Arknights: Prime Minister of Kjerag — Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Branch Will Not Break Under the Chameleon’s WeightYou're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

From a purely economic perspective, what was the absolute fastest way to generate wealth?

Some might argue for the volatile thrills of high finance. Others would point to the concrete certainty of real estate, or perhaps the speculative frenzy of emerging markets.

But Ernst would dismiss all of those methods as entirely too superficial. They merely skimmed the surface; they failed to grasp the true, beating heart of economics.

What was the essence of economics? Circulation. It was the simple, beautiful act of currency flowing from one person’s pocket into another’s, thereby driving the circulation of social wealth, which in turn developed societal development and fairness.

Once that fundamental principle was understood, the absolute fastest way to make money became glaringly obvious.

“Borrowing!”

How does one develop the stagnant economy of Kjerag? The answer could be boiled down to that single word.

What did Kjerag actually have to its name? It possessed zero industrial base, absolutely no experience in the modern service sector, and lacked a stable, unified government to cultivate a healthy business environment. Did a nation in such a primitive state truly expect to strike it rich by organically developing secondary or tertiary industries? It simply didn’t have the foundational capability.

One only had to look at Karlan Trade for proof. They painstakingly set up factories and paved roads through the snow, only to receive bitter complaints from the conservative populace every three days. All the while, they faced constant military posturing from the warlords of the Paleroche Family and the endless, opportunistic scheming of the Browntail Family. Yet Karlan Trade persisted, stubbornly and shamelessly pouring blood, sweat, and capital into building Kjerag from the ground up.

Ernst rated his brother’s efforts as a display of commendable courage, but he had absolutely no desire to emulate it.

Setting up factories required massive capital. Both in his previous life and this current one, Ernst was a quintessential civil servant. He possessed neither the cutthroat experience nor the innate talent for the corporate world. Not to mention, Karlan Trade had only reached its current monolithic scale because of the extensive web of connections Enciodes had carefully woven during his years studying abroad in Victoria.

But a government had its own unique methods of operation.

Sitting across from his brother, Ernst stated his position bluntly. “Given Kjerag’s current geopolitical and economic isolation, it would be virtually impossible to raise sufficient funds through conventional means in a short enough timeframe to recruit suitable talent and establish a fully functional government agency.”

“So, your grand solution is to borrow the money?”

Enciodes sat behind his heavy mahogany desk, his hands clasped firmly together. He was clearly in his executive work mode, his sharp, calculating eyes seriously weighing the feasibility of Ernst’s proposal.

Ernst leaned into his chair, entirely at ease. “The essence of economics is circulation. Kjerag has no money. Other nations have plenty of money. Therefore, we simply need to make their money circulate over here. The specific means aren’t particularly important. Frankly, armed robbery would be faster, but we are a legitimate enterprise and a legitimate government. We don’t stoop to illegal or criminal activities. And since we can’t rob them, we can only borrow from them.”

Enciodes frowned slightly. His instincts, honed by years of cutthroat corporate warfare, told him there was a glaring flaw hidden somewhere in Ernst’s confident assertion, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He decided to follow the thread. “Have you actually considered who would be willing to lend you this money?”

Ernst smiled, crossing his legs with an air of absolute certainty. “Oh, I have. And not only are there willing parties, there are hordes of them.”

He held up a finger. “When it comes to securing loans, two types of entities have the easiest time: those with impeccable, long-standing credit, and those who are borrowing for the very first time. Kjerag falls squarely into the latter category. My administration is Kjerag’s first true centralized government. To the outside world, we are a precious, untapped frontier. There are countless foreign capitalists out there practically salivating at the chance to throw a fortune at me just to get their foot in the door!”

Enciodes leaned back in his chair, executing a slow, tactical retreat. For a fleeting moment, he genuinely wondered if his past neglect of his younger brother’s education had been a catastrophic mistake.

The underlying logic might technically hold water, but where on Terra had Ernst picked up such aggressively predatory rhetoric?

