Game Fortune Becomes Reality Episode 48
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Game Fortune Becomes Reality Episode 48
15. An Unpredictable Irregular (2)
Before looking at the Sky Fortress Catalog, I checked the status of my available funds.
The wealth I gained through fortune was 62.5 trillion Rute (currency unit).
However, to secure liquidity for these assets, I laundered the money and declared the income to the nation, paying about 15% in taxes.
Thanks to that, 10 trillion alone went to taxes.
My father had expected taxes of around 20%, so even just saving this much through tax avoidance is something to be grateful for, but it's still a painful loss.
After that, about 53 trillion remained, and since I set aside 5 trillion of that for corporate acquisition costs, the remaining funds come to 48 trillion.
[Metal Fortress 2nd Generation]
-Price: 11 trillion Rute
[Metal Fortress 2.5th Generation]
-Price: 12.5 trillion Rute
[Metal Fortress 3rd Generation]
-Price: 15.7 trillion Rute
"Currently, sky fortresses available for immediate delivery are three 2nd-generation units, two 2.5th-generation units, and three 3rd-generation units."
Even the wealth that made the whole nation buzz would be gone if I bought four sky fortresses.
Moreover, if I bought four sky fortresses, I couldn't even dream of the Force equipment for the Vanguard, whose sets cost over 50 billion each.
'These really are disgustingly expensive.'
No wonder people say that even having one sky fortress is a dream for small territories.
The Lawrence territory, which is large for a viscounty with a population of one million, has an annual budget of 5 trillion, and of that, the amount allocated to the military is between 700 billion and 1 trillion a year.
That means a sky fortress is something the Viscounty of Lawrence could only acquire by saving steadily for over ten years without even paying monthly wages to its three hundred knights and six thousand soldiers.
Of course, if you purchase a weapon as expensive as a sky fortress, additional budget would be allocated, but it's still just as burdensome.
'The combined military strength of the four viscounties I challenged to a territory war was four sky fortresses and two hundred Vanguards, right?'
If I bought four sky fortresses, plus the one granted by the King, that would make five but that doesn't feel like a level of power that inspires confidence for having challenged them to a territory war.
After all, the enemy's two hundred Vanguards could be considered equivalent to the offensive power of four sky fortresses.
"Is the difference in combat power between sky fortress generations significant?"
"Their offensive power is nearly identical."
"Then what distinguishes the generations?"
"The higher the generation, the higher the output of the Force engine that serves as the core. Thanks to that, flight speed is faster, and slightly heavier armaments become possible."
"So you're saying the offensive power is similar, but the difference lies in defensive power?"
"Yes, that's correct. The biggest difference between generations is the thickness of the armor. So even though offensive power is similar, due to the armor difference, a 3rd-generation unit can demonstrate 20% higher combat power than a 2nd-generation, and 15% higher than a 2.5th-generation."
"A 20% difference it feels like a lot, and yet not..."
"In fact, it's a difference that can be overcome with good strategy. But on the actual battlefield, this difference cannot be ignored. The faster movement speed is also a major weapon."
But there's no need to worry about being a little short on funds.
After all, I have three trump cards to close the power gap with the enemy in this territory war.
The first is the property confiscated from the vassals who belonged to the pro-Marquis of Ereiven faction, including Anna and Cedric.
Thanks to Anna, who had been acting as the lady of the house, and her followers diligently managing things all this time, I now have spare funds enough to easily equip a hundred Vanguards.
The second is the assets held by our House itself.
When I say the House, I mean not only the Viscounty of Lawrence, but also the Marquisate of Lawrence given to me this time, as well as the County of Klein in Arcia.
The private fortune that the House of Lawrence, which holds a city of considerable size, has accumulated over several generations as lords cannot be ignored either, and I can also draw on the budgets allocated to the viscounty, county, and marquisate.
If that happens, the funds I can manage will grow significantly from 48 trillion.
"We currently have about 70 trillion in available cash."
A full 70 trillion, no less.
With 70 trillion, I could buy as many as six sky fortresses.
"You have plenty of room. What would you like to do?"
But would I be satisfied with this much?
No, I still have one more trump card left.
"I'll buy them all."
"You mean in installments, then."
That is precisely the blessing of civilization.
It's a system called installment payments, based on credit.
"The transaction amount is so large that you'll need to pay half of the sale price upfront."
"Since you paid a lot of taxes recently, you'll be eligible for a partial tax exemption."
The benefit for large tax payments that my father had told me about.
It grants a tax exemption on half of the amount of taxes paid.
"Hmm... Ah, that's right. You can get a discount of about 5 trillion lutes."
"So what does the math come out to?"
