Gili Merchant Alliance

Early the next morning, before Kerry could go check how many copper ingots had been smelted overnight, Mike arrived.

"Baron, something terrible has happened. Lord Jim has forbidden all the merchants in Little Nose Bay Port City from doing business with us. We can't buy anything now," Mike said loudly as soon as he arrived.

"Did he forbid them from doing business with me, or from doing business with commoners as well?" Kerry suddenly thought of a problem. If the commoners on the island could no longer do business either, wouldn't he have harmed the more than one thousand people on the island?

"Heh heh, not exactly. As long as no one says the goods are being sold to South Australia Island, no one cares if commoners buy a few things. But they won't sell us fishing equipment anymore, saying that South Australia Island is the only place with fishermen in the entire Little Nose Bay Port City region. I really don't understand. If only we have fishermen here, who else can those merchants selling fishing equipment sell to?" After Mike finished speaking, Kerry let out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the commoners hadn't been dragged into it as well. Still, Kerry hadn't expected Mike to have such insight.

The fishing industry in Little Nose Bay Port City had already become a buyer's market. Under Lord Jim's isolationist policy, a great many people would soon be going hungry. Civil unrest was about to erupt there, Kerry thought gleefully.

"I know what's going on. As for fishing equipment, we'll buy it from the Jili Merchant Alliance. The journey is a little longer, but they sell everything there, so don't worry. By the way, find a cargo ship and bring it to the southern pier. I have a batch of copper that needs to be shipped to the Jili Merchant Alliance for trade."

Kerry had decided yesterday that he would go to the Jili Merchant Alliance today. Since Mike, the captain, happened to be there, he arranged everything at once.

The Jili Merchant Alliance's full name was the Gili Merchant Alliance. It was located in the Gili Islands, southeast of the West Europar Continent.

Big Nose Bay and Little Nose Bay lay precisely in the northeastern part of the Jili Merchant Alliance, while South Australia Island was the closest place within Little Nose Bay to the Gili Islands.

South Australia Island was 120 kilometers by sea from the nearest city-island of the Jili Merchant Alliance.

It wasn't far, but it wasn't close either. Compared with going to Little Nose Bay Port City, it was naturally far, but compared with Southport City, the journey was much shorter.

Merchants from all over the world gathered there. Most were from the Gili Islands, but there were also many merchants of other nationalities.

When Kerry arrived at the southern pier, Unit 001 had already put away its smelting backpack. A large pile of copper ingots and a smaller pile of various by-product metals had been neatly arranged beside it.

Kerry had assigned Carson to remain behind at the territory today. He was now beside Kerry to see him off, and he was baffled to see his young master's puppet standing guard there.

But when he learned that the neatly arranged items were copper ingots his young master intended to trade at the Jili Merchant Alliance, Carson, who had been troubled by the territory's income lately, felt that he could finally sleep well.

"Mr. Carson, arrange for some porters to load all these copper ingots onto Mike's ship. Leave a few porters aboard as well. We'll set off for the Jili Merchant Alliance today. By the way, these here are gold. Take them back and keep them safe. Also, take this Alchemy Preservation Bottle with you. Every day, you must put the jellyfish caught by the fishing team inside it to keep them fresh. That's the most important thing." After pointing at the small pile of gold on the ground, Kerry took a small iron bottle from his robes and handed it to old Butler Carson.

"Don't worry, young master. It's more important than old Carson's life. It will be safe until the day I die." This was the first time in his life that old Carson had handled such a valuable object. Carson had never doubted his young master's trust in him, but being entrusted so casually with such a precious piece of Space Equipment still made him feel willing to die for a kindred spirit.

"Your life is far more important to me than this little bottle. Although it's Space Equipment, it can only be used to store food and keep it fresh."

Kerry genuinely felt that Carson's life was more important than the Alchemy Preservation Bottle. The thing was worth only 2,000 Points, but a loyal butler like Carson was priceless.

There wasn't much gold, only about half an ingot, so Carson simply tucked it into his robes. There were far more copper ingots, however. It took ten porters nearly an hour to load them onto the ship. Unit 001 had said that there were forty-two tons of copper ingots here. Based on the pre-New Year market price of roughly 35,000 Copper Coins per ton, this batch was worth about 150 Gold Coins.

By the time everything had been arranged that morning, it was nearly noon. They would eat lunch aboard the ship. After bidding farewell to the deeply moved Butler Carson, Kerry boarded the cargo ship bound for the Jili Merchant Alliance.

The midday sun shone across the sea, making it nearly impossible to see anything outside the cabin. Even so, Carson desperately tried to keep the departing cargo ship in sight. Only after it vanished beyond the horizon did he return to the castle.

Kerry's father and mother had died after encountering bandits while conducting maritime trade. Although Kerry had brought a powerful puppet with him this time, Carson was still deeply worried about his safety. What if they encountered a storm?

No matter how powerful the puppet was, it couldn't withstand a blizzard. Carson would never have agreed to let Kerry risk going out to sea if the household weren't in such dire straits.

Kerry wasn't nearly as worried about the journey as Carson was. The two places were only 120 kilometers apart, and if the ship was fast, they could reach the nearest Jili Merchant Alliance city, Seattle City—or rather, Xitatu Island—before dinner.

Eighty percent of this city had already become part of the urban area, so people were accustomed to calling Xitatu Island Seattle City.

Since this was Kerry's first trading voyage, he didn't plan to go too far. His final destination was Seattle City of the Jili Merchant Alliance. It was said that the city's economy was almost entirely controlled by a family called the Gaits Family.

Unfortunately, they were merely merchants and had no army. They had reportedly often been harassed by pirates in the past. Later, a group called the Sea Dog Pirates appeared in the area. After extorting a hefty sum from the Gaits Family, the two sides established contact.

Now the Sea Dog Pirates protected Xitatu City and collected protection fees every year. Only then did the area begin to settle down.

Strictly speaking, the Jili Merchant Alliance was also a union kingdom of sorts. It simply had no king, though it did have an army—and a fairly strong one at that. The cities and merchants within the country were threatened by pirates, so the army should have been deployed to protect them. But the peculiar thing about this country was that everything came down to money.

The army could provide protection, but only if it received additional military funding. Ordinary merchants would seek military aid only when they encountered a major problem. If it was just a minor issue, such as a few pirates attacking and extorting money for alcohol, they would let it go. Calling in the army would cost even more.

Only when they encountered vicious pirates who demanded money and women and intended to kill people would the merchants call in the army. In the end, it was still a question of money—whichever option was more worthwhile.

However, this also brought another benefit. The army required payment every time it was deployed, but the alliance didn't collect taxes. It had no taxes at all, only a fee called the alliance membership fee. This fee supported the army and covered various daily operating expenses. Precisely because of this, large numbers of merchants from across the continent and even other continents were attracted there.

Kerry also planned to obtain membership. It wasn't to get onto the army's protection list, but because members of the Jili Merchant Alliance were protected by the alliance's treaties. They didn't have to fear being cheated or having debts denied, and people were more willing to trade with fellow members.

Please support me, everyone. I'm working hard to keep updating.