Chapter 85: Down to Business (Patreon)

Willem and Arend travelled alone on a small, humble carriage. Viviene had chosen to remain behind in the Dubois territories, at least until the estate could be settled and the king’s men had decided the fate of the duchy. Willem worked on some papers as the carriage moved, while Arend watched the surroundings.

“So, are we just about done in the Dubois territories?” Arend asked.

Willem nodded. “Not just about. We’re done.” He looked over at Arend, a curious expression on his face. “This has been a very pleasant reprieve. I haven’t had access to credit in such quantities for a long while. Doing business in this place is usually quite trying.”

“Why?” Arend asked.

“To start… logistics,” Willem said, then went silent. After a few moments he looked up again. “Roads aren’t roads—they’re glorified game trails littered with potholes and thieves. No maps worth a damn, no supply chains, no reliable couriers… and don’t get me started on the weather. I think that I need to expand the Society of Assured Prosperity if I want halfway decent supply networks, but that comes with its own problems.”

“Okay…” Arend nodded.

“And currency here is a waking nightmare,” Willem continued. “There’s a standard coinage, but it’s hardly enforced, and bartering is still commonplace. I tried introducing double-entry bookkeeping to some of these wineries and they looked at me like I’d summoned a demon.” He shook his head. “And credit? Nobody trusts paper notes, and cash flow means lugging sacks of silver across bandit country.”

“Okay, but…” Arend began, but Willem quickly cut him off.

“Credit, convenient currencies… these two things together increase trade around the kingdom. I was only able to do what I’ve done because I had access to the treasury of the duke. Most people can’t access credit at all. That’s a shame. A damn shame. But…” Willem’s eyes went distant as he contemplated an idea.

“If that’s true, then…” Arend reasoned, still stuck.

“I’ve already seen that magic can be replacement for electricity in many cases,” Willem reasoned aloud. “Now that I have a sizable amount of cash flow, I might be able to invest in some research and development. I’m usually fond of taking over pre-existing businesses, but I have a pretty good grasp on credit markets, and…” Willem trailed off into muttering.

Arend went silent, clearly lost.

“Payment network companies… credit cards, debit cards… no other businesses in the world had such high margins,” Willem said, brainstorming aloud. “The card companies never held the money, never took on any risk. They just processed payments. They collected a take on every single purchase that was made around the world, and that made them richer than rich. They provided the payment network, while local institutions provided the actual credit or debit.

“And the king…” Willem reasoned, eyes rolling around in his skull. “I could earn his support. Payment networks allow you to suppress political enemies. If you don’t like what they’re saying or what they’re doing, you can just cut them out of the economy at a moment’s notice. Still… would take decades of development, changing cultures… if it even worked.”

Arend finally managed to get a word in edgewise, and asked, “What does that have to do with roads?”

Willem gave a very deep sigh. “I really miss Dirk.”

***

Willem walked into the Verdant Spring Guesthouse, his steps heavy. When he looked around to see who would be awaiting him there, his face brightened immediately upon seeing the figure of his dreams.

“Dirk!” Willem shouted, and then ran across the room to tackle the man. He picked him up, swirling around in a great hug. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you, my boy!”

Dirk wheezed, his lungs crushed.

“Oh, my bad.” Willem set Dirk down the ground again.

Dirk wheezed, trying to recover his breath after being winded. Suzanne, who Willem hadn’t noticed, walked into his view. “Why in the name of the goddess is your greeting more enthusiastic than mine?”

“It’s simple. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I love my son Dirk more than you do,” Willem declared. “You’re a snack-sized romance, whereas I am a full-course emotional banquet.”

Suzanne brought Dirk a glass of water. “He probably came to visit because he thought you wouldn’t be here.”

“There’s been a suitably small hole in my heart that only a certain Dirk can fill. I’ve had no one that I can talk to about business. All it’s been is drama, drama, drama.” Willem shook his head and rubbed his brow. “Well, on the bright side, this drama may have quinquagintupled the size of our business.”

“Quinquag… what?” Dirk straightened, drinking Suzanne’s water.

“Multiplied by fifty,” Willem explained. “I am roughly 106,332 gold in debt,” he continued.

Dirk choked on his water, spilling much of it. “What?!”

Willem looked down at his shoes, which had become slightly wet. “I used that debt to acquire businesses which I estimated are worth around 2 times that, which were selling at quite a distressed price due to… external factors,” Willem continued. “And my valuations don’t account for further growth that will undoubtedly occur because they’re under my wing.”

Dirk narrowed his eyes. “I forget how arrogant you are.”

“Anyway, that’s enough about me. Why are you here?” Willem asked. “You’re not neglecting your duties, I trust?”

“I managed to wear down Galahad enough to teach me how to make a personal portal that spans between here and Gent.” Suzanne shrugged. “It would be quite a feat for some mages, but considering my condition, it’s not so grand. I have an abundance of mana to employ, and that’s the largest barrier for creating personal portals.”

Willem smiled grandly.

“No, she can’t help you use that to cut down on transport times,” Dirk answered, reading Willem’s mind. “A portal taxes its creator’s magic every time someone walks through, and the larger that thing is, the more taxing it is on the mage that created the portal.”

Willem looked between Suzanne and Dirk. “Do you think that’s why she chose you? Because it’s less taxing for someone as small as you to go through the portal?” He shook his head. “Never mind. You see, this is why I’ve missed you, Dirk. You know what I’m thinking before I even say it. We really are fate-entangled financiers.”

