Chapter 169: The Sarlenzia Trading Company.

Chapter 169: The Sarlenzia Trading Company.

This looks like it belongs to a noble, I commented about the building before me. It wasnt to the same degree as a nobles mansion or home, but compared to the other buildings I saw in the merchant district, including those in Firwood, this one stood out the most.

The Sarlenzia Trading Company, one of the Kingdoms largest trading firms and the most influential merchant company in the Greenveil Duchy. It shouldnt be a surprise to see them imitating nobles, since that is one of the wishes of wealthy yeomen. Strive to become like your betters, right, Saori? Walking forward, Ellaine prompted us to enter the building.

When Zeather, the foxian merchant, recommended that I meet his master so we could continue our business relationship, I wasnt expecting the company to be this wealthy. Ellaine mentioned the company did trade with other countries and was one of the main reasons for large amounts of foreign products being imported into the Greenveil duchy while also being responsible for the export of most of their farm products, dungeon loot, and any Belzac goods.

Nobles werent required to use the Sarlenzia companys trading routes, but considering the logistics of exporting everything their farms produced to the other duchies or countries, simply selling their products to the company and letting them deal with it was far easier. Of course, the more ambitious merchants would do otherwise, as they wished for their own companies growth. In a way, the Sarlenzia Company was one of the major reasons for the Greenveil duchys reputation as a duchy filled with only merchants and farmers.

The outside of the building was well decorated with pristine wooden walls, well-chiseled and maintained. An overhang known as a jetty, if you wanted to be specific, gave the companys building three additional floors to work within. Aside from being visually pleasing, jettying a building was a technique used to save on land tax while expanding living or working space, something a merchant would undoubtedly do.

The inside of the building, though, really went the extra mile to make everything look splendid. The walls and floors were just wood, but looking at how smooth they were, a high-leveled artisan most likely had a hand in the construction. The ceiling was made out of white stone fairnite, Ellaine mentioned making me imagine how opulent the upper floors had to be. Compared to the alchemy guild in Firwood, this was nearly noble levels of luxury, although the usage of manatech seems to have been kept to a minimum.

Hmm, Zeather wrote a recommendation for me to meet his master, his employer, I presume, but maybe he meant a senior employee? I questioned after seeing the line of merchants standing before the reception. Since the Sarlenzia Trading Company was the most influential merchant firm in the city, their headquarters also doubled as Cedarailles merchant guild, meaning the proprietor, Zeathers employer, was a local guild master.

Even with Zeathers letter of recommendation, I was beginning to doubt that a lone foxian merchant would be influential enough to grant a meeting with a merchant guilds master, even if it was just a branch. However, Ellaine disagreed, explaining, Hestia is part of this recommendation, dont forget. before waving her hand to lead me to the waiting line.

You seem so used to standing in a line, Ellaine, I noted, noticing she was relatively calm despite having to wait in a line here and at the hunters guild. For a noble, I would expect her to be less patient in a commoners establishment.

However, I seemed to have misjudged her here. Waiting in a line is normal, even for a noble. Saori, have you any idea how long you must wait to enter one of Griffonpeaks more reputable tailor shops or even speak with somebody inside a mages guild? Institutions belonging to or partnered with a noble must hold up to the degree of a nobles artistic and architectural taste while maintaining proper procedures, especially if they are frequently visited by aristocratic patrons. Waving our status in this establishment and getting preferential treatment would be impossible, well, except for royalty or those of a higher rank, of course.

So I presume nobles of lower ranks are more used to this?

Ellaine nodded to my inquisitive remark. Yes, quite. Schwertnobles are modest in comparison to magnobles and greifnobles, if I may be so critical. After all, some merchant families are far wealthier than most of them. Ellaine then pointed at a coat of arms placed directly above the reception; a tree and bow were depicted on it.

House Greenveil?! I exclaimed without shouting.

It also helps that this company is partnered with the local ducal house, hie hie. Even if I wanted to, I have no right to complain about standing in line with others, she said with a shrug.

Well, it seems like we will be indirectly dealing with another noble, Hestia. The Kingdom is managed by them

After waiting for some time, our turn to speak with the reception finally came. Ellaine told me to hand her the recommendation, which I did, and she handed both the letter and her ID to the receptionist, stating that we wanted a meeting with the guild master at his earliest convenience.

