Chapter 36
The Demi-Human Trading Company is, as its name suggests, a trading company run by demi-humans.
Its members are all demi-humans. It tends to attract attention because of that unusual trait, but since it employs many different kinds of demi-humans, its work far surpasses that of other trading companies.
The strong demi-humans carry the loads. The swift ones handle transportation. The keen-nosed ones do the gathering.
In the fields where they each excel, demi-humans far surpass humans. Naturally, when assigned to the right jobs, they produce results beyond what humans can achieve.
The great trading company had gradually expanded its influence from the eastern part of the continent and had finally reached the point of preparing to establish a branch in the Imperial Capital. It was led by a mysterious vampire who never appeared in public.
That was the Demi-Human Trading Company.
And Linfia and Fiene were on their way to that branch in the Imperial Capital.
"The branch was completed, and just as we were about to get started, the trouble in the east broke out. As a result, the branch ultimately couldn't open, and the Demi-Human Trading Company's sign hasn't even been put up. With a vampire as its leader and His Majesty the Emperor having been attacked, the Empire has grown wary of demi-humans as a whole. I believe it was a wise decision."
"Do you think so? If we haven't done anything wrong, I don't think we need to worry. Those people weren't the ones who attacked His Majesty, after all..."
"There would be no problem if everyone thought like you, Fiene-sama, but not everyone in the world is as admirable as you. Some people don't see the attackers as individuals; they lump them together under the broad category of demi-humans and dislike them all."
Linfia thought that was a virtue.
Fiene was not an onlooker, but a victim. Yet she held no prejudice against vampires or demi-humans.
It was proof that she did not judge people by their titles or race. Because she saw them as individuals, any ill will did not spill over onto things associated with them.
However, Linfia thought Fiene should understand that this was unusual.
That was why she pressed the point with Fiene, who did not seem to fully understand.
"Fiene-sama. Human beings are capable of holding different views. You understand that, don't you?"
"Yes, of course."
"Then you should understand. Your way of thinking isn't always the accepted view. I have no particular attachment to demi-humans, but if I harbored a grudge against them, I might take your earlier remark as defending demi-humans. That could bring you trouble and, by extension, harm your faction. If you care about the imperial princes, you should choose your timing carefully when expressing personal opinions."
"Y-yes... You're right. That was a slip..."
Seeing Fiene grow dejected, Linfia felt as though she had done something wrong. Even so, she did not comfort Fiene.
Since Al had entrusted Fiene to her after saying he would help the village, Linfia felt responsible for Fiene.
As an adventurer, she had to do work commensurate with her reward.
At the very least, she had to protect the faction and let Fiene earn some credit. Without doing at least that much, she couldn't say she had earned her reward.
After all, Al had already commissioned Abel's party to guard the village for a hefty reward.
It was such a vast sum that it made any achievement pale in comparison.
Al could afford it because he possessed an immense fortune as Silver, but it was an amount a mere imperial prince could hardly pay. That was why Linfia assumed Al had pushed himself to raise it.
That had stirred Linfia's sense of responsibility.
"Our counterpart is the head of a major trading company. A careless remark could easily leave us vulnerable to manipulation. Please be on your guard."
"Y-yes!"
Seeing Fiene's expression turn serious, Linfia nodded.
At the same time, the carriage came to a stop.
They had arrived at the Demi-Human Trading Company's branch in the Imperial Capital.
■■■
The branch, located in one of the finest districts of the Imperial Capital, was quiet.
It seemed there was hardly anyone there.
Upon entering the branch, a blond elf who appeared to be the representative's secretary led them inside.
Not a word was spoken.
They proceeded all the way to the back of the fairly large branch, where the secretary stopped before a red door.
"The representative is waiting for you inside. Please go in."
"Yes."
Saying that, the secretary opened the door.
The two of them entered the room, but there was no one to be seen.
By the time they noticed, the secretary had already left.
"Could we have entered the wrong room?"
"Since they were the ones who specified this room, I doubt they would make such a mistake. Deliberately making the other party wait is a common tactic. Let's sit and wait."
