Matthew might not know this, but.... Patrick was born into a family of nobles and received formal lessons in etiquette and culture. And it might be surprising.
No, it was truly surprising, but Patrick attended those classes with surprising diligence. This was the same Patrick who would skip out whenever Brian told him to learn swordsmanship, yet he attended his culture and etiquette lessons diligently and practiced properly. Seeing this, Butler Lawrence, who was teaching Patrick etiquette at the time, asked in surprise.
[Young master. You are working very hard in your culture classes. Is there a reason?]
[When I was young, I would have just snorted at this stuff. I would've thought, 'What is this nonsense?']
[Ah... yes...]
[But you know. After living a little, I realized that even things like this have their uses. Haa... why didn't I know that when I was young?]
[Ah... yes. I see.]
The butler tried his best to hold his tongue. This happened when Patrick was six years old. Anyway, thanks to that, Patrick was able to drink his tea according to etiquette without any rudeness.
And after drinking his tea, Patrick spoke with a smile.
"The aroma of the tea is excellent. There are no rough edges to the taste either."
"Hoh, you can tell?"
"Yes. Your skill is not merely at the level of a hobby."
"Hahaha. The young man knows how to say the right things."
Aaron laughed, but Patrick nodded inwardly. 'Since ancient times, there has never been a man absorbed in his hobby who wasn't happy to be praised for his skill.' Even if a man with terrible fishing skills caught a single minnow, you had to know how to say, 'Wow.
Amazing.
You truly are a master,' next to him. That was the kind of courtesy required for a consultation. However, the person opposite him was the kingdom's greatest merchant.
He was not the type of person to melt and let his guard down from such obvious flattery.
“So, what is the reason you came to see me today? Young Lord Patrick Schneider.”
Aaron brought up the main topic in a gentle tone. As he continued to brew another cup of tea using his tea set, he spoke to Patrick.
"If you went out of your way to request a meeting through my son, there must be a suitable reason for it, right?"
"Of course."
"I'm curious about that reason. Will you tell me?"
Of course, he had an inkling of the reason. 'It must be about money.' What other reason would a noble have for requesting a meeting with a merchant?
In fact, considering he was his son's friend and the recent exploits this genius had shown, he might have been willing to agree to a certain level of investment. But Patrick's next words were something Aaron had not expected at all.
"I came here today to ask if you would handle the distribution of a specialty product produced in our fief."
"... Hmm."
Instead of answering, Aaron picked up the teacup in front of him and slowly drank his tea. It was a habitual action he took when he needed time to think during a conversation. 'I didn't expect this.'
To think he would bring up business. Patrick Schneider was the genius of the sword who had recently begun to make a name for himself in White Town. He naturally thought Patrick would use his own value to forge a relationship with the Elbador Merchant Guild.
But now, Patrick was bringing up business. After putting down his teacup, Aaron spoke.
"As far as I know, I heard there aren't any particular specialty products in the Schneider Fief."
"You know of our fief?"
"Isn't it the fief in the far east of the kingdom? A place where most of its territory borders the great forest."
"Oh, is there any more information you know?"
"It's a place with many difficulties for agriculture. The land is barren, and interference from monsters is too frequent. But I heard things have gotten a bit better recently since you started selling monster byproducts."
"You know more than I thought."
"If a merchant is ignorant of information, he should just close up shop."
Even so, he hadn't expected him to know information about a fief in the rural eastern boondocks like Schneider. Having confirmed the ability of the Elbador Merchant Guildmaster, Patrick smiled and spoke.
"As you said, until now, our fief had nothing that could be called a specialty product. That is, until now."
"Hoh, does that mean you have one now?"
"Yes. It will take some time for full-scale production, but we have a sample."
"Hoh, so you're saying you've brought the item with you here today."
"Yes, that's right."
Patrick snapped his fingers at April, who was behind him. She then brought a bag and placed it on the table. Patrick extended his palm and said leisurely.
"Please, have a look."
"You seem quite confident."
"You won't be disappointed when you see it."
Aaron opened the bag with a bit of curiosity. What could this product be, presented by this confident genius? What was inside the bag he opened was....
"Fabric?"
Inside was a roll of white fabric. He lifted it up to evaluate the item more closely. At that moment....
"Ooooh."
He was surprised. The texture that met his hand was fantastical. This feeling, close to pleasure, as if softness and smoothness coexisted.
A texture like caressing a maiden's cheek. Its light weight, despite filling the bag.
"Hooooo...."
The moment he unrolled and spread the fabric, the white cloth fluttered through the air. There was no need for further evaluation. He knew what this item was.
"This is silk."
"" “This is a specialty product of the elves.
Don't tell me you're producing this in your fief?
How?"
"It's a secret."
Patrick answered with a calm smile. But that was just his outward appearance. Inwardly, he was quite flustered.
'What?
Silk was already a thing?' This was a fact he hadn't known. But there was no good in revealing that fact here.
Patrick's mind raced. If it was an existing product, there was no need to explain its value at length. In that case, let's change the approach.
Patrick spoke with a confident smile.
"I cannot tell you the route through which we acquired the manufacturing method."
"Hmm, I suppose so."
"But it is certain that the silk is a product manufactured in our fief."
"Ooh... you've figured out the method to produce silk?"
"I swear it on my honor."
"Hmm, in that case, I'll believe you."
Watching Aaron nod, Matthew thought to himself from the side.
'Patrick's honor.
Patrick's honor... does such a thing even exist?' Patrick Schneider and honor? It was truly an awkward combination of words to be in the same sentence.
