Chapter 43 - Volume 3 (1/2)
Despite Isaac visiting at a late hour, the overseer of the Communicator Room scrambled to receive him when he entered the room. With a polite greeting, the overseer led Isaac to one of the personal Communicators with an att.i.tude completely different from the last time Isaac came.
The private room had a sofa and some complimentary snacks and drinks on the tabletop. When Isaac asked to connect to the Capital’s Department of Supplies, they were insightful enough to connect him directly to Mazelan.
-Hey! I’ve heard the rumours. You really have talent on surprising everyone with your ingenious ideas. The Grand Ca.n.a.l Race! Even Gabelin is talking about it.
Mazelan greeted Isaac with a faint smile the instant his call connected.
“It’s just my sideline jobs pulling through.”
-I’ve heard that your main business, the casinos, isn’t doing too well?”
“It’ll make a comeback soon enough.”
-Huhu. I’ll look forward to it. I’ll do everything I can to help you.
“Now that you mention it, I actually have something I need your help with. And something I’d like to confirm with you.”
-Help?
“Yes. Can you install some Communicators in New Port City too? It’s so bothersome to travel between Port and New Port City all the time.”
-Hm… I’m sorry to say this, but the installation of Communicators follows a 5-year plan where the largest cities take priority. There is no room for me to put in any changes. Not to mention that New Port City isn’t even included in the list since there’s already Port City next to you.
“What if New Port City pays for the installation?”
-Hm, if it’s like that, then I may be able to do something. But do you really need to install it in New Port City? It’s not like the installation comes at a reasonable price. I think you’ll do fine just using Port City’s.
“No. I need it.”
-Well, fine. If New Port City will pay for all the expenses, it doesn’t matter to us. I’ll connect you with one of the companies doing the installations. They can just extend Port City’s connections to New Port City.
“Thank you.”
-Then is that all you need?
“Yes. For now.”
-That ‘for now’ part seems rather intimidating.
“You’re just overthinking it.”
-Hng. So what was it that you wanted to confirm?
“It’s a simple question.”
-What is it?
“Port City is running a smuggling business, right?”
There was a silence. Mazelan looked as if his soul was being drained from his body. He quickly tried to regain composure, but he only managed to awkwardly avoid eye contact with Isaac.
-W-what could you mean? I have no idea what you’re talking about.
Watching Mazelan’s reaction, Isaac pulled out a cigarette and took a deep breath.
“You’d be surprised at how many things you notice when you just sit down and watch how the world runs.”
-…
“The first thing that made me curious was the reaction from the Seven Grand Merchant Guilds.”
-The Seven Grand Merchant Guilds? But you’ve never even met any of its Guild Masters other than Mr. Goldman?
“I’ve had my doubts even before today, but seeing them today confirmed it.”
-How!
Isaac responded nonchalantly at Mazelan, who still seemed like he was unable to understand.
“The last time I contacted you, I also had a chat with Mr. Goldman and asked him to invest in me. In truth, didn’t expect very much. I was just making a jab in hopes of getting some useful personnel to borrow, but the Seven Grand Merchant Guild agreed to invest in me. Was it really insurance? Was it really to stop Port City? Would a merchant really invest in someone whom they only saw once in their life? An investment with no information or had any promise of making a return? Not only was it just Mr. Goldman, but all seven guilds agreed to make the investment. Could they have prepared 1 million Giga so quickly, even if there wasn’t any dissent? Do you really think all of that is possible?”
-…
“That is when the thought of ‘Ah! I’m on to something’ came to mind.”
-Who knows? Merchants tend to have an excellent sense when it comes to investment.
Isaac smirked at Mazelan’s feeble attempt to defend the Seven Grand Merchant Guilds.
“That’s what I also thought at first – that the merchant guilds which represent the Empire could take a risky gamble like that. But merchants are extremely sensitive creatures who seek profit and tremble when they see a loss. So I used up all of the first loan and asked for more as a test. Yes, I did use the tariffs as an excuse, but they sent me the money again, though begrudgingly. What was most surprising was that there were no conditions for this loan.”
-Conditions?
“Yes. Even if the first investment was a form of insurance to hinder Port City, there must have been someone in the guilds who would have disagreed with further investment when the original loan was wasted. Or they would have demanded conditions such as shares or some form of commanding authority, but the only thing they demanded was to keep the tariffs as they were. That is when I was sure. That New Port City is much more valuable than what everyone else thinks.”
-How did you come up with that train of thought when you’ve locked yourself on that rooftop?
Isaac shrugged with an expression suggesting that Mazelan’s words were unjustified.
