Immediately after formally introducing the two women for the first time, Bahamut inwardly tilted his head.
‘Eh? The atmosphere is a bit strange, isn’t it?’
It was hard to say exactly what was strange, but a slightly tense energy began to linger in the room.
‘In any case, it’s not something serious.’ With that thought Bahamut continued the conversation.
“Anyway, since we’ve all gathered here, let’s talk about the future. Both of you please take a seat.”
“Okay, My Lord.”
“Okay.”
At Bahamut’s words, the two women sat down on the sofa, pulling an abrupt stop to their confrontation.
“First of all, before we start talking in earnest… Isolda. Do you remember what I asked for you to do separately?”
“If it’s what you asked for… it must be about Lugano?”
As it was something she had been paying attention to right before coming here, Isolda was able to notice it immediately.
“Lugano… located on the southern border of Schwyz, it is a place with many mineral veins. In particular, in recent years, many high-quality iron mines have suddenly been discovered in this area.”
“Yeah right, I know that.”
Bahamut nodded at Isolda’s clear explanation, and then began examining Lugano’s data again.
Lugano, a place that was like a gateway to the huge mountain range that encompassed the south of Schwyz.
As Isolda said, it was originally one of the important commercial hubs thanks to its proximity to Melan, a large city located further down the mountain, and it was also an area where a large amount of iron mines were suddenly being discovered.
Of course, even though it was a remote area, the Beden Merchant Company still managed to reach it as it was withing Schwyz’s territory. But this reach was only limited to the commercial distribution network, and most of the mines themselves were owned by a local influential people.
‘We are already in control of the commercial district, including the iron ore distribution network in the area. Then, is he trying to directly target the mines? No, no… it can’t be…’
Even after thinking a lot, Isolda couldn’t clearly comprehend Bahamut’s plans.
‘No matter how much the price of iron ore has risen recently, there is no reason to directly purchase the mines. It can never be a profitable venture…’
While thinking about that, Isolda glanced at Yuria standing next to her, and she too just slightly shrugged, also expressing her doubts.
As she had worked as an iron ore merchant for quite a while, Yuria knew the nature of this venture quite well.
Although it was a business that could always yield some level of profit from the standpoint of trading raw resources. However, it was greatly affected by many special situations, such as war. So there was a big possibility that they would be losing money if they made any hasty investments. Furthermore, the basic expenditure for the investment would be very large and the process itself would be very difficult.
Due to the nature of the mine, once discovered, it could be a great source of stable profit for a fairly long period of time. And, for that reason, the owners tended not to sell them as much as possible, and even if they did, they usually asked for excessively high prices.
That was because they tend to take the profits that the mine would be making in the future into consideration, not only the immediate profits.
If the veins of the mines that you’ve bought with so much money run dry before you even the break-even point, it would mean that you’ve lost the gamble.
Therefore, investmenting in mines was a typical high-risk low return venture.
Isolda and Yuria both thought that Bahamut shouldn’t be even considering it.
But… while the two of them were thinking about that.
Ophelia, who was watching this from the side, spoke to Bahamut in a quiet voice.
“Then… My Lord, are you thinking of buying the iron mines yourself?”
The moment they heard her question, Isolda and Yuria shook their heads inwardly at the same time.
‘No.. that’s not it…’
‘That’s probably not the case…’
The two women thought the same way.
The two of them thought that there was no reason for Bahamut to do such a meaningless thing.
However…
“Yeah, that’s right, as expected Ophelia is quick-witted when it comes to things like this.”
“Huh?”
“Yes?”
As Bahamut expressed his admiration, Ophelia blushed slightly and smiled for the first time since she had arrived.
“Ah.. no.. wait a minute! Bahamut… are you serious? Are you really going to buy the mines yourself?”
“You’re right. To be precise, I plan to buy most of the mountainous areas in the area, including the mines.”
“What the hell…what were you thinking…”
Isolda couldn’t understand.
She thought that it would be too greedy to do that, even though he already controlled the iron ore distribution network in the area.
Moreover, it wouldn’t be easy to inject the necessary funds, and it was unclear whether or not a war could actually break out in the current situation.
“You don’t need to know the details. Just prepare for it first. I already put the budget plan there, so take it.”
“Sigh… ”
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