Regardless of that.
'Ooh... silk.
The quality doesn't look bad either.' An unconcealable surprise showed on Aaron's face. They had discovered the manufacturing method for silk and even succeeded in producing the actual product.
Those words meant that a goose that lays golden eggs had just been born in that rural eastern fief. He immediately acted as a merchant.
"Could you sell the production method?"
"Hahaha, it was a method we acquired with great difficulty, so...."
"I'll pay 100,000 gold."
"Cough... cough cough."
It was Patrick, desperately composing himself after almost saying 'Deal'. 'Look at how much money this man throws around.'
100,000 gold?
At such a ridiculous sum, Patrick had to do his best to bring his wandering mind back to its senses.
"The production method is not for sale."
"100,000 gold is a huge sum. Even if you succeed in successful production, it would take you over 20 years to earn that amount."
"That may be so, but it also may not be."
"I don't understand. Don't you realize I'm making an offer at a loss to myself?"
"Hahahahaha...."
Patrick first let out a hearty laugh. While thinking to himself. 'Who are you trying to fool?'
One of the things Patrick believed least in the world was a merchant claiming to be taking a loss. I mean, if you're going to make deals at a loss, why even be a merchant? You might as well do charity work.
In the end, a loss a merchant accepts is usually a lie told to make the other party feel good. If not that, it's only when it's an investment to gain even greater value in the future. If it's not one of those, a merchant will never do something that results in a loss.
'A merchant taking a loss? It would be more believable to hear a Wudang priest chanting Buddhist scriptures.' Patrick continued in a relaxed voice.
"Merchant Guildmaster. What I want is a merchant guild to handle the distribution of the silk produced in our fief."
"So the production method is absolutely not for sale, is that what you're saying?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"... 200,000 gold."
"It's not about the money."
"The young man is quite detached from money."
"I tend to hear that often."
Matthew's jaw dropped. 'Justice and conscience are dead in this world.' How could he say something like that without batting an eye?
He should at least wet his lips before saying it... ah, he's doing it now. That wicked bastard. Anyway, Aaron thought with a serious expression.
An abacus was furiously clacking away inside his head.
Silk.
A specialty product made by the elves of the north, an item of which only a very small quantity is released into the world. This item, light, durable, and above all, with a fantastical texture and color, has no set price.
It was truly a matter of 'name your price,' and high-ranking nobles of the Empire, in particular, would willingly pay an enormous amount of money to buy a single dress made of this silk. The production method for such a thing as silk? If he didn't feel greed for this, he wouldn't be a merchant.
'Even by force... no, no. It's impossible.' Patrick Schneider was not just the heir to a fief in the rural eastern boondocks.
He was a rising star with a talent so great that he was not just distinguishing himself at the academy, but might one day make his name known throughout the entire country—no, with a bit more time, the entire continent. Forming a bad relationship with such a person was madness....
"Ah!"
His thoughts having reached this point, Aaron realized something. He thought back on the date Matthew had asked him to meet his friend, the date he had given his answer, and the date Patrick Schneider had shown his ridiculous performance in the midterm evaluation. 'The midterm evaluation was after our meeting was confirmed.
And before that, I didn't even know the name Patrick Schneider. In that case...' Having finished his thought, Aaron looked at Patrick and spoke.
"You're no ordinary person."
"Ahem!"
Patrick, lifting his head and acting smug. Normal people would scold Patrick for acting like this, but Aaron instead stared at him as if he were looking at a monster. 'Everything was for today's meeting.'
If Patrick had appeared with only the background of being Matthew's friend and proposed the same deal, Aaron would have tried to find out the silk's manufacturing method one way or another.
Whether by offering a huge sum to buy it, planting people to dig up information, or if need be, using money to mobilize high-ranking nobles and wield the power of authority.... If he set his mind to it, there were many ways. But if the other party in the deal was the current Patrick Schneider, the story would be different.
A young genius of talent who, at a young age before even having his coming-of-age ceremony, overwhelmed formidable professors. No, a monster beyond a genius. What will be the future of that monster?
The seven-star level, known as the supreme realm, would not be far for him. Perhaps, like the few monsters on the continent who reigned above the law, he might even step into a realm beyond that.
He couldn't go so far as to form an ill-fated relationship with the young man who would become such a monster just to steal the silk's manufacturing method. That would be an act of risking future ruin for immediate profit.
In other words, Patrick had foreseen all of this and revealed his presence in such a way during the midterm evaluation. Who he was. To make it perfectly clear what kind of person he was.
"That was a close call."
"Come on, do you think anything would have happened?"
"By that you mean...."
"You're my friend's father, so I know my limits. I would have taken it easy. Roughly."
As if to say, 'I'm the one who'd be letting you off easy.' Aaron wore a baffled expression at Patrick's attitude as he spoke.
'What nerve...'
Even the great nobles of the Atronia Kingdom couldn't easily say such things to Aaron. But this young man was saying such things to him so calmly. Even this talk of 'letting him off easy' sounded quite plausible to Aaron's ears.
'This is not a man I should make an enemy of.' The conclusion was reached. A person not to be turned into an enemy.
And a person with whom he could gain immense profit. Aaron trusted his own judgment. Therefore, he quickly changed his stance.
"What is the production volume?"
"Hoh, by that you mean?"
"Let's coordinate the detailed terms of the deal."
"That's welcome news."
It was the moment the consultation was established.
'No way.
He really convinced my father.'