Chapter 318 North-South Trade Route ①
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Master, was that really alright?”
Two merchants from the maritime nation of Sylvaol¹ had come wishing to trade with us: Fati from the Uminari merchant guild and Rafuoro from the Yuunari merchant guild. My love slave, Lily, said that to me after I had told them “no” and sent them packing.
”Whether it’s alright or not, there’s definitely a hidden motive behind that. If they think I’ll just jump at the chance, I’m offended.”
”Even if you say that, I thought you might speak with them a bit more. On the surface, it didn’t seem like a bad deal.”
Lily’s what saying isn’t wrong. If I ignored the hidden intentions for a moment, the conditions alone weren’t bad. “Buying as many products as possible as quickly as possible, and definitely at a higher price than other merchant guilds” means that the more we make, the more we earn.
You could even call it an exceptional offer. Either they have the confidence to make that much profit, or they want to build a relationship with us regardless of profitability. That’s exactly why it’s so suspicious that I can’t easily agree, but…
”Eventually they will likely just come back again, so won’t this just be double the trouble?”
”Well, they’ll come back. If you go back to your country after being rejected just once, you’re a failure as a salesman. I wouldn’t know why they bothered traveling all this way to our place.”
Lily tilted her head. This is probably something she wouldn’t understand, having been a young lady of a noble house. For me, it’s a memory that reminds me of life in my previous world – honestly, a bad memory. On the other hand, since it’s serving as food for thought like this, I suppose it’s not something to be totally disgusted by.
”Salesman…? I don’t really understand, but then if they come back again, will you listen to more detailed talk?”
”I guess so. If they come again, sorry, but call me. I’ll at least listen. Well, the conclusion probably won’t change, though.”
”Is that so…? If you’re going to refuse anyway, why do something so tedious…”
”They have face to maintain too, right? If they don’t make it so that they ‘visited many times and talked, but were still refused,’ those guys will lose their standing in the merchant guild.”
Yeah, thinking about their current state of mind makes my stomach ache… I’ve somehow ended up in the position of being the one whose mood others look at, but it seems my ingrained salaryman emotions don’t disappear that easily.
Well, they probably have it tough in their own way, but I’m the one responsible for every decision here, and being a business owner is tough in its own right.
”…I still don’t really understand. Are merchants always like that?”
”Rather than merchants, I guess it’s the logic of employees… It’s quite hard, working for someone or working inside an organization.”
”…This is late to ask, but do you have experience with that sort of thing?”
”Hmm, well, that’s a secret.”
Unusually, Lily is curious about my past. I guess she’s interested; we’ve been together this long and I haven’t tried to talk about it at all. I’ve been thinking it might be okay to tell her soon, but…
Lily looked a bit dissatisfied, but when I patted her head, she pressed her head against me as if to say “pat me more.” It seems today she’ll let herself be brushed off with that. After staying like that for a while, she seemed satisfied and said:
”For now, I’ll consider that I understand the meaning of that response. However, I haven’t heard the reason why you are still refusing. Is it because they are suspicious?”
”No, that part’s already decided.”
Yes, it is decided. No matter how attractive a proposal the two from Sylvaol bring, for me, the only choice is to refuse. While saying that, I turned my eyes toward the last person remaining in the room, Sera-chan of the Tasogare Merchant Guild.
”You refused for our sake, didn’t you…?”
”That’s right. Even if a new business partner offers exceptional conditions, I won’t do anything that causes a loss for Tasogare Merchant Guild-san, whom I’ve worked with all this time. The magic circuit shop ‘Harvest’ is run on duty and humanity²!”
I said that a bit playfully to Sera-chan, who had a dark expression. Sera-chan’s expression didn’t change even then, so it felt like I had slipped up a bit, but I didn’t mind.
”So, what is Tasogare Merchant Guild-san’s view on this? What kind of conditions did those guys offer?”
”Yes, actually even our merchant guild hasn’t been able to decide yet… For now, I’ll tell you the current situation.”
”Yeah, please do.”
”Since receiving talk of the, uh, ‘Ddo-Buddy Economic Sphere’ from Her Majesty, we began pioneering a trade route toward Sylvaol. Originally, we were familiar with the north side of the country… around the royal capital, but the south is thin. We do have branch offices and connections, so it wasn’t difficult to make it so products could reach Sylvaol by following those, but…”
Sera-chan said it nonchalantly, but I think they’ve done something quite amazing. After all, in this world where monsters roam, connecting trade routes is hard. From town to town, they probably bribe individual traveling merchants and such while devising ways for goods to arrive.
Of course, they have to verify the ability and reliability of the people transporting the goods, and once they enter Sylvaol, things will be different and difficult again. I thought so during the northern coal mine incident too, but Tasogare Merchant Guild is an amazing merchant guild.
”In the middle of that, the ‘Stampede’ commotion happened.”
”Yes… We managed to somehow carve out the trade route where monsters were becoming active and secured a tentative route.”
