[526] An Ally (2)
Fermi didn't look particularly surprised.
Thinking himself superior to Enrike, Miro brought Arius into the room.
"What a disappointment. You're on break, in the prime of your youth, and you've locked yourself away doing the dishes. I was going to have fun teasing you if you were up to something strange."
"Doing that on break isn't exactly productive. Why did you come?"
Miro, sitting on the sofa, changed the subject.
"Do you really remember? I only saw you when you were three. When I called 'Geumdong, Geumdong,' you'd come running, giggling."
"I have memories from when my brain began functioning."
"You really take after your mother. Your father can't even remember yesterday. Oh—does that mean he's bald…?"
"Sigh."
Fermi was getting annoyed.
"Cut to the chase. Why are you here?"
"You heard about me going to heaven and coming back, right?"
"I don't know."
Assuming it was probably true, Miro shrugged off Shirone's robe.
"Ta‑da. How's this? Makes things a bit more interesting, no?"
Fermi glanced once at Shirone's sleeping face, then looked back to Miro.
"You're a familiar face."
During the heat of the graduating-class competition Shirone had abandoned his evaluations, and they hadn't heard from him since.
"Shirone was in heaven too. He fought with the fate of the world on the line. Don't you want to hear what happened?"
Fermi leaned back on the sofa, bored.
"I'm not interested."
"Come on, listen. In heaven there's this strange creature called Anke Ra—"
"Anyway."
Fermi cut him off.
"Isn't that something Adrias should handle?"
Miro pressed his lips together and gave an apologetic smile.
"I don't care if the world ends or what monsters live in other worlds. Shirone feels the same. If he comes back to school he'll crush it; if he doesn't, so be it."
"Is that so? Then why did he enroll at the Alpheas School of Magic?"
"What are you trying to say?"
A strange glint of madness filled Fermi's eyes.
"It's none of your business. The Adrias family is just a ruined relic of the past."
Before Fermi could finish speaking, the Ardino family's long hardships were referenced, and nineteen years later he had become an extralegal ritualist.
"I'm sorry for the harm I caused. I mean it. But it was an unavoidable choice."
"Don't be mistaken. He entered Alpheas to achieve a personal goal. There's a lot of money to be made there."
Miro recovered his smile.
"Then why not try a little harder to reach that goal this time too?"
Like a cat drawing in its claws, the madness in Fermi's eyes vanished in an instant.
Switching posture over money was probably an Ardino family trait, but Miro couldn't shake the feeling that he was really trying.
"I'm not one to refuse a deal. But if the other party is my aunt, there'll be conditions."
"Name them."
Fermi pointed at the floor.
"Kneel before me and beg forgiveness, and I'll consider it. I am, after all, of the Ardino line—can't just refuse a deal on a whim."
"That's easy."
Miro was sincere.
"Kneeling isn't hard. As Adrias blood, I can change my mind as easily as flipping my hand. So there's one thing I want to ask."
"What is it?"
"Do you think there's any difference between me kneeling to you and me killing you right here?"
"...."
There would be no difference.
The Adrias Miro knew answered to no one.
"Haha!"
Fermi laughed brightly as if nothing had happened.
"Just kidding. Do you think I'd make my aunt do something like that? But I will take my due for any deal."
"That's fine. I've got a very powerful sponsor, after all."
"That's welcome news. Then let's begin. How can I help?"
Miro told him exactly what he'd told Woorin, even revealing the conclusion Woorin had reached.
"Hmm—extraction of collateral."
True to his clever reputation, Fermi understood immediately.
He also sensed the deal would be as massive as Miro and Teraje's names implied.
"Well, I'm getting a bit motivated."
That was good news for Miro.
What he wanted wasn't just Fermi's ability but the vast magical knowledge the Ardino family possessed.
"Can you extract Shirone's magic?"
Instead of answering, Fermi lifted the hand resting on the armrest.
Extralegal Ritual—Depreciation Trade.
A scatter of chips in various colors and patterns fell with a bright clatter beneath Fermi's palm.
When the chips stood up like a tower, he flicked the top one into the air.
"Neat. What magic is that?"
Fermi said as he snatched the falling chip.
"A summoning magic—Epoxy Tosca."
"Oh."
Miro caught the tossed chip.
Its mottled two‑tone pattern had a central decal depicting an insect that looked like a spider.
"It's a large insect from Lake Tosca. It latches onto a human's spinal cord, secretes a hallucinogen, and drinks blood. Under the hallucination the subject can only speak the truth, and if you tear it off it sprays strong acid and self‑destructs, reducing bones to nothing within forty‑eight hours."
"Perfect for crime."
"Exactly. Of course I bought it through palace channels. Magic my boss needs comes at a premium, so I paid handsomely."
"Can you extract any magic?"
Miro tossed a chip and Fermi caught it again.
