also start businesses.
In other words, they had a choice over how they would maintain their lifestyle as nobles.
As long as you weren’t so extreme that the royal family was alerted.
Ms. Claire talked of greedy nobles who filled their coffers. It was hardly a surprise.
“The Liebert family has always tried to keep taxes as low as possible for the benefit of our people. Thankfully, past heads of the family, as well as the current one…my father, and others around him, have had the talent for trade. And so we make more than enough in profits.”
Well, they were living in this huge mansion.
So they must be making a lot of money.
Now that I thought about it, perhaps their father was constantly talking about having Ms. Claire and Tilura get married, because it would help with his business.
However, I had never met the man, so I had no way of knowing the truth.
But I had a very bad impression of strategic marriages… Perhaps it was just my prejudice.