Rubbing his temples to stave off an impending headache, Enciodes asked the most critical question. “And what exactly do you plan to use as collateral?”

Borrowing money required a guarantee. Just as Ernst had pointed out, the newly formed Kjerag Government was entirely penniless, lacking even the funds to pay basic administrative salaries. Ernst, despite holding the lofty title of Prime Minister, was essentially a commander without an army. What could he possibly offer foreign powers to secure a massive loan?

The moment the question left Enciodes’s lips, Ernst fell completely silent.

Assuming his brother was deep in thought, Enciodes didn’t press him, waiting quietly in the heavy silence of the office. But as the seconds ticked by, he realized Ernst wasn’t contemplating at all. His younger brother’s gaze was fixed squarely on him—clear, unblinking, and utterly devoid of hesitation.

A sudden chill ran down Enciodes’s spine. He couldn’t stop his voice from rising a fraction of an octave. “You aren’t planning to use Karlan Trade…”

Ernst pouted, looking almost offended. “Well, what else? Why do you think I came to your office today?”

It was, of course, a joke. Karlan Trade was Enciodes’s lifeblood, his absolute foundation, and his greatest weapon for dragging Kjerag into the modern age. He would rather burn the company to the ground than allow Ernst to use it as a chip in some wild political gamble, even if they were blood.

Ernst knew this perfectly well, dropping the act with a soft chuckle. “Relax, of course not. I want Turicum. Or, to be entirely precise, I want the undeveloped tracts of land situated just northeast of Turicum.”

Turicum was a vital town located deep within the SilverAsh Family’s southern territory. Currently, it served as Kjerag’s sole gateway to the outside world and the only settlement that Enciodes was actively modernizing. It was the crown jewel of Karlan Trade’s infrastructure efforts, even if it was still a long way from achieving the staggering scale of a true Nomadic City.

The specific undeveloped land Ernst mentioned covered roughly six square kilometers. It was a stretch of gently sloping hills and plains, prime real estate with massive developmental potential.

In Enciodes’s grand blueprint for the future, that exact sector was earmarked for Turicum’s eventual urban expansion. However, given the suffocating resistance to modernization from the conservative factions, that expansion remained a distant, frustrating dream.

The moment Ernst specified the location, Enciodes instantly saw the shape of the trap. “You plan to use sovereign land as collateral? Do you have any idea of the sheer risk involved in that? If you default on this loan, a piece of Kjerag’s sovereign territory will legally belong to a foreign power.”

“Default?” Ernst suddenly sat up straight, feigning absolute shock. “Why on earth would I ever repay the money?”

“The land deed will be handed over, the contract will be signed in ink, and you think I’m still going to pay them back? They’d be taking all the benefits while I foot the bill. Why would I ever agree to that?”

Enciodes stared at him, momentarily stunned into silence. Borrowing money with the explicit intention of never repaying it? Wasn’t that just a convoluted form of theft? Hadn’t Ernst literally just finished monologuing about how they were a legitimate government that didn’t stoop to robbery?

But Ernst merely offered a faint, razor-sharp smile and leaned forward, his tone dropping into absolute seriousness as he laid out the true nature of his scheme.

“I never intended to repay a single LMD from the very start. That collateralized land is absolutely going to be seized by the creditors.”

He raised a hand, cutting off Enciodes before he could voice his outrage. “Patience, brother. The legal ownership of the land might be transferred on paper, but the physical dirt and stone are still right here. The land can’t sprout legs and run away. As long as the foreign entity that acquires the deed is physically incapable of ever setting foot on it, doesn’t it effectively remain ours?”

The person who acquired the land never arrives?

Enciodes narrowed his eyes, the gears in his mind turning rapidly. “How can a creditor acquire sovereign land but never arrive to claim it? Just who exactly are you planning to borrow this money from?”

“I’ll borrow from whoever has the deepest pockets,” Ernst replied smoothly.

“Victoria?” Enciodes tapped his index finger against the mahogany desk.

Ernst shook his head. “Incorrect.”

