Episode 48: Dream in the game becomes reality

15. The Uncontrollable Irregular (2)

Before looking at the Sky Fortress catalog, I checked the status of my funds.

The wealth obtained through the investment bank is 62.5 trillion roots (currency unit).

However, in order to secure the liquidity of this property, after money laundering, he reported his income to the government and paid about 15% in taxes.

Thanks to this, 10 trillion was lost in taxes alone.

My father's expected tax rate was about 20%, so saving taxes like this can be considered a blessing, but it is also a painful loss.

The remaining money is about 53 trillion won, of which 5 trillion was set aside for corporate acquisition costs, so the remaining fund is 48 trillion won.

[Metal Fortress 2nd generation]-Price: 11 trillion roots

[Metal Fortress 2.5th generation]-Price: 12.5 trillion roots

[Metal Fortress 3rd Generation]-Price: KRW 15.7 trillion

"Currently, there are three sky fortresses available for immediate shipment: 2nd generation, 2.5 generation, and 3rd generation."

This means that my wealth, which caused an uproar throughout the country, will come to an end if I buy four Skyfortresses.

Moreover, if you buy 4 Sky Fortresses, you can't even dream of using Vanguard's Force equipment, which costs more than 50 billion won per set.

'It's really expensive.'

This is why it is said that it is a dream for a small territory to have a heavenly star.

The Lawrence Territory, which is large for a self-imposed territory and has a population of 1 million, has an annual budget of 5 trillion won, of which the amount allocated to the military is between 700 billion and 1 trillion won per year.

This means that the Sky Fortress was something that could be purchased by steadily saving for more than 10 years without paying salaries to 300 knights and 6,000 private soldiers of Viscounty Lawrence.

Of course, if you purchase a large amount of weapons like the Sky Fortress, additional budget will be allocated, but it is still a burden.

'The total strength of the 4 territories where I applied for territory warfare was 4 Sky Stars and 200 Vanguards, right?'

If you purchase 4 Sky Fortresses, you will have 5 units including those given to you by the King, but it is not a level of power that can be clearly felt even if you applied for a territory battle with some confidence.

The enemy's 200 Vanguards can be said to have the attack power of 4 Sky Fortresses.

"Is there a significant difference in combat power between generations in the Sky Fortress?"

"The attack power is almost the same."

"Then what is the division of generations?"

"The higher the generation, the higher the output of the central force engine. Thanks to this, the flight speed is faster and slightly heavier armament is possible."

"So, the attack power is similar, but the defense power is different?"

"Yes, that's right. The biggest difference between generations is the thickness of the armor. So, even though the attack power is similar, due to the difference in armor, the 3rd generation can demonstrate 20% higher combat power than the 2nd generation and 15% higher than the 2.5 generation."

"A 20% difference may or may not seem like a big deal… … ."

"In fact, it is a car that can be spicy if you plan your strategy well. However, on the actual battlefield, this difference cannot be ignored. "Fast movement speed is also a great weapon."

However, there is no need to worry if you are short on money.

Because I have three trump cards that will make up for the power gap with the enemy in this territory war.

The first is property confiscated from vassals belonging to the pro-Raven Margrave faction, including Anna and Cedric.

Thanks to Anna and her followers, who played the role of hostess, being frugal, they had enough money to lightly arm 100 Vanguards.

The second is the assets our family owns.

The family I'm talking about includes not only the Viscounty of Lawrence, but also the Marquis of Lawrence and the County of Klein in Arsia, which were given to me this time.

The Lawrence family, which owns a sizable city, cannot ignore the personal wealth it has accumulated over several generations as a lord, and it can also draw on the budget allocated to the viscountry, earldom, and marquisship.

If that happens, the funds I can manage will greatly increase from 48 trillion.

"Currently, we have about 70 trillion won in operational cash."

A whopping 70 trillion.

For 70 trillion won, you can purchase as many as 6 Sky Fortresses.

"You have plenty of time. What would you like to do?"

But is this enough to satisfy you?

No, I still have one trump card left.

"I will buy everything."

"You mean installment payments."

That is the triumph of civilization.

It is an installment system based on credit rating.

"The transaction amount is so large that you have to pay half of the selling price in advance."

"I paid a lot of taxes recently, so some tax exemption will be possible."

Benefits of paying large taxes that my father told me about.

The point is that half of the tax payment is tax exempt.

"hmm… … . Ah, I see. "A discount of approximately KRW 5 trillion is possible."

"Then what is the calculation?"

"If you pay 50.05 trillion won in advance, you can pay up to 10 years in installments for the remaining 50.05 trillion won."

