Chapter 182: Tadallo’s New Business Item
There were still many Orcs who made their living through livestock raising, farming, and even hunting, so they were spread across wide areas. Even if he installed arcade machines in the few regions that had electricity, it was hard to expect as many people to use them as they did in Kazabar.
So for now, he decided to change his plan and distribute arcade machines mainly in cities, but it was unavoidable that the market would shrink far more than his original goal.
What a shame. This is really a shame.
He had planned to use this to expand his business greatly all at once, so when his target shrank so drastically, he could not help feeling deeply regretful. That was why he kept wondering whether there was some other method.
Then, in the latest issue of Gamers that he newly obtained, he found something a little different.
“Magic and Creature?”
At first, he wondered what it was, but after carefully reading the article introducing it, he learned that it was a kind of card game.
And Tadallo immediately thought, This is it.
With this, people could enjoy it without electricity at all. Furthermore, if it was a card game, even Orcs who were unfamiliar with electronic entertainment could easily accept it.
However, he could not be certain whether this game would work among the Orcs of this country. For now, he could understand what kind of game it was by reading the magazine. Since the article covered it in great detail, understanding the rules and roughly grasping its feel was not difficult.
Well, I think it sounds fun...
Since it was played with cards, it would not be as explosive as Fighters’ Club, but there would surely be people who found it fun. He began waiting eagerly for Pippin to arrive.
“Ah. MTC? That’s fun.”
When Pippin arrived in Kazabar again a month later, he nodded as if it were obvious when asked whether he knew about Magic and Creature.
“Really? Do you have any of those cards?”
“Yeah. Why? Want to take a look?”
Fortunately, Pippin had a deck. It was such a popular game that there were sailors who enjoyed it as well, so they often played matches during voyages. Even Pippin, who liked playing alone, did not miss out on this.
MTC was simply too fun, and this was not a game one could enjoy alone.
“Oh! Show me!”
Tadallo, who viewed it as his next business item and a means to fulfill his ambition, reacted passionately to Pippin’s casual suggestion. So much so that Pippin flinched slightly.
The cards he received were even better than he expected. Orcs also commonly enjoyed card games, but these seemed to be of higher quality. Moreover, the illustrations on the cards had far more impact than they did in the magazine.
Tadallo placed the cards on his thick green palm and studied them intently.
Pippin, who had initially thought Tadallo was simply interested, could roughly guess what was going on from his seriousness.
“You’re thinking of selling those?”
“Hm? Y-Yeah.”
Tadallo felt awkward at being read so easily, but Pippin was not someone who would cause trouble just because he found out. Tadallo also thought he had made it far too obvious, so he scratched his cheek with an embarrassed expression.
“Could I try playing this once?”
“Huh? Well... I do have another deck.”
A little while later, Pippin returned to the cabin, took a bundle of cards from a drawer, and handed it to Tadallo.
“You know the rules?”
“Yeah. I learned them from Gamers.”
If Pippin had needed to teach him, it would have been tedious, but after they started playing, Tadallo clearly knew the rules. Thanks to that, they could enjoy a match right away.
Of course, since it was Tadallo’s first time even handling the cards, he was a little awkward and slow. But in this game, luck played a large role in addition to skill, so the match proceeded reasonably well. It also helped that Pippin was not particularly good.
While they moved the cards around, they did not say much, but their emotions were hardly quiet. They rejoiced when good cards appeared, felt satisfaction when they defeated the opponent’s Creatures, and felt regret when magic wiped out their field. They enjoyed the game so much that they lost track of time.
“This is fun.”
“Right?”
“Yeah. It really is fun.”
After the game ended, Tadallo was amazed. He wondered how anyone could create something like this. Computer games were something he did not even understand at their foundation, since he did not know what computers were, so he had simply accepted them as marvelous games made through advanced technology. But this card game was clearly something within his own understanding.
It was a game where two people enjoyed themselves according to rules using paper cards with pictures and a few pieces of information on them, yet that alone made it feel as fun as a flashy electronic game like Fighters’ Club.
He even felt respect for the creator of this game.
Tadallo could almost be certain of one thing.
At the very least, it would absolutely not fail.
Even so, he had no intention of going all in at once. This was only intuition. Through experience, he knew that when doing business, there would eventually come a time when one had to gamble, but Tadallo was fundamentally cautious by nature.
That was why he first decided to bring in only enough stock to distribute moderately within Kazabar.
“Well, it’s insanely popular in our country too...”
Pippin nodded when Tadallo asked him to obtain MTC card packs. He used to have some prejudice against the Orc Empire, but he had already seen Tadallo succeed with Fighters’ Club.
There might be some cultural differences, but things that were truly fun were the same for people here as well. And he had a feeling MTC would work. There were plenty of Orc users even in the Republic of Smite, and Tadallo, right in front of him, seemed completely hooked.
“But I think it’ll be hard for me to get this personally.”
“Huh? Why?”
“This game has a fixed sales quantity per person.”
“What?”
At first, Tadallo did not quite understand what that meant, but after hearing Pippin’s detailed explanation, he nodded.
“Then what should we do?”
