Dream Life

September 26th.

He has come to negotiate with the major chamber of commerce in Aurelia, the Deodard Chamber of Commerce, but the chairman of commerce, Verno Deodard, himself, was to respond to what causes.

Apparently you realize who I am, but I'm alarmed that I just saw it in the distance and nursed it.

Mr. Kitley returns his greetings first.

"I teach at the Tilia School of Magic, my name is Kittry Erbain"

You hadn't noticed who Mr. Kitley was, and Verno gave him a slightly surprising look.

I would not have given the Lockhart family its name if I had, but I would honestly give it a name because they seem to realize it.

"I am an assistant to Professor Elbain, Zacharias Lockhart. She's my wife, Sharon. I need you to know me."

With that said, I hand Zamuel's references to the Blacksmith Guild Branch Manager.

While Verno looks at the letter of introduction, he says, "Was it the famous Sir Zacharias", he has not given a surprised look.

"I was amazed at the professors at the Tilia School of Magic with the Lockhart family. What brings you to our Chamber of Commerce?

As per the meeting, Mr. Kitley proceeds with the conversation.

"We need to cross to Jilsol Island in relation to my research. I heard you were doing business with Jilsol here, and I was wondering if you could let me aboard."

The destination was unexpected, slightly raising my eyebrows, but immediately returning my expression.

"Is it Jilsol...... we do trade in glass products, dried fruit and other things at our Chamber of Commerce, but these days it is a situation of whether or not to ship once every two months. We left the port about a month ago and so far we have not decided on our next flight. It's going to be winter, so I was wondering if we could probably go to Jill Sole until spring."

He said it is likely that the sea will avoid rough winters and will not leave the port until spring, after having already left the port due to bad times between them.

That's where Mr. Kitley sent his gaze to me. I suppose that means replacing the negotiations.

I nod small at that gaze.

"So under what conditions will they let the ship out? For example, if you have luggage to Jilsol and you know you can earn that shipping fee, they will send out the ship."

"That's possible, but no carrier wants to carry their luggage until they pay a high shipping fee to Jill Sole. Also, you can't just empty your way home, so you have to buy specialties in Zilsole, but there's barely enough to make money in Zilsole today."

"Is it because of the loss of competitiveness of the glass products in Zirsole?

"Exactly. As I'm sure you know better than I do."

The main industry in Zirsol is glass products.

My instruction in making bottles of Seawell wine has led to the active production of glass products by earth-attributed magicians in the southern part of the Empire. I hope that's all, but the way I coached it started to be produced within the Empire because I could make relatively high quality glass products at low cost.

It was Jilsol who was influenced by it.

In order to transport using the ship, distribution costs are really increased. Still, while the works of art made by skilled craftsmen are worthwhile, the mass-produced products made by young craftsmen were inferior in quality and were being replaced not only within the empire, but also by imperial ones such as Aurelia.

"Though small ships, we need dozens of sailors. It can go well or two months to Jill Sole, or more than four months round trip. We need two hundred thousand kronas just to pay them salaries, food, etc. Not only that, but given the maintenance of the ship and the purchase of consumables, we will not release the ship unless we can expect to make a profit of more than 300,000 kronas"

When asked in detail, even relatively small ships of about thirty metres in length require a minimum of fifty sailors, with a labour cost of four thousand kronas and four million yen per person in four months. Simply multiply that by two hundred million yen in labor costs, apparently.

I make money in a lot of places, so I have more than half a million kronas just for the funds I have. Which means it's not impossible to charter.

But I can't pick the option of a charter. I can give you the money, but not so much, because I can't tell a third party, including Mr. Kitley, why I have to go to Zilsall.

"Really? What are the conditions that would make it possible to get a ship to Zirsole?"

"I have a suggestion to make in that regard from here," he cut out.

"We have a deal with our Chamber of Commerce. It's also about referrals from the Blacksmith Guild, so we want to do our best. However, as I said earlier, we are not even thinking about making a loss. This is because it goes against the company training prescribed by the founder."

"You can say what you want."

"But we're not denying any upfront investment. If Zacharias is able to find a product in Jilsor that he thinks will sell to Dwarf blacksmiths, it is possible to send the ship to Jilsor by excavating a product that will make steady gains over the long term."

Verno's suggestion was to find me the knob Dwarf preferred. It's only in Jilsol, too, under the difficult condition that the Dwarves continually buy even at high transportation costs.

