episode_0191

I nodded slowly as the Crown Prince spoke as if he was giving serious advice.

Although I wanted to do it all on my own, I fully understood that if I did that, I would end up isolated.

Even people who have never seen someone’s face are bound to feel envy, envy, jealousy, etc. when they hear, ‘So-and-so has made hundreds of millions of dollars on their own!’

Of course, not everyone was like that. It was clear that some people would not care, while others would admire or celebrate with pure heart.

Not all humans are greedy and have an evil nature. Some people have altruistic tendencies like elves, some people do not think much unless it is related to them, and some people willingly sympathize with the happiness and sadness of others.

But there is one thing we can be sure of. That is, if someone who earned hundreds of millions of dollars did so by infringing on their own interests, no one would like that person.

No matter how altruistic the elves were toward their compatriots, there was no way they would like it if their own interests were taken away. It may be easy to overlook simply making a few pennies less, but if it threatens the survival of oneself or the organization one belongs to, it is a different story.

It was the same for me right now. Although the Marquis of Kurid attacked my territory, I was keeping him in check with all my might because he was trying to imitate me and infringe on my interests.

There was no law that prevented others from doing the checks I was also doing.

And, in order to avoid such checks, as the crown prince said, he had to share a certain amount of profits.

This is to change the perception from ‘He’s the one who took away what was originally mine!’ to ‘I’m jealous of people who are doing well, but he’s someone who’s less profitable to be with.’

Naturally, I decided to share the profits as the Crown Prince advised.

To be honest, I don’t mind ignoring those who don’t share the profits and try to keep me in check, but I didn’t intend to go the hard way and eat it all by myself when I could easily go down the path by sharing a little of the profits.

Moreover, even though I said I was sharing the profits, that didn’t mean I was just giving away the money I earned. Naturally, I benefited.

In the current situation, there was an advantage in that it was possible to obtain a large supply of plants needed to make fibers such as cotton as well as flax. Currently, the demand for my fiber exceeds the supply, and the advantage was that I was able to solve a significant amount of that problem.

There was a way to cultivate plants in large quantities by using more slave elves, but that wasn’t something that could be accomplished in just one or two months. It took a lot of time to be able to respond to all demand.

Only by being able to properly respond to demand will it be possible to quickly occupy the market and push out the Marquis of Kurid, which occupied a large portion of the existing textile market. That alone was a huge benefit. Because the downfall of the Marquis of Kurid could have been achieved as quickly as possible.

No matter how bad the Marquis of Kurid’s current situation was, it was not impossible that it could be resolved if given time. Since the problem was focused on the production side, it could have been solved by gaining know-how over time.

However, in that case, paying a high price to save slave elves may have been in vain, and that could have been done by creating a separate premium line like Smith Skeleton does.

Rather, if such a method was adopted, it would not have been unreasonable to make up for the losses incurred by sharing the profits.

Considering that there are many other benefits, the results show that profit sharing is the best option. After finally deciding to share the profits, I nodded and looked at the crown prince.

“Deterioration. If so, could you arrange a meeting with those nobles? I think the best option would be to have a direct conversation and compromise to an appropriate level.”

“Well thought out.”

The crown prince did not add his or the royal family’s position, but immediately arranged a meeting with those who requested mediation.

Since most of the nobles in question were visiting the capital in person to request arbitration, it did not take long to meet them.

“Keuhm.”

And, everyone who met like that showed signs of discomfort. I think it was because my cloth skeleton had suffered quite a bit of damage to its fibers.

Since Marquis Kurid’s textiles were not selling well, there was no reason for theirs to sell well.

Still, there was a hint of anticipation in the way he looked at me, as if he had heard something from the Crown Prince. As if if you promise only enough profits to satisfy them, they will look at you with goodwill rather than an uncomfortable look.

“Nice to meet you. He is called Viscount Steele. It was supposed to be a good meeting, but I’m just sorry that we had to meet for something unpleasant.”

“Large. Count, stock share.”

“This is Profit Divide of the Baron Divide family.”

“Viscount Haap Lévigne.”

I said hello and apologized in my own way, but maybe it was because of the damage I had suffered, but the response I got back wasn’t that good.

