Torun city.

I had converted the previous lord's office buildings into ours. There are ten capacious two storey building connected to one another like terrace houses. The interior are high-ceilinged with several rooms separated by hallway on each floor.

Behind them, there are walls while the front compound  is expansive. 

I, as the king occupy the middle building while economy ministry led by Jascha Alatt occupies the building beside mine. General Affairs ministry that handles kingdom's coffer occupies the another one beside mine. Dark Elves occupy a building. Redcliffe nobles occupy a building. Hyuutia nobles occupies a building. 

Religion of Ebonite occupies a building as the base for proselytizing the whole region into the new religion. 

Local knights occupy a building. 

The remaining two are given to local nobles. 

"Hiro. I have something to discuss."

Jill Gustav comes to my office with a serious expression.

When we head to her workplace…… the Minister of general affairs chamber, Claire and Suzy also happen to be there.

Now then, Claire and the girls should have a tense relationship seeing how the latter is the tax collector and the former is the taxpayer.

"I received notice from the head office of the Flitch company."

"Heeeh, what company was that again?"

"Claire’s company. The one located in Florence."

Oh, that one?

I forgot because I thought it was Claire’s company all this time.

"Hm? I swear I wrote it down as Claire’s company though."

"Suzy and I have been correcting it."

"Pardon me, is it a good time to begin?"

Claire smiles before continuing.

If she’s interrupting our banter, she must have something serious to talk about.

"The head office of the Flitch company―― they have decided ……to withdraw from the north region of Dioral hereafter."

"What?"

That’s surprising.

"They will be selling off all their assets and interests as well as dismissing all employees in Redcliffe and northern Dioral."

Suzy nudges Jill who immediately becomes annoyed.

"Isn’t it because too much was squeezed out from them and they ended up in the red? Maybe someone should have held back a little."

Claire shakes her head.

"The details are secret, but please be assured that their profit was at a level where withdrawing was out of the question."

"Then why are they withdrawing? Isn’t it too sudden?"

They aren’t peddlers, plus they could have said something in advance.

"The head office did not consult with anyone. That includes me, the person in charge of the region!"

Displeasure can be seen in Claire’s expression for a split second.

"As long as they weren’t too unprofitable, they wouldn’t do something like liquidating the entire district."

Claire drinks some tea and her tone of voice returns to normal.

"With that said though, I’m not an idiot. I already grasped the course of events."

Let’s hear it.

"The head office received from King of Dioral―after they got a huge land of former Tevinter as spoils of war, a request to provide a huge sum of money. Of course, a suitable…… no, an excessively large compensation was presented in return."

Hmm. The letter from Vandimion mentioned that the immense lands at the south east of Dioral were divided among five states. 

"In order to not let other companies take the opportunity, the head office needed to get as much money as possible. Even if that meant liquidating the branch in my region, which was completely in the black!"

Jill folds her arms.

"A new nation was just created. No amount of money will be enough. Even Dioral, which was once rich, fell victim to a shortage of funds after the rapid expansion of domain…… however, won’t they be worried about getting repaid if they loan such a large sum?"

"Supposing they are anxious about getting money back, they could get promises to other collateral. It can range from exclusive commercial rights to a designated area or exclusive rights to agricultural produce."

Jill and Claire start talking back and forth……they are cute. With nothing for me to do, I call Suzy over, but she rejects me saying it’s a serious discussion.

"Dioral Kingdom certainly has a large territory now…… so you’re saying they have more to take than just money?"

"Yes. Besides, that country will need a lot more money in the future. If they fail to pay back the debt, their reputation will drop and they won’t be able to procure funds from not just that company, but all the other companies."

I’m bored so I casually peel one document off the top of Jill’s stack and glance over it. There are many words that I can't read. I return it when my eyes start to hurt.

Seeing such a jumble of letters and numbers will give me nightmares.

"……so in the end, they have no choice but to believe in the King of Dioral. Don’t you think it’s unnatural for such trust to be placed in a newly expanded nation?"

"Yes. In ideal conditions, the Flitch company would judge this as a high risk investment, and even if they were to lend money, they would start small and increase the amount in stages. At the very least, they would not loan an amount which would empty their safe. However they don’t have a choice at the moment. The company’s sales are in the black just because of me and that is slowly decreasing…… with not much prospect of recovery. They must want to try their luck on the appearance of a newly expanded nation in the south."

Please Suzy. Entertain me, I’m feeling lonely here.

She comes over while maintaining her focus on Claire.

I pat her head and rub her ass with a smile.

