Chapter 58 - The Unseen Meeting
There was a moment when Dahlia wondered if it was some kind of mistake that she was in this room.
As she thought about this for the umpteenth time after entering, she plastered a business smile on her face.
The fifth floor of the Merchant Guild, a luxurious conference room—no, perhaps it was better to call it a VIP room.
On the ivory wallpaper, a magnificent painting of a wheat field was displayed. The floor was made of smooth gray marble, and a red carpet so plush that one could almost sink into it lay atop. The large, glossy ebony table was so polished that it almost made her worry about leaving fingerprints.
On her right was Volf, on her left was Gabriella, and next to Gabriella was Ivano.
Across from them sat the guildmaster of the Tailors Guild, the vice guildmaster of the Adventurer Guild, and their respective representatives.
Even though it was past afternoon tea time, she never expected the guildmaster and vice guildmaster to show up, and when she had heard of it, she froze.
The space was large enough for eight people to sit comfortably, but the density of the room felt unnaturally intense.
She briefly glanced out the window at the blue sky.
She felt so nervous that she almost wished she could become a bird and escape through the window.
"Welcome to the Merchant Guild."
Gabriella's unchanged voice signaled the start of the meeting.
"Nice to meet you, Scalfarotto-sama, Chairwoman Rossetti. I am Fortunato Luini, the guildmaster of the Tailors Guild. Please, call me Fortunato."
"Thank you for the introduction. I am Volfred Scalfarotto, from the Chivalric Order's Monster Subjugation Force."
"Nice to meet you, I am Dahlia Rossetti of the Rossetti Company."
She had been flustered when called out by name, but Volf greeted him first, and after giving her a glance, she managed to recover.
Although it depended on noble ranks and ages, it seemed that guildmasters and company heads often addressed each other by their names. She suspected it would take a long time for her to get used to that.
Fortunato, the guildmaster of the Tailors Guild, was a handsome man with magnificent golden hair and blue eyes.
He was likely a bit older than Volf.
He wore a summer outfit of ash gray and silver with a white shirt, but upon closer inspection, both items were intricately woven with patterns, added during the fabric's creation. It wasn't visible unless one got close, but it was an elegant ensemble. The man wearing it was even more striking, drawing attention effortlessly.
"Thank you for the invitation, Scalfarotto-sama, Chairwoman Rossetti. I am Lucia Fano, deputy head of the Farno Workshop."
A woman with green hair, sitting next to the Tailors Guild master, greeted them. Like Dahlia, she had a slightly pale face.
After returning the greeting with Volf, Dahlia's gaze met Lucia’s.
Lucia's lips silently moved, asking "Why?", to which Dahlia, with only her lips moving, responded with "I don't know."
Lucia was an employee of the workshop Dahlia had previously requested a prototype for five-fingered socks from.
She was also the designer who had asked Dahlia to provide fabric for a raincoat with patterns.
The Fano Workshop had been largely family-run, but Dahlia wondered when the position of deputy head had been created, and when Lucia had taken it.
A bad feeling lingered, but Dahlia decided not to ask.
"Nice to meet you, Chairwoman Rossetti. I am August Scarlatti, Vice Guildmaster of the Adventurer Guild."
"I am Jean Tasso, Material Management Department Head at the Adventurer Guild."
A tall man with indigo hair and another man, whose physique made him look more like a seasoned adventurer than someone working in the guild, introduced themselves.
After returning greetings to the two from the Adventurer Guild, Volf spoke up.
"It's been a while, August."
"You seem to be doing quite well, Volfred."
The exchange between the two, while friendly, made Dahlia wonder internally.
Since they addressed each other so casually, was this vice guildmaster originally from the Chivalric Order?
"My family is a branch of the Scalfarotto family. The younger brother of Volfred-sama’s grandfather is my grandfather."
Dahlia nodded with a smile in response to August's explanation directed at everyone.
Once all the introductions were made, Gabriella began explaining.
"The Rossetti Company is still in its early stages, and it is short on staff. Therefore, the Merchant Guild will facilitate this transaction."
The letters sent to the respective guilds had reportedly mentioned the following three points:
"An urgent request for magical tool socks and insoles came from the Chivalric Order's Monster Subjugation Force’s Captain."
"There is a possibility that a large amount of green slimes will be used as material."
"The Monster Subjugation Force’s captain requested 'as much assistance as possible for the developer.'"
Upon seeing this, the head of the Tailors Guild immediately decided to go, sent a messenger to Lucia, and came along with her.
The Adventurer Guild could not spare the guildmaster, so the vice guildmaster and the head of Material Management Department came instead.
At this point, Dahlia thought that she might need to apologize to all four of them as soon as possible.
