Chapter 120: That Time We Got a Foreign Loan in South America

TL: Skye

Construction of the New Town was proceeding smoothly.

No, considering the situation, calling it smooth might actually be underselling it a little.

Construction was advancing at a downright breakneck pace.

A total of 180,000 workers had come in from Venezuela.

The original goal had been to bring in 150,000 workers over ten rounds, but the Venezuelan government, having gotten a taste for the fees, asked us to take more, so we ended up receiving 180,000 workers over twelve rounds.

Once that staggering number of people was deployed to the construction sites, Minsik, who was in charge of Tortilla Construction, made a massive investment.

He bought up an enormous amount of heavy equipment that had been sitting idle across Latin America because of the recent economic downturn.

‘We’re going to use the equipment sooner or later anyway. It’s a hundred times better to stock up while it’s cheap like this than to end up short later and tear our hair out. Besides, looking at San Marcos right now, it’s not like we’re only going to have one or two more construction projects, right?’

That was what he said, and he didn’t exactly seem wrong, so I told him to do what he thought best.

In any case, even though the number of Venezuelan workers had swelled to 180,000, there was no particular chaos.

Prevention is cheaper than cure. That’s a universal truth, no matter the time or place.

It was thanks to Isabella and the Senior Secretaries doing everything they could to avoid repeating the same management mistakes as before.

They kept military units permanently stationed at every construction site, and helicopters even patrolled Tortilla Farm three times a day. That was how thoroughly they handled supervision and control.

Thanks to that, the Venezuelan workers didn’t go anywhere except between their worksites and their quarters.

Apparently, they were given alcohol and meat on a regular basis instead, but that barely cost anything, so it was a pretty cost-effective way of keeping them under control.

‘Everyone’s working hard. That’s a relief.’

And Isabella, together with Senior Secretary for Foreign Affairs Sophia and Senior Secretary for Legal Affairs Teixeira, codified the whole management system into law.

What did they do?

Amazingly enough, they created the Foreign Nationals Management Act.

Stripped of all the pages and pages of legalese, the core provision was simple.

[Foreign nationals who commit crimes in San Marcos shall be detained in correctional facilities within San Marcos instead of being repatriated to their home countries.]

It might have been a somewhat undiplomatic provision, but Isabella said that since the authority to introduce legislation lay with the Presidential Palace, we could amend it whenever we wanted, and that for now, keeping people under control took priority, so this was the best option.

The effect was immediate once the law went into force.

After the first few offenders were sent to Tortilla Farm, incidents dropped to almost zero.

‘Managing 170,000 people with a single law. They’re all damn competent.’

Anyway, thanks to that management system, construction continued without a hitch, and the first-phase New Town’s completion rate climbed higher by the day.

And the New Town wasn’t the only thing progressing smoothly.

***

Tourism City.

One hour south of Libertad by highway.

A single building towered atop a coastal cliff overlooking the emerald waters of the Caribbean.

Drump Casino & Resort.

The first hotel in Tourism City, built on the best site with the biggest investment, was finally complete.

And today, we were here to inspect it in celebration of its completion.

“...Wow.”

The moment I stepped into the lobby, the word slipped out on its own.

The only word that came to mind was overwhelming.

The ceiling looked more than ten meters high, and an extravagant chandelier suspended from its center scattered light through thousands of crystal pieces.

The floor was covered in the finest marble, while enormous murals inspired by the Caribbean stretched across the walls.

Beyond the reception desk, finished in hardwood and brass, floor-to-ceiling glass revealed the deep blue Caribbean Sea.

“This is the first hotel I’ve seen where you can see the ocean from the lobby.”

“It was designed specifically so that guests would see the sea the moment they entered the lobby.”

I found myself nodding at the explanation from Antonio, the Tourism City’s Mayor (for real).

“It definitely works.”

“Please come this way. The elevators were built to the highest standard as well.”

Chatting with Antonio, I rode the elevator all the way to the top floor.

The Presidential Suite.

When the door opened, a sprawling suite of nearly two hundred square meters spread out before me.

A king-size bed.

A private lounge.

A marble bathtub.

And a panoramic view of the Caribbean through floor-to-ceiling windows.

White clouds floated above the horizon, and emerald waves rolled beneath the cliffs.

“How much are they planning to charge per night for this...?”

“The operator says they’re planning on ten thousand dollars.”

“...Per night?”

“Yes.”

Who the hell sleeps somewhere like this... Oh, right. Drump would.

‘Well, there are plenty of rich people in the world.’

I’m jealous.

When am I ever going to make enough money to retire?

‘If I called Drump and asked him to comp me a room, would he do it?’

I’d be fine with a deluxe room, too.

“Your Excellency, there’s a swimming pool over there. You should have a look.”

“There is?”

I followed Antonio out onto the terrace and found an infinity pool protruding from the side of the building.

The far edge of the pool lined up with the cliff, so once someone got into the water, the boundary between the pool and the sea seemed to disappear.

“Swimming here must feel like floating in the ocean.”

“That was exactly the intention behind the design.”

“Is that beach over there private?”

I pointed toward the stretch of white sand on the opposite side from the resort entrance, and Isabella nodded.

“That’s correct. The beach all the way over there has been allocated to the Drump Resort.”

“You really rolled out the red carpet for them.”

“It is the centerpiece of this project, after all.”

Antonio definitely had a good eye for this sort of thing. Probably because he’d done business in the United States.

“Ahem. But I suppose because it’s newly built, there’s quite a bit of dust.”

