Chapter 106

[Currently sneaking from the annex's second floor down to the first. The servants are carrying strange statues.]

‘Strange statues? At this hour?’

There really is something going on.

Blanc calmly continued speaking as he listened to the goddess's voice report the situation.

“As you know from visiting the region yourself, the eastern part of the Empire is still largely underdeveloped. It is blocked off by the mountain range extending from the Principality of Sijak, and the elves' nation lies there as well, so local lords wield more power than the Imperial family. As a result, security along the trade routes is poor.”

“So?”

“When it came to trade in the East, Viscount Bleze touted profitability, while Viscount Sano touted stability. Besides, Viscount Bleze is a fledgling who has only just started doing business, whereas Viscount Sano has been steadily running his business for years. Now, Lady Marlene, let me ask you: if you were choosing between them, where would you invest? In a highly profitable business with a significant risk of losing your investment, or in a stable one with slightly lower profitability?”

“If it's a security issue, His Highness Prince Charles said he would resolve it. And my father was also planning to hire additional mercenaries because he was concerned about that very issue.”

“Hiring mercenaries would reduce the profitability by that much, wouldn't it? The reason Viscount Bleze's venture became a topic of conversation was that, despite taking on greater risks, it offered correspondingly greater returns. Yet people were already hesitant to invest despite those high returns. If the profitability fell even further, who would invest? If the viscount had somehow raised the returns even more to entice investors, perhaps some daring person might have invested.”

Strictly speaking, Blanc bore some responsibility for the failure of Viscount Bleze's venture...