Dwarves’ Land
We could put the collateral aside for the meantime; after all, I didn't have any shares to use as collateral, yet. In saying that, I was quite surprised by the fact that so many people suddenly developed an interest in our land. Honestly, I was quite surprised when Edward came to buy land from me. The coal and steam engine appeared quite suddenly. There was nothing I could do, though. In winter, I was only active in the town. The one time that I went to the imperial capital, I was busy running around for Leah and Veirya. Because of that, I had no time for anything else.
Veirya was the lord of the North. Queen Sisi didn't seem to care about the new land that humanity obtained. That was why she just randomly segmented it up to the city we were at. The North was basically Veirya's territory, but the population in Veirya's territory was fairly small, and she lacked a respectable city. The town we resided at was considered the most prosperous place as it was.
The piece of land Francis was interested in was ours. Also, it was the cheapest and worthless thing to us because the climate in the North made it impossible to plant many crops. In addition, there were no holiday resorts or the sort. As such, there was only one reason for them to buy land in the worth, which was the Earth's gift: Mines.
Perhaps the North was a sea or something in the past. Perhaps the cold land had mines rich in minerals that other places didn't have. Being original residents of the North, they might've known the wealth and worth of the North better than I did, since I only just arrived.
It was difficult to develop the North; it was too expansive. That wasn't what was most important, though. The biggest obstacle I faced was that no information pertaining to it was left behind. The humans who formerly lived in the North and the current humans were different. The current humans had a relatively simple civilisation; there wasn't much left behind in terms of written records. So accordingly, there was no way for me to examine things. To compound the issue, there was the small population. Nobody ever discovered anything.
If professional explorers didn't discover something, nothing would ever be found. In addition, qualifying the explorer's activities was a gamble that was extremely unlikely to succeed. A lot of money was needed to qualify them. The dwarves most likely began investigating the North a long time ago. Our territory did connect with theirs, after all. The dwarves should've been educated on minerals. That meant they had to be buying land for the mines located below.
"You're right, Tarak. We, indeed, are planning to mine in your land. However, if I may be honest, we aren't sure if there are minerals there or not, for we never went there to examine the area."
I placed the empty wine cup on the table. Veirya and Francis were perfect drinking partners. The two of them looked perfectly fine after drinking such strong alcohol. For me, a mere lick was enough to fry my brain, which was why I had a drink of something else. I furrowed my eyebrows: "Since you have never been there, why do you want to buy the land? Besides the mineral, I can't think of any other point in buying it?"
"I know." Francis patted his beer belly. He dangled a piece of smoked meat in his mouth and elaborated, "It's a fact that we've never been there; however, we have definitive evidence. Our dwarves' business associations are competing with each other, too. The association competing with us decided to purchase that piece of land of yours. They're serious, and they plan to arrive tomorrow. That's why we need to acquire the mineral despite our lack of exact information in case they get a step ahead of us."
"Is it a very important mineral?"
"It's a mineral that can change the nature of warfare. By mixing together several minerals, a violent explosive weapon can be made. Probably best of all, it won't produce smoke; therefore, we will definitely produce a large volume of the ammunition and weapon. To proceed, we must obtain the minerals. We even physically fought that business association at a few manufacturing locations. This time, we must obtain it."
"Haven't you considered that it could be a diversion tactic? You, after all, bought land that you don't have confirmed information for. You could very well lose money and leave empty handed. We're only in charge of selling the land to you. Not guaranteeing there are minerals or otherwise."
When two teams were competing, it was easy to spread false information to hike the price on a block of land and enter a contest with them. The one spreading the false information would triumph the moment their competition took the bait. They wouldn't gain anything from it; but nonetheless, it could cause their competition to waste their money and purchase a useless block of land. Thus, I definitely had to provide Francis with a disclaimer.
As the people in charge of the area, we most certainly weren't responsible for what was found in the ground. Whether or not there was something down there after they purchased the land was none of our business. Subsequently, if Francis was tricked, then we weren't going to be responsible for it. We were merely responsible for selling the land.
