"I've thought this for a while, but your brother truly seems blessed by the gods."
"He told me once before."
Julia said, throwing her arms into the air.
She was getting dressed in new clothes with the help of her mother, Cornelia.
In any other household, this would be a task for slaves, but Cornelia preferred to do things for her children herself.
"He said he met a beautiful goddess in a temple above the clouds a long time ago!"
"All boys dream such dreams when they are young, Julia."
Cornelia smiled as she looked at her daughter in her new dress.
In truth, Lucius had shown surprising foresight since childhood.
That a slave gladiator named Spartacus would lead a rebellion.
Not only that, but he had accurately predicted that Crassus and Pompey would suppress that rebellion.
Thanks to that, the Caesars had profited more than once.
But insurance was different.
How could Lucius come up with such an idea?
Cornelia wasn't a particularly religious woman.
The only time she had sincerely prayed in her life was when she was pregnant with Lucius.
She looked at the pure white toga placed in one corner of the living room.
The toga wasn't just clothing that signified an adult male.
From the moment he put on that garment, Lucius was essentially stepping onto Rome's battlefield.
Unaware of her mother's feelings, Julia giggled and said.
"I think it will look really good on him."
"Of course it will."
Cornelia gently stroked her daughter's hair.
"I wonder how your father would react if he heard the news from Rome right now..."
Muttering to herself, she chuckled.
"He might say, 'That's my son,' indeed."
***
One Month Later
"With the recent increase in logistics coming into the Tiber docks, the price of carts has risen significantly."
Crassus's mansion on the Palatine Hill.
Several men were seated around a huge circular table.
"Accordingly, I plan to increase cart production by at least 100 units."
"Fine, do as you see fit on that matter."
Crassus said, picking up an olive with one hand.
"Right, anything else to report?"
His businesses were a kingdom in themselves. With Crassus at the top, various businesses such as slaves, real estate, construction, trade, and manufacturing were in progress.
All the executives running the businesses were slaves belonging to Crassus or freedmen.
"What happened with what I ordered you to investigate last time? That insurance thing of Lucius's."
"The calculations aren't finished yet, but..."
A man with a stout build in charge of the lending business stood up from his seat.
"We don't think it'll be very profitable compared to the investment cost. Moreover, there are quite a few citizens who doubt the reliability of the insurance. Who would spend money on something that might or might not happen?"
"Every citizen in Rome is talking about insurance."
Crassus frowned.
"I passed by the street a while ago, and someone said this. That shopkeepers and landlords have all signed up for insurance."
"Most of what commoners say is nonsense, master."
"Always keep in mind that our money comes from those commoners. Don't jump to conclusions, keep looking into it."
Just as Crassus was speaking, his personal slave Pollio approached and whispered.
"Master, a fire broke out in the housing complex in Velabrum that you mentioned last time. Shall I send Maximus for the purchase?"
"No, I should go there myself. It's too important a place to leave to others."
"Understood, I will prepare the litter immediately."
"Something urgent has come up, so I must leave first. Continue with your respective tasks until the next meeting."
With his single sentence, the meeting ended.
It was a meeting in name only; in reality, it was practically a session to report profits to Crassus.
Immediately getting into the litter, Crassus headed out onto the streets of Rome under the escort of slaves.
The Velabrum district was so-called 'prime real estate' in Rome.
Hundreds of insulae and shops.
Crassus had been watching for an opportunity to get his hands on the real estate there.
And after a long wait, the gods had finally granted his wish.
"Strange for a fire to break out in the middle of the day like this. Usually, fires happen at night when lighting lamps."
"Sparks from smithies often cause fires during the day too. Last time, a fire started in a bakery and burned down three buildings entirely."
"Good for us."
Crassus smiled broadly.
Slaves carrying water buckets and axes followed behind his litter.
The private fire brigade he had organized with his own money.
For the past decade or so, Crassus had aggressively expanded his real estate whenever a fire broke out.
When a landlord sold a burning house at a bargain price, Crassus's fire brigade suppressed the fire.
Everything burnable was smashed with axes, and only after the flames were caught could the landlord retrieve the household goods that hadn't burned yet.
After that, architects under Crassus came to the site to give estimates and immediately put up new buildings.
In this way, Crassus was making enormous real estate profits throughout Rome.
"Something is strange."
Crassus realized that the atmosphere in Velabrum was quite different from what he usually saw.
Normally, in a place with a big fire, victims who lost their homes would be wailing on the streets.
But the people here were just urgently dragging household goods out, not showing expressions of despair.
"Has the fire not spread yet?"
Crassus got out of the litter and approached a man.
"Are you the owner of this insula?"
"I am, but..."
The man replied, startled to see Crassus.
Crassus kept his smile gentle, careful not to spook him.
"What a pity that such a tragedy has occurred. Do you not need help?"
"Well..."
The man replied, looking at the slaves behind Crassus.
There was no one in Rome who didn't know Crassus's fire brigade.
Like crows picking at a carcass—only they circled burning houses.
"I don't think I need it right now."
"You seem unconcerned even though your house is burning. How can that be?"
