Chapter 34 - Volume 2 (2/2)
Axlon clicked his tongue with dissatisfaction. Dinozo’s words were harsh but true. Even if he were to make a suicidal attempt at Isaac’s life, he had to slip through both elven and the North Bears’ security forces. It was impossible to distract them long enough to get at Isaac. It may be possible to distract the North Bears by luring them with honey, but that didn’t apply to the elves.
“Maybe we should just give up. My master had told me. If I donate a certain amount to him, he will let me live in Port City.”
Axlon turned to look at Milena as if she had offered the most pathetic solution.
“What the h.e.l.l is in that head of yours? Why don’t you think for once?”
“What!”
“Let’s say that you can somehow transfer all of your wealth over to Port City! What are you going to do then? Are you going to sell your body there too? Or do some business? Don’t you remember what happened to Foxt? Both you and I are convicted criminals in Port City.”
“Then what do you have to propose?! You’re just going to sit there as the sharks come at you? Do you have any idea how much money I’ve lost because of him?!”
Just as Axlon was about to retort to Milena’s enraged scream, the door slammed open and a group of men poured through the entrance.
“Who is it?!”
“Stay still if you value your life.”
The four stood up to resist against the sudden ambush, but they were quickly incapacitated; the back of their throats were firmly in the grasp of the group of men.
“Hey, I could hear your plotting all the way from City Hall so I decided to visit and help you guys out.”
“Kuuk! Isaac….”
Axlon muttered those words as Isaac sleazily walked in to the room. Rizzly, who was holding Axlon, didn’t hesitate to punch his ribs without a shred of mercy.
“Cough!”
Crack!
The bone-shattering noise was quickly followed by Axlon’s body collapsing on the floor, his body twitching in pain. The other three could only stay silent after watching the sight.
“You are not worthy to speak his name so freely. Stay still if you don’t want to die.”
“…”
Isaac was starting to feel uneasy about the North Bears and Rizzly, who have suddenly become so loyal to him. Once Isaac sat at the head of the table, the North Bears forced the four to their chairs. Cordnell and Lanburton also found a seat of their own.
“It’s nice to see that the prominent leaders of this city are working so hard for the sake of this city. The future of this city seems so bright. As the Lord’s Representative, I am very proud of you all.”
“…”
It wasn’t just the four; even the North Bears looked to Isaac in confusion at his nonsensical phrases.
“I understand that business hasn’t been doing so well for you guys?”
“…”
The fours’ faces went red with anger. To think they would hear those words from the source of it all.
“So, I want to ask. Do you guys want to do business with me?”
“… Business, you say?”
“Yeah. I won’t ask you to come under me. I, Isaac Rondart, a Rank 1 Knight of the Empire, College graduate, and the Lord’s Representative of New Port City, can’t have criminals as his subordinates.”
“Wouldn’t it be the same to become business partners with us?”
Isaac made a surprised face when Soland spoke those words.
“I just wanted to talk business with the leaders of New Port City. Were you guys criminals?”
“…”
That blatant att.i.tude explained everything. Isaac was going to use them however he saw them fit, whether as criminals or as business partners.
“So what ‘business’ are you speaking of?”
“I’m going to make New Port City famous for tourism.”
The four looked dumbfoundedly at Isaac. Here they were, expecting some revolutionary or creative idea, but what came out instead was bland and unoriginal.
Soland spoke with disappointment on his face.
“Who would come and visit New Port City when Port City is right next door?”
Isaac clicked his tongue at Soland’s reply.
“Tsk tsk, this is why you guys can’t become big. Why did the others before me fail? Because they had no funding, limited authority, and no one who cooperated; just maintaining the city would take up their entire lifetime. Most important of all, it’s because you four have constantly sabotaged them at every corner. Now, let me ask you a question. What do I not have?”
“…”
Funding? He’s got a million Giga. Authority? He’s the Lord’s Representative. Manpower? He has elves, North Bears and even the employees from Merchant Guilds. Sabotage? Just attempting it would make their heads roll. There was only one barrier left.
“No one would visit to look at the old and filthy streets of this city. You will need to renovate the city for tourism. If we use previous construction costs as a reference, a million Giga won’t even be close to renovating the city as a whole.”
Cordnell spoke those words monotonously; his voice carried the despair and disappoint that this was all Isaac could come up with after the deplorable lifestyle he had lived out for so long.
“Yeah, I know. That’s why they are excluded.”
“What?”
While Cordnell sat there unable to understand, Isaac ordered one of the North Bears to the side.
“Bring it here.”
The North Bear brought a map of New Port City with its districts marked by a line.
Isaac pulled out a blue pen and began to draw a line starting from the bridge through the main street to the Ceta District before circling back. The shape he drew resembled the shape of a bottle with an extremely long neck.
He finished the drawing by pressing at the centre of New Port City, the City Hall, with his pen as he continued to speak.
“I will redevelop everything inside this blue line and leave the rest as it is.”
“I guess that seems possible…”
Cordnell’s words faltered, but Dinozo stepped in to speak his thoughts.
“No matter how elaborate you make the Ceta District, that alone won’t bring people in to the city.”
The reason why Port City was such a famous place for travel was because all of the goods and commodities gathered in the city. It allowed the people to experience food and specialties from all over the Empire, not to mention the lake next to the city. Redeveloping the Ceta District in New Port City was possible, but it held very little substance when comparing against Port City itself.
Isaac nodded to Dinozo’s words, acknowledging that he’d made a very good point.
“That’s right. We would only end up maintaining the status quo if we do the same things as other cities. We need something that only exists in New Port City in order to attract people here.”
“Have you thought of something?”
Isaac grinned when Milena asked the question.
“As of now, New Port City will legalise gambling and prost.i.tution. Any adults are allowed to gamble so long as they do so in City-approved casinos, and the city will set the prices for prost.i.tution.”
The non-humans in the room seemed apathetic to it all since they didn’t know much about the human world, but every human being other than Isaac dropped their jaws in dismay at the shocking news.
“Y, you, you’re going to officially run a gambling and prost.i.tution inst.i.tution?”
Cordnell stuttered as he shouted those words.
“Yeap. That’s why I asked for advice from a law expert. Gambling and prost.i.tution is punished with a fine by Empire’s laws. But according to the Lords.h.i.+p Law, Lords have the power to determine how much is the fine. So I have placed a fine of 1 Mega to crimes regarding gambling and prost.i.tution. That 1 Mega will be taken as an entry fee when they come to New Port City. Perfect solution, don’t you think?”
“So the people pay 1 Mega for a crime they haven’t even committed as entry fee, but they are also unrestricted by law and get to enjoy gambling and… women to their heart’s content?”
“Yes. The only city in the Empire to indulge in gambling and women. What do you think? Don’t you think this would bring the people here? It’s true that casinos and prost.i.tution will be the city’s main source of income, but I have many other plans in mind.”
Cordnell was at a loss for words. Isaac’s declaration was beyond any logic he was even remotely familiar with, while the North Bears applauded with their hands despite failing to understand anything Isaac had explained.
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