To Mr. Bogartz's Shop
On the way to Mr. Bogartz’s place, Luan mentioned that this was the road she had walked with the spy (of course, Atre interpreted for her).
“This area is a commercial district. If they’re connected, then it’s likely with a merchant. It’s possible there’s a noble behind them,” said Brother Gerald.
Brother Gerald instructed the coachman to proceed slowly.
Luan approached the window and pointed out a building with a blue roof.
Brother Gerald looked at the signboard and murmured, “Delm Company.”
“Delm Company? Never heard of them before.”
“Yeah. If only we could confirm the person Luan met, but that’s probably difficult today. We’ll need to come up with a method,” said Brother Gerald.
Now that we had the name of the company, we proceeded with our plan to visit Mr. Bogartz. It was my first time visiting his place.
The carriage stopped, and when I looked outside, we seemed to be in an area where small- to medium-sized shops gathered—a sort of shopping street, like the ones in my past life.
From here, we couldn’t go further by carriage, so we continued on foot.
Since it’s not a place we usually visit, everything felt fresh. I looked around as we walked, and it seemed that this area was more focused on hardware stores than food shops.
Apparently, many of the stores here also served as residences.
The place Brother Gerald pointed out was a three-story building.
From the outside, I could see dried goods and hardware being sold on the first floor. Upon entering, I saw salt and pepper further inside—it seemed like a general goods store that carried daily necessities except fresh produce.
Mr. Bogartz came rushing out from the back in a fluster.
“Young master Gerald, Young master Reinhardt, what brings you to a place like this?”
“It’s nothing urgent. Since we’ve asked you to go all the way to Helios Village, I just wanted to check if everything’s been going smoothly.”
“No, the escort for the beastkin was just as reliable as the Golden Wings, so we traveled without worry. And since it’s a new trade route, it’s actually a great opportunity for us.”
“Has anything unusual happened? Like someone asking about Helios Village?”
“Since I’m the one requesting the escort, people often ask me what kind of individuals they are. Ah, come to think of it, someone did ask if they could send their own caravan to Helios Village.”
“Which company?”
“The Delm Company.”
Bingo. Nice work, Luan.
When we asked for more details, it turned out that since he was going to Helios Village by order of the lord, he couldn’t arbitrarily approve others going as well. He suggested that they inquire with the lord instead. He also mentioned that he was probably asked because he already made regular visits to Shinana Village.
Mr. Bogartz really is a merchant. By mixing truth and falsehood, he made the story believable while also preventing them from interfering too deeply. I’m grateful.
“What kind of business is the Delm Company in? I’ve never heard of them—do you know them?” Brother Gerald asked.
“No, they’re a new company that just opened a shop in the capital this year. Apparently, they used to work for the Arilan Company and then went independent. Since Westland territory is booming right now, they came here thinking it would be a good opportunity.”
Arilan Company… That’s one of the major merchant houses in the Kingdom of Aranfes, isn’t it? Could some influential nobles be involved?
“Thank you. I imagine there will be more people trying to probe you for information going forward, so please be careful. Also, make sure your family stays safe. If anything happens, don’t hesitate to contact our household,” Brother Gerald said.
“If the situation makes it difficult to speak out directly, you could also go through a relative of Commander Arcland of the Magic Corps. Or the head of the Adventurers’ Guild would be fine too,” I added.
Mr. Bogartz said he’d reach out if anything came up.
Back in the carriage, Brother Gerald said, “The Arilan Company, huh… That’s a big one.”
“Would they be a rival to Northtrads?”
“No. The big merchant house headquartered in Northtrad territory originally branched off from Northtrad itself. The Northtrad family mainly handles overseas sales of domestic goods and imports from other countries. Domestic distribution is left to the branched-off companies, so they’re more in a cooperative relationship than a competitive one.”
“So it was a mistake to have Northtrad handle the sales of the teabag tea?”
“They’ll probably handle foreign sales, but their main role is mediation between nobles, so it should be fine.”
“Then why would such a big company like Arilan do this? Westland is related to Northtrads by blood too…”
“They might be under pressure from a noble, or maybe someone below the company president is acting on their own without permission. We won’t know for sure unless we investigate further.”
The Arilan Company… I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before. Where could it have been?
What do you think about this chapter?
