Chapter 26: Operation Canada Bombing (1)
A few days later.
I was reviewing reports in my office when an attendant came rushing in.
“My Lord, a messenger has arrived from Catalonia.”
“Send him in.”
The knight who had come as the messenger bowed respectfully and immediately handed me a letter.
I broke the seal and unrolled the parchment.
[To my dear son-in-law, Viscount Eric Marcel.]
[Because the Port of Catalonia was attacked by pirates, part of Marco's confiscated property was burned. I am sending what remains to Marcel, so please do not be too disappointed.
—Hoping for our everlasting friendship, Luis Miguel Catalonia.]
I had expected something like this, so I asked the knight who had delivered the letter.
“How many ships did you bring?”
“Eight 1,500-ton carracks.”
They burned four out of twelve ships? Those pirates really are impressive.
I felt a little bitter that the number of ships I would receive had decreased, but I couldn't help admiring them.
Burning ships floating on the sea was no easy task.
I wondered what method they had used.
And Marcel Harbor had almost been attacked by those same pirates.
We had been extremely lucky.
I offered the knight some words of sympathy.
“The Port of Catalonia must have suffered considerable damage. Please tell the Marquis that I expressed my deepest sympathy.”
“Understood. Fortunately, the attack happened while the Order of Knights was conducting shipboard training. The merchant ships that were anchored suffered heavy damage, but there were fewer casualties than expected, so the Marquis is relieved about that as well.”
If Catalonia's merchant fleet had suffered heavy losses, charter fees would skyrocket.
That meant this was the perfect opportunity to work the carracks I had received as hard as possible and make some money.
I barely managed to suppress my smile.
If I started grinning in front of this knight, rumors might spread that I was some kind of demon.
“What happened to Luca's son, Marco?”
“Well... about that...”
So he escaped.
“You don't have to tell me. I don't particularly care. Just pass my condolences on to the Marquis of Catalonia.”
“Yes, Viscount. You really are as broad-minded as the rumors say.”
Broad-minded all of a sudden?
There were rumors about me in Catalonia?
I had no idea what he was talking about, but as long as I had left a good impression, that was enough.
I met Captain Adrien at Marcel Harbor.
“Adrien Assel! How are the ships we received?”
“Hahaha! My Lord, you're incredible! Just how did you manage to obtain all these ships?”
Only a very small number of people knew the exact circumstances.
The truth would probably spread eventually, though.
“More importantly, Adrien Assel, I appoint you as the commander of this carrack fleet.”
“Gasp! My goodness, this is an honor to my family!”
Adrien's eyes filled with tears.
I patted him on the shoulder.
For someone who looked like an ignorant pirate, he cried surprisingly often.
It was honestly a little disturbing.
“Complete all the transport contracts we've already accepted without any problems. Since Catalonia was attacked, charter fees will probably rise considerably for a while. Go out and find some business as well.”
“Of course, My Lord. And now that we have more ships, they'll also be a great help when exporting products from our territory.”
“Exports? We'd need enough goods to export first.”
“Pardon? Don't we have that... what was it called? ‘Canada’?”
‘Canada,’ the brand name for maple syrup, shouldn't have had much production yet.
Wouldn't we have too little surplus to export?
“We only started that business recently.”
“No, My Lord. I heard the farmers have been making so much of it that even the auction house is having trouble handling it.”
What?
“When did you hear that?”
“Today.”
Apparently, while I had been distracted by other matters, production had exploded.
Since it was the agricultural off-season, they must have thrown all available manpower into making it.
If we leave it like this, the price is going to crash.
Wait.
A price crash?
That's it! I just thought of something good!
An idea suddenly came to me.
Operation Canada Bombing.
A method of using Canada to disrupt the sugar market and make a large amount of money in a short period of time.
Which city should we use for this? I should ask Diego first.
The thought of making money immediately lifted my mood.
Just imagining a plan to fleece merchants from another city made me grin.
“Hahaha! Adrien Assel! We're going to export ‘Canada.’ Contact the auction house and discuss the quantity and shipping arrangements.”
“Pardon? Yes, My Lord.”
Adrien stared at me strangely for a moment.
But that wasn't important right now.
I immediately returned to the lord's residence and searched for Diego, my Chief Economic Secretary.
He was holed up inside one of the administrative offices, working on reports with several officials.
“Diego! I have a job for you.”
“Right now?”
Diego answered with hollow eyes, his hands and sleeves covered in ink.
Judging from the mountain of reports beside him, he had quite a lot of work.
“Are you busy?”
“No. What do you need?”
“It's confidential. Follow me.”
I dragged Diego behind the building to a secluded spot.