"Yes. Please."

Thanks to this, I had 20 trillion won in change even after buying 8 sky fortresses.

'It's such a big deal that it doesn't feel realistic.'

Even if you exclude the prepayment, they give you a whopping 50 trillion in installments... … .

On Earth, this is a transaction that would only be possible between countries or large corporations, but as the owner of a large territory with a population of 7 million, I am in a position no different from a head of state or a large businessman on Earth.

In other words, it means that your credit rating is sufficient.

"The recipients are Viscount Laurence as the 1st recipient, Count Klein as the 2nd recipient, and His Excellency the Marquis Laurence as the 5th recipient, right?"

In my mind, I would like to wipe out the opponents in the territory battle with 9 Sky Fortresses, including the Sky Fortresses that the King gave along with the territory, but I cannot have these 8 Sky Fortresses all to myself.

The number of Sky Fortresses that the Marquis can possess is limited to 6.

And we must not forget that he brought in the assets and budget of the Viscounty of Lawrence, as well as the budget of the new territory of Arsia.

Out of the 8, I plan to keep 5, 2 to Arcia, and 1 to my father.

In this way, by adding the sky fortress that the king gave to Arsia and me, the maximum number of units that can be held is 6 for the marquis, 3 for the count, and 1 for the viscount.

"You know very well."

"There is probably no one in this country who does not know the situation of His Excellency the Marquis. However, I did not know that you would bring such a large amount of cash to purchase eight Sky Fortresses."

Of course, we plan to use the remaining funds to fully equip Vanguard.

Then, I will not be a marquis in name only, but a great lord with military power appropriate to the status of a marquis.

"If this news gets out, the four Viscounties that have been singled out by the Marquis will be in trouble."

"That's right."

This transaction amounted to 50 trillion won in advance payments alone.

Of course, since this was not a transaction for a commoner to handle, Count Vasilis, the royal agent for Metal Fortress, a state-owned enterprise, was in charge of it.

Known as Mangyeong, he is a typical wizard and is currently stuck in class 6, but he possesses the talent to achieve class 7 at any time.

Even though he faced an archmage who was younger than him, there was no jealousy in his feelings.

Rather, it was noticeable that he seemed friendly and wanted to become friends.

"But it's surprising that there are eight sky fortresses for sale."

The Sky Fortress is a weapon larger than an aircraft carrier on Earth.

Even if the magic-based technology of this world is at the science fiction level, it takes close to a year to produce it.

In addition, as a huge amount of money was invested in the production cost of the Sky Fortress, it was incomprehensible why so much inventory was being built up.

"Six of these were originally scheduled to be delivered to the royal army."

"But can you hand it over to me?"

"If you can't purchase the amount you need here, you're planning on bringing in the missing supplies from other countries, right?"

"Yes. "I'm going to use it right away."

"Rather than sending domestic funds abroad, we decided that it would be more advantageous to postpone the royal army's due date. And this directly translates into sales for our company."

He was a merchant before he was a nobleman.

I like the honest look.

By nature, nobles are often people who are different on the outside and the inside.

After completing the transaction by depositing the deposit, I shook his hand.

"See you next time."

"I hope so too."

Of course, Arcia is always next to me like a shadow.

Count Vasilis shook hands with Arcia after me.

I met him as a customer and a salesperson, but he seemed like a person with whom there would be no harm in becoming friends.

Having thus secured the main power for the Territory War, I immediately moved on to purchase Vanguard's force equipment.

"huh?"

"uh?"

However, I met an unexpected person at the entrance of Metal Fortress.

"Margrave Otis!"

"Oh my, Marquis Lawrence!"

This was the former Count of Otis, the current Margrave of Otis, a sergeant who participated in the war in the same unit as me, and the subject of this prize.

"Hey, please speak comfortably. Didn't we go through the battlefield together?"

"His name is His Excellency the Marquis... … Is that okay?"

"Not Count Otis, but Margrave Otis will do."

"haha!"

We greeted each other warmly and asked how we were doing.

It was a nothing special conversation, but the atmosphere was bound to be friendly as we had gone through a hard time together.

But how much did we talk to the Margrave Otis?

I had to tilt my head to see his expression suddenly harden.

"wait for a sec. What do you mean you came out of here now?"

"ah… … ."

As he became a margrave, his military power was lowered to the level of a marquis.

Although we ran into each other by chance, it was not difficult to guess why he visited this place.

"Are you here to purchase the Sky Fortress?"

"Yeah, I heard they have it in stock."

