VMMM…
A car rolled by at the curb of a large double-lane street, stopping outside the grilled fence of a large manufacturing complex.
CLACK
Cæ emerged from the car, closing the door as his intense dichromatic gray eyes directed a sweeping gaze across the entire dark gray factory. The walls and roof were all comprised of a smooth metallic exterior that gave the entire place a rather severe vibe.
The exhaust fans on the roof released smoke from the processing of the raw materials, a process that released all manner of waste products, including gaseous, liquid, and solid wastes, which needed to be disposed of through different channels.
VMMM…
The hum of enchanted machinery within the factory rang all the way outside. Cæ could hear many production lines of manufacturing chugging away in parallel, undoubtedly producing all manner of products.
CLACK
"Wow…" Seliphaz murmured as she emerged from the car with an amazed expression. She sized up the massive factory before adjusting her long formal skirt.
Her normally untidy, short blue hair was neatly combed. A well-fit formal suit, not too unlike Cæ's fit, suited her short frame well. Cæ had worn a simpler formal attire, limiting himself to a white shirt, dark pants, and a formal tie.
He had declined wearing a suit, feeling it to be a bit too formal, especially when it was more of a semi-formal visit, given that the CEO-owner of Marshall's Manufacturing had sought to simply speak with Cæ as opposed to meet with him to conclude any formal business with the man.
He had brought Seliphaz along with him since he had no knowledge of the technicalities. He had, of course, memorized all the details of the production process and the properties of the raw materials, but that wasn't enough to have an in-depth conversation with a manufacturing CEO on it. Seliphaz was there to take over the conversation should it ever steer in that direction.
CLACK
They walked into the gate, heading straight to the front of the factory. It had a large, wide opening clearly designed to allow trucks to pass through without hassle. Many of their products were often too large to be hauled manually.
Even from the outside, as they walked towards the entrance, Cæ could already get a wide look at everything happening inside. His eyes lit up at the large number of production lines, each situated within the manufacturing hub, each chugging away as workers sat and stood about the assembly lines, wearing the top-notch gear and protective suits of the highest quality and precautions.
He spotted a wide variety of products in manufacturing within the factory, from small objects like vases, special tables, sophisticated and complex furniture made up of mana-active substances.
One particular trait stood out, of course.
There were no enchantifiers or enchanted items, just as Feidin had shown him.
This factory seemed to be truly committed to producing ordinary and mana-active items and products. This was truly mind-boggling as a decision to make in the post-magindustrial era where enchantments were king.
STEP
They entered the open factory, slowing down to observe the production lines.
Another reason that Seliphaz had come along with him was to evaluate the quality of production and manufacturing. Unlike Cæ, she was in engineering and had a degree in it. This gave her the understanding and the knowledge needed to evaluate whether or not Marshall's Manufacturing was up to their quality standards.
She shifted her round spectacles as she scrutinized the quality of the production line and the machinery that comprised of it.
Her eyes lit up with delight.
"Excellent."
The machines were either new or extremely well-maintained.
There wasn't even the slightest bit of rust, stains, dirt, or grime in those moving parts. The encrypted magic circles and runes shone brightly, indicating that there wasn't anything wrong with the eidos of the magic. It was even better than the production lines of their factory base.
She directed her attention to the workers at each production line.
Depending on the product, the number of workers at each station changed greatly, but one thing that they all had in common was a quiet immersion and focus, unlike anything she had ever seen. They were dedicated and focused on the task at hand, not even noticing Cæ and Seliphaz walking past them.
"Wow…" she murmured. "They're like… machines themselves."
Cæ nodded with an interested expression.
"Ho…" the rich voice of an old man reached them, drawing their attention. "You must be the young lad who owns Trinity Housings."
Cæ and Seliphaz turned to face the person who had addressed them.
His back was hunched over while his hands were locked behind him.
His forehead had deep wrinkles across that stopped at his partially bald head, with white hair at his sides and rear. A thicker beard and mustache covered his lower face, giving him a more burly and rugged edge despite his otherwise frail body.
His limbs were as thin as twigs, making even Seliphaz feel rather substantial in her stature.
He looked at least eighty years old.
And yet, his eyes were sharp.
Focused.
He sized Cæ up with a once-over before shifting his sharp gaze over to Seliphaz, who flinched, averting her eyes with flustered nervousness.
The man huffed lightly, turning back to study Cæ once more.
His sharp eyes clashed with the profound intensity in the depths of Cæ's dichromatic gray eyes.
A smile with a wild edge emerged on his face as he stroked his beard. "Hoho… good. I was worried I would come face to face with a whelp for a leader. It's good to know that there are young men in this day and age of comfort and luxury who still have their grit."
Cæ simply gazed at the elder man with a hint of stoic interest. "CEO Leland Gorsworth, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am, as you identified, the CEO of Trinity Housings. I was interested to hear what you had to say regarding a meeting. I hope we can have a fruitful dialogue."
