Extra – 『Capital of Flowers』
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Independent Calendar, Year 431, Beginning of May
Elaine put down the quill after finishing writing the letter. All she had to do now was to wait for the ink to dry, roll up the parchment, and seal it with wax. But, it’d still take some time until the ink was dry. As such, she stood up from her chair and walked up to the window.
Up here from her office on the third floor, she had a view of the desolate port and ocean. Free City States Viola―the town which Elaine had chosen as her headquarters.
It’s a blessing that the window is facing the sea, she thought. If it were the townscape instead, I’d probably not think of even looking out of the window.
Viola began to bustle after the sun went down. Until then, the city was more or less asleep. If it came to looking at a desolate port, it was one thing, but staring at a deserted city was just sad. She couldn’t bear to be shown this sort of scenery after she had fought so hard to obtain the position to look at it.
In the Free City States, anyone could lead a luxurious life, regardless of their social status, as long as they had money. And anyone was allowed to make a career, regardless of their origin, as long as they had talent.
It’s laughable. In any country, you can live luxuriously if you have money, and make a career if you have talent. In the end, the Free City States are no different from other countries. Farmers will have to pay their taxes, even if they have a poor harvest, and if they live in poverty, they’ll be forced to reduce the number of mouths to feed.
Reducing the number of mouths to feed―for this very common reason, Elaine had left her home village at the tender age of fifteen. Back then, her parents gave her some money. Even to this day, Elaine doesn’t know whether they did that out of parental love or simply because they wanted to claim they hadn’t discarded their daughter. Either way, it was doubtlessly true that their money had become the basis of her actions.
She had to build a livelihood while the money still lasted. Because of that, she decided to job hunt in Viola. At that time, Elaine carefreely believed that she’d definitely be able to easily find a job in a city as big as Viola. As could only be expected, her job hunting proved to be a challenge. One reason was the already proceeding decline of the city itself, but far more importantly, Elaine didn’t possess any connections, education, or special skill of notice. Society wasn’t as simple as providing employment for some unskilled, country girl.
In the blink of an eye, Elaine had used up her money and was thus faced with a choice. She could either become a beggar, a slave, or a prostitute. After worrying about it for a while, Elaine chose the third option. She thought that occupation still promised some sort of future, unlike the other two.
Fortunately, the brothel that took her in was decent. At the very least, they paid her wages properly, and they didn’t exert violence for no reason either.
Having said that, the first month was still tough. She cried many times over and thought about returning home just as often. But after half a year had passed, she stopped lamenting and began to closely observe the older prostitutes. And then she noticed that refinement was necessary to draw in good customers.
However, even though she comprehended as much, she couldn’t easily put it into practice. Learning refinement required a significant investment, and there was no guarantee she’d get hold of good customers, even if she paid for the education. It was a sort of gamble. After pondering it, Elaine decided to learn refinement. Then again, this wasn’t a world where you could count on seeing tomorrow. As a result, Elaine wanted to obtain something that couldn’t be stolen from her.
Thinking back on it now, she realized that it was at this moment that she understood the concept of investment.
Hence, she learned to conduct herself properly, but that didn’t mean things changed dramatically. It was at the level of the quality of her customers becoming slightly better once she changed. She still couldn’t secure the high-paying customers, but she would procure a refinement that corresponded to the effort and money she put into it.
One day, while she was doing her job and consoling herself in this way, a turning point came. When she told a story she had heard from one customer to another guest, that man started visiting her frequently. Not for the sake of sleeping with Elaine, but in order to buy information.
After she realized that information was valuable, things developed rapidly. Elaine approached powerful men and influential merchants as a refined prostitute and offered them a bit of information for free. They drew some profit from it and soon started visiting Elaine to get more information.
All of it went as Elaine had expected. Naturally, the chances of appearing at their meetings increased.
She also looked after her juniors at the brothel. But, not out of kindness, but because she needed more pawns to gather information across a wider range. She expanded her personal connections, built information networks, acquired a big amount of money――and when ten years had passed, she had grasped the city of Viola.
It was around then that Salk came into contact with her. She didn’t like his attitude, but the benefits of being acquainted with them outweighed it. After all, he made it easier to run a shop in other cities. Considering that, it was a cushy job.
“…If only he didn’t look down on me for being a prostitute at every opportunity,” she spat out under her breath.
Just then, she could hear a knocking. Someone was at the door. As she silently stared out the window, the door opened. The one who had opened it was a woman with sleepy eyes. She was a junior at the brothel where Elaine had worked, called Cyana.
“Excuse me. Sir Cif has come for a visit.”
“Did he say something?”
“He mentioned he wishes to talk to you, so I had him wait in the reception room.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Elaine said with a sigh.
Cyana cocked her head to the side. Elaine wanted her to ask him what sort of business he had, but she was a ditz in this regard. Or rather, she didn’t pay attention to details.
