Chapter 46 - 45: Investment
Morrigan looked at Dave with understanding. "Good, what kind of projects do you have?"
Upon hearing Morrigan, Dave pulled out some documents, laid them out in front of her one by one, then took out the first document and presented the projects the Bank.
"Our first project is the Bank project, Morvos Bank," Dave explained calmly and professionally. "Now, you will be able to purchase shares not only for small trading with Banks but also for all companies under the name of the Morvos Consortium."
"Is this only applicable to your close circle?" Morrigan asked curiously. She was somewhat surprised when Dave shook his head in denial. Dave continued with a slight smile. "No, we will be going public. Anyone interested can buy up to 49% of our shares."
In fact, Seth’s plan was simple. Before the company’s value skyrocketed, he aimed to establish absolute authority over the Consortium by having Morrigan and several other trustworthy individuals purchase shares at a low price.
Seth wanted his Company to be a completely private enterprise of Dark Sorcerers.
"I understand, but what is the essence of this Bank?" Morrigan asked as she leaned slightly forward, examining the Bank project. "What makes it different from today’s Banks?"
Dave cleared his throat and began to explain. "We won’t be dealing in cash, Lady Morrigan. We will conduct transactions easily and quickly with a new generation system."
Then Dave took a card out of his pocket; the card had 16 numbers, a name, and a small rune on it. Morrigan’s eyes looked at the rune with a bit of intrigue. "What does this card do?"
"You can easily withdraw money at our branches with this card."
Although this card did not function like those in the modern world, it merely showed how much money a person had, who they were, and their balance when they visited the branches.
For now, because they were not equipped enough, Seth could only do this much. The rune functioned like a QR code. Thanks to special devices at the branches, the cardholder’s entire balance, fingerprint, and password were stored.
Additionally, in the event of any card loss, they could go directly to the branches to change their password there.
"The cardholder can also easily check their balance without going to the branch." The rune on the card could identify the cardholder’s fingerprint to reveal the balance.
But that was all it was limited to. In today’s world, transferring money was a complicated affair. For that, Spatial Magic was needed, which was something Seth could not afford at the moment.
"This sounds good and where will my investment go?" Morrigan took a sip of her tea and asked calmly. Dave seemed prepared for this question and quickly responded. "Half of this money will be used for the Chain Fast Food restaurant, while the other half will be spent on construction materials for the Bank and the nursing homes."
Dave elaborated a bit more. "Currently, our budget is used for workers, chefs, and also for some taxes. We’ve already made all the preparations. We’ve received approval for both the Bank and the nursing home."
Morrigan closed her eyes and paused thoughtfully for a moment, then looked at Dave after a while. "Okay, what are your other projects?"
Dave quickly showed the next project, which was the fast-food project. "As you can see, we’ve already selected the restaurants that will open throughout the capital. The zoning plan has already been approved. All that is needed is a simple approval, and the wizards we hired will start construction as soon as possible."
With the help of wizards, what would normally take at least a month to complete could be done in just a week. In the world of Aure, such professions were easy but expensive.
According to Seth’s estimates, they would spend at least 4 million gold. Additionally, at least 1 million gold would be spent on printing credit cards, advertising, and food supplies.
Seth planned to buy some small banks operating in the Capital instead of building the Bank on a new piece of land.
These banks would be expanded with new renovations. They were nearly all over the Capital. This operation would cost a total of 2 million gold.
The remaining 3 million would be transferred to the Bank, allowing it to begin its initial operations. In other words, the Morvos Consortium would lay its first foundation within at least a month. After that, they would have a steady and regular income.
"I don’t see any issues with this," Morrigan said. "You may proceed."
Dave nodded and continued. "If you’d like, you can also look at our other project."
Seeing Morrigan’s approval, Dave then presented the necessary documents for the nursing home. "Look, these nursing homes we will establish will provide jobs for over 400 orphaned children while also allowing around 2,600 children to live comfortably in the homes."
"Until what age are you responsible for the children in the nursing homes?"
"We are responsible for the children until they are 16. After that, they will earn a guarantee for employment in our enterprises."
Morrigan, upon hearing this, found it very idealistic that such a number of projects could be achieved with just 10 million gold. "You seem very confident; what if you fail?"
"We won’t fail," Dave replied confidently. "Our business model is one that will make us and our shareholders very rich. This system model is something that has never been seen before."
