The Hungry Fortress Wants to Build a Battleship in Another World – World of Sandbox

“The wrangling now is over how to draw out the resources we want. Offering payment in Lepuitari currency puts us in a bind, so the default is barter.”
“Money’s no good?”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. It’s simply too bulky, and it’s bad economics.”
“Ah. You mean it’s a nuisance.”
Storage alone is a problem, and any plausible deal would be on the scale of hundreds of thousands of gold coins per transaction. For Paraiso, that’s heavy, takes space, and is a pain to count.

And gold coins are something Paraiso could counterfeit or pad at will.
Considering the scale of trade envisioned, the coins and banknotes currently in use in the Kingdom of Lepuitari would be insufficient in sheer number.
That in turn could drive gold to remain overvalued—accelerating deflation.

In fact, relative to the size of the economy, gold reserves were lacking, and signs of that were already showing.
“Ideally, we would use this as a chance to shift into a credit economy, but with the surrounding states wholly unreliable, that’s difficult.”
With paper issued under a credit economy, there’s no hard cap on notes. On the premise that issuance matches the scale of the economy, gold scarcity doesn’t cap the supply.
But as the name says, a credit economy rests on credit.

It means little unless the state, including its environs, is stable.
“At minimum, transactions between Paraiso and the Kingdom of Lepuitari should use bills of exchange so currency and notes don’t have to sit in the middle. If both sides complete their trades before the bill’s expiry, no actual payment occurs.”
“…I don’t get it.”

Commander Eve, unfortunately, didn’t quite grasp coinage and banknotes.
In her former world, electronic settlement was standard, and she hadn’t managed a household budget.
Had she touched fantasy works in a VRMMO, perhaps she would have had a feel for coin-based trade.

“Think of it as barter, and that will do. We investigate the counterparty’s ability to pay before the deal, so Paraiso has nothing in particular to worry about.”
Without letting them notice, they would bind terms favorable to Lepuitari and spur economic activity. After that, they would steer it so they could import resources in bulk.
“Hm. Steering a country is not for me… I’ll leave it to you. Isn’t this Akane’s kind of fun?”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. She seems interested, so I’ve assigned it to her as a political-economy learning module.”
“A teaching module…”
Given the technology gap, it could hardly be otherwise.

Things in Lepuitari were starting to look chaotic, but Eve decided to let them take it slow.
◇◇◇◇

“I beg your pardon for the imposition, but may we add one person to the meeting roster?”

“If you deem it necessary, we have no objection. Going forward, if you inform us in advance, adding personnel as needed is not a problem—so long as it doesn’t become excessive.”
Drei, the Android, nodded immediately to the request to add personnel.
Colonel and Plenipotentiary Envoy Deck Estainka gave a regret-tinged acknowledgement to that answer.

He had likely hoped Paraiso would refuse.
“In fact, that person is already aboard the launch. Would it be acceptable to have him join from today?”
“Hm…”
Drei immediately pinged the local Strategic AI. The local AI judged: whoever comes, no issue.

The final agreement of the talks had already been set by the Strategic AI; all that remained was to land there with deft wording. Whoever came, whatever happened—fundamentally they were obstacles, to be avoided or destroyed.
“No problem. Permission to board is granted. We’ll hear the introductions at the venue.”
Drei nodded and turned on her heel. Paraiso’s guards bowed and opened the gangway.

“Colonel, Paraiso has cleared the boarding. I’ll lead the way—this way, please.”
“Mm. As is only proper.”
A pompous middle-aged man moved from the launch to the gangway. His unsteady feet owed to his build and lack of exercise.

Behind him, Navy Lieutenant Commander Revider Klinkika openly grimaced.
“What a flimsy stair.”
Climbing the metal gangway, the army colonel muttered.

The gangway up the side of the flagship Panas was all-metal, thinned and lightened with cutouts.
To the informed eye, it was a piece backed by superb metallurgy and structural design—an out-of-place artifact, one might fairly call it.
To the uninformed, it would look like a hollow, unreliable, unsafe set of steps.

Which is to say:
Even if he thought so, a normal person wouldn’t say it out loud in a place where ears might be anywhere.
But though from a different service, the man was still a colonel. Among a party whose highest ranks were below colonel, it was hard to offer a rebuke.

The colonel’s complaints did not stop.
He babbled that an all-metal deck was wasteful, that the weight must hurt maneuverability—earning cold looks from the three navy men (the colonel, walking first, didn’t notice).
Learning that the venue was on deck, he griped that the preparations were poor, that there was no intent to welcome, that the wind and distraction made discussion impossible, that the tables were cheap—

“Impressive. You could compile a book of quotes.”

Commander Eve couldn’t help murmuring as much; his vocabulary for complaint was prodigious.
But essentially all of it was off the mark, and nearly all of it had been explained to the navy already. In other words, this army colonel had not read any of the information provided by the navy.

The quote-book was immediately compiled, with interpretations and rebuttals neatly appended, to be handed over as a printed packet on his way out.
Be that as it may—
“……”

“……”
Once all were seated and it came to introductions, both Paraiso and Lepuitari fell into silence.
Paraiso had already done introductions and had not invited this attendee; they wouldn’t go out of their way to speak first.
The Lepuitari side, too, waited for this colonel who had forced his way in to open.

There was no settled international protocol, and this was in essence an operators’ meeting.
If it had been a formal function, the order of proceedings would have been set to a degree.
Lieutenant Colonel Deck Estainka let out a small sigh and spoke.

“Ah… Excuse me. Then allow me. This gentleman will join the talks from today. Colonel, if you please.”
“Mm.”
The colonel nodded grandly and leaned back.

“I am Gachilad Grand, colonel of the Kingdom of Lepuitari Army Capital Defense Bureau!”
He spoke it in a rather loud voice.
“I also bear a rank in the peerage of the realm! My title is Baron, a legitimate heir! I am not like these navy brats—no quarter, even if the other party is little girls!”

At the sudden “little girls,” the three navy men’s faces froze.
Their opposite numbers were Android Communicators; they did not react to such idle abuse.
“Your courteous introduction is appreciated. I am Drei=Ringo, fleet leader of this task force.”

“I am Vier=Ringo, staff officer.”
At that, Baron Gachilad Grand snorted through his nose.
“As a rule, while on fleet operations, our home-country peerage is subordinate to fleet billets and thus left unspoken, but I will inform you for the record.

“This fleet is a royal-direct unit with a single supreme commander:
“The Queen herself.
“And our fleet is the primary among them; the fleet leader is defined as holding authority equivalent to a ducal rank—Herzog.

“In tradition, the fleet’s upper echelons are held by the royal house.”
At that smooth explanation, the Lepuitari attendees drew ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) breath.
“In your terms: the Ringo surname is proof of the royal family, and the fleet leader stands equal to a duke. We have no intention of unduly emphasizing that status on this visit, however.”

In future official settings, they would kindly mind their manners.
Drei=Ringo concluded thus.