NOVGO.NET Chapter 1659: Chess and Checkers
Chapter 1659: Chess and Checkers
“Why wouldn’t I be sure?” said Byron in response, giving the young man a slightly confused look. “Having the snaplocks be used by those at the frontlines would give our side a greater edge in the war, no?”
“Well…” Slightly taken aback by the reasoning the man gave him for his prior suggestion, it took a while for Valyr to regain his bearings as he nodded at the former’s words.
“You’re not wrong, but…”
“…Ah.” Still confused as to why the young man was looking at him as if he had made some kind of mistake, Byron eventually understood what was going on, causing him to let out a chuckle as he gave the young man a faint smile.
“It’s the money, isn’t it?”
“…Yeah.” Though somewhat caught off guard by the words that left the man’s mouth, Valyr still nodded at the question. “Don’t get me wrong. I have no problem if the Imperial Production Guild decides to take a look at it.”
“If anything, I’m pretty sure I’d stand to gain a lot out of it if I did.”
“However…” He gave Byron a wry smile. “In terms of how much money I’d be able to earn from them, I’d stand to gain a lot more while working with the Blacksmith Guild in that regard.”
“Mind if I ask what you plan on doing with the earnings?” asked the latter, giving the young man a calm smile. “Of course, if you wish to keep it a secret, then I don’t mind it either.”
“It’s not really a secret,” replied Valyr, taking in a few breaths to calm himself down. “In fact, I’m sure everyone who knows me would come to know of it at some point.”
Just as Byron raised his eyebrow in response to those words, the young man went ahead and explained to the man that he had established a brand new town a fair distance away from Algerie Kingdom.
Not expecting that the young man in front of him had actually become the leader of a new town during the time he was gone, it took a while for Byron to wrap his head around the entire thing.
Then again, even after he did, he looked at Valyr with slight shock and disbelief. After all, it was already difficult for those with a lot of connections to establish a brand new settlement, much more so for the young man in front of him.
Fortunately, as he pondered over the latter’s words for a bit more, Byron eventually felt everything click in his mind, giving the young man a look of understanding as he asked, “You plan on using the earnings as funds for your town’s development?”
The young man nodded in response.
“If that’s the case, then all the more reason to have the Imperial Production Guild take a look at it!” said Byron after that as he briefly let out a loud cackle.
“Why’s that?” asked Valyr, giving the man a look that contained both doubt and curiosity.
However, rather than directly respond to his question, the man instead replied to the young man’s query with a question of his own. “How much do you think you’d gain from one firearm if you were to sell it through the guild?”
“Er…” Doing a bit of quick maths in his head, Valyr closed his eyes for a bit before giving the man a rough estimate. “Around 50 platinum coins?”
“With enough time, that might be the case.” Byron gave him a slightly bitter smile. “However, with no one recognizing the benefits the snaplock has over the arquebus, we’d probably be able to give you 30 platinum coins per firearm at most.”
“And that’s already factoring in the renown you’ve earned as a blacksmith.”
“On the other hand, I assure you that if you were to have the Imperial Production Guild take a look at it, you’ll be able to earn double the figure I gave out at the very least.”
“In fact, I’m sure that if you push their buttons right, you’d be having them buy your firearms for a platinum card. Each!” The man grinned, his words leaving the young man at a brief loss for words.
“…”
“…I suppose I’ll give them a message.” Though the young man still held a few doubts towards the man’s claims, Valyr still decided to send the only elder he knew from the Imperial Production Guild a message after sensing the immense confidence Byron had in his words.
After obtaining a response that the elder was now heading to the empire as quickly as possible, the young man shifted his attention back to the man in front of him, giving him a look of confusion. “Is there a reason why you want the Imperial Production Guild to be the first ones to buy these snaplocks?”
“Isn’t it because you wanted to earn as much money from each firearm as possible?” said Byron in response, giving the young man a knowing smile.
“I mean… yeah.” Valyr faintly nodded at those words. “But now that the Imperial Production Guild are getting their hands on these snaplocks first, aside from possibly deepening the bond between both guilds, the Blacksmith Guild isn’t going to gain anything out of it.”
“I wouldn’t really say that.” Listening to the young man’s words, Byron eventually decided to give the former a glimpse into his train of thought.
“Though it might seem like the guild isn’t gaining anything out of it, my decision to have them buy it first is a case of sacrificing short-term gains for long-term ones.”
“With the Imperial Production Guild getting their hands on the snaplocks, you would earn a lot more than you normally would if you were to sell them through the Blacksmith Guild’s channels.”
“Of course, wanting to recoup the cost of buying those firearms off your hands, they would then distribute these firearms to be used at the frontlines, allowing everyone else to understand the difference between the arquebus you previously made and the snaplock you’ve just introduced.”
“As time passes, more and more people would come to learn of how much better the snaplock is compared to the arquebus, which would in turn increase the demand people have for it.”
“By then, if you ever decide to make another batch of the snaplocks and use our channels to sell them, the earnings per firearm would be far higher than the figure I just gave you.”
“Though it may not reach a level where each firearm would earn you a platinum card, it would definitely be close, if not higher depending on the Imperial Production Guild’s actions.”
“And now I ask you once more… is the Blacksmith Guild really not going to gain anything out of it?”
“…” For a while after that, Valyr remained silent as Byron’s words continued to linger in his mind.
Thankfully, it did not take long for him to come to terms with it, letting out a sigh of wonder as he looked at the man with a hint of admiration.
’To think he’d already thought of things that far ahead,’ muttered the young man inwardly, a wry smile briefly appearing on his face.
’…Man.’
’I’m out here playing checkers while he’s already playing chess.’