How I Built a Casino in South America (2)
A thirty-minute drive from Libertad brought us to the eastern coast. The moment I stepped out of the car, the view unfolding before me left me speechless.
"Whoa..."
The cobalt Pacific stretched endlessly. White-capped waves shattered against golden sand, and groves of palm trees swayed in the wind. It was the kind of scenery you'd only ever see in a magazine.
The view's killer, I'll give it that.
The thought of preserving this beautiful nature didn't even last a second.
Does nature put food on the table?
You need money before you can even think about environmental protection. We don't have a damn thing — so what's all this about the environment and nature? Instead, my head was filled with a single thought: how to bulldoze this beautiful beach as fast as possible and put a city on it.
I adjusted my sunglasses with that thought still running, and Lessa, standing beside me, spoke up.
"The prevailing opinion is that we should build the regular hotels and resorts facing the coast, and put the casinos further inland."
"Do we really need to do it that way?"
I asked because it seemed simpler to just combine them. She unfolded a map as she answered.
"Rather than making this a purely casino city, I think we should develop it as a tourism city that takes advantage of these beautiful natural resources. For instance, tourists staying at the beachfront hotels can enjoy surfing and swimming, while those at the inland hotels can enjoy the casinos."
It was a reasonably sound choice. Not every hotel has a casino, and not every guest wants a hotel with one. We could also attract family tourists, which might actually be better for revenue. Kids and mom enjoying the beautiful beach scenery while dad hits the casino, for example.
"That's our Senior Secretary Lessa for you. I like it a lot."
"You flatter me, Your Excellency."
"Ah — where did we decide to put the Drump Hotel site?"
"We've decided to build it next to the planned golf course over there."
"That would put it at the highest point in the area. Were they happy with that?"
"When we asked through President Drump's personal secretary, they were very satisfied."
"Good. Let's proceed with that. And I'd like you to put a bit more into the golf course. If we're going to build one, make it huge and luxurious."
"I'll pass that along to Tortilla Construction."
We were in the middle of discussing the map when it happened.
A murmur of voices. People began pouring out from the palm grove in the distance — shabby clothes, sun-darkened skin. Fishermen and farmers from nearby, by the look of them.
"I-it's true! His Excellency is here?!"
"See? I told you he came!"
"I-it's His Excellency!"
"The President is here!"
We'd come quietly, but somehow they'd heard and come running. The bodyguards moved to stop them, but I raised a hand to hold them back.
"It's fine."
These were the people who'd have to relocate soon anyway. This was actually convenient. Me personally persuading them to move would go over a hundred times better than some bureaucrat showing up at their door.
I slapped on a benevolent smile and started walking toward them when—
Thud.
"Your Excellency...!"
The old man at the front dropped to his knees at my feet. And that was only the beginning.
Thud, thud.
Dozens of villagers behind him dropped to their knees on the sand in unison, bowing their heads as if they'd rehearsed it. It was like...
Where have I seen this scene before?
Like fanatics kneeling before a cult leader.
"Hngh... Your Excellency... thank you!"
"Thank you for giving us land so we could make a living!"
"Because of Your Excellency, my grandson went to school! How can I ever repay this kindness..."
"Aigoo..."
I panicked and tried to help the old man up.
"Please don't do this, sir. Get up. Everyone, please stand up!"
"No! Your Excellency is our savior!"
"Please, just place your hand on my head once! I swear I'll never wash my hair again!"
"No... please wash your hair. For hygiene."
Well. I'd distributed state land to people starving on barren soil, had them plant tobacco as a cash crop, and given their kids a free education. Of course they'd like me this much.
But.
This is going to make relocating them even more awkward...
Even so, this place had to be developed into a tourism city. A construction project of this scale would create countless jobs on its own, and the experience gained would advance San Marcos's construction technology. And that wasn't all. Once the tourism city was built, it would generate an enormous number of long-term jobs. The hotel profits would go to the investors, sure, but the tax collected from them would be staggering.
I can't go soft now.
I looked at the kneeling villagers with a steeled heart.
"Sir, and all of you. I came here today because I have something to tell you."
The villagers held their breath and listened.
"As you can see, this is a truly beautiful place. But it's barren land to make a living on. The sea is close, but there aren't enough boats, and the sea wind makes farming difficult."
I pointed at the ramshackle shacks they lived in.
"Your Excellency..."
"That's why I'm going to remake this place from the ground up. Massive hotels will go up, and I'll make the world's wealthy flock here to spend their money."
The villagers' eyes went wide.
"And so I have a request. All of you... will need to vacate this place."
