TFA1 7.20 - Blessing and Curse

In Kingdom of Buriek, there was hardly anyone who didn't know Duke Phelite. A venerable expert in economy and trade who did not hesitate to rebuke King Buriek XII, when the King wanted to double the budget for an annual banquet.

Seven years ago, Duke Phelite made an economic projection that Kingdom of Buriek must be able to produce food and Nouel independently, as the trade relationship with Kingdom of Makai went into an alarming direction, and would lead Kingdom of Buriek’s economy into a fatal collapse in 20 years.

That's why, starting from seven years ago Kingdom of Buriek had prepared its military to occupy Sandhur Region. A military campaign that would have succeeded brilliantly, if only an unexpected variable called TF Amethyst had not pop-up at the last second.

Last night, Duke Phelite attended a closed-door meeting at Buriek Royal Hall. During the meeting, Admiral Errez shared all information he got from his visit to Davy Jones. At first glance, this information was sounded like a fairy tale for children.

After hearing it for the first time, Duke Phelite immediately muttered inwardly, ‘It seems Old Errez suffers heavy trauma on his head.’

The problem was, all information regarding military capability of TF Amethyst did not contradict the field data that had been collected by Buriek Guard HQ. In short, the two pieces of information complemented each other.

Grand Commander Keraz and Marshal Ducie even took the information as if it was a death sentence for them. It could be said that Kingdom of Buriek was already halfway in agreeing to the ceasefire terms offered by TF Amethyst.

Meanwhile, the other half step was in Duke Phelite's hand. As a person in charge of Kingdom of Buriek's economy and trade policy, he was responsible for studying the economic partnership offered by Amethyst Merchant, the trading wing of TF Amethyst.

As the meeting lasted until early morning, Duke Phelite did not immediately study Amethyst Merchant’s proposal after he arrived is his mansion. Without second thought, he went straight to sleep.

The proposal did catch Duke Phelite’s attention, as they were written on a very clean white paper, with an easy-to-read and precise font that was neatly bound. However, a tired mind and body could lead to erroneous perceptions and biased judgments. Therefore, Duke Phelite chose to restrain himself.

It was only after good rest, nice bathing, and proper breakfast that Duke Phelite entered his study.

"Let's see what Amethyst Merchant has to offer."

Calmly, Duke Phelite reached a document entitled 'Major Transactions in Makai Royal City'. A very provocative title, for accessing the detail of major transactions in a Royal City was as difficult as accessing vital information in the military.

So, it was natural for Duke Phelite to open the document pessimistically. However, as soon as he saw the title 'Chapter 3A - Merry Gold Union and Kingdom of Buriek Transactions' at the table of contents, Duke Phelite immediately opened it. A moment later, he dropped his jaw as he saw various commodities were listed along with their prices in absolute precise.

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"Gods in heaven, does Amethyst Merchant have spies in Kingdom of Buriek or have they infiltrated Merry Gold Union?"

Without delay, Duke Phelite opened other chapters and made a small note. As a result, he found that Merry Gold Union sold Nouel and food staples at a price 20 times higher than the selling price in Kingdom of Makai.

Duke Phelite was aware that Kingdom of Buriek had always been rigged by Merry Gold Union, but he had trouble getting exact figures. Intelligence operations had been carried out for years to find out the price difference applied by Merry Gold Union. Unfortunately, it never bore any fruit.

But now, the information that he had been coveting for years was available to him with such ease and accuracy. With this data, Duke Phelite could accurately conclude that the economic projections he made seven years ago were very wrong.

It turned out that Kingdom of Buriek had passed the trade balance three years ago. This meant that Kingdom of Buriek's iron ore was drained at a rate that was beyond the safe line without being able to make a commensurate economic contribution.

Rage in an instant filled Duke Phelite's heart, but only for a moment as it was being replaced by curiosity.

"Let me see what kind of scheme that Amethyst Merchant has proposes."

The answer was, Amethyst Merchant would buy iron ore at a price three times higher than Merry Gold Union, and would sell Nouel, food staples, and other commodities at cheaper prices. In addition, Amethyst Merchant was willing to resell the iron ore they bought in the form of pig iron and steel alloy with a quota of 30% of the total purchase.

Duke Phelite knew pig iron very well, but he didn't know what steel alloy was. However, he didn't dig any further because Royal Blacksmith was checking every sample of processed iron ore and some finished products from Amethyst Merchant.

"Hopefully this steel alloy has a better economic value than pig iron."

Duke Phelite then studied further documents. Starting from fisheries farming, hydroponic farming, to the solar power plants as sources of energy for industries.

Duke Phelite couldn't understand the concept of fisheries farming, hydroponic farming, and solar power plant, but he understood that if these concepts were successfully being adopted then Kingdom of Buriek could reduce imports of food, which would increase the trade surplus.

Of course, such a fantastic idea not only aroused hope but also suspicion. However, Amethyst Merchant seems to have predicted the worries that would arise in Duke Phelite's heart. They were offering small-scale applications as part of research and development before the full project began. And Amethyst Merchant would gladly finance every small-scale application that Kingdom of Buriek chose as starter.

"The war compensation asked by Amethyst Merchant is indeed very high, but on the other hand it can also be considered as the price for desperate solution that Kingdom of Buriek needs."

Duke Phelite took a deep breath before continuing his whisper.

"This kingdom has an enormous iron ore deposit, but apart from a boon it can also be considered a curse as its land was uncultivable."

Duke Phelite then unknowingly sank into contemplation. Accepting the terms from Amethyst Merchant meant stopping the supply of iron ore to Kingdom of Makai, and it would definitely trigger a major war.

"For years, I have had a sincere wish to make merchants and nobles in Kingdom of Makai vomit their blood. Now, my wish has finally come true."

Slowly but surely, an ear-to-ear grin bloomed in Duke Phelite's lips.

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