“Well. Can’t you make an official import request?”
Since Pippin also worked in trade-related matters, he had heard many things and quickly thought of a solution, though he did not know the exact procedure.
A few days later, Tadallo learned how to make an official import request, prepared a letter of authorization and documents, and entrusted them to Pippin. There was also the option of requesting it directly from Meta Corporation, but the Orc Empire where he lived had no dealings with them at all, and the distance was so great that he felt uneasy in many ways.
A month later, Pippin returned to the Republic of Smite and immediately called Meta Corporation.
“The Orc Empire?”
Ras, who had been diligently reviewing documents in the chairman’s office, received a call from the IP Management Team and unconsciously repeated the words back.
It was only natural, because the Orc Empire was far too unexpected.
He was not uninterested, since it was a country with an enormous population, but after learning that it was a country where even electricity was still not properly installed, let alone computers, he had completely removed it from his target markets.
And yet, from such a place, an official import request for MTC cards had arrived.
“Yes. The quantity is nothing special, though.”
“How many sets do they need?”
“For now, 2,000 basic decks and 5,000 card packs.”
“...That really isn’t much.”
Ras scratched his head at Georg’s answer. He was slightly disappointed. But that did not mean he intended to ignore it. He knew that the Orc Empire was not economically wealthy, and in other countries as well, it was common to import a small trial quantity before signing a full-scale contract.
That was why he ordered the transaction to proceed, hoping this deal would become a bridgehead for entering the Orc Empire.
“Ah! And if the contract is concluded, lend them one set of the MTC Player.”
“Pardon? The MTC Player?”
He could feel Georg’s surprise over the receiver. That was only natural, because the MTC Player was still so limited in production that even expanding domestic game halls was progressing sluggishly. It was an extremely precious item.
“Yes. It’s our first transaction with the Orc Empire. If this opportunity allows us to properly enter the Orc Empire, that much is nothing.”
This was truly a rare opportunity.
Ras already knew how exclusionary the countries of this world were. Furthermore, the Orc Empire had only recently begun overseas development, and information about it was extremely limited, so he had not even dared to attempt entering it. Yet somehow, the other side had sent an import request first.
Therefore, Ras judged that even if they took a small loss and pushed themselves somewhat, they needed to open the path properly.
The next day, Pippin took the train to Kames City.
“Ohhh...”
He let out a sound of admiration when he saw Meta Corporation’s headquarters building. He knew it was a major company, but seeing such a huge building made it feel real all over again.
Because of that, Pippin grew twice as nervous. He was fairly bold in his own way, but this was his first time making this kind of contract, and on top of that, it was with his favorite game company. There was no way he would not be nervous.
“Good.”
However, the contract proceeded as smoothly as possible.
The person who received Pippin was a young Dwarf with an impressive thick black beard. His name was Georg. At first, Pippin thought he was an ordinary employee, but he was startled when he saw the title of team leader on the business card he received.
Georg accepted the conditions Pippin and Tadallo had painstakingly put their heads together to prepare without much hesitation.
In particular, even though they had deliberately proposed an import price lower than expected, it was accepted as it was.
“However, please understand that this price only applies to this transaction, and later transactions may be adjusted again.”
“Ah. Yes...”
This was partly Ras’s consideration, but it was also the result of accounting for the Orc Empire’s purchasing power. It was not exact information, but if their income levels differed by more than ten times, selling at the same price would obviously be unreasonable.
However, he did not make it ten times cheaper either. He set it at about 20 percent of the supply price in the Republic of Smite. If a margin was added, he expected the retail price to be around 30 percent.
Even if the product was made of paper, it was made quite luxuriously, so there was still a production cost. And if the price difference became too severe, there was a possibility of reverse importation.
Well, it really is too cheap.
Pippin felt somewhat uneasy at the mention of readjustment, but since he had braced himself for as much as 50 percent, he could not really object and simply nodded.
Besides, the proposal that came at the end of the deal made his jaw drop.
“R-Really?”
“Yes. We also have fairly high expectations for this transaction.”
“Yes...”
They were saying they would give him that MTC Player.
This device was not a matter of price. It was such a rare item that MTC game halls could not be expanded because production could not keep up. Even on Spirit Space, there were countless people saying they would pay 100,000 Del for one. It was something every MTC gamer coveted.
That was why Pippin could clearly tell that Georg’s words about their high expectations were sincere.
After leaving Meta Building with an expression that showed he still could not quite believe it, he returned home, then headed for the Orc Empire again a month later.
“It’s here.”
He found Meta Corporation’s name on the cargo list. Then he personally opened the container and confirmed the cards and what seemed to be the MTC Player.
During the voyage, he badly wanted to open and try them. Of course, since he had already worked as a navigator on trading cargo ships for several years, he knew perfectly well where the line he had to respect was, so he did not actually act on that urge.
A month later, he arrived in Kazabar again. The weather suddenly worsened along the way, forcing them to take shelter at a nearby port for two days. Because of that, they arrived three days later than expected, so he wondered if Tadallo would even be there. But then he saw the familiar Orc waving from a distance.
Pippin could not help smiling.