Akatsuki Translations

“Well then, I shall go for a walk… a stroll to deepen my thoughts. Don’t forget our promise,” Fuglsig said.

“I understand, Sage-sama,” I replied.

As we waited for Fuglsig to leave the room, the participants noisily took their seats.

There were five participants, including Riruka. Among the companies that were pushed out due to the real estate surge, there were six food-related establishments. Five of those companies had gathered here. It was quite something that two stores were from Kenwell. This was the power of being well-connected. It was an ability I had no affinity with.

My role was to get these five members on board. The participants had taken their positions as they pleased in the now-expanded laboratory. Apart from the commoner-style attire beneath their uniforms, they were remarkably diverse.

As soon as the Sage left, a sturdy male student sat cross-legged on the desk. He was a third-year student, the son of the Dalgan Company, which dealt with meat. Duncan was apparently an independent. He had the aura of a jock.

Another third-year student, a slender male with long hair, was stroking his hair without even looking this way. He was the son of Plura, an independent company that dealt with brown sugar and refined wheat for confectionery ingredients. His affected gestures were his distinguishing feature.

A girl, my classmate, was fidgeting in her seat, sandwiched between the two. I had seen her face before. Had I talked to her? Of course not. She seemed to be the daughter of Belmini, which handled vegetables. Judging by the way she was looking at Riruka with unease, she was under the Kenwell umbrella.

Incidentally, Riruka, the daughter of the Tritt Company that dealt with dairy products, was sitting quietly, not responding to the distress signal from her classmate.

The last male student was sitting quietly. He was from Roston, a Kenwell subsidiary that handled rare fruits, grains, and other agricultural products. Even his expression remained still.

Apart from Riruka, no one seemed happy to be here. It was understandable. They were all heirs or people of equivalent status in silver-ranked companies. Moreover, except for Riruka and the Belmini girl, they were my seniors.

“Thank you all for gathering here. Now, let me explain,” I said, feeling that it wouldn’t be straightforward. I bowed low and then immediately started writing an organizational chart on a slate. The content was the same as what I had explained to Riruka and the others the other day. The creation of a shared food court in the courtyard and the establishment of a temporary trading company to operate it, using a stock-based system.

I explained while feeling their distrustful gazes. The fact that no one left their seats was probably due to their individual circumstances rather than my explanatory skills.

“So, all the companies here will invest and create one company above. Then, we’ll unite and fight against the big companies. Is that it?” The meat seller nodded, then glared at me. “And the one managing all this will be you, Vinder. Not a bad setup.”

The jock-like meat seller grinned, showing his canine teeth. He was a rich boy from a better family than me…

Of course, “not a bad setup” referred to “me managing things.” However, the fact that he was only intimidating me while saying this was proof that he was hesitant.

“Three people from Kenwell. I bet the mastermind is someone like Riruka. You might just be a figurehead. Your family business is copper-ranked, right?” The nervous-looking third-year from the confectionery store said.

“I-I had already given up, but Riruka insisted. But I’ve never heard of such a method, never…” The vegetable seller’s daughter glanced at Riruka. The gazes of the other two followed. However, Riruka didn’t react. She needed to pretend to be neutral. It would be the worst if they suspected that I had teamed up with Kenwell to exploit the independents.

“Regarding that suspicion, please wait until you hear about what we’ll actually create in the courtyard,” I said, switching places with Mia. Riruka waved at Mia, cheering her on. What happened to being neutral…?

“I will explain the specific numbers regarding the seating capacity of the space we will provide,” Mia said, proceeding to explain the number and arrangement of seats. When she mentioned that Kenwell would provide the surplus desks and chairs, Dalgan exclaimed, “Oh!” while Plura’s face contorted as if to say, “I knew it.” The Kenwell members, except for Riruka, showed expressions of relief.

“In other words, we can prepare a minimum of eight tables in the courtyard, a total of 36 seats, with 7.2 seats per store. That’s about half the seating you had last year when using classrooms normally.”

We had done prior research. At the same time, they would be considering how many seats they could prepare themselves this year.

“However, considering the reduction in the vacancy rate, you can secure the same amount of space as last year,” Mia explained.

While Mia was explaining, I drew eight tables arranged alternately on the stone slate. I also added the flow lines to the empty rooms in the school building.

“You’re saying something strange. There are six participating stores, including Vinder. The number of seats per store is six,” Plura pointed out, looking displeased.

“That’s right. It’s doubtful that even that will be treated fairly. If there aren’t enough seats, and you prioritize your own, I won’t put up with it,” Dalgan chimed in.

However, I shook my head. “Vinder will not sell anything at the food court. We will take on the management of the holdings and only receive dividends according to our investment. This should ensure fairness.”

“That’s very admirable. But then, there’s no benefit for you, is there?” Dalgan glared at me with a stronger gaze than before.

There were benefits. Considering my circumstances, it was a benefit far more valuable than gaining a reputation at the Consort’s Festival. It was irrelevant, so I didn’t mention it.

I presented a different “fact.”

