I Didn't Want to Become the Emperor of This World

Chapter 48

“The deal I want to propose to you is simple.”

Crown Prince Leonardo said, pointing at Heinshtangl. Heinshtangl was looking up at him from below the dais.

“Sir Heinshtangl over there will soon be purchasing a large quantity of various goods from you merchants. At that time, I want you to trade with Heinshtangl at a ‘reasonable’ price.”

—…

“I emphasize again, a ‘reasonable’ price. The royal family does not wish for you merchants to suffer a loss. I believe that if agriculture is the foundation of the kingdom, then commerce is its pillar.”

Heinshtangl was surprised when the crown prince suddenly pointed at him and spoke.

‘His Highness’s intention in saying that… is it to give me strength in the upcoming negotiations with the merchants?’

Heinshtangl blinked his eyes at the crown prince’s unexpected favor.

‘I didn’t expect His Highness to step in and help me personally…’

Previously, Jereuth had repeatedly said that Crown Prince Leonardo thought well of him.

But Heinshtangl hadn’t honestly believed it. It couldn’t be helped, because no matter how much Leonardo had spared his life, he was a ‘fearsome’ figure who had purged numerous nobles.

But that ‘fearsome’ person was helping him?

Heinshtangl couldn’t feel more reassured.

Thus, Heinshtangl found some peace of mind. However, the merchants were still in a state of confusion. It was because they couldn’t gauge what level the ‘reasonable price’ the crown prince mentioned was.

Abraham stealthily glanced at Crown Prince Leonardo on the dais and contemplated.

‘To trade at a reasonable price…. The nobles I’ve traded with until now always said to hand over the goods to them at a ‘reasonable price,’ but they demanded an absurd price.’

But since he couldn’t ignore the nobles’ demands, Abraham had always lowered the quality of the goods to match the price. So cleverly that the nobles wouldn't notice. The method of filling flour with dirt or dust was a specialty of the Abraham merchant guild.

‘If the crown prince also demands an absurd price like the nobles, I’ll have to do that again this time. As a merchant, I can’t do business at a loss.’

Like a seasoned merchant, Abraham’s mind worked quickly.

A merchant of Abraham’s level, who had been through thick and thin, was not intimidated even by the knights’ initiation ceremony. To break his spirit, it seemed one had to overwhelm him as a ‘merchant.’

Just then, the masked crown prince asked Heinshtangl.

“Sir Heinshtangl. Since all the merchants are gathered like this, let’s decide on the price of military provisions. It would be good to start by deciding the price of bread, the staple food of the soldiers. How much should one loaf of bread be? Or the price of flour, the raw material for bread, would be fine too.”

“The price of bread… ah, yes!”

Heinshtangl’s eyes darted around. Then, taking a deep breath, he began to answer Leonardo’s question.

‘The tyrant is watching my back. So I can be bold. There’s no need to be mindful of the merchants, I can just propose a fair price to them.’

“Before the war with the demons, when the kingdom was peaceful, the price of a large loaf of bread was 8 to 10 Cooper. But after experiencing the war and various other events, prices have risen a lot—.”

As he was speaking, Leonardo gestured with his hand and cut Heinshtangl off.

“Just tell me what would be a fair price. There’s no need for a long explanation.”

“Yes, yes! 25 Cooper seems appropriate. Since it is being sold at that price in the market.”

Even with the tyrant at his back, Heinshtangl tried to propose a fair price to the merchants.

He was truly a conscientious man.

At Heinshtangl’s words of ‘25 Cooper for a large loaf of bread,’ the merchants silently nodded. That was indeed a ‘reasonable’ price. Some merchants’ eyes even lit up at the more generous price than expected.

However, the absolute ruler who heard Heinshtangl’s proposal seemed to have a different idea.

“25 Cooper is too expensive. Let’s make it 18 Cooper.”

“Pardon?”

“I said, let’s make it 18 Cooper.”

The crown prince slashed the price. And he slashed the ‘reasonable price’ proposed by his own subordinate, Heinshtangl.

As the price of a large loaf of bread suddenly dropped from 25 Cooper to 18 Cooper, the merchants’ expressions changed. It was because selling a loaf of bread for 18 Cooper would leave almost no profit.

Knowing that well, Heinshtangl very cautiously spoke to Leonardo again.

“Yo-Your Highness. 18 Cooper is a price that is also a great burden for the merchants. At least 20 Cooper—.”

“No, it is a perfectly possible price. Because unlike selling one or two loaves of bread at the market, the royal family will be purchasing bread in large quantities for a long period. Since it’s a large-quantity, long-term purchase, the price should naturally be lower. Isn’t that common sense?”

