Chapter 133 - 133 Searching for Sales Channels
Once the production of gold leaf began, complaints inevitably arrived.
Gold leaf artisans had purchased some cheap Archibalt Territory-made gold leaf to try it out, and there was a demand where even if the color was slightly inferior, as long as it was cheap, it was acceptable.
This meant that it was taking away the work of existing gold leaf artisans. Steve had intended it for culinary use, but it was being used in ways he hadn't anticipated, and there was a significant demand for it.
Almost all gold leaf was produced in the Royal Capital, so naturally, the gold leaf artisans of the Royal Capital demanded that the Industrial Guild of the Royal Capital negotiate with them.
The Guildmaster of the Industrial Guild was troubled.
Steve, even if it was only for one generation, held the Dragon Head Medal, the highest honor among domestic nobles. Would anyone listen to opinions directed at such a Steve? And would there be an effective solution?
The Guildmaster had heard that the Woodworking Guild had previously negotiated with Steve regarding furniture, but they were told, "Our products are not good things made by artisans. Do you intend to compete with such things?" That was what happened when Simoncini negotiated with Steve.
Regarding this gold leaf as well, even from the Guildmaster's perspective, the quality was different. If it were a high-end product, one would choose the gold leaf produced in the Royal Capital. However, there was also a demand for products that did not need to be that high-end. Until now, that demand had not surfaced, but with the appearance of cheap gold leaf this time, it had become apparent.
The troubled Guildmaster consulted with the nobles he was acquainted with. The answers varied.
"The Royal Family does not wish to get involved with Lord Archibalt, so it is best not to take the matter to any royal family members."
"Perhaps you should consult with Lord Sowell, the leader of the Western Region."
"Perhaps you should consult with Lord Mackintosh, your wife's family."
"Do not go to the Church."
And so on, various advice was given, and among them, it was decided to consult with Margrave Sowell first.
When Aurora heard the story from the Guildmaster of the Industrial Guild in the Royal Capital, she promised to make an introduction to Steve.
"I cannot guarantee the result, but I will speak to Lord Archibalt on my behalf."
"Thank you very much. I will surely repay this favor."
"It's fine. When we are in trouble, it is mutual. You do not need to send money or goods as a repayment. I do not wish to have a relationship that ends at such a trivial level."
With those words, Aurora moved. Her bright red lips looked like a snake's mouth to the Guildmaster.
Nobles do not move for things that do not bring profit. The head of the Industrial Guild in the Royal Capital knew that much. And he was deciding the amount of the thank-you gift based on the content of that consultation. However, Aurora was different. Although she pretended to refuse once as a formality, she did not seem to want to make the Guildmaster say "please" again, and she was trying to make him do something more valuable than money. And no one knew when that would happen, nor what it would be. It would be much more relaxing to settle it with money.
After finishing the conversation with the Industrial Guildmaster, Aurora was left alone with Harry.
"Young master said it was for culinary use, but it turned out like this after all, didn't it?"
"What are your intentions?"
"If we can lend a favor to the Industrial Guild in the Royal Capital, we will bring a settlement plan that allows both sides to save face. If they can cooperate in reducing the flow of Royal Capital products into the Western Region, or conversely, in increasing our exports, then a small amount of money or goods right in front of us is worth almost nothing."
Aurora had sometimes clashed with the Industrial Guild of the Royal Capital for the sake of protecting the industry of the Western Region. This matter was convenient for stopping those moves.
"Well, since it is decided, please contact Lord Archibalt. We will go to visit him."
"Choosing companions is difficult."
"Your subordinates are not properly educated."
"I apologize."
Harry apologized to Aurora. Steve's place has artificial hot springs. Soldiers and servants at Aurora's place, if they accompany Aurora to Archibalt Land, can enter the hot springs during their mission. In a world where bathing in water at a noble's residence of the visiting party is common for commoners, Archibalt Land's residence did not have a place to bathe because there was no need to bathe in water.
Companions can also enter the hot springs.
