Chapter 34

With Polly and Claire's childbirth going smoothly, the mansion on the hill was now bustling with the cries of the newborns. Mel and Sharon were eager to take care of the babies, and I found it endearing to watch them, given that they were both girls.

On the other hand, Ridi seemed to be uncomfortable with babies. Even when the mothers tried to let her hold them, she refused. When I asked her why, she said, "They're so small, I'm afraid I might drop them or hold them too tightly..."

In the elven village, children are rarely born. In some small settlements, it happens only once every few decades. In Ridi's case, she left the village at a young age and became distrustful of humans, so she hardly interacted with anyone.

She had become accustomed to dealing with small children through her patrol classes, but she had never handled infants. As a result, despite living for fifty years, she had never touched a baby.

Still, with the mothers persistently encouraging her, she had held the babies a few times. Recently, she seemed to have gotten used to it and was no longer as hesitant. Especially during the hot season, she would use wind magic to send a gentle breeze to the babies, showing a surprisingly delicate touch.

My brother Rodd, after my birthday, had been more dedicated to his training, and with the arrival of his younger brother and sister, he seemed even more motivated. Father had spoken to Grandfather, and it was decided that in three years, Rodd would join the knight squadron of the Razwell Margrave in the northern part of the Kaerum Empire.

The demons that had attacked the Kingdom of Kaum in May had gone quiet, and peaceful days had returned to the village of Rasmoor.

By the time summer had passed and mid-September arrived, a visitor came to the mansion on the hill. While we were playing in the mansion's playground, a two-horse carriage accompanied by about ten guards began to climb the hill. It was around eleven in the morning, and we were the first to spot it. I ran inside to inform Grandfather and Father.

"Grandfather, a carriage is coming up. With the guards, it must be someone of high status or a wealthy merchant."

Grandfather stopped his training and headed to the south side of the mansion.

"There's no family crest. The guards look like mercenaries. It's probably a merchant. They've finally come..."

A few months ago, one of the traveling merchants had noticed a villager using soap and started buying soap from the Lockhart family.

(Knights and nobles don't visit us, and if nothing else, merchants wouldn't come either. Grandfather must be thinking the same. It's probably a merchant coming to buy soap...)

I informed Father and sent for Nicholas.

The carriage took about ten minutes to climb the narrow hill road and arrived at the mansion. An elderly man in fine clothing stepped out and, in a deep, resonant baritone voice, said,

"I am from the Masgrave Trading Company. May we have the gate opened, please?"

I thought to myself that there wasn't even a gate to open, and I almost burst out laughing.

(Will they start the negotiations right away? Even if we are poor knights, it's rude to come to the lord's mansion without prior notice... I'll leave this to Father and Nicholas...)

The head squire, Walt, went to the gate to confirm the visitor's purpose. I went to Father and Nicholas to explain how to handle the merchant. First, I asked, "Do you know the Masgrave Trading Company?" but neither Father nor Nicholas had heard of it.

"If they've come for negotiations, we should be firm. It's rude to come to the lord's mansion without prior notice."

Father, who was indifferent to such matters, said, "Our Lockhart family isn't of such high status. We were only knighted in my father's generation," but I intended to use this in the negotiations.

"That's fine. It is rude, after all. This is also a strategy to see how they react. Normally, when someone of lower status visits, they should send a notice. They must be underestimating us, thinking we're just a poor rural lord."

Nicholas's expression became stern at these words, but I continued.

"It's better to let them underestimate us. If we're too aggressive, they'll think we're foolish merchants and not peddlers."

Father, who couldn't understand my thinking, looked puzzled.

"Underestimating them is fine, but won't that play into their hands?"

"No, for now, we just want them to think that. We'll tell them to come back another time."

Father, about to protest, "Is that okay? This is a rare business opportunity," but I reassured him.

"It's fine. If we ignore them, they'll come back. Today, we'll just hear their business and send them away. Then..."

The two of them were starting to get drawn into my plan, but the knock on the office door interrupted us. Walt asked, "A man named Edmund from the Masgrave Trading Company has arrived. What should we do?"

Before Father could respond, I instructed, "Show him to the reception room and tell him there will be a wait."