"That’s the flow of the order, and here is the 'Introduction Plan for Five-Fingered Socks and Drying Insoles in the Monster Subjugation Force' from the Monster Subjugation Force. Volfred-sama, would you like to explain?"
"Then, let me explain."
With that, the explanation continued as Gabriella handed the responsibility over to Volf.
The effectiveness of the five-toed socks and drying insoles, along with the users’ reports from the Monster Subjugation Force, their experiences, opinions, and the improvement of the shoe’s internal environment, as well as resistance to foot fungal infection, were all presented in a flawless manner.
Clearly, only someone who had actually used them could speak with such genuine feeling.
The comfort, how it prevented dampness and improved combat efficiency, the link to work efficiency, and its role in preventing foot fungal infection and odor were all explained in a way that was easy to understand, reminding Dahlia of television shopping from her past life.
Though Volf had once claimed, "I can only wield a sword," Dahlia knew that was a lie.
If Volf put his mind to it, he could surely become an excellent salesman.
After his explanation ended, the faces of the four people across from them became extremely serious.
"Chairwoman Rossetti, you currently wish to have the workshop that supplies socks to the Chivalric Order make these, does that mean you won’t be keeping the techniques for making these a secret, correct?"
"Yes, that’s correct. I hope for as wide a distribution as possible."
"Do you plan to build a factory for the Rossetti Company?"
"No. My company is not large enough to manage such an operation."
Dahlia answered, choosing her words carefully in response to the Tailors Guildmaster's questions.
Since she had discussed this beforehand with Gabriella, she did not hesitate in her replies.
Fortunato thought for a moment before addressing Lucia.
"Workshop Deputy Head Fano, if you were to run your workshop at full capacity, how many socks could you produce daily?"
"If done by hand, twenty pairs would be the limit."
"Is it that difficult?"
"The part up to the base of the toes is made using a regular knitting machine, and the rest is done by hand. The five-toe section takes time to make..."
"Can it be made faster?"
"Well, perhaps... for example, if we adjust a glove finger knitting machine to work for toes and then stitch it together, that might work. If that's possible, we could increase the output by three times."
Lucia, holding her forehead with both hands, came up with a possible solution. Dahlia could see the sweat running down her temple. She couldn’t help but feel apologetic.
"A knitting machine, you say? Then, let’s summon technicians tomorrow. We’ll gather people from the workshop currently supplying the Chivalric Order with socks, and workers from any other available workshops. We can find a place in the Tailors Guild to begin production. We can start by handcrafting and aim for mass production later. Once we have products, we’ll send them to the Merchant Guild."
Gabriella nodded in agreement, so the plan was set.
"The insoles will be sent to the cobblers for cutting. Should we send them to the Merchant Guild, or should we have our magical toolmakers apply the enchantments and send the finished products?"
"I’ll leave that to your magical toolmakers."
"Understood. We’ll take care of that. As for payment to the Rossetti Company, how about a profit contract with a 20% cut of the net profits?"
"For the Merchant Guild, we were hoping for 25%."
"Considering the time that the Tailors Guild will be dedicating, wouldn’t that be too much?"
At this point, instead of Dahlia, Gabriella entered the negotiation, but the man sitting beside her raised his hand.
"Excuse me, may I speak?"
"Yes, of course, Ivano."
"Excuse me for interrupting. I request that the Rossetti Company be provided by the Tailors Guild with a 20% share, along with a management report on production quantities. As for the Merchant Guild, I request that priority decision-making rights for sales destinations be granted to the company."
"Management report on production quantities, you say..."
Fortunato furrowed his brow.
Gabriella narrowed her eyes like a cat and looked at Ivano.
"...Yes, we will manage that. That condition is fine."
"The Merchant Guild agrees as well."
"I believe this is the best course of action. What do you think, Chairwoman Rossetti?"
Ivano’s words had a force that left no room for disagreement.
"I agree with that condition."
With Volf’s support from the side, Dahlia also agreed.
She felt somewhat frustrated and apologetic, as she didn’t fully understand everything that was happening.
"If you’d like, since we’re taking over the project, you can send a supervisor from the Rossetti Company."
Fortunato said this with a clearly business-like smile.
However, Dahlia was the only one representing the Rossetti Company. There was no way to send a supervisor.
"No, I trust you, Fortunato-sama, so I’ll leave everything to you."
Dahlia hastily replied, and the Tailors Guild master widened his eyes slightly before, unexpectedly, bowing.
"...Thank you. I’ll do my best to repay your trust."
There was a faint sound of a chair shifting beside her.
It seemed Volf had changed his posture. She heard him clear his throat once.
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