Ch.291The Switch (11)

Thanks to the automated legal system, the Holy Maiden’s sentencing ended quickly.

She was sentenced to death, the maximum penalty. However, when it was revealed that she was merely being controlled by an alien entity(?), her sentence was reduced to life imprisonment.

Furthermore, considering she was a newcomer to society, she was granted probation.

Everything was going according to plan.

The Holy Maiden was now completely bound.

“You know what probation means, right?”

“Ugh, I do.”

“Behave yourself.”

Now there were two things to do.

First, fix the accelerator.

Second, discover the graviton.

I needed to fix the accelerator first before I could do anything else. Repairing the beam line, the core of the particle accelerator, required capital worth 100 billion.

The problem was that both the government and corporations were holding back.

The government claimed they had no money as they were conscious of public opinion, and companies were reluctant to invest additional capital as their stock prices were declining due to the recent terrorist attack.

So where could I get 100 billion from?

Looking around the display cabinet, I spotted a perfect antique.

“I’ll have to sell this.”

“Wait a minute. Isn’t that the Akea Peace Prize?”

“That’s right.”

“Are you in your right mind? You’re going to sell that?”

“Don’t talk back.”

When I glared at the Holy Maiden, she trembled and begged profusely.

“Heeek, I’m sorry!”

“Be quiet. Just answer when I ask you something. Understand?”

“Yes, yes.”

I put the trophy and medal up for auction on an online site.

[Title: For Sale. Akea Peace Prize. Never used.]

The reaction was immediate. Starting with a post on a community asking “What is this?”, the internet began to burn with excitement.

It was good that news of the sale was spreading widely. More wealthy people would take interest, wouldn’t they?

The effect was definite.

10 billion, 20 billion.

The bidding price had already jumped to tens of billions.

“Already profitable.”

The winning bid was just under 9 billion credits. While not enough to reach 100 billion, it was still a decent amount.

As I was smirking, I heard muttering from the corner.

“Was someone with such poor financial sense really my opponent?”

“Julia, what did you just say?”

The Holy Maiden covered her mouth. When I frowned, she shook her head from side to side.

“I asked what you said.”

“Oh, nothing at all.”

I sighed.

“I’ll allow it, so speak. Is this that expensive?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“How much is it worth?”

“I wouldn’t know exactly. But it’s definitely not something that should sell for 9 billion.”

“Hmm.”

Perhaps I’m the only one seeing this gold as a mere stone.

After all, the fact remains that I am the recipient. Considering the material and labor costs, there’s no reason to buy it at such a high price.

I lifted the net I had placed over the Holy Maiden and said:

“Rewind.”

The Holy Maiden trembled and recited a prayer. Steam began to rise again from the coffee I had placed on the desk.

Time was rewinding.

Soon, the event of selling the Peace Prize became as if it had never happened.

“This time I need to call in an expert.”

“An expert? Who?”

“I have one. My precious little sister.”

“Little sister?”

Who else could it be?

My sister, of course.

[What is it, brother? I’m busy.]

“I’m trying to sell the Peace Prize medal and trophy I received before. I was wondering if I could get some help.”

[What? You’re going to sell that?]

“Yeah.”

I heard a clattering sound over the phone.

[That’s a stupid idea. You’ll end up on bad terms with the Akea Committee.]

“So you’re saying I shouldn’t do it?”

[No, let’s do it right away.]

What’s a prize compared to money? Money is everything.

We siblings snickered as we discussed our strategy. Watching us, the Holy Maiden uttered disrespectful words about how the siblings were both insane.

It was noisy, so I tapped her head with a caliper. She quieted down.

Seti told me about efficient strategies. One of them was to sell the trophy and medal separately.

[Think about it. People who collect these things usually want the complete set. Who would be satisfied with just one piece?]

“Is that so?”

[Yes, you fool. Imagine having limited editions of electromagnetism and statistical physics books on your shelf, but missing quantum mechanics. How would that feel?]

“S-sister. I-I can’t breathe.”

[Exactly.]

Seti continued.

[Let me give you a specific example. Let’s say the expected winning bid for the trophy and medal is 5 billion credits each. Assume I have 20 billion, and you have 7 billion.]

The bidding method was real-time and public. All bidders couldn’t know each other’s assets, and it followed a highest price sealed auction format.

[Do you understand the situation?]

“Yes, and?”

[If you sell the trophy and medal together, it ends as soon as I bid 10 billion. In this case, you’d have no choice but to give up bidding. But what if you sell the trophy and medal separately?]

“While you buy the medal first for 5 billion, I could bid 7 billion for the trophy.”

[But I said I have 20 billion. You only have 7 billion.]

