The Reinford Group, the largest heavy industry corporation in Erebonia, is often compared to the Verne Company located in the Calvard Republic.

In terms of total assets, it is second only to the IBC (International Bank of Crossbell), and in terms of size it is perhaps the largest corporate group on the continent. Despite its current scope, the Reinford Group was once a humble weapons manufacturer located in Roer, and was responsible for building gunpowder-based cannons.

The advent of the Orbal Revolution, however, led to significant changes in the military, and this process of modernization was all the more pronounced in Erebonia as a military nation. Demands for orbal weaponry exploded, and the Reinford Company met those demands single-handedly.

In addition, the Reinford Company began to handle public infrastructure, including the expansion of the country's railway network, in order to meet the needs of an increasing population. As a result, the company eventually went from being a mere weapons manufacturer to the international company that it is today.

Particularly worthy of note is that the chairman of the Reinford Group is not a member of Erebonia's so-called nobility. This is true of both the former chairman, G. Reinford, and his daughter, I. Reinford, who is the current chairman. 

It is no coincidence that the highest-ranking member of the group, a group which has more assets than the nation's richest nobles, is not part of the aristocracy. Even the Noble Faction is aware of the potential consequences if an international corporation like Reinford was to be led by a noble in a nation such as Erebonia, with its chaotic mix of old and new powers. 

If the lord of the province in which the Reinford Company has its corporate headquarters (currently Marquis Rogner, one of the so-called 'Four Great Houses') were to assert ownership of the group, it would cause a massive upset in the balance of power between the nobility*.

(*While Marquis Rogner remains one of the four most  powerful nobles in the nation, he is still lower in rank than the two dukes, Duke Cayenne and Duke Albarea.) 

On the other hand, if the Reinford family were to use their financial position to attempt to secure a peerage, opposition from both nobles and reformists alike would be inevitable. As a result, the group appears to have decided to focus on financial success rather than gaining a higher social rank. 

The result is a company which exists as a mix of old and new, tradition and reform, province and capital. In a sense, the group is a representation of the complex structure of the Erebonian Empire, and perhaps even tasked with foretelling how the nation will change in the future. 

-E. Lorentz