Law of Space and Time

Chapter 98: Win-win

"I was just wondering when we were going to meet again next, but I didn't expect you to pay me a visit," Mackney said with a smile. "Pardon me for being frank, but are you not worried that the two of you won't be able to leave this mansion of mine today?"

A hint of killing intent flashed through Mackney's eyes as he spoke.

Erwin faltered slightly upon hearing this, then burst into involuntary laughter, clearly very much amused by Mackney's threat.

"At the end of the day, you're still a businessman, isn't that right?" Erwin asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? And what does that have to do with anything?" Mackney asked as the killing intent in his eyes abated slightly.

"As a businessman, wouldn't you much prefer to settle matters through discussion rather than taking more violent routes?" Erwin asked as he glanced at Mackney with a faint smile.

"But if I trap the two of you in my mansion, Zans would be mine for the taking, would it not? Why would I go to the extra trouble of negotiation?" Mackney countered.

Erwin shook his head in response. "You need to look at the bigger picture. The business that I want to discuss with you today extends far beyond just a city."

"Oh?" Mackney was rather intrigued to hear this. "How big is this deal you want to propose?"

"Let me get straight to the point. I'm sure you've heard about the blessed notes, right?"

"I have," Mackney replied with a nod. "It's quite an innovative idea."

Mackney was full of praise for this new concept.

"Truth be told, if blessed notes only circulate in the city of Zans, then it's never going to develop into anything significant," Erwin said in a truthful manner, and it was clear that he was sincere about this business discussion, as evidenced by the fact that he was revealing the main pitfall of the blessed notes from the get-go.

Mackney thought about this for a moment, following which he nodded and gestured for Erwin to continue.

"I want to expand the Ubiquitous Firm's business to Tellier," Erwin said as he looked at Mackney.

"How does that benefit me?" Mackney asked as a faint smile appeared on his face.

"If you can get blessed notes to go into widespread circulation in Tellier, I can give you 30% equity in the Ubiquitous Firm," Erwin replied as he put up three fingers.

A derisive look appeared on Mackney's face upon hearing this. "Do you think that's enough to appeal to me? Or are you hoping that I'll be drawn to the dividends from this equity?"

His expression was also mirrored on the faces of Lucidy and John, and all three of them were of the opinion that Erwin was far out of his depth.

Erwin remained unfazed by their derision and hostility, and he maintained a calm smile as he said, "I'm well aware of just how much money the Farody Family's business is raking in. Perhaps proceeds of hundreds of thousands of Loonies per year aren't all that significant in your eyes, but as I just said, I'm not here to discuss small and insignificant deals."

The father and son trio of the Farody Family was quite taken aback to hear Erwin tossing out a figure of hundreds of thousands of Loonies. It came as a complete surprise to them that the Ubiquitous Firm was so profitable.

Even though the surprise on their faces only appeared for an instant before fading, Onean still caught a clear glimpse of it, and a hint of derision appeared in her eyes. As a former princess, she was naturally unwilling to participate in such a vulgar negotiation that was centered solely around money. If it weren't for Erwin's insistence that she accompanied him, there was no way that she would've paid a visit to the home of a businessman like Mackney. Even though she was only a former princess, she still had her pride as a royal.

"Don't look down on this form of new currency. They may just be pieces of paper, but they're backed by an enormous power," Erwin said as he cast his gaze toward Mackney. "To be specific, they're backed by the power of the people. Perhaps you think I'm only boasting right now, but if blessed notes come into widespread circulation in Tellier, you'll quickly discover that the proceeds from the businesses under your Farody Family will increase at an exponential rate."

An incredulous look appeared on Mackney's face upon hearing this, and he couldn't wrap his head around what Erwin was saying. "You're telling me that the proceeds currently being earned by our Farody Family still have room for exponential increase? I don't think you're aware of the full scale of our family's business operations. Otherwise, I doubt you'd be saying something so preposterous."

Mackney leaned back in his chair with an amused smile as he spoke.

Lucidy was clearly of the same opinion as his father, and both of them were completely unconvinced by Erwin.

In contrast, John remained silent with a contemplative expression, not expressing his opinion on the subject. He had a feeling that Erwin was telling the truth.

He wouldn't feel surprised no matter how far-fetched an idea Erwin made into reality. John had always had a very keen eye for people, and he knew that Erwin was someone special.