Hearing that Morrigan wanted more explanation, Dave continued politely as she wished. "We receive income from both the rent and licensing fees because we own our restaurants both financially and in terms of property."
"Isn’t this business very unprofitable?"
"This is where the Bank comes into play."
Not understanding what Dave meant, Morrigan raised an eyebrow. Without waiting any longer, Dave quickly explained. "If we aren’t able to earn enough profit, we offer assistance for 6 months without any compensation. If the business still isn’t profitable, we direct that individual to another property to continue there."
"At the same time, we have special rooms for children as a family business."
This was an idea put forward by Charlie: to set up playroom areas for children. Charlie wanted to include animal robots made with dwarves’ unique technology in this room to create entertainment mascots for children, but Seth rejected this idea for some reason.
After explaining for a little longer, Morrigan made her decision.
"I understand," Morrigan said. "Still, that’s a lot of money. You have confidence, but I can’t invest such a large sum just by looking at this..."
Dave looked at Morrigan with concern. According to what Seth had told him, Morrigan would definitely accept, so why did she still seem unconvinced?
"Still, I don’t trust you yet..." Morrigan said without hesitation. "You’re telling me a lot, which is nice, but I can’t invest a large amount of money without seeing any action."
With a sigh of disappointment, Dave gathered the documents. He then stood up to leave. "Thank you for considering this. If you change your mind, please feel free to contact us."
Morrigan shook her head. "Don’t worry; I will reach out to you."
Then Dave exited the mansion with a servant and tried to distance himself by getting into the carriage. He sighed and leaned back in his seat.
"He told me this would go smoothly." Thinking that Seth was wrong, Dave planned to visit other nobles.
"Please don’t rush to leave, Mr. Dave."
Not understanding what was happening, Dave looked at the person who called out to him, turned around, and saw Thomas. Thomas looked at Dave calmly. "My Lady has decided to reconsider. She is waiting for you inside."
As soon as Dave heard this, he excitedly jumped out of the carriage, and the tall man who got off the carriage followed Thomas. After a while, they headed back to the hall where Morrigan was.
"Welcome, it may be early, but I’ve changed my mind," Morrigan said in a tone that sounded apologetic. Dave sat across from Morrigan. "No problem at all, Lady Morrigan."
Morrigan nodded calmly, then continued. "I’ve decided to invest 20 million gold in you."
"Are you serious?!"
Dave exclaimed with excitement, his voice rising, and immediately apologized. Feeling grateful, Dave praised Seth for being right.
"You heard correctly; I’ve decided to invest in you." Despite nearly deciding to invest all her savings, Morrigan remained calm. After all, this was her first mission from the God.
"Thank you; this money will really help us," Dave said with a serious and grateful expression. "For this investment, we will give you 20% of the shares. Please accept."
"I accept; let’s finalize the transactions within a week."
"Don’t worry, Lady Morrigan. I will provide you with the documents confirming your 20% shares as soon as possible."
Morrigan was silent for a moment, then continued. "Is there anything else?"
"Nothing else, My Lady," this time Dave happily gathered the documents and after giving a respectful nod to Morrigan, he left.
As Dave walked away, he felt excited thinking about what he could do with the 20 million gold. He had already calculated where the 20 million gold would go.
Additionally, he just needed to convince the Merchant Guild. Still, this time, Dave was starting to trust Seth more. After all, he was someone who could cause the Duke’s daughter
"20 million gold..."
A smile formed on Dave’s lips as he felt even more hopeful about the future of the Consortium and his young master.
"If things keep going like this, we’ll be rich in just a month." Dave thought seriously about this. Whether it was banking or restaurants, everything was filled with Seth’s innovative ideas.
Although he was somewhat intimidated by Seth, he had started to respect him. Thanks to Seth, Dave had seen more money than he had ever encountered in his life. It was truly an interesting and incredible feeling.
Even old Hanson would rise from his grave if he learned this; his eyes would burst with jealousy.
"I wish you could see this too, old man..."
Lord Hanson might be viewed by the public as a moneylender, a pervert, and a walking freak in everyone’s eyes, yet Dave still held respect for his patron.
Before he could think any further, Dave returned to his mansion. The mansion was undergoing renovations to be transformed from a house into the central building of the Morvos Consortium.
Since there would be a need to manage multiple companies, Seth had chosen the mansion as the main command center.
Then, Dave got off the carriage and headed back to the mansion to meet with Seth again.