All the stories are true. I'm finding that out now as I'm going over The points of Yusei and his father's economic agenda, and some basic points of economics.

"But what if there's no supply?"

"Well, perhaps, that would lead to invention, which might then provide a supply."

"What would the price be like then?"

"I'd imagine that it would be very high, and the inventor would be able to name nearly any price for it."

"But what about the sustainability of the price?"

Hmm. "Well… I think that would depend on the demand. With the high demand after invention, you would be able to sustain a very high price, but as demand falls you wouldn't be able to…"

"It's kind of a vicious cycle, huh?"

"It doesn't seem that way, Lady Sorano."

"Yes, with higher revenue you have a higher dependence, and with falling demand you would have a falling supply of revenue, right?"

"...Um, yes, but that's an entirely different lesson." It's exhausting trying to keep up with Lady Sorano. Yes, she is smart, but her mind flies in multiple directions at once, not all of which are pointed at the lesson.

"Are there any products that nearly always have a sustainable cycle?" She asks, holding her chin as she looks up at the ceiling. "I mean, besides the basics like food and clothing."

A few potential answers pop up into my head, but I hesitate to mention them. "...Recreational drugs might be one. You might not bring too many people into the cycle, but the ones you do can stay in sometimes for life."

A wicked grin comes onto Lady Sorano's face. "But, how would you discover the supply and the demand?"

"Some are discovered by accident, and some drugs through research. Um, from what I know of them." I hastily add. But even that isn't enough to fool Lady Sorano.

"'Um', huh?" She asks still grinning. "What are some drugs you know of?"

Nowhere to go but down, so I might as well tell her the truth. "...One that I've been around is razorleaf…"

"Razorleaf?"

"It comes from a shrub that grows in the darker and quieter parts of forests. The chemicals in its leaves are supposed to encourage animals to eat the plant, and thereby spread the seeds, but when you put all of that into a cigar, it's highly possible to get addicted."

"Then the withdrawals kick in, and you've got them in the cycle," Lady Sorano says, nodding. "So do you know of any dealers?"

"Of course not! I always hated the smell of razorleaf smoke and never bothered to find out where my uncles got their cigars from."

"I'm just wondering how you'd manage the supply and demand. I mean, someone like you obviously isn't going to know what drug dealing is like on the streets."

"Lady Sorano, are you implying that you'd like to get into the profession?"

She gives a derisive snort before answering. "No. What I want to find out is how addiction ties into supply and demand. If the consumers are addicted, then demand would always remain about constant, or go up, right? And since razorleaf or whatever drug could only come from one specific plant, how would you manage your supply?"

"Price- did you not hear the beginning of the lesson?"

"But what if your consumers would pay any price, what would you do then?"

"Then you could demand everything they own, I suppose."

"And not just money?"

"Theoretically, yes." A light goes off in my mind. How long has Taizo been a dealer?

Lady Sorano goes deep into thought, holding her chin. "So, would you say that addiction is a viable economic tool?"

"For drug dealers, yes, but not for a daimyo. Addiction in addition to taxation might lead to a revolt."

"Hmm… well, let's say I'm that evil daimyo who has a nation of dependent subjects, and tax them up the wazoo. How would I manage supply and demand then?"

I think I'm starting to get a headache. We're so far off the basic subject it's getting ridiculous. "...I think you'd have to balance the two. Both are an almost even cycle, right? Disrupting the balance between the addiction and taxation would also upset the balance between supply and demand."

"So, how would you get someone addicted to the basics and necessities?"

I massage my temples for a second. It's difficult to get Lady Sorano back on topic once she heads off- which is frequently- so I'm going to have to try to answer this. "Supply and price, but there'd also be some psychology involved, which is most definitely beyond the scope of this lesson."

"Ah, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, right?"

"Yes…"

"But you can't have an addiction without withdrawals or some kind of absence, right? So wouldn't it be more like leasing the necessities instead of taxation or meeting their demands?"

"I… suppose it would be."

"So what are prices for leases like?"

"Generally they're less than buying something. It's… like temporarily renting."

"Would adjusting taxes to account for leasing basics and necessities work?"

"Almost everything works on paper, but there isn't any nation I've ever read or heard of that's used the system you seem to be building." The vision of the Land of Fire Lady Sorano has in mind right now is bizarre and alien to me, not to mention miles away from the one Yusei wants me to introduce to her.

But she keeps going. "How would you introduce this kind of an addiction where there isn't one?"

"The same way you would with drugs; there needs to be some kind of desire for more, or a change," I say with a sigh.

"Do you think our citizens are happy?" Lady Sorano asks. The question isn't sharp, and it's startling.

"That's a question to ask your citizens, not me, Lady Sorano."

Lady Sorano nods, then stretches her arms in front of her. "Well, that was fun. What's tomorrow's lesson?"

"Tomorrow I was hoping to start on ninja and their history."

"What do ninja have to do with economics?" I close my eyes, and silently ask myself what I did to deserve this...