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“Business?”
“Yes, I’d like to work with you.”

Amy’s smile looks even more ferocious than I’ve seen before, but somehow it seems to fit her the most.

“Well, what is it that a simple magic automaton like myself has to offer?”

I smile at her too.

I decided to discard the image I put up all this time. This isn’t Olivia’s best friend I’m talking to now, she’s a cunning merchant.

“So you say, but there’s no way a simple automaton can produce something like this.”

Amy places a piece of paper on the table. It’s one of the papers I wrote for Olivia, condensing the information from the textbook.

“Knowing you, I’m sure you’ve made a lot more than just this. Christina might be teaching Olivia now, but I’m sure your restless personality forced you to keep making more.”
“You want to buy what I did if that’s the case then?”

I dissimulate a smile, but she’s right on the money. I’ve already gone through around half of the magic fundamentals textbook. I don’t know for how long Christina’s favor will last, so I want to be ready whenever I have to tutor Olivia again.

“It’s alright if you haven’t, you can just start writing again now.”
“I see, so that’s your plan.”
“Yes, that’s it. Your notes are extremely easy to understand, you see. They could easily be sold to any student, not just failing ones.”

So essentially I would be writing a new textbook.

We still have Ophelia’s inheritance, which should be able to support Olivia to adulthood even while having a decently lavish life. But I don’t like the idea of just using up money like it grows on trees, so earning some money on the side sounds like a good idea.

But…

“Amy, is it alright if I just write the first copy?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll take care of printing the rest and distributing them.”
“Oh, interesting, interesting.”
“As for your share, how does this sound for one manuscript?”
“Hm, I think you’re undervaluing my services a bit.”
“?!”

Amy frowns. The amount she offered wasn’t bad, but it was just a flat rate.

“I’d rather take 40 percent of the earnings rather than a flat rate.”
“…That’s asking for too much no matter how I look at it.”

She tried sharpening her gaze, but it only looked cute.

“I guess we can’t come to terms then, I’ll forget we had this conversation.”
“Natalia, do you perhaps think you can run such a business all on your own?”
“Hmm, what if I do, in fact?”
“I know you can’t.”

I replied in a suggestive voice, but she only stared at me suspiciously while lowering the tone of her voice.

“Press shops usually only make business with wealthy customers like nobles or rich merchants. No one would ever buy a book written by a nobody after all. So unless you have specific connections, you’d never get access to one as a normal person.”

In my world, books started as something only nobles had access to as well, with most of them being copied by hand at first. I had a hunch things are like that in this world as well.

I was actually surprised when I saw paper and ink being common appliances, and textbooks and notebooks distributed in the Academy. I guess demand is high, but the cost of entry is still very high.

“You don’t have any connections with a printing press, do you? But I do, and I know that’s reason enough for this business to be impossible for you.”
“I see, you’re right about that. But you’re forgetting something very important.”

I place my hand on the magic circle diagram drawn on the paper she showed me, and with just a minuscule amount of mana I rearrange the ink. I don’t need a cauldron for something so small.

“As you can see, I can use alchemy if I want to make multiple copies.”

Amy notices the new shape, and she looks around nervously while trying to hide her sour face.

Either she forgot to take my alchemy into account, or she was unaware that alchemy could do this as well. I don’t know which was the issue, but I know she didn’t expect it.

“Or should we still partner up, but I take care of printing too? Though I’ll demand an even bigger share of the profits if we do that, since I’ll be doing more work.”
“That’ll just make the people from the press I’m friends with mad! They won’t ever offer to print anything from me again!”

Amy raised her voice for the first time since negotiations started. I feel like making her angry isn’t the most grown-up thing to do, but I stopped caring about that the moment she called this business.

“But you only offered a flat rate if I only do the writing, so we’re back to square one. Hmm, maybe it’s still best if I do everything on my own after all.”
“And how do you plan on selling it then? I’m already acquainted with everyone in my school year, regardless of the classroom.”

