Chapter 97 : Chapter 97
Chapter 97. If It Can't Be Done, Make It Happen (1)
Vinchih Garrison Base.
There, Roden bowed his head in greeting to the garrison commander, Abtal.
“Thank you so much for taking care of our Billem Caravan like this.”
At that, Abtal let out a hearty laugh and replied.
“Hahaha. There's no need to be so grateful. Isn't this the Billem Caravan, making its name known not just in Vinchih but throughout the Empire with a single meatball? It's not a bad deal for me either, to be able to do business with such a place.”
That was right.
Following the recent incident in the market, Roden had established a business relationship with the Vinchih garrison.
The Vinchih garrison had agreed to purchase a portion of the food they regularly bought to send to the Imperial Army through the Billem Caravan.
Thanks to this, the Billem Caravan was able to venture beyond simply being a caravan that sold food and get into the business of supplying the Imperial Army.
Abtal continued.
“It's just a shame that there's a limit to how much I can help, as your caravan can't supply much food yet. Be diligent and grow the size of your caravan. As long as the price is right, I'll buy everything in the name of the Empire.”
“Yes. I will do my best as you've said, Commander.”
As befitting the garrison of the commercial city of Vinchih, the amount of food sent to the Imperial Army from here was quite large.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this place fed almost an entire corps.
And to think that Roden could supply all that food.
It was clear that he would be able to handle a huge amount of money.
However, the Billem Caravan didn't have many places to source food from yet.
He had to start working on that now.
‘While proceeding with this, I also have to manage the continuously growing meatball business.’
As Abtal had just mentioned, the Billem Meatballs, with their heart-wrenching story added to their taste, had gained tremendous momentum.
At first, it was merely the cities and villages near Vinchih that sought out Billem Meatballs, but the trend was gradually spreading throughout the entire Empire.
Roden decided to ride this momentum and sell Billem Meatballs in other regions besides Vinchih.
He decided to start a kind of branch business.
However, since this was a type of business Roden was undertaking for the first time on the entire continent, a more concrete plan was needed.
Thus, Roden currently had two tasks.
One was to increase the amount of food to be sent to the Vinchih garrison, and the other was to establish branches for the meatball business.
Certainly, the latter was more profitable financially than the former.
But in terms of intelligence activities, the former was more important.
The stronger the connection with the Vinchih garrison, the different the quantity and quality of information he could obtain would be.
It was for this reason that Roden was trying his best to succeed in both businesses.
In any case, this was a problem to be solved later.
For that reason, he first bid farewell to Abtal.
“I will take my leave for today and come to greet you again soon, Commander. And this is a token of my sincerity.”
Roden handed a pouch to Abtal, who quickly took it and tucked it into his clothes before replying.
“Hahahi. What's all this? You're always welcome, so be sure to visit. It would be nice to share a drink then.”
“Yes. I will arrange it. Then, I'll be on my way.”
With that, Roden left the garrison base and walked towards the Strutzen Inn.
When the surroundings became quiet, Olinto, who was beside him, spoke to Roden.
“That man, the garrison commander, is incredibly greedy. To take a bribe while pretending to be on our side, pretending to pity us.”
“That's a relief. Thanks to him, we succeeded in establishing a connection with the Imperial Army. And created an opportunity to make money.”
“Still, I can't help but dislike it. It's horrifying to imagine that there might be people like him in our army too. By the way, where should we get more food from?”
Roden brought up the story he had thought of in response to Olinto's question.
“We'll have to go around to nearby cities and castles to secure contracts. Through a direct approach. We're a caravan, aren't we?”
“Well, that's true, but… will it work? To buy grain, we'll have to succeed in negotiations with the nobles.”
Not just any noble; to be precise, they had to get approval for the deal from the lord.
From the lord who owned the city or castle.
And as Olinto said, this would not be easy.
Lords would inevitably have caravans they already did business with.
“Still, we have to get their approval somehow. You never know. There might be a noble who loves money like Abtal. Besides that, there's another way.”
“What is it?”
“The small villages that the Special Task Force Company is occupying while we are here. We bring the grain from those villages.”
It was better to send the grain from here to Vinchih than to the Allied Forces besieging Kroxen Castle.
This was because it was closer in distance.
In the first place, it was impossible to send this grain to the Allied Forces due to the risk of raids.
For that reason, Roden was thinking of selling even this grain to the Imperial Army.
If the Infantry Platoon and the Cavalry Platoon disguised themselves as the Billem Caravan and transported the grain, it would be possible to cover it with a small number of troops.