“To be honest, this whole thing is an inconvenience for Vinder. I think you can tell we had no intention of participating by the fact that we didn’t participate in the bidding. It’s like we’re being harassed by Carst and the student council. As long as we can clear the condition of setting up a store in the courtyard without breaking even, that’s enough for us.”

“Is that true? I find it hard to believe,” Plura said.

“Then let me ask you the opposite. Is there any benefit for us in profiting from the Consort’s Festival or appealing to noble customers? Can a copper-ranked business catch the attention of noble customers and maintain business afterward?”

“Well, that’s… I suppose you have a point.”

“Hmph, so you know your place. Once you accept an order from a noble, you can’t refuse it. It’s a nightmare to receive a large volume of orders when you can’t prepare the goods,” Dalgan said.

Even in my original world, there were countless examples of businesses being unable to keep up with production due to a sudden influx of orders, losing the market to large companies. Some desperately tried to keep up, only to find demand disappearing afterward and going bankrupt due to overproduction. It would be even more so given the level of production control and logistics in this world.

Well, if we could fully deploy the power of beekeeping, that would be a different story. But to do that, we needed to conclude the investment negotiations with the Archduchess. And for that, we had to demonstrate the power of a joint-stock company. That was the circumstance we were hiding.

…Come to think of it, we were doing this for the reputation of the nobility too. It dampened my enthusiasm a bit.

Well, our interests didn’t clash with the people here. I didn’t say that, though.

As I demonstrated this self-preservation technique of half-spilling my true intentions, the two men finally fell silent and started thinking.

“I understand. Honestly, securing customer seating is a valuable benefit. And regarding that holdings thing, even though you’re managing it, everyone has equal rights in terms of capital, right?” Dalgan said.

“It’s unpleasant to have our delicate confectionery eaten at the same table as barbaric meat dishes and plain vegetable dishes. But it’s true that without seats, there’s no point talking. Tch, if only Carst hadn’t gone that far…” Plura added.

“Barbaric meat, you say?” Dalgan retorted.

“Um, vegetables aren’t plain…” Belmini spoke up for the first time.

Just when I thought Dalgan had finally opened up, Plura stirred things up.

“I’m fine with agreeing,” Roston said. “I have no objections either. We can’t just quietly back down from Carst’s tyranny, can we?” Riruka added.

They were good. In this case, a common enemy was the best ally. In fact, at Riruka’s remark, Dalgan and the others stopped arguing.

“But are you sure it’s okay to build such a big thing in the courtyard? I’ve never heard of anything like this,” Dalgan said.

The lack of precedent was indeed a cause for concern. However, this wasn’t my idea.

“The idea of operating in the courtyard came directly from Student Council President Hilda. We’ve also obtained permission from Princess Alfina, the courtyard’s manager,” I explained.

“Really?” “A copper-rank and the princess…”

The room buzzed with chatter. Just then, the door clicked open. Perfect timing.

“Oh, are you still in a meeting? Excuse me, but I need to grab some teaching materials for the lecture. Please wait a moment, Princess,” Fuglsig said, returning to the room with Alfina. It seemed as though she had come to learn from the Sage.

“Sage-sama… And Her Highness!” At the sudden appearance of the princess, everyone stood up and bowed their heads.

Amazing. I was confident I would have been a beat too slow.

Their lowered heads turned towards me, their gazes piercing as if to say, “What now?”

“Princess Alfina, these are the candidates for the stalls,” I introduced.

“Oh, so these people will be setting up shop in the courtyard? It’s my first time fulfilling the role of a Consort’s Festival committee member, but I’ll do my best. Please take care of me,” Alfina said.

The members nodded at Alfina’s words. It was settled. Relying on Alfina was honestly not ideal, but given the time constraints, it couldn’t be helped. She had said she wanted to do something, so I had asked her to greet them as casually as possible.

“Well then, shall we agree on establishing Festival Stall Holdings?” I asked as Fuglsig and Alfina left the room, carrying prototype antennas.

“Yeah,” Dalgan agreed.

“Hmph. I’ll play along,” Plura said.

“There’s no other way…” Belmini added.

“Understood,” Roston concurred.

The four of them agreed in their own ways.

“Alright, let’s put our hearts into the next auction. I wonder what Carst is up to,” Riruka took the lead.

The four responded with resigned faces. She had a knack for seizing the right timing. I couldn’t create this atmosphere. Naturally, someone who can’t read the room can’t create a flow. Especially since I wasn’t participating in the auction.

“With this small room, there shouldn’t be any competitors,” Roston remarked.

“Hmph, it’s not fitting for our signboard, but I guess it can’t be helped,” Plura said.

“With a small shop, the losses will be minimal…” Belmini added.

The members started discussing the auction while looking at the layout. This avoided being alone. We had overcome the biggest hurdle.

However, in other words, these members were now in the same boat. With the empty tenants on the first floor, no matter how much they struggled, they couldn’t create customer seating.

And that meant I was now responsible for them. The thought made my stomach churn with anxiety. How did a second-year copper-rank like me end up in this mess? Curse Carst and the Archduchess for dragging me into this.