"Mitsuha, I have a request…" (Beatrice)
"Eh…" (Mitsuha)
She came to the General Store Mitsuha, by herself…well, of course, since she came by horse-drawn carriage, she was accompanied by a coachman, a soldier as an escort, and a maid to take care of her… But when Beatrice-chan said this, emergency bells rang in my head.
...Well, when Sabine-chan and Beatrice-chan said things like this, it's a given that they're saying something bad.
Yes. Stories where I lost money, stories where I got inconvenienced, stories where I suffered great damage.
So, I was on top of my guard and said nothing, waiting for Beatrice-chan to speak more.
"You know, the place you took me the other day, Nihon …" (Beatrice)
Hmmmm….
"I would like to purchase a large quantity of the products sold there and sell them at my Beatrice Trading Company." (Beatrice)
Whaaaatt! !
"That's the same business as General Store Mitsuha!!" (Mitsuha)
Yes.
General Store Mitsuha in the royal capital and a store directly managed by the lord in territory.
Whether it's in the Royal Capital or in the Bozes territory, if Japanese products similar to ours were being sold on a large scale to the Marquis's family, especially in the store of the "Beloved Child of the Goddess" and the "Great Saint", then I wouldn't have a chance of winning!
What's so sad about it, why would you go out of your way to strangle yourself!
"…rejected!" (Mitsuha)
It was a natural decision.
"Eh?" (Beatrice)
No, why did you look so strange there?
Probably that's obvious, but…
"It will affect our sales, no good!" (Mitsuha)
"Ah…" (Beatrice)
Huh? Didn't you notice that?
Were you only thinking about the Beatrice Trading Company (your company)?!
"Ah, um, that’s it…" (Beatrice)
That's no good! No, no, no!! That doesn't make you a real merchant!
In business, it's not just a matter of being good for yourself. We needed to make everyone happy, including our suppliers, customers, and colleagues.
"...Beatrice-chan, I explained to you during our trial trip that if you exchange this money for money there, it will be worth about a quarter of its value here due to the exchange rate and fees..." (Mitsuha)
"Ah, yeah…" (Beatrice)
"In order to sell it here, the price would seem to be more than four times higher to people here than to people who buy it on Nihon, but Beatrice-chan still thought the product had enough appeal to sell…" (Mitsuha)
"Yeah…" (Beatrice)
It's natural to think so. …because that's what I was making money from the General Store Mitsuha and the store directly managed by the lord of the territory.
The Great Saint bought it from the Archpriestess-sama and sold it.
Of course it would sell...
…but in order to earn my money, I had to crush that devil's plan!
Currently, the Earth's products that were being provided to Beatrice Trading Company were only a small number of carefully selected items, which were initially provided as a booster to sell the Beatrice Trading Company's name.
For other things, that was, the main products, we only had products from the Bozes territory and general products from my Viscounty Yamano territory.
Well, we couldn't say that if our store sold something to Beatrice Trading Company, we could make a good profit, right?
However, that would only add one more middleman, which would either lower the wholesaler's selling price or raise the final buyer's purchase price.
It's more trouble and profits were sucked away.
…who would be willing to accept something like that?
Furthermore, what was currently branded as "Yamano Products" would become "Beatrice Brand"…
That's bad.
In the first place, the Beatrice Trading Company was nothing more than "A game started by an underage daughter of a Count," and they passed around Earth's goods a little in order to get other merchants to deal with them.
However, the current Beatrice Trading Company was run by the Great Saint, the daughter of a marquis and the Goddess' beloved child. There's no problem even if it didn't have products from Earth anymore…
Well, from Bozes territory, our cargo was sent to the merchant caravan where Beatrice-chan was in charge of paperwork… I was having ordinary products from the Yamano territory delivered to Petz-san's shop, so I had to offer some delicious products as well…
However, there was a limit to that.
Even though I was trying to restrain myself and keep the types and quantities to a small amount, I couldn't bear it if Beatrice Trading Company sold them on a large scale.
"You know, Beatrice-chan, what do you think would happen if we started importing more and more product from Nihon that were much better than those from this country?" (Mitsuha)
"Everyone is buying more and more! And Beatrice Trading Company. is making a huge profit!" (Beatrice)
Yeah, well, that's true... That's what I do, after all...
