'I see. So you have a number of magic chests.

Yeah.

　I couldn't let Tarrant-san know about the 'online shopping', so I went to the trouble of replacing the white sugar, honey, and liquor in the magic box before I brought them in.

''Then let's go check in the warehouse, shall we?

　We and Tarrant-san moved to the Garcia Chamber of Commerce's warehouse, where we took out a large amount of white sugar, honey and liquor from the magic box.

''Hohoho, liquor.......this has a strong alcohol content. This will sell.''

　The liquor included shochu, whiskey and vodka in large jars and PET bottles.
　Anyway, we prepared mainly high alcohol content liquor.
　We also prepared a fancy box of fine wines and whiskeys, but I'm not sure if they would sell.
　Tarrant, who had tasted them, looked like he wanted to taste them all.

'Where does this come from?'

It's a secret supplier.

　Even if I lied poorly about being in another country, the Garcia Chamber of Commerce's ability to gather information would soon reveal that I was lying.
　I dared to blur my supplier.
　In short, it's enough for me to understand that I'm the only one who can purchase them.

''Since there is a strategy to siphon off money from the royalty and nobles of the Baat Kingdom, this should be half the original price as well.

''That's much appreciated. By the way, I've heard a bit of rumor that the desert elves are gathering in the south, or that the Far South Sea has been revived, or some other outlandish rumor.

　As expected of the Garcia Chamber of Commerce.
　Have you already grasped the revival of the Far South Sea and the trends of the desert elves to some extent?
　The fact that you dumped that story on me means that you are assuming that I, as a 'change agent', am involved in it.

I'm not sure because I haven't actually seen it with my own eyes. It's just........

"Just?

If that's the case, it should soon be made known to a lot of people. As for the Garcia Chamber of Commerce, why don't we do what we do as a Chamber of Commerce then?　Right now, it would be better to take steps to delay the invasion of Shipland by the Baat Kingdom as much as possible.

　It will be known at some point anyway, but it's best to keep the existence of the 'Confederation of Southwest Tribes' as hidden as possible.
　It's because I believe that, that I am offering white sugar and other products at a discount.
　And it's to the benefit of both parties.
　Tarrant-san would notice that, and he wouldn't say anything more unnecessary than that.
　Anyway, right now, rather than dealing with the 'Union of Southwest Tribes', we have to deal with the Bart Kingdom measures immediately.

''.........There doesn't have to be so many of them, but do you have any extravagant goods?　With royalty and aristocracy, I love those things. An expensive item that only you have. They show it to others and make it their authority. I'll give you any amount of money you want.

　A luxury item.
　This is another one of those things that takes money away from the nobility and royalty.

Yes, sir. On board.

　Shall we go back to the ship again and purchase it through 'online shopping'?

''Since the 'Changer' lord gave us a bonus on the purchase price, we have more moves we can make. Now, let's raise the price of grain a bit.

　That king must have ordered the local nobles to stockpile food for the future invasion of Shipland.
　Therefore, he has them increase the amount of grain they buy and release their stockpiles.
　Not only the Baat Kingdom, the nations of this world have no clue about the inner workings of the noblemen's territories scattered across the desert.
　When ordered by the state to 'send out troops in case of an emergency' or 'stockpile food', they agree, but they are unable to grasp the inner workings of the territory.
　Is it still better to just say 'Okay'?
　If they only send out one man and say 'we can't afford it,' that's all there is to it.
　The majority of the nobles in the Great Desert, which is mostly desert, think that protecting their lives is more important than anything else, and that most of them cannot afford to fight a war no matter how much the king orders them to.

　The Viscount Shipland, who is a nobleman of the Kingdom of Burt in name only, and the Kingdom of Burt must be completely unaware of the actual situation.　That's why that king is trying to attack Shipland and use it as his power.

''Well, let's start the merchant's war.

　After purchasing a large amount of goods from me, the Garcia Chamber of Commerce poured a large amount of these goods into the Kingdom of Bart at half price.
　As expected, the kingdom didn't loosen its purse strings, but the nobles who had a fiefdom and even the nobles who had money in vestments bought these goods in droves, reducing their reserves of divine coins by a large amount.
　The Garcia Chamber of Commerce also approved the exchange of food, so the nobles released a large amount of grain that they had stockpiled to feed the lords' armies.

''Since we've sucked up so much, the parts of the lords' armies that can be used in times of war must have been considerably reduced.

Fairly?

Even though the king is like that, there are capable nobles. You shouldn't be reckless with them. They don't fall for it, and it's a waste of energy.

