When Mr. Pierre expressed their interest in a deal, the Workshop Master was happy to take their order. "Any kind of cup, whether it’s for holding yellow drink or red, we can make it!" the burly man from the Southern Empire assured his two clients, patting his large belly.

However, when they proposed needing a large batch of glass bottles custom-made to their own standards, the Workshop Master hesitated. After hearing Pierre mention it would be a long-term order, he refused outright.

"Sorry, you two. Our workshop can’t do it!" The door slammed shut, and just like that, Rorschach and Pierre were thrown out.

Pierre, thinking he must have said something wrong, asked, "What was that about?"

Rorschach pulled him along the river. "Let’s try the next one."

Yet the answer from every workshop was the same. From those that made wine bottles and glasses to those that produced plate glass, every single one turned them down. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"What is wrong with these people!" Pierre kicked a shard of broken glass near the doorway, sending it flying in an arc into the lake. The shard was green, a local specialty named "Forest Glass" for its color.

’It would be perfect for beer bottles... a classic green bottle for a cold brew, paired with some barbecue...’ But having been stonewalled at every turn, all Rorschach felt now was regret.

"Let’s go straight to the biggest workshop and try to meet with the President of the Glass Guild." Rorschach realized he had gotten the order of things wrong. ’In Bayern, you’re supposed to talk to the Guild first, then a specific merchant. Bart even explicitly reminded me to deal with the Guilds.’

"My apologies, gentlemen, but I see no sign of your good faith. I haven’t even seen a sample of this beverage you speak of. If it were just Energy Potions, I could trust the guarantee of this esteemed Mage, but... soda? And that Her... cules something-or-other? I’m just a country man, I don’t understand these things." The Guild President was another stout man seemingly fueled by beer, his voice wheezing like a bellows.

The Guild President’s ruddy nose twitched. He rejected Pierre’s offer and tactfully hinted that while Rorschach’s order sounded large, he theoretically had to consider the entire Guild. Once distributed among all the workshops, it wouldn’t be a significant amount for any of them.

"Unfortunately, the airship I was on had an accident, and some of my luggage, including the samples, was lost. But I guarantee..."

Rorschach stopped Pierre from continuing. Giving a slight bow, he said, "Our visit today was rather abrupt. We had originally just planned on touring your town, and we’ve been left with a deep impression of your fine glass craftsmanship. Next time, we will be sure to leave a deep impression on you with our product."

The Guild President stood up and shook Rorschach’s hand with one full of calluses and burn scars. With that, the two took their leave.

"What’s wrong with them, turning down good business!" Accustomed to the vibrant, hyper-competitive commercial atmosphere of Valuva, Pierre had bottled up a bellyful of simmering frustration in this town.

Rorschach analyzed the situation as the wind blew by the river. "The glass manufacturing industry here is too self-contained. It revolves entirely around Munich and the surrounding brewing industry. When we proposed a long-term order, no one dared to bypass the Guild to take the job exclusively."

"As for the Guild President, he has to distribute our order fairly among all Guild members to maintain his credibility. Once the order is split up, it isn’t very appealing to him anymore. It’s less trouble to just let it be."

"Then let’s just build our own factory! They’re just bottles, right? Worst case, we’ll bring glass artisans from Valois over!"

"And the raw materials? We can’t ship everything from the Holy Kingdom, can we? What would be the point of going to all the trouble of building a factory?" Bayern’s craft industry clusters were scattered among its cities and towns. The guilds not only moved as one within their own industries, but the guilds at every stage of the supply chain were also interconnected and mutually protective.

"If we offend the Glass Guild, we’d have to deal with the Mining and Metallurgy Association to procure river sand and metal powders for our own bottle factory, and there’s no guarantee the Glass Guild wouldn’t try to obstruct us. In the same way, we’d have to deal with countless other guilds, big and small, for every other step. I fear we’d just see a repeat of today’s events."

By introducing a new beverage, they would be targeted as rivals by the Brewing Guild at every turn if they didn’t get on its good side. As outsiders from Valois, their only real allies were the Logistics Guild, where the Balderom Chamber of Commerce held sway.

Rorschach continued his analysis, and the more he spoke, the more disheartened Pierre became.

