August 8, in the year of the Western Continent, August 8, 2812, on the Peninsula, Vol. 6:

''So ... now we'll listen to Yan Ou's report?''

　Ryoma, who has changed his mind, turns his head to Geno.
　The only ones left were the sisters and Itsuo. From Ryouma's point of view, he wanted to listen to the report of Gennoh first, which he had a bad feeling about.
　The sisters' report is just about deciding where to buy food supplies. There shouldn't be much of a problem.
　But at Ryojin's words, Geno shook his head.

''No I thought it would be better to talk about me last, but let's talk about Laura and the others first.

　They seem to have an agenda.
　Ryoma nodded with a sense of wonderment and waved the conversation to the Malfist sisters.

'Hmm........so there's a reason.......I understand. Okay, Laura, Sarah. Report back to the Chamber of Commerce, please.

All right, then.

　Laura and the others nodded and began to talk about what they had researched.
　And it would plunge the optimistic Ryoma into the abyss.

''As it turns out, most of the merchant associations seem to have strong relationships with their lords, the Countesses of Salzberg.

A strong relationship?

　Ryojin tilted his head at Laura's words. Because from her words, he could sense something more than the normal relationship between the lord and the Chamber of Commerce.

''Yes, it's pretty close too.''

　As he says this, Saara spreads the map out on the table.

'Is this ... the map of Ipyros?

'Yes. And this red dot is the trade association that exists in this town.

　Saara's finger points to the red dots marked on the map.
　That number, ten. That was the number of merchant associations that existed in this fortified city of Ipylos.

"The Mystor Chamber of Commerce the Rafir Chamber of Commerce...

　Saara reads out the names of the trade associations that have been added next to the dots one after the other.

''These ten merchant associations have formed a coalition to take complete control of the economy of this Ipylos... The problem is that the Countess is the only daughter of the Mystor Chamber of Commerce, the head of the coalition.

'Is it true...? It.

　Ryoma's face changes color. That's just as well.
　The Woltenia Peninsula is not able to be self-sufficient in food. In other words, there is no other choice but to bring in food from Ipyros until we can become self-sufficient in food.
　We can't hunt monsters and eat them as our staple food, either. There are some monsters that can be eaten, but the majority of them are not.
　I'm not sure what to expect when it comes to water and food, but I can't say I'm going to hold back. They are absolutely necessary in order to live.
　In contrast, the Countess's family home has a huge impact on that.
　It's a future I don't want to imagine too much.

.....

　Laura cut off her words there. You don't have to say the rest, but everyone present will understand.
　It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on it.
　If the Count puts pressure on the Chamber of Commerce, that's the end of it. Ryoma and his men would starve to death on the peninsula.

''This representative of the Mistor Chamber of Commerce is said to be a very ambitious man, originally the representative of the confederation was the Christoph Chamber of Commerce, but they took advantage of his daughter's marriage to Count Salzberg and stole it from him. ...



　Everyone nodded at Ryouma's words.
　Certainly, it's not an unusual story. Even in Japan, it's not an uncommon story.

''But ... how could a nobleman take a merchant's daughter as his wife?''

　Under the status system, merchants are only commoners. No matter how much money they have, they are just commoners.
　A nobleman's wife. It's natural for Ryoma to twist his head when she is not a concubine, but a legitimate wife.

''I've looked into that as well, but.......it seems that the finances of the Countess Salzberg family were quite strained.......''

'Hmmm ... you mean you used the loan as bait?　...How did the finances get so bad in the first place?　I knew it was military spending?

　
　The question is, why did the Count struggle for money to that extent?

''Yes. The Count family has a rather large budget to devote to military affairs in order to defend their borders and to counter the occasional monsters, or "monsters" that invade from the peninsula.

　They all nodded at Laura's words.

