Chapter 70
To be precise, the adults were the ones who actually ran the business; she had only thrown out the idea. But anyway, that was how it was.
At Flora’s confident words, Count Vitora looked dumbfounded.
What could he do if he didn’t believe it? It was the truth.
What Flora had said to Isaac, the money-obsessed one, last night was strictly about efficiency.
〈Other businesses are already profitable, so let’s pit the unprofitable ones against each other.〉
Then she wickedly laughed, saying they should pick the most promising idea among them, make him the person in charge, and exploit it properly.
Isaac nodded happily, and Flora persuaded Athanas to hold a competition by explaining the synergy that would come from combining various ideas.
Thanks to that, even a slightly inexperienced but passionate young count could get a chance.
Flora opened her mouth in a confident voice.
“Sure, everyone will hate doing it at first, but in the end, they’ll do it.”
“…Just to get involved in the business somehow?”
“Exactly! Even if they just pretend to make an effort, if the mercenary business doesn’t work out, they can ask to be included in another project. None of them are really serious about the mercenary business anyway—except you, Count Vitora.”
“Is that why you chose me?”
“Mm-hm.”
At her confident nod, the count’s expression darkened.
“So, you’re saying you want to sponsor my business using the Shalia fruit. Am I understanding that correctly?”
Seeing him still hesitating whether to take it seriously, Flora shook her head.
“Half right.”
“Half?”
“Mm, I’ll also give you ideas.”
A look of bewilderment flashed across the count’s face. So in the end, she didn’t really need his help after all.
As if reading his thoughts, Flora smiled broadly.
“What I need is a passionate person.”
“Passionate…”
“Everyone’s blinded by money and just wants to swindle my father. There’s no one serious about the business, so how could it succeed? Right?”
“…You thought I was passionate? And you only saw me yesterday at that dinner, didn’t you?”
“Isn’t that enough? What else do I need to see? You’re persistent, and your eyes burn with anger even when others oppose you… Don’t you want to give them a lesson?”
The count could no longer see the Flora in front of him as just an ordinary, childish girl.
He had thought she was clever compared to other children, but this was beyond that—it was as if a fully-grown adult lived inside her. A shiver ran down his arm.
‘It can’t be… but.’
She may have grown up in an orphanage, but her perspective on the world was clearly a bit special.
“Haaaah.”
Well, since it was likely to fail anyway, maybe listening to this overconfident little princess wouldn’t be so bad.
“So, what exactly should I do? Should I present a business plan using your assets and ideas?”
“Hehe, there’s actually one more thing.”
Flora pointed at the pouch in his hand.
“Do you know the characteristics of this Shalia fruit?”
“You mean its ability to heal wounds caused by monsters?”
‘Does she know I’m an alchemist and wants me to make an ointment? Sounds fun, but isn’t that unrelated to the business?’
“That’s true, but it has another property. Monsters hate the energy of the Shalia fruit, so if you carry it, they’ll avoid you.”
“…Really?”
“Mm-hm. I checked it myself.”
“How… How did you confirm that?”
Flora shot him a sharp look as he, blinded by the new knowledge, stared.
“You didn’t even do a background check on me?”
“Why would I?”
“Why are our retainers so indifferent? Why did my father go to the northern forest to deal with the demon?”
“…No way.”
Yes, the “no way” was exactly the right one.
‘By now, you’d think I’d connect the dots. A man obsessed with money and business—how reassuring.’
If a man obsessed with money and a man obsessed with business combined, how powerful would that be?
Flora swallowed a laugh that almost escaped and continued.
“You could just use the Shalia fruit for ointments, but what if we make some kind of personal protection item using the fruit that people can carry with them?”
“…Using the fruit?”
“Mm, you could carry it as is, but it’ll eventually rot. Even the abilities of a skilled alchemist or magician have limits. So I want you, Count, to think about it.”
“Excuse me?”
“Try making a personal protection item that keeps monsters away using this fruit. Then promote it through mercenaries, and announce it as a way to expand not just inside the guild, but as an external business too.”
At Flora’s words, the count blinked dumbly. Seeing him like that, Flora put her hand to her forehead and sighed.
“If it’s confirmed that mercenary work is safe, more people will want to join the guild, right? Then the guild can expand, right?”
“That’s right?”
“Then would clients want to hire mercenaries individually, or just go through the guild comfortably? And even better, guild mercenaries would be reliable, right?”
“Of course, they’d go through the guild.”
“The answer’s obvious, so why ask! If you develop personal protection items using Shalia fruit and announce it for sale, the contest win will obviously be yours, Count! So why aren’t you moving?!”
“Ah, yes… well, um…”
His mind was in chaos from the flood of information. It sounded ridiculous, but if it succeeded…
‘Fulfilling my father’s wishes, boosting my status as an alchemist, making money, succeeding in business, graduating from my vague retainer position, gaining Lucifer’s favor…?’
It was almost too good to be true.
“C-Can I really do it? I’ve put down alchemy for a while, and a week isn’t much time.”
Seeing his adult weakness, Flora let out a “tch” and tapped her forehead.
She didn’t know why a five-year-old had to boost the confidence of a grown man, but to get excellent results, she had to say one more thing.
“It’s okay. I got lucky.”
“Excuse me?”
“The luckiest person I chose was you, Count Vitora. So trust yourself, and you’ll trust me.”
With that confident smile, having never failed, Count Vitora stared at the young princess in disbelief.
He knew it sounded ridiculous, but somehow, her arrogance gave him a strange sense of confidence that everything would go well.
“Now, go and let the other rivals know too.”
“What? This information? Didn’t you say you’d trust me?”
Seeing him jump in place in confusion, Flora hit her chest in exasperation.
“Dummy! Tell them it’s possible to cooperate! Then they’ll work together and give each other a round of applause!”
She was giving away a way to reduce rivals, but he had no idea!
Count Vitora nodded sheepishly under her piercing gaze, realizing there was a bigger meaning.
“Then I’ll let them know I’m working alone. Or maybe spread a false rumor that I’m getting ideas from my father to make them complacent.”
He stood tall and proudly, as if he had never shown doubt, and thanked her.
“Thank you for choosing me. I will not disappoint you!”
“Mm, then do your best! The future of this business depends on you!”
With that enthusiastic response, Count Vitora returned to his usual confident self.
And currently…
“They said cooperation is possible. External forces are fine, and internal collaboration is also possible.”
Among them, uncertain what was actually feasible, tentative ideas to “work together” started circulating.
‘Ah, that won’t do.’
The Count did not want to see those who had ignored him last night achieve success by any means necessary.
So he decided to give them a small gift and spoke.
“I have no talent for business, so I’ll try to find someone external to provide ideas. If it’s okay, we could make them my proxy and assign them the new business.”
The scenario everyone most desired was presented neatly, and suddenly, the eyes of those who had been talking about cooperation began to shine sharply.
The reward wasn’t guaranteed, but in their eyes, anyone next to them could now be seen as a thief trying to steal their assets.
‘They came for money, so of course.’
They would be obsessed with buying good ideas for money rather than cooperating—but that was fine.
‘Because I have a solid ace up my sleeve.’
Clearly, the young princess was the ultimate decision-maker in this business and had appointed him.
‘Then as long as I don’t disappoint her and deliver results, a golden future is guaranteed.’
Thinking further, besides developing personal protection items from Shalia fruit, he should also suggest ways to further activate the village for the mercenary guild.
It would be some time before Count Vitora realized that the blood of a business strategist flowed in him too.
