Conditional Loyalty
“Unfortunately, the Betelgeuse Principality has nothing to offer beyond the technology itself. Ah, we could provide a factory, but nothing beyond the technology. Sadly. Factoring in the plant, manufacturing equipment, raw materials, staff, and distribution, a considerable sum of capital will be required.”
“So the investing side would have to front the entire initial outlay. And what does the Betelgeuse Principality want in return?”
“I’m thinking of a ten-percent royalty on sales.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Ten percent of sales?”
“Ah, that’s merely the starting point. I’ll go with whoever presents a better offer.”
When Idnia made the proposal to the young lords, every one of them stared in shock. She had just opened an auction among them.
“Hold on. Something this important can’t be decided on the spot.”
“Exactly. I’ll need to check with my advisors.”
Even Karl, who prided himself on boldness, looked flustered.
“I’m hopeless at business. There’s no way I can reach a decision of this magnitude right here.”
“Is that the case for the rest of you as well?”
“Well…”
“I have some confidence in commerce, but I’m still worried about how much capital this might demand.”
“Of course I’m not asking you to decide this very moment. I simply wanted to lay out my terms. What the Betelgeuse Principality will provide is the technology and the entire operational know-how. In other words, if you supply only the funds, I will put you in a position to mass-produce this seasoning immediately. As you saw, two large cauldrons could feed roughly two hundred people. Invest in oversized fermentation tanks and a space for processing raw materials—think of something on the scale of a large brewery—and you’ll achieve a respectable output. The larger the facility, the greater the production.”
Idnia estimated the facility cost by taking the expense of building a single brewery and adding thirty percent.
“Land purchase is separate. The closer to the city center and the harbor, the higher the price of land, of course. But proximity to a harbor makes shipping materials easier and water supply far simpler. Retail distribution would be a separate matter as well.”
She calculated the projected facility costs and presented them. As a modern business plan it was a little rough around the edges, yet for the people of this era it was remarkably systematic. That a duke’s daughter who was not even a bureaucrat had personally drafted and submitted a plan of this caliber astonished them all.
“This is…”
“A rough business proposal. Everyone take a copy. Miss Marie handled the transcription.”
To keep the contents from leaking carelessly, Idnia had originally intended to learn and use copy magic, but the spell proved far from easy and she still could not cast it.
“Even as pillars of the Holy Eldar Empire, we are still young. We can hardly advance a venture of this scale without winning others over. Please take this proposal, have it reviewed, and persuade those who need persuading.”
Rudolf, Karl, and Lorenzo all accepted the documents in stunned silence at Idnia’s sheer drive.
“Y-yes. I’ll send this to my father and consult with my staff.”
“…I as well.”
“Haa. Looks like I’ll need to request an overnight pass.”
Each of them took the business plan she had prepared and wore a grave expression.
“Then, one more matter—Lord Lorenzo.”
“Yes?”
“Please arrange two large fermentation cauldrons. Student Notos is the one who smashed them, correct? If I demand official compensation it becomes an admission of guilt, so I would simply like you to gift me two cauldrons. Specifying a gift like this… am I being too shameless?”
“…If I keep playing dumb here I’ll only dig myself a deeper hole. Very well. I’ll procure the cauldrons as quickly as possible.”
Lorenzo abandoned the pretense and promised to make restitution. Officially the gift would have no connection to the sudden explosion of Idnia’s fermentation cauldrons; it would merely be a gesture of goodwill. In truth it was as good as a confession.
Rudolf sighed as he examined the business plan. In matters of study he possessed talent that surpassed nearly everyone. Even in the original game, Rudolf’s gifts ranked at the highest level—swordsmanship, magic, scholarship; he excelled in every field. Yet while his vigorous, still-healthy father the Emperor remained on the throne, the crown prince was little more than a powerless ornament.
He had received the proposal from Idnia, but the path of how to persuade anyone and set things in motion looked bleak.
Just then Idnia came after him as he was leaving.
“Your Highness Rudolf.”
“Ah, Lady Idnia. Please, speak freely.”
“I couldn’t possibly. I’m already being thoroughly chewed up by high society as it is.”
“Chewed up?”
“Ah, forgive me. That was an uncultured turn of phrase. Ahem. At any rate, Your Highness… frankly, you suspect my motives, don’t you?”
“…Pardon?”
“Even if the Betelgeuse ducal house is in difficult straits, we are not so destitute that we could not build a single brewery on our own. So why make this proposal? That is the question.”
In truth, if Idnia pooled the capital she had already gathered and bought the raw materials herself, she could simply construct the facility. Land was no issue either—plenty of territory still belonged to the Betelgeuse principality. Rudolf, however, had not thought that far. He had simply assumed the rumors of Betelgeuse’s ruin were true and the situation truly dire. Hearing her speak now left him confused.