“…”

“Also, I will buy the bread for military provisions from the merchants for 18 Cooper for the next five years. Even if the price of bread falls during those five years. Not just bread, but also the military supplies that the merchants deliver, I will buy at the same price for five years. Even if the price falls for those too.”

At Leonardo’s unexpected words, one of the merchants asked in a cautious voice.

“Yo-Your Highness. May I have permission to speak?”

“Speak.”

“I don’t quite understand what you mean by purchasing at the same price even if the price of bread or military supplies falls. Why would you buy at a higher price when the price has fallen?”

“I told you, didn’t I? I respect the merchants and do not wish for you to suffer a loss.”

“…”

“I don’t know if you are familiar with this term, but it’s called ‘futures trading.’ It means to buy and sell a certain product at a predetermined price at a certain point in time.”

The crown prince nonchalantly used the term ‘futures trading.’ However, no one here had ever heard of it. Until now, for merchants, the absolute common sense of business had been to ‘buy goods as cheaply as possible and sell them as expensively as possible in a short period of time.’

Abraham, like the other merchants, looked at Leonardo with a surprised gaze.

‘He’ll buy in large quantities for a certain period at a predetermined price…. Honestly, it’s very tempting. How did he think of that?’

The most difficult thing about running a merchant guild was ‘not knowing when sales would decline.’ But the trading method the crown prince had just proposed was a format that guaranteed sales for a full five years.

In other words, winning this deal could make the merchant guild’s operations quite stable for the next five years.

‘But the price of 18 Cooper is still a problem.’

No matter how much the royal family purchased bread in large quantities, delivering bread for 18 Cooper would leave almost no profit. After subtracting the costs required for obtaining, transporting, and escorting the bread, there would be less than 0.3 Cooper left per loaf.

‘Still, it’s a deal too good to pass up. I can’t miss the opportunity to establish a trade relationship with the royal family.’

—just as Abraham was thinking that.

“Also, I will lend the royal family’s flag and soldiers to the merchants who supply to the royal family. I heard briefly from Sir Heinshtangl before that the escort costs account for quite a large portion of a merchant guild’s operating expenses. The royal family will support that part.”

—…?

Not only Abraham, but all the merchants did not immediately understand the meaning of ‘lending the royal family’s flag and soldiers.’

But that was only for a moment.

The merchants who understood the crown prince’s words realized that the royal family’s deal was a ‘honey pot.’ Not just any honey pot, but an ‘absolute honey pot.’

Another merchant asked in a cautious voice.

“Yo-Your Highness. I’m not sure if I understood correctly, but when you say you will lend soldiers, do you mean we can use the royal family’s soldiers as our escorts?”

“That’s right. Not only as escorts, but you can also make them work like merchant guild employees. Of course, the merchants will have to bear the soldiers’ food and lodging expenses, but even so, it will be quite profitable. With that, even at 18 Cooper for a large loaf of bread, it’s a profitable business, right?”

“With that, it would be a very good business…! Ahem, -it might be.”

The merchant almost revealed his true feelings but managed to change his words. There is nothing more foolish than revealing that one is gaining a lot of profit during a transaction.

Abraham, who was listening intently to the conversation between the other merchants and the crown prince, came to his own conclusion.

‘They say crisis and opportunity are separated by a single letter. This is exactly that kind of situation.’

When the knights and soldiers had conducted their crude body search and he had been dragged into the bloodstained banquet hall, Abraham had thought it was a crisis from which he might not easily escape alive.

But now, Abraham was convinced that if he won the crown prince’s deal, he could seize a great opportunity as a merchant.

‘That opportunity belongs to the one who steps forward first. As a foreigner who entered this kingdom and endured harsh contempt, the reason I survived as a merchant is because I seized opportunities!’

The seasoned merchant Abraham decided to seize the opportunity before the other merchants.

Abraham stepped forward and spoke politely.

“Your Highness, may I have permission to speak?”

“Yes, speak.”

“My name is Abraham Mansal. I am a merchant who has traveled for over 30 years from the royal capital, the center of the Plank Kingdom, to the ‘Zakar City-State’ at the northern end, and the coastal city of ‘Misty Port City-State’ at the southern end. It is an infinite honor to meet Prince Leonardo, who has subdued the wicked nobles and eradicated the thugs and unscrupulous merchants for the people of the royal capital.”

It was Abraham, who clearly appealed to his own value with appropriate flattery.

“Your Highness. In the war against the demons, I risked my life to supply various goods for the kingdom. I have even crossed the ‘Wasteland of Ruin’ beyond the northwestern border of the kingdom. Also, before the war, I went to the Angla Empire a few times, beyond the territory of the Giants in the northwest of the kingdom.”

