episode_0004

It wasn’t even ten minutes before Laura returned.

Laura returned with a bright face, as if she had been lucky.

“Adam, I contacted the Raven Store representative. He said he’d be here right away.”

“You happened to be at the academy, right?”

“That’s right. I was lucky.”

“Luck… … … .”

“Adam?”

“Let’s go first. You stay on the side and write down the negotiation details.”

“Yeah.”

Now that it’s just the two of us, we can talk comfortably, but if we go to a public setting, the difference in rank between Laura and I will be like heaven and earth.

Even in front of the Academy staff, Laura had to speak to me formally, so it goes without saying that it was even more so in situations where we were consulting and negotiating with outside consultants.

So the atmosphere completely changed as I walked out of my office and to the meeting place with Laura.

“Chief Financial Officer Adam, this is about the renewal of this contract.”

“Thank you.”

I don’t feel any sense of superiority about having risen to a much higher position than my peers… I would have been the same as Laura if I hadn’t accidentally seen the financial documents in the chairman’s office.

However, it was also a problem that I was not shy about talking to Laura.

“Hey, isn’t that Adam, the Treasury Director? Next to him is… … .”

“The youngest in the food management department. The second daughter of the Edelwein family.”

“If you’re Edelwein’s second daughter, aren’t you the same age as the finance director? You’ve only been here for two years.”

“That’s right. The Minister of Finance must be happy about it, right?”

Because the chatter I heard was like this.

Even if she had other intentions, I still feel amazed that Laura came to me for help in this atmosphere.

Laura, who had become very polite unlike inside the office, glanced at me once, and I walked faster. It would be best to just go to the negotiation table quickly.

In the reception room inside the academy where we arrived.

“Nice to meet you. I am Hans Raven, the new manager.”

“Adam Keynes, Secretary of the Treasury.”

“Minister of Finance… … I see.”

The young man, who looked a few years older than me, looked taken aback for a moment, then smiled and shook my hand.

By the way, Hans ‘Raven’.

I had some thoughts after reading the report about the top of the bastards I found in the office earlier.

It seemed like I could see a little bit of the whole story of this incident.

“By the way, I’m surprised that the finance director of Grandis Academy is so young.”

“I started working last year.”

“I see. How old are you… … ?”

“I’m 22 years old.”

“You are truly amazing!”

Asking about me and my age is also like that.

“So about this.”

“Wow, the Academy’s reception room is indeed as rumored. There must be dozens of reception rooms like this, but this facility is so shabby for a small company. ”

It’s also like they deliberately lower themselves by calling themselves a ‘small’ top.

Academy, you guys have a lot of reception rooms like this? You must have a lot of money. It’s also like mixing words with the same meaning.

This guy.

“I’m also a graduate of Grandis Academy, but the professors now───”

“I understand what you mean by Raven’s top. I’ll go back now.”

“Hey, wait a minute. Mr. Finance? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“You have a great way of speaking like a merchant. You are very good at beating around the bush instead of speaking directly. Now that I know the true intentions of the Raven Group, I will just act accordingly.”

“Mr. Finance Minister! What are you talking about all of a sudden!”

“The contract renewal request is obviously unreasonable, the person in charge of negotiations above who has been dealing with the Academy for a long time does not know me at all, and even though he knows that he was the one who was rude first, he deliberately does not mention the transaction and just chats. ”

“Yes… … ?”

“Raven Top wants to cut ties with the Academy. I understand.”

Of course, our finances are on the verge of bankruptcy right now, but on the surface, Grandis Academy looks like a wealthy academy that will easily survive for decades to come.

It is clear that Grandis Academy is the leader in dealing with Raven Group, which supplies food to such places. According to the report, 30% of Raven Group’s profits come from dealing with the Academy.

In other words, you’re renewing your contract with the Academy, which is your top priority VIP, like that? You’re going to supply less food ingredients but still receive the same amount of money?

If there was any thought, I would have judged that this was not a deal that would come to fruition. So there must be another ulterior motive.

‘I couldn’t figure out what the hell he was up to.’

I could roughly understand what it was like when I heard the name of the new person in charge.

Hans Raven.

He must be the son of Raven’s superior.

‘According to the report, the Raven’s Headquarters has been decrepit and has been virtually deserted for several years.’

Perhaps he is now planning to pass the position of the upper house to one of his children. I heard that Raven the upper house has five sons.

So, there is only one thing Hans Raven wants: a track record that will appeal in the race for the succession.

But would someone who wants results cut off business with Academy, their biggest client at the top?

no way.

Of course I was joking.

“Hey, Finance Minister! I think you misunderstood something!”

“Is there anything else you misunderstand? Then why didn’t you receive a handover when the son of the upper house took office?”

“That’s it!”

“I have met the previous person in charge several times. Although I am lacking, I am the Director of Finance, so if you have properly received the handover, you must have known me.”

