Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters
Chapter 1025: 63 Vortex (Part 5)

Chapter 1025: Chapter 63 Vortex (Part 5)

[The White Eagle’s Reception·Late Night]

[South City District·Rose Hotel]

Elder Aide’s nose was perched with a pair of glasses, as he held the Uzi steel dagger gifted to Winters by Schmid, closely examining the knife’s unique patterning, he couldn’t help but click his tongue in admiration.

The door was silently pushed open, with Winters tiptoeing back to the parlor holding a clay pot and cups.

“When Rhodes Island hadn’t fallen, the knight orders seized a fair number of Saracens’ Uzi steel scimitars every year,” Aide put the dagger back into the wooden box, his eyes gleamed with memories: “But such a beautiful and exquisite pattern… this is my first time seeing one.”

Caman shifted uneasily in his seat: “Knight orders?”

“The Order of Divine Grace.” Carlo Aide’s tone turned colder, clearly not wanting to elaborate.

Anna had gone directly back to the hotel from the Este estate and was already asleep. In the small parlor now, only Winters, Father Caman, and Elder Carlo Aide remained.

“If you like it, it’s yours; it would only be used to cut paper if it stayed with me,” Winters said in a lowered voice.

He first set up a cup for Elder Aide, filled it with hot milk, poured a little for Caman, and for himself… he went straight for the clay pot.

Drinking hot milk was a habit Winters had brought back from the wilderness. Without Xial present, he had to serve the wine and pour the milk himself.

Winters didn’t have servants, and even Anna’s current maid was sent by Mr. Ed because he disliked treating his subordinates as slaves. But he wasn’t so affected as to insist on being self-sufficient in every aspect of life, like clothing, food, housing, and transport. He had Service Soldiers; he could be lazy too. It’s just that when it was time to do daily chores, he didn’t find it embarrassing.

Carlo Aide witnessed everything and shook his head with a smile: “I’m a businessman; bloodshed is bad for business, [Gold will steer clear of blood].”

Winters sat back in the armchair, holding the warm pot of milk, and pondered: “Perhaps [Blood could make Gold walk] is more accurate.”

“So…” Aide removed his glasses, reverting to his usual no-nonsense demeanor, continuing the earlier conversation, he asked: “Did the Schmids agree to your offer?”

“Elder Schmid said he needs some time to think about it.”

“That means they don’t agree.”

“Yes.”

“It’s still unclear whether the embargo can be implemented, the Schmids want to wait and see.”

“If it were me, I would probably wait too,” Winters paused, then added: “So I gave them another offer.”

“What kind of offer?”

“Work for me for three years, or sell the forge to me.”

“Oh?” Aide responded noncommittally: “Did they agree?”

Winters sighed heavily, looking rather dejected: “They outright refused.”

“To be exact, they nearly turned hostile on the spot; when we left, Elder Schmid’s face had turned from black to purple,” Caman added the details mercilessly.

“It wasn’t that dramatic, was it?” Winters protested in dissatisfaction.

Caman looked amused: “My description is quite conservative.”

“That stubborn old Schmid, of course, wouldn’t agree.” Carlo Aide revealed a wry, knowing smile: “He’s been through this a lot.”

Aide patiently explained to Winters: “Every blacksmith in the Steel Fortress has to swear an oath to keep the secrets ‘between forge and anvil.’ When they sell their forges and skills, they won’t sell them to outsiders like us, only to other blacksmiths of the Steel Fortress.”

“I’m aware of the Steel Fortress blacksmiths’ guild oath,” Winters still felt it’s a pity: “That’s why I gave them an exceptionally high price.”

Carlo Aide stated blandly: “Today, those who betray their oath for your price, will eventually betray you for a higher one.”

Winters understood that Elder Aide was trying to console him, but regarding the secrets ‘between forge and anvil’ of the Steel Fortress blacksmiths, he was not ready to give up just yet.

“Has there ever been a blacksmith in the history of the Steel Fortress who has defected or betrayed?” Winters skimmed off the milk skin and sipped the hot milk, asking slowly.

Aide’s expression grew serious: “When making decisions, you better think about the consequences in advance.”

“I’m just curious, has anyone ever broken the guild oath in the past?” Winters thought of another person and smiled reassuringly: “Don’t worry, I don’t plan to break rules, nor will I use violent methods like kidnapping or coercion that could harm the reputation of the Vineta Commerce Guild.”

“Why do I feel like you’ve already gone through these plans in your head…” Caman muttered under his breath.

Carlo Aide held his forehead and reminisced for a while, muttering with furrowed brows: “I don’t recall it ever happening.”

“How about before you came to the Steel Fortress?”

“I can help you look into this.”

“Mr. Ed, if there’s ever anything I can help you with, please don’t hesitate to ask,” Winters’ spirits lifted like a Hunter who had found the trail: “And could you also check the Schmid family’s recent financial standing for me? Do they have any debts? Any mortgages? Any uncollectible accounts receivable?”

“This might take some time,” Carlo Aide nodded slightly: “But, it’s not difficult.”

Caman couldn’t help frowning and looked disapprovingly at Winters: “Can’t you just leave Elder Schmid and his family alone?”

“What do you mean ‘leave alone’?” Winters was puzzled: “I’m trying to help them.”

“Help?”

“I want to purchase their stockpiled goods, how is that not helping?”

“Buying guns at the price of gun barrels is also called helping?”

“I’m not naming a price they can’t accept,” Winters argued righteously. “How could they possibly give me a price I can accept?”

“But you shouldn’t let them operate at a loss either.” Caman, with pain and helplessness, had no choice but to quote scripture: “[He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house].”

