Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt - Chapter 143
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Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt Chapter 143
26-Noble
“You really are a philanderer. You even bought a lady’s title… … .”
“Yes.”
Arthur nodded indifferently at Count Hanbaya’s words. He meant to imply, “So what can you do?”, but Count Hanbaya did not understand.
“I tried to find you a good match, but it’s too bad.”
This is fucking crazy.
Arthur brushed off Count Hanbaya’s nonsense, saying that he was grateful for the sentiment, but that it didn’t seem to be fate.
The next day, after entertaining the Count in this way, Arthur explained the situation to Zarn and warned him that nobles would be inquiring about setting up a bank. He said he would be very busy.
Fortunately, the king was not fully aware of the power of the bank because it was in its early stages of establishment. If he had known, he would not have easily allowed the nobles to establish a bank.
In a position where the right to issue currency had to be secured in the gap between the nobles and the king, it was necessary to coordinate carefully so that the initiative did not go to one side, especially the king at this time.
Fortunately, the King had some free time as his attention was focused on revitalizing the national economy through the issuance of scalons and on where to utilize the sufficient finances.
Arthur, who had warned Zarn, immediately went to find another person, none other than Viscount Karl Frant.
“Wow~ A bank that nobles invest in… … .”
“Yes. I brought this information because I thought it might be useful to you when you draw the line against the noble faction.”
“Thank you, but are you okay?”
Count Karl Franz expressed his concern.
Perhaps Count Hanbaya is trying to gain an advantage within the faction by using the information he got from Arthur that the King would not particularly oppose the nobles establishing a bank, but wouldn’t Count Hanbaya be angry if Arthur leaked this to someone?
But Arthur replied with a smirk.
“You have to be able to trust Count Hanbaya.”
Count Hanbaya was a greedy man.
Such greed also ran the risk of hindering Arthur’s plan to allow the nobility to increase their capital through banking and thus keep the king in check.
This meant that Count Hanbaya might try to pursue his own interests over those of his faction.
For example, he tried to establish a bank alone or with acquaintances, hiding information. In the process, he could secretly make a deal with the king if necessary. The result was a division of the nobles, that is, the power of the nobles was weakened.
However, Arthur, who knew the term “Tosagupeng”, wanted to keep the noble faction alive and wanted to prevent Count Hanbaya from monopolizing the information.
In response to Arthur’s words, Count Karl Frant responded with a sly grin.
“Can I trust you?”
“If I didn’t think it was trustworthy, I wouldn’t have come here.”
Count Karl Frant snickered at Arthur’s impudent remark and asked.
“Then you’re not going to give a word to the neutrals?”
“I originally had someone in mind, but… … .”
Arthur thought of Earl Stan, but he did not like the idea of becoming too friendly with him.
“I thought that your Majesty would also need a justification to draw the line against the neutral faction.”
“Haha. Not bad. I’ve already drawn the line, though.”
His son, John, hesitated for a moment when his father told him to go to the neutral faction, but soon began to become friendly with the neutral faction members?
“Thanks to you, it will help him solidify his position in the neutral faction.”
“Is that okay?”
“what?”
“Wouldn’t problems arise if people in the same household have different political views?”
At Arthur’s concern, Count Frant looked at Arthur and said.
“Do you know what the greatest virtue of a family is?”
“well?”
“It’s about survival. So you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
Arthur nodded, licking his lips. He understood. Even if the Frants chose to remain in seclusion, it would be a bad move in the long run.
Because there is a risk of being seen as prey due to lack of presence or power.
Isolation was not a very advantageous way to survive in many ways, such as in terms of securing information or obtaining resources. It might have been better to draw a line on both sides and listen for the sounds of bats.
Count Karl Franz asked.
“Then how should I pay for your help?”
“You don’t have to do that. It would be helpful if the nobles were transparent about the establishment of the bank.”
“I see.”
Count Karl Franz nodded and said.
“Introducing Scalon. Did that come from your head?”
“… … .”
Arthur shut his mouth, perhaps because he was taken aback. Judging by the expression on the face of Count Karl Prant, it was already too late to back down.
“How did you know?”
“Honestly, I’ve been wondering about this for a long time. Park Jaran. He’s been known as a great merchant since long ago.”
“Then it’s not strange that a grown-up would come up with a good business idea?”
“But you see… … it’s not people with great reputations who change the world, it’s strange people.”
Oh. Arthur looked at him again, struck by the insight of Count Karl Prant.
He continued.
“Having a good reputation means that you have lived up to the expectations of those around you. That means that you think similarly to those around you. Think about it. How can someone who thinks similarly to others in the world make a big change? Wouldn’t someone who is considered strange and eccentric by those around them be able to do so? Even a flounder that muddys the lake is just a flounder that struggles. So in that sense, someone who has grown up is an ordinary person from the beginning. Oh, that doesn’t mean he has no ability.”
Count Karl Franz said, tapping his head with his index finger.
“What’s in here is ordinary. But you… … were known as a rather strange person back home?”