“… … … … .”

The Ravens have never negotiated directly with me. Although I am the finance director, I am in a position to oversee everything and not directly negotiate with all the heads.

Strictly speaking, it is the difference between a worker and an executive. However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t know anything about the executive.

Especially if it is a country where there is a lot of talk about special privileges, and even more so if you are acquainted with the previous person in charge.

From Raven’s perspective, this is an opportunity to become friendly with higher-level connections, so there’s no way they wouldn’t have shared the information with the next person in charge, the son of the owner of the upper house.

“I will end my dealings with Raven Top at the end of last year. Instead, I will leave it to Albatross Top.”

“Oh, you mean Albatross!?”

“Any problem?”

The Albatross Top is a traditional rival top that handles the same food items as the Raven Top.

Losing your top client to a rival like that? It wouldn’t be strange if you were to lose your position right away, let alone your performance.

This wasn’t just a threat to draw out Hans’ true intentions. If he were really going to trade two-thirds of the original food ingredients for the same price, he would just be trading with an albatross.

“… … … … .”

Are you still worried?

Then I’ll give you less room to worry.

“I’ll end the negotiation here. Laura, go back.”

“Yes, Mr. Finance Minister.”

“Okay, just a moment!”

As I was about to get up from my seat and leave, Hans hurriedly followed me and stopped me.

Yeah, let’s hear what the hell he’s up to.

“I don’t think there’s anything more to talk about.”

“I’m so sorry! In fact… …Right now, Raven Top is not in a position to supply the amount of food you want!”

“… … What are you talking about?”

“Father, no, since the Lord of the Upper House fell, the Raven Upper House has been suffering from measles. Of course, I have no intention of cutting ties with the Academy! However, others are not providing proper food supplies… … … .”

aha.

So, in a situation where the upper class was collapsing and the sons were fighting each other, Hans Nega became the person in charge of dealings with the Academy.

If the deal with the biggest client goes bankrupt, Hans will be eliminated, so the other sons will make all sorts of excuses to not give them groceries, right?

But if that happens, the entire Raven top will be shaken as 30% of their profits disappear.

Are you trying to sell the future to buy the present? You idiots… … I can’t even say that.

‘The chairman was like that too… … .’

Well, I understand the circumstances.

“After all, isn’t it the Ravens’ fault for not preparing the ingredients?”

“Yes! I’m so sorry!”

“But are you saying that the transaction fee will be the same as last year?”

“… … … … .”

Are you saying that because you’re worried that if you receive less money for the reduced food supplies, your other sons will attack you over it? Really?

If he was one of the higher ranking sons, he wouldn’t have done this because he had a good reason, but I guess he’s the fourth son or the youngest.

But what do you want from me?

Are you asking the Academy to sacrifice itself for you?

If you’re more financially bankrupt than us, we’ll admit it.

“That, that’s… … … .”

There was a reason why I didn’t receive the handover properly. If I took less money, my brothers would go crazy and attack me, but if I took the same amount of money, they would naturally go crazy and say, “What the hell is the Academy talking about?”

It would be confusing to be in a situation where you can’t do anything, so there’s no way you’ll remember the handover.

It seemed like a good choice to just leave this guy who was hesitating and go straight to the top of the Albatross to sign a new contract.

Laura must have thought the same thing, as she glared at Hans with cold eyes and came next to me to whisper.

“Mr. Finance, can I contact the top of Albatross?”

“… … Laura, wait a minute.”

“Yes?”

“Mr. Hans, I have a suggestion for you.”

“Yes… … ?”

“I will continue to trade with Raven Top.”

“Hey, Adam!? No, Mr. Finance? What the… … !!”

“Mr. Finance Minister! Thank you very much, very much!”

Hans suddenly smiles and expresses his gratitude and joy, while Laura hurriedly stops me.

I’m not done talking yet, you guys.

“Half.”

“… … … Yes?”

“Instead, I will only pay half of what I paid last year.”

“What, what is that… … !!”

Well, since the food is two-thirds of the price, it would be normal to only pay two-thirds of the price if it were a real deal.

There was a reason I called half.

“There’s no way I could accept that deal!”

So you guys thought we would accept such a deal? You hypocritical bastards.

“Instead, the Academy can give you something else.”

“Money is important to the top! Even if you are the finance minister, you should not say such outrageous things!”

“To be exact, you can give it to ‘Hans Raven’, not Raven’s boss.”

“… … … … .”

Originally I was just planning on going to the top of the Albatross, but I changed my mind a little bit.

If we do this well, I think we’ll be able to save a lot of money.

“The cost of payment is half of what it was before. Food is paid at two-thirds this year, and from next year, it will return to the original amount.”

“… … … .”

“Instead, we will only hear the voice of Hans Raven, the person in charge of Raven, at the top of Raven. Likewise, only Hans will be able to hear my voice.”

