Episode 97: Sharr Company
The next morning, I rubbed my sleepy eyes and rang the bell.
Nicoletta entered the room, bringing three maids with her.
“Good morning, Lord Sharka.”
“Morning.”
Nicoletta carefully wiped my face with a warm towel and smoothly removed my nightclothes.
The other three maids busily began cleaning my bedroom.
(Hmm?)
I was particularly drawn to the posture of one tall maid.
She was slender, like a ballerina from my previous life.
Perhaps the maid uniform was too short, as her calves were quite visible.
Like Nicoletta, she had supple calves.
And her breasts were large too.
(She’s a little intriguing.)
“You, the tall maid.”
“Y-yes?”
“Come over here for a moment.”
The maid approached me with a nervous expression.
She looked to be about fifteen to seventeen years old.
Her height was around 175 centimeters, nearly fifteen centimeters taller than me.
It was hard to tell with the maid uniform, but she had quite a toned figure.
“Now that I see you up close, you’re quite tall.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
Her light brown hair was slightly wavy, and her simple appearance reminded me of a high school girl who had just moved to the city from the countryside, which was quite appealing.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you before. What’s your name?”
“…Ferris.”
The tall girl named Ferris gave a wry smile.
She probably wasn’t used to being spoken to by a noble.
Seeing her shrink her large frame aroused my sadistic instincts.
“Um, Lord Sharka, if you need to relieve yourself, shall I take care of it?”
Nicoletta, who was trying to dress me, suddenly asked.
Her gaze was directed towards my lower abdomen.
Oops… it seemed to be a morning physiological phenomenon.
“N-no, I’m fine for today.”
“Is that so…”
Nicoletta replied with a hint of disappointment.
It would be too depraved to have her take care of it first thing in the morning.
I wanted to be a capable boss.
I could be a rowdy man, but only after dark.
“Lord Sharka, are you really going out today?”
“Yes, of course.”
I finished getting ready and headed to the entrance, where I ran into Elmia and my mother who were about to leave.
“Sharka, I’m going to train with Camilla.”
“Ah, have a good time.”
Elmia said with a slightly stern face.
I wanted her not to take it too hard, but everyone goes through periods where their vision narrows.
I decided to see her off cheerfully.
“Sharka, the noble meeting is approaching the day after tomorrow, so I’ll leave the preparations to you.”
“Yes, Mother.”
My mother’s complexion was remarkably good today.
I heard that fighting makes you excited, so she probably did it with Father last night.
I’m glad they have a good relationship.
(Come to think of it, there was a noble meeting…)
As my mother said, a noble meeting was scheduled for the day after tomorrow.
The noble meeting was a summit in the Ortenos region, attended by the head of the family, the next head, and two attendants.
I had only been called once in the past, so this was my second time.
I was to participate as an attendant to my father.
At the meeting, there was expected to be a move to make me the head of the family, but my mother had been acting strangely since yesterday, so that was no longer certain.
While waiting for the carriage, I leaned against the railing on the second floor of the entrance, watching the maids bustling about.
“Come to think of it, have the number of young maids increased?”
“Yes, it seems that they have recruited more young girls from the city in order to dispatch maids to the mansion in the Imperial Capital.”
“So, that’s how Ferris became a maid.”
“Yes.”
In Ortenatris Castle, beautiful girls gathered from the city during the summer are given maid training.
Ortenatris Castle, including the gardens, is quite large.
Hundreds of people are constantly working, so hiring maids is a necessary measure.
By the way, working in a noble’s castle is generally considered a status symbol.
When a maid girl comes from a family, it is said to be a great event in that district.
After finishing her service in the castle, she will have no trouble finding a husband in the future, even if she is a little older.
“Hmm?”
I felt a strange presence from behind and turned around.
But there was no one there.
“Just my imagination…”
I had a strange feeling, as if I was being watched by someone.
“Lord Sharka, the carriage is ready.”
“Ah. Then, let’s go to the town.”
I decided to forget about the presence for now and got into the carriage.
◇◇◇◇
When we arrived in the town, there was an overwhelming cheer.
From the carriage window, I could see the enthusiastic citizens.
“Lord Sharka is really popular in the city.”
“Are you teasing me?”
“No, it’s a very good thing.”
However, Nicoletta’s expression was stiff and didn’t look very happy.
I waved my hand casually, and the cheers grew louder.
After a while, we arrived at the outskirts of Ortenatris.
The so-called slum.
The bustling rows of miscellaneous stalls were as lively as those in Southeast Asia.
However, infrastructure development was not progressing at all, and the治安 was not very good.
It was probably at the same level as Bangwall.
(Improving public order is a challenge for the future.)
We moved the carriage further and arrived at a vast site with an outer wall.
