The semaphore line flashed a code Alex had dreaded since he woke up in Viscount Arren's body: 280 (High-Level Military Personnel, Unannounced). This was followed quickly by 210 (Duke's Colors Displayed), confirming the visitor was not a tax collector, but a man of war.
The visitor was Sir Kaelan, the Hero of the Chronicles of the Starfall Kingdoms.
Kaelan was everything Alex was not: tall, charismatic, radiating natural authority, and possessing a profound disregard for ledgers. He rode into New Arren, his armor gleaming, his eyes blazing with the conviction of a man whose purpose was written into the very fabric of existence. The town, used to the quiet efficiency of industrial clockwork, stopped to stare at the living legend.
Kaelan brushed past the AGC guards and found Alex in the study, surrounded by his flow charts and ledgers.
"Viscount Arren," Kaelan announced, his voice booming. "I have come on behalf of Commander Elric. The war against the Northern Barbarians has begun in earnest, and the supply lines are failing. We have seen the quality of your standardized pikes and arrows. I am here to procure all of your available steel and grain. The fate of the kingdom depends on it."
Alex looked up from his balance sheet, completely unmoved by the Hero's dramatic appeal.
"Sir Kaelan," Alex said, checking his timepiece. "Your arrival was delayed by fifteen minutes, which constitutes an unacceptable latency on an urgent request. Please state your requirements in quantifiable units, and detail your proposed payment protocol."
Kaelan stared, taken aback by the Viscount's utterly non-feudal response. "Payment? I am the Hero of the Kingdom! The King will honor this debt! We offer the Syndicate the eternal gratitude of the Crown!"
Alex removed his spectacles and placed them on the desk. "Sir Kaelan, gratitude is not a negotiable asset. It has a zero valuation on our balance sheet."
He unrolled a contract. "The Arren Industrial Syndicate operates under a twenty-year charter and a 10% profit-share agreement with the Royal Treasury. We are contractually obligated to fulfill Commander Elric's existing order, which is maxing out our current production capacity."
"Then you will increase production!" Kaelan demanded. "You will use all your resources for the war effort! This is your patriotic duty!"
"Patriotism is an external variable, Sir," Alex corrected patiently. "It offers no return on investment. If I divert my certified steelworkers from producing high-margin plows to produce low-margin swords, I violate my duty to my shareholders—Baron Tarsus, Lady Lyra, and hundreds of investors who rely on our projected ROI."
Kaelan, incapable of understanding the concept of a shareholder, grew furious. "You place a price on the safety of the realm? You are a traitor!"
Alex leaned back, finally engaging with the underlying systems challenge. "I place a price on scarcity, Sir. If I fulfill your massive, immediate order, I must halt the production of plows and tools. The farmers cannot work without them. They cannot produce food. Next year, the kingdom starves, regardless of who wins your war."
"I can offer you land! Titles! Blessings!" Kaelan offered, resorting to the feudal assets he understood.
"I have a legal shield (the Syndicate) and land protected by economic leverage (Baron Tarsus)," Alex said. "Your blessings are not convertible to steel ingots."
Alex then pushed a simple ledger across the table, showing the full production capacity. "I can give you an additional 5,000 standardized pike heads this quarter, but only if you agree to a 50% price premium to cover the opportunity cost of diverting resources from civilian goods."
Kaelan, the man of destiny, was paralyzed. He had been trained to fight dragons and rally troops, not to navigate a supply-and-demand curve.
After a tense, half-hour negotiation—which Alex treated with the detached calm of a hostile takeover meeting—Kaelan finally relented, realizing the man of logic held all the true power. He signed the contract, agreeing to the premium price.
"But why, Viscount?" Kaelan asked, utterly defeated. "Why are you doing this? If you had given us the steel, you would have been seen as a hero."
Alex merely shrugged. "Heroes are a volatile asset, Sir Kaelan. They are prone to high risk and low long-term yield. The Syndicate requires stable, predictable, long-term profit. Your war is a necessary expense, but it is an expense, nonetheless."
As Kaelan stalked out of the study, Alex watched him go, then tapped the recently signed contract.
"Hemlock," he called. "File this contract immediately under Extreme Risk Portfolio, High-Yield Category. The Hero will be a reliable customer as long as the war lasts, but his payment protocol is questionable. Immediately raise the insurance premium on all war-related shipments by 10%."
Alex had successfully monetized the protagonist of his own novel. His empire was now intertwined with the very destiny of the kingdom, forcing the Hero to adhere to the rules of market efficiency.
Next priority: The high profit from the military contract gives Alex the capital to invest in the next major leap in technology. To secure the kingdom's reliance on him, he needs to solve the problem of long-distance communication once and for all.