The last dramatic sentence was not meant for Eve, but for the benefit of those sitting on the Karlan council. It sounded highly suspect, yes, but the letter Kieman produced from his pocket was not something the people of Karlan could turn down.
All eyes turned to rest on a plump merchant, who seemed to be the most important person on the council, who reluctantly reached to take the letter on behalf of the rest of the council.
“…Petition for long-term trade of woolen goods?”
When the merchant from Karlan read it out loud, Eve’s brow furrowed for the first time.
“Don’t sell the lumber you get from Tonneburg to the kingdom in exchange for wool. Why not stock up on woolen goods and export those instead?”
Those of the council curiously exchanged glances before one spoke up, “Honorable Kieman of Kerube, there are no cities in the vicinity that can manufacture enough woolen goods to sell. You must know this. From where are you proposing we purchase these things? As far as I’m aware, even your city buys them from faraway lands. Are you telling us to purchase it at an even greater price, then sell it ourselves?”
Kieman closed his eyes, nodding along as though deeply considering what the other was saying.
“No need to worry. The one who will be supplying you with the stock is Lord Tonneburg himself.”
With a gesture of his hand, all eyes turned to Matthias, like birds, but the sullen man made no movement, so their gazes went elsewhere again, like birds.
“L-Lady Bolan…”
From the way the councilmembers did not call her by her first name, it was clear there was a difference in status between them.
Eve, who sat silently and sullenly just as Matthias did, suddenly spoke up.
“I know how thread is supplied.”
The best merchants never lost composure in the face of unforeseen circumstances.
She was using every ounce of her ability to get a grasp on the situation before her, much like a mercenary would do in battle.
“With wood from the forest, you can make weaving tools and keep costs down. You can get the ash needed to wash the wool and the bark necessary for dyeing the wool in the forest as well. All the refugees you’ll be taking in will provide the hands needed to spin all that thread. However…” Eve paused. The kingdom produced plenty of wool but was not known for manufacturing woolen goods—as a merchant who hailed from this land, she knew this, and her tone made that obvious. “The problem is always going to be in the fabric-making process. You’ll need rivers to move the fulling mills, and plenty of water for the dyeing process.”
The kingdom had few mountains and few forests, which meant they were lacking in both the necessary ingredients for turning wool into fabric. And that meant it was much more profitable for them to sell on the wool raw instead of wasting time by spinning it. Once spun, places that offered jobs to those wanting to spin the wool would no longer buy it, which meant fewer buyers, and a waste of time.
But it was because of that, that only a small portion of the cost of a piece of clothing would find its way back to the kingdom.
“We have water,” Matthias spoke up at last. “But it is currently sealed.”
Eve frowned, but her eyes then widened like a gushing spring.
The wolf of the human realm immediately turned her attention to Lawrence and Holo.
Kieman followed her gaze and took the opportunity to speak up.
“I’d heard they’d so cleverly found a spring in Nyohhira. And not long ago in Salonia, they found a water vein by looking at maps as clues to the whereabouts of a river that was buried in ancient times.”
Eve was scarcely listening to what Kieman had to say, but she did not need to. She had immediately realized how Lawrence and Holo had really found the underground water, confirmed it was abundant enough for use, and how they should collect and use it.
As Lawrence stood there, thoroughly pretending like he had been dragged into this, Holo stood beside him with her chest puffed in pride.
“This means you can procure your fabric in Tonneburg. Then we in Kerube will order wool from the kingdom, and our great population will spin plenty of thread. And then, in return for the wool, we will provide the kingdom with lumber from Lenos. Karlan and Kerube will take the spun thread to weave it together, and have it fulled, or even perhaps dyed, in Tonneburg. The finished product will all be exported from Karlan. Naturally, I hope that you will offer us priority in purchasing the finished goods over other cities.”
When Kieman said that, the people from Karlan began whispering among themselves, as though relatively pleased with this deal.
“And so we shall repeat this every year. No one here will lose out with the proper price attached to it,” Kieman said, with a forced tone, and flashed a brilliant smile.
This meant he was doing the exact same thing in return to Eve, who was building a road all for herself with the materials she wanted, only going through the motions to seem justified.
No one was acting on evil motives, and no one was making excessive profits.
But the merchant who realized that the genius idea would not allow one single person to win out over the others if all goes well, would only lose all the extra money she thought she would be making.
No, Lawrence thought. Perhaps profit was only secondary for Eve.
That was because in the face of Kieman’s prideful win, Eve grit her teeth under her smile, yet that was not the expression one would make when embroiled in a family feud over gold.
They wore not the spiteful expressions of battling merchants, but of children quarreling with each other.
“The Kingdom of Winfiel will obtain lumber from us in Kerube in exchange for the wool you sell by your hand, Great Merchant Eve, and this budding harbor town of Karlan will trade in their new product of woolen goods, which will allow them to expand. Then Tonneburg will no longer have a reason to cut down swathes of their sacred wood. Oh, God! God bless us!”
Kieman, who most definitely did not believe in God, exclaimed this epiphany, yet the brazenness of it made it sound genuine. Either way, the Karlan officials were starting to understand the advantages of this new plan.
If they were to take in religious refugees on Eve’s request, then the city needed to find a trade that would last. There was a bit of unease as to whether or not the work of cutting down the Tonneburg Woods had the same longevity, and more importantly, the lord himself was not particularly enthused about the idea.
But if the chain of trade, including the entire process of converting raw wool into finished product, supplanted it, there could be nothing better.
Wool itself, after all, was always going to be well received, as were woolen goods.
“There we have it, Lady of the Bolan Company,” Kieman began, taking a step toward Eve. She stared up at him in return, but both of them were smiling.
“Did my defeat come about because I didn’t have them by my side?” Eve mused and closed her eyes, but then immediately opened them and looked to the people of Karlan. “So long as I can trade lumber for wool in the name of the kingdom, and in the name of faith, I am fine with this.”
The people of Karlan gathered around Kieman’s letter, and they all looked to the lord of Tonneburg with bated breath.
“I will need your knowledge and cooperation in order to create fabric in my territory, and I will need your boats in order to deliver the finished fabric to the necessary places.”
Those of Karlan then turned to Kieman.
“I have been tasked with helping those who have fallen on hard times in Kerube. You must understand. We need as much wool-spinning work as we can get.”
Even those who were searching for their own profits separately and ran the risk of all failing at the same time could have things change in their favor with one little factor. By deftly weaving all that together and adding new material to the mix, Eve had changed it even further.
The Karlan officials exchanged glances, then nodded.
“By God’s…graces!”
“By God’s graces!”
When they all joined in chorus, Eve was the only one who shrugged and took a swig of her stiff drink.