Chapter 98 – Worthless Four-Colored Grave
Translator: Ranzan Editor: JackOFallTrades
It was two weeks since I last saw Fegner.
The subjugation of the magic monsters had gone well, too, and the former activity of the town returned.
However, there was no positive result for the Grond trading company, as movement of products around the streets trickled to a halt.
Perhaps because a large amount of importing couldn’t take place until the city streets were insured safe.
There was pressured situation like this in the town before.
What else was understood was, all the talk about the reminiting of currency was all a rumor.
However, it wasn’t that there was absolutely nothing done about it.
For example, even if it were true, it was hard to even get the right to do it.
In order to finalize all the contracts by the firms that used that money, it took a lot of money to get the products purchased back in order to do so.
For Fegner, it was assumed that he had taken the money of the trade company and fled with it.
It wasn’t that they didn’t know where he had gone, but no one had time to worry about such things.
「Grond’s inspection ended without a hitch. Including those responsible, they’ve all been let go.」
「I see…return to regular business.」
In order to stop the outflow from his safe, all of the stores had been closed and regular business had been stopped, but in this condition, there was now nothing for employees to do without orders.
「Yes sir.」
The employee said little else but simply left the room.
(Those official bastards, not even going to greet me? What a mockery.)
Alone in his room, he angrily sat and drank some green tea.
「Damn, this is too thick. It’s just bitterness and little else.」
The bitter expression his mouth made over his face distorted his face more.
I guess even if you tell someone how to make tea, it’s hard for people that aren’t high class to make it regardless.
Fegner could make good tasting and bitter salted plums because of his experience all over the world.
However, Fegner’s no longer with us.
「Dammit, Fegner, did you forget the duty you had to my father, you bastard?!」
Those thoughts I tried to chase away with work came right back to my lips again.
It wasn’t good to be mulling over that, even understanding that it was impossible to suppress as I threw my cup at the wall.
Pwassshhh, the loud sound echoed, and the contents dripped down the wall.
「Man, this pisses me off! Hey! Someone!」
I called out for a maid in a loud voice, and a senior maid that had been with us a long time entered.
「You called, Master Grond?」
「Clean this. And I don’t want to drink your green tea any more. Normal black tea, now.」
「As you wish.」
I ordered the maid, and after a sigh went back to work.
After she finally finished cleaning, the same maid brought me a new cup of black tea.
「Maste Grond, why don’t you take a rest? I think you not resting at all from your work has had an effect…」
「No, I’m fine. I need this time. If I get done with this, then it will be enough, no, I will totally be able to restart this business.」
After all this, my company will go into a recession. I had to recognize that already by now.
However, I still had some power left.
It was something normal people couldn’t get, the power of money.
「Well, call me if you need me again.」
She quietly left the room, and I prepared some documents while still thinking about it in the back of my mind.
Operations in this town are over.
There was no reason to try to restart this company in Dartlas. All the copper and silver stacked, leaving the gold and large gold pieces secretly for myself, had already been paid out.
Even those damned government workers, even though they didn’t find me at fault, finished their final investigation.
Of course there was nothing I could do anyway.
After that, it was just time to leave town with the money I had.
「The imperial city, no, they used to call it that. Well, whatever, I can live anywhere I want now.」
Yes, the money I had in hand was more than the money my father left me with.
I had gotten much experience with the work I had done.
It hurt to lose connections with the queen, but she was a different person than she looked like.
With my power decreased, I can cut ties to this business and try another, or buy out another with this money.
Anyway, there was no other way to live in this kingdom.
「Because it’s the survival of the richest here, it’s easy to use this money. I just have to find someone other than the queen….I have to break the others in so they don’t take me for a sucker like Fegner, I need another head guy.」
I lost a lot in this problem, and I had to postpone many plans into the future.
However, I still had the power the masses didn’t have.
Money, money, money.
I guess I was satisfied, I had real power.
「However, it is ironic, my confusion teaching me after a teacher like Fegner betrayed me.」
The words spilled from my mouth.
Fegner took the money and ran. That was because money means power.
That’s why I remembered.
For money to lose power like that was an impossible thing.
「When we went to the imperial city again, maybe I should make my workers be slaves…」
From the beginning, my father used agents, and he trusted them too much with money they could never have.
Employees should just do what I tell them, that’s it.
In a place of power rules like the imperial city, because of that there are many slaves. Slaves are very easy to train.
「Hm, that’s right. If I expected for Fegner to raise up my troops, and was stingy with my money for those orphans, perhaps now I should consider using slaves.」
With those silly orphans crushed, I could buy some more, and train them to work in other plans I have.
Fegner was the one that stopped me in thinking about slaves in the first place.
They were easier to train if you raised them from youth, Fegner said, if you brainwashed and trained them you could use them much easier as pawns than some slaves, and even more, they were far cheaper than slaves to purchase.
I gave my consent, but now it seems impudent.
「Well, either way, it all came to nothing. I just have to rethink it all.」
Training orphans by putting them all in a school, and then getting them all to work for me was a great idea.
Fegner was necessary, so because he was incomplete in brainwashing all of them, he used the Ramune on them to get them to become stronger.
Well, they were crushed before I left the town anyway.
Even though I was making my own force, I looked for a place that I could build a place without prying eyes seeing what I was doing.
I should have put a bit more money into the plan I was putting together. However, many of the plans that I carried out for this town had come back fruitless.
(I really used a bunch of money for nothing. I trusted money a bit too much.)
I drew a breath in, and looked out the window.
Far in the distance, I could see the imperial city.
If I got a few more documents in order, I just then had to get my bag out and then ride my horse and wagon to that city.
I can’t use my money in this city, and there’s no reason to hang my signboard here any longer.
Just thinking about everything makes me seethe with anger again, and there was little that I actually knew what had happened.
Nonorik didn’t return in this important time, and if I’m not careful, an unknown enemy could attack while I’m not ready.
After all, Nonorik was the one that sensed an enemy at first.
As soon as I cut off my relationship with him, some other trading company will grab him up quickly.
「That damn little bug… As soon as I rebuild my business, I’ll crush you.」
I pushed down my pen so hard it made a grinding sound on the paper, as I was about to shout out more curses at him.
I’ll leave this town. The next place I put my feet, my business will take that city over completely.
I’ll suck every penny out of that town.
「All the people I fooled, all those idiots that looked angrily at me, all are guilty. I’ll send them all to hell!」
Just thinking about that day made my pen fly quickly.
I’ll leave in three days.
I have security for the road as well.
First, as a gift I have the 『Stone-Leaf Sword』、which I will give to a royal family in the city.
I had already loosened the ribbon around the bag on my body.
Inside was 50 coins of mithril, just in case I need emergency reserves.
I don’t have the gold my father gave me inside, only the money that I hid from my own money-making.
I’ve never shown anyone that, as it’s the only traces of all I’ve made.
I would never show anyone, but it was hidden far away inside a safe, but lately it’s accompanied me wherever I’ve gone.
That mithril used in the white silver has the power of magic resistance and dispelling.
With this amount, even in a bag at my side, it functions as a magic and poison dispeller.
However, there’s even something more I desire for its special abilities.
「Yes, this feeling, this feeling…」
The thing that fills my heart.
The thing I touched with a clink with my finger, cold, shimmering in a way that nothing else can get close to.
It has the feeling of metal, but fills my heart with the greatest sweetness.
「Yes, I’ll do it. Money has limits, but even so I’ll be fine.」
I closed my mouth and put clothes in my bag, and above the clothes I tied my bag shut.