Royalty and the Art of Changing the Rules
The train whistle had been screaming for a full hour straight. My eardrums felt like they were about to burst. Even though my mana-enhanced hearing made every sound sharper, my ears had grown just as tough as they were sensitive, so I managed to endure it. It wasn’t like Franc, who used rune magic to reinforce hers beyond normal limits.
“Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you.”
“I’m truly sorry!! But I’ve prepared an absolutely excellent contract in return!!”
Selena took her seat with a contract whose ink had barely dried. We both began reading the documents our counterpart had prepared.
Selena’s eyes gleamed like a fox eyeing a sparrow. I, too, pretended to examine the contract with a sharp gaze. Yes, that’s right. I only pretended to examine it. It wasn’t that I didn’t read it at all, but I skimmed it rather carelessly.
Because what I needed to focus on in this deal wasn’t the content of the contract Selena had written.
“Mister Nord’s contract… This is a trading method I’ve never seen before.”
Just as I had expected, Selena frowned while reading my document. Her lips moved as she read a particular line.
“This… ‘royalty?’ …May I ask what this means?”
“Of course. The details are written exactly as they appear in the contract. Royalty is a new profit-sharing method I came up with.”
I put on an innocent face and pulled out a concept from Earth’s contract law. Royalty. It was a common copyright-related contract back on Earth.
I may have learned a few tricks about contracts from Selena, but trying to act like an expert in front of a real professional would be insane.
It was only natural. To put it in perspective, it would be like Selena learning a few of Gertude’s techniques and then challenging me to a straight-up fight. There was no way I could gain the upper hand against Selena in commerce if we played by the normal rules.
──At least, not if we followed the standard playbook.
If a newbie like me wants to fight a professional, I have to change the rules of the game itself.
How does an amateur beat a pro Go player? There are probably several ways, but the method I chose was the simplest and fastest.
Simple. Just add the rules of Omok to Go and be done with it.
I set the contract down and smiled wickedly. In this world, the concept of copyright didn’t exist. If you looked hard enough, the Mages’ Guild held ownership over magical formulas, but that wasn’t even backed by national law. The guild’s secrecy was maintained purely through retaliation and punishment. If someone leaked a product the guild sold for money, the guild would simply track them down and beat the living hell out of them. Other guilds operated in roughly the same way. In other words, plagiarism was punished by fists, not by law.
That was why the concept of royalty──“pay a portion of the generated profit in exchange for selling the production method”──would be completely novel here.
When the existing rules turn into complete chaos, the odds approach fifty-fifty.
What happens when you mix the concept of “royalty” into an ordinary contract? Go with Omok rules added on top? It would be insanely fun, sure. But that was coming from an amateur. To a pro player, it would probably seem ridiculous.
And of course it would. If connecting five stones wins the game, what meaning do house counts or territorial fights have anymore?
That was exactly why Selena looked so reluctant. She couldn’t outright reject it because the proposal made logical sense, and our relationship made it difficult for her to flat-out refuse. Besides, something like “the Elixir production method” was nearly impossible to price. It was an item that had never been openly sold before.
I had once joked that the Elixir recipe was worth a thousand bottles of Elixir, but realistically, that was impossible.
If they had to pay that much, they’d just steal it from the owner instead.
Whether they killed to take it or sneaked it away in secret, both were entirely plausible. I wasn’t doubting the Hermeion Guild. But this recipe was that valuable. No matter what price it was bought or sold at, both sides would feel uneasy.
“Umm… Yes! The proposal itself isn’t bad! However!!!”
In the end, what Selena brought up was something closer to the core issue.
“The compensation if the recipe is lost, and the fact that almost all the costs for setting up the facilities fall on our guild alone is quite concerning!! Was our friendship only worth this much, Mister Nord!!”
She spoke half-jokingly and half-seriously, even squeezing out a few tears. At first glance, it sounded reasonable. Creating Elixir from a recipe that was thirty percent damaged would require an enormous budget even without counting facility costs. How much of which ingredients needed to be added to produce proper Elixir effects? The journey to find that answer would truly be a path of thorns.
