The Compound Interest Bomb

Not a loan shark operation, then?

A fortress blessed by nature, this place. Feels like a military government—couldn't suit the city better.

They kept saying something about a "bakufu." What was that again? Basically a coup government, isn't it? Same thing.

"The harbor looks awfully shabby. Are we even going to make it in?"

"Might break apart, honestly."

More likely that harbor—which looks like it was lashed together out of wood scraps—will break before our ship does.

"Let's wait a bit. They'll send a boat out, won't they?"

From a distance, the city didn't look all that big—it must be fairly new. More like an overgrown village than anything?

Curious locals were gathering along the shore to gawk at us, too.

"This is the downside of having such a big ship, huh?"

"The Dolphin can usually just pull right in, but the Horned Whale's a different story."

"You should keep a couple of rowboats with you."

"We do have two aboard."

Hm? Then why aren't you using them?

"Let's take one of those, then."

"It's awfully small—fits maybe three or four people, tops."

"Well, we'll row over in that and ask them to send a proper boat out, I suppose..."

Ah? No, wait—there's a boat moving over there now.

"It looks like they're sending a boat, my lady."

Thank goodness.

Can a Horned Whale even tow a Dolphin around? I wondered, watching the little vessel approach. Er... that's basically a ferry, isn't it?

"Our cargo isn't going to sink this thing, is it?"

"Should be fine?"

Hey. You're the sailor—you're supposed to know better than me. Don't ask me with that worried face.

"Let's just head down carefully."

"Yes, ma'am."

Hm? Couldn't I just jump down? I'm lighter than these boys, at least.

Fwoosh—

About two or three of my own heights up? Totally jumpable! Except I'd failed to account for one thing: my skirt billowed up so violently I couldn't see a thing in front of me.

Thud.

"Oh."

Well, I seem to have aimed well—landed clean without catching my foot on anything.

Rock...

Ah, right. Boats do that on the water, don't they?

Bam.

"Ugh."

The boat lurched sideways and I went forehead-first into the railing. Bit of physical comedy there, I suppose.

"My lady!"

"Ah! I'm fine! I'm fine!"

I don't get hurt from this much, you know!

"Is the ship all right?"

"Why would you ask about the ship?"

"You hit it that hard and it didn't even crack?"

You were worried about the boat cracking, not my forehead? Haha. Right, that must've been a joke.

"Come down gently, everyone. She's rocking quite a bit."

"Yes, ma'am!"

The boys came down one by one, careful as anything, gripping the rope.

"Alright, unload the cargo!"

Right—we'd divided the 10,000 ryo of tax silver into ten crates and brought it all along.

Whoosh.

"Huh?"

What are you doing? Why are you throwing it? The boat rocked like that just from me jumping down!

"Don't you worry! I'll catch it!"

Yes, yes, I wasn't worried about you catching it.

BANG.

Loud, sure, but he caught it fine. Nobody's hurt.

Creeeak.

The boat's the problem.

"Huh?"

Crack.

Staring at your own leg, sunk through the deck up to the knee—what's that going to accomplish? Is it going to float back up by staring at it?

"Gah... my boat... the bakufu won't even give me money to fix it..."

I could hear the ferryman's mournful mumbling...

How much does a boat even cost, that you're pinching pennies on repairs? You seized power, and you're still poor?

"Come down on the rope. Nice and slow. If this thing sinks, you're all walking it out to the open water yourselves, dragging it behind you."

"Gahk!"

Heh heh. So is the problem these guys, or the fragile Japanese woodwork?

We loaded the cargo gingerly and boarded—all eleven of us—and the boat still looked like it might go under.

Only the ferryman's eyes were trembling with anxiety.

"Easy does it. Veeery slowly."

"Y-yes, yes..."

Listen, if this thing sinks, hauling the boxes out of the water is going to be a way bigger headache than paying for a new boat.

"Boys. Sit absolutely still. Breathe gently."

"Be... be quiet, everyone."

"If we sink, everyone grabs a crate and hauls themselves to shore somehow, got it?"

"Gahk..."

The dock was farther away than it looked. To see fear flickering in the eyes of boys afraid of nothing? Oh, I'm going to have to use this trick often.

Tock.

One decent wave and we'd have genuinely gone under, but thankfully we scraped up to the dock.

