Meanwhile, in the Pokémon Breeding House of Fruitvale Village, all sorts of services were still being carried out in an orderly manner.
At that moment, in the finance office located in the backyard of the Breeding House, Phyllis was busily working through the accounts for the recent period.
The pen in her hand kept moving across the paper, marking and jotting notes, her brows deeply furrowed the entire time.
It was clear that the financial situation of Fruitvale Village had not been good lately.
"No, this won't do… If things go on like this, the village finances won't survive the coming winter."
"Even if we use the other services of the Breeding House to fill in the gaps, the shortfall is still far too great."
After a long while, Phyllis finally set down her pen. Absentmindedly, she twirled a strand of her violet hair around her finger in frustration.
With the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild buying up large quantities of berries and grain, the prices of these crops had already risen tenfold. Even with money, it was now difficult to purchase them.
Berries, in particular, were being heavily restricted. The main source of Fruitvale Village's economy came from medicines brewed with these berries.
Without a sufficient berry supply, the medicine trade suffered enormously. Even the apothecary shops in Aspiration City had already been forced to close.
Although the Breeding House still had medicines in stock, the price of berries had grown so high that profits from medicine had become extremely slim—utterly insufficient to maintain a balance between income and expenditure.
"No… I must convince Lord Aven to raise prices," Phyllis muttered, knitting her delicate brows.
Due to the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild's large-scale buying spree, the grain supply within Aspiration City's territory had grown dangerously tight.
The nobles who produced grain were still in a decent position, as they were only selling their surplus and still retained enough reserves for themselves.
But for the lords who had to purchase grain from outside, life was far less comfortable.
When they finally attempted to buy grain, they discovered that the Merchant Guild of Commerce had already bought it all up.
If they wanted any, they could only buy it from the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild at a markup.
Even if the Merchant Guild sold it to them at "the original price," that price was already several times higher than before!
In effect, the Merchant Guild had transferred all the costs of purchasing the grain directly onto these lords, forcing them to pay inflated prices—prices they would then have to pass on to others, causing grain prices across the territory to soar dramatically.
Some unscrupulous merchants were even buying grain at those high prices, then raising the price yet again before selling it to nobles and commoners.
Under such circumstances, although both nobles and commoners were extremely dissatisfied, they could do nothing about it.
In normal times, it was true that grain prices would rise sharply during a famine—but this time, the shortage was entirely man-made.
Normally, no noble would risk offending others by attempting to monopolize the grain supply, nor would anyone have the ability to do so.
But this time, the perpetrators were none other than the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild and the Ironblood Fortress!
And yet, despite all this, Lord Aven had steadfastly refused to raise prices within his territory.
Now, the grain they were selling was being sold at a loss—and even their primary industry, the production of potions, had no profit left!
"If this keeps up, the territory's finances really won't last much longer!"
Taking a deep breath, Phyllis gathered up all the account ledgers, then left the finance office with a Shinx and a Gloom in tow.
Inside the Breeding House, the atmosphere was still lively.
Trainers chatted and laughed as they bought medicines and Pokémon food, completely unaware of what was happening within Aspiration City's territory.
…
In the study of Aspiration City Castle—
Mira sat frowning at the official document in her hands, her expression tense.
In just a few days, the price of grain across the entire territory had multiplied several times over.
"Johnson, what do you think we should do about this?"
Setting the document on the desk, Mira looked at the finance minister standing respectfully before her.
She hadn't expected the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild's retaliation to come so quickly or so suddenly, striking straight at Fruitvale Village by cutting off its grain supply!
Though she wanted to help Aven, in this situation she truly couldn't find a legitimate reason.
She couldn't exactly forbid the lords of her territory from trading with the Merchant Guild, nor could she force them to sell their own grain at the original price to Fruitvale Village.
This was normal trade between territories. Even as the ruler of Aspiration City, she had no authority to interfere with legitimate transactions or compel lords to trade.
"Normal territorial trade—we truly can't interfere."
"But Your Highness need not worry. Even with the rising grain prices, the amount of grain each territory is required to submit will still be enough to meet Aspiration City and the Knights' needs."
Johnson thought for a moment before speaking. Regarding the grain-buying spree, there was nothing he could do either. So long as the yearly quota was met, Aspiration City couldn't stop the trades.
"Besides, this grain-snatching won't last forever."
"Even if the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild is wealthy, they have limits. They can't buy up grain endlessly."
"When either the Merchant Guild or Fruitvale Village can no longer sustain the fight, this incident will come to an end."
Mira nodded slightly at his words, then sighed as she thought of Fruitvale Village's situation.
Although the village currently possessed formidable military strength, its development as a territory was still far too shallow—especially in grain production, for the land there was not very fertile.
In such circumstances, for the village to survive, it would be forced to abandon surplus serfs, commoners, and magical beast—precisely the real aim of Ironblood Fortress: to stunt Fruitvale Village's growth.
…
"If this keeps up, the territory's finances really won't last much longer!"
In Aven's study, Phyllis placed the account book down with a firm thud and stressed,
"Lord Aven, we must raise prices!"
"Yes, the territory's finances indeed can't hold out past this winter," Aven admitted.
