Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: #8 Journey to the Capital (4)
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Everyone, even country bumpkins, knew who Edward White was and what kind of man he was.
His life story had legendary aspects to it.
Heterogeneous and genius.
These were the words that always trailed after any description of Edward White like a tagline, and they were truly the most fitting way to express him.
Of course, just the fact that he had made a name for himself among the Continent's Seven Strongest despite having martial prowess inferior to that of a knight was explanation enough.
Rebecca White, who developed the Western Armin Circulatory Railroad, was his mother.
Edward White had as his mother an extraordinary woman who changed the era, and he himself was a man blessed with an indescribable intellect.
At the age of ten, Edward White had mastered all existing advanced engineering.
At eleven, he took an interest in the structure of matchlock guns and modified them, dramatically reducing the loading time that had previously taken several minutes.
At thirteen, the concept he introduced proved its horrific power with the outbreak of the Western War, and at the same time, he struck it rich.
The fourteen-year-old Edward White did not stop there and embarked on developing new weapons.
However, it was a venture that required far more capital than what he had earned from selling those modified matchlocks.
That was when his intellect shone once more.
“I will build a railroad that crosses the entire continent. With you all.”
This was the advertisement that spread from the West across the entire continent.
It was absurd.
A railroad traversing this vast continent—how much funding and time would it take? It was unimaginable.
Most people scoffed, but a few sharp minds focused on the phrase “with you all.”
That was right.
He had invented the concept of a “stock company.”
The method of investing capital in an individual and sharing ownership stakes in the business was a shocking form of corporate operation unprecedented on the continent.
He was the first man to legally notarize and realize what had previously been a haphazard notion of investment.
It was something that could threaten the feudal system itself.
After all, wasn’t it creating a deformed structure where anyone with money, regardless of status, could wield power?
Yet no one could stop his rampage.
It just so happened that the Demon King Jerdia was a major shareholder who had invested in “EW” at that time.
“Interesting. Give it a try.”
As the king of Najark and one of the continent’s powerhouses, he backed Edward White.
It carried multiple meanings.
The greatest among them was that Edward White’s vision now had “feasibility.”
The name of one now called one of the Seven Strongest commanded that level of trust.
“Come on, this is your last chance to buy shares in a company at such a bargain! Invest now!”
Under his shadow, Edward White began raising investment funds at an explosive pace.
It was a success.
The railroad company “EW” successfully listed after gathering five times the initial target investment, spreading rails across the entire West.
And that took only two years.
He had bought time with money.
Edward White was sixteen at the time.
It was then that the name of the ten-year-old Yeonhwa Igret was engraved on the iron fortress called EW.
“Now I will spread railroads across the entire continent. And I will devise new means of force to end the wars.”
At eighteen, Edward White made this declaration and succeeded in one of the two goals within a mere year.
Bolt Action.
He had developed a firearm not by shoving gunpowder down the muzzle, but by embedding it in the bullet itself.
Of course, it was a technology impossible to commercialize.
Not only was its power immense, but producing even a single bullet required astronomical technology and capital.
Finding artisans to make the bullets, training them, reducing defect rates, and deploying them in actual combat would consume unimaginable resources.
Edward White ultimately gave up on commercializing it.
However, he succeeded in supplying it to Armin’s elite troops.
This was the decisive event that elevated Armin, the weakest power on the battlefield at the time, to one of the three great powers.
On that day, Edward White was granted a dukedom.
He became widely known as the Golden Duke, and despite being unable to handle even a handful of mana, he earned a place among the Continent's Seven Strongest and the moniker Golden Duke Edward.
He had bought martial power with money.
That was at age twenty-two.
Then at twenty-five, he completed the transcontinental railroad, spreading his legendary life story across the world.
A man like that,
“My mood is sour. Very sour.”
Elric could not relax.
“Get to the point quickly. More importantly, I should ask how you found me first.”
A blood-red glow flickered in Elric’s eyes.
Edward shrugged with a sly grin.
“Have you forgotten? This railroad is mine. Knowing who boarded where and got off where is a piece of cake. Especially if it’s an important figure—reports come straight to me.”
Elric frowned.
‘He knew since I left the West.’
It was a shortcoming in his thinking.
He should have hidden his identity from the start.
“Wow, I was still surprised. I never dreamed the Sword Ghost senior was a married man. That Sara who seemed ready to die today... Eek! Don’t look at me like that.”
As killing intent tightened around his throat, Edward shrank back in terror.
“We’re not on bad terms, right? Right? We got along well on the battlefield...”
“Shall I repay you with a knee to the face?”
“Eh, hey... What sour words.”
Edward smiled obsequiously.
“How could that have been my doing? It was my army’s.”
“You’re the one who made their weapons. And you boasted about it proudly. Wasn’t it you who commanded that battlefield, too?”
“If you could see it as part of business...”
His slippery evasion grated on Elric’s nerves.
Elric tapped his cane with his index finger.
“Let’s hear why you came. I have companions.”
“Oh, of course. That beautiful lady wife of yours...”
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention her again. I’m getting angry. No, I already am.”
Edward knowing about Tiria’s existence was a massive liability for Elric.
If he pulled any tricks, Elric didn’t have many ways to counter.
He needed to threaten him.
“If you try anything with my wife, I can’t stop it. But that doesn’t mean I won’t take any action afterward.”
“R-right...?”
“You’ll be hired for free by Armin’s enemies first. You’ll stand at the vanguard and help destroy your own country. Of course, you won’t take a direct hit. EW is your cradle, after all.”
Edward swallowed dryly.
Elric continued mildly.
“I’ll have to destroy the railroads. I’ll go around killing your major shareholders one by one. That’ll reduce friendly shares. People will start selling theirs.”
“...”
“It’ll be a slow rot. Just before EW collapses, I’ll come for you. I’ll squeeze your neck until you’re at your most miserable, then sever it.”
It wasn’t an empty threat.
If he harmed Tiria, Elric was the kind of man who would carry all that out.
“Do you think I won’t?”
No, he wouldn’t. His stiffened expression said as much.
Discussing feasibility was laughable.
That was the weight of the name Sword Ghost Kasha.
“So, do you still want to talk about my wife?”
At the question, Edward straightened up with a more serious face.
“...Tch, that’s not why I came.”
He scratched his head.
*
‘Ah, this is getting dicey.’
Edward felt suffocated as he met Elric’s—no, Kasha’s—eyes.
He had thought time recuperating in the countryside would have softened him a bit.
Indeed, when conversing with his wife, he had the air of an ordinary young man anywhere.
‘He was wearing a mask.’
Did that man’s wife know?
That her husband was a murderous demon who would hunt someone to the ends of hell once he decided to bite.
Edward let out a long breath and spoke.
“As you can see, I didn’t come to fight. You know that, right? If I wanted to fight, I wouldn’t have come here in person.”
Sword Ghost Kasha was the man among the Seven Strongest most befitting the title of “strongest.”
Excluding the currently secluded emperor, there was no one who could beat him in a one-on-one duel.
Of course, battlefields don’t consist solely of one-on-one fights.
That was why the Seven Strongest maintained balance, and why Edward’s head was still attached today.
He was well aware of that.
In this situation, he was clearly the weaker party.
“If not to fight, then?”
“To negotiate.”
Edward leaned forward and said.
“I know you hate beating around the bush, Sword Ghost senior, and you don’t care for false modesty, so I’ll be direct.”
Edward swallowed once, then got to the point.
“Please retire. And don’t turn your eyes to the Western front again.”
A chill ran down his neck.
“I want the war to drag on longer.”
Kasha’s gaze darkened.