Chapter 626

Dealing with the Darshe Principality
The day after the tea party with Lady Aliulus, I went to report to Alizée.
I had told her beforehand that I’d be meeting with Lady Aliulus, so this was mostly to share what had come up during our conversation.
Also, since Alizée and her team were working on compiling a list of imported goods from the Darshe Principality, I wanted to check how that was going.
So this visit was basically a consultation covering everything.

“... I see. So, they want to enlist the help of the Kiblinki Saltas to create new dyes?”

“That’s right. It seems they’ve grown the plants before, but not on a large scale, so they’d like someone experienced in agriculture to guide them.”

“And what did the Kiblinki Saltas say to that?”

“They said they’d discuss it with the ones who would be going over there.”

“A wise decision. After all, natural dye materials are unfamiliar territory for the Kiblinki Saltas as well.”

Those kids mainly focus on growing vegetables, and only handle grains as a side project.
They’ve branched out into raising pasture grass for ranches, but that’s also been a process of trial and error.
They manage because they have a broad understanding of agriculture as a whole.

Still, producing dye plants might be a different story.
Flowers are one thing, but when it comes to trees, that’s more like forestry.
They do grow some trees like the Connie and a few types of fruit trees, but again, that’s still experimental.
They can’t really be called experts yet.

So while lending them out wouldn’t be an issue, expecting dramatic results in a short time would be unrealistic.
That’s my honest impression.

“I understand your situation, Lady Lily. And will you be meeting with Lady Aliulus regularly from now on?”

“That depends on Lord Bastaraf, but I don’t see a problem. I imagine there might be a few occasions throughout the year to share tea.”

“Ordinary merchants don’t get to have tea several times a year with the highest-ranking noble of another country, you know.”

Yeah, I figured as much.
But Lord Bastaraf likes me as a fellow green tea enthusiast, and Lady Aliulus recognizes me as a fellow clothing maker.
If possible, I’d love to have tea with them again.

“By the way, how are things going on your side?”

“No major issues. We’ve received a list of export goods from their side — you can check it later. The actual samples will be arranged once Lord Sazaby returns home.”

“Then we’ll need to inspect those too.”

“Yes, please do. If possible, I’d like to have Modalphas from your household present as well.”

Modalphas is well-versed in this kind of thing, so yeah, I’ll definitely have him join.

“And as for what we’ll be exporting, they’ve requested Spider Silk. What shall we do about that?”

“Hmm, so that means reducing the amount distributed within the McFarlane Dukedom to instead send it to Darshe?”

“In the simplest terms, yes. And in the upcoming talks with the Isles of the Eight Gods, they’ll likely request Spider Silk too. If that happens, both raw Spider Silk and Spider Silk dresses will become the most sought-after trade goods. To be frank, there’s nothing else in Macfarlane that could satisfy Darshe as much. The Isles of the Eight Gods will also want as much Spider Silk as they can get.”

Hmm... so reducing domestic distribution, huh.
Wouldn’t that cause problems?
After all, Alizée and her group are part of the McFarlane Dukedom’s Trade Guild network.

When I asked, she brushed it off lightly, saying there wouldn’t be any issue.
… Is that really how it works?

“The circulation of Spider Silk within the McFarlane Dukedom has stabilized quite a bit. The powerful noble houses have already secured their own reserves, and prominent merchants have stocked up as well. There’s still demand, of course, so we’ll keep it flowing, but reducing the volume shouldn’t cause any trouble. Besides...”

“Besides?”

“If any merchant tries to bite at a platinum-class merchant, the Trade Guild will simply crush them.”

I see — so, in business terms, the Trade Guild itself would act as a shield.
As for personal protection, I’ve got Talat, Plum, and everyone from Dark Green Sprout with me.
And depending on the situation, I’ve also got maids and a few Kiblinki Saltas escorting me.
So yeah — I’m pretty hard to get at from either the front or the shadows.

The only weak point might be Amira, but her guards are also solidly made up of Kiblinki Saltas.
… In other words, I’m basically untouchable.
As long as I don’t trip myself up, I might just be invincible.

Well, I won’t go acting all high and mighty about it, though!

What do you think about this chapter?