There were huge factory-like buildings and several square facilities like prefabricated houses.
“Lord Sharka, what on earth are you doing in a place like this?”
“Well, I have some business to discuss.”
This was a production facility for a certain product.
About six years ago, after learning Bio-Lightning Magic, I spent my days experimenting with plants and animals, and finally created one groundbreaking resource.
That was — Seedless Cotton.
At the time, refugees were gathering in Ortenatris, so I experimentally cultivated fields and had them grow it.
As a result, there was a great harvest.
In response to this result, I gathered merchants and started a company.
Its name was “Sharr Company.”
…Yes, I know, I am now deeply regretting giving the GO sign to this company name.
However, I couldn’t ignore the wishes of the Dust, who wanted it to be a hope for the people, so I allowed it.
And employees gathered easily.
As you can see from the events in Bangwall, I am unusually popular with the people, so if I called out, corporate warriors who would work for free would gather immediately.
That’s a joke, of course, the salaries are paid from my own pocket money.
All thanks to the Court of Justice, which tried to carry out a stupid private execution.
Thanks to that, I have so many obedient and blind believers… ahem, ahem.
The Court of Justice is truly foolish.
In the Ortenos territory, where the population had increased, the cotton industry became a catalyst for economic revitalization.
Currently, it is an important industrial base supporting Ortenos under the brand name Ortenos Cotton.
“How’s it going, part-time leader?”
I spoke to the capable manager.
“It’s Bart. The business performance is soaring. However, the other day, the members of the Commercial Guild heard about Lord Sharka’s activities in the East and begged us to lower the commission from 40% to 35%. What shall we do?”
“It’s not worth dealing with them if they’re trying to muddle through with a mere 5% reduction. Well, we should threaten to reduce the amount we sell to them and create an oligopolistic market. If that doesn’t work, we should thoroughly crush them until the Commercial Guild dries up.”
“But if we ignore the Commercial Guild, won’t the Court of Justice remain silent?”
The Commercial Guild is an organization under the control of the Court of Justice, and it controls the distribution inside and outside of Ortenatris.
They are small fry, but they are arrogant simply because the Court of Justice is behind them.
They are taking their time, even though they are already at the stage of choosing whether to side with me or the Court of Justice.
“No problem, the Court of Justice will disappear soon after this.”
“…Understood. Then I will do so.”
With this, the Commercial Guild is finished.
By the way, the middle-aged manager was originally the treasurer of the Azalash Royal Palace.
He came to Ortenatris to make a name for himself as an adventurer, where I scouted him.
The reason I hired him was because he resembled the excellent part-time leader from my student days in my previous life.
“Also, can you wholesale as much high-end women’s underwear as possible?”
“Well, I don’t mind, but what are you going to do with it?”
“I’m going to make a killing off the nobles in the Imperial Capital. I’m going to expand the sales channels.”
“N-no way.”
“Yes — I’m starting the Cotton Road Project.”
I will build a Cotton Road instead of a Silk Road.
I don’t intend to take over the world through war.
I just think I can take over the world through economics.
–In this world, capital is everything.
The real cheat of a reincarnated person is not magical power or status, but the knowledge of their previous life.
It is a universal fact that the winners of the previous life are capitalists.
Moving the economy, mobilizing people, and using the acquired money to buy more capital.
The more capital increases, the more it grows exponentially.
Eventually, when the industrial revolution occurs, all existing systems will be rebuilt.
Who will be the winner at that time? Naturally, me, who possesses the capital.
This is the perfect winning life.
“Gufufu, kuu-hahhahahahaha!”
“……”
My tension rises, and I can’t help but burst into loud laughter.
The people of this world don’t yet understand the terror of money.
This is my—a small act of rebellion—against the time I was reduced to a tool of capital to earn petty money and then died from a broken body.
Since we’re at it, let’s convey my true intentions to the employees.
“Listen up, you lot! I will grow this Sharr Company into the greatest capital organization on the Atra Continent! For that purpose, I’m willing to invest as much as possible from my own pocket. We will thoroughly destroy existing vested interests, earn money, and control distribution!”
“Ooooooh!”
Good, the employees’ morale has been boosted.
This should last for the three years I’m at the academy.
After that, I have to deal with the guys who are getting in the way.
“Lord Sharka, I’m sorry. There’s a possibility that they’ve caught wind of Motherdock’s existence.”
Motherdock.
That is the facility that produces the ‘seeds’ of the ‘Seedless Series’ created with my Bio-Lightning Magic.
In order to create the seeds for Ortenos Cotton, a ‘Queen Stock’ is required as the mother plant.
If the Queen Stock is taken, it will be possible to produce Seedless Cotton, and Ortenos will lose its monopoly.