"If you pay 50.05 trillion lutes as the upfront payment, the remaining 50.05 trillion lutes can be paid in installments over up to 10 years."
"Yes, please do that."
Thanks to that, even after buying eight sky fortresses, I had 20 trillion in change left over.
'The deal is so huge it doesn't feel real.'
Even excluding the upfront payment, they're letting me finance a whopping 50 trillion...
On Earth, this would be the kind of transaction possible only between nations or giant corporations, but as the lord of a great territory with a population of 7 million, my position is equivalent to a head of state or a corporate titan on Earth.
In other words, my credit is more than sufficient.
"So the recipients are 1 for Viscount Lawrence, 2 for Count Klein, and 5 for His Excellency the Marquis of Lawrence, correct?"
As much as I'd like to sweep away my territorial war opponents with a total of nine sky fortresses including the one the King granted me along with the territory I can't keep all eight of these for myself.
Because the Marquisate can only hold a maximum of six sky fortresses.
And I mustn't forget that I've also drawn on the Viscounty of Lawrence's assets and budget, as well as the budget of my new territory in Arcia.
Of the eight, I'll take five, Arcia gets two, and I'll give one to my father.
With this, adding the sky fortresses the King granted to me and Arcia, the Marquisate holds six, the County holds three, and the Viscounty holds one filling each to their maximum allowable number.
"You know your stuff."
"There's no one in this kingdom who doesn't know His Excellency the Marquis's situation. Though I must say, I didn't expect you to bring in that much cash to buy eight sky fortresses."
Naturally, I plan to fully equip the Vanguard's gear with the remaining funds.
Then I'll be no lord in name only, but a great lord with military power befitting the rank of Marquis.
"Once this news gets out, those four viscounties you've got your eye on will be sweating bullets."
"They certainly will."
This transaction moved 50 trillion just in upfront payments.
Naturally, this wasn't a deal for a commoner to handle, so Count Basilisk, the royal agent of the state-run enterprise Metal Fortress, handled my account.
Known as Myriad Mirror, he was a typical mage, currently at 6th class, but he possessed the talent to reach 7th class at any moment.
Even facing a Grand Mage younger than himself, there was no jealousy in his emotions.
Rather, it was plain to see that he looked upon me with favor and wanted to become closer.
"But I'm surprised that as many as eight sky fortresses are available on the market."
A sky fortress is a weapon of war even more massive than an Earth aircraft carrier.
Even if this world's magic-based technology is on par with science fiction, it takes at least close to a year to produce one.
Moreover, since an enormous sum goes into the production cost of a sky fortress, I couldn't understand why they had this much stock sitting around.
"Originally, six of these were slated for delivery to the Royal Army."
"But can you really sell them to me?"
"If you were unable to purchase as many as you needed here, you'd import the shortfall from another country, wouldn't you?"
"That's right. I need them immediately."
"We judged it more profitable to delay the Royal Army's delivery schedule than to let domestic capital flow overseas. And it also becomes our company's revenue in full."
Before being a noble, he was a merchant.
I appreciate his candor.
After all, nobles are usually people whose outside doesn't match their inside.
Having concluded the deal by depositing the upfront payment, I offered him a handshake.
"Let's meet again sometime."
"I hope so too."
Of course, Arcia is always by my side, following me like a shadow.
Count Basilisk shook hands with Arcia after me.
We met as customer and seller, but he seemed like someone worth befriending.
Having secured the main force for the territorial war, I immediately moved on to purchase the Vanguard's Force equipment.
"Huh?"
"Oh?"
But at the entrance to Metal Fortress, I ran into an unexpected figure.
"Marquis Otis!"
"Oh my, Marquis Lawrence!"
He was my superior who had fought in the same unit as me, and the former Count Otis who had become the centerpiece of this merit reward now Marquis Otis.
"Come now, speak comfortably. Aren't we comrades who charged through the battlefield together?"
"He may be a Marquis, but... is that really alright?"
"Count Otis won't do, but Marquis Otis will."
"Haha!"
We exchanged cheerful greetings and asked after one another's well-being.
The conversation was nothing special, but having endured hardships together, the atmosphere couldn't help but be warm.
But how long had we been talking, Marquis Otis and I?
I had to tilt my head at his expression suddenly hardening.
"Wait. Are you saying you just came out of there?"
"Ah..."
With his promotion to Marquis, his allowed military force cap had been raised to Marquis level.
We met by chance, but it wasn't hard to guess why he was visiting this place.
"Did you come to purchase a Sky Fortress?"
"Yes, I heard there was stock."
"I just bought it all."
"Ugh! I knew it!"