"I moved here not long ago, so there isn't much furniture to burn. My family also came out to the street as soon as the fire started, so everyone is fine."
"But aren't you worried about the repair costs?"
"That is true. But thanks to the goddess Fortuna..."
The man replied with a bright smile.
"Luckily, I signed up for fire insurance last month. I'm benefiting like this thanks to my worried wife."
"Did you say insurance? The one Lucius Caesar is doing?"
"That's right, the charity that Caesar's son is doing."
The man nodded and replied.
"Charity you said?"
"Yes, what could be more grateful than such a noble person doing such charity work for us commoners?"
It felt like someone had cracked him over the skull. As he stood blankly, the fire brigade slaves approached and asked.
"Master, then are we not putting out the fire?"
"I see. So that's why he spoke to me so confidently."
Pollio was flustered by his master laughing heartily.
It was rare for Crassus to show such an agitated reaction.
Towards the bewildered Pollio, Crassus shouted.
"There was a reason the bastard was so confident!"
"Pardon, sir?"
"Making people hand over money of their own accord! He made anxiety about fire into a product. He sold peace of mind to the citizens while disguising it as charity."
Crassus had been able to make huge profits by buying houses at fire scenes.
But it was natural to receive backlash from citizens in the process.
His fire brigade was an object of hatred, not gratitude, to Roman citizens.
The money he scattered to Roman citizens every year to offset this negative image was by no means small.
But now, a kid decades younger than him was doing the exact opposite.
"Making a profit while also taking care of his reputation."
Raising profits through the business called insurance while simultaneously receiving the support of citizens.
A strike that hit Crassus where he was vulnerable.
"I've been receiving profit reports consisting only of numbers all day, so I failed to notice such an obvious thing. Pollio, order the fire brigade to put out the fire."
"Master, but the house purchase is not yet..."
"It doesn't matter. Since we're here, it wouldn't be bad to make a good impression on the citizens for once."
Crassus shouted, waving his hand nervously.
"What are you doing? I said put out the fire quickly! Why are you standing still like fools? Move! Put it out—now!"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
At his urging, the slaves scrambled forward.
Soon, the flames gradually subsided and were completely extinguished.
"Thank you so much, sir Crassus."
The landlords flocked to Crassus and expressed their gratitude.
"It was nothing. I merely helped my fellow citizen as a Roman."
After shaking hands with them, Crassus got back into the litter.
Once there was some distance from the crowd, he looked at Pollio.
"Pollio."
"Yes, Master."
"I have to take back what I said last time."
Crassus stared silently at the setting sun for a moment.
"The bastard wasn't a puppy, he was a wolf cub."
"Then what will you do now, sir?"
"Isn't it simple?"
Crassus said, leaning back in the litter.
If Lucius Caesar was a wolf, he had only one thing to do.
"I'll have to prepare a bigger leash."
***
"Crassus visited the fire area in Velabrum?"
"Yes, he went to the fire scene himself, talked to the victims, and put out the fire for free."
Felix nodded.
"It is certainly strange for that miser who cares only about money to put out a fire for free."
"And most of the people in that area were our insurance subscribers."
I put down the documents I was holding and fell into thought.
Crassus must have gone to buy fire-damaged real estate at a cheap price as usual.
But instead, he put out the fire for free.
Did he suddenly have a change of heart?
No, the odds of that were vanishingly small.
It is highly likely that the fire victims showed little interest in Crassus's offer.
There is no reason to hand over real estate to Crassus at a bargain price when they can just repair the building with insurance money.
"Then Crassus won't operate his private fire brigade anymore. Since he can't make a profit from fires."
"If it were an ordinary person, yes."
But Crassus is not an ordinary person.
Since one of his main sources of income has been attacked, he will surely launch a counterattack.
"He'll try to take over our insurance business or stop it somehow. He absolutely won't sit still."
"Then aren't we in big trouble?"
Felix's face turned pale.
"Winning a fight against *that* Crassus, of all people... is practically impossible."
"You don't have to destroy someone to win., Felix."
Hearing my words, Felix frowned.
Well, even hearing it myself, I wouldn't understand it well.
One side doesn't have to kill the other to win.
But according to my experience in my past life, this was the truth especially in business.
The business world wasn't just about zero-sum fights where you take what belongs to the other.
There was also a third way where everyone profits together.
The problem is how to persuade Crassus.
He was older than me, had many political allies, and had virtually limitless funds.
Compared to him, I was a small fish next to him.
But that doesn't mean there's no way at all.
It was something I had been prepared for since I borrowed money from Crassus in the first place.
"Send an invitation to Crassus and bring him to our company building."
"Here? What on earth are you planning?"
"It's simple, Felix."
There was an impressive line I heard in a movie long ago.
"I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse."
Crassus will probably think I got scared and am surrendering.
But this was a trap. Plain and simple.
"And there's something else that's important. We have to make sure people nearby see Crassus walk in. So rumors can spread."
"What rumors exactly?"
I smiled looking at Felix, who tilted his head.
"You'll find out soon enough."