207: Dick, who is good at taking advantage of others' misfortunes

Chapter 207: Dick, Who Excels at Robbing While the Fire Burns

...

In the early morning, as Elizabeth sat up from the bed with disheveled hair, Dick was already writing furiously at his desk.

Swish, swish, swish—

In the quiet bedchamber, the sound of a quill pen scratching against paper echoed.

Elizabeth yawned, not making a sound to disturb Dick. Instead, she took small steps, slowly walked behind Dick, and peeked over to look.

She saw Dick working with both hands, sketching one design after another at an extremely fast pace. These were combinations of incredibly precise steel machines and various miniature magic arrays.

With a light stroke, Dick drew a long, straight line. With a casual flourish, Dick drew a perfectly standard circle.

These should be blueprints for Magical Machines, a perfect fusion of magic and steel, and a pinnacle of both array studies and forging.

Elizabeth was stunned. She had never seen such standard drafting, as if it were meticulously traced by a master craftsman using various tools.

But Dick had no tools. He just drew like this with only two hands and two quill pens, and his speed was ridiculously fast.

In less than a minute, a blueprint for a Magical Industrial Machine was finished. And before the ink on it was dry, Dick continued to draw the next one.

He was like a ruthless printing machine.

Elizabeth picked up a blueprint with some curiosity, looked at it repeatedly, and couldn't help but murmur, "This is... a lamp?"

"To be precise, this is a Z-273 model voice-activated Magical Lamp, brighter, more durable, and cheaper than the magic stone lamps currently popular in the Aimiya Empire."

Listening to Dick's reply, Elizabeth blinked, half understanding, and subconsciously said, "So the Central Region of the Central Continent uses this kind of lamp..."

"Not exactly. If I remember correctly, the KN-2 model Magical Lamp is currently popular in the Central Region, which is 37 versions lower than the one I drew."

Hearing this, Elizabeth covered her small mouth, her face full of surprise. She hadn't expected Dick could draw Magical Machines that were ahead of the Central Region.

"In that case, my Aimiya Empire will be able to lead the market in the field of lighting fixtures..."

Listening to Elizabeth's excited cheer, Dick shook his head and chuckled lightly, saying casually, "Just lighting fixtures?"

Elizabeth tilted her head, but soon, she noticed a thick stack of blueprints beside Dick. A rough count showed there were hundreds of them.

"Hiss!"

After a quick flip through, Elizabeth soon gasped. On them were various kinds of Magical Industrial Products, both civilian and military.

"Heh heh, did you think I was just drawing a big picture for those nobles at the banquet last night?"

After finishing another blueprint, Dick let out a light breath, turned around to look at Elizabeth, and said slowly, "I told you, Magical Vehicles are just one piece of the cake."

"Dick~"

Elizabeth couldn't help but hug Dick, letting out a soft groan that was hard to interpret.

Since they met, the surprises Dick brought had come one after another. He was like a treasure mine that could never be exhausted, no matter how much you dug.

"Your Majesty, next you'll have to get some more money. Last night's financing is far from enough."

"Not enough?"

Elizabeth sat on Dick's lap. Her light body didn't add much weight.

"Dick, last night we secured nearly five billion gold coins in financing. The pockets of those great nobles must be empty..."

Elizabeth was truly a bit bewildered. But soon, she thought of something and immediately puffed out her cheeks, asking accusingly, "You, are you going to charge billions in consulting fees?"

Originally, Elizabeth had agreed to pay Dick a personal consulting fee of 520 million gold coins.

But this was only the consulting fee related to Magical Vehicle cooperation guidance. And now, the Magical Guidance Innovation Project proposed by Dick was a comprehensive magical transformation.

Besides Magical Vehicles, there were a large number of various Magical Machines. If he were to charge additional consulting fees for all of these...

Heavens, Elizabeth realized she seemed to have to pay Dick a huge sum of money, far exceeding 520 million gold coins!

"Dick... the Magical Guidance Innovation Project has just begun, and everything needs money now. Could your consulting fee..."

Facing Elizabeth's plea, Dick shook his head and said, "I am now your fiancé, and also a member of the Royal Family. I can no longer cooperate as an outsider."

"Therefore, not only will I not charge additional consulting fees, but I won't even take a single coin of those 520 million gold coins."

"What I want is just a small, permanent share of the Magical Guidance Innovation Project, not much, just 10%."

Elizabeth was taken aback. In this way, Dick wouldn't get a single coin for now, as the Magical Guidance Innovation Project had just begun and was still far from making money.

But soon, the clever Elizabeth understood Dick's calculation, because in the long run, Dick would reap huge profits!

In the future, for every 100 gold coins the Magical Guidance Innovation Project earns, Dick will directly receive 10 gold coins, and it will be permanent!

This was a terrifying figure.

One must know that the Magical Guidance Innovation Project involved the entire magic guidance field, encompassing various Magical Industries, and was also aimed at the world.

If one day in the future, Amyria truly monopolized the Northern Magical market and exported Magical Industrial Products to all countries, the profits would no longer be as simple as mountains of gold and silver...

Heavens, Elizabeth could hardly imagine how much Dick would gain from this small 10% share!

However, as the initiator, founder, and also the key figure in producing the core technology for the Magical Guidance Innovation Project.

It was quite reasonable for Dick to take this much.

"I know the Empire needs money in the initial stage of the project, and if this huge consulting fee were paid in installments, I would seem like a stingy creditor..."

"Hmph, you stinky Dick, you're quite considerate of the Empire."

Elizabeth said coquettishly, but she wasn't angry. After all, if Dick demanded the consulting fee immediately, she couldn't possibly produce it.

And if it were paid in installments, the interest alone could cause the Empire's finances to collapse, the repayment pressure would be immense, thus affecting the Magical Guidance Innovation Project.

In this way, Dick wouldn't receive money, and the Aimiya Empire wouldn't develop well. This was a lose-lose outcome.

Now, the 10% share proposed by Dick, although he would indeed earn more, was a breather for the Aimiya Empire, which was short on money in the early stage.

In a sense, this was a win-win situation.

"You really are a genius at doing business..."

"Not at all, I just don't want to make Your Majesty uncomfortable."

Heh heh, a genius at doing business?

No, no, no, I'm just better at robbing while the fire burns.

Looking at Elizabeth, who was pulling at her belt again, Dick pursed his lips and said casually, "Your Majesty, back to the topic, you still need to get some money today."

"How? You're so smart, why don't you suggest something? The great nobles have basically been squeezed dry," Elizabeth said irritably.

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten? Our national bonds haven't been issued yet. Those small and medium-sized nobles, wealthy merchants, and even a large number of commoners with spare money..."

"Their money combined is no less than that of the great nobles."