Chapter 57 - Volume 4 (2/2)

The two continued to badmouth their higher-ups as they entered New Port City. They finally arrived at their destination, the incredibly luxurious hotel owned by the Rivolden Merchant Guild.

“Hah! I guess their t.i.tle as the city of crime and poverty is but a myth now.”

“It only looks to be the case on the surface. You haven’t been to any of the other districts right? It’s still the same. It’s the poverty we’ve been hearing about all this time.”

“Tsk! If they had the money to spend on something like this, they should have spent it on helping the poor instead.”

The two seemed mistaken that the hotel was owned by Isaac, not the Rivolden Merchant Guild. They walked in with unpleasant expressions and entered the reception hall. The hall seemed to be designed to host conferences; a luxurious carpet was spread in the centre, and plenty of food was arranged at the side.

The hall was filled with a crowd. Some of them exchanged greetings and recalled recent events while others were carefully fighting a battle of surveillance, masked under their smiles and laughter.

“Look over there, it’s the Unface Spire.”

“That’s not all. I can see most, if not all of the most renowned construction guilds and suppliers. I guess the rumour that New Port City was preparing for a giant reconstruction project was true.”

“There is nothing better than construction when it comes to raising the employment rate in a short amount of time.”

As Webster and s.h.i.+eldlock greeted those they were familiar with and asked how they were doing, Cordnell came up to the stand, listless and weak. He seemed to have given up on everything, and his face seemed to imply that he didn’t care about what was going to happen. Everyone in the hall looked at him in pity. Cordnell scanned the hall with a sigh and then began his speech.

“Eh… I will now begin presenting New Port City’s new business announcement.”

Everyone’s eyes opened wide. They expected this to be a reconstruction project announcement, not a new business announcement. Cordnell didn’t seem to care about the crowd’s reaction however. He hung a giant map of New Port City on the wall and began pointing at it with a stick in hand, his face visibly anguished.

“I will now begin the explanation. Please refrain from asking any questions. To be honest, I am doing this against my will, so I don’t know the details. I don’t want to know either.”

“…”

“I will first explain the new business. New Port City is planning to reconstruct some parts of the recently burnt down Meta District.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, expecting this announcement. The construction guilds and suppliers immediately began peppering Cordnell with questions.

“How large will the scale of construction be?”

“What is the expected budget?”

“Will this be a combined project, or a single project?”

“Which criteria will you use to finalise the contracts?’

Cordnell simply shook his head as he received those questions. He began to mutter under his breath; then he burst forth in a tirade.

“This is madness! The whole world’s gone mad if you can make money this way! Let me go! You’re all mad!”

Cordnell’s fellow employees seemed surprised by Cordnell’s sudden outburst and dragged him out of the hall. Even until the end, Cordnell continued to shout “madness.”

While everyone in the hall remained confused by the sudden turn of events, Kalden stepped up to Cordnell’s stand in his stead, wiping cold sweat from his forehead.

“I apologise. Please understand; he was simply too shocked at what had happened.”

“What is the reason you are only reconstructing some of the district?”

One of the construction guilds quickly asked the question, and Kalden hesitated at first, unsure of how to explain the reason. He seemed slightly troubled as he continued.

“Although it is reconstruction in name, these buildings will not have any purpose.”

The crowd began to murmur, unable to understand the reasoning. Kalden sighed and continued.

“To be precise, they are made with the purpose of being destroyed.”

The hall came to a cold silence, and Kalden quickly added on to his explanation.

“New Port City has decided to come up with a new form of ‘entertainment’ to provide the tired and bored guests who have visited New Port City – an entertainment consisting of destroying buildings with magical artefacts they’d never seen before.”

“… This is entertainment?”

Someone within the crowd spoke out in horror, and the others nodded in agreement.

“Yes. The city has designated three forms of this entertainment. Form one is just pure, unadulterated destruction, and the second uses heavily fortified building, where a reward is given to the person who lands the finis.h.i.+ng blow on the building. Type three is like an archery compet.i.tion, where players use the magical artefacts to land a hit on the target. The city doesn’t care if the construction guilds and suppliers compete for a contract as a group or individuals, but you must follow the rules laid out by the city. Therefore, we need poorly constructed buildings that would explode in a single hit, buildings which can stand tall even after being hit multiple times, and buildings and targets which use all kinds of barriers and illusions to make it difficult to hit. But, for forms 2 and 3, the guilds must provide a portion of the reward guests will receive. Therefore, we recommend that guilds submit proposals for areas they are most comfortable with.”

