Chapter 22 - Wesley's Enterprise (2)

Three hours later, the noises outside the study started to quiet down, while Wesley himself continued reading his book. Wesley was engrossed in a copy of the book used in his strategy and tactics class. The Black Manor library contained thousands of books, so it wasn’t too big a surprise to find a copy of the Academy's textbook.

The book was titled *[War I]*. Apparently, it had four volumes, with each volume covering a different time period. The earliest one covered the first two hundred years following the First War of Four. The accounts were detailed, with maps and different points of view, making the book quite thick with almost a thousand pages.

Wesley was not particularly interested in war strategy itself, but he still needed to pass the class. Since he would only be attending it once a week, he would need to do some self-study to keep up. As Wesley read, a knock on the door interrupted his attention.

"Come."

Lane immediately walked in, followed by five men. Four of the men appeared to be in their early fifties, while the fifth man, in his late seventies, had a head full of grey hair and wrinkles all over his face. Lane immediately walked to Wesley's side and leaned in to speak.

"Master, these are the owners of the companies."

"Haha, good, good. Please have a seat, gentlemen. Would you like something to drink?"

"Thank you, young master. We are fine."

The old man in his seventies was the first to speak. He even seemed to act as the representative for the other four, which slightly puzzled Wesley. But he didn’t mention it and continued speaking.

"I see. Well, gentlemen, I assume you know what we’ll be discussing today?"

The five men continued to look at Wesley with confused expressions. When Lane had told them that his master would be the one making the decisions, they hadn’t expected the master to be this juvenile kid. The old man spoke again, this time with hesitation.

"Uhm... Young master, could it be that you are the master we’re supposed to deal with?"

Hmm, interesting.'

"Yes, I am. Are there any problems?"

The five men were flabbergasted. Not to mention Wesley’s age, the terms of the agreement outlined by Lane couldn’t have come from the mind of a child. And second, the amount of gold involved was astronomical. Who in their right mind wouldn’t be surprised if the person they were dealing with hadn’t even reached adulthood? One of the men, a skinny man with blonde hair and a youthful face, suddenly burst out, his voice full of disdain as he pointed to Wesley.

"What kind of joke is this? Stop wasting our time and go inform the true master."

Wesley simply continued smiling, as if he didn’t even hear the scorn in the man’s voice. He looked at the blonde man and spoke, his youthful voice firm.

"Haha, I am indeed that master. But if you gentlemen would rather not deal with me, then you can leave. I will not beg people to take my gold."

The five men were silent for a moment. Who would have expected that this youth was, in fact, the master they had come to see? The old man spoke again.

"Sain, stop making a scene. We are here to do business. Apologies, young master. We may proceed."

'It seems they really don’t want to deal with the banks. Good, that should make them more receptive to my proposals.'

The blonde man, Sain, sat down with a bitter look on his face as he glared at Wesley. Wesley simply ignored him and continued speaking with his constant smile.

"Haha, well, gentlemen. First of all, my name is Wesley. May I know who you are?"

The old man was the first to speak up.

"My name is Eleme. I am the owner of the second biggest plantation in Blackreach City."

He was followed by the blonde Sain, who spoke with irritation and disdain.

"I am Sain. I am the owner of the Sain Merchant Company."

Wesley simply ignored his arrogant tone and looked at the remaining three men.

"I am Walter. I own a weapons-forging factory."

"My name is Silen. I own a mining company."

"Haha, my name is Foren. I am the owner of the construction company that is currently renovating your manor."

Wesley smiled and nodded to each man as they introduced themselves. When they were all done, he spoke again.

"Now that we’re done with introductions, I want to reiterate the conditions of our agreement once more and hear any concerns you might have. First, we will lend you money with an interest rate of ten percent. This shouldn’t be a problem, since the Blackreach bank charges an interest rate of thirteen percent. Second, the loan will need to be paid back in yearly installments for a period of five years. And finally, if you fail to repay the loan, payment will be made in shares of your companies, sold at half their price, and worth the amount of money you owe. Any questions or concerns?"

The five men stared at Wesley without blinking, each of them considering his words. The owner of the weapons-forging company, Walter, raised his hand hesitantly and spoke.

"Young master, is it possible to extend the period for the loan a little?"

Wesley looked towards Lane, who was standing next to him. Seeing this, Lane spoke.

"That won’t be a problem. Only the interest rate will be increased slightly."

"I see. Don’t worry about it then."

Wesley continued to look at the five men, who were each staring back at him. After seeing that there were no more questions, he spoke again.

"Good. I take it that there are no objections. Lane will give each of you three copies of a contract outlining these points for you to take. When you’ve read it over, if you decide to proceed, simply have them signed and return them. We will keep a copy, you will keep a copy, and a copy will be stored at the Department of Law."

Lane immediately walked towards the five seated men and handed each of them the contracts. He then walked back to Wesley’s side. The five men looked at the sheets in their hands. The old man, Eleme, spoke up again.

"Thank you, young master. Only, when are we going to receive the loans?"

"Haha, when you return the contracts, bring sufficient guards, because that is when we’ll give you the gold."

"I see. Then we’ll be taking our leave."

Eleme immediately stood up and bowed to Wesley respectfully before departing. The other four men did the same, except for Sain, who simply swung around arrogantly. Wesley continued smiling amiably, as always.

After the five men were gone, Wesley turned to Lane and spoke.

"How much gold will we need to spend in total for these five companies?"

"Master, when I discussed our proposition with the owners, we agreed on two million gold each."

"Hmm. I will arrange for the money. You should scout more businesses, but make sure they’re not as big or successful as these five. Also, make sure they are not in the Seventh District. The central or second districts would be preferable."

Lane was surprised at Wesley's request. Why would he want to lend gold to businesses that might fail?

"Master, such businesses might fail. I don’t think we’ll benefit much from giving them loans."

"Haha, Lane. What will happen if we do lend them gold and they fail while under the same conditions as those five companies?"

"Then we’ll gain control of the..."

Lane stopped mid-sentence as if he had an epiphany. He then stared at Wesley with an honest smile on his face. Wesley was amused by Lane’s reaction, so he spoke again, laughing.

"Haha, Lane, it seems you understand my intentions well. We can’t solely depend on the interest we gain from loans; we also need direct sources of income. That is why we should try to get a few businesses directly under our control. Just make sure they don’t deal in the same merchandise as those five."

"Yes, Master. I’ll get on it immediately."

"Yes, you go do that."

Lane immediately bowed and walked towards the door. But before he could exit the study, Wesley spoke up.

"Hey Lane, would you like to go to school?"

Lane immediately turned around, his eyes shining with excitement as if he were about to cry. He spoke with a shaky voice.

"Yes, Master. I really want to go to school."

*Haha, it seems he really did want to go to school.*

"Good. You're still young. Go search for different schools, and I will send you to any school you want the day you turn ten."

"Yes, Master. Thank you, Master."

Lane immediately bowed and left the study with a huge grin on his face. Wesley simply continued smiling, amused by how talented yet childish Lane could be.