urviving Demi – Episode 175
The pop-up menu disappears when you dutch or scroll the empty space.
Jjanggra
Recapture of Elte Company (4)
– ‘I am thinking of bringing down the acting chairman of Lortel at the level of the chamber and reorganizing the power structure within the chamber.’
– ‘The Deputy Lord Lortel, the adopted daughter of the previous Lord Elte Keheln, is a remnant of the old era, and has been imprinted as someone who should be erased within the Society.’
Secretary Rienna, who came with documents in hand, hesitantly presented a negotiation plan.
“… ”
As I walked along the shopping mall hallway, the employees looked at me from the corner of their eyes as I wore a robe with the trading company logo.
I’ve been to the Sylvania branch of Elte Chamber of Commerce quite a few times, so most of them are old. The employees of the trading company, whom I had occasionally exchanged greetings with, were all looking at me with one eye.
After becoming close to Lortel, the employees at the store became noticeably friendlier and spoke to me a lot more often.
Now that I’m naturally sticking to Dune, I feel like I’m attracting more attention.
The sight of him casually splitting up with Lortel, with whom he had been so close, may have impressed them.
Of course, you won’t hear people say you’re the scum of the world or how you can do that.
First of all, the reason Dune is able to stand against Lortel to such an extent is because Dune’s voice has become louder within the company.
The employees of the commercial association are also merchants to their core. These are people who can join anywhere depending on the trends of the leadership and the flow of power.
The environment Lortel has lived in since he was young has always been like this.
“As you know, Lortel is not a person who can be solved by tying his arms like that.”
Dune, who was walking side by side, smiled and answered.
“Just because you took over the Sylvania branch of the Elte Chamber of Commerce, you’re not going to say that you completely defeated Lortel, who is treated as the real power even at the Elte Chamber’s main branch, right?”
“Of course. “I never move unless I have a certain level of confidence.”
I passed the commercial warehouse, which was full of vitality, and went up the stairs and passed through the employees’ offices.
“There was also some kind of movement on the part of Elte Trading Company’s head office to push out the acting CEO of Lortel. Of course, the deputy head of the association himself went down during the vacation and suppressed them all, but during this time, our Sylvania branch was out of sight, so we were able to move freely.”
“How do you plan to subdue Lortel, who can’t even do it at the headquarters? I don’t think they would come up with the bizarre idea of killing him and burying him. There’s no way it can be resolved like that.”
The character Dune Grex never moves without any basis. This was an opinion directly given by Lortel Kecheln, who had been his subordinate for several years.
Although he cleverly takes advantage of petty embezzlement, he never crosses the line… To be honest, he said he was close to being a petty person.
The reason Dune is making such a radical move is probably because he has a backing.
“Vacation will end soon, and a new semester will begin in Sylvania. “Until then, it will be resolved as long as we keep Deputy Lortel from doing anything.”
“I need to know what you believe in so I can deal with it too.”
When I said that, Dune turned around and looked at me and smiled softly.
“You will know when you watch.”
This means I won’t tell you.
Even though I signed the agreement and declared that I had stabbed you in the back right under Lortel’s nose, Dune never believed me.
In any case, merchants do not easily trust people. This is why I don’t like merchants very much.
“I didn’t expect Mr. Ed to join in so quickly. “She is quite close with Deputy Lortel, so she thought she would take some time to persuade him.”
“I stick wherever the conditions are good.”
As someone who attaches great importance to Sylvania’s diploma, graduating early is definitely an attractive proposition.
“However, I have to guarantee what is guaranteed. “I wonder if you can really subdue Lortel, and how can you, a member of just a small company, let him graduate early?”
I walked along Dune and soon stopped in the hallway.
Dune, who was walking down the hallway alone, turned around and looked at me.
“Without that confidence, there is no cooperative relationship. “The terms of the contract are not being kept, so there is no reason for me to be tied down by the contract.”
“… ”
“Don’t just talk, give me confidence. Otherwise, I can’t cooperate any further.”
From my perspective, this is a request that is reasonable enough.
“Do you know how risky it is to break the contact with Lortel Kecheln with your own hands? “I showed sincerity.”