The receptionist confirmed the information in the letter, finishing it with widened eyes, and immediately sent a runner up the stairs. He returned in a minute or two and announced the guild master will be awaiting us now.

???

That was far too quick!

Neither Zeather nor this guild master should know anything about Hestias royalty status, only that shes a high-ranking foreign noble at best, so it was weird to see this appointment made so easily. Shouldnt the guild master be busier? From what I learned from my students, any corporations CEO would be impossible to meet without an appointment.

The receptionist asked the runner to guide us up after we confirmed the meeting invitation. Usually, to enter the upper floors of the merchant guild, it was required of you to be a member, which I already was, so we didnt need the guide except to show us where the guild master was.

As I expected, the second floor was marvelous. Walls and floors made out of fairnite, giving this room an exclusivity or VIP feeling compared to the ground floor, which was weird to say since the latter was abundantly decorated, too.

Once we were on the fourth floor, our guide announced our arrival to the secretary, who informed the guild master through an intercom-like manatech, giving us a confirmation to enter once a mans voice exited the speaker. The secretary opened the door after knocking on it, leading us into a rather modest office, compared to the rest of the upper floors.

The room was decorated in fine wood with no hint of fairnite or expensive minerals. Two bookcases filled with books and scrolls were neatly organized on them, showing immaculate care for these important documents. Decorations like a bearskin rug, plants, and expensive-looking furniture, however, made the room feel natural and easy to work in, unlike the marble-like interior outside.

This was the guild masters office, not a welcoming room for a customer or nobles, designed to meet his specific taste.

Welcome! a plump middle-aged man around his 50s greeted us with open arms after standing up from his office desk. Lady Ellaine, it is so good to see you once again! I pray the Goddess has blessed you with fine health!

Hmm? He knows Ellaine? I thought, looking over to the latter who answered my confusion with a wry smile and nervous giggle.

She shook her hand, telling me to not worry before turning to the guild master. Yes, I have been very well, Mister Newt. May the Goddess bless you, too.

With all of this considered, Duke Greenveil couldnt afford to not work with Count Helvas. Since House Helvas had favors to work with, Duke Greenveil couldnt simply bully them into submission, normally something greifnobles could easily do to magnobles. However, he couldnt afford to anger Count Helvas, as the duke needed to work with the count in order to distribute the yeast around the kingdom with his coat of arms on it. Duke Greenveil had to increase the reputation of his duchy for one goal: To become the Grand Duke of Economic Affairs.

The Royal Family of Artorias was supported by four Grand Dukes and three Dukes. Each Grand Duke was responsible for one aspect of the kingdoms growth, and in this example, it was the economy. Not only was the title of Grand Duke a prestigious rank to grow your Houses influence and power, but it also meant you could prevent a rival duchy from gaining all these benefits.

The current Grand Duke of Economic Affairs was Duke Equevanna, whose duchy also focused on trade and wealth. Every five years, the four Grand Dukes would be chosen from among the seven dukes by the royal family, and to impress them, the economic-focused duchies had to show the royal family their feats in the last five years or a plan to improve the kingdoms wealth.

Yeast was Duke Greenveils ace-in-the-hole.

Now, Newt was correct that Count Helvas would never betray his liege, but we dont need to tell him that. We werent even allowed to tell him about the affairs concerning Davison, which gave House Helvas all the accolades to rise to the arcanuess rank in the first place, theoretically. He might know about Hestia and the rumors concerning her and House Helvas, but not about that last part. Hide your cards, right?

Newt was, as expected, stumped, not knowing if he could trust us or not; however, when I reminded him about the rumors he should have heard concerning Hestia from his own gossip network or from Zeathers letter, he sighed in defeat. What do you want?

I smiled at the direction of our conversation and unfurled a parchment hanging on my belt and placed it on the table. Materials for a concert stage. We arent sure about the construction yet, but we need to secure the building blocks first.

I promised to amass funds for Hestias performance stage and so I will do it. Honestly, I wasnt an architect, so I had no idea how much we needed, but what we do need is to secure a supplier. We couldnt just go around cutting down trees and mining rocks like someone from a video game; we actually had important stuff to do.

We could get an artisan to calculate the amount we needed later, but getting somebody to supply all of it at a cheap price was a problem. When Ellaine proposed doing something with the yeast recipe, I knew I had to use it to solve some of our financial issues. A large trading company like this was just perfect.

