Practically speaking, if the Carlests hadn’t cornered them to the point that participation was impossible, this little scheme would have never taken form.
“No matter the system, it will eventually crumble without the profit and abilities to support it. And the more complicated the system, the bigger the collapse. Even bearing that in mind, though, I find your idea very interesting. But let’s get back on track. We have no intention of being glued to a noble. Not in the way the Dreyfans courted them all equally, and not in the way the Carlests are stuck to a specific big shot. At most, nobles are guests with loose tongues. That’s our stance on things.”
“Nobles who plant their roots in one region are different from merchants who plant their roots in the flow of money, after all.” I honestly replied.
The two weren’t equal. It was inevitable that this was inconvenient as a practical matter.
“We’re merchants, and merchants have their own path to follow.”
Jean narrowed his gaze and smiled. I couldn’t let down my guard, but it seemed I could get through to him more than I could with Dreyfan.
“Now that we know where we all stand, let’s move on to the negotiations. My desire is victory in the next guild representative election.”
I knew that much, but he really was being upfront about it. However, I wasn’t in a position to answer his desire. Why? Well...
“Can I ask you something first? How does the guild representative get decided, anyway?”
I knew next to nothing about the guild representatives. I only knew that they were decided through the recommendation of a grand noble.
“...Here you are planning something utterly outrageous, and yet you don’t even know something so basic...? The recommendation of a grand noble is but the first step.”
Jean went on to explain things, even while astonished at the ignorance of his junior. The guild representative election was held in two stages. The first stage was, in layman’s terms, a preliminary election within the guild. Votes were taken from the regular members of the guild, silver companies and above, and the companies which passed a certain threshold, about one-third of all members, were chosen as candidates.
The second stage was an endorsement conference held at the royal palace. In other words, the final election. Guild representatives received the title of an honorary noble. Even though their new title of nobility was purely a formality, this still fell under the king’s jurisdiction. The king then appointed a representative based on the endorsements of the grand nobles. In this case, this would be the archdukes and dukes, so it truly was something decided upon at the highest level.
“So you really didn’t know...”
Not like a copper has any voting rights, so why would I worry about it?
“Although, up until now, the Dreyfans have been the sole candidate and always made it through like that. Last time, the Kendalls didn’t even make it through the preliminary election.”
So it really was just a front. That makes it completely hereditary.
“Frankly speaking, without a recommendation, it’ll be impossible to gather the votes to make it through the preliminary election. It literally wouldn’t be a competition. So I’d like a connection to Archduchess Berthold.”
“Allow me to decline once more.”
“...Just as I said, the Kendalls have no intention of gluing ourselves to a noble. However, to become the guild representative, we require the recommendation of a grand noble, no matter what. Moreover, we need one who can compete with Archduke Kurtheight, who will surely endorse the Carlests. I do believe Archduchess Berthold wouldn’t welcome the idea of Archduke Kurtheight accumulating even more power.”
“Probably not, but my answer won’t change.”
“Your reason?”
“If it came to a direct confrontation between the archdukes, isn’t your defeat already determined?”
Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that the power relationship between the Carlests and the Kendalls was currently 40 to 10. Of the Carlests’ 40, 25 of it was made up of Archduke Kurtheight’s power. Now let’s add 20 to the Kendalls, assuming they got Archduchess Berthold’s power. That would still end up as 40 to 30. It would look like they closed the gap a great deal, but they had nothing to bridge it completely beyond this one strong hand to play.
As a result of getting involved in the ongoing conflict between the east and west, everything would still be tilted completely to one side. If the Archduchess of the West were to then become an enemy due to a breakdown, it would be even more skewed towards the other side.
“In this case, I do believe the largest hand you can play is not necessarily the best. Don’t you think so too?”
“...You have a point. However, there is no other hand to play... Though from the sound of things, you seem to be suggesting there is in fact another hand available?”
Jean made a request for my Plan B. I’m fairly estranged from the political climate of this world, though, so I can’t say I’m certain.
“I’m still refusing to help, and I’m not all that certain of this myself. But the one the Kendalls should be getting in touch with isn’t the Archduchess of the West, or any other nobles from the east or the west. You should be contacting one from the center, right?”
“...You mean Duke Aleberg?!”
Jean mumbled to himself, “What a blind spot.” That’s probably the duke I’m thinking of, not that I’ve ever heard his name.
“What do you think, Ruston?”
“...Duke Aleberg is a famed hobbyist who practically never takes proactive action. He holds lands close to the capital, and is neutral in his political stance to match the location of his territory. Of course, he doesn’t possess enough power to compete directly with Archduke Kurtheight, but...”
“That in itself isn’t enough, but with just that, we have the margin to play our next hand...”
I didn’t have the time to even ask who Duke Aleberg was. I simply stated my thoughts based on the structure of the Kingdom.
“Let me tell you now, but I don’t care who comes after this.”
I decided to, at most, focus on the Academy Festival. Well, it’s gotten a little scary after listening to all this, so I guess I’ll take just a few more measures to preserve myself.
“Those under the Kendall umbrella and the independent companies will cooperate loosely to succeed at the Academy Festival. Just as the Kendalls wish, we may be able to sway the opinions of the members of the Culinary Guild with that. If we can appeal to the benefits of the Horizontal Kendalls, it should be of some use.”
“Do you truly believe you’ll be able to liven things up at that much?”
“Who knows? I’m just saying that if we’re able to, you’re free to make use of it, is all.”
“It seems there will be a need to pay suitable compensation for this. Let me ask you once more, what is it that you want?”
“Information. Even as the deputy representative of the Culinary Guild, I’m sure you have information on the circumstances of agricultural production in the Kingdom. I want to know the production output for wheat in each agricultural region, as well as the price of wheat. I’d prefer relative values over actual numbers. But at the very least, let’s see... I want the last ten years of transactions.”
In a certain sense, this demand was so unreasonable that it was somewhat like stripping the Kendalls naked.
“That’s quite the outrageous request you’ve made. Isn’t that something you should be asking Archduchess Berthold for?”
“I want information from the people connected to the production sites themselves, that is, people like you, who have felt the sense of such transactions on your own skin.”
I was looking for first-hand information. If I were to match that with Euphylia’s information, the general census, I’d be able to estimate the production output of every agricultural region.
“Your reason?”
“I won’t go into too much detail, but it’s because there’s a possibility that the social structure of the Kingdom from here on out will bring about major profits and burdens. The price of wheat is under pressure to be lowered, isn’t it?”
I looked into Jean’s shocked eyes as I replied. I had a rough sense of things from my analysis of the last disaster.
“Are you truly a copper? This is quite a loss of face for me,” Jean said as he smiled bitterly.
“...This is due to my deficiencies in gathering intelligence. I sincerely apologize,” Ruston added with a dry laugh.
“That manner of information will be difficult to release at my own discretion. I’ll have to discuss it with my father. However, I will give it my all. It seems like it’ll be dangerous to be put in your debt. However, let’s see...” Jean suddenly grinned. “I suppose we should celebrate having been brought a connection on level with Archduchess Berthold.”
“You overestimate me. If our relations are to continue, you’ll surely have the opportunity to amend that opinion one day.”