This suggestion is of great benefit to him as well.

If it was my suggested knob first, the Dwarves would definitely buy it. And the important thing is that Dwarves don't thread gold if it's about booze.

If you're a regular customer, bargaining for a price is normal, but a dwarf is more likely to buy it in words. In other words, because profitability can be set at a higher profit margin, Dwarves not only consume large volumes, but are also longer-lived than humans and can make steady gains over the long term.

"I appreciate the offer, but I don't even know if I can suggest it if I don't try. Even if it is found, there is the question of whether it can be stored for a long period of time or does not deteriorate during transport. Without its verification, it cannot be proposed irresponsibly"

Two months on a voyage, it must also carry subtropical areas without thermostatic containers or other conditions. There is a risk of deterioration due to mildew even in dried objects, and even oiled products carry risks if they are not sealed well on a severely wobbly ship.

"Can't we make distilled liquor? I think Dwarves would be delighted to have just one rare drink in the world with the ingredients of Gilsol specialty."

It was an unexpected story. Sure, the Dwarves would be happy to buy it if they could make booze.

However, whisky is difficult in zilsole, where wheat production is low, and brandies can be made because of the wine, but not only in zilsole.

Other lambs are Phyllobisher's specialty, and vodka is raw material difficult.

"Is it booze... then it's possible, but you can't commercialize it right away. The construction of distilleries and the training of artisans will take several years."

"Of course I understand. Our Chamber of Commerce is also helping to build a distillery here in Aurelia."

Distilleries have also been built in Aurelia, and items that have already been aged for three years have been shipped. I guess the Deodard Chamber of Commerce is cooperating around it because the blacksmith guild does it mainly, but there are many parts of it that the guild can't handle, such as sourcing raw materials and producing barrels.

I have a stomach proposal for once. I hear there are many citrus and a variety of herbs in Zirsole. There are many cheaper wines and the ingredients of distilled liquor can be secured.

That means we have all the ingredients for gin.

If there is a concern, it would be something that has failed before. Even Dwarf's Beltram alienated the gin I made by saying it smelled like medicine.

In addition, gin can be made anywhere with aromatic herbs and citrus fruits known as brewed liquors and botanicals that serve as raw materials. This means that production is possible even if it is not a gill sole.

Although there are such concerns, it is now more important to have the ship out. I need you to show me how confident you are and get the ship out.

"I don't know if you'll take it Dwarf, but I don't think you can make it if you're a new distiller from Jilsol's fame. Anyway, I don't know if I'm going to be able to get a look at the area."

Verno is surprised by my words.

"That's who you call the son of the god of alcohol," he laughs bitterly.

Though I said it myself, I didn't really seem to think I could do it.

"Well, I'm glad you could get the ship out."

"Of course you are," he replies refreshingly and instantly. The trust made me feel sorry for the other way around.

"It's a suggestion I don't even know if I'll succeed. Wouldn't we be in a deficit about this one?"

"That's not a problem. We won't do anything to make a big deficit," he laughs.

"But earlier we said it was hard to make money..."

"We will also go to Gilsall, but our final destination is going to be the Imperial Capital. Because there are as many profitable products as there are in Teito. I was just wondering if you'd like to go a little further..."

Make the ship to the Imperial capital Primus via Jill Saul. Plymouth and Jilsor are about seven hundred kilometers away by sea, but from the overall itinerary, they don't feel as far away as they go.

"So for the last time, may I confirm that this time the condition is to ask Master Zacharias to explore the possibility of a new distilled liquor and to teach the Chamber exclusively about how to make it?

Hooked up in the place of exclusivity, but the liquor I'm thinking about right now can be imitated immediately.

"Yeah, that's okay. But I'm glad you're not doing anything to prevent it from spreading."

I tried to take the word for it just in case, but Verno replied with a true face, "Of course it is," with a slightly frightening look.

"If you do that, all of you Dwarves will turn to your enemies. We will not do such terrible things."

If we do adopt behavior that would eliminate others with regard to brewing, the Dwarves will intervene.

"We will follow up on the departure date, but it is a decision to be made after the festival. The sailors are looking forward to the festival. Enjoy yourselves."

October 1st is Autumn Day and harvest festivals take place everywhere. Even the commercial city of Aurelia said it would be celebrated as an autumn festival, and it still felt somewhat soggy today.

