The Editor Is the Novel’s Extra

Basic Investment (4)

Kleio spread across his bed and loosened his tie. Impersonating an ambitious young businessman felt extremely unnatural for him.

‘But I got it done. Whoa…’

“So now is it your turn to tell me the bottom line?”

“It’s natural that I do. And I’d like to ask for help too…”

“I won’t say anymore… Do I have to write the confidentiality agreement and use the [Commitment] magic formula again?”

“This time, let me use the magic formula.”

“A person who has never had to go near a business can memorize the difficult magical formula well.”

“Because I am a student.”

“A student! Ha! What a good excuse.”

Even before the ether cooled down in the contract’s magic formula, Dione pushed off her chair. She came up to the bed where Kleio was lying down.

“You mean the tiplaum mine?”

“In two months, the bureau will announce its mining estimate.”

“Tiplaum! The vein must be of tremendous value.”

“That’s right. However, according to the information I’ve obtained, the veins extend only to the northernmost part of the Pintos mountains, the King’s Forest, so it’s royal land. The mined tiplaum will belong to the government.”

“We’ll have nothing to eat.”

Dione pretended to be saddened. He couldn’t tell her now, but according to the manuscript, tiplaum was treated as a strategic resource, so processing and smelting industries would be nationalized during the war. It means that if he invested in the industrial sector, he would barely be saved.

“Yes, but real estate is different. The traffic and supplies sent there will increase explosively, but the central station is in the middle of government offices, so there is no room for expansion, right?”

“If so, they must build a new destination!”

Kleio nodded.

“…And you know where the station will be.”

“More or less. It’s in Orails.”

“Orails… The location on the northeast side is good, but the divisions are complicated, and it would be difficult to select the area of a historic site as the royal estate is in the middle.”

“It’s expected that there will be a station on the site owned by the royal family. The Crown Prince will transfer the royal estate to the railway station and the yard to gain public sentiment and support from the business world.”

“Then!”

“When the station construction plan is announced, the land price in its vicinity will surge. I want the lady to come out instead of me, who can’t move directly. How about it?”

He confirmed it with the related parts of his Memory function several times. Within a few years, Lundane East Station would be the final point for trains departing for the mine, becoming the center of the industry and its logistics. In front of the east station was the 300-meter-long at the end, the De Neju Hotel would be built. In the original manuscript, the minister of commerce, who found out the Crown Prince’s will in advance, bought the land around the station under a different name, then leased it to Katarina, who wanted to build a hotel. It had been a very detailed situation in the manuscript because the protagonist’s party uncovered the politician’s background.

‘It will fund a corrupt politician who will eventually get assassinated… it’s better if I used it instead.’

It wasn’t just that. By the end of the manuscript, the land price of Lundane, the safest land in Albion, soared beyond comparison.

‘Just now is the last train.’

Dione accepted his proposal, as expected, after a few minutes of thought.

“Where did you get all that information? Is there a basis?”

“There is a solid basis. I’ll let you know gradually.”

“Okay, trust me. When I return to the capital, I will write a formal contract right away. The contract will not include only the purchase but also the delegation of land management in the future. Do you want it?”

“It’s good that the progress is fast because you’re one step ahead of what I’ll say. When we return, we will mark the land to be purchased. Then, let’s finish it.”

“Oh, it’s already over three o’clock.”

“Please sleep.”

Was it because he finally relaxed? Kleio had already closed his eyes when Dione, who stood in the doorway after turning off the gas lamp, suddenly recalled her question.

“By the way, we haven’t seen any results yet. How did you know that the tiplaum vein is in Dubris?”

Kleio, who was falling asleep, picked an excuse.

“…Let’s think carefully about the place where you released the knights to capture me.”

“Is it possible you were in the Pintos mountains to do a geological survey?”

“Maybe so…”

“I made a big mistake because I didn’t know your intent. I will apologize even now.”

There was no answer. In the dim light of the room, Kleio still looked young. He was a completely different person from when he was awake.

***

They returned to the capital the day after the party. When Behemoth asked if he had prepared a present, he handed over the champagne Cel had given him. Kleio, who was weak when it came to stamina, spent another day sleeping before Dione, fully prepared, woke him up. Both of them faced each other head-on in Kleio’s bedroom. Kleio insisted that the highest grade penalty should be placed on the contract. The money involved in the deal was 5 million dinars, but it could easily go as high as 50 million dinars in the future.

“Young master, you’re awkward. Do I have to do this with real estate transactions and management commissions?”

“There is no family in money. Besides, isn’t it time to let go of our only real estate transaction?”

“Ho, you know how to say pointless things.”

“I believe in you as a long-term collaborator. It would be nice if that wasn’t a one-sided belief.”

“Yes, good. It’s a top-notch penalty contract. It has not only my life but also yours on the line.”

The two officially wrote the ether imprint contract. It had the magic formulas of [Confirmation] and [Performance] on a parchment coated with mana stone crystal powder. When the contract was activated, the formula was imprinted on the hearts of both contractors. If either of them didn’t implement the contents of the agreement, both their hearts would stop. With the new contract made and the terms negotiated, the contract was stored in Kleio’s vault.

