Kaori had always been quick to recover her composure. Even as her face twisted into a complicated look at the impending prospect of Magnawell visiting her shop, she managed to pull herself together and spoke up after a moment.
"…Phew. My head and my stomach are both throbbing, but I’ll worry about that later. Sorry, Akane, I didn’t mean to derail the flow. Please, go ahead."
"You’ve certainly got it rough, Kaori… Well, anyway, we got a bit sidetracked, but let’s get back to the heart of the matter."
Come to think of it, if scolding me wasn’t her primary goal, Akane must have called me here for a specific reason. I still hadn't heard what that was.
Since she had started by bringing up the merchants in the Arclesia Empire, I assumed it had something to do with that.
"To put it simply, my Merchant's Intuition tells me there’s a massive profit to be made from the current movements in the Arclesia Empire. I’ve heard the Lord Trading Company is amassing significant capital; this is going to be a huge score. In this business, the speed of the first move is everything, but right now the information is a mess. I can’t tell exactly where or what the spark is. Conversely, if I can find the core of the issue before the other companies, I can make an absolute killing."
After saying that much, Akane wore a somewhat suspicious smile. She reached out, slinging an arm around my shoulder and pulling me close.
"…Look, Kaito, we’re close, right? Let’s skip the pointless secrets. I have a little favor to ask… You’re definitely the one behind all this, so spit it out. What exactly have you been up to in the Arclesia Empire lately?"
"Ah, right."
It seemed the reason I had been summoned today was that Akane, having sniffed out a business opportunity, had come to interrogate me—the presumed, or rather, the definitive culprit.
As expected of a high-level merchant, she was fast. Setting that aside, I had to think about what I’d done in the empire. Regarding merchants, the business with the Victor Trading Company from yesterday came to mind, but it felt too early for that news to have traveled this far.
Was it something else? I couldn't think of anything specific, so I decided to start from Elis-san's tea party.
I explained everything in detail: getting to know the noble daughters at the tea party, receiving a huge amount of Ripple fruit from Marie and distributing it to my acquaintances, and the events surrounding Cornelia yesterday.
"…As far as the Arclesia Empire goes, that’s about it."
"…I see. It’s almost certainly the Rich Baron House business that I picked up on. It’s too soon for news about the Victor Trading Company to have spread, and since the Sharon Count House is involved there, the situation wouldn't be this murky. Hearing your story, I pretty much get the gist of it now, including the Lord Trading Company’s angle… Seriously, thanks for the intel. It’s a huge help. But, sorry, I’ve got to ask… Just how many bombs did you set off over there?! You’re going to give those poor girls a nervous breakdown!"
"I’ve never even met them, but I sincerely sympathize with Lady Marie and Lady Cornelia…" Kaori added, sounding deeply moved by their plight.
However, Akane’s expression immediately shifted back to that of a professional merchant as she fell into serious thought.
"…The only one my company can touch is the business with the Rich Baron Territory. The Victor Trading Company is essentially a subsidiary of the Sharon Trading Company now, so Count Sharon will definitely be taking the reins there. They’re a massive organization; I’d rather not get on their bad side by meddling where I’m not wanted, so I’ll ignore that half."
"Wait, really? But isn’t the Lord Trading Company moving on the Rich Baron House side? Wouldn’t it be more dangerous to get on their bad side?"
"No, if I’m reading this right, we won’t even cross paths. They’re one of the Five Great Trading Companies, Kaito. They aren’t amassing that kind of capital just to stock up on fruit. In fact, the scale of the funds I heard about is way beyond a simple Ripple transaction. It’s just a guess, but I think the Lord Trading Company is planning to overhaul the infrastructure of the entire Baron’s territory—and by extension, the Western Arclesia Empire Logistics themselves."
"What does that mean, exactly?"
"Don’t worry. Since you gave me the inside scoop and your friends are involved, I'll explain my theory in detail. But this is going to be a long one… Kaori, could I get a refill?"
It seemed Akane had a prediction about what was about to unfold in western Arclesia, and she intended to walk Kaori and me through it.
I didn't recall doing anything special for the Lord Trading Company or Nia, so I wondered why they were making such big moves. Perhaps hearing Akane's theory would clear things up.
Serious-senpai: "I see. So this is how it connects to the story where Marie's stomach is destroyed… Do you even have a soul, Kaito?"