1. The Chairwoman Conceals the Finances
1. The Chairwoman Conceals the Finances
Laura returned in less than ten minutes.
She was beaming as though she'd just had a stroke of luck.
"Adam, I reached the Raven Trading Company's representative. He's coming right now."
"Convenient that he was already at the academy."
"Right. Lucky, wasn't it?"
"Luck, huh..."
"Adam?"
"Let's go. You'll record the negotiation details."
"Okay."
Right now it was just the two of us, so we could talk casually. But the moment we stepped into an official setting, the gap between our ranks was enormous.
Even in front of other academy staff, Laura was required to address me formally. In an external negotiation with an outside party, that went double.
So the atmosphere shifted completely the instant we left my office and headed to the meeting point.
"Finance Director Adam, here are the details concerning this contract renewal."
"Thank you."
I didn't feel any particular sense of superiority about having risen so far above my cohort. If I hadn't accidentally glimpsed the financial documents in the Chairwoman's office, I'd have been in the exact same position as Laura.
That said, treating Laura too casually would've been its own problem.
"Hey, isn't that Finance Director Adam? Next to him..."
"The junior in Food Supplies Management. Second daughter of the Edelweiss family."
"An Edelweiss daughter? She joined the same year as the Finance Director, didn't she? They're only two years in."
"No kidding. Must be nice for the Finance Director, huh?"
The idle chatter around us made that clear enough.
Whatever intentions were behind it, Laura had come to me for help in this atmosphere. That alone struck me as genuinely impressive.
Once outside the office, Laura's demeanor had turned markedly deferential. She shot me a quick glance, and I picked up my pace. The best move was simply to reach the negotiation room as fast as possible.
And so, when we reached the academy reception room—
"A pleasure to meet you. I am Hans Raven, newly appointed as the responsible officer."
"I am Finance Director Adam Caines."
"Finance Director... I see."
The young man, who looked a few years older than me, seemed momentarily taken aback, then smiled and shook my hand.
Hans Raven, was it.
I'd already formed a few thoughts after reading the report on those bastards' trading company back in my office.
Now the whole shape of this affair was beginning to come into view.
"At any rate, I was surprised to find that Grandis Academy's Finance Director is so young."
"I began the work last year."
"Is that so. Might I ask your age...?"
"Twenty-two."
"Truly remarkable."
The personal questions, the prying about my age—
"Now, regarding the matter at hand."
"Ah, the academy's reception room lives up to its reputation. With dozens of such rooms at your disposal, these facilities... from the perspective of a modest trading company, it only makes us feel shabby."
Deliberately calling themselves a "modest" trading company to lower themselves—
The implication: you have so many reception rooms—you must be swimming in money—all woven into the same breath—
This bastard.
"More to the point, I myself am a Grandis Academy alumnus, and as for the current professors—"
"I understand the Raven Trading Company's position perfectly. We'll be leaving now."
"W-wait. Finance Director? What do you mean by that, all of a sudden?"
"You've employed a merchant's rhetoric quite skillfully. Your talent for circling a point without stating it directly was most impressive. It has clarified your trading company's true intent, and I'm simply acting accordingly."
"Finance Director! What are you suddenly saying!"
"A contract renewal with demands so excessive anyone would recognize them. A lead negotiator from a trading company that has dealt with the academy for years who doesn't know me at all. And despite being aware you were being discourteous, you deliberately avoided the subject of the transaction itself and resorted to small talk instead."
"Pardon...?"
"The Raven Trading Company wishes to sever its dealings with the academy. I have understood this quite clearly."
Sure, our finances were teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, but outwardly Grandis Academy appeared to be a wealthy institution that could comfortably sustain itself for decades.
In a transaction with the Raven Trading Company supplying foodstuffs to such an institution, Grandis Academy was unmistakably the superior party. According to the report, thirty percent of the Raven Trading Company's revenue came from its academy dealings.
So to handle the contract renewal with their top-priority VIP like this? To demand the same payment while delivering less food?
Anybody with a functioning brain would judge this a non-viable deal. Meaning there was clearly some other scheme at work.
'I couldn't figure out what that scheme was.'
But the moment I heard the newly appointed representative's name, I could piece together enough.
Hans Raven.
The son of the Raven Trading Company's head, no doubt.
'According to the report, the head of the Raven Trading Company is old and frail and has been practically confined to his estate for several years.'
He was probably aiming to hand over the company helm to one of his children. I'd heard he had five sons and nothing else.
So Hans Raven wanted one thing: a track record he could leverage in the succession competition.
But would someone who needed performance results try to sever ties with the company's single largest client?
No chance.
Obviously I'd been bluffing.
"F-Finance Director! I believe there's been some misunderstanding!"
"Is there more to misunderstand? If so, why did the head of the trading company's own son not receive a proper handover upon his new appointment?"
"That is—"
"I've greeted the previous responsible officer several times. Inadequate as I may be, I hold the position of Finance Director. If you had received a proper handover, you could not possibly have failed to recognize me."
"..."
