The Mechanical Era

The horse carriage stops in front of the palace gates. A man walks out of it and approaches the knights. He is one of the several merchants that had come over to discuss business with the Prince, but this man was a peculiar one.

He wore a violet wool coat, with a trim of fox fur, that ended just above his knees. The leather belt he carried around had a purse attached to it, filled with money he can use to buy whatever he desired. He was primarily bald, with sharp cocoa-brown eyes, and appeared to be in his late 30s.

"Welcome, Mr. Audley. Sire Kant is waiting for you."

The maid knocked on the door and opened it for Oswald to enter. He was taken aback gazing upon Kant's appearance for the first time. Kant simply just stood up and politely greeted him into his office, calming him down.

"Good Afternoon Mr. Audley. Please take a seat," he said pointing to the chair. The maid closed the door, leaving Oswald to walk closer and sit on the chair. He looked around the familiar office and spotted a few strange things.

On the desk, there was a weird black mechanical device with a lot of buttons with letters on them. On the top seems to be some white paper, left completely blank. There were also two small bricks stuck together with some gray mortar. He assumed that it was the product that Kant had referred to in the letters he was sent.

"I would like to thank you for coming over. Was there any trouble?" Kant asked.

"No Sire. There wasn't. I am glad I can be here." Oswald replied.

"Good. Now onto business. On the 12 of Bellum this year, I set up a factory that produces 20 tons of cement every day. Currently, in storage, we have about 380 tons stored, approximately 8,726 bags all weighing 96 pounds.

On the 28th of this month, the king of Albersterg contacted me about his interest in purchasing 60 tons of cement powder. He is interested in buying them for 215 silver coins at the least.

My proposal to you, Mr. Oswald, is that I am willing to sell you 60 tons of cement for 170 silver coins. It would lead you with an additional 45 silver coins in gross profit."

Oswald sat there and thought for a moment. Was what he saying true? He knew King Heinrich. Oswald even visited the city during a business trip. He wasn't someone to jump on to risk. So why so? Why would he do such a thing?

Oswald's eyes turned to the brick stones on the table. He picked it up and started to closely observe it. The hard gray mortar was stiff and hard. He tried to forcefully separate each other, to no success.

"Is this the product?" he asks Kant.

"Yes, it is indeed. It hardens 2 days after applying. The hardened mortar is tested to be stronger and cheaper than the current method of grinding stones." he says. Oswald took it and observed. He was quite impressed by the numbers. But there was one thing that he wanted to know before he jumped right in.

"Do you see any possible way for your product to become more... popular among the other kingdoms?" Oswald asks. Kant smiles at his question. He pulls out his drawer, picks out a rolled piece of white paper, and hands it over to Oswald.

He unravels the piece of paper to take a look. As soon as glanced at it, his eyebrows raised in surprise. The paper itself contained a table and a graph, showing the monthly demonic sightings over the past two years, and there was a clear trajectory up.

Oswald did not expect Kant to share such information with him. But was glad that he did. He can now see the good reasons why the future of cement be bright. This caused some greedy thoughts and ideas to come over to his head. Oswald placed the piece of paper down and turned back to Kant.

"Well sire. This is fairly more than enough evidence for the bright future of cement. I am willing to accept your request for the purchase. However, there is one question I would like to ask of you."

"What is your question?" Kant asks.

"Are you interested in selling the cement factory to some third party?" Oswald asked. The room enters a silence as Oswald patiently waits for an answer from Kant.

"I do have an interest in selling off its shares," Kant replied.

"Shares?" Oswald asked.

"There is a new piece of legislation. We can talk about it in the dining room. I assume you are hungry?" Oswald smiled. He was getting a little hungry, and his letter DID say that Kant would treat him to something good.

They made their way to the dining room. Oswald sees that the dining room had not changed much. There was a long dark oak table in the middle and a chandelier above. The table top was covered in a daisy white cloth, which separated the candleholders with candles, and ceramic white plates all lined up together with their silverware from touching the wood.

The two decided to sit in opposite areas to each other. Though it was not too far away, as they could pass along anything they desired by themselves. Oswald waited for what Kant had stored. The maid arrived with a weird dish the likes of which that Oswald had not seen before.

The dish itself was flat and round, most likely made out of dough, cut into multiple slices. On the top was a layer of tomato sauce, cheese, and basil. A slice was placed on Oswald and Kant's plate by the maids.

He picked up his knife to cut the tip of the slice off. He then used the fork to grab the piece and put it in his mouth. As he chew, he got a taste of this delicious, yet unique flavor he never had experienced before.

"I call this dish 'Pizza'. I specifically made this for this moment." Kant said.

"Anyways, the new piece of legislation I was referring to is the Private Corporation Act of 5018. The idea is to allow anyone to form a legal entity to limit liability, and protect the owner's finances."

Oswald's eyes lit up in excitement when he heard what Kant said. He pinched himself to see whether he was in a dream; he was not. He opened his mouth yet could not mutter a single word.

"I also have another piece of legislation. It would allow anyone to apply for and gain patents. I hope to use it to release more of my other inventions, that could help boost productivity."

"Like the cement?"

"Yes, exactly. It would mean that you would have more products to sell and make even more profit. Take the pizza for example." he said. Oswald just sat there and thought for a moment.

"Though if you are interested in taking over the cement factory. I do have a piece of advice for you regarding the manufacturing process."

"That is sire?"

pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ "First is to apply specialization and the division of labor." Kant went on to explain to Oswald what he meant by the terms specialization and division of labor. Oswald thought the information to be insightful.

"Has sire applied the idea to the cement factory?"

"Exactly. It is what allows it to produce as much cement powder as it can, even with the workers beings around 31."

"Well, I will take that into account then sire. Do you have any other advice you can give me?" he asked.

"A lot Mr. Oswald. However, this will take some time for me to explain. Do you mind?" Kant asks.

"No. Not at all."