Akatsuki Translations

I asked Riruka about the names of the companies that were likely to be left out of the Consort’s Festival.

“Are you sure about this?” she asked.

“It’ll be fine. I’ve heard that Ricardo-kun is a master strategist,” Alfina replied.

The princess had once again picked up strange words from Mia. It was troubling when she set the bar so high.

“The way you say ‘master strategist’ and the princess’s eyes full of trust feel so out of place… I got it. Let’s see, the ones being left out under the Kenwell umbrella are Tritt, which is us, Belmini, and Roston. As for the independents, there’s Dalgan, Meltir, and Plura…” Riruka listed off the names smoothly.

It seemed Riruka’s full name was Riruka Tritt. A company that dealt with meat, dairy products, vegetables, and specialized in confectionery. They had everything covered, didn’t they? There were even some related to clothing. I wondered if they could be used for interior design.

“I’ve never heard of any of these names,” I said.

“They’re all silver members of the Guild. They’re more well-known than Vinder. Just how little contacts do you have?” Riruka retorted.

“We’re only copper-ranked,” I replied.

And I was a loner.

The members of the Commerce Guild were ranked. The now-defunct Drefano, led by an honorary nobleman, was sometimes referred to as a special platinum rank. It was disgusting. Normally, they belonged to either gold, silver, or copper. In Japan, gold would be equivalent to being listed on the first section of the stock exchange. They were large merchants with numerous companies under their umbrella. Silver was either a large independent company or a major company under a gold’s umbrella. Copper was below silver. They were the so-called small and medium-sized enterprises. All of them were on a scale to have stores in the city.

Our place, however, was micro-sized.

Peddlers had a separate Itinerant Merchants Guild and were, of course, below copper. Our place was also like that until a few years ago, or until yesterday in the sense of the big merchants.

“How can a copper-ranked company send two people to the academy? When you think about it, it’s all just so strange,” Riruka said.

“We just got lucky with honey,” I replied.

“Getting lucky means becoming friends with the princess and being able to freely use the Sage’s room?”

“You’re getting off-topic.”

By the way, in the princess’s mind, you’re probably at the level of a friend. Be careful of Claudia.

And finally, the information was assembled.

“Anyway,” I pointed to the academy’s schematic borrowed from Riruka. Everyone’s gaze gathered. “Based on what we’ve discussed, these six rooms on the first floor are the prime targets for tenants.”

“Wait a minute, aren’t they all small rooms? They’re only about a third the size of a classroom. And most of them are just storage rooms. You can’t even seat customers there. The second floor would be better,” Riruka objected.

That’s true. The first floor had few decent places to begin with, with many cloakrooms and break rooms. However, considering the interaction with the courtyard, there was no other choice.

“Customers won’t enter the rooms. All six of these face the courtyard, right? We’ll only prepare the food in the rooms, and the customers from all six shops will sit here.” I drew an oval shape in the courtyard.

Yes, what I was trying to create was a food court, like those found in large commercial facilities in my original world.

“A shared space?!” Riruka exclaimed.

“We’ll call it a food court. Customers will order from various shops and come to the courtyard. The shops will deliver what’s ordered. For example, even if friends want to eat different things, they can each order from their favorite shop and eat in the same place. And since it’s shared among six shops, there’s less wasted seating.”

Even a party of samurai and knights could avoid arguing over meals. Well, there weren’t any samurai here.

Before Riruka could object, I hammered home the advantages. The entrance was crucial when explaining something completely new.

“Well, it sounds very lively and fun,” Alfina said.

That’s right. This way, our place wouldn’t be alone in the courtyard. It was an escape from being a loner. However, the princess’s sense, which had recently become more commoner-like, was unreliable. She was questionable to begin with.

I relied on the daughter of a merchant family who, unlike a count’s daughter or our place, normally dealt with ordinary nobles.

“I’d like to hear Claudia-dono’s opinion,” I said.

“What will you do when it rains?” she asked.

Oops, she immediately brought up a tough point. I drew something like a parasol on the stone slab.

“We’ll consider the connection from the corridor and add a minimal roof. If it gets too intense, we’ll retreat at that time. Even if they complain, we’ll use this as a guest room,” I said.

