Chapter 62 - An offer you can not refuse (4)

Dante took a deep breath before speaking, his tone serious and deliberate. "The purpose of the campuses is to educate the populace," he said, looking directly at Crassus. The young merchant raised his hand quickly, a look of shock on his face. "Won't that anger the theocracy? They believe it's their duty to educate the people in the ways of their gods, don't they?" he asked.

Dante's smile turned wicked as he responded. "It doesn't matter. All the people from the theocracy will be kicked out of the north anyway, so whether they like it or not is none of my concern. Honestly, while I have my own faith and beliefs, the pentarchy is nothing but a tumor that limits the development of the people by their dogmatic beliefs. Religion has no place in politics or the running of a state, and I shall make it so." By the time Dante finished speaking, Crassus could only sit there with his jaw dropped.

Dante let out a small sigh before continuing. "My beliefs aren't important here. What's important is that those religious bastards are corrupt, and I can't have that in my domain. If the gods see my acts as unjust, then so be it. My purpose is to improve the lives of my people, and that's it."

Crassus took a gulp of air, urging Dante to continue. "I see, please continue."

Dante nodded, his expression serious. "Right, as I was saying, these campuses will slowly but surely develop innovation within the duchy. And from innovation comes new technology, which will be distributed in the free market." He shook his head lightly. "Unfortunately, that's all the information I can give you right now. Perhaps at a later date, when my nephew returns, he can give you more details. But for now, I believe it's time for you to propose your offer."

"Ah, right, I should do that. But do you mind answering a question of mine?" Crassus asked, his brows furrowed slightly.

"Unless it's about more details, go ahead," Dante replied, nodding lightly.

"Who was the one who created this plan?" Crassus questioned as he flipped over the plans on the papers once more.

Dante paused to think before speaking. "Well, most of the plan I have laid out before you is a product of my creation. It's something I've been working on since I came here, but I never actually went forward with it. However, it was my nephew who gave me the push to start the plan with his ideas."

"The third prince?" Crassus asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Yep. Now, no more questions. Present your offer, and it better be good. You have taken a considerable amount of my time," Dante said, nodding his head.

"Hufff, yes, sir. I'm sure my offer won't disappoint you," Crassus said as he let out a deep breath and started his explanation.

With a resolute expression, Crassus continued, "First of all, if you grant me exclusive trading rights with the duchy regarding all the natural products available here in the North, as well as most other products available in your trading districts, I will give away 75% of my profits for the next 10 years. As for the technology developed and sold in the trading districts, I will pay 90% of my profits for 15 years."

Pausing for a moment, Crassus looked at Dante's face to see if there were any changes to his expression. Seeing that it hadn't changed, Crassus continued, "This will not only help introduce your products as Northern exclusive products, increasing their value, but it will also allow your 'dirty' money to be introduced into the market by no one else but a subsidiary of the Gustav Merchant Company. This will help build trust in your currency."

After Crassus finished speaking, Dante raised a finger to pose a question. "What do you mean by dirty money?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, are you not trying to debase the old currency?" Crassus cross-questioned.

"Yes, that is what I am trying to do," Dante replied with a slight nod.

"So that is indeed dirty money because it will replace all the old money in the market. That is just what we merchants call it," Crassus explained.

"I see, go on then."

After taking a sip of water, Crassus continued, "Right, as I was saying, once we start introducing your currency into the market and trading with it more often, it will increase the value of valorian gold and the other coins, right up until valorian gold becomes the primary currency used all across the empire."

Pausing for a moment and leaning forward towards the Duke, Crassus started to speak once more. "I am also willing to open an office right here in the heart of the duchy to facilitate easier communication with the head office in Rulm. Besides that, we will obviously have stores in all the trading cities you create, and will follow whatever taxation laws you have."

"At this point in time, where there is likely a war that will be declared on the north by two different forces, I am sure no other merchants will be coming to you with such long-term offers. You must understand that we are taking a considerable amount of risk in this regard," Crassus said, finishing his side of the offer.

Dante sat silently for a moment, tapping his arm with a serious expression. "Hmm, give me some time to think about this. I will have my response ready for you in two days," he said after finalizing his thoughts.

"Alright, I understand. Please take as much time as you need," Crassus replied with an understanding nod.

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That same night, John and the rest of the group arrived at the edge of the forest, revealing a massive mountain system that had not been visible until now. The mountain range loomed before them, an impressive sight that left them all in awe.

"Uhhhhh, sir, I think we're here, but I don't see any entrances. You should get out and take a look yourself," Hans shouted as Friedrich brought the carriage to a halt.

John and Nicholas got out of the carriage and took a moment to take in the fresh air. They stood before the massive mountain range, but John didn't waste too much time dwelling on that thought. Instead, he snapped his fingers a few times to get everyone's attention.

"Okay, everyone, pay attention to what I'm about to say now. To get into the city of the High Dwarves, we need to find the switch that disables the illusion temporarily or the dwarves let us in, with the latter being very unlikely," John said, looking around to see everyone's reaction.

After a brief period of silence, Nicholas was the first to speak. "So, how do we find this switch?" he asked, standing before John with his arms crossed.

"I was just getting to that. There should be a pile of rocks that are all about my size around here. We should find that first, and then we'll go from there," John said, lightly nodding his head. "We should split into groups of two. Sir Nicholas and I will form one group, while Hans and Sir Friedrich will form the other."

"Shall we split up now?" Nicholas asked Hans and Friedrich.

"Yes, sir," the two responded in unison.

"Great, let's go," John cheered as the two groups started to wander around the edge of the forest, searching for the pile of rocks that would lead them to the switch.