　The army is the biggest money-grabber of all.
　A hungry monster that doesn't produce anything, but only consumes supplies. That is the essence of what an army is.
　But that monster requires the best and most massive amounts of food.
　It starts with the salaries of the soldiers, the purchase of armor, and the breeding of horses. The army consumes so many things, including food for the soldiers.
　And this was only in normal times. Once war broke out, the amount of consumption would rise even higher. No matter how much money is poured into it, it's never going to end, and it's exactly the same as a bucket that's missing.
　But even so, there is no choice but to spend money on the army. In order to protect the country, the people, the land, and the things we need to protect, we have to spend money on our military.

　When it becomes a nobleman entrusted with the vigilance of a neighboring country, the burden is even heavier.
　It is only natural that Count Salzberg's finances are in a state of flux.　

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that you have to be prepared for the monsters that invade from the peninsula as well as the border with Zaruda, right?

According to the data Assi has gathered, there is a massive monster invasion from the peninsula about once every ten years.

　When Rionne heard Bolz's answer, she nodded her head in a natural way.

I'm sure you'll find that this area is not very suitable for farming. I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot of good things to do.

What about the salt?　I overheard a little yesterday that there's a vein of rock salt in the ground.

　At Yan Ou's words, Liangzhen questioned.
　At the very least, considering the Earl's clothes yesterday, it doesn't look like he's in need of money.
　It's possible that he forced himself to look good in order to protect his nobleman's menswear, but there's a limit to that as well.
　Whether it's the clothes or the food provided, it doesn't look like the Earl is in need of money at all. From the very beginning, he had clearly laid out more food on the table than he could eat.
　And with an abundance of precious spices. If they were strapped for cash, they couldn't do that.
　If so, it's the vein of rock salt that is suspicious. Salt, a necessity of life, doesn't command a high price, but there is a constant demand for it. If the Count family really owns this, it seems possible to rebuild the finances well.

''No........there are no veins of rock salt within the Count family's territory.

　Shaking his head as he said this, Yan Ou smiled meaningfully.

(What do you mean?)　If there are no veins of ore in the county, how in the world did he turn his finances around?　(Do you have any other industry?)
　Liangma's mind leads to a variety of possibilities.
(If she had other financial resources, why did Mrs. Liangma lie about having a vein of rock salt, etc.?　(Why did you take it all the way to salt?)
　The way to tell a good lie is to mix a lie with the truth.
　Solidifying everything with a lie is surprisingly difficult. It's easy to fall apart because it's inconsistent with reality.

'Oh!　By any chance....

　Suddenly, Sarla speaks up.

'What, Sarla?　What did you have in mind?

　At Laura's words, Sarra nodded and turned her attention to Gen-Oh.

''Could it be... the Earl has a vein of rock salt outside his territory?　For example, within the Worthenian Peninsula.

" " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " "

　Everyone shouted in surprise.
　In the midst of all this, only Yan Ou smiled leisurely.

You are well aware of this. That's right, the Earl has a vein of ore in the peninsula. A secret even from the kingdom.

　Although it's an unexpected fact, it's understandable if you listen to Yan Oo's words.

''Are you saying that the Earl is embezzling the veins in the peninsula without permission?　Without the Kingdom's permission?　

　Until it was given to Liang Jing, the official belonging of the Woltenia Peninsula was the royal family.
　Even though the land was neglected, there was no reason to use the resources of the land without permission.
　If the royal family found out about this, the Count's family would be cut off. Even their relatives would be involved and a massive execution would be carried out.
　It's no wonder that Lionne praises the Count for having great courage. They are literally crossing a dangerous bridge.

　They're supposed to be awfully friendly. They just wanted me to jump ship to the Peninsula, didn't they?

　The fragments that had been independent in Liang Shin's mind connected and the Count's intentions emerged.

''You didn't set out to kill me from the beginning because you didn't want to take care of me if you could... because if I die, there's a chance that the kingdom will come to investigate.

"You entertained the Lord to let him go to the Peninsula without knowing what he was doing there and if he should ever find out the secrets of the Peninsula, then...

"Feeding the monsters to the monsters...

　Liang Shin's eyes narrowed sharply.

''What shall we do?　Me and Sakuya could take the Earl's head off, though.

'I'm not sure about that.　Wouldn't the current situation be the opposite of what we're losing?

What?　Lord Saara, do you disagree may I ask why?