The Sage’s room should somehow manage. Could they handle the trouble of the rain after pushing the courtyard onto us? I’d argue with the student council that it’s for the protection of the guests. Though, I might be disqualified from using the courtyard as a condition.

“What about the seating?” Claudia asked.

“There should be extras from the classrooms. Riruka, your boss has secured the rooms, right? Can’t you work something out?”

“I think I can manage something if I ask,” Riruka replied.

“And apparently, the desks and chairs that were originally here have been thrown into the storage room, so we’ll use those too.”

“Senpai, I don’t think they were very clean,” Mia interjected.

“They’re the legendary desks where the Sage devised plans to save the nation from crisis,” I quipped.

If it were seats for six shops, it would be far from enough, but with the food court method, we’d need at most half.

“Anything else?” I asked.

“…Where do you intend to seat the princess?”

“Positionally, we’ll create something like a management office around here. At a spot where people coming to greet Princess Alfina can have a clear view of the participating shops’ windows.”

“You plan to use the princess as bait to attract customers?”

“…Sorry. You don’t have to recommend the stores.”

I apologized to Claudia. I wanted Alfina to enjoy the festival as naturally as possible, but it couldn’t be helped.

“I’d be happy if I can be of help. It’ll trouble Claud, though,” Alfina said.

“No, if the princess says so… Vinder, that’s about it from me,” Claudia replied.

“That’s a big help. What about you, Riruka?”

The points Claudia raised weren’t what I had expected, but she had given it proper thought. Next was the girl glaring at the layout with an anxious face.

“I’ve never heard of this method, but it certainly solves the biggest problem of space. I think there’s a novelty to the format itself. But no, there are too many issues,” Riruka said, standing up and pointing to the courtyard.

“Even if we bring in chairs and desks, creating seating for nobles in this empty space will require quite an investment. Even if it’s not for six shops, we’ll need at least half that number of seats. Twenty, I’d say. Just the umbrellas to put up will be a considerable expense. And we can’t just use the ground, so we’ll need mats too.”

“The site fee should be low. Argue and negotiate based on the narrowness of the tenant spaces. Interior decorating, tablecloths, napkins, and such were necessary from the start, right? As for the food court expenses, the seven companies, including ours, will split them.”

“It might be enough cost-wise. But there’s no way seven separate companies will come together to operate a shared space. In the first place, you’re…”

Ah, I see. It’s like the Western Army led by Ishida Mitsunari at the Battle of Sekigahara[1]. Vinder doesn’t even reach the level of Ishida Mitsunari. More like Natsuka Masaie[2] or Kasuya Takenori[3].

Riruka glanced at Alfina. She’d be far more reliable than Toyotomi Hideyori. Of course, as I mentioned earlier, we’ll have to indirectly make use of her influence.

However, if the supervisor directly gets involved in the operation, who knows what kind of unreasonable demands they might make later on.

And this is completely for our own convenience, but it would lower the evaluation of the system I’m trying to test out with this opportunity. I wouldn’t be able to convince her aunt.

“I have an idea on how to bring them together,” I said.

“What is it?”

“We’ll create a temporary parent company through joint investment to hold these seven companies under its umbrella. Let’s call it Festival Stall Holdings. We’ll have this holdings company manage the shared space.”

“Holdings? I don’t want to hear such an absurd method. It’s not the parent company creating a child, but the children gathering to create a parent.”

Riruka looked dumbfounded. Of course, it would normally be impossible without the backing of power or legal security. But this time, it only needs to last for about twenty days at most. Plus, there’s a common crisis. Even a castle of sand can handle that much.

However, we should assume that there will definitely be traitors.

“We’ll adopt a method called stock for the investment format. Shares will be allocated according to the amount invested. To put it simply, if each company invests 10 gold coins, the holdings company’s capital will be 70 gold coins, right? In return, each company will hold 10 shares. And with this capital, we’ll create seating in the courtyard. In other words, we’ll disperse the huge risk of creating joint seating among the seven companies.”

“I see… But with equal investment, the ones with more customers will have an advantage, won’t they?”