"We made it, so don't get cocky now. Disembark carefully."

"Yes, ma'am."

Step, step, splash—

"Hiiiiiik!"

Whatever. My call. If the boat sinks because of me, it's they who'll suffer for it anyway.

"Welcome. My father is away, and I am the eldest son of the Minamoto clan, entrusted with this domain."

The nobles used to all hole up in the capital—so they keep separate regional strongholds now, do they? If there's a firstborn son stationed here, they clearly take this place very seriously.

"A pleasure. Shin Ha-eun, from Toi."

"This way, please."

Hm. How does he get around in those clothes? Some kind of garment like a skirt tied up between the legs—trousers, basically—with sleeves wide enough to land a small bird in. Indoors, fine, but he wears this stuff outside?

He seems to have dressed up in formal wear out of courtesy, but honestly, comfortable clothes are best. Just looking at him makes me feel stifled.

Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle.

Oh, come on! Worrying so much about your clothes that you take tiny little steps—when are you ever going to get home walking like that?

Still, the town had a slightly freer feel to it, since people were coming out to watch us pass. Everyone's seeing foreigners for the first time, huh? In a world where even a neighboring village is a rare sight, actual foreigners?

Might as well be aliens to them.

Oddly, though, the Japanese never tell you their given names? Just the family name, every time.

Following Minamoto, we arrived at a mansion that looked exactly like the Fujiwara estate. Shinden-zukuri, was it called?

A residence with a pond dug into the grounds and trees planted around for atmosphere—rather tasteful, actually. Daehan has nothing like it. We're doomed! Where are our hanok palaces?!

"This way..."

And that's ALL he says? A guest comes all this way and you don't chatter on even a little? Show off your house a bit, at least!

"Here we are."

After following him for an age, we climbed up onto something like a pavilion and walked along a long corridor.

"Maintaining a garden like this must be exhausting."

"One cannot call it exhausting, to tend the realm of Amida Buddha."

"Ah—no, my apologies. I was just thinking out loud."

Buddhist, is he? Well, it's not my place to criticize another man's house.

At the end of the corridor we stopped before a room floored with woven mats.

"Boys. Take your shoes off before going in, here."

"Ah—you are not unfamiliar with this custom, then?"

First time inside a room like this, sure, but only Westerners tramp around indoors in their shoes. We take ours off at home too, you know.

Something felt off—he was the only one visible, but I could sense presences all around. Bodyguards, apparently. Stationed separately.

Ugh, such creepy types. Just walk beside us like normal people. It's unsettling.

"Boys! Set the cargo down over there."

"Yes, ma'am!"

THUNK!

Thankfully the floorboards here were sturdy hardwood—they didn't give way. Phew...

"We heard you receive 10,000 ryo of silver each year as tribute, so we've brought it."

"Ah! Of course. Thank you. Forgive the trouble."

"It's our first year, so we came to pay our respects in person."

And, well, to see how you people live, you know?

Oh, interesting—the cushions arranged in the middle of the room facing each other seemed to be the seats of honor, and behind me the boys' mats were laid out in a neat row. So that's our side, then?

There's one cushion left over. Is that... his spot? Does he trust those ninjas lurking in the shadows that much?

Fwoosh.

"Gahk?"

Hm? What? Why? Am I not allowed to sit?

"Y-you... were not wearing a skirt, I see?"

"Nope. Trousers."

"Still... surely a lady ought not sit with her legs spread quite so... openly?"

I'm wearing trousers. What's wrong with sitting like a normal person?

"We sit however's comfortable, wherever we go."

"I... see."

And with that he knelt down meekly.

So many people inside the room, so many ornaments—it felt like walking into a museum exhibit. Haha, these folks are also missing the aesthetic of empty space.

"The tribute won't be going up, will it?"

"No. It is a tax on the land itself, so it will not change."

"Good. Put that in writing for me."

"Of course."

Remarkably compliant, this one.

"Just so you know, I'm curious—what's 10,000 ryo of silver actually worth in Japan?"

"Hahaha..."

Why so flustered? Did I ask too bluntly?

"Relax, I'm not trying to haggle. Just tell me."

"A house like this one would not cost even 10,000 ryo. That should give you some idea."

