Chapter 87: The Party Thud. Clatter.
Corpses and debris slid down like sludge. Charred flesh coated the surroundings, and smoke from the high-pressure blast hung heavy in the air.
Ssssss....
Ashes scattered like dust. A pungent, stinging scent pricked the nose.
Unlike the interior, which had become a total mess, I was perfectly fine. So was Yukia.
Whirring.
The translucent Aura Sphere, shimmering like a silver veil, didn't have a single scratch. Only the core's mana had depleted by about 3%.
"...."
I looked at Yukia in my arms. Her gaze was fixed on my neck—specifically, on the fragment of a wooden necklace faintly visible past my disheveled uniform.
"A-Are you alright?!"
Just then, the police came rushing in. I pulled away from Yukia.
"It's nothing major. It seems they hid a trap in the corpse... but since the crime scene has been obliterated, there's no reason to stay here."
I raised an eyebrow, nonchalant. Thanks to those bastards, my paperwork had been burned to a crisp.
"Phew. I'm just glad you're safe. To think they would do such a thing to a body—"
"No. The murderer and the person who set this magical bomb are not the same."
The mana traces left by the killer and the mana that had just crushed this workshop were distinctly different.
"Pardon? Then that means...."
"That's for the police to figure out. Investigate everyone who passed through this area around the estimated time of death."
"Ah, yes. Yes, sir. Understood."
I brushed the dust off my clothes and stepped out of the workshop.
I turned to Yukia, who had followed me out in silence.
"...Are you okay?"
Yukia nodded.
"Things like this will happen frequently from now on."
"...."
"Always be careful, and strive for your own growth."
You must never die.
"Yukia. You might not know this."
Since I couldn't tell her the real reason, I decided to just make something up.
"But I have a debt to pay you."
* * *
A newly established bank in the Kanilan Independent State—"Kronen Schatzinsel."
Dieter, out on a business trip, first took a moment to admire the bank's exterior.
Smooth, unadorned marble walls, cold and precise straight lines, and heavy bronze doors. Mana circuits were embedded in all the materials, making the structure sturdy enough to withstand potential terrorist attacks.
This was the result of Dieter—who lacked confidence in aesthetics and architecture—commissioning the Lorenzo Academy. It was also their first completed project.
"Administrative Officer Dieter. It is this way."
"...Yes."
Dieter stepped inside.
The interior color palette was a base of calm charcoal. The smooth stone stretching from floor to ceiling was unified in a neat, consistent tone.
Yet, it didn't look poor or empty.
By stripping away all unnecessary decoration, it achieved a paradoxical silence—a sense of dense, imposing mass. Like the dignity of traditional nobility, it felt luxurious without the need for gold plating.
"Mhm."
Dieter was highly satisfied. The architects of the Lorenzo Academy had provided the perfect answer to his request to 'create the most trustworthy space.'
An overly decorated bank would have felt like it was losing sight of its true purpose.
"It has been about four weeks since we opened for business."
Historically, the financial industry had the highest barriers to entry. Money only flowed once the invisible asset of credit had been established.
However, the current situation in Kanilan was unique.
Regulations had been abolished, and oversight had vanished. Neither side cared about credit anymore.
As long as there was a rumor that you had capital, people would line up to borrow it.
"What does the collateral list look like?"
At Dieter's question, an employee handed over a thick file.
"Here it is. As you instructed, we have secured mostly physical assets."
He scanned the list. Among the numerous real estate collaterals, one item stood out.
[Acarius Mercenary Group - Rights to Mercenary Contracts and Profit Distribution Rights]
A contract stipulating that if Captain Ren failed to repay the debt, the bank would seize the rights to the mercenary group's manpower and their profit distribution.
In peaceful times, this would be a high-risk bad debt, but if war broke out, the story would change. In wartime, mercenaries—especially skilled ones—were a resource as precious as mana stones.
At that point, the value of this bond would skyrocket.
"What is the status of the safety deposit boxes?"
"Currently, only about 5% are occupied. Mostly slush funds deposited by Imperial nobles."