These craft industry cartels, built around the pillar industries of the Bayern Kingdom, were showing faint signs of consolidating. Among them, the guilds upstream and downstream of the Brewing, Wool, and Dyeing and Weaving Guilds were essentially subordinates and vassals.

’It looks like the Glass Guild is just a vassal to the Brewing Guild. And since our "Hercules" beverage company is seen as a beverage business from the Holy Kingdom, we’re naturally going to be pushed out by the local bigwigs. That makes the Glass Guild cautious about dealing with our proposal.’

’Bayern’s craft industries are certainly advanced. Too advanced, in fact. They’ve become an obstacle to industrial and commercial development.’

’Clearly, this system of mutually-protective guilds has thoroughly disgusted the local lords. No wonder Prince Otto is so enthusiastic in his support for me. He most likely wants to introduce a "catfish" to stir up the business landscape of the Bayern Kingdom...’ Only after this firsthand investigation did Rorschach gain a new understanding of the attitudes of those "great men" back in Munich City.

’The attitude of the guests at last night’s banquet... Did the Execution Officer and the others not think we could succeed, or are they on the side of the Guilds to begin with?’

’And my own friend, Bart... he let me hit a wall first. Perhaps he wanted to emphasize the importance of the Balderom Chamber of Commerce. The Logistics Guild dominates the circulation of goods; not even the "three pillars" dare offend them.’

"Are we just supposed to rely on the Balderom Chamber of Commerce for everything? If we let them take the lead, then what am I even here for? We might as well just sell them the formula and technology and be done with it!"

"No," Rorschach said. "Guilds are fundamentally loose and antiquated organizations. We can always find a breakthrough." He spotted another shard of Forest Glass, picking it up to examine it against the sun.

’There’s another Guild. An organization that should be above all this petty nonsense, but has had no presence at all—the Magic Guild!’

It was a strange contradiction: in the devout nation of Valois, the Magic Guild had a very high profile, yet here in religiously tolerant Bayern, it was practically invisible in the world of commerce.

’Perhaps it has to do with the style of the region’s Great Magic Tower. The Tower of Stars itself just has a Teleportation Gate in Stella Garden, but its Alchemy Department, research buildings, and the companies under the Magic Guild are all tightly integrated.’

’Commerce in Valois is more dynamic as a whole. With the exception of a few sectors like watchmaking, other craft industry clusters have been utterly crushed by the commercial houses affiliated with the Magic Guild, which come stacked with the triple buff of tax breaks, accelerated research, and a highly educated workforce.’

’This trifecta of production, academia, and research has swept away the small workshops. Even commercial houses that haven’t joined the Magic Guild are forced into a rat race of improving their organizational structures and adopting new technologies.’

’The Istani Kingdom is even more advanced than the Holy Kingdom in commerce and technological application.’

’And the Bayern Kingdom... as far as I know, it’s the domain of the Tower of Secret Techniques. It’s truly mysterious! So mysterious that I can’t understand how it leaves no trace on Bayern’s industries.’

"Alright, let’s split up. Mr. Pierre, you continue scouting the other related industries. Just scouting. We’ll start negotiations once Mr. Hasse arrives." Hasse was traveling by carriage, bringing with him a carriage-load of soda syrup and another of the pale purple "Hercules" brandy.

"And you?"

"I’m going to check out the Magic Guild—no, the Tower of Secret Techniques." Rorschach spotted some blue and green glass shards on the ground as he walked toward a retail shop. The town had quite a few workshops operating on a "shop in the front, factory in the back" model.

"Do you only sell cups? Do you have any artisanal pieces, or anything made of ’Forest Glass’ or ’Blue Glass’?" he asked. The glass cups on display all had a pale yellow tinge. The ones that were more crystal-clear were double the price.

The proprietress took a small, crystal-like glass pony from a shelf. "We have pretty little things like this. As for Forest Glass and cobalt blue glass, only the three big workshops can make that. They produce it as plate glass and sell it to the churches. The rest of us can’t get a piece of that business."

"I’ll take the pony. It’s remarkably lifelike." Rorschach paid four Imperial Silver Coins. The proprietress brought out a small wooden box and carefully placed the glass horse inside, nestled between layers of hay, cashmere, and fine cloth. The packing was meticulous.

"Thank you."