"Basically, yes. Off‑regulation rituals that steal or duplicate another's magic involve complex conditions or dangerous prices as part of equivalent exchange. For me, though, conditions or prices aren't important."
"You use the equivalent exchange itself as the tool."
Fermi smiled like an idiot.
"That's it. I'm just the intermediary who completes the extralegal ritual. When trading magic, the will of both seller and buyer must be reflected."
Because seller and buyer have already agreed, Fermi imposes no special conditions or extra prices.
"The thing that balances both sides is money, I suppose. Got it. So how do you set the price?"
Fermi extended his left hand.
Extralegal Ritual—Depreciation Trade contract.
A single sheet of paper materialized and settled into his palm.
"Price is based on the broker's rational judgment given the situation. Of course perjury is impossible. If you set an irrational price…."
"The extralegal ritual won't activate."
"Exactly. The advantage of this magic is that the broker has no extra conditions to meet. Ultimately the parties decide. But there's a problem."
"You mean problems with the traders?"
"Yes. Things like regret or a change of heart. Permanently transferring another's magic carries risks beyond the magic's intrinsic value."
"So you applied depreciation."
"After much thought, the conclusion was we needed the possibility of contract cancellation. If you can revert the contract, the client's anxiety eases and the extralegal ritual becomes more robust."
Fermi set the contract on the table.
"If magic A is worth 100 gold for a one‑month lease, depreciation is applied by contract length. For three months, the second month is 60 gold, the third month 30 gold. Cancellation, transfer, and extension are all possible."
A smile creased Miro's face as he read the contract.
Depreciation made any deal viable within a reasonable range.
"All right. With values set like that, what's left?"
"We set a commission. I determine the fee on all funds exchanged between clients—from one percent up to ninety‑nine percent."
"Kukukuku."
Miro bowed his head and laughed.
You can't lie about the magic's value, but the commission is entirely Fermi's to set.
Of course it made sense.
No one in their right mind would make this extralegal ritual to benefit others.
By setting the commission arbitrarily, he could steer both seller and buyer.
"I expected as much. Honestly, if it weren't like this I'd have thought the Ardino family was finished. So—what value did you assess Valhalla Action at?"
Fermi rested his chin on his hand and considered.
Perjury was impossible; he had to give a number he truly believed. After a moment's calculation, Fermi opened his mouth.
"One hundred billion gold."
Arius swallowed.
He remembered when he'd once dug up Ataraxia to sell to Gion, planning to hand it over for four billion gold plus the condition of standing in Teraje's line. Of course standing in Teraje's line was worth far more than four billion gold, and Fermi's valuation came with "depending on circumstances," but still—one hundred billion gold was a figure Arius hadn't dared imagine.
"Well, if an expert says so, then so be it."
Arius resolved never to go into business later, but Fermi's reach was far larger than that.
"It's based on a three‑year contract: one hundred billion gold the first year, sixty billion the second, thirty billion the third. For a roughly two‑hundred‑billion‑gold transaction, you could extract Valhalla Action."
Miro wasn't especially surprised.
He could well imagine buyer Teraje presenting a blank check, and in any case the money wouldn't be coming from his own pocket.
"Fine. The commission will be ninety‑nine percent, I suppose?"
Fermi shrugged as if it were obvious.
"Then let's draw up the contract. Once seller and buyer signatures are in, the deal completes."
"I can go get Teraje's signature, but Shirone is currently in moratorium and can't sign. You can't just have him scrawl something in my hand, can you?"
"Of course not."
"How will we get his signature?"
Fermi blinked.
"Why ask me? Your aunt should handle that."
"Geumdong."
Miro said with a wink.
"You don't think I came here because I couldn't find someone to perform the extraction, do you? This is expensive; you have to take responsibility to the end. If someone called a genius in the broker world's involved, they'd find a way even in this situation, right?"
Miro sounded determined, but Fermi stayed nonchalant.
"How would I know what you don't know?"
"No—you do know."
"Why do you think that?"
"You explained depreciation after I told you Shirone was in moratorium. That implies there's a method, doesn't it?"
"Don't jump to conclusions. That kind of rhetoric doesn't pressure a merchant at all."
"Really? Then shall I speak in a merchant's terms?"
Miro leaned back, folded his arms, and crossed his legs.
"At first I wondered why you made a magic like this. If it was to earn money, the Ardino house already has enough funds, right?"
"Another assumption."
"Keep listening. What you ultimately want is top‑tier magic—astronomically valuable magic. If that's the case, it becomes clear why you made this spell."
Fermi finally turned to Miro.
"One thing you left out of your explanation: the condition you must accept to set the commission arbitrarily."
Miro smiled like a victor.
"When a broker purchases chips for use, those funds must be paid with the commissions accumulated up to that point."
Damn it…!
A curse rose in Fermi's head.