The carriage rocked ever so slightly as it rolled through the cobbled road under the silver gleam of the moons. I sat near the window, watching the trees blur past as our entourage made its way to the Elvian Merchant Guild. Across from me sat Lord Orion, looking composed yet weary, while Lady Sylvia sat beside him with a faint look of thoughtfulness painted across her face. To my right, as always, sat Clara, silent, and watchful.
Orion leaned slightly toward the window and exchanged a few hushed words with the guard riding beside our carriage. After the driver nodded and urged the horses forward, Orion turned back inside with a tired smile.
"It seems we'll reach the Merchant Guild by two or three in the morning," he said, his voice soft. "Though the guild claims to operate twenty-four hours, I believe it would be wise to get some rest and approach the discussions with a clear mind."
He looked at me, his gaze a mix of resolve and tired patience. "Lord Hugo, we may not have our ministers or staff with us tonight, but we'll do our best to convey our intentions to the guild."
"Of course, Lord Orion," I replied with a polite smile. "I have no doubt you will. And this time, I'll be joining the discussion directly. With both of us presenting our case, perhaps we won't feel the absence of the ministers too harshly."
Orion's tone shifted, polite but more inquisitive. "Sir Eldrin mentioned you had already sealed a deal with him. It's the subject of our visit to the guild, yes? If it's not too much to ask...what exactly are we going to talk about there?"
Ah. Now that was a beautifully veiled jab. The kind that said, "You struck a deal behind our backs, are you going to let us in on it now or keep pretending we're on the same page?"
"Of course, Lord Orion," I said, keeping my tone respectful. "I was planning to tell you about it before we departed, but the chaos in the mansion... well, it didn't help the timing."
I took a breath.
"The deal I made with Sir Eldrin is centered around pork."
Orion blinked. "..Pork? Didn't we categorize livestock as supplementary goods? Elves already have rich forests and livestock."
We? Who's we? There's no we, It's your ministers who concluded that.
"You're right, Lord Orion. Entering a saturated market with a common product is usually a bad move. But the deal I struck is not based on the supply or the availability. It's based on uncertainty."
Sylvia tilted her head, intrigued. "Uncertainty?"
"Exactly. On the surface, Elvian livestock markets appear flourishing. High supply, decent demand, all looks good. But any market that's been too good for too long develops... cracks. And in this case, the crack is storage."
"Storage?" Orion asked.
"Yes. Pork is organic. It spoils fast. Elves use magical cooling artifacts to preserve it, but those are ridiculously expensive. Only larger merchants or guilds can afford them. Local traders...Not so much. So they turned to the classic method: salt."
Sylvia's eyes lit up. "Salted pork."
"Exactly. Salted pork can last six months to a year. Since salt is cheaper, local merchants started depending on it to preserve the meat. But now, with everyone switching to salt preservation, demand for salt is rising uncontrollably, while supply remains stagnant."
Clara, ever perceptive, finally spoke. "And Elves don't have natural saline sources."
She is cheating, she was present when the deal was made.
"Right," I said. "They depend on Zerathene for salt. But even Zerathene doesn't have oceans. Their salt comes from salt mines and saline marshlands, which don't yield much. So as the demand increased, the price rose, and the supply couldn't keep up."
"And Zerathene can't export more salt as it would disrupt its own market," Orion said.
"Yes," I replied. "The merchant guild has already implemented rules to limit how much salt large merchant associations can buy. This has upset the harmony between them and the associations. Now's our chance sell the salted pork."
Orion furrowed his brows. "Why not just sell the salt, then? It would serve all preservation needs..pork, poultry, fisheries."
Sylvia smiled. "Father, if we sell salted pork, we boost local employment at our home, establish manufacturing chains, and set up long-term trade leverage. If we just sell salt, we hand the value creation to someone else."
Now that was a satisfying moment. She was catching on brilliantly.
Orion looked between us, eyes widening. He finally got it.
"We start with salted pork. Once we prove ourselves and gain the guild's favor, we can slowly introduce poultry and fish. Poultry, of course, needs salt and spices. So our demand for spices will rise too, and with that, our opportunity to trade with Tenjiku," I added.
"So we start with salted pork," Orion said.
"Exactly," I said. "We're not just selling meat. We're selling a method, a solution, and a partnership."
"We'll also be introducing dairy in trace amounts, just enough to test the waters. If we sell them in batches, it won't strain our deal with the guild too much, since it's supplementary."
"And the rest of the goods?" Orion asked.
"We hold them back," I said. "We spend the next three to four months building relationships with guilds and merchant associations. We scale up pork production back home. By the time the contracts are ready to be fulfilled, our products are, too."
Orion nodded slowly. "This is very well thought out, Lord Hugo."
I couldn't help myself.
With the most innocent smile I could muster, I added, "Our ministers worked very hard."
Sylvia coughed. Clara held back a smirk. Orion gave me a knowing glance.
I crossed my fingers and prayed the Merchant Guild wasn't in the mood for surprise taxes or last-minute policy shifts.
But for now, at least, we had momentum. And the pieces were finally moving in our favor.
Outside, the wind carried the faint scent of pine. The stars glittered faintly above, and the road to the merchant guild continued under the quiet rhythm of hooves and wheels.
I leaned back, arms folded, proud of one thing: salted pork never sounded this important before.