“Then, I will report the situation. There are 12 landlords in the area that you marked on the cadastral map yesterday and 21 tenants. These are the people left behind with nowhere left to go, even though they were almost completely evicted after the Orails fire two years ago. If you want to buy the entire lot by the time you want it, it will cost you some extra compensation or require eviction.”

“How much more do you estimate it will cost?”

“10% of the land price. Will you proceed anyway?”

“I’ll leave the full 5.5 million dinars, so be sure to cover the compensation cost at your discretion. To avoid noise, pay a generous amount of relocation fees to tenants. The most important thing is the deadline.”

“Wow, cash without any loans.”

“How do I take loans without collateral? Besides, waiting for the loan review will give time for things to go wrong.”

“I understand that you mean to go fast. Fortunately, cash is powerful.”

“Thank you, Lady Dione.”

“You have nothing to thank me for, but if I will continue to do business…”

Dione’s tone gradually changed from partner to teacher as Kleio felt a now-familiar ominous feeling.

“I entrust everything to you, Dione. Don’t try anything else.”

“Even if you’re not in business, you must learn to dance. That is basic knowledge for a gentleman. How could you have never mastered dancing?! Do you know how embarrassed I was that night? It’s too late to memorize it now! You have a long way to go!”

“I’m making money, so I don’t have to do things I don’t like. What dance? Accept the limits of your student.”

“What?! Don’t make ridiculous excuses. You can’t escape all banquets like the last one-.”

“Alright, fine!”

With Dione pushing him to start dance lessons, Kleio quickly left the bedroom. He had a messy sense of timing, so it was impossible to do anything like dancing. Dione caught up quicker than expected. Kleio ran down the central stairs two steps at a time, yelling. In his hurry, Kleio stumbled forward, and his body momentarily floated as his momentum carried him forward. It was so sudden that he couldn’t even say his mantra to activate his defense magic. Kleio reflexively tensed to prepare for the coming shock. However, before he hit the ground, someone sprung up like lightning to catch him.

“Are you okay?!”

It was the red-haired Isiel Kision, whose eyes were open wide in surprise.

“Isiel? Why are you…?”

Even with her thin arms, she easily grabbed Kleio. It seemed that she had used the [Strengthening] technique of injecting ether into her body. It had only been a few weeks, but she already seemed a bit different. Her long red hair touched his cheek and tickled the tip of his nose. Isiel, who looked anxiously at Kleio in her arms, returned to her expressionlessness as she relaxed her grasp.

“You look fine.”

“Ahh.”

Isiel took a step back, leaving Kleio. Then, Dione, who had rushed down the stairs, trembled as she fussed over Kleio.

“Do you have any injuries? Young master, I’m sorry! I have to call someone!”

As she fussed about him, the cat also woke up. Behemoth, who had been sleeping under the stairs, raised his tail and came out to criticize the humans who interfered with his nap.

“Meooooow? Meooooow (Why would you wake me up? Ignorant humans).”

The mansion’s central staircase was crowded by a clumsy girl, a fussy maiden, an embarrassed boy, and a cat that had just woken up.

“Kleio! Did you think you were having enough fun not even to include me?”

Another voice chimed in, further adding to the mess. It was Arthur.

.

.

.

After reopening the mansion, their first guest was the prince, so Mrs. Canton brought out the finest teacups and extraordinarily crafted refreshments. However, Arthur didn’t touch them. Isiel, standing behind him, remained silent as if she didn’t want to be involved in such a low-level conversation.

“Hahahahaha, did you fall because you didn’t want to learn how to dance? That is the funniest thing I’ve heard this summer. You pretend to be smart, but you didn’t even have basic skills!”

“That is the way it is.”

“Did you even hear me?”

The two shared jokes without fail, even though it was the first time they met. Kleio drooped in his seat, enduring Arthur and Dione’s annoying chatter.

“Stop laughing. Why the hell are you here?”

After a few moments, Arthur’s expression sharpened.

‘If the manuscript contents are correct… by now, you should be doing military training? Why are you here?’

Knowing that Kleio was glaring at him, Arthur pulled out an envelope embossed with a gorgeous gold leaf. On the outside, it had the name Kleio Asel written in neat handwriting.

“Okay, okay, take it. It’s an invitation from His Majesty.”

“Why is it for me?”

“Students who stand out in the Royal Capital Defense Force’s school are invited to his birthday party.”

He quickly reviewed the manuscript, but found no such event described. Then, there was no reason to go.

‘Besides, King Philippe, was seriously ill. He can’t even get out of bed, so what kind of party is it?’

Kleio shook his head without touching the invitation on the table.

“I’m not going.”

“I thought it would be like that.”

“Then, why did you come?”

“Whether you want to or not, you will eventually go.”

Arthur’s words affirmed it as Promise glowed white.

[-User’s narrative involvement has increased.]