“I was busy too, you know. With only 3 years ahead of me, I had to come up with a plan to save the city, direct the procedure, and figure out the reason for all this at the same time.”
-And you came up with it all while living on a rooftop?
“Like I’ve said before, you can see many things when you just sit down and watch. Maybe you should try it out someday.”
Mazelan dropped his head, moaning.
“The final clue came today. The Grand Ca.n.a.l Race. I offered each of the Seven Grand Merchant Guilds an opportunity to join in, but all of them refused. Their answer was that the next race would never happen so long as the rights of Grand Ca.n.a.l remained in Port City.”
-Ah! That’s right. Port City has all the rights over the waterways. Hm, sounds like you only did Port City a favour?
“Yes. So I asked them again if they would join in if I managed to take the rights on the waterways from Port City, but they seemed certain that it would never happen. One of the sayings I like is that there can’t be a result if there isn’t a cause. So I looked for many possible reasons,dismissing the implausible as I went, and I ended up with just one answer.”
-What is that?
“Why is Port City so important?”
-Do you really not understand the value of Port City? Port City is…
“The centre of trade? The Empire isn’t small enough to be swayed by a single city, even if it’s Port City. There are many more trade cities other than Port City in the Empire. I’m sure the Seven Grand Merchant Guilds have more than enough power to find alternate trade routes if Port City were to create their own merchant guild. Am I wrong?”
Mazelan hesitated to speak, but Isaac’s eyes pressured him. Mazelan responded with a deep sigh.
-You’re right.
“So that naturally led to another question. Why are the Seven Grand Merchant Guilds so desperate to stop Port City from forming their own merchant guild when they have more than enough power to out-compete and isolate Port City?”
-And you’re saying that the answer is smuggling?
“Yes. Human greed is endless, and the money they made over the rights of the waterways was sure to be insufficient. They would have looked for alternative ways to make more money, and the best way to do so using their advantage in transportation would be smuggling. When that thought crossed my mind, it reminded me of one of the businesses I was planning.”
-A new business? Other than the Grand Ca.n.a.l Race?
“Yes. I came up with many other ways to make money, and smuggling was one of them.”
-Y, you dumba.s.s! You were planning to smuggle when you’re an official of the Empire!
“Its high risk is justified by the high return. Smuggling is so good because you don’t have to pay the tax for it. Then I started to think, would those smarta.s.ses in Port City really fail to come up with this when even I managed to think up the idea?”
-… s.h.i.+t! Did you really just play around during Campus?
Mazelan grumbled on, but Isaac was too preoccupied with pulling out another cigarette to replace his spent one.
“Well, with that conclusion, I could understand why the Seven Grand Merchant Guilds were trying to stop Port City from trying to establish their own merchant guild. Since Port City only has rights over the waterways, the production facilities for smuggling must be placed elsewhere. Producing and distributing these sensitive goods for smuggling could only be possible in the hands of someone as powerful as the Seven Grand Merchant Guilds. I a.s.sumed Port City no longer wanted to share the profits. So they wanted to step in to the business officially by establis.h.i.+ng their own merchant guild as a front. Their authority over the waterways would make it easy for them to find success, making them a formidable compet.i.tor on top of the Seven Grand Merchant Guilds losing one of their businesses, which was tax-free and contributed to slush funds. This must have been the reason why they couldn’t join in on my business, since their smuggling activities were in the line.”
PR Note: Slush funds are reserves of money usually used for illegal purposes, in particular political bribery.
-…
“Well, this is all just a theory on my part, and I could be wrong. But if what I came up with was indeed true, then there is one fundamental thing I really don’t understand.”
-What is that?
“Was the Department of Supplies truly oblivious of the smuggling business that was taking place? It makes no sense that the Department of Supplies, which controls the flow of goods throughout the Empire, didn’t know about this happening in Port City. And if the Department of Supplies was aware of this, then it would naturally mean that Port City, New Port City, the Seven Grand Merchant Guilds and the Department of Supplies are all connected. Am I wrong?”
Mazelan seemed to be in a serious thought when he spoke back to Isaac.
-Wait here. I’ll contact you again once I switch to a secure line.
“Take your time.”
After enough time had pa.s.sed for Isaac to finish his second cigarette, Mazelan reappeared on the screen. He hesitated again and again, but Isaac’s silent, unmoving response forced him to speak first.
-Everything I about to say to you is cla.s.sified and should never be leaked to the public. If this information were to leak, even I won’t be able to protect you. Do you still want to hear it?
“What am I supposed to be afraid of when I’m going to die in 3, no 2 and half years anyway?”
-Because you could end up dying much sooner!
“Well, I know it won’t be me speaking first.”