“Ursus?”and support the real translator.Read at elysianreads.com This is a stolen translation. You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

“Ursus is completely broke right now. There’s no oil left to squeeze from that machine!” Ernst dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand, pausing for dramatic effect before delivering the punchline. “I am going to borrow from Columbia!”

“Columbia?” Enciodes muttered the name, testing its weight. Then, the geopolitical reality of the situation slammed into him. His eyes widened in sheer disbelief. “You can’t possibly be thinking of…”

Ernst’s smile widened into a predatory grin. “Exactly. I plan to take out massive loans from Columbian banks. Specifically, those high-profile financial institutions that act as white gloves for the Columbian military!”

To an outsider, targeting such specific institutions might sound like an abstract, impossible task. But Enciodes knew the international landscape intimately. In a hyper-capitalist, expansionist nation like Columbia, finding a bank with deep, obvious ties to the Department of Defense was child’s play. Off the top of his head, Enciodes could name at least ten financial groups that laundered funds and secured strategic assets for the Columbian military.

Ernst steepled his fingers, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial murmur. “Brother, you are intimately aware of Kjerag’s geographical curse.”

Kjerag’s location was a geopolitical nightmare. Beyond the natural fortress of its continuous snow-capped mountains, the tiny religious nation was completely landlocked and surrounded by three terrifyingly powerful empires, all of whom eyed the territory with thinly veiled greed.

Victoria. Columbia. Kazimierz.

Three titans that dominated the global hierarchy of Terra. Victoria, in particular, was an ancient, sprawling empire that currently held the title of the most powerful nation on Terra in terms of raw, paper military strength.

Three great wolves circling one tiny, snow-blind sheep.

This very reality had been the source of Enciodes’s deepest, most persistent anxiety. Having ventured beyond the mountains and seen the true scale of the world, he understood just how brutal the international struggle for dominance really was. Kjerag might enjoy a fragile, ignorant peace today, but what about tomorrow?

If Kjerag did not ruthlessly modernize and arm itself, its future would be nothing but a dark, bloody footnote in the history books of greater empires.

“Tell me, Enciodes,” Ernst prompted, his tone deadly serious now. “What exactly do you think would happen if I, acting as the official representative of the Kjerag Government, applied for a massive loan from a bank with known ties to the Columbian military? What happens if I use a six-square-kilometer parcel of strategic borderland as collateral, and they accept?”

Ernst’s posture remained relaxed, but the sheer audacity of his plan hung heavy in the air. He knew his brother was a genius; Enciodes would see the inevitable chain reaction immediately.

“A six-square-kilometer plot of land is more than enough to construct factories, industrial parks, or residential zones,” Enciodes said slowly, his voice tight as he traced the invisible lines of the trap. “And, naturally, it is more than enough space to construct a fully operational, forward-deployable military base.”

“Exactly,” Ernst whispered.

“On paper, all interactions between the Kjerag Government and the Columbian bank will appear as standard, legitimate commercial lending,” Enciodes continued, his eyes locked onto Ernst’s. “But Kazimierz and Victoria will never, ever believe that. Even if it were the absolute truth, their intelligence agencies will immediately assume a much darker, far more dangerous possibility.”

“They will assume,” Enciodes concluded, “that the Columbian military has successfully bought off the Kjerag Government. They will believe Columbia has secured a foothold to build a military installation, taking the lead in infiltrating this vital strategic choke point at the junction of the three nations. The moment that deed transfers, Victoria and Kazimierz will object. They will object with extreme, overwhelming prejudice.”

Ernst nodded, his eyes gleaming.

It was a perfectly engineered geopolitical standoff. When Ernst inevitably defaulted on the loan, the Columbian bank would invoke the contract and attempt to seize the land. But when they arrived to claim their prize, they wouldn’t just be facing the simple, poorly armed highlanders of Kjerag. They would find themselves staring down the loaded cannons and mobilized armor of Victoria and Kazimierz, both of whom would blockade the region to prevent Columbian expansion.