"I just bought them all."

"Ahh! also!"

Margrave Otis made an exaggerated gesture, placing his palm on his forehead.

It was a situation he did not want, but he did not seem to be very unpleasant.

"I can't help it. "I have no choice but to make a reservation."

There is also an option to purchase from overseas, as I tried to do, but unlike me, he is a person who cares about the opinions of those around him, so he said he would prefer domestic products.

The royal family doesn't like importing expensive sky fortresses regardless of their performance?

"Oh, by the way, is this your first time seeing me? "This is my daughter I told you about before."

At the same time, he introduced the young lady who had taken a step back with the guards.

"Nice to meet you. This is Adrian Lawrence. "This is my fiancee, Arcia Klein."

"Nice to meet you. His Excellency the Marquis of Lawrence, and His Excellency the Count of Klein. Michelle of the Otis family sends greetings."

And I was able to see the Lady of Count Otis, who was very famous in the Kingdom of Reinharts.

Gorgeous light blue hair and dark blue eyes that can only be seen in Rondel.

Even though she is an adult, her innocent face and body shape contrast with that are noticeable.

She is called a psycho and has a reputation that is greater than her reputation, but based on her appearance, she is just a very pretty young lady.

However, after inadvertently examining her abilities with a magnifying glass, I couldn't help but twitch the corner of my mouth that was smiling.

[Michelle Otis / Explorer]Race: Human

Age: 18

Affiliation: Kingdom of Reinharts, Margrave Otis family

Talents: Research ability (highest), learning ability (high), intellectual ability (high)

Characteristics: English interpretation / reasoning ability

Relationship: Interested/Neutral

Status: Favorable/Interesting

Although he only had 3 talents, he possessed a whopping 1 top grade and 2 advanced talents.

I was surprised to see for the first time the explorer's job and the talent for exploration, but what was more perplexing than anything else... … .

The characteristic was 'English interpretation'.

'Is English the English I know?'

Margrave Otis gave an unexpected answer to my question.

"Not long ago, he was working hard to find Archduke Lucas. But as you probably know, didn't the actor appear in the Republic of Prius? "Thanks to you, I don't want to see you so disappointed, so I'm dragging you around here and there."

Possessing the English interpretation characteristic to find Archduke Lucas's origins?

Perhaps, if it weren't for the cheat of being born on Earth, she might have been the one to get Giyeon.

"Ah, the Giyeon obtained from the Republic of Prius is fake."

"There he is again!"

And in response to her reaction that seemed to pierce my solar plexus, I smiled and opened my mouth.

"You're telling an interesting story. "The story of the Prius Republic is fake."

"Gieon is real. But it's hidden in secret places that people don't expect. "It's not something you can find by ignorantly wandering around like the Prius Republic."

"What secret place are you talking about?"

"The details are secret. But I can tell you that it is a place that is bound to be difficult for nobles to find."

A place that is difficult for nobles to find?

Knowing the truth, I immediately thought of virtual reality.

The aristocracy had a strong perception that 'Hollywood', a virtual reality system, was a place for commoners to escape from reality and fantasize.

'What is this, this woman?'

I thought she was just a strange woman, but I guess that was not the case.

I narrowed my eyes and observed her every move.

"I have an online diary. "Can I ask your excellency to follow me?"

"sure. Welcome."

But she didn't show me any doubts.

There was no particular problem with the emotions expressed through Mangyeong, and in fact, looking at his face blushing, you could tell that he was thinking about something else.

"I like people who are self-made, like the Marquis or the Earl, rather than people like my father who rule by blood and without ability."

"This guy?"

"I think it would be nice to chat together sometime…" … . "What do you think, Excellency?"

Margrave Otis was bickering and said something he didn't mean to see her twisting her body only when she saw me.

"I like it. "I will send you an invitation as soon as possible."

"Hurray!"

She was someone who needed a little more observation.

"Then we'll just go."

And we broke up.

"Shall we dispose of it?"

"No, let's watch a little longer."

When the two disappeared from sight, Arcia opened her mouth.

I was momentarily conflicted by Arcia's question, but quickly shook my head.

"Welcome to the Royal Magic Tower! Oh, you are the Marquis Laurens and Count Klein? "I will guide you to the VIP room."

Even while purchasing Vanguard's force equipment due to the appearance of a person who touched uncomfortable emotions, the narrowed eyebrows did not straighten.

'No, you won't have to worry about it. In any case, it was not easy to obtain an opportunity through simple research.'

After a while, I calmed down and turned my attention to the upcoming Yeongjijeon.