Being naturally timid, he immediately shrank back.
“My Lord, what exactly are you trying to discuss in a place like this...? I like women.”
“Stop talking nonsense. Which port handles the largest amount of sugar?”
“Obviously Alexandria, where the sugar-producing regions gather their products.”
“Not production. Transit trade.”
“Lisboa in the Kingdom of Iberia. All the sugar supplied to the western part of the continent passes through there. Sugar auctions are held every day.”
A grin spread across my face.
Apparently, it looked rather sinister because Diego took a small step backward.
“Diego, go to Lisboa.”
“...Do I really have to be the one who goes?”
“Yes. I can't trust anyone else.”
“Pascal is quite intelligent.”
“He's too emotional.”
Realizing that I was planning something suspicious, Diego frowned.
“I'm not going to lose my head over this, am I?”
“Probably not.”
Diego's face went pale.
Then he clenched his fist and tried to negotiate with me.
“I don't know what you're planning, but if I succeed, grant me a family name.”
“Fine.”
Diego's eyes widened.
“That easily?”
“What's so difficult about giving you a surname? Just get ready to go to Lisboa.”
That was what I said, but turning a commoner into a quasi-noble wasn't something a lord could simply do however he pleased.
There was no meaning in bringing a new face into their exclusive circle unless the existing quasi-nobles welcomed that person.
Just because I declared, You're a quasi-noble starting today, didn't mean the existing quasi-nobles would accept him as one of their own.
It was different from when I elevated Captain Adrien to quasi-noble status.
Adrien had already been treated on the level of a knight and had built relationships with the quasi-nobles of the territory over many years.
In Diego's case, I would be personally forcing him into their circle.
That meant I would have to offer something to the existing privileged class in exchange.
Otherwise, Diego would never truly become accepted among them.
I could decide what exactly to give them later.
“I should have asked for one much earlier.”
“Just think about what surname you want.”
“I've already decided. Please make it ‘Garcia.’”
Diego Garcia.
That sounded like the name of some Mexican gang boss.
“What does it mean? It sounds like a thug's name.”
“It's my mother's hometown.”
“What a beautiful name, filled with the warmth of a nostalgic countryside village! Fine. I'll prepare everything.”
Diego's exhausted face suddenly brightened.
With his hollow eyes and cheerful smile, he looked like a zombie.
It was honestly creepy.
While preparing Operation Canada Bombing with Diego, I bought up all the Canada being produced by the farmers.
We didn't have enough money in the budget for the purchases, so I had no choice but to issue bonds.
Of course, since the money would eventually go back to the residents of the territory, I gave them a reasonably favorable discount rate.
Without at least some interest, it would feel like I was simply robbing them.
Diego estimated how much Canada we would need for the operation.
“We still don't have enough. I think we'll need to gather it for another month.”
“Do we really need that much?”
“To bankrupt the spice merchants of Lisboa.”
“...I'd rather not die yet. Let's keep it reasonable.”
“Then fifteen days.”
The production volume of Canada continued to rise.
The production method had been shared with every village bordering the Great Forest, and necessary equipment such as metal taps and buckets was being rapidly manufactured and distributed.
Even after this Operation Canada Bombing ended, we were steadily building enough production capacity to keep exporting it.
“Try futures trading too.”
“Futures? What's that?”
Apparently, this region didn't have a futures trading system yet.
How should I explain it?
I decided to keep things simple and only explain basic advance trading.
“I mean selling things in advance. For example, if you're selling next month's production ahead of time, how would the price be decided?”
“The merchants would discuss it and decide... Ah!”
Diego's expression changed as he understood.
“A product expected to become popular could have next month's production sold for a higher price. If people expected it to lose popularity, it would sell for less.”
“Exactly. Make advance sales. Next month's goods, the month after that—sell as much future production as you can in advance. And make sure you receive payment in cash.”
“They probably won't pay the full amount when the goods don't exist yet.”
“I'll issue a guarantee under my own name. Take my seal with you as well. Tell them that if they pay the full amount upfront, we'll give them a premium discount.”
The longer the time until delivery, the cheaper we would sell it.
At a normal market price, that could cause us to lose money.
But if Canada ended up being priced extremely high, there would be no risk of losing out.
“And use the same method when purchasing goods we need.”
“Understood.”
I considered telling him about trading the contracts themselves, but that probably wouldn't work in Lisboa yet.
I let it go.
“While we're waiting for enough goods to accumulate, I should make that medicine.”
“The formula you promised to teach Winnie the witch?”
“Yes. I've kept putting it off because I've been busy.”
“Pascal isn't very busy these days. Take him with you.”
It seemed Diego desperately didn't want any more work.