Linfia calmly seated Fiene on the sofa.
After a moment's hesitation, Fiene began making tea with the utensils on the table.
"Would you like some too, Linfia-san?"
"I'm on guard duty right now. I'll have some when we get back."
"I see... But drinking tea alone isn't much fun..."
Looking lonely, Fiene drank the tea she had made.
From beside Linfia, a hand suddenly reached out behind Fiene.
Although someone had suddenly appeared directly beside her, Linfia managed to slap the hand away before it reached Fiene.
However.
"Aww, what a shame. I wanted to enjoy the feel of the Blue Gull Princess. But the bodyguard's cute too, so that's fine."
After saying that, the person who had suddenly appeared beside Linfia moved behind her, taking advantage of Linfia being left wide open after shielding Fiene, slipped both arms beneath Linfia's armpits, and began groping her breasts.
"Wha—?!"
"Hmm, a little smaller than I'd hoped for. But there's still room to grow! Keep at it!"
"Ngh!"
Taken by surprise, Linfia immediately reached for the magic sword she was carrying, but Fiene stopped her.
"Linfia-san, please put up with this."
"Fiene-sama...?"
"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Fiene von Kleinert. I take it you are the representative of the Demi-Human Trading Company? Also, please release my bodyguard. If your teasing goes any further, I will have to leave."
"Haha, don't make such a scary face. It's just a little physical contact, that's all. And yes, I'm the representative."
The woman who gave a wry smile had silver hair.
She had wavy, semi-short hair and reddish-purple eyes.
She exuded an air of maturity, but her appearance was remarkably youthful. She looked to be between her late teens and early twenties. However, it was impossible to guess a vampire's age, so Fiene stopped thinking about it.
As was typical of vampires, the woman had white skin and beautiful, well-proportioned features. She probably wouldn't look out of place even standing beside Fiene. If a hundred men were asked to choose between them, the votes would probably split evenly.
After giving them a bright, friendly smile, the silver-haired woman headed for her desk.
Then she sat on top of it, crossed her legs, and stared straight at Linfia and Fiene.
"I'm Yulia, representative of the Demi-Human Trading Company. You probably know this, but I'm a vampire, and I like cute girls and money. What I enjoy is feeling cute girls and making money. Nice to meet you!"
At Yulia's incredibly casual self-introduction, Linfia immediately realized her mistake.
This might have been the one place she should never have brought a beauty like Fiene.
However, Fiene seemed neither bothered nor even aware of anything unusual and readily accepted Yulia's introduction.
"I like cute women too, Yulia-san."
"Oh! We have that in common. Maybe Fiene and I will get along great."
Fiene didn't object when Yulia suddenly dropped the honorific and called her by name. Linfia couldn't object either, leaving her unusually at a loss for how to respond.
Yulia smiled at Linfia.
"Don't be so tense. I'll conduct proper business if that's what you're here for. If you bring me a profit, I'll give you something worthwhile in return. You want an ally in the struggle for the imperial throne, don't you? Now, shall we talk business?"
With that, Yulia took control of the room.
Seeing this, Linfia once again regretted bringing Fiene here.
Yulia was no ordinary merchant. She had probably lived longer than the grandparents of Fiene and Linfia, and she was a battle-hardened merchant who had developed a small trading company into a major one despite the restriction of dealing exclusively with demi-humans.
They had come expecting the circumstances to give them an advantage in negotiations, but Yulia was completely at ease. She had seized control of the situation from the outset.
What were they going to do?
Just as Linfia was wondering what to do...
Fiene played her strongest card at once.
"I am the bargaining chip. I will grant you the right to use me, so please lend us your support."
Linfia was stunned by the move—there was no bargaining involved—but Yulia was even more surprised.
Yulia quickly recovered, however, and smiled fearlessly.
"If you grant me that right, I might make you do things even a duke's daughter couldn't normally do, you know?"
"By all means."
The answer came instantly.
This time, Yulia was the one overwhelmed by Fiene's beaming smile.