Rasmus walked around the city and he listened to the murmurs from the merchants and traders. He found out that the Vivelda and the Urion companies began to lower their buying prices and increase their selling prices of goods. He didn't expect they would make the move that fast after they found out the local competitors had gone, leaving only the two giant companies.
"It's according to your plan," Videl mentioned as he followed Rasmus with bread in his hands.
"Yes, now all we have to do is wait. We don't want to begin our moves immediately, we need to make their customers show dissatisfaction. By then, once they're desperate, we will open our business and they won't think twice about moving and using our service since ours will be a lot cheaper. If we open our business now out of nowhere, they will think our business a bit suspicious and they won't use our service at all. We need to offer the water to those who are dying from thirst because they won't hesitate to take the water, not knowing if it's poisoned or not," Rasmus explained as he looked at the dock in the distance where the traders and merchants were lining up in front of the Vivelda and the Urion trading posts.
"Have you checked the prices they charged for all goods?" Rasmus looked at Videl who was enjoying his bread.
Videl didn't say a word and pulled out a piece of paper, a list of prices based on what he heard during his investigation. Rasmus took the paper and looked at the prices of food, spices, herbs, and materials. He compared it to their old prices and didn't expect the rate of their selling price had go up by 30% and their buying price had go lower by 20%
"So greedy," Rasmus muttered as he folded the paper.
"Do you think they go even further now that they don't have competitors but each other?" Videl crossed his arms and stared at Rasmus.
"Of course. It's just a matter of time before those two companies will control the market and the prices," Rasmus nodded and continued his walk around the city. "We will make a move once the ship is ready, for now, let's focus on fixing the warehouses that we own. We need to do it carefully or those two companies will find out that something is fishy. We want to take them by surprise and struggle to adjust their prices again, making their customers see how greedy and disgusting they are."
Rasmus and Videl went to check the warehouses since Rasmus used Carrion's maids and servants to help him clean them. He wanted the warehouses to be clean and in good condition to store goods, especially food.
Once he was done checking his warehouses, he went to bargain with the former owners of the shipping companies for their ships. He managed to buy four medium-sized ships and two small ships for 500 Eclers in total which was 2,500 Gold coins which should be around 4,000 Gold coins.
"We will send the ships to Matthias later tonight. I'll ask him to upgrade those ships for me," Rasmus said as he walked on the sidewalk, on his way to the brothel house.
"You spent quite a lot of money. Are you sure you're not burning too much money?" Videl looked at Rasmus with his brows furrowed.
"No, this is necessary..." Rasmus looked down at his wristwatch. "We are here to monopolize the market, so we will burn quite a lot of money for it."
Rasmus and Videl came into the brothel house, and it had become their habit because Rasmus paid Videl for his hard work while having fun with the courtesan. Just like Videl, it was Carrion's habit as well to spend most of his day time in the brothel house.
"Ah, Count Blackheart. It has always been my pleasure to see you around," Erlina smirked playfully, resting her chin on her fist. "My favorite patron..." she giggled softly.
"I thought I was your favorite patron?" Carrion furrowed his brows as he walked down the stairs with three courtesans behind him.
"Oh please, you're no gentleman," Erlina rolled her eyes as she leaned back on the backrest of the couch and crossed her arms and legs. "And to be honest, I'm getting sick of seeing you every day," she sighed.
"I'm more handsome than him," Carrion sat down on the couch across from Erlina's couch.
"It's not about the face, Rion. It's about the charm of a man," Erlina responded as she shook her head. "He's still good-looking and he doesn't spend his money on women or pleasure," she added.
"What? He's basically spending money so his butler can have some fun," Carrion pointed at Videl who was flirting with the two courtesans.
"That's different..." Erlina sighed.
Rasmus listened to the two of them as he poured himself a glass of whisky. The banter reminded him of his past life when he was still a mercenary and his associates were bantering at anything.
"Madam, do you know anything about the admiral and his fleet?" Rasmus asked as he walked toward the couch and sat on the same couch as Erlina.
"The Admiral? You mean Gustav, The Sea King?" Erlina raised her brows and stared at Rasmus. "What about him? Everyone in Cruen knows about him,"
"Have you heard anything about him? I know him from the book, but I want to know what kind of a person he is," Rasmus asked, taking a sip of his whisky.
"No, but a commander of his came here a few times. I heard he's a strict and scary guy," Erlina answered as she pursed her lips. "Rion should know since he's an Earnwind," she nodded up at Rion who was taking a breather after an intense activity earlier.
"Now you understand why it's delusional?" Carrion looked at Rasmus. "You can't get rid of the Vivelda and the Urion because they both have Gustav and his whole fleet as their backing. Your ships will be taken down by that bastard or his commanders..." he pointed out.
"That won't be a problem if I took care of his fleet," Rasmus responded as he looked down at his reflection in his whisky.
Carrion and Erlina were frozen still when they heard what Rasmus had just said. They slowly shifted their heads to look at Rasmus, their brows were raised and their mouths gaped.
"You're... you're not thinking of destroying his ships, right?" Carrion asked as he sat straight and stared at Rasmus. "You know nothing about his fleet."
"What do you mean?" Rasmus asked back and took a sip of his whisky. "Someone like him who has absolute power must have a lot of enemies. He wouldn't know who did it," he pointed out as he stared back at Carrion.
"You're crazy..." Erlina stared at Rasmus in disbelief. "Do you know what you're talking about and WHO are you talking about? It's Admiral Gustav! He's invincible and I heard that he's on par with the 1st Swordmaster in terms of strength!" She pointed out and grabbed Rasmus's hand, hoping that he would rethink his decision.
"I'm a mage, and we will be surrounded by the sea. Do you think his fleet can fight against a mage in that kind of situation where I can easily drown his ships?" Rasmus looked at Erlina with his brows raised.
"Yeah? Unless he has a whole army out there in the sea, not to mention the Eight Commanders who are feared by everyone, and their ships are reinforced with Mana stones!" Carrion glared at Rasmus, realizing how crazy Rasmus was.
Rasmus swirled his glass and a smirk formed on his face. He had been doing nothing but scheming and sitting in his chair, reading books. He wanted to have some action, and it had been a while since he had fought someone.
"That's not a problem. In fact, that sounds more interesting..." Rasmus emptied his glass as he stood up. "I have to go and meet Matthias now. It's time to help him build my ship," he said as he walked past Erlina.
"Wait!" Erlina grabbed Rasmus's hand, preventing him from leaving. "Are you serious about this? If you're going against the Admiral and somehow they find out, the whole Neva'll hunt you down," she stared into his eyes as she let go of her hand.
"As long as you keep your mouth shut, nobody will know. Or should I get rid of you first to keep my plan safe?" Rasmus asked, his eyes cold when he stared down at Erlina. "Even if I do this, I believe that's none of your concern or will it affect you in any way."
Erlina kept staring at Rasmus for a few seconds before she looked away.
"Right, that's none of my business," Erlina muttered as she crossed her arms and pouted.
Rasmus glanced at Carrion and checked his reaction. Carrion immediately looked away and raised his hands. He then left the brothel house and went to see Matthias.
Erlina sighed as she shook her head, but then a smirk formed on her face.
"Now that's what I called a man right there, Rion. Not like you, hiding and spending his time in a brothel house every day," Erlina chuckled.
"Shut up," Carrion scoffed as he leaned back against the backrest.