Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 253

Dwayne’s voice grabbed everyone’s attention.

“Even if we spend money, there’s only one way,” he said.

“And that’s simply buying food from outside. The food in this country is probably already being used for military funds or the nobles’ jewels.”

Logan reacted to Dwayne’s words, his eyebrows furrowing as he saw the serious look on Dwayne’s face. The others sighed deeply.

Dwayne stepped forward. “We have to get help from the other nobles,” he said. “Even the ones who are doing okay need to give some food to those who are starving.”

At first, this idea sounded okay, but it wouldn’t work.

Damian spoke up, shaking his head. “The nobles won’t help. Even if nobles help, they will only do it to show off *after* things get really bad. Only when things are a complete disaster and they want to look good. I don’t think His Majesty would want that.”

Logan nodded. “Then it’s already too late. People will hate the royal family, and it will take a lot more to fix things after things get bad. A disaster that will need the whole nation to fix will start in a few years. So, let’s talk about ideas that will actually work.”

So, Logan was saying they shouldn’t even think about asking the nobles for help.

The royal family couldn’t legally force the nobles to help. And if they asked, the nobles would probably say, ‘Why should I?’

Anyone who knew nobles would agree.

Even Dwayne had to bite his lip and lower his head.

“In the end, Your Majesty, are we going to have to use the last of the resources from McLaine Territory and Esperanza again?” he asked.

“Esperanza can’t do anymore. We gave them extra help last winter,” the Swordmaster said, looking worried.

The Swordmaster had been actively helping since before Logan became king.

“McLaine is the same. I haven’t even told the people in the territory what’s happening, but the feeling is…….”

“Not Town. Taren has some extra now, right?” Logan asked.

“Ah! That’s right. Because that mana stone farming thing and the dam are done. But you’re going to squeeze us again as soon as that happens? McLaine isn’t endless, and you’re shaking out all those expensive mana stones……. Ack!”

Dwayne’s face changed as he spoke. First, he realized what he said. Then, he looked annoyed. Finally, he got angry. But then, suddenly, his face became still, like stone.

Dwayne understood what he had just said without thinking. He quickly looked at Logan and the Swordmaster to see how they reacted.

The Swordmaster smiled sadly, and Logan sighed. “You don’t have to be so careful. I’ve already told my teacher,” Logan said.

“Ahem. Excuse me, Grand Duke. Anyway, Your Majesty, you mean to sell mana stones and buy food from other countries? Then it might work, but…….”

“But?” Logan asked.

Dwayne sighed. “I don’t know much about trade, but I know one thing.”

“What?”

“If the kingdom buys a lot of food, merchants will see it as a chance to raise prices. If that happens, we might not have enough money, even if we buy the smallest amount of food we can.”

“Talk to Philip first. Find a way to bring a lot of food into the country as cheaply and quickly as possible. He’ll find a way,” Logan said.

“I’ll talk to him, but Philip can’t do everything we need…….”

“Let’s trust Philip.”

Logan sighed again and again, stating conditions that seemed impossible even to himself.

“If you think of any other ideas, tell me.”

It was a crazy situation where they had to make the people suffer to raise an army against the Empire. They had to keep going, but they had to find a way to make things as easy as possible for the people.

‘I can’t let another disease happen,’ Logan thought. His mind started racing.

“That’s a lot to ask,” Philip said.

[Yeah. You’re the only one I can trust, Philip. I’ll try to find another way, but…….]

The young man with gray eyes sighed at the impossible request.

There was only about a month until the farming season.

The people would be most hungry from spring to summer, about three months.

If there was any good news…

“Does that mean the capital has money?” Philip asked.

It bothered him that it was mana stones instead of cash.

It would take about a month to get the mana stones, but that wasn’t a big problem for the McLaine Trading Company right now.

They had been working on the food market in the Empire. It was a huge market. Even selling mana stones for a whole month wouldn’t change prices much there.

Because it was now a state-run trading company, the company was trusted. They could easily make deals for only a month or two.

But there was another problem.

“I have to buy enough food to keep over a million people alive for six months and send it to the kingdom. I have to do it without anyone noticing, all at once, and at the lowest price. And I have to do it within a month.”

As soon as he said it, he laughed because it was so impossible.

Enough food to survive meant they wouldn’t die, but it was still a lot.

About a million people. That’s 1/20 of the kingdom’s population.