I see.

　There are some noblemen who, as excellent politicians, refrain from unnecessary extravagance and properly stockpile food and goods for emergencies and famines.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yes, the "crystal glass"? Crystal glasses? Drinking from them is very popular among the nobility and rich people.

　That crystal glass, the supplier was a few thousand Eidolcs sold through 'online shopping', and the most expensive items were only a few tens of thousands of Eidolcs.
　These can be sold for hundreds of thousands to millions of eidolcs, so despite the fact that this is part of the strategy for the Burt Kingdom, Tarrant-dono seems to be smiling with a smile on his face as he made more money than expected.

''Also, the very cheap spirits are very popular as well.

Is that it?

　Only alcohol spirits.
　In other words, it is ethanol for commercial use.
　It's not methanol, so it's not harmful to drink, but it's alcohol only, so it has no taste and no substance.
　However, it is said to be selling very well.

'In the royal capital and the land directly under its control, taxes on alcohol have gone up substantially, all in preparation for war. It's all in preparation for war.

　When they raised the price of liquor proportionately, sales in the Kingdom of Burt decreased and some breweries began to go out of business.

So they started buying only the spirit from us and selling it with color, taste and aroma.

　
　Most people don't know what a fake sake tastes like, but the truth is that most people don't know what it is.
　But the truth is that most people don't know what alcohol tastes like, because if it were that easy, there would be no such thing as a fake.

It's a mixture of small amounts of fruit juice, sugar and honey. The cost of higher taxes is more than offset by the cost of higher taxes. It's cheap enough to be served in the tavern, so it's very popular. Oh, the nobles say, 'We, the nobility, do not drink such cheap liquor! and more and more expensive liquor is being sold, though.

　What I'm doing is quite vicious, but if the Kingdom of Bart crashes Shipland, the existence of the 'Union of Southwest Tribes' will be known early on.
　Since it was that king, they would be targeted after Old Town.
　The Confederation of Southwest Tribes is not yet ready, and the tribes are not coordinating well.
　All we need is time, and I'm only willing to use these nasty tricks to get there.

'But then again, you're here every week, are you based in the vicinity now?

Yeah, well.

　These days, I've been transporting cargo to Shipland every week for 'base movement', but as expected, Tarrant-san seems to have become suspicious of me.
　There's a limit to hiding it, and I wouldn't expect him to divulge it to Bart's kingdom, so I just blurted out a random answer.

''Come to think of it, isn't the Burt Kingdom lacking in divine coins?

　Because of the consumable purchases, a large amount of divine coins were flowing to Shipland and us.
　I would convert the divine coins I gained into Eidolcs, which would reduce the amount of divine coins in circulation.
　So there would be deflation.
　But there is a section of the Baat Kingdom that doesn't realize it.
　This is because the trade of the Garcia Chamber of Commerce has become more active, so the revenue from customs duties has increased.
　The kingdom's army would be strengthened, but on the other hand, the strength of the nobles should not be counted on to be greatly reduced.
　Overall, the strength of the Baat Kingdom had decreased.
　Compared to the aristocratic territories that were supposed to be properly obeyed, such as those under the direct control of the Baat Kingdom, it was only about 20% of the total.

''So the distance from the desert is preventing the birth of a centralized state?

That's what I mean. That king, when he mobilizes his army of lords and ladies, he might be in tatters and very angry.

　It is difficult to command a unified army of lords and ladies, but no matter how rich the Shipland is economically, if it is attacked by a large army, it will lose all hope.
　Their numbers are their strength, and if the lords and ladies' armies, which outnumber the kingdom's army, are in shambles, the invasion of Shipland will not succeed.

''Even if the nobles can't send out an army or only a few, the king can't do anything about it.

What are the chances of punishment?

In the end, not only will it be the same, but it will be worse.

　If we send our troops to that oasis by punishment, this time the kingdom's army will be exhausted and our water and supplies stockpiles will be consumed.
　So the invasion of Shipland would be further away.

The only problem is that even if we attacked the oasis and brought it under our direct control, there is still a distance between the oasis and the kingdom. It would take a lot of time and effort to govern.

　The amount of time and effort involved makes it increasingly impossible to go to foreign expeditions.

Therefore, the plan of the "reformer" is more effective than you think. You don't use any troops, but use money to bind the army's feet. It's good that you didn't have to make any sacrifices. Oh, if possible, please continue to take care of the goods.

　I want Bart's Kingdom to be quiet.
　I'll continue to wholesale goods to Tarrant-san at a special price.
　Well, I'm still making a lot of money.