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Chapter 54 Part 8 – The second princess of Hydrangea, Margaret, invades.

The well-informed people made fun of us for getting involved in an abandoned silver mine. Fake mines have been one of the most common scams that careless aristocrats have fallen for since ancient times.
It usually costs a fortune to re-examine the site and the chances of finding a promising vein of ore are next to zero. That’s just natural. After all, no one could find a vein of ore in the silver mines, that’s why they gave up and closed it.

…… But for me, with my knowledge from the previous 「108 times」 concerning the location of promising silver deposits that will be rediscovered ‘10 years from now’, it was a simple matter of pointing to a few spots on the map.

This event was called the 「Miracle of the Silver Mines in Duke Wilhelm’s Territory」, and will be passed down through the generations as the first step in the miraculous restoration of the tattered Wilhelm territory. Actually, it is not a 「miracle」, but just 「knowledge」.

The mined silver was processed into silverware and sold through the Orange Privateers to other kingdoms where the demand for silverware would 「increase in the future」. I managed and centralized all the silver mines and precious metal craftsmen through the Orange Privateers. This has made it possible to produce silverware at a low cost, without taking on any intermediary margins.

Although it may sound complicated, releasing the silver itself would cause the amount of silver in the kingdom to increase and lower its value, while using it to trade with other kingdoms and letting it flow out of the kingdom would lead to a decline in national power later in the future. Due to this point, the silver is processed into silverware, since the amount of silver used can be reduced considerably if it was done so.
Even so, I am still using it to make money for later use.

However, this plan is still incomplete. Seraphy naturally tilted his head to the side in confusion.

「…… Are you going to sell these silverwares to foreign kingdoms? While it’s true that the quality is excellent for the price, there are already silverware manufacturers in every kingdom. And silverware itself is not a commodity that sells in large numbers. Most nobles already have enough silverwares to meet their needs. The market is not that large, so it is difficult for new entrants to enter the market, and considering the cost of transportation, I don’t think there is much of a profit to be made. And since nobles don’t care about money, the low price cannot be considered as a weapon.」

I grinned broadly.

「That would be right only if I wanted to do business with the nobles. But I won’t. I’m not going to sell it to the nobles. I’m aiming for the middle class. There are a lot of potential customers out there who don’t have any silverware at all, but wish to have it. As a matter of fact, there is going to be an explosive boom to imitate the lifestyle of the nobles in several kingdoms on the continent. It’s a money-making frontier.」

There is a reason why I can say this.
In the previous 「108 times」, I have witnessed the shift of economic leadership on the continent from the aristocracy to the middle class. We are now right in that transitional period. The common practice of having the people that grow up in the territory where they were born and raise their families in that territory as well has broken down, and a large-scale departure of people from the territories has begun. The territories which are the bases of the nobles’ wealth will decline and the various commercial and industrial towns will become powerful. And the middle class will rise. The middle class with wealth will want to live in luxury. They want to put on airs. They began to yearn and imitate the aristocratic culture that had reigned as the upper class. For them, the most obvious symbol of wealth was silverware. All of them began to desire silverware.

However, the middle class people cannot put their hand on silverwares at a moment’s notice. The price is one thing, but proper maintenance is essential to preserve the silverwares. That’s the main problem. The reason why nobles like to use silverware is because they can show their guests that, 「We have gone to such great lengths to welcome you」. It’s not just because it can be used to determine poison. It is also a battle of craftsmanship and pride for the butlers to beautifully polish the silverwares of the house to have a sharp shine as if it’s brand new.
And that’s what I’m aiming for.

We provide maintenance for the silverwares bought through our route. We also rent silverwares to a group of quality customers whom I judge to be trustworthy. It will also serve as marketing as we make it possible for a suddenly-held banquet to be gorgeously decorated. And it is common for all the wives in the world to want to own some of the things they have taken a liking to from the ones that they have rented and used. We also make sure that even if a customer only buys one silver fork, the salesperson must never look down on them. Because ……

「Seraphy, you should be able to understand it right. Above all, we have to earn the trust of the middle class. We want them to think that all our products are trustworthy, that we deliver the quality products with integrity. Our goal is to make them think so. You can use the name of our duke’s family. That’s what the silverware is primed for.」

The ultimate goal is not to make money by selling silverware.
As expected of a genius, Seraphy easily understood my true aim.

「…… I see. So Scarlet wants to turn『aristocratic culture itself』into a product. Everything from manners to dancing …… There are some nobles who deliberately don’t teach the manners of hospitality and make fun of the middle class at parties. There will be a lot of frustrated people. This could work. No …… this will work. The merchants have also predicted that the middle class will be powerful in the future. This idea is too grandiose for anyone to start working on it, but if it succeeds, it could become really amazing ……!! After all, in terms of culture, there’s no limit to what you can sell.」

「Yeah, maybe we could print catalogs of the products we recommend and give it to our key customers. And add a home delivery service as well.」

Feeling excited, Seraphy leaned forward, grasped my hand with both of his, and his eyes lit up.

「I knew Scarlet was amazing!! Please continue to patronize Orange Privateers!! Let’s do our best, expand the business all over the world, and make your dream to become a shut-in come true.」

I couldn’t help but laugh wryly at Seraphy’s enthusiasm.

Because this was not actually my idea.
It was all done by Seraphy himself in the previous 「108 times」. I’m sorry, I took the idea away from you.
But I think the Orange Privateers will regain its old power much faster than it did in the previous 「108 times」. So please cut me some slack. You can use father’s name in the products to your heart’s content.
A potty with the seal of the Crimson Duke or an educational toy with the seal of the Crimson Duke
Oh, I guess educational toys are not allowed. If we use the mark of that love crazy warrior who considers mother as his life on that kind of product, it’s likely that it would cause another stalker-like berserker to be formed.

And so our business took off smoothly and continues to this day.

Seraphy is a shrewd merchant and his name was becoming known among the merchants all over the continent.
For Margaret, who was looking for a talented young person of the same generation, Seraphy was right up her alley. After all, Seraphy is intelligent and seems to have a lot of use.
Even his face is really beautiful, though he hides it with his bangs. It’s such a waste, especially since his green eyes are amazingly beautiful. He said that the scar on his forehead isn’t so much of his complex now, but he now doesn’t feel comfortable unless he has this hair style.

Margaret was in a good mood when she found out that I was going to introduce Seraphy to her.

「…… Today was a very productive day. I’m looking forward to the future and I want to thank you in some way. …… Come to think of it, I heard that the Duchess has been invited to Countess Rosenthal’s ball. I’m sure that Countess is up to something. If that’s the case, I wonder if I can come along with my father. Besides, I’m pretty sure 「those people」 will eventually get in my way. If Scarlet …… I mean Rufus becomes my fiancé, I’ll have a good reason to execute them.」