The man grinned toothily. "How many times did you rehearse that, eh?"
Cæ shrugged lightly. "Just once. In my head. On the way here."
"Hah," the old man snorted mirthlessly, before turning to Seliphaz with a scrunched eyebrow.
She flinched once more as she felt her throat choking up.
Although she had gotten accustomed to the presence of Feidin and Cæ, and even other people in the company like Dlint and Meriam, she still hadn't overcome her social anxiety.
PAT
Cæ's warm hand gently patted her other shoulder. She turned towards him as he simply nodded with an uncharacteristically gentle and encouraging expression. She felt her heart beating harder as a feeling of warm comfort spread across her body, relieving of her the tight feeling in her chest.
She turned back to the old man with a resolved expression.
"I am Seliphaz Nurmandel," she spoke with a more confident tone. "I am a co-owner and lead product developer of Trinity Housings."
Leland's expression stirred as his eyes lit up with a measure of respect. "Ho…? So you were the one to design that sublime little home. Remarkable intricacy and sophistication, I must say. It is surprising to see such a level of skill from someone as young as you."
Her eyes lit up with a hint of delight. "T-Thank you!"
"Hmmm…" The man turned around. "Come, let us talk more in my office."
The two of them exchanged a glance before following him. Cæ studied the man's attire, noting that it was strangely identical to that of the production attire that many of the employees wore, despite clearly not being fit to work in manufacturing.
CLACK
The man opened the door to his office on the second floor once they reached it, ushering them inside.
STEP
Cæ directed a sweeping gaze across the comfortable but humble office in the building. It had a study by an office on the other end and a pair of sofas facing each other opposite a small tea table. The room was decorated with strangely familiar trinkets and other products.
His eyes lit up with recognition.
"These items…" Cæ remarked. "Do you keep products that your factory has manufactured in your office?"
"Of course, I study and try out each of the products that we are considering manufacturing to get a personal evaluation of it before deciding to go through with the deal or not," the man remarked as he gestured to a place at the very edge of one corner. "Including your little haven."
Cæ and Seliphaz stirred with a hint of surprise as they saw a haven unit.
It wasn't an encased one, either.
It was open.
Additionally, Cæ could see some clothes and other personal belongings inside the micro-housing unit.
"Did you…?"
"Living in the little box was an interesting experience," he remarked with an intrigued expression, even as his eyes critically scrutinized the product. "It is certainly not built with comfort in mind. However, the more time I spent in it, the more I understood what its creators had in mind."
He turned towards the two of them with a knowing expression. "For 999 leenars, this is a truly remarkable living experience. But only the most desperate of homeless people living in shabby conditions could possibly pay for this living unit. And for what I understood from speaking with your head manager, that is exactly who you are selling to, hm?"
"…Yes," Cæ remarked, still taken aback that an old man had personally decided to experience the product. "Did you truly live in our haven unit just to get a personal feel and impression of the product?"
"How many times are you going to ask the same question?" the old man grumbled as he took a seat on one of the sofas in his humble office. "I only spent a day in it. At my age, these crude living conditions are too much to bear. My back has been in pain, albeit at no fault of the product itself."
He turned towards Seliphaz with an intrigued expression. "So, you were the one who developed the product, hm?"
"Ah, yes." She smiled simply. "It took me a year and exploring several different prototypes before we finally settled on this particular model. It makes use of mana-active substances, many artificial, and several that I myself have developed and patented."
"Truly impressive." He nodded with a hint of admiration amid his sharp gaze. "You have a bright future ahead of you if you are able to design such sophisticated products at your age."
Seliphaz grew bashful at the praise. "Thank you…"
"But tell me," the old man continued with curiosity in his rough voice. "How did you conceptualize the strategy of this product? How did you come up with the idea for it?"
"Ah…" she smiled modestly. "I played no role in the strategizing and the conceptualization of the haven model. That was entirely done by him."
She gestured to Cæ, who simply gazed at the old man impassively.
"Hm…?" The old man raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You came up with the conceptualization of this product despite not being an engineer? That's unusual. Then again, you are the founder, I am told. So this young lady handled the product development, and the other one handled all the management. So tell me…"
The old man raised an eyebrow in doubt. "What exactly do you do in the company?"
"…I came up with the idea, did the market research, fleshed out the business strategy, then pitched it to Feidin and Seliphaz, who decided to accept my offer to join in the venture," Cæ remarked with a composed tone. "Aside from that, I developed the advertisement and sales strategy, and secured funding for the company and partnerships.
"…A commercial strategist, hm?" he raised an eyebrow with an intrigued expression. "You don't particularly see too many of those around these days. The role of business strategy is usually divided among the management class, but looking at you, who knows? Perhaps having an excellent strategist is worth the extra payroll to have around."