"But… as long as we can last until winter arrives, that will be enough. The grain issue is already resolved."
Taking a sip of nutrient juice, Aven's gaze drifted to the distant sky.
"The wasteland has already been cultivated into farmland. I think the harvest isn't far off."
Phyllis froze for a moment at his words, then frowned.
"But even if we start planting now, we wouldn't harvest until next summer."
"Next summer? Phyllis, under normal circumstances, yes—wheat is only harvested in summer." Aven shook his head slightly.
"But you've overlooked the power of Pokémon. Look—the orchard trees in the berry grove have already bloomed. It won't be long before they bear berries."
Following the direction of his finger, Phyllis indeed saw several trees in the courtyard already covered in blossoms, while swarms of Combees flitted about, pollinating the flowers.
"The power… of Pokémon…"
Phyllis's whole body trembled. In her mind suddenly appeared the image of that ceremony she had once witnessed outside Fruitvale Village—
How, under the effect of Grassy Terrain, the grass could spring up from bare earth in an instant.
And there were also those fertilizers capable of accelerating plant growth.
"But…" She opened her mouth to speak, then abruptly recalled Aven's frenzied actions of late.
If Lord Aven truly had a way to solve the food problem, then why had he been buying up grain and berries at several times the market price?
It was precisely because of this that she had overlooked the power of Pokémon—overlooked the power of fertilizer.
In the desperate rush to purchase food, she hadn't stopped to think.
All she knew was that grain was tied directly to the life or death of Fruitvale Village—
If the food crisis couldn't be solved, the village would be struck a devastating blow!
That was why she had been so anxious to buy grain, even paying ten times the price if necessary—just to secure enough for the village to get through the winter safely.
And yet, now Aven was telling her there was nothing to worry about—
That the grain problem could be solved entirely through the power of Pokémon.
Her mind went blank. She even felt a touch of mental whiplash.
If that was the case… then what on earth had they been working themselves to exhaustion for all this time?
Wouldn't this only throw the village's finances into chaos, bringing no benefit whatsoever?
"You want to ask me why I bought up the grain, right?"
"It's simple. I wanted to fight the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild—a battle in the field of commerce!"
Seeing the bewildered look on the violet-haired girl's face, Aven suddenly felt a twinge of guilt.
He sighed. "A trade war. This is a trade war."
Phyllis's expression grew even more confused at first. Then, slowly, her eyes began to clear, as if she had grasped something faintly—yet she couldn't quite put it into words.
"That's right—a war without bloodshed!"
"The Merchant Guild's goal in seizing grain is to cut off our food supply and crush our finances."
"That means this trade war can only end when one of us can no longer hold out."
"But what if… we can endure all the way through? When they finally realize it, do you think the Merchant Guild will keep fighting… or will they pull back?"
Phyllis's eyes suddenly widened in disbelief.
She realized that if Fruitvale Village could hold on, then everything the Merchant Guild had done so far would be for nothing!
If they gave up at that point, all the vast wealth they had poured into the effort would be wasted.
In the end, they'd be forced to sell off their hoarded grain—
And when that happened, the other lords and merchants would surely drive the price down hard, enough to leave the Merchant Guild with catastrophic losses.
And all the while, in the process, they would have offended a great many other nobles.
Even with Ironblood Fortress backing them, those nobles would never let them off lightly!
If, on the other hand, they chose to keep going, they'd have to keep pouring in money. Eventually, they would inevitably be forced to stop when their finances could no longer sustain the fight.
And the longer the standoff dragged on, the heavier the Merchant Guild's losses would become.
When they finally did try to resell their grain, the price would be pushed down even further!
"Lord Aven… you started this war on purpose!"
Phyllis looked at him in shock. Without his explanation, she never could have pieced all this together.
"Yes, I did start this war intentionally," Aven admitted with a nod.
"You've worked hard these past weeks. If you hadn't fought so fiercely to buy up grain, the Merchant Guild would never have charged in so recklessly."
He smiled faintly. In truth, he could have told her the plan earlier—
But he knew that only by placing her in a desperate situation could the act be played convincingly.
"I see… I really was overthinking it," Phyllis murmured, lowering her head slightly.
Relief washed over her, yet she also felt an odd twinge of loss—
Partly from feeling her own abilities lacking, and partly because Aven had not told her the truth from the start.
Still, thinking it over, she knew that this secrecy was necessary for the plan to succeed perfectly.
And now that the time was ripe, Aven had chosen to tell her—proof, she thought, that he did trust her.
Even so, her mood remained heavy. She longed for the day when Lord Aven would trust her completely without holding anything back—
When they could truly fight side by side, facing whatever unknown threats lay ahead.
"Phyllis…" Aven exhaled slowly as he looked at her downcast expression.
"This battle has only just begun. The final outcome will not be decided merely by forcing the Guild to give up."
His sudden statement made Phyllis jolt, her eyes snapping wide open again as she stared at him in disbelief.
"Yes—and that is the main reason I have refused to raise grain prices."
"If we can stabilize the prices, the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild's losses will be even greater. In that case, their damage will be more than just heavy—it will be crippling."
"Besides… in this trade war, the Ironblood Fortress and its allies have also played a major role."
"And they… are our true target this time."
(End of chapter)