What had they done in the kingdom to think that so many people could starve?

Was the kingdom going to fail without him knowing?

“Damn it……, how do I do this…….”

Philip felt hopeless and leaned back. He felt the soft leather of the sofa against his neck.

It was the best sofa he had ever sat on. It made him want to try harder.

He knew he had this nice life because McLaine, the kingdom, was helping him.

He had to find a way to do it, even if it was just for himself.

Philip decided to focus on what he needed to do.

“I can’t get trading partners in the middle of the Empire. It takes a month to get from Enerheim to the kingdom. So, I can only trade in the east. And I have to finish everything in half a month. All at once. So, I can’t let the grain merchants talk to each other. They’ll raise prices. To do that……. Augh. Damn it…….”

The more he talked, the harder it seemed.

‘No. I can do it. I have to do it,’ Philip thought.

Philip left the office quickly.

But then, Philip had a bad feeling. He had felt it since Aroon told him about the trade ban. This feeling got stronger when he went to see Dimitri Ryan, the mayor of Loosfelheim.

“What did you say?” Philip asked.

As soon as he entered the trading company, he heard something strange.

“They say there’s a problem with the grain in the eastern part of the Empire. The royal family has stopped all trade for three months. I’m going to die!”

“What!?” Philip exclaimed.

Aroon, a merchant he had trusted for a year, was saying something unbelievable.

“Why is the royal family doing this? What’s the problem?” Philip asked.

“I don’t know! That’s why I’m going crazy!”

Aroon was a rich merchant who sold goods to the royal family. If he didn’t know, no one would.

Philip went to see Dimitri Ryan, the mayor of Loosfelheim.

“The mayor is busy and can’t see anyone right now,” he was told.

The mayor always came running out with a smile. Now, he wouldn’t even see him.

‘This is fishy,’ Philip thought.

He remembered what Logan had told him: ‘Someday, the Empire will invade our kingdom.’

Philip thought that the royal family might be trying to hurt McLaine.

‘They could have just stopped our trading company from trading. But then people might think something if we just change our name and trade?’

Maybe they didn’t want people to think they were targeting McLaine. They were trying to hide the truth.

‘So they’re stopping all food trade……? That’s a big move,’ Philip thought.

He could guess why they were doing this.

He sighed, but then he had an idea.

‘Wait a minute, if this happens……,’ Philip thought.

Philip smiled. “This might be possible?”

It was already hard to do what he needed to do. But the trade ban made the market change.

Philip saw a chance. He might be able to do the impossible because of this problem.

People say that trade is like blood flowing in a body. If trade stops, the country will die. But it also means that trade is always happening and goods are always moving.

What if something stops those goods from moving?

The Empire wouldn’t die just because trade stopped for a moment. But it could hurt the merchants.

“What trade ban! If I can’t sell my goods for three months, I can’t pay next month! Do you know what that means? I’m going to go broke!”

Grain merchant Quan shouted at Perum, the owner of the Perum Trading Company.

“What can I do? The royal family banned it. If you want to do business here, you have to follow the rules,” Perum said.

“Then what about our contract!?” Quan asked.

“Go complain to the royal family. What can I do? I’m sorry, but leave,” Perum said.

The door slammed shut.

Quan fell to the ground. “Oh, what am I going to do……!”

He cried, but Perum didn’t open the door.

Then, someone came up to him.

“It looks like you need help……,” the person said.

“Wh-what? Who are you……?” Quan asked.

“Are you grain merchant Quan?”

“Yes, but……?”

The man lowered his voice. “I’m from the Aemal Trading Company.”

“I’ve never heard of that name before?” Quan asked, looking at the man’s gray eyes.

“Ah, that’s because we’re not from this country. We’re just here to do business once and leave. It seems like we can trade with you. What do you think?”

Quan’s eyes lit up.

The royal family’s orders? The trade ban?

‘What good is that? I’m about to die! I’m going to sell everything and leave this country,’ he thought.

“How much can you pay? I’ll give you up to 80% of the market price,” Quan said.

Philip smiled. ‘Merchants will do anything for money.’

The saying was true.

‘The higher-ups don’t know how merchants feel……,’ Philip thought.

The royal family had helped him.

From that day on, grain began to be sent to the McLaine Kingdom from seven cities in the eastern part of the Empire through different routes.

The companies that bought the grain all had different names.