About 2 weeks ago.
Emilia Raymond’s office.
Emilia was savoring the pleasant smell of money permeating from the Academy.
“The progress of our plans is currently smooth. The conflict between the cult and the autonomous government is escalating.”
Upon hearing her subordinate’s report, Emilia tapped her fingers on the table.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The table, made of fine wood, responded with a soft resonance. However, she wasn’t fond of the texture of the wood. Each time she tapped her fingers, its slight roughness bothered her.
“Please ensure the conflict continues. We must expand our influence as much as possible by exploiting the blind spots.”
“Yes.”
Lichten Academy.
It was like a pot of money in itself.
That’s how Emilia Raymond saw it.
She began to engulf Lichten from its darker corners.
Capturing professors to expand influence, ultimately even taking control of the board of directors.
Seizing Lichten Academy.
That was Emilia Raymond’s primary goal.
Currently, the plan seemed to be sailing smoothly.
However.
“…”
Someone was bothering her.
Since the first time she saw him, constantly.
Ian Blackangers.
That’s what it boiled down to.
“… Come to think of it, what about that guild we were concerned about last time? How’s their stock doing?”
“Are you referring to EcoMana?”
“Yes.”
“As you mentioned, we’re currently selling off all the shares.”
“Selling off aggressively, I presume?”
“Yes. We’re dividing and selling off the shares to maximize the impact on the stock price, just as you instructed.”
“We should be able to push down over thirty percent.”
“Yes. Unless something unexpected happens. However… if there’s unexpectedly good news, given our short positions, we’ll have to bear some losses… Are you okay with that?”
“Mr. Kyle.”
“Yes.”
“Ever dabbled in stocks? You’d be rich if good news spreads.”
“I-I apologize.”
“Don’t worry and handle it.”
◆
A week passed.
Silvia’s office.
“… Actually, that’s the thing. The stock has been plummeting until recently.”
Silvia said, her complexion turning pale.
“Plummeting?”
“Yes.”
“How much did it drop?”
“About 35%. That was the last I checked, three days ago.”
“Hmm.”
Ian rubbed his chin.
Wasn’t the investment one gold?
From Ian’s current standpoint, it was a considerable sum, but not enough to be a major problem if forgotten about.
Just skip a meal or two a day.
“So, Ian, you mentioned before heading north, if it drops, you’d like to borrow under your name and keep buying.”
… Ah, right.
He requested Silvia to buy at every dip.
That was Ian’s request to Silvia.
“But it shouldn’t be too much, right?”
Anyway, Ian was already halfway detached.
Even if a loan was taken out in his name, it might only amount to around 0.5 gold.
“W-Well.”
Silvia stuttered, then rolled her eyes.
“The Princess even provided a guarantee.”
“…?”
“About triple the principal?”
Saying that, Silvia handed over some documents.
“This is the interest that Ian should pay going forward.”
Ian entered the numbers on the paper into his mind with a distant gaze.
Hmm.
Are there guilds like loan sharks even in fantasy?
Maybe he should find a free cafeteria somewhere.
“Silvia, you’ve got connections, don’t you?”
She really dug into all his assets.
“Of course! I trust Ian’s information.”
Silvia said enthusiastically.
Come to think of it, their relationship started when Ian began selling information to Silvia.
Ian realized this situation was his own doing.
“I hadn’t heard news of it dropping recently, so I forgot about it. It’s probably… dropped quite a bit.”
It seemed that Silvia was indeed only buying stocks when they dropped, just as Ian had mentioned.
“Hmm.”
Ian was somewhat taken aback.
Sure, three gold was a lot from the standpoint of someone who’s broke, but it wasn’t entirely unattainable money. Besides, there were rewards to be harvested here and there.
Therefore, his surprise wasn’t due to the debt or interest.
‘Has the story gone off track?’
Originally, after the special event on the Northern Range Train, EcoMana’s stock should have soared.
“Has there been any news related to the Northern Range Train?”
“… There was something about it around three days ago.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Ian realize what was happening.
The proper articles were delayed.
Imperial Gazette’s journalist, Schwab, who was the only witness to the derailment incident, was caught up in the Richard incident.
It was probably after his return that the proper articles started coming out.
‘Ah, I see.’
Ian’s mouth curved upwards.
“Silvia, let’s head to the stock exchange for a bit.”
