My interracial harem of beautiful queens

Chapter 165 Problem

Returning to the day of the assembly, Adam and his colleagues, who had now become full-fledged subordinates, comfortably settled into their chairs. A rectangular table in front of them was adorned with beautiful flowers, while in front of each company representative stood an object resembling a microphone in shape. And indeed, it served the same purpose.

As soon as Adam raised his right hand, all the noise subsided. The audience, which had been as loud as a potato sale just a minute ago, became quiet as if they had entered a morgue. Bringing the microphone closer to himself, Adam took on the responsibility of starting the conference.

"My name is Adam. I am the mayor of this city and a dear business partner to Marina, Sabrina, Ricky, and Avalon. Given the recent commotion, we decided to convene this conference," he said with a velvety and deep voice that momentarily charmed the listeners. "Today's conference was called to achieve a common understanding of the situation and to answer the questions of those interested. Please, begin."

...

..

.

A funeral silence fell, lasting only a second. Then, hundreds of hands shot up, and the previous silence was replaced by noise. Everyone was trying to push forward and get answers to their questions, but this only worsened the chaos. So, as the main representative, Adam had to take control of the situation.

"All right, then I'll choose who will ask. Let's see... you," Adam muttered, but his voice was heard by everyone. He suddenly pointed to a lovely young girl dressed in a uniform resembling a scout's uniform. "Please, you have the right to ask three questions."

The young woman chosen for the first three questions immediately stood up and nervously clutched the microphone to her chest. Her cheeks blushed at the envious glances directed at her, and meeting Adam's eyes made the young girl even more flustered. However, she overcame her embarrassment, and after a fake cough, she began to speak with a slightly nervous yet direct voice.

"So, Sir Adam, I'm from 'Sedyon Today' magazine and my name is Katie. I'd like to thank you for choosing me," she said, offering a shy smile. Behind her, there were murmurs and whispers.

Here and there, people whispered, "Darn, was she a planted journalist?" "Now it's clear why he chose her first. Sir Adam is essentially her boss." This made the girl uncomfortable, and she was almost tongue-tied by the sudden attention. Still, seeing an encouraging smile on Adam's face, she blushed and continued speaking, ignoring the extra noise.

"So... a few days ago, from reliable sources, we heard rumors that several brands, such as 'Handsome's Kiss,' 'Dragon's Hoard,' and 'Nymph's Radiance,' have decided to merge, forming a single company," she said, gripping the microphone more firmly. "Please, tell us, is this true?"

Adam smiled and chuckled, then tapped the table. Suddenly, a hologram with a "buzz" sound appeared behind him. It displayed a logo resembling a smiling shadow of a woman holding an olive branch. Below it, there was the inscription: "Veridia."

Gasps and exclamations filled the room. The shock on the audience's faces was undeniable when they realized the information was indeed true. The logo, which featured an ancient goddess, the Goddess of Truth and Justice, also garnered a significant reaction. She was one of the oldest goddesses known to this world, although records of her church and religion had long been lost. But...

"Veronica has a lot of material about the gods. I was even shocked when I first saw it," Adam recalled.

Meanwhile, the shock gradually began to fade among the people. The appearance of the logos was undoubtedly shocking to everyone present, and the depiction of the goddess momentarily left them stunned. After all, this could be considered a form of idolatry, which Adam had allowed about the greatness of the goddess. Furthermore...

"He named the company after a Goddess? That's a bold move," others thought.

Directly, this could worsen relations with the Church of Light, who considered the Goddess of Light to be the only and unique deity. However...

"I don't care. In my previous world, they called this hype, so let's create some hype with the goddess's name," Adam thought, his mouth hiding a cunning grin. "Naming the company after a goddess, and providing the world's first logo. It's a smart PR move."

After a prolonged silence, the journalist from "Sedyon Today," though shocked, volunteered to ask questions, which Adam gladly answered. When she finished asking the final question, another wave of raised hands followed.

But all the journalists who had intended to ask provocative questions were surprised to find that they were never chosen. Instead, questions were mainly coming from representatives of newspapers allied with Sedyon and Adam. This caused irritation and panic among those who had deliberately come here to embarrass them.