The fact that he immediately threw Pascal's name into the conversation made his intentions painfully obvious.
I laughed.
“Fine, fine. I'll take Pascal.”
Leaving behind a brightly smiling Diego who happily saw me off, I headed toward Winnie's general store with Pascal.
But Pascal kept whining the entire way.
“My Lord, do I really have to come?”
“Why? Are you afraid of the witch?”
“I'm not afraid. It's just that whenever she sees me, she keeps smiling. For some reason, it gives me chills.”
Was Pascal Winnie's type?
“You two seem like you'd suit each other. Why don't you try dating her?”
“No, thank you. The way she talks sounds exactly like my grandmother. How in the world did she grow up to speak like that?”
Winnie looked young on the outside, but she was 185 years old.
Of course she sounded like a grandmother.
Pascal had surprisingly good instincts.
I had intended to tease him about it, but that plan failed miserably.
We soon arrived at Winnie's general store.
“Welcome, My Lord. What brings you here today?”
“The antidiarrheal medicine. I'll teach you how to make it today.”
Winnie's expression immediately brightened.
“Hoho, I've already established the company.”
“But don't touch my shares. Even if you issue additional shares, you are not allowed to dilute my ownership.”
“...You're being rather strict between friends.”
“It's money we're talking about. Let's write a proper contract and make everything clear.”
Since we were already discussing it, Winnie and I drew up a shareholder agreement.
Because I was the lord of this territory, there were no other procedures required.
“What do we do now?”
“Let's go to the Great Forest. I need a tree.”
“You make medicine from a tree?”
“Something like that.”
We took several soldiers and headed toward the Great Forest.
I consulted the tree distribution map we had created when we searched for sugar maples.
Thanks to that, it didn't take long to find the tree I wanted.
“This one.”
“It's a beech tree. Are you going to make medicine from its fruit?”
“No. We're going to turn it into charcoal.”
“Pardon?”
Winnie stared at me in disbelief.
What I intended to make was Seirogan.
It had been a widely sold medicine in Korea during my previous life.
So many pharmaceutical companies produced it that the name ‘Seirogan’ had practically become a generic term.
“You're not seriously planning to make people eat charcoal, are you?”
“No. I'll explain the process.”
The explanation was long, but the basic idea was simple.
When beechwood was burned into charcoal, wood vinegar was produced.
The tar from that wood vinegar could then be distilled to create the medicine.
For a witch who was practically an alchemist, it should be easy enough to make.
“It's surprisingly simple. Where did you learn something like this?”
I learned it from my grandfather in my previous life.
Collecting gorosoe sap and producing wood vinegar had both been side businesses of his.
Grandfather had exaggerated their benefits and sold them almost like health supplements, but the story he'd told me about Seirogan during the production process had actually been true.
It might sound bad to say that I didn't fully trust my own grandfather, but I had even searched online to verify it.
Obviously, I couldn't talk about my previous life.
So I changed the subject.
“The problem is that I don't know the safe dosage. I'll provide you with death-row prisoners, so conduct clinical trials.”
“Ah... They're not going to die, are they?”
“I don't know. Any medicine can kill someone if they take too much.”
Winnie's expression darkened.
But she probably didn't have much choice.
If we successfully developed this antidiarrheal medicine, it could save countless lives.
And, of course, make us a great deal of money.
“Anyway, wood vinegar itself might be harmful to the body, so handle it carefully.”
“Does this thing called wood vinegar have any other uses?”
“If you spray it around latrines, it reduces the smell. It can also be used to drive away insects. I've heard it can be used for growing crops too, but I'm not sure about that.”
Grandfather had also advertised it as being good for athlete's foot and skin diseases, but I had no idea whether that was actually true.
When I tried to check online, all I found were baseless advertisements for questionable remedies.
“...So it won't make us much money.”
“Research it yourself, then.”
“Fine. I'll take responsibility and make this work.”
“If you successfully commercialize it, I'll teach you about other products too.”
It was a simple incentive meant to motivate her.
Sure enough, Winnie's eyes immediately sparkled.
“Can't you teach me just one simple thing in advance?”
“Something simple? Hmm. You might already know this one. The bark of the white willow can reduce fever and relieve pain. They also say that putting it on the soles of your feet can remove dead skin.”
“I've never heard of that. I'll check whether it's already been commercialized.”
Pharmaceutical products were protected by the multinational pharmaceutical guild.
It was best to check first whether someone had already registered the rights.
“Then I'll leave the rest to you. Take care of everything from here.”
“I'll do my best, My Lord.”
Winnie bowed her head.
For some reason...
It felt like she bowed a little deeper than before.
