There’s a concept called the prisoner’s dilemma.
It involves two criminals locked up and pressured to confess.
If one confesses while the other remains silent, the silent one bears the full brunt of the other’s sentence.
If neither confesses, the crimes remain unproven, resulting in a very light punishment. If both confess, they are equally punished—a classic dilemma.
Theoretically, the best outcome is for both to remain silent, but in reality, similar situations often lead to both confessing.
Why? Because, like the executive in front of me, they cannot trust one another.
“Be specific.”
The executive, a director of our spice guild, continued speaking as if he had a motor in his mouth.
“As you know, Baron Medici, spice trade involves dealing with infidels, particularly those from powerful merchant families, doesn’t it?”
Although he referred to them as powerful merchant families, the Alchini family, who supply us goods, is the family of a major city’s governor.
To be precise, the daughter of the Alchini family has become a concubine of the governor.
Since they’ve established a relationship with a high-ranking official, they can essentially be regarded as nobles.
“In short, even if they are infidels, they cannot be underestimated.”
“Thus, we must carefully cater to their high-ranking officials. Otherwise, we never know when the trade might stop.”
Typically, the buyer holds the upper hand, while the seller is at a disadvantage.
However, the spice trade is virtually monopolized by the Alchini family, and purchasing it guarantees a profit.
Thus, the Alchini family becomes the dominant party in the transaction.
While they can simply refuse to sell, those merchant families who buy spices risk losing both credit and money if their trade is interrupted.
“That’s why I was so distressed when the sugar trade was cut off.”
“Just as we favor infidel sex slaves with brown skin, they highly prefer beauties with white skin. Thus, every time we trade, we deliver a predetermined number of women.”
I hadn’t engaged in such dealings myself when trading.
Nonetheless, it seems I was able to build a good relationship with the Alchini family, perhaps because they sent a direct male from the Medici family.
Or maybe it was because they saw my potential and made concessions.
“It’s truly a filthy and dreadful world.”
While human rights don’t exist on the Albanian continent, isn’t this a bit too much?
“Of course, when we trade spices, exchanging sex slaves doesn’t happen often. However, if we skip it consistently, they become reluctant.”
“Is it because it’s a profitable trade that we’re skipping it?”
“Yes, exactly. While buying serf women and poor girls from Toscana costs us money for food, housing, and education, the profits can be nearly 30 times what we spend. Conversely, when we sell sultanic sex slaves, we also make that kind of profit.”
I now realize why the commander of the Deus Knights wanted to give me such gifts.
Nobles take pride in showcasing rare items, and among them, displaying an Arab beauty dressed in a maid outfit to guests is something they do to boast.
Even if it’s not a steed like the one Lü Bu rode or Excalibur-level treasures, it still allows them to show off their valuable possessions.
“On top of fulfilling their conquest desires through practical use? The pleasures must be beyond imagination.”
Due to memories from before my reincarnation, I feel disgusted emotionally, but rationally, I understand why these transactions must occur.
Humans, knowing they can kill tens of thousands of others for profit, are a species that readily engage in war.
“The profits mentioned here are minimum estimates. When selling an unattractive woman, the profit is 30 times; for a pretty face, it goes up to 100 times. The highest price recorded was enough to buy a baron’s title.”
“Charging interest through usury and imposing ‘unpayable interest’ on towns with beauties allows them to conduct transactions.”
The executive displayed no signs of guilt.
“Yes, because it’s profitable.”
If I hadn’t purchased Chloe, she would have likely been sold using this method.
And they would have likely reset the record for the highest transaction price.
I say this not because I’m being biased, but because even the over-sixty Duke of Visconti stared wide-eyed at Chloe.
That duke lives surrounded by beauties that would rival an idol group—what a sight!
“What was the scale of this?”
“While we’re not the only ones involved in the slave trade, our guild sells about two thousand slaves to them each year. They purchase and sell at a similar scale.”
Since they say they aren’t the only ones doing it, it’s likely that if we include trades occurring through other routes, the numbers could easily reach tens of thousands.
“Didn’t around seven million Africans get sold as slaves?”
That’s the figure that was officially tracked, and if we include unofficial ones, it would be at least four to five times that amount.