“We’ll charge a usage fee per seat used by each store. Those usage fees will be collected by the holdings company and ultimately distributed according to the number of shares held. If the food court thrives, it will benefit everyone.”

Riruka fell silent. Actually, I have one more trick in mind, but I can’t say anything about it without seeing the members.

“Risk is dispersed, and profits are distributed in a clear manner… A mechanism to bind and unite companies that should have separate profits and risks. Why does this incomprehensible method sound so reasonable?”

Well, of course. It’s a method refined for organizational management in my original world.

“What should I do?” Riruka asked.

“Recruit potential participants. In other words, companies that have fallen into a predicament under the current rules and have no choice but to cling to this far-fetched idea,” I said.

Riruka clenched both her hands tightly. Before I knew it, my classmate had put on the face of a merchant.

“…I have no choice. Alright, I’m in on this plan. However, all I can do is bring potential members to you,” Riruka said.

“Yeah, that’s more than enough. Not a single company would gather if I were to call out to them,” I replied.

“That’s not something to say with pride.”

Riruka gave a wry smile. I wanted her to forgive me for that. That’s precisely why I came up with the idea of relying on the system.

“…I’ll try to communicate about arranging the chairs and desks as soon as possible. I’ll make sure it’s in time for when you explain about Festival Stall Holdings.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

Just the fact that Kenwell is cooperative with this plan can provide reassurance to potential members. I bowed my head to Riruka.

“But even so, it won’t be easy. Those independent folks have high pride, so don’t think they’ll jump at the bait just because they’re in trouble,” Riruka warned.

“I know.”

I looked at Mia. My reliable secretary nodded. I’ll leave the information gathering on the prospective participants to her.

“It was a very interesting discussion. Is this the kind of talk merchants always have?” Alfina said with admiration.

“No, Princess. This guy is absolutely not normal,” Riruka said with an assured expression.

Well, it was a common method in my original world.

“Vinder…”

“Yeah. You helped me out a lot today.”

As everyone was about to leave after the meeting ended, Riruka came up to me.

“There’s something I want to tell you… If things had stayed the same, I don’t think we could have even participated. So…”

“There’s no guarantee it will work out.”

“It’s fine even if it doesn’t work out. Thank you. I’m grateful.”

Riruka bowed her head to me.

“No, it would be no joke for us to have a lone stall in the courtyard either.”

I also have an ulterior motive of using this as an experimental platform to convince the Archduchess of the advantages of the stock system. I want information on the Empire too. I’m properly securing my own benefits, you know.

“Can I ask you one thing?”

“Yeah.”

“Holdings? Don’t tell me it’s a method you just thought of on the spot. How did you know about it?”

“It’s a trade secret. Well, I’ve been thinking about it for at least five years.”

I used my secret weapon, “corporate secret.” Riruka gave me a probing look but then laughed.

“Senpai is even more incredible than the Sage. I see.”

“What are you talking about?”

“That’s my own business. I know I’m being persistent, but when you persuade the other members, put your heart into it. They’re different from today’s members.”

“That’s right, Senpai. They won’t be as easy as the person here,” Mia chimed in.

“I’m not easy! No, nevermind, Mia. Since Vinder is unreliable, I’ll make sure you properly keep the participants in mind, Mia.”

The two began exchanging information, saying that. Easy? Well, I think the people gathered here are quite troublesome in their own right.

TL Note(s)

[1] “Ishida Mitsunari (石田 三成, 1559 – November 6, 1600) was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi–Momoyama period of the 16th century. He is also known by his court title, Jibu-no-shō (治部少輔).” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishida_Mitsunari

[2] “Natsuka Masaie (長束 正家, 1562 – November 8, 1600) was a daimyō in the Azuchi-Momoyama period. He was served Niwa Nagahide and later Hideyoshi. He was one of the Go-Bugyō, or five commissioners, appointed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natsuka_Masaie

[3] “Kasuya Takenori (糟屋 武則, 1562–1607) was a Japanese samurai of the Azuchi-Momoyama Period, in the service of the Toyotomi clan. He was the second son of Kasuya Tadayasu, a retainer of the Bessho clan of Harima Province. He held the title of Naizen no Kami (内膳正).” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasuya_Takenori