Chapter 631

Local Highway Development
With Teysa and Hannon joining us, we can now handle blacksmithing and woodworking products as well.
That said, since it’s just the two of them, their sales in Vardmoi are modest—most of their work will be made-to-order.
As for materials, we’ve got more than enough magic ore lying around, so that’s not an issue.
And thanks to my finances, we can easily afford the high-performance furnaces needed to process it.
Honestly, being rich feels almost unfair sometimes.

The new business framework will be handled by Alizée, while I’ll focus with Alba and Leticia on improving efficiency in our existing divisions.
Now that I’ve reached the rank of Platinum-rank merchant, there are surely things I can do that I couldn’t before.
Let’s take a look at what’s changed.

“First, with your new status as a Platinum-rank merchant, it’s become much easier to carry out road construction projects. As long as you inform the local lord of your intentions in advance and submit a request, it’s unlikely to be rejected.”

“In the past, even with that, we’d still get turned down.”

“That’s what it’s like for a Silver-rank merchant. But now, as a Platinum-rank, your influence is nearly equal to that of the state itself. With the exception of areas that might serve as bandit hideouts, you should be able to secure permission for most routes.”

Yeah… I’d really rather not create new hideouts for bandits.
If we had the resources, I’d ask the Kiblinki Saltas to patrol while foraging for wild plants, but we just don’t have that kind of spare capacity right now.
If we’re assigning them to patrol highways, it would make more sense to send them to another territory—or even to the Darshe Principality or the Isles of the Eight Gods—first.
Truthfully, we’re short on Kiblinki Saltas manpower everywhere.

If anything, Vardmoi has the most of them—but since it’s my home and I’m their contract holder, they insist on focusing their protection here.
Even with Talat, Plum, and the others nearby, the Kiblinki Saltas don’t believe that’s enough to handle every situation.

“So, what should we do? Invest in highway construction, then have adventurers patrol the completed routes at regular intervals?”

“That’s one approach, but if patrols happen at predictable intervals, the smarter bandits will just disappear for that period. Even outlaws tend to be clever enough for that much.”

Yeah, that makes sense.
Not all bandits are wicked by nature—many turn to it out of desperation.
Some are failed adventurers, others are former mercenaries or soldiers.
When those with actual combat experience become the leaders of a bandit group, they can be quite troublesome.

“Regular patrols are important, but we’ll also need irregular sweeps and maybe a few mountain hunts per year. However, if all of that is done under the Saltas Company name, the local lords will lose face.”

Exactly. That’s the real problem.
We’re merchants, not lords.
Maintaining public order is a noble’s duty, not a trader’s.
The most we can do is act in self-defense.
Full-on mountain raids would definitely be overstepping.

“We’ll need to devise a way to ensure safety without undermining the nobles’ authority. Otherwise, it’ll be difficult to build proper highways in the outlying regions.”

Building roads makes life more convenient—but it also makes it easier for criminals and armies to move around.

Ugh… what a headache.

What do you think about this chapter?