“Milk and eggs are one thing, but honey and sugar too? …Isn’t that a bit too sweet, Senpai?” -Mia
As I was working in the kitchen, a facility even more inconvenient than a Japanese studio apartment, Mia came up beside me and spoke with a stern look. She was supposed to be instructing Alfina, but she seemed curious about what I was doing.
“What’s wrong with that? You like sweet things too, Mia.” -Ricardo
“Never mind.” -Mia
Mia glanced at Alfina. The sight of the princess wiping shelves with a rag sent chills down my spine, enough to make a low-budget horror movie run away barefoot. Fortunately, no poltergeist-like phenomena were occurring. I did see a dripping ghost once, though.
It was a good thing it was summer. If she caught a cold, I would die before the patient.
However, by the third day, I had gotten used to it. People get used to even dangerous things once they become accustomed to them. I’m especially worried about Mia’s future, as she ran her fingertips over the wiped shelves and said, “It’s still dirty.”
“Well, if you eat this, you’ll be in a better mood.” -Ricardo
The pleasant smell of butter began to waft from the frying pan. I picked up the yellow bread that had been soaked in flavor and tossed it into the pan. A satisfying sizzling sound and sweet aroma rose up. The sound of the girls’ chatter behind me stopped for a moment.
When I lived on Earth, I had a deep love for frozen foods and convenience stores. This is about all the sweets I can make with the facilities in this world. However, the texture and flavor that had been thoroughly soaked in over time were guaranteed.
◇◇
“‘The archduchess has not yet yielded. Our hearts are about to break.’ That’s not very clever.” -Ricardo
I sighed as I looked at my father’s letter. The investment negotiations with Archduchess Berthold had hit a snag. With Drefano gone, the food guild had transitioned to a troika system with three vice-guild leaders. If I remember correctly, it was Kenwell, Carst, and… what was the other one?
We wanted to expand our market share now, so we were desperate for funds.
However, if we accepted the archduchess’s funds outright, we risked losing everything except the Vinder name.
That’s when I thought of introducing a system that didn’t exist in this world: stocks. It was a method born as a means to control risk, but it was also an excellent way to adjust the interests of people in different positions.
It defined the power structure more clearly than abstract contract language. In other words, the idea was to lure them in with the novelty and bring them into our field. It was a modest piece of wisdom for commoners dealing with a high-ranking noble.
As expected, the archduchess was interested in the method itself. However, the problem was the investment ratio. We wanted to keep it below 50 percent. If we could just get the billboard that is Archduchess Berthold’s investment, it would be easy to borrow funds. With our profit margin, that would definitely be better.
I mean, like hell I’d let a high-ranking noble take us over so easily.
“Well, you’ve been with Ricardo-kun since you were nine years old, right?” -Alfina
“Yes, I’ve been worked to the bone by Senpai. Well, Senpai pretends to be a rationalist, but he’s actually soft, so I slacked off appropriately.” -Mia
Behind me, Alfina and Mia were talking. They had really hit it off. As an instructor, Mia was clearly more qualified than me. She was the same gender and much more reliable than someone like me.
“Well then, let’s take a break now.” -Mia
“A break? What kind of work is that?” -Alfina
The princess started sounding like an employee of a black company. It’ll be fine… right?
“Anyway, shall we make that?” -Ricardo
I headed to the kitchen to fulfill my duties for the welfare of my two employees. For these three days, in order to avoid treating her as a customer, I had only served her plain bread and light meals like cheese.
◇◇
“Alright, the snack is ready.” -Ricardo
I placed the frying pan on the table and cut into the golden-colored bread that had been nicely charred. Mia brewed some tea. It was a souvenir that the archduchess had sent with Alfina. The tangy flavor, similar to Earl Grey, seemed to pair well with today’s sweets.
“You can add honey to your liking later. Don’t make it too sweet.” -Ricardo
“…Senpai occasionally makes unusual dishes, but this is the first time I’ve seen this one. Do you know about it, Fina?” -Mia
“No, I don’t. Is it bread with some other flavor added to it? I’m really looking forward to it, Mia.” -Alfina
She started calling her that since she couldn’t instruct her as Alfina-sama. Don’t accidentally say it wrong at the academy, okay?
