The Mechanical Era

"What? What do mean?" Marco questions the receptionist, confused by what she meant.

The receptionist grabs the patent and flips a few pages back to the beginning. With her index finger, she points to the section of the inventor's name. Right there, written in black ink, was the name 'Kant Icurus Maybale'. A name, only possessed by the king of Hoverdam, King Kant Maybale himself.

"Oh... We uh... We didn't know..." Vice muttered, upon seeing the name. The apathetic receptionist lady, however, calmed the two down.

"It is fine. Most people don't even know most of the patents here belong to him anyway. He lets anyone from the kingdom get one and build one of their own, after entering a contract with him of course. I heard he uses the money to fund whatever he desires." she claimed.

"But... wouldn't that mean he would have to sign a contract with each and every one of them?" asks Vice.

"He gets the help of a law firm to automatically verify and do that for him."

"Is that so? Well then, I think... uh..." Just then, Marco comes up with another idea, on how he can contact that man.

"Excuse me, ma'am. I am not sure if this is possible but... Can I have the list of names and addresses of the people who looked up the patent then? Or just took one for themselves?" Marco questions.

"Hm... Sure. Just give me a moment." She takes out a file from the drawer and stares skimming through it. Once she gets to the bicycle section, he looks up a few names and writes them down on a list.

After she is done, she goes to the back once again, leaving the two waiting. She then comes back again to the desk, handing the a piece of cardboard, with the name 'Niko Blake' written on it, and addresses underneath his name.

"Here you go. This is so far the only guy that came up and took up a contract to start producing the bicycles."

"I see. What is he like? Do you remember?"

"Yes, I do. He was the only guy that came in with a mask. He might be a little too secretive if you ask me. Is that all you need, sir?" the receptionist lady asks.

"Yes. Thank you, ma'am. You have been very helpful." Marco replies.

"You are welcome. Just make sure to bring those back. Next!"

...

Marco and Vice both walk out of the registrar and head to a suit rental. They make sure to change into a suit, to look like they were some rich men, before heading to the tram station. They then waited for the tram to arrive, before hitching a ride to the downtown area. There, they drop off from the station and head over to the address.

On the way, they notice more and more people, riding on those metal bicycles on the paved road. It seems that the vehicle was getting rather popular among the people living in the downtown area, who had the wealth to purchase such a device. They had noticed it all had a black paint job to it.

They soon arrive at a stone building, painted white and fitted with glass windows. It was about 4 stories tall, with the ground/first floor being reserved for the shops run by the residents of the building.

The two quickly enter the bike shop, which featured a dozen lots of metal bikes, all handing around. From what it seems, they had been painted with a fresh coat of paint, to keep them from rusting.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Marco called out. At first, it was silent, as there appeared to be nobody home. But then, suddenly, a man comes out through a door, near the counter. Upon seeing Marco and Vice, he puts up a smile and greets them.

"Welcome, sirs! How may I help you today?" he called out.

Marco and Vice looked at each other and nodded. Marco took the first steps and spoke out to the workshop owner.

"We came here for a business proposal. Would you mind showing us your bikes?" Marco asked the owner.

"Of course! Just follow me!" he replied. He led the two to some bikes that he had already prepared.

"These are the sizes that it comes with. They are made for children, men, and women alike. I usually make one that fits the customer's size."

"Hm... I see. Say, how much is this?" Vice asks.

"This one particularly? It is not for sale. You see, I am the only guy working here, so it takes time to make these things. So I make my bikes, and keep it there until the owner arrives."

"How much is a reservation?" Marco questions.

"349 copper. However, if you want priority, you can pay about 499 copper." the workshop owner replies.

"...and how much does the average bike cost, exactly?" Vice asks again, as he had not gotten his answer from before.

"From what I have seen, about 4 silver coins a bike?" the shopowner replies.

"I see. That is very expensive. Is it very costly to produce?" Marco asks.

"Right now, yes. It is. It takes some skill to make. Plus the cost of buying the metals, and making it to suit my needs takes some time." the owner replied.

"Hmm... that is too bad. I can already see this product's potential," Vice remarked.

"You think so, sir?" he asked, a little excited.

"Yes. Perhaps, do you have any plans for such expansion?" Vice replied.

"Well yes, I do. Although, I rather do not feel comfortable in doing so." the owner replied, a little suspicious of the two. Marco looks onward at the bikes, before making contact with the owner.

"How much money are you making a bike?" Marco asks.

"I am sorry?"

"Looking onward at the bikes, I think that you are making a lot of money, selling each bike. I assume you are raising capital, to fund our expansion?" Marco asks.

"Well, yes. I am. How do you know?" the owner asks.

"Oh. Just a simple deduction. You will need money to safely expand your operations, to conquer more markets." Marco replies.

"Say, how about this. We will help you. We will give you some funding for this project. And if it goes and you manage to sell a lot, we could probably hook you up with more merchants! How does that sound?"

"I... I guess that sounds great! Do you guys have the connections though?" the shopowner asks. Marco looks at Vice, who nods in approval. He then turns back to face the owner once again.

"I promise you, we will have them right at your doorstep, as long as you manage to sell a lot of those bikes to your customers. Can you promise me that?"

"I... I guess so. How much money are willing to give me?"

"How much? For that, we will have to value your business first." Marco replies.