As he looked over the plans, Newt asked how much we needed, something I couldnt answer yet, causing him to huff in annoyance, calling it impossible to make a deal without proper numbers. However, I had something to entice him into this plan. Ellaine, noticing this was the correct moment, took out something from her bag and presented it on the desk.

A piece of Hestias fanwear, a dress made to imitate one of Hestias idol outfits in Artorian fashion. Read what Zeather said about concerts.

Once he was done, I continued, You must have heard the rumors, right? A greifnoble-ranked dragonewt noble has appeared in Firwood and is staying with House Helvas. Not only is she a noble, but also a priestess of Aurena who grants white graces for low prices. Our Lady Hestia can prove all of this to you, or you can even ask Ellaine for her statement.

Associating with Lady Hestia is the correct choice, Mister Newt, Ellaine supported my statement, leaving Newts mouth slightly agape.

I am a member of the chef, tailor, and merchant guilds. Deal 1: Aurora will pay for a steady supply of ingredients and spices with fulinoe leaves, Belzac herbs, and other Belzac products, as we need them for our restaurant. Deal 2: I require the Sarlenzia company to buy the clothing I make. I can make them with either normal cotton threads or mana threads, depending on my needs, although these cannot be produced at a steady supply. Deal 3: A promise to finance the materials for this concert stage, no matter what the end amount will become, for the yeast recipe. What say you, Guild Master Newt? All three deals benefit you quite a bit, no?

Come on, bite!

Gahahahaha! Newt suddenly burst out in laughter, surprising not only Ellaine but me, too. I see what Zeather now meant. Good preparation, ladies, I must admit. I really dont have much room to discuss, its like you two came in and already had me chained to your ideas. Hahaha! I wonder why Zeather didnt simply send the message to me through a messenger bird so I could prepare more. The amount of information I got was too late and my old mind couldnt think fast enough, ahahahaha!

I shrugged. He didnt owe us a favor, so why didnt he do that? This probably would have gone less smoothly if Newt had more time to research or even ask Duke Greenveil about everything. Regardless, none of it mattered since we got the deal in the end.

Well talk numbers at a later date. This is something I need more concrete information on, so bring the material amounts you need the next time you come. Ill also ready a written instruction for any of my companys branches to deliver you the supplies for what we agreed upon, Newt said, but it honestly felt like he was trying to delay to get more time. Sly.

So to interrupt his plan, I pulled out the document for our restaurants ingredients, our partys food consumption, and also the prices for Hestias fanwear, I have the numbers here. I do not have the material amount, but we can already finish the contracts for the other deals, yes? Newts complicated expression meant my suspicion was correct~

I did not know how long it took us to iron down all the details, but with Ellaines help, the contract for our first two deals was settled as the two of us smiled with elation. Not only would we have a supply of ingredients for our restaurant while we stayed in Artorias, I also had a way to sell my clothing for some extra money. It was a great deal.

Now, we still needed to do something about Tasiannas potion-making and Ellaines artificer training, but that could wait for another day. Our partys non-adventurer work was growing while we could continue living as adventurers.

Oh, there is still one more thing I want to see. You said your lady does singing, right? I would like to hear with my own ears what I will invest in. Ha ha! You see, I am an opera lover; I always visit the Griffonpeaks opera to listen to the heavenly singing there. With those last words, we said our goodbyes. While it might irritate Hestia a bit, I believe we should finalize deal three before we go and grind in the dungeon, which meant we should open our restaurant for one or two days to please Newt. It would also give us time to work on the concert stage.

After leaving with smiles on our faces, we suddenly noticed Hestia and Tasianna waiting outside the guild with skewered meat and fruits. I wonder how long they were waiting.

Hey, you two! Looks like it went well, Hestia greeted us. You guys can get us to speed later, but first, let us introduce you to our potential blacksmith.

Hestia and Tasianna quickly walked over to the tavern, hauling an orange-haired dwarf still holding onto a tankard out of it. Tasianna noticed this and snatched his tankard away before returning it to the tavern owner.

Let me introduce you to Grimnir. A taz dwarf who is not only a blacksmith, but also a runesmith and amateur artificer!

Hey-urrrp!

Why is he drinking before its even lunchtime?!