Therefore, the Queen Stock is strictly managed in a special facility called Motherdock.
“…I see, they have a pretty good nose, after all.”
“Yes, until about a month ago, we were subjected to considerable pressure, and some people were injured.”
This is probably due to my absence.
Honestly, I was worried even while I was in Bangwall, but since I didn’t receive any urgent reports, I decided to leave it to the people on-site.
“Was it alright?”
“Yes, the adventurers managed to defend it somehow.”
“I see, I’m glad there were some motivated guys there to help.”
“Yes, we won’t let them easily invade Lord Sharka’s castle… However, it seems that the Court of Justice is no longer in a position to bother us.”
The middle-aged manager puts his hand to his mouth and makes a gesture of thinking, as if puzzled.
“What do you mean?”
“Lord Sharka, are you aware of the slasher incidents that are the talk of the town?”
“Slasher?”
“Yes. Recently, there have been incidents in the castle town where members of the Court of Justice have been murdered in succession.”
“Hoh, to target the Court of Justice, there’s quite a crazy guy out there.”
“Yes, that’s why…”
Just then, a small cat Beastman girl approaches.
“Ah, Lord Sharka-nya!”
Interrupting the conversation of nobles is punishable by beheading.
But of course, I wouldn’t hurt her.
Because she’s a cute cat-eared girl.
The cat-eared girl hugs me and rubs against me.
It’s a little beastly, but it’s good in its own way.
“Hmm, you’re certainly…”
“Miina-nya!”
“Ah, Miina.”
The cat-eared girl Miina shows a beaming smile.
I saved her from being executed by the Court of Justice about five years ago.
Since then, she’s become attached to me like this.
I think she’s the same age as me, twelve years old.
“I-I’m sorry, Lord Sharka. Miina, you mustn’t disturb him.”
The cat-eared mama has a pale face.
As expected, she’s aware that she’s being rude in front of a noble.
She’s probably in her early thirties, so she’s still totally viable.
“No, it’s fine. One of my goals was to fluff Miina.”
“Kyaa, that tickles-nya.”
I knead Miina’s cat ears, and Miina looks happy.
(Ah~, my heart is healed.)
This makes me want to get a cat.
Of course, not a kitten, but a somewhat mature cat… but.
(Hmm?)
Suddenly, I notice that Miina’s arm is bandaged.
“Miina, are you injured?”
“Uu, un…”
Miina buries her face in my chest as if remembering something painful.
“Miina is one of the people who was attacked and injured by the Court of Justice a month ago.”
The middle-aged manager said frustratingly.
I can’t believe Miina was attacked.
This gives me another reason to crush the Court of Justice.
It’s practically a bargain sale.
“Let me see that injury.”
“Eh…”
I slowly unwind Miina’s bandage.
There was a deep laceration, and it was quite festering.
I knead my Magical Power and cast Healing Magic.
Then, the wound quickly closes, and she regains her beautiful skin.
“Wow, a-amazing-nya! Thank you, Lord Sharka-nya…”
“Don’t worry about it, it’s a reward for letting me fluff you.”
“Lord Sharka… I, I love you-nya.”
If I can earn the favor of a cat-eared girl, then it was worth it.
The cat-eared mama is bowing her head repeatedly, looking apologetic.
“How is life for the cat-eared mama? Tell me honestly.”
“Y-yes, fortunately, I’ve been hired as a seamstress along with Miina, and I also receive remittances from my other daughter, Miina’s older sister, so we have enough money to live on.”
Perhaps the best thing about the Ortenos Cotton effect is that it has created employment for women.
…More than that, I heard something a little concerning.
“Hmm, Miina has an older sister?”
“Umyu, that’s right-nya. But my sister went out to work outside many years ago and hasn’t come back-nya…”
Miina says with a sad expression.
It’s rare for a woman to go out to work.
The only thing I can think of is a maid, but Ortenatris Castle can’t hire her.
As a Beastman, I can’t deny the connection with the Beastman Hero.
So where and what is that sister doing?
“Do the remittances come regularly?”
“Yes, they just leave the money and a letter in the middle of the night. Just the other day too…”
“…By the way, what’s the name of that sister?”
I ask as carefully as possible so as not to give a sense of distrust.
I felt that Miina’s sister’s actions were somehow unnatural.
“Umm… it’s [redacted].”
I open my eyes wide at the name.
I felt like something was connecting in my head.
I didn’t want to make Miina sad, but…
(…In the worst case, I’ll have to deal with her.)
The information is not yet confirmed.
Let’s carefully examine the facts one by one.
(Hmm?)
As I’m thinking this, I hear arguing voices from outside the outer wall.
It seems like some trouble has occurred.
I cut off my thoughts for now and head straight to the scene.