The three witches exchanged glances. Though they had vaguely heard of the various financial terms emerging in human society in recent years, they weren't entirely familiar with them. Thus, everything Charles said sounded utterly foreign to their ears.
"This method… does indeed bring gold faster…" Sephera swallowed hard. "But… wouldn't such coin come with steep interest? We…"
Charles stared at their confused faces, and his own enthusiasm dampened considerably. With a quiet sigh, he muttered, "Investment isn't the same as a loan. The former doesn't require interest."
"Ugh, never mind. It's not something easily explained in a few words. In any case, I already have a plan."
Without further elaboration on these convoluted concepts, he began assigning tasks directly:
"Hattie, you're to gather information on the income of middle-management personnel at Amazon Fisheries Company. Last night, I drafted an investigation questionnaire. You and Ekta will track down those Amazon women and have them fill it out."
"Ruth, you'll procure drafting tools. I need you to handle illustrations. Also, secure a copy of Draconic Teaching Materials. I must master Draconic within seven days—the sooner, the better!"
"Sephera, find out what formalities are required to establish a real estate company and acquire slum land under its name. Most importantly, learn which officials we ought to bribe… to ensure they look the other way."
"Everyone—move swiftly. The monastery's future hinges on this!"
…
Three days later.
"Excuse me, madam, may I trouble you for two minutes to fill out this investigation questionnaire? Thank you ever so much!"
In the evening, on the bustling streets of South Harbor District's center, Ekta, draped in a nun's habit, flashed a radiant smile as she stopped a passing Amazon woman and warmly inquired.
The Amazon woman glanced at her and immediately recognized her as a member of the only monastery under the Goddess of Life Church in South Harbor District. Taking in her enthusiastic demeanor, the female warrior quickly assumed that these overly compassionate nuns had recently overspent on their charitable porridge offerings and now had to take on part-time work to cover the monastery's deficits.
What a group of kind—even foolish—women. No wonder their church has fallen into such decline.
The Amazon woman sighed inwardly, but she still held a measure of respect for those who truly lived by their creed of benevolence. After all, if she were ever gravely injured someday, these nuns might heal her without expecting anything in return, right?
So, she didn't refuse. Instead, she politely nodded to Ekta, took the questionnaire, and began filling it out earnestly:
Are you a mid-level employee of Amazon Fisheries Company? Yes.
Do you believe the company has thrived in Liberl Port in recent years? Yes.
Do you agree that establishing roots in Liberl Port will help the company grow stronger? Yes.
Would settling in Liberl Port benefit your career? Yes.
Compared to South Harbor District, do you find housing prices in other districts excessively high? Yes.
Would you be willing to purchase commercial housing in South Harbor District's prime area? Yes.
The questionnaire was complete.
The Amazon woman looked slightly confused. Before today, she had never considered settling in Liberl Port, let alone buying property in South Harbor District. Yet, as she filled out the form, she found herself unable to answer the last question with anything but a "Yes."
"Thank you!" Ekta beamed sweetly, then took the questionnaire and moved on to her next target. The surveyed Amazon woman scratched her head before finally scoffing.
Whatever. As long as I don't hand over any coin, no scam can touch me!
With that unshakable confidence, she turned and went about her business.
Similar scenes repeated across South Harbor District. A highly suggestive set of questionnaire results was quietly taking shape.
Meanwhile, in the monastery's scriptorium, Charles struggled through "Draconic for Beginners," forcing himself to read aloud in a desperate bid to master the language in seven days.
Under normal circumstances, such a feat would be impossible. But now, armed with the Eyes of the Rune Keeper and the scriptorium's Assistance function, every phonetic symbol's pronunciation became clear at a glance, every word's meaning and usage instantly comprehensible. His learning efficiency soared—within a week, he had largely mastered Draconic's common phrases!
And his purpose was razor-sharp.
Liberl Port—or rather, across the entire world—the two most well-funded banks were one owned by gold dragons, and the other by blue dragons. In short, both were dragon-related.
And the one Charles intended to visit was run by those blue dragon princes, who lounged in deserts feasting on camels, playing in the sand, and breathing lightning—yet had grown obscenely wealthy thanks to the widespread use of electricity.
Naturally, their bank's service windows were staffed by their own loyal dragonborn or half-dragons.
Though these tellers had to master the Common Tongue to operate in Liberl Port, speaking Draconic with them would instantly earn their favor.
Doing so marked you as "one of them."
Charles studied Draconic intently. Behind him, at a smaller desk, Ruth worked in silence, her pen flying across paper. Stacked beside her were hundreds of questionnaires, each meticulously analyzed for statistics.
These were part of Charles's plan to secure investors—a heavily biased survey designed to convince backers the venture was foolproof!
Every question was carefully engineered. In fact, if he'd wanted the opposite conclusion, he could've crafted another set entirely, like:
Do you honor the traditions of the Amazons?
Do you believe the sea is the true domain of Amazon warrior women?
Has Liberl Port's decadence corroded their courage?
Does the homeland archipelago hold an irreplaceable sanctity in your heart?
Do you oppose settling in Liberl Port?
And so on. With the right nudges, a survey could yield whatever results the researcher desired.
But this world hadn't yet entered an age of information overload. Such tricks were known only to seasoned professionals.
Charles, on the other hand, planned to use this set of research results, the authenticity of which was extremely questionable, to raise a large amount of investment from Blue Dragon's bank!
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