Chapter 84 – Iris’ Plan
[Iris’ POV]
Translators: ConformChild [Moon Bunny Cafe]
Editors: ConformChild [Moon Bunny Cafe], Misaki [Moon Bunny Cafe]
The correspondence that needed to be written by the president of the Azura Conglomerate was on hiatus until now because of the excommunication incident.
There was an overwhelming amount of correspondences to write for the damage taken at the riot and for the rush after the convergence.
All I had left to do was to respond to the letters we were receiving from another company. It looked like I was going to have to stay up writing correspondences.
I was slightly regretful that I will have to work a lot more than my usual routine. However, my office is a place to get work done. Not a place to cry over past mistakes.
I collapsed into the back of my chair, and I threw my ink quill onto my desk.
Recently, I’ve begun to take this posture more when I am tired.
“Hey, Sei…” (Iris)
He’s probably here to collect the letters that I have written so far.
“Yes, what is it?” (Sei)
“This time, the Second Prince has approached three companies and ruined them. Do you think the Azura Conglomerate should acquire the three companies by purchasing them?” (Iris)
Sei looked very startled after I asked him the question. But after a moment, he had calmed down.
“… Why are you suddenly talking like this? Before this, haven’t you heard that there is a shield behind the second prince. Doesn’t the actions you’re thinking about doing suggest retaliatory behavior? Are you sure you want to go against the Second Prince?” (Sei)
Correction. His calm gaze seems to be a facade disguising the deep worry he possessed for me.
“I agree… but no. In my opinion, it’s more of showing mercy to the three companies if we buy them instead. As you can probably guess, the companies’ management is deteriorating and most of their employees are quitting. We happen to have a dire need of employees right now. Additionally, the Second Prince’s way of thinking is flawed. He thinks of companies as his tools. He removes companies when he thinks they are an eyesore to him.” (Iris)
His conduct is laughable.
After our disengagement, it feels like I’m able to really notice the Second Prince’s misdeeds at last… I did not notice at all when I fell in love with him.
“Lady Iris, you cannot deny that this situation would provoke the Second Prince’s wrath. Why are you trying to take the riskiest route?” (Sei)
“At the time of my excommunication, when the goods from the Armenian Territory went through the borders, the tariffs that were imposed were significantly higher than normal. I’m sure that the Second Prince had a hand in the reason why heavy tariffs were imposed on the Armelian Territory.” (Iris)
Although the uproar has subsided, the lost money for the companies has yet to be returned. Even if I try to negotiate with them, it would be a waste of time because they would refuse to give that money back.
Because the Second Prince’s faction is hostile towards me, my position as the Proxy Lord would do little to move their hand.
“In other words, when selling our goods to other territories, Armelian companies take a huge loss due to taxes.” (Iris)
“Well, If it is possible to acquire only the management part of the three companies, I believe it will be okay. But the whole companies themselves? That’s a little bit too much. don’t you think? It would be better if we could borrow the name of the company and move our workers there. For example, if we separate the Transport Department in the Azura Conglomerate and merge it with one of the three businesses. Then, they would technically be independent, right?” (Sei)
“Indeed… That means that if you can use the name of that company that you’re buying, the tax won’t apply to the sub-company. If it goes well, things will gradually go back to the pre-excommunication incident and the other companies will benefit again. Well, I heard before that the company, Oodana, also hired escorts one by one and distributed it from cities to towns. You can cut costs by underwriting them one by one, so you should use the employees from other businesses as well. The point is that I want to develop the Azura Conglomerate as a business.” (Iris)
I put on a wry smile as I knew that my workload would increase substantially in the future.
Nevertheless, it is also a fact that we cannot ignore the corrupt nobles rounded up in the Second Prince’s Faction. It will be a pain negotiating with them.
Well, although it’s easy to expand the business, whether the Azura Conglomerate will profit from it is the question.
“… I will be taking the characteristics of each company into consideration to narrow down which companies that the Azura Conglomerate will purchase.” (Iris)
“Thank you.” (Sei)