Isaac - Chapter 135
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New Port City shares were an excellent investment choice.
Holding shares in the reunification of Port and New Port City was the equivalent of acquiring an endless stream of money. There were many parties who watched the reunification process with keen interest.
-The Department of Supplies will be the first to contact you if you ever need money.
âI wonder. I doubt Iâll ever run into such a situation, but Iâll keep that in mind.â
-Iâm sure you will have your difficulties, even if New Port City is overflowing with money and you are absorbing the Lichtens for free.
âThat would be the case if Iâm alone, but I have a few friendly stakeholders too.â
-Hng. Youâre bringing in the elves and North Bears?
âThey have the right to be involved. Theyâve helped me since the beginning and have shares of New Port City. Oh Iâve also let the Pendletons in too because of that damselâs face.â
-Wow! Now isnât that harsh? Have I not helped you? Iâm disappointed in you, really!
Mazelan shouted out. Isaac took out a new cigarette with a troubled expression.
Heâd let his tongue slip. Oh well.
â3%. No more than that. Not even the elves and North Bears have more than 8%.â
-That seems enough.
Isaac couldnât help but feel that heâd been tricked, as Mazelanâs enraged face instantly transformed to a bright smile.
Isaac had an uncomfortable feeling as he left the Communicator Room. The sight and sound of Mazelanâs mischievous laughter echoing in the warning had been seared into Isaacâs eyes.
It was, how to say, a smile thatâd come back to infuriate him later, an embodiment of âI told you it was a bad idea.â
âWhat is it? Is there something Iâm missing?â
Isaac couldnât find the reason no matter how much he pondered. Which made it all the more frustrating.
âIâd really hate to see him have the last laughâŠâ
âWhat was that?â
âHm? Itâs nothing. And when did you get here?â
Isaac asked, and Cordnell replied, flabbergasted.
âIâve been waiting for you here since ages ago!â
âYou were?â
âWeâve been waiting silently because you seemed deeply concerned.â
Rivelia, who had been standing by next to Cordnell, added. Isaacâs head cocked to the side.
âWhy?â
ââŠâ
Rivelia closed her mouth, dumbfounded, and Cordnell quickly took the chance to shout.
âYou started a provincial war and now reunification as well?! Canât you just take things one at a time?â
âDonât worry about the provincial warfare, itâs not like itâll happen immediately.â
âYou werenât even thinking about fighting the war whether it was approved or not anyway! Arenât you just waiting for the Lichtens to crumble from within?â
Cordnell pointed out, and Isaac flinched and looked back with great astonishment.
âHow did you know?â
âHow long do you think Iâve been working under you? Youâll just entice, antagonise, shift the blame, and unleash all sorts of vile schemes on the Lichtenâs vassals to destroy them!â
â⊠Amazing. Was there such a way?! Youâre a genius!â
âStop avoiding the subject!â
âHa, I guess everyone with a brain had already predicted so if even Cordnell is aware of it. But the Lichtens are bound to fall victim to it anyway.â
Isaac commented with a smile. Cordnell sighed deeply and stated defiantly.
âYou will need to have different people responsible for reunification and Lichtens, respectively. We havenât even finished adapting our administrative system to manage a fief. If my workload increases anymore from here, I will go on a strike. The same goes for Kalden too.â
âHa. To think youâd blackmail me with a strike when youâre already receiving the best pay in the Empire. This is why people say human greed is endless.â
âWhatâs the point of getting paid if I donât have the time to use it!â
âGood. Every coin you fail to spend will stack up nicely in your account. Is there a job with a better retirement plan than this?â
âI feel like Iâll die of overwork before I reach retirement.â
âDonât worry. If you do, the city will happily use those savings of yours as a development fund!â
âKuack! Iâll never die!â
A fire was lit in Cordnellâs eyes. Cordnellâs resentful scowl bore into Isaac, who slyly changed the topic of the conversation.
âHm. If you or Kalden canât do it, then pass over one of the jobs to this damsel here.â
Isaac pointed Rivelia with his chin, and Riveliaâs brows twisted and glared back at Isaac.
âIt would have been possible if New Port City was still a Free Trade City, but now that itâs become the Rondart fief, I canât intervene.â
âHm? Why?â
â⊠Itâll change from the work by your orders, Director, to work that the Pendletons intervened in.â
âTsk! I swear, that nametag of yours makes it impossible to give you work.â
Isaac clicked his tongue and complained. RIveliaâs body quivered fiercely as she tightened her fists.
Cordnell slowly inched away from Rivelia in fear of an outburst when Isaac spoke after pondering.
âShould I make Smartass do it?â
âThe pushback will be massive no matter where you put him. Especially since Mr Soland is a member of a criminal syndicate on the outside.â
Cordnell, who had created enough of a safe distance already, shook his head after some thought. Isaac spoke as if he had no other choice now.
