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Azrak Gold Mine (2)
In response to the lord's question, Rockefeller first wanted to take a look around the entire territory.
"First, I'd like to examine the territory. I'd appreciate it if you could be my guide, my lord. Shall we take a walk together?"
As it happened, there was nothing better to do.
He might be a cold-hearted fellow, but he is still a powerful figure in the empire.
Since there was nothing good to show off, the lord reluctantly agreed with a smile.
"Who am I to refuse such a request? Alright. I'll lead the way. You follow me."
At the lord's call, the overseer quickly responded.
"Yes, of course."
So, Rockefeller, the lord, and the overseer went out for a walk on horseback to the outskirts of the territory.
As they rode around the outskirts, they soon stopped at a place where a vast plain stretched out and dismounted from their horses.
They were then able to see the drastically changed terrain of the territory.
Hills appeared where there were none before, and existing hills disappeared.
When Rockefeller, who had dismounted from his horse, scanned the surroundings, the lord and overseer followed suit.
Like Rockefeller, the lord, who was also scanning the surroundings, spotted a gold ore rolling nearby and opened his mouth.
"It seems to have been washed down here during the last torrential rain. Take a look at this."
The lord threw the gold ore in his hand to Rockefeller.
"This is something you like."
Rockefeller, who caught the thrown gold ore, looked at it and saw it shimmering here and there.
"Is this gold ore?"
"Yes, it's been discovered quite frequently in this territory since the great upheaval. If you had stayed in this territory like us, you would have been able to pick up a few a day while wandering around. That's how much they roll around."
Gold was the most fatal metal to captivate humans.
"Has there been no interest from outsiders regarding this stone?"
"Wouldn't there be? Of course, there was."
"Well, with such a discovery, people wouldn't stay still, would they?"
"Still, it's safe since it's your land. If this was my land, would there have been a quiet day for this territory?"
"It's fortunate, indeed. It's because this land isn't the lord's land, but mine."
The overseer who was with them also joined the conversation.
"My lord is not speaking in vain. After the rumors of the gold ore spread, many people came and went to the lord."
"There were all sorts of crazy people too. Well, they were all trying to find a way to take advantage of it somehow. But since it's not my land but yours, they just accepted it and left. They probably didn't get the right size."
Rockefeller laughed and spoke.
"It seems that way when I was doing well."
Rockefeller opened his mouth while tossing and catching the gold ore in his hand.
"Do you know the cost of producing 1 ounce of gold?"
What a strange thing to say?
"Cost? How would I know that? It just takes a lot, I guess."
The lord knew that quite a bit of labor and chemicals went into producing gold.
With a subtle smile, Rockefeller said.
"To produce 1 ounce of gold, on average, 37 hours of labor, 5,300 liters of water, and several liters of cyanide are needed. This is like a formula that has hardly changed, whether in the past or now. Besides, there are separate methods used by alchemists, but since that's their secret, we have no way of knowing. However, they also use a considerable amount of labor and various chemicals."
At Rockefeller's words, the lord stroked his beard.
"Did it take that much trouble to get gold? Well, it's that expensive because it takes that much effort. Did you know that?"
In response to the lord's question, the overseer just shook his head.
"I didn't know it took that much cost. It seems like quite a lot of effort is needed to obtain gold."
The lord chuckled.
"That's why everyone goes crazy for gold, isn't it? If making gold from such stones were easy, who would attribute such value to it? Isn't that right?"
"That's true, my lord. If it had been more common, it wouldn't have been valued that much."
In this way, it took a lot of cost to produce 1 ounce of gold.
However, Rockefeller was able to print the goblin dollars he wanted based on such gold.
'In a way, I'm the real magician.'
But the goblin dollar was not perfect either.
First of all, it was based on dalant, so the more gold that served as the basis for dalant, the more goblin dollars could be printed.
'If there isn't enough gold to back it up, goblin dollars won't gain trust from everyone in the first place.'
In that sense.
'The fact that this land came into my hands is, in a way, a blessing given to me by heaven.'
"I've always been suspicious. Does God really exist? I've always asked myself that question."
The lord was annoyed by his words.
"Are you going to commit blasphemy just because we're equal?"
The overseer who was with them felt the same way about Rockefeller's words.
'If there were a priest here, it would have been a big deal.'
But on the other hand, it meant that Rockefeller's power was strong.
'But if you don't have to worry about the church's opinion...'
"Please be careful when mentioning the church. What good would it do if such rumors spread?"
Despite their concerns.
Rockefeller, who knew his own strength well, just laughed.
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