“Excellent. So what is it you want to say?”

As Leonardo gestured for him to continue, Abraham continued to speak.

“I was about to ask you to entrust the exclusive trade to our Abraham Merchant Guild. If you entrust the work to our Abraham Merchant Guild, which has more experience and skill than any other guild, we will never disappoint Your Highness.”

—…?!

—Exclusive?! That person with no business ethics!

—Th-that…!

—That old man Abraham…?!

At Abraham’s words of wanting to monopolize this honey pot, the merchants turned their heads sharply and glared at Abraham.

But no foolish merchant dared to raise their voice rudely in the presence of the crown prince.

Because the knights and soldiers were still standing around the merchants with their eyes wide open.

They were knights and soldiers who found fault with things like pens or brooches as weapons, so it was impossible to guess what they would do if someone interrupted the crown prince’s conversation. This time, they might say, 「“Teeth are also weapons!”」 and pull out all their teeth.

Abraham laughed inwardly at the reaction of the other merchants.

‘Foolish fools. A good deal is originally taken by the one who strikes first. As the proverb of my home country, the Angla Empire, says, ‘life is all about timing’.’

While thinking so, Abraham was confident that the crown prince would accept his proposal immediately.

Because as the crown prince, there was no reason to refuse. Why would he refuse when there was a capable merchant guild voluntarily offering to meet his demands?

‘If the royal family lends soldiers, the escort costs will be almost nil. Then I can make a profit of 3 Cooper, no, 4 Cooper per loaf of bread. Then… it’s a jackpot.’

But it seems Abraham had underestimated the crown prince.

The masked crown prince spoke, probably with a smile.

“An exclusive contract is possible, but I will not sign it right away.”

“You will not sign it right away… what do you mean by that?”

“It means I will lower the price further. For a seasoned merchant guild like the Abraham Merchant Guild to want an exclusive contract means there is a lot of profit to be made, doesn't it? So, I will give the exclusive contract to the merchant guild that offers a price lower than 18 Cooper per loaf of bread.”

“…………………?”

Abraham wore a dazed expression, as if he had been hit on the back of the head with a blunt weapon. After shrugging at Abraham, Leonardo asked the maid standing next to him.

“Lady Elly, could you give the documents I received from Commander Jereuth earlier to Sir Heinshtangl?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The maid handed a stack of documents to Heinshtangl. Heinshtangl received the documents with an awkward gesture and checked them.

At the top of the documents Elly gave him was a document titled .

Leonardo spoke to Heinshtangl.

“Sir Heinshtangl. As you can see, what is written there are the military provisions, supplies, etc., needed by the army. Commander Jereuth wrote it down, but more may be added.”

“Ah… yes.”

“Please find the merchant guild that can supply the items listed there at the cheapest price through a closed bidding process and give that guild an exclusive contract for five years.”

“Understood.”

“I’m saying this out of concern, but since these are items for the army, the quality must be good. If, by any chance, there is a defect in the items in an attempt to lower the price… then I will reprimand you, Sir Heinshtangl. Quality is first, quality is second, and price is last. The delivery deadline is a given, of course.”

“…Yes! I will check it thoroughly.”

“Good.”

The crown prince’s words of holding a closed bidding.

At those words, the expression of Abraham, who was confident he could monopolize the honey pot, hardened even more, and the merchants who had almost lost the honey pot thought to themselves with glittering eyes.

‘…If there’s a bidding competition, it will be difficult to make a lot of profit.’

‘But I can’t miss the contract with the royal family.’

‘In this already unstable kingdom economy, a guaranteed five-year contract is something I must secure.’

‘He said military supplies. So it will definitely include things like horseshoes and saddles. I produced too many thinking the war with the demons would be long, and they were a pain to get rid of… this is a chance to solve all that. So I absolutely cannot pass this deal to another merchant guild! That item will be the property of our Noslo Merchant Guild!’

It is a natural principle that the more companies engage in fair competition, the more the nation and its people benefit.

Only he knew if Leonardo had intended that, but in any case, Leonardo had induced competition among the companies—the merchant guilds.

“Then, Your Highness, I shall take my leave now.”

Just as Heinshtangl was about to leave with the merchants after bowing politely to Leonardo.

“Ah, Sir Heinshtangl, please stay for a moment. The rest of the merchants, please wait outside.”

Suddenly, the crown prince called for Heinshtangl. At that, Heinshtangl sighed inwardly.

‘…Why me again.’

As Jereuth had said beforehand, Heinshtangl began to be summoned frequently by Leonardo.