What Were His Motives?

Frederick was puzzled about why Tom and the others weren't using the Seawater Desalination Machine. After asking, he understood the reason.

The ships of the Duchy of Weissen had been designed with space for desalination machines from the start. They had underwater intake ports, allowing them to draw water directly from near the bow.

Traditional ships, however, weren't designed with intake ports. No one dared cut random holes in the hull, so they had to haul up bucket after bucket of seawater and purify it. It was very inconvenient.

Besides, the machines were expensive. Captains worried that if they used one too often, it might break at a crucial moment. So they put up with the inconvenience.

Frederick scratched his head. He had thought of it as an essential piece of sailing equipment that would sell no matter what, so he had set the price rather high.

Now it seemed that strategy wasn't so good. If people bought one and kept it for ten years, how could that earn more than selling them a cheaper one they used often, then selling them three over ten years?

He was beginning to understand the way certain people in his previous life had done things. It was just that now he was on their side of the table.

The two of them boarded from the stern and made their way to the deck, then to the bridge.

Tom had made an astonishing discovery. He asked in disbelief, "Is this the machine that operates the ship's helm?"

He had ridden in a taxi in Amstel City and seen a steering wheel. At the time, he had wondered how wonderful it would be if a ship's helm could be controlled that way instead of having people push it around.

And now it had actually become