“… ”
“If you continue to want my cooperation, give me a reasonable guarantee.”
Dune observed my expression for a while, then smiled and opened a door in the hallway.
This is the office space that Dune used personally.
When I went inside, I couldn’t help but hold out my tongue.
In a space of about five to six pyeong, there is a large work table, a bulletin board that acts like a blackboard, and a pile of documents.
If you look at the documents stuck to all the walls and furniture, everything from documents indicating the distribution of logistics to the changes in the macroscopic power structure were analyzed.
This is not the amount of data accumulated through one or two months of hard work. He has been rotting here for several years, studying the flow of power in the Chamber of Commerce and the entire continent.
Such things cannot be learned simply by studying them in the corner of one’s room. This is something that can only be done by running around on foot, going in and out of the field, and wasting time and labor.
“It’s already been more than five years since I was attached to Elte Trading Company and was looking for a chance to achieve success.”
He is a man who gave up all his studies at a young age and decided to live solely as a merchant.
“Even when the Golden King Elte came down from his position, even when Alldeck was in chaos due to the logistics crisis, and even when Sylvania faced several crises, I sat quietly and waited for the right moment. It’s not time yet, a more golden opportunity is coming. “Thinking like that.”
“You, who had been holding your breath despite so many variables, saw this as an opportunity and made your move?”
“There are a lot of things worth doing. So, I hope that Teacher Ed will trust me and give me the job.”
Dune sat down in his chair and put his beret down on the right side of the table and continued speaking.
“We must catch Lortel Kecheln.”
Dune sits still and speaks in a low voice.
The intention of those words was clear.
“So, it’s okay if you don’t know anything right now. “If you really want to know, it just makes me more anxious.”
“You look at me too much.”
I pulled a wooden chair across from the table where Dune was sitting and sat down.
Then, with his cloak hanging down, he lowered his head and spoke.
“Do you think you are coordinating everything behind the scenes right now?”
The atmosphere seemed to have changed completely, and Dune narrowed his eyebrows.
I continued the story regardless.
“Do you think you are seeing the big picture alone among these clueless people?”
“Mr. Ed. Even if you say it that way… ”
“You have such arrogant thoughts.”
After gently closing and opening my eyes, I thought again about the last part of the negotiation plan Dune had sent me.
5. Ed Rosstaylor officially becomes an employee of Elte Corporation and maintains this status for at least 5 years after graduation.
6. Ed Rosstaylor must always attend dinners, meetings, and conferences with friendly forces and influential people of the Elte Chamber of Commerce and must maintain friendly relations with them.
“As soon as I saw the negotiation plan, I got a feeling for it. “It doesn’t just ask for cooperation in catching Lortel, it goes further and stipulates relationships after taking power.”
“There is nothing wrong with maintaining a good long-term relationship with someone like Mr. Ed.”
“You’re laughing. Dune. “There is no reason to specify that in the contract.”
Friendly relationships are not created by signing a contract. Quite the contrary.
Since they are not friendly at all, they bind each other in the name of a contract.
Why do you do that? In the end, it is meant to be shown to someone.
A person named Ed Rosstaylor and Elte Company became completely collusive. In order to inform a third party of that fact, this contract is created as evidence.
In other words, Elte Trading Company needs the value of the name Ed Rosstaylor.
“Dune. It’s funny, but my name hasn’t been worth a lot of money. “He is an excommunicated person from the Ross Taylor family, and he is not at a level where he can be said to be a hugely powerful person within the academy.”
“… ”
Dune’s answer disappeared. I continued talking without waiting for his answer.
“Recently, with the restoration and the spread of the Ross Taylor Mansion disaster, the time came for the imperial power structure to be reorganized, and he emerged as a key figure.”
“that… ”
“I can’t say no. So, the fact that you are preparing such a negotiation plan and trying to tie me to the Elte Chamber of Commerce leads to the inference that you are tied to the imperial family’s forces.”
I slowly raised my head and looked at Dune.
“Is that right?”
“well.”
“Thank you for your answer.”
Dune pouted her lips as if she had been punched. However, it doesn’t end here.
