𝐌𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 (𝐈𝐛𝐭𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐥)

Chapter 12

"T-Tia! Lea! You can't just run off like that!" Gallahan panting slightly. Azalea and Florentia smiled at the sight of their father. "My father." Azalea and Florentia thought.

"Dad! Grandfather says he's going to sell all this fabrics!" Azalea waved at him happily. "I-I... I'm sorry, Father. And you too, brother..." Gallahan slowly said in fear after Viese glared at him.

"Come, now... Tia, Lea, we shouldn't be interrupting their discussion. Why don't we go somewhere else?" Gallahan tried to take Azalea back from Rulac. "But, Dad. Look at this!" Florentia said to him.

"Apparently, it's coroy, a fabric made of grass. How can you make fabric from grass? It's so fascinating!" Florentia said. "Hmm? Coroy?" Gallahan suddenly interested when she said that.

"Oh... So, this is cloth made of coroy. This is the first time I've ever seen it in person... Just as I've ready. It's so coarse..." Gallahan said while looking over it. Viese give him a warning by coughing loudly.

"I apologize. I was so mesmerized to see something I've only heard in the books... Tia, Lea, we should go now." Gallahan said quickly getting what Viese meant.

Gallahan gently pushed their shoulders to walked away. "No! We can't leave like this!" Florentia panicked inside her mind. "Grandfather! I only can rely on him about this!" Azalea thought as she stare at Rulac.

Rulac noticed her eyes that bravely stare at her. He think for awhile before stepped in. "Tell us more about what you know, Gallahan." Rulac said make Azalea feel relief by it.

"Well... To tell you the truth, I don't know much else about it either, Father. The only other thing that I know is that around a hundred years ago, a small region of the Empire once used cloth made of coroy..." Gallahan hesitantly said.

"It was very incredibly easy to make, and the raw materials could be easily procured, so it was a type of fabric that commoners often used." Gallahan awkwardly said. "Hold on. Did you just say commoners?" Croiten said in surprise.

"Do you think this is cloth used by mere commoner?!" Croiten shouted loudly. "I'm sorry? Y-Yes, I mean... As you can see, the texture is very rough, so it wouldn't be suitable to make clothes for nobles." Gallahan slowly said.

"That can't be true! The one who told me about this fabric said that commoners and nobles alike would make use of it often!" Croiten slowly said while gripping Gallahan's shoulder. "B-But even if you say that..." Gallahan said to him.

"How would we make any sort of profit with commoners as our main source of revenue?" Croiten said. "Hmm..." Rulac think about what are they saying.

"Didn't my son, Viese, say that you acquired this fabric all by yourself?" Rulac said make he flinched. "W-Well, you see... I-I might as well done it myself, considering a very well-informed person got it for me instead." Croiten said.

"It's seems you've been scammed by that so-called well-informed person." Rulac said to him. Croiten trembled in anger.

"The thing is, there's another great disadvantage of using coroy other than it's texture. Once it's been woven together, it only lasts for a short amount of time..." Gallahan looked over the fabric and found the fungus under the fabric.

"... Ahh, just as I thought." Gallahan said.

"I heard these natural fibers are quite vulnerable to humidity. It seems like all of it has been ruined by the recent downpour of rain." Gallahan said again. "What...?!" Croiten said in surprise.

"I... How could this be..." Croiten slowly said in sadness. Azalea and Florentia looked at them from behind. "He must feel completely defeated. I don't think he has another alternative..." Florentia thought.

"Coroy is a common type of grass, so you'll see it all over our lands as well. If you manage to procure the raw materials from nearby, you should be able to produce another batch very quickly." Gallahan said to him. "I-Is that so...?" Croiten slowly said.

"Yes. Also, this is just my personal suggestion. But if you're planning to market your products to nobles, why don't you kid in some cotton flannel when manufacturing the fabric?" Gallahan said.

"... Cotton flannel?" Croiten asked in confusion. "Yes. To be honest, coroy isn't that terrible of a material. After all, it's very lightweight and isn't stuffy to wear. In addition, since gathering the materials needed is fairly simple, you can cut back on the production cost quite a bit." Gallahan said again as Croiten nodded and focused at his suggestion.

"So, if you invest your money into cotton flannel instead and use it to manufacture the fabric, you should be able to create a new cloth that's smooth to the touch and is comfortable to wear." Gallahan said.

"But mixing cotton flannel into fabric requires a high skill of level." Clerivan suddenly popped into the conversation.

"You'll have to find professional weavers who meet those standards." Clerivan said. "W-Weavers..." Croiten said while thinking about it.

"Fortunately, Lombardi has a guild of skilled weavers, so we have the workers necessary for the job. But in addition to covering the costs for the development and research of new fabric, you'll need to spilt the portion of your profit to pay your workers based on their level of contributions." Clerivan said.

"Hmm... How much do you think I should set aside?" Croiten whispered to him. "Considering the average salary and skills of our workers, I'd say..." Clerivan whispered back.

"... Well, we should get going now. Tia, Lea, sag goodbye to both your uncle and grandfather." Gallahan lift Azalea to his arm while holding Florentia's hand.

"What... What is he doing?! He did all the work for them and now he just wants to go back?! I can't believe him!" Florentia thought in disbelief.

"Gallahan, I want you to personally oversee this business." Rulac suddenly said make Gallahan froze. "F-Father?!" Viese said in surprise.

"I believe Sir Croiten needs an adviser who's knowledge about this subject. What do you think?" Rulac asked him. "You're absolutely right, My Lord! I need all the information I can get about our products!" Croiten said with a bright smile.

"I'd feel very confident if someone as well informed as Lord Gallahan to help me with my new business!" Croiten said holding Gallahan's hand. "Since this involves the Lombardis, I will help you to the best of my ability as well, Lord Gallahan." Clerivan said.

"B-But, I'm not that good with busi-" Azalea's hand grabbed Gallahan's shoulder while Florentia tugging his hand.

"Dad, are you going to help that man?" Azalea innocently asked him. "We really can't afford to lose this opportunity!" Florentia thought before also smiled brightly like Azalea.

"You're so, so cool!" Azalea and Florentia said with a cute face as Gallahan finally surrender because of them.

Clerivan said something about the contract with Gallahan. Viese trembled in anger before walked away to leave them alone. Azalea glanced at him before smirked.

"That dog should just listen and obey to the master. You're acting like Bellesac. After all, like father like son, right? Asshole." Azalea thought while smiling brightly at the new advantage that she just gained.

"Now, let's see our next plan~"