Marquis Otis pressed his palm to his forehead in an exaggerated gesture.
It wasn't a situation he'd hoped for, but he didn't seem particularly upset.
"Nothing I can do. I'll just have to put in a reservation."
He could buy from overseas like I had intended to, but unlike me, he cared about how others saw him, so he said he'd stick with domestic goods.
Apparently, the royal court looks unfavorably upon importing expensive Sky Fortresses, regardless of performance.
"Oh right, you haven't met her, have you? This is my daughter I mentioned before."
With that, he introduced the young lady who had been standing a step behind with his guards.
"A pleasure. I'm Adrian Lawrence. This is my fiancée, Arcia Klein."
"A pleasure. Lord Marquis Lawrence, Lord Count Klein. I am Michelle of House Otis, offering my greetings."
And so I laid eyes on the daughter of Count Otis, very famous throughout the Kingdom of Rhinehearts.
Flamboyant sky-blue hair you'd expect to see in Rondel, with deep navy eyes.
Even as an adult, there's a childlike innocence in his face, and his figure stands in stark contrast to that.
She's known as a psycho, with more infamy than fame, but just by looks, she was simply a very pretty young lady.
But casually checking her stats with the Myriad Mirror, I couldn't help but twitch the corners of my smiling lips.
[Michelle Otis / Inquisitor]
Race: Human
Age: 18
Affiliation: House Otis, Marquisate, Kingdom of Rhinehearts
Talents: Inquisitiveness (Supreme), Learning Ability (High), Intellectual Capacity (High)
Traits: English Interpretation / Deductive Reasoning
Relationship: Interest / Neutral
Status: Favor / Curiosity
She only had three talents, but they were packed with one supreme and two high-grade ones.
I was surprised to see the talent of Inquisitiveness for the Inquisitor class, but what truly baffled me was...
The trait 'English Interpretation'.
'Is the English she knows the same English I know?'
Marquis Otis gave me an unexpected answer to my unspoken question.
"Up until recently, she was dead set on finding Grand Duke Lucas's opportunity. But as you know, didn't the opportunity seeker appear in the Prius Republic? Thanks to that, she fell into despair, and I hated seeing her like that, so I've been dragging her around everywhere."
An English Interpretation trait holder searching for Grand Duke Lucas's opportunity?
Perhaps if it hadn't been for the cheat code of being Earth-born, she might have been the one to claim the opportunity.
"Ah, the opportunity found in the Prius Republic is a fake, you see."
"There she goes again!"
At her reaction, which felt like a jab to my solar plexus, I forced a smile and spoke.
"That's quite an interesting story. The Prius Republic's opportunity being a fake."
"The opportunity does exist. But it's hidden in a secret place no one would expect. It's not something you can find by recklessly digging around everywhere like the Prius Republic did."
"And where might this secret place be?"
"The details are a secret. But I can tell you this much it's a place a noble would have no choice but to find difficult."
A place nobles would find hard to reach?
Knowing the truth, I immediately thought of virtual reality.
After all, nobles largely viewed the virtual reality system 'Hollywood' as a place for commoners to escape reality and indulge in delusions.
'What is this woman?'
I thought she was just a strange woman, but it seems that's not the case.
I narrowed my eyes and observed her every move.
"Um, I keep an online diary. Would it be alright if I sent you a follow request, Lord Marquis?"
"Of course. You're welcome to."
But she showed no suspicion toward me.
The emotions displayed through the Myriad Mirror showed no particular issues either rather, watching her face flush red, I could tell she was thinking of something else.
"I prefer people like Lord Marquis or Lord Count, who rose through their own efforts, over people like my father who rule by bloodline without any ability."
"This girl, really?"
"It would be nice to share a conversation sometime... What do you think, Lord Marquis?"
Even as she bickered with Marquis Otis, she twisted her body only when looking at me I said something I didn't truly mean.
"I'd be happy to. I'll send you an invitation as soon as possible."
"Yay!"
She was someone who required further observation.
"Well then, we'll be on our way."
And so we parted ways.
"Should we dispose of her?"
"No, let's watch her a little longer."
Once the two disappeared from view, Arcia spoke up.
Caught in a moment of conflict at Arcia's question, I soon shook my head.
"Welcome to the Royal Magic Tower! Ah, Lord Marquis Lawrence and Lord Count Klein? I'll escort you to the VIP room."
With the appearance of someone who touched on uncomfortable feelings, my furrowed brow refused to relax even while purchasing Vanguard's Force equipment.
'No, there's no need to worry. After all, an Opportunity wasn't something easily obtained through simple investigation.'
It was only after a long while that I calmed my heart, forcing my attention back to the upcoming territory war.