“Aren’t you the one who was full of all kinds of incidents and accidents, but didn’t pay any attention and came back for counseling? “The fact that you have started to move now means that the reorganization of the imperial family’s power structure has affected the Elte Chamber of Commerce in some way.”
All Dune gave me was a negotiation plan. No other information was given at all.
However, that alone was enough to give me an idea of Dune’s future.
Information can reveal its truth more easily than you might think if you just bend and bend the direction of interpretation.
“The timing is perfect. Just when you were thinking of committing such a feat, a conspiratorial force was on the move to take Lortel down from Old Deck? “As if they were timing it to get Lortel’s attention?”
Dune’s expression soon began to harden, as if all the words I was throwing around were unexpected.
“I have a suspicion that everything that happened in Old Deck in the first place was part of the plan.”
“Doubt is just doubt. “How could I, a low-level employee of a trading company, intervene in the affairs of the Alldeck headquarters?”
“Because you are not the mastermind.”
I don’t know much about Old Deck’s power structure. After coming to this world, I spent most of my time on Aken Island, so I don’t know the atmosphere of the place very well.
“I never thought from the beginning that you would be the mastermind. “You too are just a chess piece.”
“… ”
“I’m looking at the picture behind you.”
I don’t know if you can think of Dune as drawing a bigger picture, but I also see the composition that Dune sees.
“Seeing as they guarantee things like early graduation, it looks like Sylvania’s academics are also involved. “It is clear that Elte Trading Company’s monopoly on logistics was led by Lortel, so it can be a burden.”
However, Obel Forcius is stingy with such backroom deals.
If we had negotiated, it would probably be at the level of Vice Principal Rachel. Obel is a person who has a lot of things to do without his knowledge.
As prices continue to rise, Elte Trading Company monopolizes distribution. Dune was the one who profited from the process, but it would have seemed as if Lortel had taken the lead. Because I have been sitting as the assistant manager of the association for a long time.
For Dune, it would be easy to get the support of the Bachelor.
If you help him jeopardize Lortel’s position, he will promise to relax the monopoly after he takes control. It will be in the form of giving up exclusive rights to some key products exclusively distributed by Elte Trading Company.
Giving up exclusive rights to logistics can never happen to a commercial company pursuing profits, but if there is a political background behind it, it is a different story.
From a bachelor’s perspective, this may seem like a no-brainer. The situation is such that the academics are in a situation where they are fighting over interests among themselves. There is no reason to refuse this.
“Yes, I admit it. “You really have great insight, Mr. Ed.”
Dune listened to the story up to this point and burst into laughter.
“It is absolutely absurd to say that they figured it out with just one copy of the negotiated contract. “It’s a good thing I didn’t turn you into an enemy.”
Dune laughed once as if he was dumbfounded, then returned to talking with a serious face.
“but… If you have noticed up to that point, you may also know what kind of situation Deputy Lortel Hoeju is in… “You can feel it, right?”
Lortel Kecheln is being restrained and restrained in his private office.
She is now… It would not be strange to say that the entire world had turned into an enemy.
The headquarters of the Elte Company in Old Deck, the Sylvanian Academy, and even the imperial family are contributing to her downfall.
Dune slightly raises both hands and speaks in an attitude of surrender.
“If you have figured it out this far, I have no choice but to reveal the bottom line.”
And then he speaks without adding or subtracting.
“The next chairman of the Elte Chamber of Commerce is scheduled to be chosen by Slog, the elder of the 6th great merchant. “He was always at odds with Mr. Lortel.”
This is a name I heard in passing once when low-ranking students occupied the Ofilis Building and caused an uproar.
Although I wasn’t familiar with the local situation in Old Deck, I was well aware of how self-centered the giants of Old Deck were.
“The question of who will take over as president of Elte Chamber of Commerce, the continent’s best commercial association, is a very sensitive issue even from the imperial family’s perspective. “It is one of the largest trading companies that holds economic power.”
“… so?”
“The three emperors would also like to appoint someone who is friendly to them as the chairman of the Elte Company. “Having the support of such an influential person is a huge political advantage.”
Dune, who is good at judging the situation, figured out the results of all the flows by only looking at the documents flowing here and there.
