How to Start a War (2.3)
The Farlens Company certainly had business rivals, centered around the capital from the other side. However, in Camelot’s dual insurance market, Farlens Company alone held about 32% of the market share. This was the largest share held by any single company.
Through such business operations, the company came to directly control several shipping and trading firms in Camelot. Most of these had been pledged as collateral.
In other words, even though she was a Kobold from the demonkin nation of Orcsen, she had risen in the world of commerce to the point where she could freely direct some members of the human race from other nations.
Among those under her umbrella—
There were also individuals and companies who did business with Elfynd.
Elfynd, due to various historical reasons, maintained diplomatic relations exclusively with Camelot. So, it was natural that some Camelot merchants had dealings with Elfynd.
And in fact—
The Farlens Company had been conducting business with the Orcsen national army long before that.
Originally, her company began as a small sundries shop contracted to manage the canteen for a single grenadier regiment in the northern region. It was a tiny store that had once gone under elsewhere and made a comeback.
But with the outbreak of the Dutone War, the shop took on practical logistics work for the regiment, managed accounts, and then progressed to dealings with brigades, then divisions, and eventually army corps—
By the time that great war involving all of Star-Euro had ended, the company had grown to the point where it handled all logistical operations for the Northern Army stationed at Growal.
After the war, the merchant who most frequently appeared at the logistics bureau of the Army General Staff became Isabella Farlens. She eventually moved beyond working with regional units and came to handle contracts directly from the military’s central command.
—And thus, she encountered the Military Topography Bureau.
She began supplying the Bureau with intelligence on Elfynd.
Only Isabella and the Farlens Company could do such a thing.
One Camelot shipping company under her control surveyed port facilities in Elfynd.
A certain trading firm obtained tourist maps during business trips and sketched cityscapes.
A railway engineer, lured by a high reward, turned over a full set of track plans for a railway he had helped build in Elfynd.
Another merchant, saved from the brink of bankruptcy by Isabella, considered it a lifelong debt. While traveling from town to town among clients, he stayed awake counting the sounds of rail joints to estimate distances, recorded the locations of bridges and tunnels, and even tracked the speed of the railcars themselves. He handed over all this data to her.
Isabella compiled all of it—meticulously, precisely, without a single omission—and regularly delivered it to the Military Topography Bureau.
The regular updates were necessary because even previously investigated areas could change over time, or yield more nuanced details upon revisiting. It was all about keeping the intelligence current.
The information thus gathered was stored, analyzed, and organized—
Eventually, there was hardly a place in Elfynd that Rottenberger could not envision.
One outspoken staff officer under Rottenberger once remarked smugly:
“We probably know more about Elfynd than their own officers do.”
As arrogant as it sounded, it wasn’t far from the truth—the information on Elfynd had been gathered to that extent.
It began around five years ago—when the General Staff first completed an organized and systematic invasion plan against Elfynd.
As for this intelligence work—
Even without any strict confidentiality orders, those in the General Staff who were unaware of the true circumstances made some rather convenient assumptions.
“There’s that company president again.”
“She's really diligent with her business. Must be at the logistics bureau again, right?”
In reality, in exchange for her intelligence, Isabella had come to almost single-handedly handle the resale of army-surplus wagons and the export of outdated weaponry. So their assumptions weren’t entirely off the mark.
The military, for its part, was making full use of its relationship with Farlens.
Four years after its adoption, when several countries expressed interest in importing the exceptionally high-performance Morim steel artillery pieces from the brilliant Vissel Company, the army had Vissel produce export models made with ordinary steel using the same basic designs, and had Farlens Company act as intermediary. In this way, military secrets were protected even during exports.
But today’s situation was a little different.
Normally, Isabella was the one delivering information she had collected. But in a rare turn of events, Major General Greben—Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Operations—specifically requested additional reconnaissance on a certain location, asking Isabella and the Farlens Company to conduct it and submit their findings as the primary report.
That was why Greben was present now.
“Truly splendid. Madam, your loyal service to the nation far surpasses what a mere officer like myself could hope to achieve.”
Greben, who had been flipping pages and reading through the report, smiled broadly and looked up as he spoke.
“Does it please you?”
“Immensely. The day when your grand endeavor bears fruit is surely not far off.”
“Oh my. That’s delightful to hear.”
Isabella did not misunderstand his words.
—War with Elfynd was near.
What do you think about this chapter?