“… … !!”

Fortunately, I guess he understands this level of wordplay.

If we say we will only listen to Hans Raven’s voice, that means we will not say anything at all if Hans falls and someone else comes in.

However, even after Hans was dismissed, he couldn’t be put in charge of the Academy. This was Raven’s biggest trading partner, and there was no way he could put a dismissed brother in charge of such an important place.

From Hans’ perspective, this is tantamount to the Academy saying it will support him.

Hans gets a strong case for his biggest client, and the Academy gets the groceries for half the price.

It was a win-win deal. Of course, our gains were much greater.

“Wouldn’t this be enough?”

“… … I guess the Minister of Finance knows the internal affairs of our superiors well.”

“Because he is the Minister of Finance in name only.”

Most of the information you gave me was from me, you idiot.

… … I can’t say that. If Hans wins the succession race, it’s a face we’ll keep seeing.

Well, I don’t think that’s possible.

“Can you specify this in the contract?”

“Of course.”

Hans, looking nervous, took out a contract, wrote down what he had just said, and signed it with my name.

This makes the contract effective. Even after Hans loses power, he can’t just ignore it.

But that was enough.

“Thank you so much for supporting me, Mr. Finance Minister. I will definitely repay your trust.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Anyway, good luck.”

“Yes!”

Squeak.

Hans, unlike the first handshake, bows to me and walks out of the reception room with a much more confident gait.

Now it’s just me and Laura left.

“… …Adam, are you okay?”

“What? The Academy saved a ton of money with this. The amount of food is huge, so the cost is astronomical, but they only paid half of it.”

“Well, it’s profitable now. But if that guy Hans loses and someone else takes over, there’s going to be a problem. And this time, we only received two-thirds of the original food supplies. How are we going to get the rest?”

“Of course you have to trade with the Albatross top. They’ll probably rush in thinking that they can steal Raven’s top trading partners too.”

“What? But earlier I only heard Hans Raven’s voice.”

“You said you only wanted to listen to Hans Raven’s voice in ‘Raven’s Top’, but you never mentioned other tops? If you don’t even notice this pun, Hans will never become the top leader.”

He was a bit cornered, so he kept spouting off insider information, saying that he couldn’t prepare food because of factional fighting, and he didn’t even notice the wordplay even though a contract was signed.

There’s no way a guy like that could become a top player. If he does? The Academy will get a freeloader that day. Either way, it’s a win-win.

“… … Then, starting next year, you’re changing to the Albatross top?”

“No way, starting next year, you’re going to get the same amount of food ingredients for half the cost. You should keep trading with Raven’s boss.”

“What if another person comes? That person will be someone from the top of Raven.”

“Just don’t listen to the voice.”

“So what──”

Laura was about to ask me again.

He looked at me with a look that said, “No way?”

“I never said I wouldn’t do business. I just said I wouldn’t listen to your voice.”

“… … Trying to make a deal in writing?”

“In the end, all you have to do is not listen to the voice and not say anything. Since you already signed the contract, you have to keep it.”

Half the cost in exchange for a transaction that involves only writing and no speaking? I can’t stand this.

But Laura looked a little uneasy.

“Would they allow such wordplay?”

“What should I do? If Hans comes next year, there will be no problem, and if he falls and someone else comes, we can just say that we heard Hans’s offer. Even if we try to renew the contract, we won’t be able to receive the original fee. If we’re going to deal with the boss who keeps changing his words, we can just deal with Albatross.”

“Hey, is it intentional to buy the remaining food ingredients from Albatross this time?”

“You’ll be nervous knowing that you already dealt with Albatross last year. Even if it’s half the price, you can still cut the cost down considerably.”

Ultimately, no matter how it goes, the Academy will save money on food purchases, which will extend the period of time before it goes bankrupt.

Thanks to Laura, I’ve benefited from unexpected opportunities.

Oh, to be exact.

“And tell the food materials manager that I am grateful for the opportunity.”

“Huh? What, what does that mean?”

“There’s no way you, a low-level employee, would have handled this kind of deal all by yourself. The manager must have already known about it. Since you happen to be close with me, he probably wanted to test my abilities properly.”

“… … … Sorry, Adam.”

“What is there to be sorry about? After all, you passed the same employee’s test, and you saved a lot of money for the Academy’s budget, so it’s only a gain, right?”

“I will definitely repay this favor.”

“Yeah.”

Now that the negotiations are over, it’s time to get back to work.

As I stood up, Laura looked at my pocket, which contained something.

“Huh? But what’s that in your pocket?”

“This? A magical tool for long-distance communication.”

“That’s really expensive. Where did you get it? Did the chairman give it to you?”

“That’s what it is.”

“But why did you bring it?”

“For sale.”

“Huh?”

“Tsk, it’s too bad I didn’t get a chance.”

“… … … .”