Ch.11. Jealousy

…320 million, 330 million.

Even at this moment, the price of Cordana was skyrocketing.

The Hero captured one of the Tetrad, so the price is rising. That would be the simple explanation, but some unnecessarily thoughtful people were busy analyzing the situation.

“It seems like a big player has entered the market.”

This came from Bingo, a low-ranking administrator in the Royal Order with a somewhat attractive appearance but short stature and noticeably thinning hair.

As his hastily given name suggested, he was a commoner. I was also one of the few commoners in the Order.

We didn’t become friends by commiserating about our common status. Actually, we bonded over being early investors in Cordana.

Bingo currently owned 9 Cordanas.

He said he had invested every penny he had, down to his soul, during the initial release. It was cute compared to my 108, but still more than most nobles possessed.

‘It’s nice to have at least one person to talk about Cordana with…’

The problem was that he had developed an addiction to trend analysis.

“When you say ‘big player,’ who exactly do you mean?”

“In my opinion, it’s likely someone from the imperial family. The Prince has been accumulating them for two months now.”

“Isn’t it a bit late to be buying more at this point?”

Cordana’s price was already at 330 million. By tomorrow morning, it could soar to 340 or 350 million. Even for the wealthy imperial family, jumping into this market so late seemed excessively risky.

“Too late? Do you really think so?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

I was genuinely concerned about the Prince’s finances, but Bingo looked at me with contempt.

“You fool. You can say that because you got yours for free, but Cordana is still far from its peak. It’s barely reached the solar plexus, I’d say.”

“Solar plexus?”

“It’s still a long way from reaching the crown of the head.”

Bingo confidently declared that Cordana still had plenty of room to rise.

He seemed to have his own reasoning. According to him, depending on the Hero Gwon Heejin’s achievements, it could easily hit 500 or 600 million. One of the Tetrad was still alive, and above all, there was the Demon Lord, the pinnacle of the demon army.

“People holding Cordana now are dreaming of the moment when the Hero defeats the Demon Lord and distributes the spoils. Just imagine how vast the treasures in the Demon Lord’s castle must be! All sorts of rare artifacts and mountains of gold and silver.”

“Distribution of spoils? There’s no evidence for that.”

“The Hero has never explicitly denied it. That’s implicit acknowledgment. She’s probably just keeping quiet because the Demon Lord’s castle might be unexpectedly poor. If she boasted and the results were disappointing, there would be backlash.”

“So when should we sell Cordana?”

“The best time to sell is quickly, when the Hero is about to face the Demon Lord and investor expectations are at their peak.”

“Not right after the conquest?”

When I raised this question, Bingo openly frowned.

“Definitely not. Once the Demon Lord is eliminated, all the positive catalysts are gone. The Hero will receive a title from His Majesty the Emperor and live luxuriously.”

“So there’s no more room for growth. I guess that makes sense—once it peaks, people won’t have any reason to scramble for Cordana.”

“Exactly. You get it.”

After pontificating for a while, Bingo suddenly adopted a grave expression. Looking around cautiously, he spoke with seriousness.

“Erick. Listen carefully.”

“Huh?”

“A huge windfall is right in front of us. It’s not far away. But if you want to keep that money safe, you need to be careful about how you conduct yourself from now on.”

“…?”

“Everyone knows we hold multiple Cordanas. At least within the Order, we should assume everyone knows.”

Of course they would know.

Recently, quite a few members had been asking about Cordana in cautious tones.

Ever since Cordana’s price exceeded 50 million, rumors spread among the lower ranks that “He foresaw Cordana’s surge and demanded coins instead of joining the Hero’s party.” Nowadays, even full members brought up Cordana in conversation with me.

“Yeah, I’m sure they know. But what’s your point?”

“Never underestimate human greed. The Cordanas you’re holding now could fetch enough to buy a decent territory. Of course, territories aren’t actually bought and sold, but still. What do you think goes through the minds of Order members surviving on meager salaries when they look at you?”

“They probably feel envious. Sure, they might wish they had Cordana too, but what can they do about it now?”

“Tsk. That’s not what I mean. Things will get increasingly difficult.”

Bingo himself was already being ostracized at work.

