Rond de Terra, Dining Hall

「You really managed to collect all these…」

It was two days after the 「improving the management of Rond de Terra's economy from the fundamental level meeting」, or just shortened to 「the Terra economy improvement meeting」.

「We did not collect all these items, we merely gathered them. They were already here.」

The gathered items such as decorations, paintings, and some weird deer-like taxidermy specimen that does not seem to have a use, cluttered up the dining hall. No wonder Erica told Kouta, 「I will get the things ready, but please give me two days」.

「These are all mostly presents? So many of them?」

「Of course. I am a royal after all. Before I became lord of Terra… … Even though it's not to the level of getting presents every day, but it's still quite often that I receive presents.」

「What about after you've come to Terra?」

「The presents stopped coming, of course. I believe I don't have to explain something so simple. 」

The relations.h.i.+ps between n.o.bles are influenced by many factors such as alliances, bloodlines, etc. However, in general, it boils down to a relations.h.i.+p built upon mutual benefits. When Erica was still considered a part of the royal family, the presents she receives will naturally come in large amounts. This is common sense. Since she is the favoured daughter of the previous king, and is potentially the heir to the throne, gaining her favour will bring no harm.

Then, what will happen if she foregoes the throne and becomes a duke instead? It is true that the t.i.tle of 「duke」 is quite high, however, a duke is still a 「n.o.ble」. Even if she is the daughter of the previous king, or the elder sister of the current one, right now, she is no different from other n.o.bles.

「Terra being the territory I was bestowed with does not help either. I can't remember any gifts I have received in these past few years. 」

There aren't any benefits in gaining the favour of another n.o.ble. Since doing so will not bring any reward, sending gifts to Erica is no different from wasting money.

「… … They are rather quick to turn their backs on you, huh. 」

「On the other hand, I feel rather refreshed after coming here. Cutting ties with those n.o.bles make me feel much better. 」

「However… … If that's the case, you don't harbor any sentiments to these things, then? Are you fine with selling them all off? 」

「Yes, please do help me get rid of them. The house will become much more s.p.a.cious too. It's pretty much killing two birds with one stone. 」

Kouta agreed with Erica's words. It is often said that 「selling a.s.sets is easier said than done」, but selling off non-essential a.s.sets is not as difficult as the rumours say. It may sound counter-intuitive but as long as the seller is not constrained by the buyer or the price, even hard to sell a.s.sets like real estate can be sold easily.

「… … We will succeed in selling these items. 」

There is only one reason why some things cannot be sold off in the end. That reason is the reluctance of the seller to let go of the items.

Many entrepreneurs will regard their company and their employees as their own belongings.  There's a j.a.panese saying that entrepreneurs whose businesses failed will even regard the ashes in the fireplace as his belongings. This is especially true for things like land that was pa.s.sed down for generations, swords that have become family heirlooms or object that they bought to prove their success such as decorations or paintings. They will not let those items go and, in the end, their company 「died」.

「When one wants to sell off non-essential a.s.sets, the greatest obstacle is the seller not willing to let them go. Since you hold no sentiment to these items, then selling them will not be hard. That only leaves one problem. The price… …」

「Emily. 」

「Yes. For paintings, we can use the artists' most recent deals as reference. For gemstones, we can get them appraised by a appraiser. For the specimens… … Hmm, we can just sell them at a cheap price. 」

Emily stared at Kouta with an icy glare, as if he was some filthy thing. While some people may regard a beautiful woman glaring at them as a reward, but for Kouta who was a normal person, he could feel chills down his spine.

「Umm… … Miss Emily, are you angry? 」

「… … No. How could a maid be angry at a guest, Kouta… … Mr. Kouta. 」

「… … Was there an abnormally long pause when you said my name just now? 」

「… … … … … … … … No.」

「Miss Emily? There obviously was a pause, wasn't there? 」

「That was an illusion.」

Kouta decided to pay Emily's cold att.i.tude towards him no heed. It would be a huge waste of time if he did pay a heed… … Secondly, Kouta's spirit was already at his limit.

「… … My heart is very fragile, you know? 」

Kouta shook his head and sighed. There's no use in being discouraged, so he decided to divert the topic at hand.

「In conclusion, we should be able to acquire a sum of money for us to use.」

He sipped the cup of red tea brewed by Emily, while looking at the mountain of gifts.

「Although I don't know the exact numbers… … But I a.s.sume that we can get quite a sum of money? 」

「I don't have a slightest bit of artistic knowledge, so unfortunately I can't help much on that matter. 」

In elementary school, middle school and even high school, the highest mark for any art-related subject that Kouta has gotten was 2. He didn't even have any interest in art, much less being able to discern the prices of artworks.

「Then let me handle that.」

Erica grinned. Her mesmerizing smile made Kouta feel awkward, and he s.h.i.+fted in his seat before continuing.

「Then, I will leave that to you. Next… … Hmm, let's decide on the direction we will follow from now on. 」

After selling their a.s.sets, the amount of money on hand will increase. Their best plan of action is the one that can increase that amount of money. However-

「I will leave that to you, since all I will do is increase our losses.」

Erica smiled slightly after speaking. It seems she took offence from Kouta saying 「able to think that planting crops that are resilient to sea winds can increase the land's income, you are too naïve, hahaha」.