That much makes sense, she’s here to make connections after all. And she always knew how to gather attention. A wise man once said, ‘Never stop advertising. Even if you offer a really good product, no one will buy it if they don’t know of it.’

From that perspective, Amy was doing the ideal thing, which gave her a large advantage. But Olivia would not fall behind either.

“I can always rely on the Young Lady for that. Her name’s pretty well-known in the entire Academy, and even the higher grades have taken notice of her after the duel with Matthias. I’m sure I could rely on them to spread the word everywhere.”

All those students that kept challenging her to duels the other day looked confident in their own skills, but were shown how inferior they were compared to Olivia. If I tell them Olivia usually studies with these notes, I’m sure they’ll sell like hotcakes.

And technically I wouldn’t be lying.

“I can easily catch up on both printing and publicity in a short time. I’m sorry Amy, but I think-”
“25 percent…”

Amy mutters after hanging her head for some time. I heard her, but she’s not meeting my demands, so I ignore her.

“38 percent.”
“27?”
“35 and no lower.”
“Ugh…”

I decided to go slightly lower because forty seemed to really be too much for her. Going a bit lower would keep the negotiations afloat.

“I forgot to mention, but I want to get all the ink and paper I need as well, separate from my share.”
“Huh?”
“Do I need to say it more clearly? I’ll take 35 percent of the profits, and you’ll provide the paper and ink I need on top of that. Those are my final conditions.”
“Ahh…ahahah, okay, I’ll have to accept that.”

Amy reclines in her chair and hangs her arms tired. I had been firm on my stance all this time, so she quickly took the bait the moment I loosened my conditions.

I usually include the ink and paper in our monthly expenses. I was only asking her to provide those to make up for my lessened share.

The difference with my initial offering is minuscule, but it looks like a lot considering how long we were haggling for.

“Okay, let’s go with that. Let’s sign a contract.”
“I guess that’s a deal, then.”

Amy takes out another piece of paper and a pen, she had prepared them beforehand, and began writing the details of the contract.

I’m actually giving up a lot of control by signing this deal. All I do is write the manuscripts, everything after that, including advertising, printing, distributing, and pricing will be handled by her. In other words, she’s free to decide how to do all of that.

Whether that made things easier for me, or made things convenient for Amy, depended on each person’s outlook. At least I’m not intruding in her area of expertise as a merchant, so I’ll just rely on her doing a good job.

“Alright, I’m done. Read through it to make sure everything is okay and then sign please.”

I read through the contract and don’t find any issues with it. I’ll be writing manuscripts, and then Amy will compile them into a reference book and print it.

The profits will be shared the way we agreed on. Amy will provide the paper and ink for the manuscripts as well. It’s so simple it’s impossible to get it wrong.

Finally I signed the contract.

“Hahh… I didn’t think you’d be such a tough nut to crack.”
“Was it really so unexpected? I’m also in charge of managing the inheritance funds, so I have a stronger sense of value than the regular person.”
“Not really, I feel like the regular person would’ve instantly jumped on the opportunity only with the money I offered at first.”

I actually have my past life’s experience as well, but I don’t mention that.

“Still, you’re too easy to read, Amy. You should be more careful with your emotions when negotiating.”
“Urghh…yeah, I have a long way to go too.”

A smile is much easier to read than a deadpan. One has to learn all sorts of tricks to negotiate properly.

“You’re still young so I don’t want to be too harsh either though. And I think you look better with a smile anyway.”

She’s still a minor, so maybe it’s best for her to keep her child-like traits though. It’s okay to work hard for a goal from a young age, but that’s no reason to throw away one’s purity and innocence. Or well, at least until she develops an ego when she gets older.

“Anyway, if that’s all you wanted to talk about, I’ll be heading back to my room.”
“Ah, sure, that was everything. Thanks.”

Amy answers with her head down.

I stand up and head out of the dining room.

“Ah, right, I almost forgot.” I stop and decide to reveal one thing, “Making copies with alchemy is awfully tedious, I never had any intention of doing that.”

“Wha-?!”

I’m glad Amy has connections with a printing press. I walk with a slightly happy gait as I return to my room.