"Still, I have something I don’t understand. The head office has many people on the careful side, people who want to wait and see. And yet, they switch their stance after receiving one invitation from King of Dioral, now wanting to send as much money as possible to her."

"Aaah, nnh……"

I move my finger more when I hear a cute moan escape Suzy’s lips.

"Well, the particulars are trivial. What’s important is whether you will be leaving or not."

To be honest, that would be troublesome.

Claire conducts lots of business in Redcliffe, Hinterland, Korcari Wilds, northern Dioral and now newly subjugated Castall.

Her activities aren’t limited to selling and transporting of our goods, she also takes care of providing equipment supply and employing former refugees who reside in our country.

It will be a big blow to us if we need to look for her replacement.

If her work gets thrown onto Jill’s plate, that girl will collapse.

Besides, having Claire leave is the same as losing a woman.

"I’m not going to leave! How much effort do you think I had put in the development of Hyuutia’s mine and the establishment of a trade route! I won’t sell off what I worked hard for and withdraw!"

It’s been a while since Claire has yelled so loudly. It brings back memories.

"But instructions from the head office……"

"I’ll ignore them. Head office also knows this issue won’t be solved with a single letter in just one or two days…… I’ll hold out as long as I can."

"So what’s your end goal after drawing it out?"

Claire resolves herself before declaring.

"I will split from the company and go independent. I’m not going to hand over anything I earned to the south king. I will start my own company."

"I’m no merchant so it’s hard to ascertain, but is that something you can settle without fuss?"

Claire smiles in response to Suzy’s question.

"Of course not, it’ll be a war."

That’s dangerous.

"I say war, but it’s a war between merchants. We’ll be competing over suppliers and customers instead of territory, and using bribes instead of projectiles."

I don’t know if that sounds more or less dangerous.

Jill utters words sternly but knowing what she will say, I simultaneously speak,

"It goes without saying that I can’t help you. The domestic affairs official of a feudal lord must stay neutral." Jill says.

"I’ll do everything I can to help. Ask me for whatever you need."

When I speak at the same time, Jill sighs with an astounded face.

You’re heartless, staying neutral is impossible when one choice is Claire and the other is the Flitch company which we’ve never met before.

"Fufu, it will be fine. I am not going to lose so easily."

Of course, it may be entirely possible she doesn’t need help at all.

"However, going independent means we won’t know what method the head office will use. The battle may be between merchants, but it’s possible that someone will sneak up with a knife in the dark. When that happens…… could I ask for your help?"

"Sure. I’ll keep the public order in the kingdom…… as a pretense and actually guard you tightly!"

When I look over at Jill as if saying “that shouldn’t be a problem, right?”, she nods reluctantly.

"I can’t overlook assassination within the territory though. I pray that Claire doesn’t get jumped. If I see anything, I’ll contact Lady Myla." Jill makes a disclaimer but I interrupt her,

"And I’ll crush them." 

Jill once again looks at me, somewhat disappointed.

Then she clears her throat.

"To reiterate, I will ultimately stay neutral because of my position as the Minister of general affairs. However…… after knowing you for so long, I hope that you come out victorious."

"Fufu, thank you for your kind words."

Claire presents a box to Jill. It looks heavy.

"Alright then, let’s finish up here."

It makes a pretty loud jingling sound.

"I’m not going to take a bribe!"

Jill gets irritated at Claire’s joke, while I laugh.

No matter what Jill says, I’m going to protect Claire.

"Um…… it’s not much, but do you need to be bribed as well?"

Claire presses her generous chest against me.

"Of course, I’ll gladly accept."

Tonight, I’ll pretend to be the corrupt feudal lord who was given a very gorgeous lady.

Nevertheless, I ponder with my arms folded.

"I can’t let things go on like this."

Dioral and other countries are gaining ground. It won't be long before their swords turn to us.

"By the way, Your Majesty."

"Hmm. What's it?"

Claire straightens her back beside me. Her pretty face turns serious again.

"The other reason for this meeting is this.."

Hmm. She looks very serious.

"I am proposing a potential new ally for you. A small noble family but they have prominent standing in Dioral, especially in scholarly fields."

Jill hit the table, "Ridiculous. It's risky!"

"Your majesty. I vouch for her." Claire bows down until she nearly prostrates on the sofa which makes Jill at a loss for words.

What? 

"Her? Is that person a woman?"

Jill sighs.

"Yes. If you allow, she, Cass Brankovic could be the best ally you ever find!" Claire declares confidently.