“It has been a little… dull, I'll admit, without you around,” Dirk said, patting Willem’s arm. “I’ve loved it, really. I never realized how enjoyable boredom is.”

Willem laughed. “I see, I see. But do you think you’ve gotten enough experience working at the Society of Assured Prosperity?” he asked.

Dirk shifted on his feet. “I mean… I think that I’m getting the hang of it. It’s quite a lot to learn.”

Willem nodded intently. “I’d like to take a look at your books when we have the time. But more importantly, I want to talk to you and Gustav about a startup idea that I’ve had. For now, read this. I wrote down some thoughts.” Willem handed Dirk a paper, and then rolled his shoulders. “I guess being youthful has rubbed off on me. Now I’m genuinely considering angel investing.”

“You’re very quick to fob off some work on me,” Dirk pointed out. “I’ve just spent all day working at the Society of Assured Prosperity. Do you think I wanna dive into more work?”

“Work?” Willem reached out and knocked his knuckles on Dirk’s forehead. “You hear that? Opportunity knocking, boy. But fine. If you want to miss the opportunity to be in on the ground floor of a revolutionary, world changing business, I won’t stop you.” Willem straightened his coat.

Dirk sighed. “I’ll look over it.”

Willem smiled broadly and then pat Dirk on the shoulder. “Well, I’m going to go visit with my esteemed companion in chaos.”

Dirk raised an eyebrow. “Who’s that?”

“You remember Petronella?” Willem pointed.

“Yeah,” Dirk nodded.

“I never mentioned this, but she was a Thoroughbred Chimera,” Willem said.

“Trueborn Chimera,” Suzanne corrected.

“Yeah, whatever,” Willem waved his hands at her. “Long story short, she was kind of involved in a conspiratorial spy ring and I helped her out, and now she’s been talking with the king. I want to see how things went.”

Dirk gaped for a little, but then he closed his mouth and shook his head, accepting what had happened in stride. “Alright then. Good luck with… whatever the hells you just said.”

***

When Willem walked through the royal palace and finally entered the room that had been designated as Sarah’s, he had to double take upon seeing what was within. The room was filled with a great many mirrors, and he could see a very peculiar image on full display infinitely. Namely, he could see Sarah with her top off. It wasn’t especially titillating because her chest was torn wide open, revealing throbbing lava.

“Willem. I thought I might not see you again,” Sarah said, not looking away from what she was doing or stopping at all.

“And here I thought I was the only person you bare your heart to,” Willem said as he walked up, watching the gaping wound.

Sarah smiled faintly. “I don’t have a heart, as you can see.”

“So, what are you doing now? Ventilating your… whatever the hell you call that?” Willem asked. “You’re not worried about a fly or mosquito buzzing in, getting trapped inside?”

“They’d just die.” She shook her head. “No, I’m checking how much time I have left.”

“And?” he asked.

In way of an answer, Sarah molded her flesh like clay, and the opening closed up. Then, she pulled back up her dress, concealing herself. She turned around, looking at him in the eye. “What can I do for you?”

“Missed you a little,” he said. “Not as much as Dirk, but still a little.”

“Not as much as Dirk,” she repeated.

“Yes. When I saw him, I was overcome with emotion, and spontaneously ran up and hugged him,” Willem outlined, trying not to smile.

“A hug,” she repeated.

Willem nodded. “Yes. I ran up spontaneously, and gave him a hug. A very large one.”

“Did you now?” Sarah continued, not moving.

Willem laughed upon seeing her annoyance deepen. “Yes. It symbolizes our deep bond, our robust connection. He understands me in a way that no one else can.” He demonstrated a hug in the air. “I grabbed him like so, fiercely. And then, I picked him up so high and hard that he couldn’t breathe.”

Sarah lunged and wrapped her arms around him, and then picked him up the same way that he demonstrated doing to Dirk. She was absurdly strong. She squeezed tight, so tight that he couldn’t breathe, then set him down a few moments later. Willem let out a wheezing laugh when she put him down.

“If I lunged at most, their aura would trigger,” Sarah remarked. “You’re a fool and an idiot, and I hate you a great deal.”

“Yeah, yeah… we both know what that means by now,” Willem said, then spent a few seconds getting his breath back. “I’ll come out with it, spare us some awkwardness.”

“Come out with what?” Sarah pressed, considerably less cold.

“I’m not too fond of the fact that you dealt with Princess Clara behind my back, but I realize that I did essentially the same thing to you with Galahad.” He shook his head and walked up until he stood very close to her. “What do you say we call a truce? No more dishonestly, no more veiling intents.”

“What good is a promise? My words don’t mean as much as yours,” she pointed out. “I’ve lived my life lying.”

“Does that mean you shouldn’t promise?” Willem asked.

Sarah took a deep breath and sighed. “Very well. No more,” she agreed with a nod.

“Good.” Willem looked around. “Now can we get out of this room? Feels like I’m going to go mad standing in here, seeing us reflected infinite times. I’m all for shared narcissism, but this is just an eyesore.”

Sarah nodded. As they walked out, Willem asked a follow up question.

“I’ve heard some praise about the good things that you’ve already done. Uprooting the whole of Avarian espionage—you should be proud. But… one of those competent people told me that there’s going to be another Grand Crusade. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

Sarah looked at him. “You asked how long I had left? Three months,” she said. “That Grand Crusade is going to be my only way of staying alive. Avaria already knows that I’ve betrayed them.” She looked over at him. “The only way that I live longer than three months is by breaking Avaria before I die.”

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