Highly Developed Bread (1)
Highly Developed Bread (1)
My current total assets were about 76 million gold.
Even after handing a massive 25 million gold to the impoverished Hildea-nim and buying a pile of daily necessities from the Barcos Merchantry, this much still remained.
This was really serious money.
After all, Count Anbelrum Territory didn't even have an annual total expenditure of 1 million gold.
'Did the empire buy the stuffed wyvern lord just to cause inflation in our kingdom?'
It was such a huge sum of money that it even made me imagine such a conspiracy theory.
Seeing how they were splashing out gold coins like water, there must be an open-pit gold mine somewhere in imperial land.
'It would be nice if I could buy budget with gold coins.'
Sadly, an exchange function was not supported.
"Prince Brent-nim, you've worked really hard coming all this way on such a cold day."
"Not at all. I absolutely had to come. You are our company's biggest customer."
Prince Brent, the third son and manager of the merchant company, bowed and scraped before me.
I casually held out a paper listing the items.
"Can you procure these?"
"Let me read them. Linen cloth, sewing thread and needles, buttons, buckles....
Charcoal, firewood, bricks, rope, ladders....
Clay bowls, wooden bowls, ladles, spoons, forks....
Hourglasses, candlesticks, candles, oil lamps, various oils....
Hay, medicinal supplies...."
Having read everything in a breathless rush, Prince Brent scratched his head.
"This is an absolutely monstrous quantity, you see? This much would last the entire north for several years."
"The current price inflation is no joke, you see. As you know, our north is so barren that nothing is produced except iron ore."
And even that iron ore was concentrated in Rebecca's territory.
Even before I arrived, Rebecca's finances had been rich from iron ore exports.
The chronic food shortage was probably an unavoidable matter.
"Gold coins are overflowing, so I plan to stockpile all the goods we'll use before prices rise further."
"If this deal is concluded without a hitch, then for the next few years...."
"Ah, please don't misunderstand. Since this is stockpile material, it will be kept completely unused in storage. Our usual consumable goods will keep trading."
I handed over 100,000 gold as a down payment.
"I look forward to working with you, Prince Brent-nim."
"Leave it to me."
Brent cheerfully took the deposit and left.
A few days later, he returned with a deflated face.
"Ah, Colonel-nim. It seems difficult to procure even a tenth of the volume you desire."
"Then please get what you can for now."
"However, the prices have skyrocketed. Even when offering double the price, the dealers shake their heads."
"What? Double?"
"What should we do? Shall we proceed as is?"
No, double is a little....
It's not that I lack swagger, but do I lack money?
'No matter how much money you have, buying at a premium feels like taking a loss.'
"Colonel-nim, because grain prices are jumping, all other items are jumping in price alongside them."
"Hasn't the price of rye not yet doubled? I heard it's risen by up to 30% from the market rate half a year ago?"
"Well, there's a misunderstanding there."
"What kind of misunderstanding?"
"It's true the rye price has increased by up to 30%, but after that, trading itself stopped happening in the market."
Brent explained with an embarrassed face.
"The grain lords already swept up all the rye being traded and locked down the supply."
"Who on earth are they?"
"It's not just one or two, but easily over hundreds. They all bet that the rye price would skyrocket. It's the same not just in our kingdom, but in other countries too."
Oh man, this is a mess.
I thought I moved fast, but I was the last one.
"And the items you ordered... their supply itself is always constant, but lately demand has surged so sharply that trading volume is chronically short."
"Who else is hoarding this time?"
I'm slightly confused.
What I requested aren't specific luxury goods, but everyday goods used for territory management.
"Uh, well, isn't Ainshvan the cause, naturally?"
"...Excuse me?"
"The supply amount was always constant, but you've recently and drastically increased your purchases. On top of that, the rising rye price was poured into the mix, so it all burst collectively."
"...."
So, the reason the daily goods prices jumped more than double was....
'Me?'
The reason rye prices skyrocketed was also because of the Meat Expedition Force, and if you think about how that happened....
'That's me too?'
This awkwardness of having to do a self-expose on myself.
I cleared my throat out of sheer embarrassment.
"Alright. Then I'll give you full authority, so please purchase unlimited quantities up to triple... no, up to five times the price."
"Then you'll need to give a bit more of a deposit...."
"I'll give it."
I hoped it would go well this time.
To save time, I even lent him my small palanquin.
Of course, it wasn't Luna but the mana soldiers who carried it.
But a few days later, the returned Brent was....
"Colonel-nim, my apologies."
"Has it jumped to more than ten times the price?"
"That's not it. The supply itself has been blocked."
"What?"
"It seems the individual lords have concluded that even their own supplies will be insufficient next year. They've banned exporting outside their territories, and the lords have bought everything up entirely."
"...."
If only it were like before, with the Noble Council being openly hostile, I could just go beat them up as an example and take it.
But this is the whole economic network shaking in chaos, so I can't even do that.
'Ah, this is a big problem.'
The items I want are overflowing with superior versions in the Supply Cheat.
But to procure all of that for 900,000 territory residents, the remaining budget is too small and cute.
【Remaining Budget : 49,643,710】
'The initial investments are all gone, and I've finally managed to start saving 30 million per month.'
During the Triumph Ceremony, 22.5 million had been drained to treat the entire territory population.
Replacing all the daily necessities with U.S. military supplies is insane. It's impossible. I have no money.
'Someday, that day might come, but at least, not right now.'
Budget priority number one is flour.