■ ■ ■

My instincts hit me.

When I found out with Sir Zacharias, I was going to do him a favor. Exactly because I didn't intend to send out an empty ship, but the extent to which I would make a ship to the Imperial City via Jilsor, as this one proposes, would not lead to a huge loss.

However, if this one unilaterally tries to be convenient, he would have been wary that I was openly aiming for connections with the Blacksmith Guild and the upper realm of the Empire. So I hid this intent in the name of developing a new product, but I got more suggestions than that.

New distilled liquor, if it also became something that Sir Zacharias, the son of the liquor god, had come up with, the Dwarves would try to drink no matter how much sacrifice they made.

And the important thing is that Sir Zacharias can't possibly fail with booze. I mean, this story promises success from the beginning.

I just still have something to worry about.

That's just to help that Sir Zacharias research Professor Erbain, is he going to an island at the end of the south called Gilsor?

I do know that at the age of ten, I was chiefly admitted to the Tilia School of Magic, the world's highest educational institution, and that I was called one genius in a thousand years. Furthermore, the study of the magic formation is said to line up with Professor Raspade, the leading man, who has heard from the head of the Zamuel Obits branch that the magic formation of the blacksmith guild has made dramatic progress.

More importantly, he is said to be comparable to the imperial prime minister and archbishop of the Holy Kingdom in terms of influencing the world.

In fact, his actions greatly affected both the Imperial Chancellor and the Archbishop General. Anyone with a discerning merchant knows that Sir Zacharias is in the shadow of those two assuming their current status.

Would such a figure take more than six months to study the vague things called the gods?

What's more, he's even throwing out liquor breweries that he says he wants to devote himself to. Maybe it's an important study by that time, but the questions really don't go away.

But I didn't say anything about this.

Even if it was moving with another thought, it wouldn't be necessary for me to know, because I thought it would be better to calm my own curiosity if a big job were to come in like this one than to know poorly.

I gathered together those who were the Lord and talked about negotiations with Sir Zacharias.

Those who have struggled together since my father's day, and were immediately surprised by the magnitude of this job.

"That's my husband. I didn't expect to get such a big job without any information."

"Absolutely. I was surprised that my husband spoke to a seemingly (best-case) guest, but I didn't know he had noticed from the beginning..."

"That's overrated. It's true that I thought it was strange somehow, but I had no idea it would be this much work"

"But isn't it dangerous," the imperial officer said as he had such a conversation.

"What is it?," he said.

"The Lockhart family must have been in trouble with Light Divinity. It was almost ten years ago already, but I wonder if it was responsible for replacing the archbishop. Moreover, with Sir Zacharias' statement, the Blacksmith Guild is lifting blacksmiths from the Holy King. This means that there is likely to be someone in the Holy Kingdom who has a grudge against Sir Zacharias"

I was thinking about that, too.

"You sure do. Besides, I don't necessarily need to be in the outrage of taking Sir Zacharias hostage and negotiating with the Blacksmith Guild. Because his country has more fools who move instinctively than reason. Perhaps, but Sir Zacharias also realizes that. That's why I must have taken you to our Chamber of Commerce."

"I see," many convince.

My parents are deprived of their late years, which were supposed to be happy by light divinity. The money was taken, but you can give it to me for that amount of money.

But they took away the peaceful time until Father and Mother went under the Dark God (Noctis). I can't forgive that.

Not only me, but everyone here feels the same way.

"We intend to act with great care against the Holy Kingdom. I don't mind giving more than usual if it's a bribe. But never let those people do harm! This is just a thought, but I think it clears up my father's and mother's carelessness."

It may just be a desire, but I felt like this trip to Jilsall would do damage to the Light Divinity.

I've heard stories about Sir Zacharias hating light theism, and he actually has the power that it can do.

I secretly expect that one day you will put an iron gavel down on that irrational chunk of light godliness.

"I wonder who the captain was. All our sailors can be trusted, but this time they will need an ad hoc response more than usual. I want to talk about it directly from you."

"It's Captain Duncan who's moored on the Luad Selby."

"If it's Duncan, hit it and put it on. The first sailor was Ramsey. That man can't get into useless trouble because he also has access to port town information. Just in case, tell them not to let the other guests on board."

I called two trusted sailors and explained this voyage. Though they were surprised, they listened pleasantly to my request.