However, the core product of "Kronen Schatzinsel" was not deposits. To begin with, Kanilan was full of people looking to spend money, not save it.
Instead, Kronen operated a 'high-performance secret warehouse' that set it apart from other banks. It was a vault zone built like a fortress deep within the rugged mountains of the southern Empire. Any valuable could be stored there forever, provided the storage fee was paid.
"We don't have many customers yet."
The employee looked concerned, but Dieter adjusted his glasses and shook his head.
"It doesn't matter. We just have to wait."
Before long, when the bubble burst and Kanilan collapsed, people would come to distrust the entire financial system that ruined them. They would fall into despair before worthless securities and tightly closed bank doors.
Only then would our time come.
A bank that never wavers. Absolute neutrality, free from the interference of any nation.
"Let us review our principles once more."
Dieter looked around at the employees. These were the ironclad rules of "Kronen Schatzinsel" that he had personally devised.
"First: Never ask about the source of the assets."
It didn't matter if the money was soaked in blood, earned from selling drugs, or embezzled. A bank was not a place to judge morality.
"However: Identify the depositor's identity accurately and deeply."
Despite that, the owner of the money must be certain. If possible, they had to dig through genealogies to clarify exactly who was entrusting their assets.
"And for that purpose."
Dieter pulled out a small box. Inside was a blue hexahedron about the size of two finger joints.
"The Identity Authentication Cube."
It was a miniature version of the Aura Sphere cubes used by knights—a security device that concentrated the magical engineering of the Lorenzo Academy.
"This artifact remembers a human's unique mana wavelength."
A security key utilizing mana—a soul's fingerprint that was impossible to forge or alter.
Even commoners who couldn't manipulate mana could use it by having it sampled from their blood.
"Any customer wishing to use a safety deposit box for assets valued at over 3 million dollars must purchase this."
"Yes. Confirmed."
"What is the status of the public recruitment?"
"The competition is extremely high."
Thousands to one. The salary set by Kronen was exceptionally high, even by Kanilan standards.
One of the reasons embezzlement or negligence had never occurred in Maximilian's businesses was the firm system of rewarding based on performance.
Maximilian could have amassed ten times his current assets. Instead, he kept only what was necessary and shared the rest willingly.
"Reject anyone from securities firms at the document stage if possible."
"Yes, sir."
Dieter was wary of moral hazard. He had created a test to filter out those who leaned more on emotion than numbers, and those blinded by greed who underestimated risk.
"These are the entrance exam papers. Keep them sealed."
"Yes."
Afterward, he entered his office prepared in a corner of the bank. From that room, built of wood without any decoration, he looked out the window.
The brilliant night view of Kanilan flooded in.
"...."
When those brilliant lights go out one by one, we will shine like a lighthouse.
We will rise as the most radiant numbers.
Dieter sat in his chair and opened his documents.
An endless sea of numbers. These countless figures poured down as if to drown him, yet his heart swelled with pleasure. Mana flooded between the synapses of his brain.
I am handling such vast liquidity. I am shaping numbers according to my will.
That fact alone was an inexpressible indulgence and ecstasy.
Dieter was living inside a dream.
The name of that dream was Maximilian.
* * *
Around the time the warm southern breeze began to blow, someone reported me to the Imperial Court. The charge was that I was creating a massive slush fund at the Aternum munitions factory and smuggling it abroad.
"I apologize for the inconvenience... but this is a sensitive matter, so we have no choice."
The Imperial Royal Audit Bureau paid a direct visit to my mansion. It was an Imperial decree: I was to explain the source, flow, and usage of the funds, and submit all tax records to date.
That's right, the Emperor himself had ordered it.
"First, these are the documents related to Aternum."
As if I had been waiting, I piled the prepared documents onto the table.
The Director of the Audit Bureau flinched for a moment, but as he accepted them, he relayed some news.
"Are you aware that Department Head Lutz Rosen of the Special Inspection Department has gone missing?"
"...Missing?"
"Yes. His whereabouts have been unknown for several days."
It wasn't surprising. It was likely Reutern II's doing.