Even though this wasn't their first meeting, this was the first time that he had seen and heard Erwin speak up close, and John was convinced that Erwin wasn't just a powerful magician who was also a conspirator. Perhaps Erwin was also a businessman in the purest sense of the word, one whose business ambitions extended to the entire world.

With that in mind, John suggested, "Father, I think it wouldn't hurt to give it a try."

Mackney turned to John with a stunned expression upon hearing this.

Even Erwin hadn't anticipated that Mackney's youngest son would suddenly lend him his support at a time like this. In fact, Erwin didn't even know what the man's name was.

What was even more perplexing to Erwin was why John had said something like this so openly when he could've communicated his intentions through a look or a quiet whisper instead. Erwin certainly wasn't of the opinion that there would be such an open and scrupulous character in a family of business people.

Just as Erwin predicted, John's objective for making this statement wasn't so simple.

He could naturally see that Erwin was no ordinary man, and that the Boll Dukedom alone was nowhere near enough to satisfy his ambitions. Hence, he was intentionally lending Erwin his support in an open fashion with the intention of leaving Erwin with a positive impression of him. If he could make Erwin feel as if he was the one that had played a pivotal role in making this proposed deal a reality, then that would be even better.

While Lucidy was still agreeing with everything his father said like an idiot, John was already plotting for the future.

Ultimately, John and Lucidy were competing for the position of heir to the Farody Family. If he could secure the support of someone like Erwin, then his chances of being able to secure that position would be significantly boosted.

Furthermore, John was also giving Erwin a subtle signal, which was that even if these negotiations fell through, Erwin was welcome to approach him in private for separate negotiations.

It naturally didn't take long for Erwin to understand John's intentions.

As for a past royal like Onean, she was naturally extremely familiar with the concept of sibling rivalries spurred on by heirlooms. She didn't even have to take a glance at John to know exactly what was going on in that head of his.

Mackney was naturally also aware that John was trying to leave a positive impression on Erwin, but what he failed to understand was what had convinced John to change his mind so quickly.

Could it be that there really is some special quality to this Erwin that I've failed to detect? Mackney wondered to himself.

Lucidy knew that John had just seized the initiative ahead of him, and he was furious, but he had to maintain his composure in front of these guests. In the end, he could only nod in agreement as he said, "Now that I think about it, it seems that we don't stand to lose anything."

He took a glance at his father as he spoke, then turned to Erwin with a friendly gaze.

In this interaction, Lucidy and John were acting as perfect embodiments of fence-sitters, and even Mackney had been completely caught off guard by how quickly they had switched their tune.

Mackney originally intended to grill Erwin a little further to try and secure an even more favorable arrangement for the Farody Family, but his two sons had jumped ship in the blink of an eye. As a result, it was made to seem as if he was the only obstacle to this deal being finalized, and he was suddenly feeling quite isolated and antagonized.

Even Erwin was quite surprised and bemused by this turn of events. However, he was quickly able to observe that Lucidy and John clearly didn't see eye to eye with one another.

"Mr. Erwin, I'm afraid you still haven't managed to convince me on a fundamental level, even though I will admit that you've proposed quite an alluring deal," Mackney said with a smile, paying no heed to the opinions of his two sons.

"Why is that?" Erwin asked with a feigned expression of befuddlement.

Mackney was rather amused to see Erwin playing dumb like this, and he explained, "You do realize we're still enemies, right?"

Erwin nodded with a serious expression upon hearing this, then replied, "But as I said before, I've always felt like you're a businessman."

"What are you trying to say?" Mackney asked as his eyes narrowed slightly.

"The City of Freedom is definitely a very free government," Erwin said in an expressionless manner. "In my eyes, there are no issues with allowing the Farody Family to manage the city of the Tellier."

"Are you trying to recruit me under your flag just like that?" Mackney asked with an amused expression.

"Your sense of hierarchy is far too rigid, is it not, Mr. Mackney?" Erwin sighed as he spread his arms open, bearing a strong resemblance to the traveling poets on the streets.

Onean was quite amused to see this, and she turned to Erwin with a displeased look while gently nudging him in the waist with her elbow, as if to denounce Erwin for putting on such a frivolous display.

