He gazed at Cæ like he had spoken an alien language. On the other hand, Cæ simply stared at the man with a solemn expression.
He didn't simply make that offer out of nowhere.
As someone who was aiming to become the richest person in the entire world, he couldn't afford to spend all his time on a single business, and it was unlikely that one business, especially a business whose targeted market was extremely poor, was impossible for it to get him even remotely all the way there.
In other words, he needed a person to whom he could leave the micromanagement of all the operations but also someone whom he could trust to dedicate themselves to the business the way he would.
He had thought that finding such a person would not only be very difficult but would also be very time-consuming.
'I wouldn't say I've hit the lottery... but I have found an optimistic option.' A smile cracked at the edge of Cæ's mouth.
Feidin Norton was a very plain and unremarkable man on his appearance, but when he spoke about his business and his business strategy, there was a faint remaining ember of passion.
Even though he tried to play it off a little cooler, Cæ could tell that the fall of his company and his business was still a very raw wound even to this day after many years. The average person would not hold such emotion to an event so long ago. It took a truly ferocious passion for its embers to still be alive many years later after the company's fall.
"…Is this your idea of a joke?" Mr. Norton laughed nervously as he readjusted his glasses with a flustered expression.
"I am entirely serious," Cæ replied with a firm tone. "I intend to open a business whose business strategy is centered around mini-housing units, which you have great skill and experience with as a manager, a civil engineer, and a CEO. You have the skill, you have the passion, and you have a fitting temperament."
The man simply stared at Rui as his expression only grew more bewildered.
What Cæ had failed to mention was that this was a man without any financial dependents. He was unmarried and didn't have a family that relied on him, which was something that Cæ found desirable. His business idea was novel and unique enough that it fell into the risky category.
People with familial obligations would not want to partake in this project.
"…You really are a strange person, Mr. Cæ," Mr. Norton replied with a flustered smile. "…I already have a job, you know? A job where I have made gains with salary hikes over the years, you know?"
"I am aware of that," Cæ replied. "I will provide you with a salary on par with the one that you have now unless you're interested in equity as remuneration."
"…Do you have the magicapita needed for that?" Mr. Norton raised an eyebrow. "You are in your early twenties, correct? And you just entered the apprentice program his year, which means you have no skill as a mage. How do you intend to fund a project like this?"
His questions were pertinent. The flustered nervousness had all but gone when the conversation turned towards the minutiae of his business venture. Cæ immediately understood that he was being tested.
Not that Mr. Norton would immediately jump to join his business if Cæ passed his test, but Cæ would have, at the very least, considered it if he didn't flunk the test on the spot.
"There are several avenues of getting the necessary venture capital," Cæ replied with a composed and confident tone. "For one, I am a part owner of a now successful family restaurant. Additionally, as a student of the Elendir Institute of Magic, business loans will come far easier to me than they ever did before. I can easily get a loan to fund the start of my business with minimum collateral. On top of that, as rank on the magic aptitude test, I have the attention of people in high places."
Mr. Norton stirred at his words as he fell into thought with an interested expression.
He realized that Cæ's plan was more grounded in reality than he had expected. He wasn't unrealistic about his sources of venture capital. Indeed, he would be able to get all the debt he needed as a student of the Elendir Institute of Magic.
"…And how do you intend to run this business?" Mr. Norton raised an eyebrow. "Do you think you can run a business successfully just by winging it?"
"I have a degree in commerce."
"…I see, you're not as out of your depth as I feared," Mr. Norton murmured. "Still, a degree is one thing, but it is only a basic first step in the world of business. In fact, it isn't even strictly necessary. There are plenty of wealthy businessmen who have absolutely no business background who have hit it big and plenty of businessmen with multiple degrees that failed miserably."
"I revived the family-run restaurant that I mentioned with an entirely original business strategy," Cæ replied without the slightest bit of hesitation. "Additionally, I have several years of experience working there prior."
"…The former is certainly a credit if it is true," Mr. Norton replied thoughtfully as he readjusted his glasses. "That being said, the food industry is very detached from the niche that you are pursuing. Your experience doesn't translate there very well."
Cæ sipped his lent drink as he fell into thought.
'I can't tell him that my Acquired Savant Syndrome amplifies my imagination and divergent thinking to such a degree that not only do I have a flood of possibilities in my mind for my business strategy, but I can flesh out the most likely scenarios with great accuracy and precision and work towards realizing it.'
It was the reason that Selvigs' Ristorante had made such a smooth comeback despite how poor their situation was.