It was time to reap the rewards.
◆
[Continental Securities Association Lichten Branch Stock Exchange]
The waiting room of the stock exchange was still bustling with people.
— It seems like both the mana and energy sectors are taking a big hit from this incident.
— We relied on trust as our greatest weapon, and now it’s crumbling…
While some engaged in deep conversations while sitting with crossed legs.
— Refund, refund! I can’t believe they turned into pieces of paper in a day!
There were also customers who were dragged out.
Probably not a customer anymore.
But when will the assigned staff arrive?
“Silvia, are you sure it’s okay? I brought you here even though you’re busy… Do you want to go back first?”
“N-no way! I’ll wait too.”
Silvia stubbornly shook her head.
… Did she feel responsible? She didn’t need to.
As they waited for a moment.
“Ahem.”
The staff member they first encountered here arrived.
Slightly rude and always boasting about his recommendations.
“Oh? You two were the newlyweds back then.”
It seemed like he recognized them.
Did he remember that?
Thump.
Ian’s eyes softened as Silvia leaned against him naturally.
She casually linked her arms.
-It’s all an act. Remember when we pretended to be newlyweds here?
Her cheeks blushed slightly as she whispered.
“Are you here to check on the stock you purchased back then? What kind of stock was it again? Come this way for now.”
The staff’s attitude was quite arrogant.
Well, it was understandable since everyone ignored his recommendations back then.
Well, customers forgetting what they bought was normal for this level of employee.
As they walked through the corridor into the exchange.
Through the window, Ian noticed the mana-related stocks tinted in blue in the distance. There were stories about all related stocks dropping.
Ian asked the staff member.
“I remember you recommended mana-related stocks when we were here last time. Seems like they’re not doing well these days?”
“Oh. Um, well. It was a decent sector back then.”
The employee ended vaguely, exaggerating his tone.
“Well, rather! Mana is all the rage now. Remember the incident with the North Trans-Mountain Train stopping recently?”
“Yes. It was in the news not long ago.”
“It’s been on the rise ever since. If one had invested in this from the start, they’d be rich in no time. Not many people like that, though. They’re truly skilled.”
“Is it that significant?”
“As a guest, you probably wouldn’t know much if it was your first time buying back then.”
Another employee interjected.
“Even just looking at EcoMana, one of the best-performing mana-related stocks recently, it’s staggering.”
Silvia, who had been concentrating on the sensation of her arms around Ian, blurted out without thinking.
“…EcoMana?”
“Yes, ma’am. What’s interesting about this stock is that it’s tripled three times and doubled once in the last four trading days.”
“W-what? So, that means…”
Silvia’s eyes widened as she tapped her temple.
Seeing her widened eyes, the employee chuckled.
“Hard to believe, isn’t it? It’s risen by more than 60 times. If you played this stock well, it could go even further.”
The employee, as if he had become a shareholder of EcoMana, was in high spirits.
“Anyway. Well. This is the realm of the experts after all. By the way, sir. What did you buy last time? Let me check the returns for you.”
The employee’s expression as he asked this had a faint smirk.
Checking the stocks Ian had bought while ignoring his recommendations, as if to see how much they had risen.
Ian replied calmly.
“…EcoMana.”
“…Yes?”
“The stocks I bought last time were EcoMana.”
Upon arriving at the main stock exchange, the employee’s legs froze in place.
Above his head, a terminal flashed with the message [EcoMana, up 10% today].
“How much did you buy it for back then, sir?”
“I bought it for one gold. I think I bought more, so it’s around three gold now.”
“Ah, um…”
The employee was tongue-tied again, like a cat that had eaten the cream.
Ian asked him.
“Could you check my balance now?”
“Oh… Yes, sir. Please wait a moment.”
Taking Ian’s membership card, the employee scanned it on the terminal and checked the numbers.
—Ah!
A death like a scream.
He returned, almost as if he had seen a ghost.
“Your current balance is… 180 gold, sir.”
Combining Silvia’s additional investment amount with the original three gold, now evaluated at 180 gold.
A return rate of more than 60 times.
“Well, then. I’ll sell half for now.”
The employee, who should have mumbled something like ‘what the h*ll’, silently went to get the cheque.
“H-here you go, sir.”
Ian lowered his hand.
90 gold.
Translated into cash, a cheque worth 900 million won was in his hand.