“Then…”
“Even so, I made this business proposal because this business will clearly run into obstacles if I attempt it alone. That is why I approached you. And in my judgment, Your Highness the Crown Prince would be the greatest help of all.”
“What do you mean?”
“I asked for a ten-percent patent royalty… but since Your Highness will cover the initial costs and more, please boldly bid fifty percent.”
“…Ah.”
Rudolf realized she was proposing a backroom deal. No one else would open with a fifty-percent split, so this would give him the upper hand in the negotiations. From the other young lords’ perspectives, losing to Rudolf who so generously offered a 50-50 royalty would be something they could accept.
And yet…
“In any case, completely monopolizing this technology alone will become impossible. Once large-scale facilities are built, whether industrial spies infiltrate under false pretenses or lawsuits are filed demanding verification that the product isn’t some kind of drug, the entire process will be laid bare. Therefore I need a powerful partner who can protect this interest—and someone who will not betray me.”
“I see.”
Rudolf understood why she wished to make him her partner. Compared with the other young lords, Crown Prince Rudolf’s foundation was actually the weakest. He was crown prince, yet the Emperor remained far too hale. How long would it be before Rudolf could exercise real power…? By contrast Karl and Lorenzo already commanded their own staffs and spy networks and could even run the business Idnia proposed independently.
In that situation Rudolf, who could fill the gaps for her just as she filled his, was the ideal partner. But simply choosing him outright might breed resentment, so she had deliberately created an auction environment and then offered him a secret arrangement. At the same time she locked in a 50-50 share.
I can only marvel. I thought I had already been sufficiently astonished by her, yet her thoughts run this deep. How shameful. Beside her I am nothing but a helpless child.
Rudolf was struck by Idnia’s foresight. And then…
I must obtain her somehow. Even if her background were nothing at all, the brilliance, the schemes, and the magical knowledge she displays right now make her more valuable than ten cities.
He realized anew just how great a loss the broken engagement with Idnia had been.
The forces of the various factions that had arrived in Blackcow Village began cheerfully tearing up the countryside around it. In addition to the dungeon leading to the ancient ruins beneath Dunais Academy, chaos-realm dungeons occasionally appeared here whenever the world’s balance faltered. People suspected these might somehow be connected to the Dunais Academy dungeon. Of course, everything discovered so far indicated they were merely the result of chance mana storms or unstable interdimensional surfaces activating—unrelated to the academy’s ancient ruins. That was the official story, at least.
“They’re certainly keeping busy.”
Heukrang, who had been living alone in a tent on the village outskirts, had lately been sharing quarters with Farinelli of the Scarlet Pimpernel. The stated reason was the need to keep an eye on whatever Farinelli might attempt; the unspoken reason was that, as a non-mage, Heukrang desperately needed the man’s counsel.
“By poking around out here, can they really do anything to the academy? Why the sudden swarm right when our mistress is attending school?”
“It depends on luck. In certain cases… one can actually enter Dunais Academy itself.”
“Is that so? Information the Scarlet Pimpernel possesses?”
“It is. But the odds are extremely low. They usually open on weekends, yet the precise conditions remain unknown.”
“They open on weekends…”
Heukrang smiled faintly at Farinelli’s casual remark. The information was simple, yet the Scarlet Pimpernel must have expended considerable effort to learn it. Farinelli would never have volunteered it without purpose.
“You’re being rather free with important intelligence. Planning to steer me however you like?”
“Not so much that as the old wisdom that a cunning rabbit digs more than one burrow. A duke’s daughter of Idnia’s caliber makes an excellent burrow indeed.”
“Conditional loyalty to Lady Idnia, then?”
The phrase “conditional loyalty” sounded almost absurd, yet for spies, outsiders, or members of the Seongsu Tribe it already constituted quite respectable fealty. Under the right circumstances one might offer loyalty. To the Seongsu Tribe—original inhabitants driven from their lands by the current settlers—it was only natural.
“Ordinarily Scarlet Pimpernel agents are few, so they never station many in one place. Yet the organization dispatched Griselda even though I am already here—and placed her in a far more important position, no less: as an instructor. It’s tantamount to seating a junior above her senior.”
“….”
“Either I produce results and put her in her place, or… switching masters would also be a fine option.”
“Ah. That sort of thing.”
Heukrang clicked his tongue, understanding Farinelli’s position.
“Fine. Let’s get along under conditional terms. But if you cause Lady Idnia even the slightest trouble, I’ll be the first to flay your hide while you’re still breathing.”
“How strange that a member of the Seongsu Tribe should offer her such loyalty. Wasn’t your people the very originators of ‘conditional loyalty’?”
Farinelli found himself wondering why Heukrang was so devoted to Idnia.