âLeave it to the fatty. Iâm sure heâll do well. With all the trading heâs been doing with the Lichtens, heâll be comfortable enough with his connections.â
âYes sir. But youâre not thinking of actually going into war right?â
âDonât worry. War will never happen.â
âCan you really say that after requesting for an authorization for provincial warfare? Even if the Lichtenâs armies are destroyed, theyâll easily assemble thousands by rallying the defeated troops and their combat knights. And the armies possessed by their vassals are even larger. If they advance toward New Port City for war, weâll crumble to a single siege.â
âThey wonât be able to reach here.â
âHow are you so confident?â
âBecause thereâs still the Wolfgang Family. Those idiots arenât just attacking me right now. The Wolfgang Family has more than enough reason to join in. If the Lichtenâs armies somehow come to a consensus and advance toward us, Wolfgang will smack the back of their head clean off.â
ââŠâ
âThatâs why you donât have to worry about a war breaking out. And even if they scrape together an army and come, so what? You think they can push their might in this city full of elves and North Bears? Iâll bet you theyâre busy shifting blame amongst one another and avoiding responsibility right now. The fatty shines in blackmail and leveraging relationships, so you can just wait for a bit before offering to leave them alone with most of their fortunes intact.â
â⊠Are you sure itâs an offer? What if they refuse?â
âWhat other choice do I have if they reject the offer to leave with all their possessions instead of being exiled penniless? If they want to stay, they can stay. I have many ways to ruin them. You better try your best in persuading them if you donât want them to reach that fate.â
Cordnell sighed deeply watching Isaac snicker away.
âWho do I leave Port City to nowâŠ?â
Isaac contemplated on who to leave Port City to. He couldnât make non-humans do it.
It was beyond possibility, as they had no talents in such matters. Isaac thought about other members of the administrative body, but they were all exhausted from just managing their own workload at this point.
But Isaac didnât want to do it himself, and he couldnât make Rivelia do it.
Just as Rivelia had said, her noble birth had changed the weight of her actions. She was first and foremost the successor to the Pendleton family, and a representative of the Rondart fiefdom second.
Isaac thought about dumping it onto Kalden or Cordnell outright, but it seemed clear that theyâd retaliate with a strike. Whether it was good or bad, those two really didnât care for what came at them after ten days of starvation.
So Isaac scanned the area for a suitable candidate, when he saw Laila.
Smile!
Laila could feel her spine tingle when their eyes met. Isaac declared.
âAlright. Iâll leave Port City work to the brat.â
âEeh!â
âSorry?â
â⊠Me?â
âItâs something youâll need to do for the rest of your life when you go back home, so it wonât be a bad idea for you to have some practice. Iâll give you some advisors, so give it a try. You help out sometimes too, damsel.â
Everyone looked at Laila in worry.
Becoming the one responsible for this work meant bearing the animosity and harassment that resulted from it.
It was too heavy a burden for a child.
But on the other hand, there really wasnât anyone else suitable to be a candidate. Even though the matter would be over so easily if Isaac took over, Isaac clearly didnât have any intention to work. So they had to look for a suitable candidate, which were few in number.
Laila was one of such candidates, with the only flaw being her young age.
The money-obsessed opponents would struggle desperately with all their might, but what if their opponent was the successor to the future Dukedom of Wolfgang?
And if the successor to the Pendleton family stood by her side, they didnât need to worry about Lailaâs exposure to such unsightly displays.
âIâll do my best.â
Laila nodded with a firm determination, and Isaac spoke as he took out a new cigarette.
âBegin the negotiations from scratch again.â
âWhat? ThatâsâŠâ
Port Cityâs negotiators would put all in their effort at manipulating the young Laila if they redid the hard-fought outline of previous negotiations.
âDonât worry. The final decision comes from me anyway. If I donât like it, we can just start again.â
âThatâs true.â
Everyone nodded their heads. Since it was Isaac who had the final say on the terms of the negotiation, it didnât matter how much Port City bullied and manipulated Laila into submission. All Isaac had to say was no.
âFinish it by next year before you start attending Campus. It will be a good experience for you.â
â⊠I have a request.â
âWhat?â
âI want to learn from here instead of Campus.â
Isaac glimpsed at Laila when she asked. He exhaled a long trail of smoke and spoke.
âI guess itâs about time for you to know. The reason why Iâm asking you to do this for experience is so you can engrave one fact into your head that youâll need to manage your dukedom.â
âWhat is it?â
Isaac let out another trail of smoke, and then he looked Laila straight in the eyes and spoke.
âHumans arenât a race to be trusted.â
ââŠâ
Lailaâs eyes shook, unable to discern the meaning behind Isaacâs words. Isaac raised one corner of his lip mockingly and continued.
âThe average commoner may be able to live in a society based on trust, but that will be impossible for you, brat. If things go well, you will become the second hereditary Duchess. Do you know what that means?â
â⊠I donât.â
âYou cannot trust another human being. No, you must not trust them.â
ââŠâ
Isaacâs cruel teachings turned Lailaâs face pale and Rivelia shouted out in refute.
âWhat are you telling a child?!â
Isaac glimpsed at Rivelia and spoke.
âShall we use this damsel as an example? Successor to Duke Pendleton. Single. These two conditions alone attract othersâespecially men, who flock around her at all times. Why?â
Laila pondered for a moment and answered.
âBecause sheâs beautiful?â
ââŠâ
Lailaâs unexpected answer made Rivelia blush, but Isaac scoffed and nudged Laila on her forehead.
âWrong. She may be pretty but there would still be plenty of men willing to approach her even if she was ugly, even hideous. Why?â