"Of course." Francis nodded then stroked his beard to get off the food stuck to it. He drank another cup with Veirya then panted as he spoke: "We won't make things hard for you. You just need to sell us the land instead of us. Oh, yes, that being the case, have you thought about joining our business?'
"Your business? Are you referring to your minerals?"
"Correct. You can invest financially to join our association. Then, you'll receive a designated share. We'll share a portion of our annual income with you. It's perfect as we've already sold a large number of the weapons to the elves. Humanity is also bound to buy some, which means that we'll definitely profit from it."
I believed Francis. Lucia came to me for money to purchase weapons, which I'd assume were the weapons that Francis mentioned. So, the weapons were unmistakably going to be a catalyst for a revolution and roll in lots of money. In essence, it was an investment in firearms.
Firearms had always been one of the highest earning investments. The problem was that I had misgivings. As I previously stated, they might not get anything. I'd earn money from the land, but if my investment failed, I'd never get that money back. I'd hazard a guess that they didn't have a concept of principal for public listing yet. If it failed, I really wouldn't get a single penny back.
Although Veirya didn't say anything, I noticed that she kept her eyes on me the entire time. Previously, I was occupied with thinking about everything and didn't notice her gaze, but I noticed her gaze on me when I relaxed. I looked back at her. She immediately raised her cup of wine for a drink. I wasn't sure what she was trying to express, but Francis noticed her gesture and smiled as a result: "I never imagined I'd see Veirya with such a gentle gaze. We've never seen her so feminine. She didn't say anything, but she truly does love you deeply, huh?"
Veirya expressionlessly responded in a seemingly shy fashion: "Nosy."
Feeling somewhat proud, I smiled: "It's useless to rely on just a beautiful illustration if you want an investor to invest. Compared to the promised scene, an investor would be more concerned about the risks they will need to face."
"I'm not asking you to put all your eggs in the basket. According to your prices, we need to pay you five hundred gold coins for the land. How about investing that sum with us? That way, we won't need to go to the bank to withdraw cash. That, additionally, would allow us to get started almost forthwith. It's fine if you want us to bring money; it's just that we won't be able to let you join us. If we confirm that there is a mineral, we'll have to raise the price, meaning that you might not have the money to join us as a stakeholder."
"Mm…"
It was a decent plan. In saying that, it would be to Francis' advantage, as we'd be grasshoppers completely tied together. If I took the five hundred gold coins and then added an additional investment to it, I'd profit as long as I didn't invest more than five hundred gold coins. In that scenario, it'd just come down to a question of how much.
If I invested five hundred gold coins into Francis' business and ended up losing money, my capital would go poof. Consequently, I'd lose my profit and wouldn't even get the land back because they did purchase the land. The money I lost would've been lost in the investment, and I'd never get it back. Hence, if I agreed to join, I had to ensure that they got what they wanted. Only then would I get what I wanted. That's what's called cooperation. Sometimes, bringing unrelated people together can give you what you want. It was one way of doing things. I could reject the offer, but if I did, I might lose an opportunity.
All businessmen are addicted with gambling, especially that sort of gamble. When one has nothing, they'll certainly be willing to gamble. I wasn't yet at the stage where I could steadily do business. It was still too early for me to give up on my dream. I was willing to make the bet.
I wasn't five hundred gold coins short. Sure, the more money I had, the better. Nonetheless, my life wouldn't be affected if I didn't have the five hundred gold coins. Moreover, my current goal wasn't money. Perhaps I really would be able to get what I wanted through a gamble, I thought.
I nodded: "I'll invest. I'll invest the five hundred gold coins in your business."
"Excellent." Francis cheerfully laughed. Then, he raised his cup, "All right, then. Let's wish the Earth will bless us. This was an awesome trip. We must heartily drink for our friendship and our cooperation!! Come on, don't drink this tasteless junk. Here, Tarak. It doesn't matter if you get drunk."
"I'll pass; I'll pass."
I refused to drink. Veirya went along with it, nevertheless. The two merrily drank from the moment the sun departed from the horizon.