Count Müller looked troubled. Cultural exchange between worlds was a difficult matter; I knew that from personal experience. Actually, most adults in society had to deal with this kind of thing at least once in their lives—a boss telling you to plan a meeting with some big shot clients you know nothing about, really putting on the pressure.
Not wanting to play the part of the slapdash boss, I decided to help out. “If it’s all right with you, sir, I can ask them directly.”
“Really? That wouldn’t be a faux pas?”
“Not at all, sir.”
“Um, Sasaki, I can help, too!”
“Thank you, Lady Elsa.”
Since we were having this whole conversation in front of the count’s daughter, it was impossible to keep anything secret. I’d have to relay Count Müller’s words exactly as he’d said them. Though I wasn’t worried about my neighbor and Abaddon, I was a bit concerned about what Ms. Futarishizuka would ask for.
Our chat with the count finished, we left the Kingdom of Herz and headed straight to the Kepler Trading Company in the Republic of Lunge.
Ever since I took up a post there, the staff always recognized me and let me into the building without any questions. As I headed inside, the employees paid their respects with formal bows, which I returned with a slight nod. I then made my way to the appropriate department and requested an appointment with Mr. Joseph. A meeting was set up straightaway.
We were shown to the usual reception room, where we found Mr. Joseph already present. I handed over my supply of diesel fuel and received a detailed statement of my employee remuneration. Looking it over, I was overwhelmed by the quantities of gold changing hands. They were so large, it had become impossible to check all the details. When I reached the final total, my only thought was, Wow, that’s pretty amazing.
Once our routine exchange was over, Mr. Joseph looked up at me and said, “Turning to your proposed excavation project, the digging has begun in earnest on the Republic’s side. Based on the reports from the site, they’ve only just started, but the project has attracted a large number of workers.”
“You have my thanks, Mr. Joseph.”
“Though there is something of a bias in the backgrounds of the magic users that have gathered there. I find myself curious about it.”
Mr. French’s father had told me before that Herz-born magicians were helping with the tunnel project—and that many of them had come straight to the kingdom from their current homes in the Republic of Lunge. In response, I’d asked Mr. Marc to pay them a higher wage than what they would make in Lunge to work on the Herzian end of the project. This effort seemed to have succeeded in eliminating the imbalance of labor that would naturally have favored Lunge.
“I must ask you to overlook it,” I said. “It won’t lead to any losses for the Republic. While it may not mean much to a merchant, sir, ordinary people such as myself tend to be surprisingly attached to the land of their birth.”
“I have plenty of love for my own homeland, Mr. Sasaki.”
“My apologies, sir.”
“The transmission equipment you supplied us has greatly affected the position of this company in Lunge. There is plenty of local dissent regarding this project. I hope you will remember that.”
“I intend to keep it well in mind, sir.”
All the funds for the tunnel project were coming out of the personal coffers of Margrave Sasaki-Alterian. I was paying the Kepler Trading Company a tidy sum to assist the Marc Trading Company, which was heading the construction. There probably wouldn’t be any issues on the business end of things.
“Please excuse my rudeness,” said Mr. Joseph, “but do you truly think this proposal will succeed?”
“It may, and it may not.”
“Doesn’t it scare you to think about what might happen if it fails? I don’t know how much I’ll be able to protect you. The Republic’s power structures are more complex than the Herzian aristocracy.”
His complaints told me he was concerned about more than just finances—he must have political obligations as well. He was still holding back for now, but I could tell he was warning me not to cause him any more problems.
I remembered King Adonis explaining that Lunge’s government was based on a central assembly. Mr. Joseph headed the Kepler Trading Company, and his position was equivalent to royalty in Herz.
In other words, the central assembly was composed of many people in similar positions, jointly steering the Republic. There were doubtless trading companies on the assembly who viewed Kepler in an unfavorable light. I could easily imagine them all vying for power.
“I really am sorry to trouble you with all this, Mr. Joseph. I’m confident I know when to quit. But if your assistance ever becomes infeasible, I would appreciate your pointing that out.”
“To be perfectly blunt, right now, nobody thinks this venture will succeed. And I know it may be rude for me to say this, but I’ve heard whispers both in and out of the company that you are nothing more than a foolish outsider with more money than you know what to do with.”
That was exactly the reputation I was hoping for. Indeed, those whispers were right on the money, as it were.
“Thank you for your candidness, sir.”
“Personally, I would rather not do anything to harm your reputation, but I’m afraid I can’t make any promises.”
After being wrung out by Mr. Joseph, we left the Kepler Trading Company behind. And with our work in Lunge finished, we returned to Baytrium in the Kingdom of Herz. Making use of the time difference between worlds, I took the opportunity to consider possible ideas for the view-count contest. However, even after a few days of thinking, I still had nothing. And soon it was time for us to head back to Japan.