“You seem to be busy. Should I have him go back?”
“It’s okay. I’ll go,” Elain spat out another sigh and started to head over.
※
Once Elaine entered the reception room after being guided by Cyana, she found Cif sitting on the sofa, very relaxed. He didn’t carry a weapon. She guessed he had left it at the reception.
“Sorry for making you wait.”
“I didn’t wait that long anyway.”
Elaine sat down on the sofa, opposite Cif. Cyana remained standing next to Elaine. Cif cast a fleeting glance at her, probably being vigilant.
“Did you think this room would have a bed since it’s the reception room of a brothel?”
“No, I didn’t think anything like that.”
Elaine deliberately questioned him with an off-topic question. She thought it might hurt his mood, but Cif answered calmly. He shifted his eyes to Elaine.
“It’s a reception room with a soothing ambiance.”
“Oh my, thank you. I feel happy to hear you praise it,” Elaine expressed her honest feelings.
She had worked hard so that the room would be like that.
“I heard you want to talk with me, but what exactly?”
“About that…”
Cif retrieved a small leather bag from his pocket and put it on the table. Once, Elaine asked him with her eyes whether she could open it, and he nodded. She picked up the bad. It was quite heavy. Loosening its string and peering inside, she could see gold beads. She fastened the string again and put the leather bag on the table.
“I want to know about Marquis Erakis and his fief for that payment.”
“It’s just as you’ve heard from Salk. Marquis Erakis is a little, perverted brat. Beyond that, everything is just as it’s written in the report. That’s why I’ll give this back to you.”
She pushed the leather bag to the center of the table, but Cif didn’t show any hints of picking it up.
“We should be able to cooperate with each other.”
“Cooperate? On what?”
“You’re trying to launch a company, no, trade guild, right?”
“No, you’re wrong,” Elaine denied.
It was no lie either. She had already started a public company―the Sinner Trade Association. She obtained 10,000 gold from Chrono while using the association’s rights as collateral, and she also secured a business permit. So far, it didn’t have a store, but the Sinner Trade Association definitely existed.
Suddenly, Cif put his hands together and leaned forward.
“We―the alliance of tribes―wish to relocate to an abundant land.”
“That’s quite a coming out all of a sudden.”
“Is it that unexpected?”
“The timing is, yes, but the idea itself isn’t all that unexpected.”
The Bettel Mountains, the place where the Alliance of Tribes currently lives, has little land suitable for farming. For this reason, the tribe members have been making a living as mercenaries, but Cif probably had misgivings about this situation.
“But, why would you do this now of all times?”
“I wanted to convey that our interests match. Besides, I’m not so naive to think that I can get people to trust me without saying anything.”
“…I see,” Elaine answered after a short pause. “So, what kind of cooperation are you looking for?”
“A mediation of craftsmen, no, former craftsmen.”
“Hmm,” answered Elaine conversationally while crossing her legs.
My attempt at herding in craftsmen was exposed faster than I’d expected. At least, Cif knows about it. So Salk and the others should have grasped that information, too. It might be best to have him cooperate in that case.
“Also, I swear that we won’t allow the mercenaries attached to the mercenary guild to get in your way.”
“What if there’s interference that uses methods other than hiring mercenaries?”
“We’ll assist as much as possible. Of course, we’ll cooperate as much as possible on other matters, too.”
“Alright. Let’s work together for both our interests. So, what is your demand?”
“I’d like you to introduce me to Marquis Erakis.”
“Just an introduction is fine?”
“Yeah. I’ll negotiate with him myself.”
“Got it. I can promise you that much. Okay, we’re done here, right?”
Just as Elain tried to wrap up their talk, Cif sighed and said, “What kind of man is he?”
“I told you before, he’s a little, perverted brat. But he’s got a reasonably good judgment, and he knows how to bargain well, considering his young age. Also, every once in a while, his eyes will become so cold that it makes me shudder.”
“It seems he was called One-Eyed Demon in the previous war, but I guess he’s a man that doesn’t need to be ashamed of that nickname.”
“The father is a slaughterer, the son is a demon…I’m sure the grandson is going to be the demon king.”
Elaine answered Cif with a laugh.
“What’s the state of his fief?”
“The number of vagrants has clearly decreased, and the public order has improved as well. They’re putting their efforts into reclamation and the construction of an industry. I guess you could summarize it as what’s generally known as running a good government. Oh, come to think of it, right now they’re building a port.”
“And that’s the reason for you trying to start a trade guild, huh?”
“I’m not trying to start it. I have already started one.”
Cif widened his eyes in surprise, causing Elaine to giggle.
“It’s good that I asked you about things after all.”
“Why?”
“There were many things you didn’t mention in your report.”
Cif’s lips curved slightly once Elaine asked.
※
————- End of Part 1 ————-
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