Silence fell. Telling people to leave their homes. Normally this would be the moment for protest or pleading. But the villagers' reaction was something else entirely.
"If it weren't for the grace Your Excellency bestowed upon us, we wouldn't even be alive. Take it. Take all of it."
"That's right. This land was given to us by Your Excellency. If you take it back, that's fine with us."
"Everything as Your Excellency wills..."
They just kept nodding, as if I could take whatever I wanted.
"No."
If I say I'm taking your land, at least put up a little resistance.
I spoke to them again.
"I'm not just telling you to leave."
At my gesture, Senior Secretary Lessa unfurled a bird's-eye rendering she'd prepared in advance.
"Ten kilometers east of here, we're going to build a new village for all of you."
"A new... village?"
"Yes. Not wooden planks — we'll build you houses of solid concrete and brick. We'll also allocate you farmland larger than what you currently have, and the state will handle the land clearing. Of course, fertilizer and seeds will be fully provided as well."
The villagers' jaws dropped. And of course they did. Even the capital, Libertad, was lined with shanties. Naturally, their homes were little more than huts. Concrete houses with running water and electricity were something they'd only ever dreamed of. Throw in larger farmland and fertilizer support, and they couldn't help but be moved.
I drove the point home.
"Additionally, if you wish, I'll give you priority for jobs at the hotels and resorts that will be built."
After laying out the promises, I spoke to the dazed villagers.
"I pledge all of this in the name of the President."
And at that moment—
"Hngh!"
"That Your Excellency would care this much about people like us... sob!"
"Thank you, Your Excellency. Truly, thank you."
The villagers collapsed, wailing.
"No."
Why does everything I say make them do this...
Meanwhile, at the same time, inside a black sedan heading toward the coast.
Two men sat in the back seat. Lucio, Director of the San Marcos Intelligence Agency who ruled the nation's nights, and his cousin Antonio Carvalho, the godfather of San Marcos immigrants in the United States.
Antonio kept gasping as he stared out the window.
"Good lord... is this really the shithole San Marcos I used to know? Paved roads. Streetlights standing..."
He'd been hearing news of San Marcos through various channels, but the gap was so enormous that the amazement just spilled out. The homeland in his memory had been a living hell ruled by gangs and poverty. The scenery before his eyes now was nothing short of a complete transformation.
"To finally meet His Excellency, the one who worked this miracle..."
Antonio's voice trembled faintly. This moment — going to have an audience with the absolute ruler who had saved the homeland, Emperor Eugene Choi — felt like a dream.
Then Lucio, sitting beside him, doused the moment in ice-cold water.
"Brother."
"Yeah?"
"You need to keep your head on straight."
Lucio's gaze was sharp. This wasn't how you looked at a cousin. This was the Intelligence Director issuing a warning.
"His Excellency may appear gentle on the surface, but inside he's colder than an Arctic wind. If he judges that someone is even slightly harmful to the nation, he purges them immediately. That's the kind of man he is."
"I know, I know."
"No, Brother. You don't know. During his time as Acting President, he personally snapped a man's neck because he was a threat to the regime."
"..."
"If you happen to misspeak in front of him... even I won't be able to protect you."
Lucio paused, then added in an even lower voice.
"No. He might even order me to take care of you myself. As I just said — that's the kind of man he is."
Antonio flinched and looked at his younger cousin. The look in his eyes said he wasn't bluffing.
Gulp.
In truth, he already knew to some extent. As the godfather of the immigrant community in America, there was no way he wouldn't know what was happening in San Marcos. He'd heard rumors of a dictator who'd ground thousands of gang members into fertilizer for the cornfields overnight. He'd thought it couldn't possibly go that far — but looking at this now, it didn't seem like mere rumor.
"Alright. I'll keep that in mind. I won't make a single mistake."
"Now we're speaking the same language."
Lucio's expression eased slightly.
A short while later, the car arrived at the inspection site where Eugene was and came to a stop.
"After you."
Antonio straightened his clothes and opened the door. And then—
"......!"
He froze at the sight unfolding before his eyes.
In the distance, a man stood on the white sand. The problem was—
"What... what is that?"
Hundreds of villagers were kneeling and prostrating before him, as if attending a saint. Through the sound of the waves came voices of tearful praise.
"Your Excellency! Thank you! Thank you so much! Hngh!"
"Th-thank you for saving us!"
"We would give our lives for Your Excellency!"
The man standing in the center, helping the villagers to their feet with a benevolent expression. Seeing that figure — as if a halo shone around him — Antonio trembled.
That man... is no longer human.
A being beyond a dictator.
San Marcos's living god...!
When his eyes met Eugene's, Antonio's knees nearly buckled of their own accord.