But I answered without batting an eye.
“How could that be? Let me say it again: among all the merchants I know, there isn’t a single person who has built as close a relationship with me as Miss Selena.”
After firing off a quick fact-based lip service, I gave her a gentle smile.
“Besides, your concern is somewhat surprising.”
“Pardon?”
“If it’s stolen, I or someone I trust can simply retrieve it. And from the beginning, we could make copies and keep the original under strict security, couldn’t we? And above all──”
I paused for a moment before the main point and whispered.
“──If my thoughts are correct, you won’t need to worry separately about the investment funds. I understand there is someone in this very territory who is in desperate need of Elixir.”
“……Ahem!”
Selena must have already considered what I was about to say, because she gave an awkward smile like someone whose inner thoughts had been exposed. Goodness, this young lady is quite sly.
I let out a small chuckle.
Investment funds? We can just squeeze that out of the lord of this territory, can’t we?
The lord of Renapolis, who had suffered horrific treatment at Diabolo’s hands. His wounds were so severe that it would be unreasonable to expect him to manage the territory anymore, but that didn’t mean his accumulated assets had vanished overnight. Above all, he was currently in a state where he was essentially living because he couldn’t die.
What’s the point of having so much money if you can’t even walk on your own and speaking is difficult?
Spending the rest of his life staring at gold coins he couldn’t even use was ridiculous. Was he supposed to use that pile of gold to jerk off mentally or something? If it were me, I would pour every last bit of my remaining wealth into healing my body first.
So getting an investment out of the lord should be as easy as lying down and eating rice cakes.
After all, health comes before money. And even if that weren’t the case, there would be plenty of nobles who want a piece of an Elixir workshop. It would be Selena’s job to select trustworthy sponsors from among them. And naturally, instead of royalty, giving those sponsors a few bottles of Elixir would be more than enough.
Roughly ten bottles should more than cover the investment, right?
Those who didn’t know the details of the contract between me and Selena would be satisfied if they could receive more Elixir than their investment was worth.
Having said my piece, I didn’t press any further and simply waited. It was consideration that took into account the friendship and business relationship between us, and Selena wasn’t the kind of person who would miss that.
“Khhhhh……!! Fine, alright!! I understand!!”
Selena, who had been pounding her chest in frustration, eventually yielded to my proposal. Once she made up her mind, there was no hesitation. She shook off her resentment and disappointment and laughed boldly like a man.
“Royalty! It’s not bad at all! The ownership remains with the other party, but to generate profit, both sides must become a community of fate that trusts each other! Yes, I like it!! Ah─ Hahaha!!”
“Hehe. The deal is sealed. I look forward to working with you.”
I extended my hand and requested a handshake. Of course, we would still need to go over the fine details thoroughly. The actual content would likely be based on Selena’s contract. But for me, simply getting the concept of royalty accepted was already a decisive early victory.
I said it before, but Selena couldn’t act so greedily that it would ruin our relationship.
──Squeeze.
United as one before the power of money, we exchanged a firm handshake.
I didn’t know when that royalty money would start coming in. But at the very least, I wouldn’t have to struggle anymore just to cover living expenses or research funds. For me, that was more than enough.
“By the way, Mister Nord?”
While I was inwardly laughing with joy, Selena asked with a bright smile.
“Yes? What is it?”
“For this concept of royalty… does it also require royalty?”
Her eyes were overflowing with expectation. Even Newton in the biographies, upon discovering the falling apple, probably hadn’t looked this excited.
“……Pfft! Khuhuhuhu!”
I burst into laughter the moment I understood what Selena meant, then waved my hand as I answered.
“No, it’s not necessary. Feel free to borrow and use it when making contracts with others. As long as it doesn’t offend His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Really!! Wow, thank you so much!!”
When I gave her that answer, Selena smiled with pure innocence. It was the brightest smile I had seen from her since we reunited. Claiming copyright without legal force would be difficult, but how she chose to apply the experience she gained from this contract would be up to her.
Anyway, it seemed that being a merchant was something only people crazy about money could do.