Hehe, looking at the smiling count, Arthur thought, ‘So what?’ but for now, he made an embarrassed expression.
Count Karl Franz continued.
“What’s great about you is that you’ve revealed your extraordinary talents in such a way that they don’t make people angry.”
“I can’t raise my head because you keep praising me like that.”
“Yes, just like you are now. Your expression is embarrassed, but your complexion isn’t red, is it?”
“… … .”
Well, maybe I acted too roughly? But it’s hard to change even the facial expression…
There was no way of knowing whether it was Count Karl Franz’s keen eye or whether it was just his own convictions, but either way, it seemed that Count Karl Franz’s assessment of himself was set in stone.
“You were the one who stopped my sister and my son from running away in the middle of the night, weren’t you? My son told me everything.”
It seemed that he had really researched a lot about Arthur. Arthur was at a loss for words, so he kept his mouth shut.
At his expression, Count Karl Franz smiled pleasantly.
Count Karl Franz. He was a formidable opponent.
The man seemed weighty, but it was hard to read his true intentions. What was certain was that he had thoroughly investigated Arthur’s background and was meticulous enough to have a good idea of what kind of person Arthur was.
The smile that formed at the end was perhaps a smile of satisfaction? He interpreted it as an expression of his belief in Arthur.
About two weeks later, Jaran informed me that two new banks were set to open, named Noblesse and Haibon. Noblesse was a bank for neutral nobles, while Haibon was a bank for noble nobles.
However, the line between the two factions was not completely drawn. There were cases where investments were made on both sides or against each other depending on profit or political necessity. Perhaps, in the case of Viscount Karl Frant, he drew a line on both sides.
Anyway, because of that, Jaran became very busy. This was because two large banks suddenly opened and he had to support the related personnel.
It was inevitable that there would be criticism if the same human resources support that was provided to the Maron Bank and the St. Scala Bank, which were established first, were not provided only to banks established by nobles.
Since it was a practical area, there wasn’t much for Arthur to help with, but it wasn’t a big problem. There were many nobles who had some kind of expertise in the loan business, just like the church, so they would somehow find someone.
What did Arthur do while things were going on? He focused on his main job.
As the technology was transferred to other companies and the music box market matured, workshops emerged that challenged Balta Music Box and Tsuuraz. Although they could not keep up with Tsuuraz in terms of productivity, they targeted the high-end, expensive product market with their splendid craftsmanship, decorations, and large-scale music.
But could Arthur just let that go? Sorry, but he was also a man with an organization. Not trying to suppress a rival who was challenging him would be dereliction of duty as a guild member.
So, I have prepared something.
“Wow… … This is amazing.”
Holden stuck his tongue out at the prototype Arthur brought.
Two wooden dolls were dancing facing each other on top of the box. They spun around to the sound of the music box coming out of the box, fell down, spun around again, and it was a beautiful and fascinating sight.
“How did you come up with this idea?”
“It’s just a music box combined with an automaton?”
An automaton is a combination of a clock mechanism and a doll. Also known as an automatic doll. It was an expensive toy, so only nobles who had the money and interest to spend money on novel toys could afford it.
Is this a kind of product aimed at kidults? Anyway, it was not something that was not there.
Since both the music box and the automaton were turned by gears, it was not difficult to combine the two by simply connecting the drive shafts.
But Holden shook his head and contradicted Arthur.
“The guild also tried to make an automaton, but it just didn’t work out.”
Automatons with many parts and complex assembly were difficult to mass-produce as industrial products.
First of all, demand was limited, and even if it was possible, skilled craftsmen had to work hard. Just as figures have a sharp difference in price depending on quality, automata also had a sharp difference in price depending on quality, and expensive ones tended to sell better than cheap ones.
In other words, it was said that only when a master makes something will it sell.
In Holden’s eyes, who knew that, Arthur’s work had enough quality to sell.
The doll didn’t just rotate, but its neck and limbs also moved gracefully. How could it be this sophisticated?
“Once it’s finished, I’ll look for a place to sell it.”
“It’s not for sale.”
“yes?”
“I will present it to the queen.”
“aha!”
Holden slammed his fist into his palm as if he had realized something.
“It’s publicity!”
“Um… … Well, that’s probably it.”
As for selling it in earnest… … Yeah, should we do it at Samuel’s Department Store, which is said to be doing well recently?
He said he left it to Mato Trading Company because of the Scalon business, but it is true that Samuel has a significant stake in it, so he should help him out on this occasion. Rather than being grateful for the help, he seemed like he would grab him by the collar for increasing the workload, but the truth is that there was no sales outlet as good as Samuel’s department store.
“And please tell our guild too.”
“What should I say?”
“If there is any craftsman who wants to make an automaton music box, I recommend that he try his hand.”
Since the Tsuraz Craft Guild introduced industrialization, many craftsmen have lost the opportunity to show off their skills. But wouldn’t it be a waste to let those skilled craftsmen just carve gears?
Arthur’s plan was that if he took this opportunity to produce a high-end automaton music box, he could produce something with higher added value and make a profit.