Chapter 6

2) The Unexpected Encounter

Of course, I, who thought Masha would come in, opened my eyes wide.

The person who entered my room was an unexpected person.

“Young Miss.”

It was a young red-haired man dressed nicely in a black butler uniform.

As soon as I saw him, I shouted reflexively.

“Chedes! Forget the black tea! I won’t drink it!”

“Yes? Are you rejecting my black tea again today? Don’t tell me, did yesterday’s black tea also not suit your taste?”

The butler of my family, Chedes, made a sad face at my rejection.

But I surely can’t drink that tasteless black tea today, just because I fell for that face.

“Yup, it wasn’t good. Very.”

At my firm answer, Chedes grasped his chest.

“U-ugh, to think that yesterday’s was also not good…. Yesterday, I specially put one more spoon of honey because I paid attention to it, though!”

“So that’s why it was weirder, because of the mixture of bitter and sweet flavors….”

There’s no way it’ll be delicious just by adding honey. The tea, in the first place, was boiled tastelessly…

Why does a person who’s a butler not know that, gosh.

‘In fact, isn’t it that it can’t be helped since Chedes originally didn’t receive any butler training?’

“No matter how it is, next time, how about I brew the tea in water with honey from the start? Since Young Miss like sweet things, if I do it like that, wouldn’t it suit your taste?”

“What did the honey and the tea leaves do wrong? Don’t. Don’t do it. Even in the future, don’t even think about making tea.”

Leave the precious honey and tea leaves alone.

As soon as I shook my head, Chedes sighed.

“Young Miss. Won’t I also have to practice so that I can make tea well….”

“Eyy, it’s okay. Although Chedes can’t make tea, you’re good at fighting.”

“Young Miss. I’m a butler, though?”

Chedes, refuted, saying that what’s the use of fighting well for a butler.

I shouted proudly at him in response.

“I don’t know about other families, but it’s considered done if my family’s butler can fight well even if he’s not good at brewing tea!”

“….”

“Anyway, today, forget about the black tea! No, I won’t drink black tea until I go to the Capital. Just give me cookies.”

“Young Miss…. You don’t like my black tea, but you are eating the cookies that Derek made?!”

“About that, it’s because whatever the chef makes is delicious.”

“…Heeuk, how can the Young Miss!”

Chedes once again grasped his chest with a face like a person who was beaten by a gasping cat.

“To think that the tea I brewed with all my heart didn’t suit Young Miss’ taste!”

“Excuse me. The more heart you put in, the worse Chedes’ tea tastes, though…?”

“I, Chedes, with the honor of the butler of the Cartier Family, will one day brew a tea which will surely be recognized by the Young Miss!”

Ugh. Turns out it’s no use even if I try to stop him.

I eventually decided to give up.

“Yeah. Cheer up, Chedes! They say that everyone should have big dreams! Even if they don’t come true!”

“….”

For some reason, at my support, our butler’s shoulders drooped.

“Yes, a dream that won’t come true….”

“Yup. Anyway, forget about the black tea, get going now, Chedes.”

“N-No. Young Miss. I didn’t come here because of black tea. Actually, a guest came to find you and I was going to tell you that….”

“You should’ve said that quickly!”

So Tezent has come!

I told Chedes to bring him quickly.

Soon after, Tezent appeared in my room’s drawing room.

Sitting dignifiedly on the sofa, I welcomed him calmly.

“Welcome, Zen. I’m sorry I kept you waiting.”

At my greeting, Tezent took off the hat he was wearing and greeted me.

“No. I greet Miss Diana of the Cartier Family.”

“Yeah, sit down on your seat comfortably.”

“Yes.”

Sitting on the seat opposite of me, together with answering, Tezent’s expression was stiff.

‘…Don’t tell me, did he come to tell me that he can’t do it?’

I-It didn’t seem to be like that, though.

I’m sure this talk will be a good opportunity for Tezent, too, though?

The moment the flustered me was thinking about how to start the conversation.

“Miss.”

Tezent opened his mouth first.

“Do you have any thoughts about the details for the method of developing or distributing the sales of the magic stone mine?”

“Ah! If it’s that, I had prepared the documents. Please look at this.”

I handed over two documents that I had written as best as I could in advance.

“One is the letter of appointment for the management deputy. Ah. It’s not as Tezent Poe, but it’s a letter of appointment and contract that was written under your other name, Zen.”

“…You’re very meticulous.”

“Of course! And the other one is the magic stone mine’s sales business plan. Please look at both of them.”

“Yes, then excuse me for a moment.”

Tezent’s eyes glowed sharply as he looked at the documents that I handed over.

Although he was indeed frowning while looking at the documents with such a face that a child who passed by would burst into tears….

‘Turns out the Sid race, which is bear hybrids, have a strong (?) feeling in everything. The ears are cute, though.’

After Tezent examined the documents, I looked at the pricked ears on the top of Tezent’s head for a moment.

