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n“Wait a minute. Ryouma-kun… Were you planning on getting our help from the start?” Reinhart

n“Huh? …Yes. That is what I was planning. Of course, I did consider that you might refuse, but I figured I would just choke it up to fate then. But you’re always helping me out, so I figured I should at least talk to you…” Ryouma

nAm I acting too spoiled? If so then I’ll have to apologize.

n“No, no! Not at all! It’s the opposite! Just hearing you out isn’t anything big.” Reinhart

n“We thought for sure you were planning on doing everything by yourself.” Elize

nAlone? There’s no way I could possibly be thinking of that. Even I have limits. I may have mentioned something along the lines of ‘me’ putting this plan into action, but I never said anything about me doing everything all ‘alone’.

nAnd even for ‘me’, if I were to go ‘I want to do this, but the risk is high so I won’t do it. Can you take care of it instead?’ Doing something like that is just too insincere. In the first place, I don’t understand this world all that well, so I need to get all the help I can to get me started.

nSerge-san and Pioro-san are both leaders of giant companies. They possess a wealth of knowledge and are great negotiators themselves. On top of that, they are rich and have plenty of connections. Reinhart-san is a politician and is the duke of the Jamil Duchy, making him the greatest influencer within it. The madam also has considerable influence as the wife of the duke. If such people are willing to work with me, then nothing could be more reassuring.

nBut even if they don’t work with me, they’re always worrying over me and supplementing my lack of common sense. That is something I’m always grateful for. So I’ve always thought of talking to them first.

n“I see. You said you told us the same thing you told your subordinates, so I thought for sure…” Elize

n“You thought I would try to do everything alone?” Ryouma

n“Yes. After all, you do have a tendency to do things by yourself. So I was worrying that you might just start running for your goal thoughtlessly.” Reinhart

nThe other three adults agreed with Reinhart-san.

nDid they always see me that way? …Somehow, it’s actually hard to deny it.

n“Are you now able to rely on others when needed? In any case, I’m glad that it was us you chose to confide in. And about what you were talking about earlier… I think your thoughts are interesting. At the very least, your perspective is a fresh one that I doubt I would ever hear from anyone else.

n…Perhaps it’s because what you’re looking at is a little different from what we’re looking at that the things and plans you think of appear to us as either ingenious or eccentric, but…” He continued. “The opinions of people with a different perspective such as yours are very important. If I only hear the opinions of like-minded people then eventually my perspective will grow narrow. That’s a lot of words, but basically, what I’m trying to say is that I would like to continue hearing your thoughts from here on.” Reinhart

nWhen Reinhart-san said that, I didn’t sense any sort of denial from the other three.

nI’m sure they all have their own interests to protect, so they might not be able to cooperate with me all the time, but at the very least, they’re not just ignoring me and laughing.

nRight. If anything it feels like they’re informing me of their stance…

n“But don’t think that you’ll always get a good response from us.” Reinhart

n“Of course.” Ryouma

nJust them hearing me out like this already makes them very flexible as far as people go.

nIn order to get their cooperation, I know I’ll have to show them how cooperating with me will benefit them.

nI’ve thought about that a little already, so I’ll use this opportunity to appeal to them.

n“Oh? Sounds like you’ve got a plan. I better perk my ears then.” Serge

nSerge-san said that casually, but the color of his eyes changed a little.

nThe aura about him now reminds me of that time when I spoke to him about the music box.

nIs he doing this on purpose?

nEither way, because of him I also braced my mind as I spoke.

n“It’s not complicated enough to be called a plan. But the ‘slime research’ that I’ve been doing as a hobby has brought about results that might be able to turn in a profit. I was thinking of sharing those with everyone.” Ryouma

n“Bringing the topic back to slimes is so like you, Ryouma-kun.” Elize

nThe madam smiled as she made the atmosphere easier to talk in.

nLet’s start from Serge-san.

nIt’s nothing new but I started talking about the production of the ‘Waterproof Cloths’ that has been continuing since I accepted the contract this spring.

n“I did some investigating myself since I was wondering how they were doing, and from what I’ve gathered, it seems the sale of the waterproof cloths is still continuing to increase.” Ryouma

n“Yes. In the past, couriers and peddlers have been the main customers, but recently, there has been an increase in people buying one for their own personal use.” Serge

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