Because the supplied flour is incredibly high quality, yet cheap.
It's 1 budget per 1kg.
Priority number two is weapons and ammunition.
Priority number three is supplies truly essential for the residents' survival, like tactical sleeping bags.
The rest must be saved for contingencies and the future,
so I can't just waste it on mere charcoal, firewood, bricks, rope, clay bowls, wooden bowls, ladles, hourglasses, candlesticks, candles, and oil lamps.
"Sigh, it can't be helped. Please pause the purchases for a moment, and just do one thing for me."
"What kind of thing?"
"That is...."
After hearing my explanation, Brent replied with a resolute expression.
"I'll put in my full effort. Then I'll go to the capital first and prepare."
"I leave it to you."
I loaded Brent into a palanquin carried by mana soldiers and sent him back.
Time is gold.
When the merchant meeting ended, Hildea-nim, who had been hiding behind the hot spring rocks, came out of the water.
Since she stays in the hot spring in a bikini, she conceals herself whenever other men come over.
It was the same for the subordinate soldiers.
"I'll have to go to the capital. This time, let's all go together, including Rebecca-nim."
"Is it to procure supplies?"
Hildea has good ears, so she would have heard my entire conversation with Brent.
"Yes, this isn't something you can obtain just because you have money."
In the modern era overflowing with surplus goods, you could think, 'You have money, so why can't you get it?'
But in this era, no matter how rich a territory is, surplus goods don't just overflow by over 100%.
If they think they won't even have enough for themselves, they simply lock down sales. In that case, you absolutely cannot get it with money.
No matter how much money you offer, just like there's no farmer who sells the seeds for next year's sowing.
"If you can't get it with money, then what do you get it with? Are you planning to pillage?"
Just what does she take me for....
Hildea naturally burrowed into my embrace, sliding into my arms with a hug.
It's a completely different feeling from before, which felt like a mother bird feeding her chick; this was unmistakable physical intimacy between a man and a woman.
"If you can't get it with money, you have to barter."
I'll have to release the pure white flour, ground by highly advanced high-tech milling technology, containing absolutely no bran.
'Concealing the flour's origin is an issue, but I can act like it was granted by the Empire. Just don't say it outright.'
Even if the King should suspect something about the Loosbel family or whatever, I'm not worried.
Already, between the kingdom's ruling class and us in Ainshvan,
a power gap more remote than between the Mexican government and a drug cartel had opened up.
'I should tell noona to come to the capital too.'
If that happens, would it be the first time all the women around me gather in one place?
'Ah, right. I missed Yuzel.'
If she knew I had thought that, Yuzel would cry, right?
But Hildea's kiss, which blocked my mouth, stopped all thoughts of Yuzel.
***
Northern region of the Oridan Kingdom, Allied Expeditionary Force Pioneering Base.
"Emergency! Emergency! It's an emergency!"
The nobles who had joined Those Who Know the Taste (the meat buffet) gathered, bewildered by the reaction of their colleague making such a fuss.
"Count, what on earth is the matter?"
"News has arrived that Count Balckenhardt, Carlton Marquis, and Duke Rosenberg have all departed for the capital!"
"How? That kind of information would be impossible to obtain from Ainshvan?"
Ainshvan's entire military and citizenry were so tightly united that it was nearly impossible for an outsider to know its internal affairs.
"They openly told us. It's apparently a matter that is being actively publicized everywhere. Because! An unprecedented massive auction targeting nobles and merchants is scheduled to be held in the capital!"
"Auction?"
"Ainshvan is putting up top-grade flour in bulk for auction, they say! You can win the bid using goods that Ainshvan needs, not gold coins!"
In essence, it was paying flour to do an indiscriminate public purchase.
But Piel publicized it by comparing it to an auction for the medieval folk to understand easily.
The 'Those Who Know the Taste' of the expedition force got up from their seats, restless.
"If that's the case, we absolutely cannot miss it!"
"Indeed! You never know what else Ainshvan has put out."
"Don't do something you'll regret later; we must participate in this unconditionally!"
And so, the allied expedition force's capture of rabbits was briefly put on hold.
***
Ten fire mages.
Freed from military duties and having worked all this time at the Public Bakery, their faces were filled with a resolute gleam.
The most senior mage looked around at his juniors and steeled his resolve.
"Not even the slightest mistake can be tolerated. Today, of all days, we definitively prove our skill."
"Yes!"
"As you all know, Marshall Flour is different from the flour we originally knew, in a hundred out of a hundred ways."
If rye were a regular adult man, flour could be likened to a regular soldier.
Then what about Marshall Flour?
It is classified as not a mana soldier, not a mana knight, not a Sword Expert, but at the Sword Imperial grade.
Here, depending on the baking skill, it's divided into whether it stays at the Sword Imperial grade, or becomes the master-grade 'Marshall Bread.'
"400% even baking! That is the target we must pursue today! Absolutely, absolutely, we will not tolerate even a little bit of scorching!"
"It's a piece of cake; let's give it a shot!"
"It's what we always do; what could we possibly fail at!"
Every day, for numerous territory residents, they had baked bread day and night at the Public Bakery.
The fire mages, brimming with confidence, steeled their resolve to absolutely prove their skills.
"At today's tasting event! We'll show the southern bumpkins the taste of sublime Marshall Bread! And make them strip their entire fortunes dry at the Marshall Flour auction!"
A prior free tasting event.
Before opening the auction, Piel had prepared this occasion to publicize the value of the flour to the nobles.