Both Lucidy and John were completely rooted to the spot by the sight of Onean's playful display, but the looks in their eyes were completely different. Lucidy's eyes were filled with passion and adoration, while John's eyes were filled with lust and something more sinister and destructive. It was the type of expression that said: "If I can't have her, then no one can!"

"As long as you're someone who wishes to abolish the nobility system, then you're an ally to our City of Freedom," Erwin explained with a smile. "In our city, there's no concept of anyone ruling over anyone else."

Mackney faltered slightly upon hearing this, then immediately burst into laughter as he realized what Erwin was saying. "You really are a cunning young man! This is what you truly wanted to discuss with me during this visit, isn't it?"

A faint smile appeared on Erwin's face, but he didn't say anything.

"What does Lia think of this?" Mackney asked as he glanced at Erwin. "I'm assuming you can't call the shots over at the Universal Church."

It had to be said that Mackney had a very sharp eye, and he knew that there was no way that Erwin and Lia would see completely eye to eye with one another.

"If Archbishop Lia were to hear that Tellier joined the City of Freedom, he would be so happy that he'd fall off that tiny bed of his in celebration," Erwin said with an amused expression.

Mackney couldn't help but burst into laughter again upon hearing this.

After that, Erwin and Mackney entered an in-depth discussion about all of the fine details involved in their collaboration, including the incorporation of blessed notes, the dividends from the shares in the Ubiquitous Firm, and the new organizations that had to be established once Tellier joined the City of Freedom.

Mackney had naturally also heard about the distribution of land and the other major changes that had been sweeping through Zans, and he had no objections to splitting the land evenly among the common folk. After all, all of the land in the Boll Dukedom previously belonged to Duke Eru. If he were to distribute all of the land in Tellier to the people, the citizens of Tellier would be extremely grateful to him, so why wouldn't he go through with this? In addition to that, there were also land taxes to be earned, and that was another source of income for him.

Initially, the Farody Family was only planning to stay in Tellier, but after joining the City of Freedom, a government organization was formed, and the Farody Family was officially taking over the government duties of Tellier.

Even though Duke Eru of the Boll Dukedom was notorious for being weak and inept, Mackney was still rather wary of him. However, now that he was planning to join the City of Freedom, that was naturally no different from a declaration of war upon Newfando.

The fact that Theresa had appeared during the battle on the Canston Plain indicated that the powers in Newfando were already planning to take him down in the first place. Seeing as they had already made their intentions crystal clear, there was no need for Mackney to hide anything, either.

In the wake of the battle on the Canston Plain, the attitude that he was supposed to display toward Newfando was an issue that he had been pondering. Now that Erwin had come to him and was offering such favorable terms, Mackney naturally became inclined to side with Erwin. Of course, he never had any intentions to defect to Duke Eru's side in the first place. However, following his conversation with Erwin, Mackney decided that it would be best to abandon the idea of remaining independent in Tellier and potentially having to face both Newfando and Zans as enemies in the future. It certainly wasn't a bad thing to be under the umbrella of the City of Freedom. After all, it was always better to have an extra ally than it was to have an extra enemy.

"The world belongs to young people like you in the future," Mackney suddenly sighed in a slightly forlorn voice as he looked at Erwin.

"Why do you suddenly say that?" Erwin asked with a surprised expression.

"I've always looked down on those haughty nobles my entire life, but I've never been able to do anything about them. In their eyes, no matter how wealthy I become, I'm still just a vulgar merchant rolling around on a bed of dirty Loonies," Mackney said with a wry smile. "However, in the wake of the stunning revolution that you've ushered in, I'm sure the difference between nobles and common folk will cease to exist before too long. It looks like it must be left to young people like you to complete the monumental task of overthrowing the nobility."

"It's not that simple," Erwin said with a serious expression.

"I wouldn't dare to say anything beyond this, but if you and I join forces, we should be able to take down the Boll Dukedom with no issues," Mackney said in a confident manner.

"Oh? Does that mean we have ourselves a deal?" Erwin asked as he feigned an ignorant expression.

"Of course! If I didn't want to work with you, why would I have wasted so much time discussing all those details with you?" Mackney scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

Erwin faltered slightly upon hearing this as he cast his gaze toward Mackney, and their eyes met, following which both of them burst into laughter.