Open the Door, Free Trade

"Tell me your reasons, Patrick." Gawain looked at the Empire's head of commerce and finance with a grave, serious expression. "You should know that introducing credit currency is a rather radical measure. If the pace of reform is too great, the difficulty and risks of reform will rise sharply as well."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Patrick adjusted the collar of his black short formal coat, took a deep breath, and slowly said, "The main reason I made this suggestion is... Typhon."

"Typhon..." Gawain pondered briefly. "Go on."

"Your Majesty, you once said that a war between us and Typhon was inevitable. In my view, that war had actually already begun—I assume you saw it the same way. We had just avoided a war of swords and steel, but our economic contest had only begun. At this stage, the essence of that contest... was a contest of gold settlement."

Gawain watched Patrick's eyes, making no effort to conceal his approval, and gestured for him to continue.

"Typhon's representative currency is based on gold. Its banks issue notes redeemable for actual gold, but when it comes to orders with Cecil, since neither side has established a new currency interface yet, we still settle directly in gold. We purchase large quantities of textiles and other primary industrial goods from Typhon while exporting magic-powered components, trains, and railways. The latter orders are few, but enormously valuable. Overall, Typhon's gold is flowing into Cecil at a slow, inconspicuous rate.

"Your Majesty, you should know that Typhon's noble reform was far more 'moderate' than ours. They retained many Old Nobles, and aside from losing their privileges, those Old Nobles also retained substantial private property.

"Put simply, Typhon still has numerous noble treasuries beyond imperial control. Much of the gold paid to us... was actually pooled by countless