I smiled awkwardly at the sight of those nobles and decided to get straight to the point. If it were a friendly situation, we could have brought up various topics, but right now, the priority was to get to the point quickly and erase their hostility.

“First of all, I would like to purchase the flax and cotton that you use to make fiber.”

“Are you aware that making fiber and selling it is more valuable than just selling cotton or flax?”

Of course, it didn’t always get a good response. But it was a fully expected reaction.

“Of course I know. But isn’t the value going to increase for no reason? Value increases only when time and labor are invested.”

The reason why fiber is more valuable than crops that can make it is because it requires time and labor. If you subtract the value of time and labor from fiber, there was not much difference from the value of the crop itself. Time and labor directly lead to money.

The nobles seemed to be aware of that as well, but they only pursed their lips with an uncomfortable expression on their faces and did not say anything more.

“But I am somewhat free with my time and labor. It is not completely free because time is shortened, but it is almost complete freedom when it comes to labor. That is why cloth skeleton fiber can be very cheap.”

“… … There won’t be competition anyway, so it sounds like you’re telling Viscount Steel to just sell his crops instead of talking to you?”

“That is not my intention. But don’t we need to face reality? In any case, I have no intention of closing down Closkeleton’s operation or reducing its scale in order to keep the Marquis of Kurid in check. If that happens, you will suffer huge losses no matter what.”

Even though the Cloth Skeleton had only recently started moving in earnest, the nobles must have suffered a lot of losses, so the nobles let out a huffing sound.

“But my goal is Marquis Kurid, not you. So, I am making this suggestion. Let’s do this together. The immediate profits may be less than if you processed crops into fiber and sold them, but aren’t there savings that will come from not having to invest time and labor?”

“That’s true, but… … .”

“I have no intention of taking advantage of your poor situation to slash the price of your crops. Like I just said, we want to do it together.”

When I looked at the nobles while saying that we should join together, they looked quite distressed. They seemed to be worried because they felt that they would not be able to compete with me if they continued their textile business, and that they would not make much profit if they only sold crops.

Still, it may be because they said they would make the price of the crops reasonable without cutting them down, but most of those who showed signs of discomfort changed their response. Although it wasn’t to a favorable level, it was at a level where I didn’t feel uncomfortable.

Of course, that wasn’t enough yet, so I decided to throw in a few more carrots.

“Ah! And there’s something I didn’t tell you, but the people who supply crops are our partners… … . No, I would like to give you the status of a cooperative family.”

“Cooperating family? What is that?”

“It’s not that big of a deal, but I will give you preferential treatment when doing business with my business. You can get priority allocation of quantity or get a slight discount.”

I had no intention of simply purchasing crops and guaranteeing only a minimum profit. Following the Crown Prince’s advice, I planned to create a force that could be called allies who would support me.

To do this, it was necessary to manage them consistently, and the form of a cooperative family was the most suitable. I was planning to induce them to cooperate with me, even considering the benefits I would give them.

And, people who are already interested in the benefits are starting to appear.

“… … By any chance, does this also apply to Smith Skeleton?”

“The Smith skeleton is possible, the Logis skeleton is possible, and the Cloth skeleton is also possible.”

“Then, about erythronium… … ?”

A nobleman asked a question about erythronium, perhaps having heard rumors about it while in the capital. Some nobles seemed unaware, but those who were quick to hear the news showed interest.

“Erytronium is also sold by Smith Skeleton, so it is of course possible. For reference, there is a large order for erythronium armor from the royal family right now, so ordinary people will have to wait quite a while to receive the items.”

He said this with the meaning that if he became a cooperative family, he would be able to receive and use items ordered in large quantities by the royal family more quickly than others.

And, the effect of those words was quite good. This is because many of those who seemed to be struggling seemed to have made a decision. They all showed interest when the story about erythronium came out.

They realized that simply growing and selling crops rather than making fiber and selling it would not be a loss, but would also be profitable for them.

Naturally, nobles who realized that gaining the status of a cooperative family was beneficial to them did not hesitate to become one of my cooperative families.

Thanks to this, I was able to solve the problem of supply and demand of raw materials, which was a problem with Cloth Skeleton, and make a small profit by signing several additional contracts.