At first, Seti made one assumption. People who collect these things always want the complete set. If they have the money, they want to own everything.

[I’ll immediately bid 8 billion to outbid your trophy. Now you have no choice but to give up bidding.]

“Not really. I’ll put that 7 billion back on the medal.”

[Oh, then I’ll put 8 billion on the medal too. So how much will the medal and trophy be sold for in total?]

16 billion.

[That’s 60% higher than if you sold them together.]

Now I understand.

[It’s not that impressive. If you’re like my brother and need quick cash and want to sell even at a low price, selling both at once might be better. But usually, people who want to make a profit at auctions don’t do that.]

Besides this, Seti told me various other things.

[Since it’s an online auction, you can tell buyers why you’re selling the Peace Prize. It’s called storytelling. Building a narrative when selling is as important as plotting when writing a novel.]

Following that advice, I changed the title.

[Title: I need research funds.]

To defeat the alien entity, understanding gravity is essential, so I need to discover the graviton. However, the accelerator was destroyed by an attack from a cult that believes in the alien entity. To recover the damages, I decided to sell the Peace Prize.

It was a plausible story. It was also true.

The effect was definite.

The trophy exceeded 5.5 billion, and the medal containing gold and platinum was over 7 billion. The prices were still rising.

Then an unexpected column appeared, making the upward trend even steeper.

[Column: The Rheinland family head’s sale of the Peace Prize is performance art.]

The author of the column was anonymous. However, they gained credibility by attaching a photo showing a bid of 20 billion.

[The Peace Prize symbolizes peace. In other words, Eidel von Rheinland is saying how much one can give for peace. If peace is sold at a low price, we will all pay the price.]

Linking it to research funds created synergy with this column. Although I hadn’t intended the philosophical aspect, it was good to see the bidding price steadily rising.

Eventually, the trophy was sold for 55 billion credits, and the medal for 63 billion credits.

Total: 100 billion.

This was enough. Having achieved my goal, I was about to move on to the next step.

But then.

[Not enough.]

Seti muttered.

[If we had done it better, we could have pushed it up to hundreds of billions.]

Hearing that made my ears perk up.

I removed the Holy Maiden’s net and wiggled my finger.

“You heard that? Rewind.”

***

After several retries, I found the best result.

Akea Peace Prize trophy, sold for 385 billion credits.

Akea Peace Prize medal, sold for 435 billion credits.

Together, 820 billion credits. With Seti’s expertise in tax avoidance methods, we managed to pay 20 billion in taxes and secure about 800 billion in net income.

I donated 100 billion to the laboratory and gave the remaining 700 billion to my sister. Seti would surely make more profit by investing it well.

But I was curious. Who had so much money to buy a trophy and medal for 800 billion?

Honestly, with that amount of money, they must be at least the chairman of MegaCorp.

“It’s been a while.”

“Chairman Stranov?”

It really was the chairman. Someone I knew, no less.

Bell Stranov. The head of the major corporation ‘Stronium’ and also the father of Professor Callis Stranov.

“When my son-in-law’s student sells a Peace Prize for peace, how could I resist? So I bought it.”

“But to spend so much money on such a decorative item…”

“So much money? If one spends a low price on purchasing peace, won’t everyone pay the price later?”

That phrase sounded familiar. I felt like I’d heard it somewhere before.

“Here, I’ll return the trophy and medal to you. They should be with someone who deserves them.”

Chairman Stranov left after giving me only the money, as he said. This was essentially a gift.

“This might cause gossip.”

“I don’t care about gossip. Neither do you, right? If you can defeat the alien entity, you’re willing to pay any price. I very much like people with such determination.”

“You flatter me. It was all just luck.”

“You’re too modest. But remember this one thing: Rheinland and Stranov are in the same boat.”

Chairman Stranov departed abruptly.

I was inwardly relieved that he was on our side.

Anyway, now that I had the money, it was time for research.

After the accelerator was repaired, we immediately began test operations.

“It’s working properly.”

“Huff.”

My heart raced.

“We’ll conduct collision experiments from now on. It will take about a week for the results to come in.”

I joined the analysis team. The experiments are conducted by experimental physicists and technicians. When they produce results, my role is to analyze them.

Having all the methodological tools in place, the analysis itself should be quick.

And in the first collision, no traces were found.

“Something seems wrong. I think we need to change the conditions and try again.”

Ah, damn it.

Due to time constraints, I can’t write a paper. At this rate, graduation will be delayed.

But it was okay.

With a warm smile, I lifted the net.

“You know what I’m going to say, right?”

“H-heeek…”

“Rewind.”

The Holy Maiden whimpered as she recited the prayer.