Volume 2 Chapter 33-2 The End of the Pastor and Merchant Guild Forces. Luck Resides in Money, Not People
When Horace said that, the gemstones stopped releasing particles.
He casually shoved the gem into his Item Box and stood up.
"Looks like there's no issue taking it with us now."
"Yes. Thank you, Master."
"Then... Rangella, we're leaving."
"Understood."
Horace, with Rangella in tow, headed back to the estate.
Left behind, Pastor sat there, his face pale and silent.
The guard roughly stood him up and pulled him away.
The damage caused by him was staggering──immeasurable──and he lacked the ability to take responsibility for it.
Four years ago, a colossal blunder that cost 100 million gold coins.
It wiped out entire buildings in the royal capital's district, leaving many dead or injured.
It led to crippling debt from the hero community to the Adventurers' Association, and could easily be considered treason against the Chaos Stone Dragonstone Kingdom.
Yes... Pastor was undoubtedly 'smart'──so smart, in fact, that he reached this point.
Knowing the truth, understanding the gravity──yet he couldn't stop living in his delusions.
That was his defeat.
* * *
"Haha! Hahaha!"
"Sora. What are you laughing at?"
"Just look, Sid. There's something funny written here."
Three days after the commotion.
Sora and Sid sat on the terrace of a café tucked away in the corner of Jewel City Lapis.
Sora was munching on a hot dog, flipping through the newspaper, laughing as he read something amusing.
"..."
Sid took the paper and started reading.
Ignoring the headline about how 'the Hero's Master Stops Rampaging Association Chief (summary),' he looked at the details inside.
"'The merchant guild presidents who allied with the Alliance have all been arrested──caused chaos over a gold coin scandal.'"
"Ha. Looks like they really stepped in it."
"What happened?"
"Alvaro messed up, got hit with a big fine. So he bailed—took a mountain of gold coins with him."
"Ah... I get it now."
"Even if they clear their debts, they'll still be swimming in leftover cash. But now they've stopped working with the merchant guilds."
"Why stop?"
"Because they finally realized—they never actually trusted each other. They only looked unified because of the system Alvaro built."
"Wait, didn't they believe in that system?"
"From the outside? Sure. But really, they were just pretending. Alvaro made it work. Without him, it all falls apart."
Sora continued explaining with a smile.
"They weren't partners. Just dreamers clinging to the same fantasy. But when the Adventurers went berserk and all that gold flooded in, reality slapped them awake."
He adopts a slightly bewildered expression.
"Now? They're absorbing any merchant guilds that drift into Jewel City Lapis—expanding fast, but staying out of each other's business. Still don't trust each other... but they share the same goal."
"Hmph."
"But now it's all-out chaos. Every guild's racing to grab assets and people—trying not to get left behind. That's how Ellie ended up in the picture."
Of course, the repayment plan for debts involves the individual's financial power, economic capability, and other 'relations.'
In a rush to scoop them up, the lower guys would write 'we wish for a certain degree of financial support when needed' in the contract, and the top would swallow it.
The merchant guilds that had allied and collaborated were creating a market worth 'double the gold they held' due to Alvaro's system, which meant 'no debt outside the community,' so their old ways no longer worked.
Moreover, no matter how it's acquired, the 'vast sum of gold' becomes subject to taxation.
Of course, if the tax rate is too high, there will be riots, so it's kept low, but the problem is 'at least you can't falsify reports to government agencies.'"
Ellie and her crew are the ones doing the lending, after all──if they push the right buttons, they can squeeze out 'some' information about the sums involved.
"And then... boom. A fat stash of coins vanishes from the vault. Probably tried to jump some folks from the hero side. Didn't work—if the reports are right. Turns out the merchant guild boss himself was pulling the strings. Total clown show."
"...Is that so?"
Sid seemed to grasp the situation.
"Alvaro's already on his way to the capital. The merchant guild's toast. The Alliance? Dead in the water. Whole thing was one big, flashy collapse."
"And all of it? Just to annoy Horace."
"Hahaha! True enough."
...Indeed.
All this chaos—the Adventurers, the guilds, the gold scandal—it wasn't about money or power. It was just to mess with Horace.
"Well then, there's still a powder keg left to stir up. Shall we?"
"Yes, I have some preparations I must attend to as well."
"Heh heh..."
Sora looked up at the sky and chuckled.
"This is going to be fun, Horace. Well, good luck to you──"
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