“Certainly, if we do that, the amount of grain we can immediately trade with Abtal will increase. Though it won't be enough.”
“That's right. In the end, we have to persuade the nobles. And I'll be handling that myself.”
The negotiations with the nobles had to be conducted directly by Roden, who was known as the Caravan Leader of the Billem Caravan.
A noble who needlessly cared about formalities would be offended if the Caravan Leader didn't show up in person.
However, if Roden took on this task, one problem would arise.
Olinto pointed out this problem.
“But if the Company Commander takes the lead, what happens to the meatball business?”
Since he had also finished thinking about this part, Roden explained to Olinto.
“The meatball business will be divided and handled by the Archery Platoon. The 1st squad will go to Alan, the 2nd squad to Gerna, and the 3rd squad to Julias to open branches.”
It was a quite unconventional plan.
If the troops were divided by squad like this, someone with ulterior motives could run away or report the Special Task Force Company.
It was inevitable as the function of mutual surveillance would weaken.
But Roden trusted the Archery Platoon.
He trusted not only the Archery Platoon but the entire Special Task Force Company with the same heart.
When the Special Task Force Company was the first to show infinite trust in Roden, who else would he trust if not them?
For that reason, Roden made a bold plan, and Olinto also nodded without pointing out such risks.
Olinto trusted the Special Task Force Company just as much.
“Certainly, if we do that, there won't be a problem with opening branches in nearby cities. However, it will be difficult to handle the demand with just that number of people. Above all, who will remain here in Vinchih?”
“You, the Archery Platoon Leader, must remain in Vinchih. You can easily do the work of ten people on your own, can't you?”
“Pardon?”
“Of course, that doesn't mean I plan to make you make and sell that many meatballs alone. We need to hire employees. In the first place, with this number, we can't achieve the sales we want.”
The last time they were in Vinchih, making money to this extent was not important.
Just enough for Roden and the Infantry Platoon to live without want.
Just that much was enough.
So there was no need to increase the scale, but not now.
He had to increase sales somehow.
Therefore, hiring employees was essential.
Even if it greatly increased the risk of their identities being revealed.
Even if it created the possibility of the recipe being leaked.
“Just making the meatballs and moving them to the stall to sell. We just need them to help with that. If we handle the core parts of the recipe, like making the sauce, writing the ledger, and managing the profits ourselves, there will be absolutely no problems.”
Olinto understood Roden's explanation and nodded.
Then he added.
“Still, just in case, we should hire employees who are tight-lipped. Someone who won't take too much interest no matter what happens.”
“Right. It would be better to do that. Anyway, let's talk more about this at the inn.”
A short while later.
Roden and Olinto, who had arrived at the Strutzen Inn, explained the new plan to the Archery Platoon.
***
For a month after making the plan, Roden spent his time busily.
This was because he had to carefully hire new employees and open branches in the nearby cities of Alan, Gerna, and Julias.
After watching the three branches successfully complete their first day of business, Roden set off to realize his next plan.
Three soldiers, each selected from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squads, were to accompany him on this journey.
No matter how outstanding Roden's personal combat prowess was as a knight, it was too dangerous to wander around alone.
“Ronda, Darien, Gaspar. I'm counting on you for this journey.”
“It is an honor!”
“I'm the one who should be grateful!”
“I have always respected you!”
All three were regular soldiers from the Archery Platoon who had reached the rank of 1-star.
Although they had reached the rank of 1-star relatively recently, it didn't change the fact that they were knights.
For reference, a total of ten soldiers in the Archery Platoon had reached the rank of 1-star.
Three of them were, of course, the squad leaders, and the remaining seven were all regular soldiers.
The surprising fact was that this number was on the low side for the proportion of knights among the various platoons of the Special Task Force Company.
Currently, twenty-two members of the Infantry Platoon and sixteen members of the Cavalry Platoon had reached the rank of 1-star or higher.
Moreover, since the soldiers would be training hard even at this very moment, it was not impossible for the entire Special Task Force Company to reach the rank of 1-star or higher in the near future.
‘At that time, we might have to call it the Special Task Force Knight Order instead of the Special Task Force Company.’
In any case, the reason Roden set off on a journey with the three men was none other than this.
To persuade the nobles, that is, the lords, to increase the amount of food supplied to the Vinchih garrison.
‘I wonder how many of the six lords I'll meet this time will permit us to purchase food.’
It didn't matter even if not a single one gave permission.
If it can't be done, make it happen.
He planned to get their permission somehow with a soldier's spirit.