I divided the steaming golden French toast into four portions and placed them on plates. Mia scrutinized it as if appraising it. Alfina’s eyes sparkled. I guess even the princess hadn’t eaten it before. In this world, sweeteners like honey and sugar were ultra-luxurious items. When it came to sweet things, it was mostly fruits.
I heard that glazed peaches with sugar and butter were popular.
“Thank you for the food, Ricardo-kun.” “Thank you for the food, Senpai.” -Alfina
The two girls took a knife and fork, cut off a small piece, and put it in their mouths.
“Mmm…” “…Not bad.” -Alinfa&Mia
Seeing the two girls holding their cheeks, I also started on my own portion. Of course, I stabbed it with a fork and took a big bite. Yeah, it was juicy. The bread was a bit firm, but thanks to the time spent soaking it, the texture was decent. A little honey is enough; it’s indeed too sweet. Wait, Mia is pouring it on hers without hesitation.
Don’t blame me if you get fat.
“I’ve never had such a delicious snack before. I can’t believe it’s made from bread.”
“It’s still too sweet, Senpai.” -Mia
“No, I told you not to put too much honey…” -Ricardo
I was also satisfied with the happy faces of the two who had finished eating in no time. However, today’s main topic was yet to come. Over the past three days, Alfina had gotten to know the atmosphere of a small merchant company. I think she did her best, starting from a state with no experience at all.
However, the reason the archduchess sent her niece was not just for a social studies field trip. Alfina had also said that she wanted to learn the realistic perspective of a merchant. Even though it was summer vacation, considering Alfina’s schedule, which included her duties as a shrine maiden, we had to start talking about the nitty-gritty soon.
“From the afternoon, Alfina-sama will…” -Mia
“Just Alfina, right…?” -Ricardo
Alfina looked a little lonely, but the upcoming conversation was not about her as a trainee employee.
“The task the archduchess assigned you isn’t simply to learn about our company, is it? From the afternoon, you will study the logic of business.” -Mia
She had to return to her role as an inspector. This French toast was also a teaching material for that purpose.
“So here’s a question. What is the most basic form of business?” -Ricardo
I asked Alfina and Mia, who were sitting at the cleared table.
“Selling things?” -Alfina
“Buying things and selling them to other people for profit.” -Mia
The two students answered. I shook my head.
“You’re not wrong, but what I’m about to talk about is a bit more abstract. The most basic form of business is making money with money.” -Ricardo
I threw out the words I had prepared. Of course, Alfina, but even Mia tilted her head.
“Here are 10 silver coins. You buy something with these silver coins and sell it for 12 silver coins. Simply put, the profit is 2 coins. In other words, you earned 12 coins with 10 coins. It doesn’t matter what that something is in between.” -Ricardo
I stacked ten silver coins on the table. It was like casino chips. However, what I was about to discuss might be close to that.
By the way, the official currency of this world was gold, silver, and copper. 1 gold coin was worth 10 silver coins, and 1 silver coin was worth 100 copper coins. In terms of Japanese sense, 1 copper coin was about 100 yen, and 1 silver coin was 10,000 yen.[1]
However, the sense of prices differed between food and other goods. Especially for luxury items, the difference was in orders of magnitude.
The monthly living expenses for an average citizen in the royal capital were around 3 silver coins.
“I’m sorry. It’s a bit difficult. It’s hard to grasp, so to speak.” -Alfina
“I understand, but it’s too abstract.” -Mia
Both of them didn’t seem convinced by my words, which could also sound provocative. That’s why I prepared this.
“Well then, let’s use a French toast shop as an example.” -Ricardo
As I said that, the gazes of the two turned to the last piece remaining in the frying pan.
TL Note(s)
[1] Basically 1 copper coin is around a dollar, 1 silver coin is 100, and 1 gold is 1,000.
Also, unfortunately, I will have to reduce chapter releases to once a week on Wednesdays. This is because a reader has subscribed to my Ko-Fi to hasten chapter releases for Five Years Since the Dungeons Appeared, so I want to prioritize those first.
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