However, Adam certainly didn't plan to turn the conference into a peaceful and tranquil corner for self-expression. After concluding his speech, he handed over the right to answer questions to his colleagues. That's when the fun began.

Avalon took the microphone, immediately on edge due to the changed atmosphere. The journalists who had enthusiastically asked questions beneficial to Adam somehow fell silent, while those with ulterior motives stepped into the limelight, wearing greedy smiles.

"Um... you, please go ahead and ask your questions," Avalon randomly selected.

His choice was a middle-aged man with the classic appearance of an Avalonian city dweller – black hair, brown eyes, and a slender build. However, what stood out about the man was his facial expression, gestures, and body language. It all indicated that he was a serpent who would extract any question from you, even if you didn't want to answer.

"Thank you for choosing me. I'm Kenis from 'Velvet Voice' magazine, and I hope for your honesty," he said with a soft and polite voice, but his eyes narrowed, and his tone was filled with cynicism. "Mr. Avalon, I believe you are well aware of the events in the world. Your brand also participated in supporting the humans affected by demons. It was a very noble act, and allow me to express my respect."

"Yes, but let's get to the point..."

"And recently, Mr. Avalon," Kenis rudely interrupted the journalist, speaking with a serious tone, "I heard from a close friend that you've also been supplying provisions to the elves. How should we interpret this?"

Avalon noticeably panicked, and his eyes darted around the audience. He saw the expressions of some people change to irritation and disbelief, while his colleagues visibly tensed. Only Adam continued to smile carefreely.

The situation was simple. Alarmingly simple.

Avalon did indeed sell provisions to the elves, but he did it in times when the war was just one of the unlikely outcomes. Given that he noticed the elves' interest in provisions from human lands, Avalon decided to make significant profits from it, and he did. Adam had known this since he chose him for his plan.

"None of the four traders is clean. Ricky once dabbled in smuggling, Marina supplied poisons to a mercenary organization, the activities of which were banned in Avalonia, Sabrina knowingly sold furniture with explosives, and much more," Adam recalled their biographies, which he obtained with Amarantha's help. He looked at their faces and smiled, hiding it behind his hand. "They still think they managed to leave that past behind and erase it, but they forget that Heaven is all-powerful."

When Adam chose future partners, he had several criteria:

1. They had to be sufficiently wealthy.

2. They had to be somewhat famous and have a customer base of more than 100 clients.

3. They had to be intelligent and creative.

And finally, the fourth point.

They had to have a past that Adam could use to control them. In other words, blackmail.

"Of course, I expected that competitors would get involved when creating a major company," Adam thought, leaning back in his chair. He looked at the audience and saw more than ten spies from other companies. "The Axel Company. The Belis Company. The Araris Company. And finally, our main competitor... the Branks Company."

Competition in the market was cutthroat. While Adam's brands were known in broader circles but used only by a select few due to their high cost, the products of these companies were used daily. Their financial turnover was several times greater than his.

The Axel Company was known for trading premium furniture, but it employed the tactic of "introducing new products, discounting the old ones." This continued until products that were once luxurious for commoners became affordable.

The Belis Company was a well-known company, and while it wasn't a direct competitor to Adam's company, it could potentially become one. The head of this company was formerly a military man. They supplied weapons directly to the Avalonian army, while their defective goods were sold to regular mercenaries.

The Araris Company was another potential competitor, famous for producing expensive and not-so-expensive alcohol. Adam was a customer of this company and was familiar with the top managers, although he didn't deal directly with the director.

And finally, the Branks Company. The most significant competitor for Adam and the four traders. This company manufactures cosmetics, clothing, and other fashion items. The average price of their clothing was 10 Silver Dragon Stones, which even commoners could afford.

But, of course, this company also had premium products that were on par with the renowned NYR brand. Adam had repeatedly noticed attempts by this company to copy their clothing technology, but it always failed in the part of the spies.

For Adam, the most significant danger was Branks. He knew nothing about the general director of this company or its employees. He was only aware that commoners and nobles alike highly appreciated this company's products.

And that created a small problem, as Adam had targeted two market segments. He was only leading in one segment at the moment.

"This is a problem."

The plan wasn't going as it should. However, at the moment, he was curious about how Avalon would get out of this situation.

To be continued...