Judging by the feel of it, this is money enough to build several houses like this one, then?

"And conversely, what would 10,000 ryo of silver be worth in Daehan?"

"We don't really use gold or silver, so I couldn't say precisely. In won? I'd guess around ten million won."

Silver's so common back home that its value gets pegged absurdly low. Overseas, though, it's no joke at all.

"Then what could you do with ten million won?"

"Uh... in local terms? A seok of rice goes for about 500 won here."

"Gahk! Then... you could buy our rice?"

"Everything edible in Daehan is rationed—you file a request and it's delivered. There's rice to spare, so nobody would buy it."

Come to think of it, thank goodness we run a ration system. Otherwise this would've been a disaster—if foreigners bought up rice abroad and resold it domestically, they'd make an astronomical profit, wouldn't they?

Long live communism! Well, we only purchase from our own registered farms ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠through the Temple anyway, so if anyone tried to cook the books... oh boy. I don't even want to imagine it.

"A ration system, you say?"

"Yes. So that no one ever starves, the state buys every crop and distributes it to whoever requests it."

"That's even possible?!"

Hm. It's basically a basic income system, and it has its pros and cons. Everyone's guaranteed a minimum livelihood—but in exchange, if you get too many lazy people, the whole country goes broke feeding them.

Though we do ration slightly below full comfort, so it works out. Taxes exist, which forces everyone to work at least a little. Fall behind on your taxes, and the Temple's terrifying big brothers come knocking!

"It works as long as the state has money."

"How enviable."

"Japan, you work hard too, alright?"

Not even in your next life, though, probably. Daehan runs on one very sturdy pillar of faith, after all—with a dash of violence on the side?

You people worship the Emperor like a living god, and even you can't manage this one.

"Ah! How do you manage it, then?"

"Manage what?"

"The Imperial House has borrowed a great deal of money from us."

"How much?"

Hm? You're in for quite a shock. Got anything like a heart medicine on hand?

"This year makes exactly 99 years, you see. Principal and interest together: seven million, nine hundred eighty-one thousand ryo."

"..."

Hm? He's frozen. His eyes are even wavering? Look, whether the interest is one fen or two isn't the point. It's the compounding that matters!

And with that kind of money, Japan would probably have to sell the whole country right now just to cover it.

"I must have misheard. Would you say it once more?"

"Seven million, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nine hundred eighty-one thousand ryo."

"Khh—hck..."

Ooh. His breathing and inhaling just got tangled up with each other.

"How can such a sum possibly have accrued?!"

"I'll show you the promissory notes."

Quite the thick stack of notes, isn't it? Go ahead—search them all day long. The math won't be off by a single coin.

"Correct, isn't it?"

"It amounts to this much!"

The principal's only 2.09 million ryo, but what can you do? Compound interest. That's why it's terrifying.

"It seems the government has changed hands, so let me ask—what's the repayment plan? Even if you borrow nothing further, the interest alone is 160,000 ryo a year."

And yet you had the nerve to demand tribute from me?

"Hh... hhk... I shall send word to my father at once."

"You'd best hurry. That's 437 ryo every single day."

"Hiiik!"

All that decorum and polish, and now I can see straight through to the bottom of him? Tch. All hat, no cattle.

"N-now, if you'll excuse me a moment. I shall have a servant show you to your lodgings."

"Of course."

Screeeech—click.

BAM BAM BAM BAM.

He slipped out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so quietly when closing the door, and the moment he's outside he goes pounding down the halls loud enough for the whole estate to hear? What's the point?

"My lady, shall we return to the ship?"

"There are rather a lot of smelly things lurking around, aren't there?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Ninja-like figures hiding here, there, and everywhere—so irritating. Even the boys have noticed, but my senses are sharper than theirs, you know.

Screeech.

"Your lodgings await, honored guests."

"No thank you. We'll stay aboard our ship. If you need to reach us, send word to the harbor."

Staying here would do nothing but breed trouble. There's no way the boys would sit still.

"Even so..."

"Does Japan force its guests to stay against their will?"

"No... of course not..."

If it weren't for those ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lurkers in the shadows, I'd have liked to look around and see how the Japanese actually lived. Oh well—can't be helped.

Oh! I have a feeling something interesting is about to happen.