"You're right," Cæ lied. "I am indeed not the most equipped to lead a business venture in terms of experience. But that hardly disqualifies me as someone who can lead it to success. Additionally, if you do choose to join my company, your experience will be able to compensate for my lack thereof. Additionally…"
He stirred his cup. "While I don't have experience leading a business, I do have experience with the target market segment: the slums. I can assure you that I probably understand the slums better than anybody else in the business world. After all…"
Cæ's eyes flashed with a hint of peril. "I have lived there for most of my life."
Mr. Norton's eyes widened with a stunned expression as his nervousness returned.
Cæ wasn't surprised. He was far too used to the dangerous reputation of the slums dripping down back to him. There was a good chance that this piece of information would make Mr. Norton entirely unwilling to join his business venture.
"I see…" he managed to squeeze out. "In that regard yes, you do have relevant experience in the slums. Still, aiming for the slums, hm? It certainly is novel and radical, business-wise; there is a reason that businesses avoid the slums entirely."
"I am aware there is a huge safety problem," Cæ nodded. "Additionally, demand for goods and services is, well, very low due to very little purchasing power."
"Correct," Mr. Norton's expression grew confused. "You are aware of that and still want to target the slums for your mini-housing goods? This seems like an absurd decision to me. I am curious why you have decided to go with the least profitable market segment of Elendir. Please explain the business model and business strategy for the commercial venture you have in mind."
"…Very well," Cæ leaned forward as he began explaining the entirety of his business model to Mr. Norton in a straightforward and concise manner."
Mr. Norton's eyes lit up with fascination as he listened on to Cæ's explanation for why he had made the decision that he had made.
It was only after Cæ was done that he finally made a remark on the matter.
"I see…" his tone was engrossed. "I was aware that the slums had poor housing, But I hadn't realized that it was that dangerous. Your idea seemed nonsensical to me when you first mentioned it, but now that you have explained the rationale behind it, it's actually genius. Still, there are several doubts I have in regards to this business strategy that you have in mind that I'd like you to clarify, if you don't mind."
"Of course, I don't mind at all," Cæ replied with a small smile. "Go ahead."
"Well, firstly, if the conventional housing units are unsafe, then surely tents are a convenient alternative that the residents of the slums would use in such a situation," Mr. Norton pointed out with a keen expression. "With their low purchasing power, they would much rather move to tents than something like mini-housing units, right? Wouldn't that bust your business model?"
"It's a valid point of skepticism," Cæ nodded understandingly. "However, there is a reason that the people of the slums bother with housing at all rather than just going with tents. After all, your rationale would apply even more to building huts and the like. That reason is rather simple. Tents are insufficient against the elements."
He sipped his cochil drink before continuing. "As you well know, Elendir and Colohen can have very extreme weather. When it rains, it often floods. This is especially true in the slums with a decrepit drainage system. A normal tent cannot deal with that. When it snows, the problem is similar. Additionally, our nation has powerful winds and storms, a tent is sorely lacking to protect them from that. Each season has extreme elements that tents simply cannot deal with."
Cæ continued. "The point of shelter is to protect one from elements, after all. "That's why the less poor of the slums still have scraps of a hut put together that can withstand the bare minimum. Thus, tents are not a replacement, even if they are used to a certain extent."
Mr. Norton digested his explanation with a slow nod. "I see, that does make sense. A tent would not be sufficient to even qualify as shelter in this nation, barring some places here and there. Then…"
He leaned forward with greater interest. "For my second doubt. Even if there is demand, the fact of the matter is that the people of the slums are very poor and will not pay more than peanuts per housing unit. How in the world do you intend to make a profit?"
"That has indeed been the most difficult part of planning this commercial venture," Cæ replied. "However, I believe my solution addresses that well enough. In order to explain the business strategy for making a profit per sale, I will first begin by touching up on the business strategy of conventional real estate before drawing a comparison to my business strategy."
Mr. Norton nodded with a curious expression as Cæ began.
"The conventional housing construction company focuses on high prices per unit with high-profit margins with a majority of the cost of production going into raw materials and labor," Cæ began. "They offer spacious units with a bare minimum amount of space that we would consider 'fit for human living.' You can walk, exercise, and move around in normal houses and homes, and that causes the material cost to go up. It is precisely for this reason that this business strategy is impossible to be profitable in the slums, which have very low purchasing power."
Mr. Norton nodded. "My old mini-housing unit products from Norton Housings would still fall in this category, by the way."
"Indeed," Cæ continued. "My business strategy, on the other hand, focuses on getting rid of the biggest two expenditures in the cost of production. Specifically, the material and labor costs. I intend to sell units much smaller than even mini-housing units and instead sell micro-housing units that are just a little larger than tents with a more defined structure. By getting rid of the space offering and the labor and material costs that come with it. It is possible to produce safe housing units that are also able to protect people from the elements."