Since this condition became known, those wishing to accompany her rushed in. And since Aurora is in a good mood when going to Archibalt Land, accompanying her is not a hardship.
Thus, through Aurora, the complaint of the Industrial Guild in the Royal Capital was delivered to Steve.
Aurora met with Steve at his residence. In the residence's salon, Steve, Christina, Nancy, Aurora, and Harry sat facing each other.
"You went overboard."
"I didn't intend that, but everyone uses it differently, so it's their fault. See, I only assumed it would be used for culinary purposes."
On the table in front of them were fruits and sweets decorated with gold leaf.
"Nobles would understand that compared to existing gold leaf, the luster is inferior, but commoners wouldn't care that much. By the way, does dinner at night also come with gold leaf?"
"If you wish, you can choose whether to add it or not."
"I would like to have gold leaf added to everything if possible."
Christina asked Aurora with a question.
"It seems you have a target in mind. Could you tell us?"
"For the solution this time. I wouldn't come just asking to stop sales empty-handed. I want to make gold leaf cuisine a new tourist attraction. For the Kingdom of Merda."
The solution Aurora brought was to export gold leaf to the Kingdom of Merda. The railway business of the Kingdom of Merda belonged to Aurora. If tourists increased there, it would be her profit. And Sherry, the Queen, would also have benefits from the economic ripple effect.
If the production capacity of gold leaf remains as it is now, the supply to the domestic market of the Kingdom of Cascade will decrease as the demand in the Kingdom of Merda increases. This was a strategy that had benefits for both Aurora and Sherry while satisfying the Industrial Guild's requests.
If there were benefits for Sherry, naturally Steve would join in.
"I have grasped through preliminary investigation that there are no workshops making gold leaf in the Kingdom of Merda. If this were the Yellow Empire, I could not agree, but..."
They investigated surrounding countries as sales destinations for gold leaf. As a result, there were no workshops producing gold leaf in the Kingdom of Merda. I thought it would be a promising sales target, but for now, domestic demand was sufficient, and we were not exporting to the Kingdom of Merda.
If domestic sales were to shrink, it would change into a promising market.
Just as material merchants bring processing work along with materials, Steve thought that if they brought a story about a new specialty along with the pitch for gold leaf, Sherry would jump at it.
And Christina and Nancy felt the same way. The wives wanted to somehow resolve the issue of the Kingdom of Merda, which had worsened the kitchen situation of the Archibalt Territory, before their generation came. Ideally, they would like to have the compensation money they had taken over refunded in a lump sum.
Well, the relationship with Sherry is not bad, so it is not a tense atmosphere.
"Lord Steve."
"Husband."
"We both say, 'Please, let's take this on.'"
Even without being told by his wives, Steve was eager.
Immediately, everyone present teleported to the Kingdom of Merda, met with Sherry and King Abel, and conveyed the business plan. The import of gold leaf would be handled in bulk by the Kingdom of Merda, and then sold to Aurora's company in a wholesale manner, resulting in a contract content that would bring some profit to the country from the current stage.
And Steve left the details of the contract to Sherry and Aurora, and began to cook himself.
It was a dish made with ingredients available in the Kingdom of Merda, not home cooking, but luxurious dishes served to tourists. They added gold leaf to create a sense of luxury.
He made such dishes and had the palace servants carry them to show Abel and Sherry. When everything was finished, Steve returned to the negotiation table.
As soon as he returned, Sherry handed Steve an empty shaved ice bowl.
"Refill."
It seemed Sherry liked the shaved ice covered in plenty of gold leaf, so she requested a refill.
Steve said "yes, yes," took the bowl, and used magic to make shaved ice and put it in. Then he sprinkled syrup and gold leaf on top and returned it to Sherry.
Sherry received it with a smile, brought the shaved ice to her mouth, and immediately put her hand to her temple.
She had a headache from eating something cold.
The soldiers guarding the palace were struggling to hold back their laughter.
"Did you like it?"
Steve asked Sherry with a smile.