“…Do you need?”

At Tezent’s words when he finished reading all the documents, I was surprised.

Huh? Is my written plan that bad?

I clearly went through it carefully over and over again, and there was nothing wrong with it, though…

“You asked do I need. What does that mean?”

When I asked, trying not to show how flustered I was, only then, did Tezent speak properly.

“Do you really need me in this business? The plan is already perfect like this, though.”

Ah, and I thought it was something serious…

‘I thought he was asking if I needed this kind of document because it was such a mess!’

I breathed a deep sigh of relief inside.

To think that it looks pretty good in the eyes of a former merchant and a now smuggler, Tezent, who must have gone through all the hard work.

‘I guess I did a good job!’

I, who was more relieved, smiled.

“Thank you for the compliment. But no matter how good the plan is, I can’t carry it out myself.”

“So, in other words, you’ll handle the important things in person and all things apart from that, you want to leave them to me.”

At Tezent’s words, I nodded.

“Yup. In truth, Tezent and I, we haven’t even known each other for that long, so I can’t entrust mine management to you outright.”

“That is correct. Since early times, merchants should not trust others recklessly.”

Smiling as he talked, Tezent paused.

“Ah. Of course, the Miss is a noble, not a merchant.”

“I’m a noble, but I might become a merchant. I’ll run a merchant store myself, too, you know.”

“A merchant store? By any chance, are you going to establish a merchant store that specializes in distributing the magic stone?”

“No. I’m thinking of selling not only magic stones but also various other items. Of course, first of all, it will focus on selling the magic stone.”

“…I see.”

He, who seemed to be thinking about something for a while, opened his mouth.

“Then, can I ask you one thing that I’m curious about?”

“Yup. You can comfortably ask me anything.”

“What is the reason that Miss choose the Western Continent Gold Magic Skill Union as your first distributor? I’m sure you know that the Eastern Continent Magic Island purchases the magic stone at a much higher rate than that place?”

Gold Magic Skill.

A power (magic) that is embodied by mana, a power (alchemy) that is created by mana.

‘A ‘Gold Magic Skill User’ can be seen as a sorcerer who can even do alchemy, right.’

And those gold magic skill users have been largely divided into two since long before.

The Western Continent’s Gold Magic Skill Union. For short, [W.M. Union]

The Eastern Continent’s Magic Island, without having to cut it short, but generally known as, [Magic Island]

Since a very long time ago, these two places, which were created by the gold magic skill users in the west and the gold magic users in the east, have fought hard.

The reason for their fight was nothing special.

‘I’m the best! And you’re bad!’

‘No, I’m the best and you’re the worst!’

…It was a relationship in which they were fighting like this.

To be honest, money was a little more abundant in the Eastern Continent’s Magic Island.

‘Since the Eastern Continent is also stronger in alchemy than magic, they sell a lot of gold magic skill tools.’

That’s why, when merchants had something they wanted to sell to the gold magic skill users, majority took it to Magic Island.

Because they know well that they’ll buy the product at a high price without saying anything.

‘Thanks to it, surely the W.M. Union lost quite a lot of materials related to the high-quality gold magic skill to the East, Magic Island.’

Of course, I was well aware of that.

And I had a different sales strategy from the general merchants.

“Of course, I know. However, the W.M. Union, along with our Empire, belongs to the Western Continent.”

“Are you trying to be loyal because we’re from the same continent?”

Tezent looked at me as if he was looking at a young child who had immature thoughts.

Such a face like he was thinking that his opponent was cute but is also a bit young.

I smiled brightly.

“No. Since if I sold the magic stone first to the gold magic skill users on another continent who may someday become our enemy, I can even forge up treason without Grand Duke Judah, who has been in a bad temper.”

“…!”

Tezent was surprised as if he couldn’t even think of what I said.

I kept talking.

“Of course, for exports to some degree, even the Imperial Family will surely turn a blind eye to it. But I can’t sell the most to Magic Island. And we’ll end up paying a huge tax, too.”

It was a conclusion that I got after, tok tok, tapping the calculator.

No matter how much the Magic Island bought the magic stones at a high price if the Imperial Family set a tremendous amount of export taxes—

‘Uhmm, plus minus zero? Maybe not until that.’

Anyway, it was clear that a considerable amount of tax would have to be paid.

Considering such many things, rather, it was better to sell the magic stone in large quantities to the W.M. Union from the start.

“Moreover, although the W.M. Union is rated a level slightly lower than the Magic Island this very present–”

I stopped talking for a while and grinned.

“Eventually, if the supply and demand of the materials go smoothly, the W.M. Union will also soon reach a level similar to the Magic Island.”

In the first place, the W.M. Union wasn’t inferior to the Magic Island because they were not skilled.

The biggest reason was that the supply of high-quality magic stones wasn’t running as efficiently.

“That’s why, once it’s done, I’m thinking of making it so that the W.M. Union can increase its strength. Only then—”