"I see."
Truth be told, I had expected something more like a trial.
A situation where I was backed into a corner by charges of embezzlement and slush funds, where Lutz wore a triumphant expression and Reutern was consumed by anxiety and rage—and then I would submit these materials for a dramatic reversal....
It seemed I still hadn't fully grasped the nature of the Imperial Palace.
"That is unfortunate."
"...."
The Director looked at me suspiciously, but Reutern's cleanup probably wasn't perfectly clean. The direct agencies would soon identify Reutern as a suspect.
I pointed to the ledgers for him.
"As you can see, there is no embezzlement. My personal assets were simply withdrawn as bearer bonds through the corporation."
The Director examined the ledgers meticulously.
The funds came from a personal account and were converted into bonds through legal procedures.
"Hmm... but is there a reason you went through the trouble of converting them into bearer bonds?"
"...."
I hesitated for a moment before shrugging.
"There are many in the Imperial Palace who value appearances. I was just setting aside some pocket money for them. Giving cash directly hurts the recipient's pride, and it doesn't look good for me either... so I simply borrowed the form of a financial product."
Packaging a bribe as 'consideration.'
The Director seemed to catch the implication regarding the culprit and lowered his gaze for a moment.
"Furthermore."
Snap. I flicked my fingers. The stacks of documents my servants had been keeping were carried inside.
"These are my tax filing records."
The eyes of the Director and his subordinates widened.
"The volume is immense."
"Yes. Since I have never evaded even a hair's breadth of taxes, there is no choice but for it to be this much."
It was the truth. Although the tax rate for nobles was lower than for commoners, most nobles tried to avoid paying even that. In contrast, I was a model citizen.
In particular, I had accurately paid in full even the 'Mana Stone Special Consumption Tax' and 'Mining Tax,' which nobles who owned mana stone mines habitually evaded as a matter of custom.
"...You seem very confident."
"Shall we call it 'thesis, antithesis, synthesis'? Only when there is doubt can I prove myself, can I not?"
I wore a relaxed smile.
"I only hope that my heart, which beats for the Empire, reaches His Majesty."
A hollow laugh escaped the Director's lips.
"If you say so."
He stood up. The agents of the bureau picked up the stacks of documents one by one.
"We will investigate thoroughly and return them to you."
"Yes. Safe travels."
The people from the bureau swept out like the ebbing tide.
I felt a strange sense of emptiness and ran a hand through my hair.
Whistle.
A breeze drifted in through the gap in the open window.
It was already February, and it was slowly getting warmer.
Spring was approaching.
"...No, but really. These thieves."
I picked up the letters sent by the securities firms in Kanilan. Most were warnings couched in concern, but they were practically insults.
[Notice of Risk Reassessment for Your Products]
[Notification of Upward Adjustment of Margin Requirements and Commission Rates Due to Increased Market Volatility]
[Request for Additional Margin Deposit]
"My margin is plenty, yet they keep bitching at me to put in more."
They arbitrarily cited their own internal regulations to raise the risk level and used that as an excuse to demand more margin. They were being so annoying in their attempts to squeeze out commissions that I was memorizing the names of these companies. Regardless, I planned to finish them all off once spring ended.
"Patience...."
That day was not far off. I picked up an invitation sent by a certain company.
[Kanilan Tech Summit: Land Protocol Technology Demonstration]
Artificial continent creation technology. A hollow dream promising eternal prosperity for Kanilan.
I intended to go and watch the demonstration of this technology.
They would showcase their magic brilliantly, and they would fail utterly. It would be the price for underestimating variables, forced mana calculations, and ignoring the power of nature.
I had already finished my preparations to short-sell the company in question.
"...The future won't change, will it?"
A sudden flash of anxiety crossed my mind. To be honest, even I was afraid of the possibility that history had been twisted by my intervention.
However, according to the economic newspapers I had clearly read before my regression:
"No party lasts forever."
When the party ends, the bill must inevitably be paid.
The moment of reckoning has simply arrived, and quite happily...
I am the one collecting the debt.
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