Question
Once the meal had settled down a bit, Sheralnia changed the subject.
“May I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
Sheralnia took out a single sheet of paper she had prepared.
It was a small folded piece of paper.
“You do know that I’m someone with a strong grasp of economics, yes? Well then, when I think about economics, I have one principle that I value above all else. I’ve written it down here.”
The princess placed the paper on the table.
But she did not unfold it.
“I want you to read this as well. But before that, answer me something.”
Her purple eyes looked straight at Maryne.
“... What is the single most important thing to you in business?”
For a moment, silence fell.
(… I’m being tested here.)
Maryne realized it instinctively.
This was not a superficial question.
It was the same kind of question Maryne herself had once asked Yumia.
What feelings did one carry into business? What was the essence at the core of it all?
(Should I choose the kind of answer that would please Princess Sheralnia…?)
For an instant, Maryne thought that.
But the very next moment, she firmly discarded the idea.
(No. There’s no need for that.)
There was no need to dress up her words. No need to lie.
She possessed convictions that would not waver.
Why should she hesitate to speak them aloud?
Maryne looked directly back at Sheralnia.
“To make customers smile.”
Maryne declared it clearly.
Then she continued.
“To sincerely strive to make one’s customers happy. If you do that, your customers will respond in kind. And when money flows from that relationship, I myself become happy as well. Building that kind of mutually beneficial relationship through business, that is the principle I value most.”
Maryne stated her beliefs plainly.
Sheralnia quietly gazed back at her.
But for a brief instant, it felt as though something had lit up deep within her eyes.
~ Read Chapters 37-56 in Advance on Patreon ~
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