"So, if that happens, what will happen to the people who make similar products in this country?" (Mitsuha)
"Ah…. But, if that job isn't competitive, shouldn't you just do something else?" (Beatrice)
Yes, that's what I thought. But….
"What if there is no one left to make that item in this country, all the manufacturing equipment and technology is gone, and I am no longer around? What if we can no longer import it from other countries? If it's something you can't live without, like alcohol or sweets, then that's fine, right? But what if it's something that's essential in your life? What if it was absolutely necessary to protect this country from invasion by other countries?" (Mitsuha)
"……" (Beatrice)
"Also, even if you suddenly import something with highly advanced technology and try to imitate it and make something similar in this country, if you don't have the basic knowledge and skills, you'll end up with a monkey model… It's worse than the original. You can't even create a copy product. Of course, you can't create something even more advanced based on it.
Therefore, no matter how much cheaper and better products can be obtained by importing from overseas, we must protect the domestic industry.
That's why I carefully select and handle products such as small quantities of luxury goods that do not compete with existing industries in this country, and that will not cause any trouble to anyone and will not have a major impact on the country even if the supply suddenly stops. Even just a little bit…
Therefore, I will never allow anyone other than me to import and sell large quantities of goods from that country.
As I said earlier, Beatrice Trading Company will be doing business with products from Bozes territory, agricultural products and seafood from Yamano territory, and things that Beatrice Trading Company has independently developed and produced.
Don't use my special power as an asset, but use your own power, Beatrice-chan…" (Mitsuha)
How's that? Did you give up? That was a bit harsh, but…
…Beatrice-chan was looking down and trembling…
Did I make her cry? Uwoa! If I made someone cry as soon as they join the group, it's a newbie's fault, it's bullying! W-what should I do…?
"Oh, I see! Why was I thinking such a stupid thing, like trying to make money by relying on someone else’s power!! There's no point in growing your own company if you don't grow it with your own efforts! 10 gold coins that I earned by relying on others and 1 gold coin that I earned through my own effort and talent. The former may be more important to villains, aristocrats, and politicians, but what's more important to a merchant is the one gold coin he earned through own efforts! Oh, what an embarrassing imitation I did… Sorry, Mitsuha! I take back what I just said!" (Beatrice)
"Ah…yeah…" (Mitsuha)
As expected of Beatrice-chan, a perfect example of a merchant!
Become great… eh? Beatrice-chan, you're an noble girl, right? You're the type of person who makes profits by making others work, right? But why were you talking like you're a genuine merchant?
…well, Beatrice Trading Company didn't have any employees yet, it's just Beatrice-chan, the owner of the company, and it's a "Trading Company in name only"…
But it's not a paper company, and the company had a fleet planned and managed by the Beatrice Trading Company. Although they don't have retail stores, they functioned well as a distributor.
Beatrice Trading Company wasn't a company that was founded specifically to make money, though…
It was a plan to falsify the import and carry-in taxes between the Yamano and Bozes territories, and to make Beatrice-chan appeared as an important person in order to prevent the marriage and have her taken in as a bride. …at that time, no one could have imagined that Beatrice-chan would become the "Beloved child of the Goddess" and the Great Saint…
"Alright, let's do it! My Beatrice Trading Company will spread its wings all over the continent, no, all over the world!!" (Beatrice)
…No, please be moderate….
Ah, I think I'd leave all trade with the New Continent to Beatrice Trading Company.
Of course, I would be in charge of transportation and business negotiations with the other side, but I would also be responsible for organizing our export products and selling imported products…
It's not a product of the earth, it's a product of this world. It's just that the transportation method is a little special, and it's not like they're bringing it in from another world. …it's just normal overseas trade, yeah.
Well, I'd think about it slowly and do it myself.
I felt guilty to Beatrice-chan for having been left out of the group for so long, and she was a talented and good girl, so I wanted her to demonstrate her abilities and live a relaxed and fulfilling life. If that's the case, I would help in any way possible.
After all, we're comrades.
Colette-chan, Beatrice-chan, Sabine-chan,... the four comrades.
…yes, that's it.
Everyone for me, me for myself!
Juuusuii~!