Some of the more quick-witted in the crowd realised this was a great opportunity when Kalden’s explanation finished. Type 1 wasn’t much of a challenge since all that was needed was flimsy construction with subpar materials. But type 2 and 3 were different. The more their buildings could withstand blows from magical artefacts, the more it would demonstrate their skills as construction guilds. The increase in reputation would create an advertis.e.m.e.nt effect, leading to an increase in the number of contracts.

Type 3 construction in particular was an excellent opportunity for guilds to test out their ingenuity and show off their prowess to the buyers with interesting demands. The only problem was they needed to provide a portion of the reward, but the profit was worth it if they managed to succeed.

“But can this really make money?”

The question from someone within the crowd brought everyone to a realisation. This was an excellent condition for the guilds, but New Port City was likely to face a deficit in this business.

Kalden smiled bitterly when all attention was on him.

“As you already know, these buildings are constructed to be destroyed. If they are destroyed, they will need to be constructed again. The labour force which will be tasked with clearing the debris and reconstructing will be from New Port City.”

Everyone dropped their jaws in shock at those words. The reason why this unthinkable business was made was to increase the employment rate and maintain it perpetually. Webster shook himself out of confusion and asked a question.

“Everything sounds fine for now, but what was the reason you called the magic spires for this announcement? Can’t you simply buy the artefacts from the spires?”

Kalden nodded at Webster’s question.

“The conditions for the magical spires are different from those of the construction guilds.”

“Different?”

“Yes. Magical spires must provide New Port City with the magical artefacts free of charge, and they must also pay a commission for any sales they make.”

All of the magic spires looked to Kalden in bafflement. They couldn’t understand where New Port City got the confidence to demand not just the magical artefacts but also a portion of their profit.

“What a ludicrous proposal. Your project will fail without doubt if all of the magical spires boycotted this project.”

Kalden simply shrugged at Webster’s threat.

“You are free to leave if you want. But know that you cannot rejoin once you leave.”

“You talk of us providing the artefacts free of charge and paying a commission, but a commission for what? No, how can there be profit in partic.i.p.ating in this ludicrous business project?”

Kalden smiled, as if ready for s.h.i.+eldlock’s question.

“I am sure some of you here have been to Port City a few times for vacation. New Port City’s guests may be mostly commoners now, but the charts are showing an increase in the number of guests from Port City moving here. We expect this trend to increase if this new business project were to commence, due to the hard times Port City has landed in recently.”

“What does that matter to this?”

“Of course it matters. I think it is very common to expect that the guests will find interest in this new entertainment, no?”

That statement was true. Offensive magical artefacts weren’t cheap, and trading these goods was illegal in most common practices. It was difficult for commoners to get their hands on offensive magical artefacts, and it was also the same for those who considered themselves rich. But now they had the opportunity to use them without any limits. Those who were well off weren’t going to pa.s.s up on this opportunity.

“It means that buyers throughout the Empire who have the wealth to purchase these magical artefacts can test the goods and determine its effectiveness on the spot.”

The magical spire’s employees’ mood changed. The first wizard who created the magical artefact released the technology to the public instead of claiming it as their own. Because of this, many magical spires sprouted like trees in a forest.

Most of the products which the spires created weren’t too different when it came to their offensive and defensive capabilities. Until now, all magical spires could do to make sales was to host a conference and show off their capabilities; then, they would send a salesperson to the buyers’ doorstep and beg them to purchase it. But now, the buyers would be able to compare and contrast all of the goods, determine their capabilities, and buy whatever feels best for them. This was an attempt at creating a new market, where buyers and sellers didn’t need to be separated but gathered at a single point for sale.

New Port City had the residential capabilities for everyone attending, and magical spires could reduce the costs of maintaining a sales department.

Webster was impressed by this win-win business project, and asked a question.

“Who came up with this idea?”

Upon hearing the question, Kalden rearranged his words to avoid insulting Isaac, his employer and sunbae, directly.

“No ordinary people like us could have such ingenuity.”

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