「Please don't play around. You're not a child. 」

「I am not a child, nor am I playing around. Ah, my thinking is childish, isn't it? 」

「Then you're playing around… … Fine, continuing to argue like this is a waste of time. Then, please think about the direction we will follow. 」

He picked up the cup again and drank the tea.

「In simple terms, it's 『what direction will lead to Terra earning more money』. One of the easiest ways to accomplish that is to 『imitate successful cases』. When I mention 『the most prosperous city in Flame』, what comes to your mind? 」

「That's… … It's the capital Rarkia, right? 」

「Why? 」

「If you want to know why… … Because it's to capital? It's the place where the rulers live? Since there's a lot of people living there, the food consumption is also high. 」

「The sales increase, and naturally the earnings will also increase. What about other cities? 」

「Then… … Tidan? That place is a tourist destination, with many old buildings and castles. The number of tourists there is very high, and the inns there are always full. 」

「It's because that place has many tourist attractions. What's next? 」

「Next is… …」

「That should be Lola then. 」

Emily spoke out in place of Erica who couldn't answer.

「People call Lola as the Gambling City. I've heard that the cash flow in that city is so shocking that a penniless person could become a millionaire and vice versa in a single night. Thus, Lola is Flame's most popular tourist destination, and naturally, large amounts of money are concentrated there. 」

「… … Thank you. 」

「I did not do this for Mr. Kouta. It is for Terra, and most importantly, for Erica-sama. 」

The maid's cold reply almost made Kouta cry. He did not.

「… … In conclusion, I have just mentioned three cities. Imitating them to develop Terra should theoretically be easier, since they have already succeeded. However… …. 」

「It can't be done. 」

「Yes. First off, Rarkia. It is the political and economical centre of Flame. In other words, it is because it is the 『centre』 that caused it to prosper, and not the other way around. Next is Tidan. We also can't emulate Tidan. The tourism industry needs large amounts of amenities and facilities to sustain the service industry. The Terra that does not have such tourist resources is simply unable to follow Tidan's example. 」

For 「tourism resources' only things such as hot springs, famous mountains, or historical buildings count. However, there are also a few cases where a place can flourish in the tourism industry by relying on a certain brand, such as Disneyland in Urayasu… … But the chances of having such a thing is not very different from winning the jackpot.

「Next on the list is Lola. However… …」

Kouta glanced towards the two girls.

「It impossible. 」

「I think so too. 」

「You know the reason? 」

「The reason is already written in the book. 『Lola is the only city in Flame where open gambling is legal』, right?」

Honestly speaking, if it is possible to set up a casino anywhere you want, the country would've become a gambling country a long time ago. The pros and cons of this is a discussion for another time.

「… … What if I request a permit from the Queen? Although it won't be much, but I believe she would be willing to turn a blind eye towards this. 」

「Better not. Underground gambling dens will worsen the security and it's not guaranteed that we will gain money from it. 」

Creating an environment suitable for citizens to live and work in peace is also a responsibility of a lord.

「… … So it's impossible then? 」

「Imitating successful cases really isn't possible here. Then, there's only one method left- to pioneer a new industry. 」

「To pioneer a new industry… …」

Erica furrowed her brows in thought. Beautiful people will look good no matter what they do. The world is so unfair, but that's off topic.

「… … I can't think of anything. 」

「… … You're quick to give up. 」

「If it was so easy to think of an idea, we would've done it a long time ago.」

It's true. Their finances have degraded because they could not think of any good ideas.

「However, now that we have extra money, wouldn't the things that we can do have increased? For example, since Terra is by the sea, we can set up a commercial port here .」

「… … So what about the commercial port? This is Terra we are talking about. 」

「I was stating an example.」

Commercial ports are commonly located in or are the origins of commercial hubs. For Terra that does not have much consumers or unique resources that can be traded with, a commercial port has little to no use.

「… … On the other hand, what is your target revenue? I meant the profit that you set as a target… … Erm, by how much do you wish Terra's earnings will increase? At present, the main source of revenue for Terra is taxes, right? 」

Kouta wanted to verify his thoughts. He was hoping that Erica will reply 'yes', but she shook her head instead, surprising Kouta.

「… … Eh? 」

「Our main source of revenue is 『loans』. 」

「… … Loans? 」

「Yes. But I am not sure if that counts as a source of revenue… … In short, a large portion od Terra's revenue is borrowed from the national treasury. 」

「… … Local debt, huh? This is… …」

A local debt is a bond given out by a local administrative organization. In essence, it is a national debt. The reasons for issuing the loan is countless.

「To make up for deficits, right?」

「… … It is initially. However, currently it is to repay our loans. 」

「This… … This is a really bad development. 」

The repayment of loans will normally include a small percentage of interest. For the current Terra, the money to repay the loans should originated from the taxes collected. However, what Terra is currently doing is digging its own grave by using borrowing a loan to repay another loan.

「Borrowing more money just to repay a loan… … I wouldn't say it's wrong… … But deciding on a long-term goal will be more beneficial. If we continue going on this way… …」

We will be hard pressed to make up for the interests.

「Can't we repay the loans using taxes? In one year, approximately how much money will we be able to collect? 」

「100 platinum coins for adults over 15 years of age, and 50 coins for children. Chambers of Commerce are counted separately and will have to pay two thousand platinum coins every year. 」

(T/N I will shorten 'Chambers of Commerce' into 'CoC' to make it easier in the future.