Walt looked to Father for confirmation, and when Father nodded, he left the room. I laughed and said,

"Let's keep them waiting for about thirty minutes. It's only natural, considering they didn't consider the busy schedule of a lord."

The two of them didn't seem to understand what I was up to and didn't react to my light-hearted comment.

"Continuing from before, if we just hear their business and send them away today, what will they think?"

Nicholas replied, "They might think we have no intention of selling the soap-making method."

I smiled at him. "That's a good point. We need to think from their perspective. They think we're knights who don't know the business. If we have no intention of selling, we wouldn't tell them to come back. They'll wonder why we're being so aggressive..."

I continued, making sure they were following.

"Perhaps a merchant has realized this. They might think there are other interested parties besides them."

Father and Nicholas nodded in agreement.

"Since we have time, we can also discuss what will happen if they come back. We'll stick to the original plan and sell for a minimum of 10,000C (10 million yen). However, we'll need to see their reaction to determine the final price..."

I was confident we could sell for at least 10,000C, but I wasn't sure of its actual value. There was a good chance it was worth more than I thought.

"While we're at it, we'll also mention that we're selling to other companies and will continue to make soap for our own consumption in the village. But for now, just listen to their proposal."

I paused to check their understanding.

(They seem to understand this much. I hope they can follow the rest...)

"If their conditions are too harsh, for example, 1,000C, tell them that selling at 2C per unit would yield a profit of 1,000C after selling just 600 units. Such a ridiculous condition is unacceptable."

They didn't seem to understand the purpose. Nicholas asked, "They don't know the cost of the soap. How can we be sure it would yield a profit?"

I smiled and nodded. "Exactly. We'll let them know that selling 600 units at 2C each would yield a profit of 1,000C. Then we'll wait to see what number they come up with."

Nicholas nodded, understanding. I intended to deliberately reveal the cost to the merchant to make it easier for them to propose a fair price.

Without knowing the cost, they would need to estimate the profit. They probably have a good idea of the number of units they can sell, so by giving them the profit per unit, they should be able to tell us the value of the soap-making method.

Nicholas seemed to understand my intention.

"I finally get it. We'll act like we're clueless and let them think we're leaking information without understanding it."

I smiled at Nicholas and said to both of them,

"Nicholas will act like an official who doesn't understand business, and Father will act like a stubborn lord obsessed with money. We'll be aggressive because we don't know the business, and they'll realize we can't negotiate properly, so they'll try to find a compromise."

Father looked a bit uneasy but nodded. "I understand. I'll leave it to you."

"As for me, it would be unnatural for a five-year-old to be in the negotiation room. But if I say I'm a curious son of a rural lord who wants to see the merchant, it shouldn't seem too out of place."

"Even if you're in the room, you can't speak."

"Of course, I don't intend to speak directly. But I can send signals..."

I planned to let Nicholas handle the negotiations and send him signals.

"Nicholas will handle the negotiations, and I'll send him signals. Father will sit directly across from the merchant, Nicholas will sit to the side, and I'll sit across from Nicholas. This way, the merchant won't see my movements, and I can send signals without being noticed. Of course, if they do see, I'll make it look like something else..."

Father and Nicholas still didn't fully understand my plan. I used an example of a battle to make it clearer.

"Nicholas, don't you give orders to your troops on the battlefield? For example, using drums or flags to signal distant soldiers?"

Nicholas tilted his head, "Yes, we use drums, gongs, flags, and smoke signals..." Then, he brightened up, "I get it! This is like a battle, a negotiation with the merchant."

"Exactly, the enemy is a skilled negotiator. We, including me, are all amateurs. So, we need to work together."

Father nodded in agreement. I then explained the signals.

"The basics are 'yes' and 'no,' but since this is a battle, we also need 'attack' and 'retreat.' For 'yes,' I'll swing my legs. For 'no,' I'll stretch..."

I decided on a few more signals and made sure Father and Nicholas remembered them.

"Unexpected questions or situations are possible. In such cases, Nicholas will need to adapt."

Nicholas looked uncertain. "Can I do it?"

"Don't worry. I trust you," I said, and Father nodded in agreement.

Thirty minutes later, the merchant arrived, and we followed the plan, only hearing their business and sending them away. Afterward, we discussed the roles of Father and Nicholas, the negotiation strategy, and the selling price, preparing for the main negotiation the next day.