The Raven Trading Company had never negotiated with me directly. As Finance Director, I oversaw and managed everything, but I wasn't in the habit of personally meeting every trading company and hammering out terms face-to-face.
In hierarchical terms, it was roughly the difference between a working-level officer and an executive. But being utterly clueless about the executive was absurd.
Especially when I was someone about whom all kinds of talk had flown around regarding excessive favoritism—and was someone with whom the prior responsible officer had built a working relationship.
From the trading company's perspective, this was an opportunity to build connections further up the chain. There was no way they'd have failed to brief the incoming officer and company head's son.
"The academy's dealings with the Raven Trading Company will conclude as of last year. In its place, we will entrust the business to the Albatross Trading Company."
"Th-the Albatross, you say?!"
"Is there a problem?"
The Albatross Trading Company was the Raven Trading Company's traditional rival, dealing in the same foodstuffs.
Losing their largest client to that rival? Forget a track record—it wouldn't be strange if Hans lost his position on the spot.
This wasn't merely a bluff to draw out Hans's true intentions. If the alternative was genuinely paying the same price for two-thirds of the original food supply, I really would just go deal with Albatross instead.
"..."
Still hesitating?
Then let me narrow your options.
"The negotiation is concluded. Laura, let's go."
"Yes, Finance Director."
"W-wait, please!"
I rose from my seat and moved to leave, and Hans scrambled after me to stop me.
Fine. Let's hear what kind of scheme drove you to pull this crap.
"I believe there is nothing further to discuss."
"I am truly sorry! The truth is... the Raven Trading Company currently lacks the capacity to supply the full quantity of foodstuffs you require!"
"...What do you mean?"
"Since my father—rather, the head of the trading company—collapsed, the Raven Trading Company has been going through a severe crisis. We have absolutely no intention of ending our dealings with the academy! But the others refuse to properly supply the foodstuffs..."
Ah.
So the trading company head collapsed, the sons are tearing each other apart, and you, Hans, ended up as the officer responsible for the academy account.
And since a collapse of the relationship with their biggest client would mean instant elimination for Hans, your other brothers are making every excuse not to hand over the foodstuffs. Is that it?
Except that would mean the entire Raven Trading Company, shorn of thirty percent of its revenue, would stagger badly.
Selling the future to buy the present, then. Brainless bastards... but I can't even call them that.
'The Chairwoman pulled the same damn thing...'
Well, now I understand the circumstances.
"So in the end, the failure to prepare the foodstuffs is the Raven Trading Company's responsibility, is it not."
"It is! I am truly sorry!"
"And yet you are asking for the same transaction fee as last year?"
"..."
Don't tell me. Is he afraid that if he accepts proportionally less money for the reduced food supply, his brothers will use it to attack him? Seriously?
If he were the eldest among the sons, he'd have enough standing not to resort to this. He's probably the fourth or the youngest.
And what does that matter to me?
Am I supposed to sacrifice the academy for your sake?
If your finances were more wrecked than ours, then maybe I'd sympathize.
"Th-that is..."
Now I saw the reason he hadn't received a proper handover. Taking less money would mean his brothers would attack him viciously; taking the same money meant the academy would, entirely reasonably, tell him to quit talking shit.
Caught between a rock and a hard place and thoroughly rattled, he'd understandably be in no state to remember any handover details.
Leaving this stammering fool behind and going straight to sign a new contract with Albatross seemed like the smart play.
Laura apparently thought the same. She fixed the fumbling Hans with a cold glare and leaned in to whisper.
"Finance Director, shall I contact the Albatross Trading Company?"
"...Laura, hold on."
"Pardon?"
"Mr. Hans, I have a proposal I'd like to offer you."
"Pardon...?"
"We will continue dealing with the Raven Trading Company."
"A-Adam?! I mean, Finance Director? What are—"
"Finance Director! Truly, truly, thank you!"
Hans's face lit up in an instant, beaming with gratitude and joy, while Laura hastily moved to stop me.
I'm not done talking yet, you idiots.
"Half."
"...Pardon?"
"In exchange, we will pay only half the cost we paid last year."
"Wh-what is the meaning of—"
Obviously, considering we'd be receiving two-thirds the food, a normal transaction would involve paying at most two-thirds the money.
But I had a reason for calling half.
"There's no way we could accept such a deal!"
Oh, but you thought we'd accept yours? Self-serving hypocrites.
"In return, the academy can offer you something else."
"What matters to a trading company is money! No matter how high your position as Finance Director, this is outrageous—"
"To be precise, I can offer it not to the Raven Trading Company, but to Hans Raven."
"..."
I'd originally been about to go straight to the Albatross Trading Company, but I'd slightly changed my mind.
Because if I played this right, I could pocket a far bigger budget surplus.
"The payment will be half of the previous amount. The foodstuffs will be received at two-thirds volume only for this year, and will revert to full volume starting next year."
"..."
"In exchange, we will listen only to the voice of Responsible Officer Hans Raven within the Raven Trading Company. By the same token, only Responsible Officer Hans will be able to hear my voice."
"...!"
