Chapter 45 - That's A Lot of Money
Rachael could already tell that the two medium-sized stones would be from the subordinates, even without measuring the mana output.
Jason watched curiously as Rachel put all the Magic stones under the Magic Reader, and he suddenly felt his mind wandering about what the higher-ups were using these magic crystals for. For all his life, Jason had always been told by the media that the Magic Crystals in the gates could be used as alternative power sources that replaced more destructive sources like fossil fuels. But for some reason, he felt like there was a lot more to it than just that.
Jason had already realized a long time ago that he couldn't trust everything that the government told him through the media, and they always had some hidden agenda behind their actions. And as Jason watched Rachael looking through all the stones meticulously, he could tell that they needed the stones to be perfect and filled with Mana for something more than just alternative fuel.
Jason decided to ask.
"What exactly does the SMD do with these stones?"
Both Rachael and Keith turned to him in surprise when they heard this question, and for a moment, Jason saw Rachel turn her head to Keith questioningly. Keith gave Rachael a nod, and Rachael finally turned back to Jason to speak.
"It's mainly for the generation of energy. Most energy sources today are very damaging to the environment, and researchers were able to discover a way to harness the power inside Magic Crystals to develop alternative energy."
Jason nodded along. These were all things he had heard on the TV hundreds of times before.
"Is there anything else?"
Jason asked this question once Rachael was done, and Rachael's face took on a slightly desperate look as she tried to find an answer to his question that would be satisfactory. Rachel was only a new employee and she didn't know that much about the government, so she couldn't answer Jason the way he wanted her to!
At the side, Keith noticed that Rachel was struggling and he spoke up, drawing Jason's attention to him.
"Magic Research and Development. That is what it is mainly used for. I am only telling you this now because you are a superhuman, but there are technological advancements and weapons that were created using these Magic Crystals that the public possesses no knowledge of. They are far too dangerous to be given out to regular humans, so superhumans keep knowledge of them within their ranks and utilize them for the protection of humanity. Does that answer your question?"
Keith turned to give Jason a hard look, and Jason hummed while leaning back. So they were using it for weapons? That was a lot more believable than them saying they were using it for developing energy, and Jason felt like he could accept this much for now. There were still a lot of things he didn't know, but Jason knew that a time would come when he would find out about them all.
The world was becoming too dangerous, and those things existing in the shadows would eventually be pulled into the light.
Rachel finally finished with the appraisal, and then she began writing something into the book she brought along. She made some calculations in her head with her pen on her chin, and after a few seconds, she finally dropped the book and spoke with a smile.
"From the high quality of the stones and the amount of Magicules present in them, we'll be able to pay full price for each one. According to the SMD catalog, each stone below twenty Magicules goes for ten thousand dollars. The medium-sized stones with forty Magicules will be bought for twenty thousand dollars each, and the largest stone will be bought for a hundred thousand. Is that satisfactory?"
Jason hummed in surprise! That was an insane sum of money! In fact, it was more money than Jason had ever seen in his life! Jason's part-time jobs barely brought him two thousand dollars a month altogether, so seeing this much money from just a single raid into a Red Gate was crazy!
But Jason managed to keep his cool even though he was stunned on the inside and he simply nodded along to Rachael calmly. Then a voice spoke from the side.
"Rachael, check again."
Rachael's face scrunched up in confusion as Keith addressed her and she turned to him curiously. Was something wrong? Keith narrowed his eyes at Rachael and spoke in a harder tone.
"I said, check again."
Keith had a frown on his face as he said this, and Rachel swallowed in fear when she saw the intensity behind his eyes! She quickly dived back into the book and the table. She looked through the catalogs again and turned the page around before her eyes widened!
"Oh, God! I'm so sorry! The price of the small magic crystals is ten thousand dollars, but the price of the medium and large crystals is thirty thousand and one hundred and fifty thousand! I'm so sorry, I just didn't look at the next page properly."
Rachel bowed her head as a panicked look came over her face, and Jason narrowed his eyes at her in slight distrust. Jason had never done a trade like this before, so he couldn't predict the amount of money he was supposed to sell these for, and if not for Keith being here, then he would have been paid far less than what he was supposed to be.
But the look on Rachael's face and how she was genuinely apologizing showed that she hadn't done it on purpose. It was a huge mistake, but it was still a mistake.
"You'll be getting a warning for this, Rachael."
Keith spoke up again with the same frown on his face, and Rachael turned to him with fear in her eyes. She had only started working last week, so she has been making a lot of mistakes recently. Getting a warning now would be very bad for her. She wanted to plead for Keith to overlook it, but one look at him and she knew that Keith was not going to let it go. Keith was too upright for him to overlook such a mistake.
Jason suddenly spoke up.
"No, it's fine. Keith, forget it happened. It was an honest mistake and I'm sure it won't happen again. Isn't that right?"
Jason looked at Rachael with narrowed eyes, and Rachael stared at him in surprise. She had no idea why he was trying to help her and she knew for a fact that her mistake would have cost him a lot of money.
But the look in his eyes told her that this was her only chance to save herself, and she nodded quickly while thanking him fervently. It was never going to happen again!
Jason turned to Keith silently, and Keith held his gaze for a long moment before he finally turned away.
"Very well, ensure it doesn't happen again, Rachael."
The situation was finally diffused, and Keith watched as Rachel hurriedly started creating the contract for the payment. Keith still didn't know much about Jason, but Jason's willingness to overlook such a mistake painted a good image of him in Keith's mind.
Even though Keith was an uptight person, he wasn't heartless and he could understand that what Rachel did was only a mistake. If Jason hadn't said anything, Keith would have reported it to the superiors and Rachael would have most likely been sanctioned. But Jason speaking up showed that he was very mature for his age.
'I suppose Liam was right about him. He has a good head on his shoulders.'
Keith came to this conclusion and he watched on as Rachel brought up the contract and spoke again.
"The contract is ready, sir. The total sum came to five hundred and twenty thousand dollars. There will be a deduction of twenty thousand dollars because of the repairs that the SMD needed to make to the roads leading to the General hospital a few days ago. So, the net sum will become five hundred thousand dollars minus taxes."