“Ah, I’ll have someone bring us something to drink.”

Antonio left, and Isabella, standing beside me with one hand resting on the railing, gazed out at the sea and murmured quietly.

“...If I ever get married someday, I think I’d like to travel somewhere like this.”

That came out of nowhere.

I never expected the word marriage to come out of Isabella’s mouth.

Was she even the sort of woman who thought about things like marriage?

Maybe that was why.

Before I realized it, my mouth opened and something equally out of nowhere slipped out.

“I’d like that too.”

“......”

Only after saying it did I realize something was off.

What did that sound like in context?

It sounded like I was asking her to come here with me.

‘No, that’s not what I meant.’

Isabella turned her head.

Our eyes met.

A split-second silence lasting maybe half a second.

Only the sound of the Caribbean waves could be heard.

Isabella’s ears turning red must have been because of the sunlight.

Probably.

“Ahem. I, I’d like to see the c-casino.”

“Of course.”

I said it to Antonio, who had returned at just the right moment carrying a Coke, and Isabella turned away first.

The next stop was the casino floor.

Hundreds of gaming machines stood in orderly rows across an enormous space created by opening up the first and second basement levels.

Soft indirect lighting glowed from the ceiling.

There was no one there yet because the casino hadn’t opened for business, but the lighting alone was enough to bring the place to life.

“The design team from the Las Vegas branch of Drump Casino participated directly.”

“Wow... How much did all this even cost...?”

“The total construction cost was two hundred and twenty million dollars.”

Two hundred and twenty million dollars.

By San Marcos standards, that was an astronomical sum, but Drump’s side had built it with their own money.

All we had done was provide the land.

‘Not a bad deal.’

Put another way, that two hundred and twenty million dollars had become jobs for people in San Marcos.

After going all the way up to the rooftop observation deck and making a full circuit, I stood on a terrace overlooking the private beach and gazed out at the sea.

“Overall, I can’t find anything to complain about, but...”

I narrowed my eyes and studied the coastline.

“There are some reefs over there.”

Black rocks jutted above the surface here and there, about two hundred meters from the beach.

“They’ll get in the way of yachts and water sports. It’d be a disaster if a guest hit one while riding a jet ski.”

Isabella nodded.

“I’ll contact Field Marshal Pedro and have them blown up. Naval gunfire should take care of it within a day.”

“...All right. Do that.”

A country that handled things faster than anyone else and differently from everyone else.

That was San Marcos.

“Haah. Imagine how nice it would be to retire and live somewhere like this.”

I was taking a brief rest while staring out at the sea when it happened.

Rrrrrrrrring-

The phone in my pocket rang.

The name on the screen was The greatest of all time President.

It was Drump.

“Hello?”

“Hey, my friend!”

Talk about impeccable timing.

“Ah, Mr. President. As it happens, I’m at Drump Casino right now.”

“Oh! Really?! How is it?! Do you like it?!”

“I’m genuinely impressed. Everything from the lobby to the casino is excellent. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the ocean view from the Presidential Suite.”

“Hahaha! Right?! I was involved in the design! I told them the suite had to have an ocean view!”

As expected of a former real estate businessman, his excitement shot straight up whenever the subject turned to one of his buildings.

“I called because I’ve got good news too!”

Drump’s voice rose another notch.

“Congress approved the loan for San Marcos!”

For a moment, I was speechless.

One hundred billion dollars.

At the news that an astronomical loan would be provided at an ultra-low interest rate, my fist clenched involuntarily.

“Mr. President, thank you so much.”

“What are you thanking me for?! We’re friends!”

Drump laughed heartily before continuing.

“But I do have one favor to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

“We need to show the American people just how important an ally San Marcos is to the United States. One hundred billion dollars isn’t pocket change.”

“What would you like me to do?”

“Come to Washington. Let’s hold a joint press conference at the White House. You’ll speak directly to the American people about the friendship between San Marcos and the United States.”

A visit to the United States.

A joint press conference at the White House.

From Drump’s perspective, it was only natural.

The United States was lending one hundred billion dollars of taxpayer money to a small country in the Caribbean.

He had to show the public why it was worth doing.

And I was supposed to be the one doing the showing.

“Understood. I’ll arrange a date as soon as possible.”

“Good! I’m looking forward to it! Oh, and Yu-jin!”

“Yes?”

“You’ll give the congratulatory address for me on the casino’s opening day, right? I probably won’t be able to make it while I’m still in office.”

“Of course. I’ll prepare the greatest congratulatory address imaginable.”

“Hahaha! That’s the best! All right, see you soon, my friend!”

The call ended.

I slipped the hotline back into my pocket and rested my arms on the terrace railing.

One hundred billion dollars.

With this much money, we could shape San Marcos’s next ten years.

For that kind of money, I could go to America, smile and shake hands, and give interviews in front of cameras a hundred times over.

“Was that President Drump?”

“Yes. The loan’s been finalized. One hundred billion dollars.”

Isabella’s eyes widened.

“And he wants me to come to the United States. He wants to hold a joint press conference at the White House.”

“...A visit to the United States means we’ll have a great deal to prepare.”

“Tell me about it.”

A Caribbean breeze blew past.

Warm and salty.

As I felt it against my face, I thought,

‘Ah... I really want to retire already.’

*****

Read more chapters on my Patreon - https://patreon.com/tlskye

If you enjoy this novel, please review and rate it at Novelupdates. Thanks! 😊

To receive the latest update notifications or report mistakes, join our Discord server linked below.'

.gg/woopread-708613326262894654