Good. So he could parse at least this much wordplay.
Saying we would listen only to Hans Raven's voice meant, in other words, that if Hans lost his position and someone else came, we wouldn't talk to them at all.
And if Hans lost his position, he couldn't remain the academy's point of contact. This was the Raven Trading Company's biggest client. They'd never leave a deposed brother in charge of such a critical account.
From Hans's perspective, this was tantamount to the academy backing him.
Hans would gain the powerful pretext of the largest client's support. The academy would secure foodstuffs at half the price.
A mutually beneficial bargain. Though our side's benefit was, of course, far greater.
"Would this not suffice?"
"...It seems the Finance Director is well-acquainted with our trading company's internal circumstances."
"I am the Finance Director, after all."
And most of what I know, you spoon-fed me yourself, you gullible fool.
...Not that I could say that aloud. On the off chance Hans actually won the succession fight, he'd be a face I'd have to keep seeing.
Well. Not that that was likely.
"Can you stipulate this in writing?"
"Of course."
On the contract Hans produced with a tense expression, I wrote down exactly what I'd just said and signed my name to it.
That gave the contract binding force. He wouldn't be able to casually pretend ignorance, even if Hans lost his position.
Not that it mattered.
"I am truly grateful for your support, Finance Director. I shall make certain to repay your faith."
"I'm not sure what you mean. In any case, I wish you luck."
"Yes!"
A soft creak.
Unlike at our initial handshake, Hans bowed at the waist, then strode out of the reception room with considerably more confidence.
Now only Laura and I remained.
"...Adam, are you sure about this?"
"About what? The academy just saved an enormous amount of money. Foodstuff volumes being what they are, the costs are astronomical, and we just cut them in half."
"Yes, for now you've turned a profit. But if this Hans person loses his position and a different representative comes, there'll be problems. And we only received two-thirds of the usual food this time—how do we cover the shortfall?"
"Obviously we deal with the Albatross Trading Company. They'll jump at the chance to snatch the Raven Trading Company's client."
"What? But earlier you said you'd only listen to Hans Raven's voice."
"I said we'd only listen to Hans Raven's voice 'within the Raven Trading Company.' I never mentioned other trading companies. If he can't even spot that level of wordplay, that Hans fellow is never going to become the head of the trading company."
The fact that he'd gotten slightly cornered and immediately spilled internal details about factional infighting stopping the food supplies—and the fact that he'd signed a contract without catching the wordplay—both spoke volumes.
No way a man like that could become the head. And if, by some miracle, he did? Then the academy would simply have landed itself a useful patsy. Either way, it was a win.
"...So from next year we're switching to Albatross?"
"Of course not. Starting next year we're getting the same volume as the original food supply at half the cost. We'll keep dealing with Raven."
"What if a different representative shows up? He'll be from the Raven Trading Company."
"We just don't listen to his voice."
"Which means—"
Laura started to ask again, then stopped.
She stared at me with a look that said, You can't mean—
"I never said I wouldn't transact business. I only said I wouldn't listen to his voice."
"...You're going to conduct the deals in writing?"
"Ultimately it just means not using voices—mine or theirs. The contract's already signed, so we have to honor it."
In exchange for merely not speaking aloud and communicating solely through writing, the cost gets halved. I couldn't pass that up.
But Laura still looked somewhat uneasy.
"Will they really accept that kind of wordplay?"
"They'll have to. If Hans is still there next year, there's no problem. If he's been deposed and someone else comes, we just say we only heard the proposal from Hans. Even if they try to renegotiate, they won't be able to demand the original fee. If we have to deal with a trading company that keeps changing its story, we might as well deal with Albatross."
"A-and deliberately buying the remaining food supplies from Albatross first this time—was that intentional too?"
"Once they know we already dealt with Albatross last year, they're bound to get nervous. Even if half is too much, we'll be able to negotiate the cost down considerably."
No matter which way things flowed, the academy would save on its food-procurement budget. And that would extend the forecasted bankruptcy deadline.
Thanks to Laura, I'd profited in an unexpected way.
Ah, or to be precise.
"And give my thanks to the Food Supplies Department Head for presenting me with such a fine opportunity."
"Huh? Wh-what do you mean?"
"There's no way a junior staffer like you handled a negotiation like this alone. The Department Head must have already known about it. And since you happened to have a personal connection with me, he saw a chance to properly test my capabilities."
"...I'm sorry, Adam."
"What's there to be sorry about? In the end I passed a colleague's test and on top of that I saved the academy a significant chunk of its budget. Nothing but profit, right?"
"I'll definitely repay you for this."
"Sure."
More to the point, the negotiation was over, so it was time to get back to work.
I stood, and Laura's gaze fell on my pocket, where something bulged.
"Hm? What's that in your pocket?"
"This? A long-distance communication magic tool."
"Those are insanely expensive. Where did you—the Chairwoman gave it to you, didn't she?"
"Something like that."
"Why did you bother bringing it along?"
"To sell it."
"Huh?"
"Tch. A shame no opportunity came up."
"..."