Any diplomatic explanation Columbia offered would be utterly useless. No foreign intelligence agency would ever believe that a military-backed bank, seizing a massive tract of land in such a highly sensitive border region, was merely conducting a ‘harmless’ commercial real estate venture.

The legal ownership of the land would indeed transfer to Columbia. But all they would ever hold was a stamped piece of paper. They would never even get to see what the snow on their new property looked like.

“Why didn’t you target Kazimierz for the loan?” Enciodes asked, testing the structural integrity of the plan.

“Because the merchants and the military in Kazimierz are entirely disjointed. They aren’t on the same page, making their reaction unpredictable,” Ernst countered smoothly.

“Then why not Victoria?”

“Because Victoria is simply too strong,” Ernst replied with a wry, self-deprecating smile. “If we play this game with them, they might actually just invade us out of sheer arrogance.”

The only slight variable in this grand, multi-national extortion scheme was whether the Columbian military would actually mobilize troops over the commercial losses of a proxy bank. But Victoria’s looming presence served as the ultimate insurance policy. Even if the Columbian brass were foolish enough to deploy an army to protect a banker’s investment, they would be forced to calculate whether a patch of snow was worth sparking a full-scale war with the Victorian Empire.

And Kjerag? Kjerag would remain the innocent, helpless victim in the middle.

The Ernst Administration would publicly admit fault. They defaulted. They failed to repay the loan on time, and as honorable actors, they legally transferred the collateralized land to Columbia exactly as the contract stipulated. It certainly wasn’t Kjerag’s fault that Columbia was physically incapable of bypassing the Victorian blockade to claim it.

It’s a legitimate commercial transaction. We acted strictly according to the agreement. If you can’t execute your end of the takeover, that sounds like a ‘you’ problem. If you don’t like it, feel free to take it up with a judge.

Oh, wait. Kjerag didn’t have a secular judiciary system for international disputes. Such matters of state were decided by the highest religious authority: the Saintess of Kjerag.

And the Saintess just so happened to be their little sister.

Enciodes pressed his lips together into a thin line. By now, he was entirely convinced of the plan’s terrifying, flawless logic. But as a brother, there was one glaring issue he couldn’t simply ignore.

“Aren’t you worried about the personal fallout?” Enciodes asked softly. “Once you execute this, your reputation among the people of Kjerag will be completely ruined. You’ll be branded a traitor who sold our land to foreigners. Secondly, your personal safety will be in severe jeopardy. Once Columbia realizes they’ve been played, their intelligence agencies will not simply let this go.”

He was, first and foremost, Ernst’s elder brother. He couldn’t just sit back and watch his own blood take on such a suicidal amount of risk.

But Ernst merely shook his head. Did Enciodes really think he hadn’t calculated the personal cost?

This was a last resort. It was the price of being born in Kjerag, a peculiar, fragile little nation caught between giants.

On this harsh, unforgiving land, mere survival was a luxury, and prosperity was certainly never handed out as a gift. No matter the nation, every brilliant rise in history was built upon a foundation of thrilling, blood-soaked gambles. For every empire that rose, countless other sparks of civilization had silently faded into the frozen wilderness, forgotten by time.

Ernst refused to let Kjerag become a forgotten footnote. This nation possessed a history as rich and ancient as his previous homeland. It had the same simple, enduring people, and the same quiet beauty. This was his second life, and his second home.

Therefore, he looked his brother in the eye and slowly, firmly, shook his head.

“Since I have taken this seat, there is only the burden of responsibility.”

Ernst’s voice carried a quiet, unshakeable resolve. “Rather than letting the common people suffer the consequences of our weakness, I would rather bear the suffering myself. I will gladly shoulder the infamy of a traitor.”

He offered Enciodes a final, reassuring smile. “Believe me, brother. The branch will not break under the chameleon’s weight.”

[Rhodes’s Note: “The branch will not break under the chameleon’s weight” is a proverb indicating that one who plans their steps carefully and adapts perfectly to their environment can bear immense risk without causing the system beneath them to collapse.]You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.