That’s likely how the transactions have played out.
“Of course, since slave trading is illegal, we’ve offered appropriate gifts to high-ranking officials to make it ‘invisible.’”
By not leaving a trace of records and hiding evidence, they claimed they didn’t pay taxes at all.
Then again, if you compare this trade to the cocaine trade in Korea, it’s basically the same thing.
“Not paying taxes on this is the more unusual part.”
“Additionally, we modified the warehouses to avoid customs when entering the port. We didn’t pay taxes on 30 to 40% of our imports. Furthermore, 70% of the profits generated by our guild were given to major merchants, including the Medici family.”
Albert, that little bastard, almost became a bird.
You should understand you’re living well thanks to your father and your brother.
I’ll let this slide just this once.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Albert ends up dead, but what if the fallout splatters on me?
It’s clear he’d be caught by the Duke of Visconti or the Emperor and guaranteed a lifelong or hereditary slave position.
“Both would undoubtedly grind me down like King Sejong with Heo Yi.”
“We also collaborated with the Red Beard Pirates to sink the ships of competitors or enemies by labeling them ‘infidel actions.’ It’s written in the ledgers, but when it mentions purchasing a ton of pepper/salt, the unusually high costs coincide with those times we collaborated with the infidel pirates.”
What a clever maneuver.
If I were to catch them on this, the entangled merchants would surely try to kill me.
With the slave trade and tax evasion alone, I could destroy this guild...
“The Medici guild and other merchants will see that my leniency here is a debt owed to me.”
By threatening them and showing just enough circumstances, I could receive a pile of gratitude from them.
Perhaps, with the help of the Medici guild, who have no choice but to support me, I might break through the glass ceiling of being a merchant.
“How fascinating. Truly fascinating. This is a top-tier crime organization in the empire.”
Applause naturally followed.
This is no empty compliment.
Even the Yakuza, triads, and the Mafia would learn a thing or two from these guys.
Is that why people say one must learn from the old to understand the new?
From the very beginning, I had no intention of sparing the spice guild executives and the guild master who touched me, but I can now eliminate them without hesitation.
“Very well.”
The executive immediately bowed his head and began to plead.
“I have a bear-like wife and a rabbit-like child. Please! Please protect my life and wealth! If you spare me, I’ll leave this country!”
...No, you’re going to die.
But it wouldn’t hurt to extract more useful information from him.
Moreover, there’s something particularly pathetic about a person who thinks they might survive only to later realize they’re doomed.
“I assume you’ve prepared for a huge blow to my guild, so you should have been ready.”
“Here’s some paper, a pen, and ink. Write down everything that comes to mind. I won’t be removing your handcuffs.”
The key now is to give them a false hope.
Offering them a ‘lifeline’ they think they can hold onto, only to cut it off later is the best form of revenge.
As I left the room, I casually mentioned that I’d be investigating the prisoners in the other room, including the guild master.
At the same time, the door closed behind me.
As I moved further from that room, Andante asked.
“Since Judge Mancini and the Duke are backing you, a few of them could probably be acquitted. Isn’t that pushing it too far? No matter how important this investigation is...”
I shook my head.
“Once a person thinks they’re already dead, they’ll surely die; they tend to abandon hope and try to uphold their loyalty. They think it’s the only way to protect their families.”
Upon hearing my words, Judge Andante’s eyes widened.
“But there’s no one in this world who wants to die. So if you throw them a glimmer of hope of survival, they’ll betray their comrades just to live. Especially those filthy ones.”
During investigations, the police are granted various powers.
They have the right to pressure individuals by stating that if they don’t confess now, their sentences will be increased.
Even if it slightly contravenes the law, they possess the right to employ ‘white lies’ for the sake of progressing the investigation.
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It’s their job to navigate the investigation in the right direction, but in some police departments, these powers are misused to bury lives.
“This is relatively common.”
That’s why legal firms always advise that if you have to undergo a police investigation, you should hire a lawyer first.
Even if it costs a fortune, it’s infinitely better than having your life ruined because of a bad response.
As for me, I’m lying to those who genuinely deserve to die, so I have no qualms about it.
“You truly are a despicable creature.”