　Saara waits for the Count's assassination to be implied.

It's true that assassination is an effective way to destroy the Count's intentions. However, since our goal is to make the peninsula a territory, the stability of Ipyros is an absolute requirement. If the assassination is successful, the Count's evil influence will be removed, but who will rule the land after that?　If someone with the breath of Queen Lupis comes to you...

　It could kill the wolf and invite the tiger in.
　As long as Lupis was wary of Ryoma, he couldn't anticipate what kind of harassment he would face.
　Saara's argument made sense.

''Hmm........Surely Saara-dono's concern is natural. This seems to be an easy suggestion on my part.''

　Even Gen-Oh was convinced by Saara's words and nodded vigorously.

It's a good thing. It's not something that's worth sticking to until you've set up your affairs with the count.......

It's a shame to see it as a source of income. It's a good thing that the merchants of Iphiroth will refuse to do business with you, even if you get the vein of ore back from the count.

''Well, yes, Yasu. As long as the Count and the head of the Chamber of Commerce Union are close to each other, it's obvious that they're going to put pressure on you and interfere with your business dealings.

　There is no point in stealing the vein of ore back from the Count if you can't convert the salt into cash.
　If we could bring salt to other towns, that would be a different story, but in order to avoid going through Ipiros, we have no other choice but to take the sea route. We're looking at sea trade in the future, but it's not something we can do right now," he said.

"Then why don't we just leave it to the Count?

Do you mean to tell me you're just going to let it happen?

　At Laura's words, Ryoma frowned 《frown》.
　No lord would be happy about being done whatever he wanted in his territory.
　Liangzhen's reaction is also natural.

''But we can't take this story to the royal family either. If we do, the Count's family will definitely be cut off. The result will be no different than if we assassinate the Count.''

Well, yeah.

　This is the biggest problem.
　You can kill the Count. Whether it's assassination or informing the royal family, there are plenty of options if you just want to kill the count.
　But that would give Lupis room to intervene.

''I would rather hand over the vein of ore to the Count and have him promise to assist us, and while he is helping us, we will set up our own position to crush him in the future. What do you think?

　Laura's proposal is not the best, but it is a realistic one.
　The question is whether the Count will accept this proposal.

"I agree with Lord Laura's proposal.



Yes, but it's not so bad, is it?

　Rionne and the others agree with me one by one.
I'm sure they don't want to attract the attention of the royal family. I'm sure they don't want to attract the attention of the royal family either. With my official approval, the Count won't be intimidated by this, which is a big advantage. (Well, there's a good chance the Earl will be on board.......well, it's an important source of revenue, but since we can't turn it into money, there's no point in getting hung up on it......)
　A resolve is made in Liang Shin.
　First of all, they must have more power than the Count.
　That doesn't mean simple military power. It's power in economics, politics and so on.

Good ... not bad for buying time ... now we just need to use that time to get ourselves in shape.

　They all nodded in response to Liang Zhen's words.

''Then let's say it's a good deal with the Count. First, what do we need?''

　In response to Ryouma's question, Laura quickly offered her opinion.

''First of all, I suppose we'll have to find a merchant we can trust.......we can look at buying food supplies, and in the future, we can also look at entrusting them with the sale of salt.......and if we're going to go for it, I'd say the Kristoff Trading Company. ...since he has lost his position as Lord Commander of the Confederation to the Mystor Trading Company.

''I'm the same as my sister. The other eight merchant associations are under the umbrella of the Mystor Chamber of Commerce, so I believe that any dealings with them could be passed on to the Count. Only Christoph's Chamber of Commerce remains independent in the confederation, so there's plenty of room for negotiation.

　It's a quintessential example. They've already researched even the current situation of each of the trade associations.

　Ryoma could only thank his excellent colleagues for supporting him. Everyone did their best to help Ryojin. They pledge their loyalty to Ryojin, who is only a young man.
(Count I'll hand it over to you first, but I'll have the last laugh!
　That thought filled Ryoma's heart. And it made his resolve even stronger.
　Ryoma could not be defeated. His defeat is the same as the deaths of his friends who follow him.