Chapter 69: Another Meeting
Karl and Urma sat in the manager’s office. Unlike the lively, vibrant market outside, this space was a model of austere efficiency. Polished stone walls were adorned with simple, floral pattern carvings providing a calm atmosphere. A small, wooden coffee table dominated the center of the room, flanked by comfortable, reinforced chairs that were surprisingly accommodating for a bearfolk of Urma’s size.
As Urma sat down, he felt an instinctive unease, a deep-seated feeling of being out of his element. He was a soldier, a man of action and honor, not a merchant. Karl, sensing his tension, began with a disarming warmth.
"Greetings, my name is Karl Leech," Karl said, his voice a low, clear tone. "I am the Chief Executive Officer and owner of the Necro Corp. It is a pleasure to meet you." He offered a his skeletal hand.
Urma shook his hand, the grip firm. He forced a smile and puffed out his chest, a gesture of ingrained pride. "I am Knight Commander Urma of Stonehorn Crossing. The pleasure is mine as well."
"Would you like some drinks or snacks?" Karl asked, gesturing toward a small, shimmering tray on the table.
Urma waved a paw dismissively. "Thank you, but my wife and I have already eaten at the canteen. All I can say is that the food is phenomenal."
Karl chuckled, a dry sound that felt strangely genuine. "Ah, yes, thank you. We are still looking for ways to improve them and... exceed our customers’ expectations."
Urma shifted in his seat. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was in a meeting with a force of nature. He cleared his throat lightly. "Mr. Karl, can I be as direct as possible? I wouldn’t want to keep my wife waiting, as she felt uncomfortable recently."
A flicker of concern crossed Karl’s face, a slight tilt of his skull. "Ah, yes, I understand and I apologize. But I would like to know if it’s because of our food. There might be things we overlooked that made her uncomfortable."
"Oh no, not that," Urma said, his smile feeling forced. "It’s just her unique physiology, that’s all."
Karl smiled, the expression cold and relieved. "I understand. Please let me know if there’s anything we can do to help. We have private rooms available if she would like to rest. Do know that the rooms have a sound suppression system, if you know what I mean." Karl smirked, a subtle, knowing gesture.
Urma’s rigid posture relaxed slightly, and he let out a chuckle. "Ah, yes, I will take that information. I didn’t know there was a such accommodation here."
Karl said. "We expected that our guests might need some rest since the distance between our establishment and Stonehorn Crossing is three days. We figured they would need time to rest or take a little vacation, per se."
"I am just glad your establishment offers such accommodation and hospitality," Urma said, easing into the conversation. "We will surely spend our time here."
"We are more than happy to serve you," Karl replied.
Urma coughing slightly, shifting towards the main topic. "Now, about the custom order I inquired about."
Karl leaned forward slightly, his eye sockets fixed on the commander. "Yes, my staff have spent their time observing you and your wife when you came in. We made sure to capture every detail of you and her."
Urma let out a long, satisfied exhale. "Wooohh, I was kind of concerned there. I was thinking of ways on how to surprise her on our anniversay. I was worried I had to let her know that I would be making a statue of me and her. But I am thankful for the initiative. Urma smiled and finally seemed to relax completely.
Karl slightly bowed and said. "The honor is all mine."
"Now onto more official topic." Urma said, leaning in. "I was sent by the town council to do the final evaluation, but I can see you exceeded our standards. We would like to ask if you would be willing to build a branch store on Stonehorn Crossing. The town would personally like to sponsor it and reserve a piece of land for your company."
Karl feigned a look of genuine surprise, a theatrical gesture he had perfected over years of dealing with senior executives and investors in his past life. Deep inside, a triumphant smirk stretched across his skull. "I don’t know what I did to deserve such an honor. I don’t know if it would be wise for me to accept such an offer without being fair to other established companies."
Urma shook his head. "The town council has deemed your company a valuable asset to the entire region’s future economy, and also, the denizens of Stonehorn Crossing and other settlements have been complaining about your company’s availability and distance. They see how your famous restaurant attracts a vast majority of Stonehorn citizens and nearby villages. Thus to fix the issue, the council offered a solution that would be beneficial to you and the people of Stonehorn Crossing."
Karl sighed. "Currently, we have an issue we are still tackling. There are currently 14 merchant companies that have offered to franchise our restaurant and chose Stonehorn Crossing as their location. Our company’s policies and rules ensure that franchise owners have their own exclusive location and only one franchise. That is, if they agreed to share the location to further accommodate a large number of people. But the problem..."
Urma cut in with a sigh. "Is they’re all selfish and they want the entire town for themselves."
Karl smiled knowingly. "Yes, that is currently the problem. We offered alternatives and suggested sites outside the town, but they prefer the town itself."
"So, would you choose to bid the position and the rights to the highest bidder?" Urma asked.
"That would be the common solution, but I don’t believe that only one franchise branch would be able to accommodate a large amount of people," Karl said, his voice taking on a professorial tone.
"Thus, we are modifying our franchise policies and contract offers for the Stonehorn Crossing denizens. Instead of one company monopolizing the entire town, there will be up to 20 franchise owners, either their own restaurants and stalls and each would only have the right to their own designated zones. Hopefully, me and the town council of Stonehorn Crossing will be able to help with the zone distribution so that everyone has a right and fair start."
Urma’s mind reeled. That’s actually smart... no, a genius plan. Not only would it prevent one or a few companies from monopolizing the entire town, it would also accommodate a large number of people while still allowing them to maximize their profits.
Karl added, "Also, each franchise owner is free to buy out other franchise stores and their rights to their designated zones at their total market value, either through buying shards of ownership and rights to their franchise assets or buying them entirely. This would foster a healthy competitive environment."
Karl continued aloud, "But that would only happen if small companies would agree to sell parts of their franchise stores, either for more capital to grow or other reasons. These shares would only grow if their franchise market value also grows. The owner of the shares would have the option to watch his shares grow further or sell them and prevent a market value nosedive. This would also mean that people can invest their money in other franchise stores if they feel like that franchise restaurant is growing. In short, it’s a gamble. But all in all, it’s a good way to keep the money flowing, which means it’s good for the town’s economy overall."
HAHAHAHA, Karl thought to himself. There’s no way I’ll let one company monopolize the entire town. Why would I limit my company when I can maximize profits and control the economy of the entire town overall. I’ll bring chaos and introduce the stock market to these people. HAHAHAHA.
Urma felt his mind buzzing. I may not know about economic dynamics as much as the goatfolks, but I get the gist of it. That would fix the current state of Stonehorn Crossing. Top merchant companies and nobles have been monopolizing the market and hoarding large amount of money. Corruption has already grown within the alliance government. There’s no real growth, just stagnation and constant market tension between races. I see why they sent me to offer a generous deal. Not only would they act as a third party, but they would be seen as the stabilizer and mediator between races. Ever since the bank project was proposed by the alliance, the races just refused if other races other than themselves managed the large amount of money the beastkins have. So what other way to fix that than a third party? But how did they council knew about this company?
Urma was curious about how the council had already communicated with the Necro Corp, so he asked, "Mr. Karl, just curious, did you and the town council already made contact with you before?"
Karl just smiled. "Yes, Commander. After Captain Luma’s visit, three days later, a goatfolk who introduced himself as an official came into our establishment and spoke in a meeting with our manager. They discussed our plans for solving the current monopoly issue of franchise owners, which is what I just presented to you. They didn’t say anything after that."