Winters rolled up his sleeves—not to start a fight, but to pull out a graphite stick and some white paper.

He quickly and adeptly sketched the map of Rose Lake and the fortresses, marking an X at the Wooper Canal: “In winter, the canal freezes over, so the fort can’t ship out goods, right?”

Caman nodded slightly.

Winters asked Elder Aide, “So even in a normal year, the smiths in the fort often undercut each other’s prices in the spring, right?”

“You know the fort better than I thought,” a glint of surprise crossed Carlo Aide’s eyes: “Yes, the workshops can’t fully stop in winter, having a whole season’s goods stockpiled, it’s common for them to undercut prices. However, the actual situation fluctuates—some years prices are high, other years they’re low, it’s unpredictable.”

Winters confidently said: “Previous years might have been high, but this year will only be lower, much lower. Because the entire winter season, all the workshops in the fort have been desperately producing weapons. Why are there so many hired hands on the streets now? It’s because in past years, workers would be dismissed as winter began. But this winter, they all stayed in the fort.”

With a few more quick strokes, Winters sketched out the outlines of Monta, Sheltering Mountain range, Varn, the Empire, and the wastelands: “The current situation, heading south, as long as the embargo remains, the trade routes are blocked. North, east, west… regardless of whether or not there are buyers, those three directions mean overcoming mountains and rivers, freight costs will skyrocket.”

“Do you think the embargo will be lifted?” Winters asked Mr. Ed.

“I don’t know,” Carlo Aide said calmly, “but I do know one thing—the United Provincials will not watch idly as weapons flow into Paratu.”

“That is to say, all the goods prepared by the fort for the Paratu civil strife are now stuck in hand.” Winters forcefully drew a closed circle over the fort, tossing aside the graphite stick: “So Baron Granashi, who came to the fort with real Gold and Silver, is the savior.”

Caman shook his head in conflict: “You still can’t convince me, because you are taking advantage of others in their time of need.”

Winters countered: “Swords and gun barrels can’t be eaten or used, selling them at a loss is better than letting them rust in a warehouse.”

Caman was about to say more when Carlo Aide coughed.

“Father Kaman, we are merchants,” Elder Aide reminded him: “For us, buying low and selling high is a matter of course.”

“And this Gold was exchanged for by many people’s lives, it’s not my personal property, you know it, you’ve seen it with your own eyes,” Winters sighed. “I don’t have the luxury to waste it.”

Caman was left speechless.

The door to the small living room creaked open, with Anna wearing a long robe and holding a candlestick, appearing at the door sleepy-eyed: “Mr. Ed, Father Caman… good evening, when did you get back?”

“We just got back not long ago.” Winters stood up to stoke the fireplace making it roar greater, while giving Anna his seat: “Did we wake you?”

Anna took a seat in Winters’ chair, briskly picked up the jug, and took a large gulp of the lukewarm milk. She only remembered there were others present when wiping her mouth.

Anna’s face turned red instantaneously, bowing apologetically to Elder Aide and Caman.

“Good evening, my lady,” Carlo Aide greeted, unfazed. Kaman also made a formal gesture of respect.

The moment Anna entered, she felt the tension in the living room: “I dreamt there was an argument…”

“It’s not an argument.” Holding the poker, Winters waved it in the air. “It’s a shock education.”

Caman almost exploded on the spot.

“By the way, I have something else I want to ask you.” Winters stood in the middle of the living room, leaning on the poker, gazing at Mr. Ed with piercing eyes: “Please tell me the truth.”

Mr. Ed nodded: “Go ahead.”

Winters squinted his eyes, asking word by word: “In the guild election for the blacksmiths, does Paulo Wuper have a very threatening competitor?”

“Yes,” Carlo Aide answered without hesitation.

Winters didn’t waste time with nonsense questions like “Why didn’t you tell me before?” White Eagle has its interests, Mr. Ed has his interests—he’d come to accept this fact.

Winters’ second question: “What’s the name?”

“John Servette, a member of the blacksmith guild, currently a state legislator.”

Winters’ third question: “Can you help me get in touch with him?”

For the first time, Carlo Aide showed some hesitation, with Elder Aide’s brow slightly furrowed, kindly warning: “Legislator Servette has a deep friendship with our beloved allies.”

“I guessed as much.” Winters smiled: “Vineta can support a mayor, why can’t The Federated Provinces?”

“Yet you still want to connect with him?” Carlo Aide asked.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Winters answered leisurely: “I want to do business with him.”

Carlo Aide’s expression grew solemn, with a trace of puzzlement in his eyes.

Winters succinctly revealed the crux of the matter: “In a deal, White Eagle ‘gives charity’ to me while also providing aid for Mayor Paulo Wuper, making the middleman’s job too easy.”

“If it weren’t for Colonel Berny, I would still be grateful for White Eagle’s charity,” Winters mused: “But now that the pawn is aware of the chess player’s thoughts, don’t expect the pawn to be easily manipulated by the chess player.”

“The blacksmiths of the fort are all waiting for the dust to settle before trading, but I can’t wait. Once the canal is navigable, the border blockade by Monta is bound to become stricter by the day, and by then, even if I obtain the weaponry cheaper, I won’t be able to ship it out.” Winters openly elucidated his core interest: “I don’t care who I buy the weapons from, but I must spend the Gold before the canal is unblocked.”

Caman no longer understood what Winters was saying, Anna frowned slightly, while Carlo Aide pondered.

“Since Elder Schmid and the other Forge Masters are all waiting to see, I can only force them to enter the market. My plan is simple,” Winters shrugged. “Introduce competitive mechanisms.”

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