"Remove the tarp-!"
"Hmm..." Clerivan rubbed the cloth while thinking about it. He turned at Croiten and Viese.
"What's the material of this cloth?" Clerivan asked them. Croiten was surprised by sudden question. "Huh? Ah, w-well, you see... They were woven together using coroy threads." Croiten nervously said.
"Coroy...?" Clerivan said. "It's a type of fabric that's traditionally used in the South. Sir Croiten here acquired them for us." Viese stepped in.
"You acted all high and mighty, but it seems like you don't know all that much either." Viese arrogantly said make Clerivan annoyed by him.
Rulac stepped closer and touched the cloth in silence. "Hahaha! It's totally understandable that he did not recognize it." Croiten proudly said
"This may be one of our traditional fabrics, but it's only used in the South, so it's not well-known elsewhere. But new things are always bound to attract attention! I'm sure it'll be a worthwhile investment." Croiten said. "... Is that what you think?" Rulac said after he finished thought about it.
"It's a shoddy business, and their products are hardly worth selling. The Empress must've started this business to generate funds to use for bribery. To think this was the best she could come up with..." Rulac thought.
"Viese, that brat, must've getting all worked up at the thought of becoming closer with the Empress without even considering whether the business would be successful or not..." Rulac thought.
"If it's fails, not only we will have to take responsibility for it, but he'll also have to face the wrath of the Empress." Rulac thought. "Viese, this business-" Rulac tried to say something when the voice of children suddenly can be heard.
"Woah! There's so much cloth here!" Florentia popped in at there. "Really?! I want to see it too!" Azalea said beside her. Everyone was surprised to see them at there.
"Florentia? Azalea?" Rulac slowly called for their name. Azalea and Florentia turned at him and smiled widely. "Grandfather!" Azalea and Florentia run towards him.
"Ahem... We adults are talking about businesses, so go somewhere else and play. Shoo!" Viese said to them but nether they ignored him. "Wow! I thought I heard your voice! It really was you!" Florentia hugged Rulac's body. "Grandfather, I miss you!" Azalea happily said.
"Did you two come here because you heard me?" Rulac said to them. "Yes, we was on a walk with Dad!" Azalea said. "I heard the instructor's voice as well, so..." Florentia said. Viese was trembling in anger when they ignored him.
"What's all this, anyway? There's so much of the fabric here in one place!" Azalea said in delight. Rulac bring her in his embrace while rubbing Florentia's head. "This is coroy, a fabric made from a type of grass. We were in the middle of discussing whether we could sell this and make a profitable business." Rulac lift Azalea to his arms.
"Oh, I seeeee..." Florentia happily said. "Profitable? Pfft. This is bound to fail...!" Azalea thought while smiling brightly.
"In the past, the Lombardis, who had agree to this business plan all too quickly without knowing any of the product's qualities, ended up wasting a great amount of money without gaining any profit. As a result, they were suffered a huge monetary loss and become the laughstock in the business field for a long, long while." Azalea thought.
"I want to try touching it too!" Azalea leaned to the cloth. "It's dangerous to lean over like that, Azalea." Rulac warned her. Florentia glanced behind.
"But even if I pointed out of the flaws in their business plan, no one would listen to a kid like me. The only person who can step in is..." Florentia thought. Someone grabbed the tree in tiredness while tried to taking his breath after running after them.
"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~"