Receiving the order, after quickly changing the cloth, the girl left the dining room with flurried steps. The flapping sounds in the hallway got distant.
After that, without even 10 minutes passing by, she came back carrying the meal. Maybe due to being in the middle of some work, by the time Norman arrived, Kazuki had almost finished eating.
「I’m sorry for being late」
「Sit down and wait」
Tossing the remaining piece of bread into his mouth, barely chewing it, he washed it down with the soup. It was bad manners, but since the only people present were Norman and the maid, he paid it no mind.
Having the maid clear the dishes, Norman spoke when the 2 of them were alone.
「You woke up late today. Maybe the fatigue is piling up?」
「There’s no problem. I just had some trouble falling asleep」
「Then, it’s fine」
「Well, because of that, I had some time to rack my brain」
Kazuki (Harold) raised the corners of his mouth. Looking at that expression, Norman understood.
「Is it regarding the shortage of personnel?」
「Right. We talked about bringing in people from the outside and having them co-operate, right?」
「Is there a plan we could use?」
「I called you here to confirm whether it wold work or not」
Without going with the classical way of counting sheep, although he thought that he might get sleepy if he started thinking about the solution for something troublesome, against his expectations, without feeling sleepy even for a bit, until dawn he was totally submerged in a sea of speculation.
Though it was worth it since he had thought of something, after all, it was just some shallow thinking of an amateur. Whether it was possible to implement it or not, he wouldn’t know the answer until he asked for Norman and Jake’s judgement.
「So, regarding the people co-operating from outside, is it possible to form a contract with merchants based on the rights of LP farming method after showing how beneficial it is?」
Even Kazuki who wasn’t very knowledgeable in trade was convinced that harvesting the vegetables of LP farming like this in a cycle, and also the technique itself would yield profits. The cost would be somewhat a bit more than the conventional methods, but the efficiency would increase remarkably.
Due to the difference in the taste, they could aim for that differentiation and it might also be possible to create a new market.
Selling the technique of LP farming to the merchants who would further sell it to farmhouses. The farmhouses would then pay a contract fee to the merchants for utilizing the LP farming method, which would then be divided between the merchants and Harold- was the form of Kazuki’s idea.
But at this stage, there was a need to intentionally hold down the volume of harvests, and so that the farmhouses don’t oppose against that, if the scope of the company wasn’t large enough to send people to inspect regularly, it would be difficult.
Norman, while admiring Kazuki’s (Harold’s) plan, enquired about the part which bothered him.
「So, do you any leads regarding a company?」
「No. Including that, I wanted to hear Jake’s and your opinion」
「With no intermediary, if we suddenly approach a company with the proposal, they wouldn’t accept it. If it is an administration by an individual merchant, as expected the manpower wouldn’t be enough……」
If it was an intermediary, Harold’s parents knew many of them. However, for the proposal to be properly conveyed, they must make the existence of LP farming known, and Kazuki thought that it was still premature for that.
「So, this means that we still haven’t found a way to implement it at the present state」
「Unfortunately. But I think that allying with a merchant is a good plan」
「Then, we’ll concentrate the talks towards that direction. Convey the plan to Jake too」
「Understood. The problem is how to find a merchant who can be trusted」
After that, the 2 people talked about this and that, but the discussion didn’t progress any further.