“So, there are frequent cases of helping merchants who support them under the water so that they can sit in the chair of the company. “With the imperial power dispute already intensifying, this is a perfect time to come up with a plan.”
“Then who does the giant called Slog support?”
In response to that question, Dune smiled softly and spoke.
“Persica Delphinir Cloel.”
Finally, it feels like the sketch is being revealed.
“I am the second princess of the Chloel Imperial Family.”
Second Princess Persica Delphinir Cloel
Old Deck’s Colossus Slog Einderk
Sylvania Academy Vice Principal Rachel Theislin
Even Dune Grex, a working committee member of Elte Chamber of Commerce.
The real power of Elte Trading Company has been taken away, and I am tied up in my office without even the power to move… This is the name of the opponent that Lortel Kecheln must face, with no one left around.
The princess of the empire, the colossus of the upper world, the vice principal of the academy, and even the traitor who was under me.
The enemies were too enormous to be dealt with with shabby hands that had nothing left.
Now that the whole story has been revealed, I can see why Dune revealed the background without adding or subtracting anything.
Even though the situation has come this far, taking Lortel’s side is suicidal.
Above all, Lortel himself would know.
I’ve only just confirmed the contents of the negotiation plan, so I don’t have much of a grasp of the situation, but I’m sure I’ve finished organizing my thoughts by now.
If I could infer the details, Lortel, who has sense, could easily infer them as well.
If you look at the situation objectively like that, Lortel will probably come to his own conclusion. He knew that no one would come to this point and make the choice to help themselves.
Same goes for me.
The reason I have maintained a friendly relationship with Lortel so far is because her position as the person with real power at the top was of great help to me.
Whether it’s camp life, navigating a scenario, or anything else, the support of a powerful person named Lortel Kecheln has always been of great help.
Only now, Lortel is on the verge of losing all control.
The reason I was always able to survive in this wild life was because I did not ignore reason and rationality, no matter how extreme the situation.
If you want to make a rational and rational decision, the right answer is to throw her out here.
If you’re going to reach out to her, there has to be some other rational reason.
She is already on the verge of collapse, and there is even a mouth-watering escape route called Dune’s negotiation plan right in front of her.
If you think about it in terms of understanding and calculating, no matter how you think about it, what helps her is a handshake.
Lortel Kecheln probably thinks so too. As she has always been rational, she must have accepted without hesitation that no one would take her side.
If you want to reach out to Lortel beyond this, what you need is a reason beyond ‘rationality’.
In other words, human-to-human communication must be assumed.
I am not siding with the owner of Elte Trading Company, nor am I siding with the powerful person in power.
You just have to grab the hand of the human Lortel Kecheln and drag him along.
The cost of that decision may be greater than you think.
however… Traces of the ‘people’ I saw on the battlefield bloom in my memories.
Even in times of war so horrendous that the life of Paris was considered more precious, people’s hearts sprout.
Whether it was love, friendship, or camaraderie. If you make your way through hell in any way… There were also people who casually died on someone’s behalf, distributed supplies, or guarded the corpses of their comrades without running away.
What defines a person?
It is ‘irrationality’.
Saving a person who has fallen into a gutter is possible only because we are human.
In addition, there is nothing more to say if that person came to the camp once in a while to chat, showed interest as a member of the opposite sex, became a companion by the campfire on a cold winter’s day, or tried to help in some way when times were tough.
It was only then that I realized something. It is a fact that it is hard to even guess when it started because it seeps in like melting snow.
Since when did she stop being the owner of Elte Company to me…? The person named ‘Lortel Kecheln’ was accepted as such.
Once my thoughts reached that point, I was able to easily come to a conclusion.
─First, find it and see it.
Even such a monologue was so obvious that there was no reason to say it.
“Yeah, by the way… Let me also ask you a favor. “If you help me with just one personal errand, I will definitely join your plan.”
Only after all the conclusions were made, I opened my eyes coldly and spoke.
“What is it?”
“I’m going to kidnap someone.”
From here on, the plan is entirely mine to lead.
“Please help me at the level of Elte Company.”
Dune smiled vaguely at those words.
“I don’t know the circumstances, but you aren’t a clean person either.”
“It’s all like that.”
