Episode 10.8 (1/2)
The emptied teacups were taken away and replaced with new cups with the tea refill. Piles of cake put on a huge plate was placed in front of Lecan. Lecan moved that plate before Eda. Eda swiftly took a piece, but then it looked as if she was brooding over something.
(This girl. She must be thinking about taking this cake back.)
”Zack Zaikaz.”
”What is it, Lecan.”
”Can we take this cake home.”
”Hou? No, we'll prepare the share for you to take with. Don't worry and eat that.”
”Sorry for the trouble.”
Zack sipped the hot tea, leaned his body on the sofa and shut his eyes.
Eda made a revering stance toward Lecan before gleefully reached her hands toward the cake.
”Zaikaz House of old was the lord of Kogurus.”
”Hou.”
”Were you not aware then. You must hail from a distant land. Somewhere awfully far and away.”
”Right.”
”But a certain man betrayed the lord, deceived him, killed all members of his family and snatched the lord's position. The king gave his approval since the man went about it cleverly.”
”I see.”
”The lord had several concubines. One of them was sent back to her parental mercantile home, she secretly gave birth to a boy.”
”Umu.”
”That was my grandfather.”
”Hou.”
”My grandfather had a talent in the art of dealings. He opened his own shop, grew it, and built his powers.”
”And then.”
”Grandfather reached the point of exerting complete control over Kogurus Town's economy. He eventually succeeded making that usurper's household fall into a trap, slaughtered them all and regained his rightful property and authority.”
Perhaps that usurper also had a reason to exact revenge on Zaikaz household himself, thought Lecan, but he kept that to himself.
”However, it proved difficult for the king to change the lord once again. Further, grandfather had too many restrictions in all sort of ways imposed on him to seize the lordship.”
”Those things happen.”
”Hence, grandfather revived Zaikaz house and made my father the family head, then he voluntarily put his company under Zaikaz House patronage. He instated someone from a house related to the usurper as the lord and sent his trusted retainers to be the lord's aides.”
”That's quite an undertaking.”
”It was. It was a gigantic undertaking. Grandfather managed to accomplish that in one generation.”
”Glad for you.”
”House of Zaikaz do business like it's no business.”
”Hou?”
”To Zaikaz House, business is war.”
”I think there's many companies with the same idea though.”
”Zaikaz House do business without getting caught up in classic business ethics and practices.”
”You're saying you don't mind dipping in crimes?”
”Long before Zaka Kingdom was founded, town rulers would go to war with each others, competing for domains to take over.”
”Figured.”
”Now that we are under one country, one cannot make their enemy yield, rule over them and seize lands through sheer force. This is an age where you fight with material and money.”
Lecan understood what Zack was trying to say.
<Business> to Zack is not a contest between stores. It's a struggle between individuals over power and fortune. Where they bite into each other's territories, where the loser has to yield to the rules of the winner. They use force in the unseen parts. It's exactly what makes war war.
Since it's a war that decides on one's survival, naturally spies and assassins would be involved. He would lie and break promises. He'll go on the offense when his enemy shows any sign of weakness and deploy strong individuals. Zack does not think of any of that as a bad thing, not in the slightest.
”Fumu. I get your thinking. But I don't see why you would go out of your way and use your time to tell me your story.”