They actually did it. Seriously amazing, Tasogare Merchant Guild. By any chance, if this commotion hadn’t settled, the two Great Dragons would have crossed the Canaria Kingdom from east to west. Naturally, the trade route heading southwest would have been cut off, and there was a high possibility their hard work would have gone to waste.
Or rather, before that, if things had turned out that way, the world wouldn’t be in a state for ‘Ddo-Buddy.’ No matter how much it was a command from Her Majesty, they did well. No, knowing that Her Majesty, she might have actually told them “don’t overdo it.” Even so, they accomplished it…
”From here, it’s about the Uminari merchant guild and Yuunari merchant guild. They said they wanted to buy that trade route exactly as it is…”
”Huh!? Buying a trade route, are they sane!?”
”Apparently, they are sane… Including the fact that there was a ‘Stampede’ commotion, they presented an amount that matches various costs. As proof of their payment ability, they seem to have brought some precious metals and jewels as well.”
”Then again, the merchants of Sylvaol are rich… They didn’t look that way at all, though…”
I was unintentionally stunned and thought about “buying a trade route,” for which I couldn’t even imagine how much money it would take. Probably Tasogare Merchant Guild intended to recover the costs over the next few years, or even more than ten years, when they started this business.
Considering the sales of our shop’s products so far, I don’t think it’s that bad of a gamble, but even so, they’ve been quite daring. In addition to that, the profits to be gained in the future. Naturally, they’d sell things other than our products, or it would include profits from buying products from Sylvaol and selling them here.
Buying all those profits and opportunities exactly as they are… It really is an outrageous sum of money. It seems Sylvaol’s maritime trade is extremely profitable.
”So, has Tasogare Merchant Guild-san decided what to do…?”
”Yes. We also, as expected, refused. There is resistance to letting go of the trade route we worked hard to open, but if we give weapons to people who can pay that much money upfront, other businesses would also be at risk. The Uminari merchant guild and Yuunari merchant guild will definitely cut into our country’s business from now on.”
It makes sense. Describing a trade route as a “weapon” is an easy-to-understand analogy. This route connecting Sylvaol and our country will become a major weapon in the future.
Once they let go, the merchants of Sylvaol will extend branches from there and start doing business in various places within the Canaria Kingdom. That business would, of course, compete with the Tasogare Merchant Guild.
Also, like the trade route with Ferguson to the west, I don’t know how long it will take until it becomes a thick, large road, but it has a high possibility of generating wealth over a long period, and letting go of that source is not what a merchant does. But that’s only if they can afford it…
”This time, Kento-san refused the talk from those two, and honestly, I was relieved. Thank you very much. However…”
”Is there some problem…?”
Sera-chan made a bitter face at my words and gave a deep nod.
—
Summary:
Kento rejects an aggressive trade offer from the Sylvaol merchants, choosing loyalty to the Tasogare Merchant Guild over quick profit. He reveals his mindset as a former salaryman, understanding the corporate face-saving needs of his rivals. Sera-chan explains the immense difficulty of establishing the south-bound trade route and the shocking news that Sylvaol wants to buy it out entirely.
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Trivia:
- Kento’s refusal is based on ‘Giri-Ninjo’ (Duty and Humanity).
- The ‘Stampede’ almost destroyed the newly established trade routes.
- Sylvaol is wealthy enough to offer a literal ‘buyout’ of a sovereign trade route.
- Kento is hiding his past as a modern-day worker from Lily
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Character Insight:
Kento demonstrates high integrity and long-term strategic thinking. His reluctance to share his past shows a layer of self-consciousness about his ‘ordinary’ origins compared to his current ‘Master’ status.
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Behind the Scenes:
The author uses Kento’s salaryman background to ground the fantasy merchant politics in relatable real-world business logic.
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Rafuoro – Merchant from Sylvaol, member of Merchant Guild Yuunagi. Thin vermillion hair, pale skin, lanky/skeletal build.
• Fati – Woman Merchant from Sylvaol, member of Merchant Guild Uminari. Dark, bruised crimson hair, bandana, sun-kissed bronze skin.
• Lily – the sl*ve and primary experiment subject for the magic shop, ‘Harvest.’ She has striking pink hair, Blue eyes, medium breasts, which the Protagonist associates with being ‘wanton’. She has a working knowledge of magic, which she kept hidden from the slave trader.
• Sera – A young, earnest salesperson from the Tasogare Merchant Guild, Kento’s supplier. She is characterized by her braided brown hair, large round glasses, and freckles. She’s serious about her job and easily flustered, especially by Kento’s adult goods business. Looks like Onodera from certain series.
• Kento – The owner of the magic tool shop ‘Harvest,’ which discretely sells adult goods. He’s a former overworked, ordinary salaryman from modern Japan who was suddenly transported (isekai’d) to this fantasy world. He has dark hair and an unremarkable appearance, typically wearing a plain, slightly suspicious-looking shop owner’s clothes looks like Kazuma Satou from certain series. He has a minimal amount of magic power, enough to craft his specialty items.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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