Fun Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord (Novel) - Chapter 113 - How Nobles Think
Chapter 113 – How Nobles Think
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Translated by Sylph
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Nobles first strive to raise three things: status, power, and wealth. Those are both the sword and the shield of a noble.
After that, they struggle to obtain fame, military might, and connections.
Among nobles, superiority and inferiority are usually determined first by rank, then by title, and then by financial strength. But those are not things that can easily be overturned.
For that reason, countless nobles attend various gatherings and salons, building connections while trying to raise their standing as nobles. Others lack status and political power but are talented at business. Those sorts can choose to increase their private troops and strengthen their military power instead.
Some will even break the laws of the kingdom if it means getting even a single step ahead of other nobles.
Even so, unless one is blessed by exceptional good fortune, the balance of power among nobles is generally understood to remain unchanged.
You could also say that Jalpa and Panamera only managed to raise their rank because the kingdom, after the king changed, shifted toward a culture of meritocracy.
That talented people rise upward is good for the kingdom, but that depends on whose point of view you’re talking about.
There are only so many seats at the top. If one person rises, it is inevitable that someone else must fall.
Jalpa and Panamera have silenced those old high-born houses with military force. The personal connections they gained on the battlefield must have helped as well.
But Van-kun is different.
He’s just a child assigned to the most unnecessary land in the marquis territory and installed as lord of a village that looked ready to collapse at any moment.
And that child subjugated a dragon with only a tiny handful of men and obtained a title.
His support in the war with Yerinetta is quietly known to a moderate degree, but even that remains vague.
Which is to say, to anyone who doesn’t really know him, the achievements of this new noble called Van are unbelievably suspicious.
Most would surely think that Jalpa used schemes so the surrounding nobles wouldn’t notice, and secretly arranged for me to rise.
At this rate, there was a real chance I might get entangled with some foolish noble who only happened to outrank me.
And yet, riding high, I went and gave the world’s top-class giant guild, the Commercial Guild, a full-force appeal. The reactions were too funny, and I couldn’t stop myself. That was my defeat.
As a result, Van-kun ended up being recognized by the Commercial Guild.
I heard later that there are several kinds of relationships one can have with the Commercial Guild. The highest level is dealings with each nation’s first-rate merchant houses recognized as meeting the guild’s standards, where one can buy and sell on equal terms and engage in a certain amount of negotiation.
For ordinary merchant houses, even if they’re permitted to join the Commercial Guild, the terms of trade are still strongly weighted in the guild’s favor, and they can hardly ever refuse any request the guild makes of them.
And yet, even in such an unequal relationship, countless merchant houses join because doing so gives them a chance to expand their markets to other countries and even the neighboring continent.
Incidentally, Bell-Rango Company and I were now allowed to trade with the Commercial Guild at the same rank as a first-rate merchant house.
“…This makes us stand out. No matter how I look at it, we’re going to stand out too much…”
As I held my head in my hands, Bell and Rango poured each other drinks.
“Victory, little brother.”
“We won, big brother.”
The two of them, caught in some odd mood, exchanged that strange toast and clinked their glasses together. It felt wiser not to get too involved.
Well, the two of them were looking at the whole situation purely through the eyes of merchants. That couldn’t be helped.
Thinking that, I let out a sigh. Apollo, who had been chatting with Diane, keenly noticed my expression.
“What’s wrong? If you have any questions about the trade arrangement, please ask absolutely anything. If there’s any mismatch in our understanding, that only causes trouble later. Is it about the frequency of trade? Or perhaps goods you’d like the Commercial Guild to procure?”
Apollo asked that in extremely high spirits, and with a bitter smile I waved one hand side to side. Right now, various points had been settled, and we were in the reception room finishing the last discussion.
Apollo, Diane, and I sat together at the table, while Bell, Rango, and Rosalie were present as well. Till and Kamushin were standing in the corner of the room, trying to make themselves unobtrusive.
The moment Apollo asked his question, everyone in the room focused on me. I had been hoping to brush it off, but the atmosphere somehow became one where I had to answer.
“No, it’s my own issue. Things have gone just a little too well, I guess. Or maybe I’m standing out too much, and it’s troubling…”
When I answered vaguely like that, the others all looked at one another, but Apollo and Diane understood at once.
“I see. I’d heard you were only ennobled very recently, after all. Considering your age, a great many people will assume someone is pulling strings behind you.”
Apollo said that as he stroked his chin, and Diane nodded too.
“Yes. Even I, if I had not seen this situation with my own eyes, would have thought the same. I had heard the rumors about Van-sama, but even so, I did not imagine things had become this extreme.”
Hearing the two of them answer like that, Rosalie nodded several times as well.
“So that’s what it is. As expected, nobles have their own sort of burdens. For merchants, rising in the world and becoming well known directly leads to profit. Though of course, we do tend to make proposals that also benefit our rivals.”
At Rosalie’s words, Bell gave a bitter smile and shook his head from side to side.
“To win the customer’s trust while also making things convenient for the merchant houses you’re connected to. To spread things horizontally so you can make the most of new trade routes and reflect that in other business too… The only reason that’s possible is because the merchants of the Mary Company are excellent. If ordinary merchants got lucky and stumbled into a chance to make money, they still wouldn’t be able to make proper use of it.”
“Oh my? Is that the self-confidence of the Bell-Rango Company, which is said to be soaring high enough to knock birds out of the sky?”
“C-come on, Rosalie-san, give me a break.”
When that little jab came back at him, Rango winced and shrugged. Bell laughed, set the glass in his hand down on the table, and looked at me.
“We were only lucky too. It’s just that even ordinary people like us were blessed with a stroke of fortune too great to ignore.”
At Bell’s words, Rango nodded in small rapid movements over and over. Watching that exchange, Apollo smiled with clear enjoyment.
“…Ahh, it’s great seeing things this lively. No matter what it is, the most fun is always while you’re on the rise. It’s difficult, certainly, but every time a new undertaking succeeds, you get a kind of excitement and sense of accomplishment beyond words… It makes me want to quit being a Commercial Guild investigator and join the Bell-Rango Company.”
Those unbelievable words came from a man belonging to one of the most famous giant organizations in the world. Diane and the others could only stare at him.
Noticing their looks, Apollo smiled and shrugged.
“…I’m joking, of course. After all, the interesting part from here on will be us, the people trading with Van-sama and the Bell-Rango Company. We’re fully prepared for the hard work. We’ll make all the money there is to make.”
When he declared that forcefully, Apollo raised the glass in his hand and drank down the liquor inside.
“…And if anyone tries to obstruct that business, I won’t forgive them even if they’re nobles. I’ll drive them all back.”
After saying that, Apollo added in a small voice, “Though from behind the scenes,” and that was that.