"I understand the taste hasn't changed. Since it looks better, it might sell if we can offer it to commoners who want to indulge a little. Is the gold leaf given for free?"
Since it seemed like it could become a business, Sherry, who wanted to suppress the purchase price as much as possible, made a rather unreasonable request.
"Since this is also a business, it cannot be free."
"Well, it can't be helped. But the target is commoners. There are few rich people, but the number of commoners will increase instantly. If they pay money, it seems like a business. Even if gold leaf is added to the dish, the value of gold by weight is almost nothing, so you cannot charge such a high price. It's a battle of numbers."
Sherry's target was correct. Even if you add gold leaf to create a sense of luxury, you cannot demand such a high price from the cost. After all, the product called gold leaf exists in abundance in the world, so the added value does not become extremely high.
If that is the case, the target is not the rich, but the commoners. It is not a business with a good profit margin dealing with a small number of rich people, so they aim to make a profit by selling a large number. However, creative ideas that can only be eaten here are necessary, but I have a feeling that we can call customers somehow.
Sherry happily talked to Steve as if she had thought of a good thing.
"Hey, Steve. I thought of a good thing."
"My experience tells me a bad omen."
Steve braces himself. The probability that the good thing Sherry thought of was a bad thing for Steve is high. Far higher than the probability of not rolling a one on a six-sided die.
"Could you bring the taste of my hometown, Ramen, every day?"
"That is not the taste of my hometown. Mother has never made it once. Also, I served it to the chefs under the guise of reproducing the taste."
"Yes, the palace chefs reproduced the taste wonderfully. But we cannot make them cook for tourists."
What Sherry thought of was Gold Leaf Ramen. Ramen has been reproduced in the Kingdom of Merda as well, but that is a dish for the King and Queen and their guests. It has not yet spread to the general public.
If the palace chefs cannot be used, the answer Sherry came up with was to use her younger brother, and naturally, Steve showed reluctance. If made with magic, ten bowls a day is the limit. If Steve cooks, the number will increase, but Steve is not that free either.
"I thought it was a good idea."
"If you don't consider my effort. Well, since we are here, let's try putting gold leaf on ramen. What kind of ramen do you want?"
"Miso Tonkotsu."
Aurora ordered Miso Tonkotsu Ramen from Steve without hesitation. Steve took out the ordered ramen from the subspace stock.
He asked the other members for their wishes, took out the ramen according to each wish, and put gold leaf on top. Instead of seaweed, a large piece of gold leaf was placed on top. The visual impact was sufficient.
After finishing the ramen, Sherry looked at Steve.
"You don't need to come to make ramen every day, but instead, don't sell the gold leaf to others. I will buy it in bulk, so make it cheaper."
"If you buy it all, there is no need to sell it elsewhere. Originally, if we were selling it within the Kingdom of Cascade, we would have received complaints from the Industrial Guild, so we came here to pitch. If we are going to argue, we don't want to sell it domestically."
"Then the negotiation is established."
"Yes. We will return."
When Steve said that and turned towards his wives, Sherry strongly grabbed Steve's shoulder.
"I'm starting to miss the hot springs of my hometown. I want to enter that nostalgic hot spring."
"Sister, my residence is not your hometown, and it was just built recently, so there should be no nostalgia."
"A younger brother's things are an older sister's things, and an older sister's things are an older sister's things. It is an absolute truth of the world."
Sherry also liked the hot springs, and thinking that she would enter the hot springs after returning home anyway, she became envious and begged to be taken there.
"I don't know where such a truth exists, but I also taught the water attribute mage at your place about hot springs."
"Because my mana runs out quickly, the time I can enjoy entering is short."
Due to the problem of magic power, they could not stay in the artificial hot springs for long in the Kingdom of Merda. And natural hot springs have not been found yet.
That is why they wanted to enter the hot springs made by Steve.
"I understand. I will take you."
Thus, they teleported back with one more person. Abel, as expected, was shy and stayed behind to watch the house with the children.
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