After refusing requests to treat everyone a few times, he started receiving glares from the administrative director. After declining a proposal to sell one Cordana and contribute to the social fund, even his colleagues began to exclude him.

“I’ve been eating alone for months, and I’m unfairly assigned excessive workloads. When I complain, they mock me, saying I could just resign and live comfortably by selling my Cordana.”

“Wow. It’s that bad?”

“The Order is almost all nobles except for you, so they probably won’t harass you openly. But inside, they’re probably seething with resentment.”

With that warning, Bingo left.

‘Surely not.’

I wasn’t dismissing his concerns, but my position as a knight was different from his as an administrator.

Every member of the Royal Order was an exceptional knight with at least Expert-intermediate level skills, proud to be part of the Empire’s guardian order. Having been called prodigies since childhood, they had strong pride.

Would such people feel jealousy over mere money?

…Well, being human, they might feel envious.

But the idea that they would harm me or pick fights because of it seemed far-fetched. If they were going to do that, they would have started long ago.

I shook my head and returned to the training ground.

The training ground was unusually empty. Even the few members swinging their swords seemed halfhearted.

“Erick, I heard the Hero will visit the capital soon. Aren’t you going to greet her?”

The Hero’s party visiting the imperial palace? I didn’t know about that.

“By the way, Erick. How many Cordanas did you say you have? My brother said you have over 200.”

I was about to answer without thinking but decided to keep my mouth shut. Somehow, it felt wrong to smirk and say, “Not quite 200.”

The colleague who asked the question stared at me intently, then twisted his face into an awkward smile.

“Ah, sorry. I shouldn’t ask about such things.”

“……”

“I feel bad now. Lighten up, Erick.”

The expression of my retreating colleague waving his hand seemed somehow unnatural.

I wasn’t going to delude myself by thinking “It must be my imagination.” The attitude of the members who had just surrounded me, each dropping casual remarks, was definitely not normal.

‘Why so suddenly?’

Surely they weren’t acting this way just because Cordana had broken 300 million.

250 million was already a huge sum, so the number 300 million shouldn’t particularly offend them. It’s not like I’d been bragging about my money. To be honest, I’d never even brought it up first.

What’s gotten into these people all of a sudden?

*

This has truly reached its limit.

That was the muttered thought of Lufus Waynelight, captain of the Imperial Royal Order.

The seeds of discord among the members had begun sprouting right after Cordana first started trading.

It was widely known that Erick, a member of the Order, had voluntarily given up the honor of joining the Hero’s party in exchange for Cordana, and consequently became instantly wealthy.

Erick wasn’t resented from the beginning.

However, many found it puzzling that he never mentioned sharing his profits with the Order. He didn’t even hint at such a possibility.

The only reason Erick had been able to receive Cordana in the first place was purely because of his status as a member of the Royal Order. If not for that, he would never have been considered as a candidate for the Hero’s party, nor would he have been able to voluntarily withdraw and step back.

He should rightfully have shared some of those profits with his colleagues.

But strangely, Erick kept his mouth shut and exhibited suspicious behavior.

At first, he purchased a safety vault, but rumors spread that he had started carrying his Cordana on his person. Recently, there were even rumors that he had sewn Cordana into the lining of his clothes.

– Captain, shouldn’t we do something about that bastard Erick?

– His defensive attitude is actually suspicious. What if he sells everything at once and leaves the Order?

Waynelight had forcibly suppressed the members’ complaints about Erick. In truth, Waynelight himself had little interest in Cordana, but he couldn’t allow discord among his members.

He thought Erick would bring it up soon if he had any sense—he wasn’t some inexperienced rookie but a seasoned member of the Order. Waynelight had defended him, not wanting to see one of his most excellent members become alienated from the organization.

But even those efforts had now reached their limit. The situation had become uncontrollable even for someone at the pinnacle of both skill and position within the Order.

“Sigh. This is maddening.”

Waynelight held his throbbing head and sighed.

Come to think of it, voluntarily giving up the honor of joining the Hero’s party was strange from the beginning.

The opportunity to achieve military glory alongside the Hero was an honor that couldn’t be measured in money. Yet Erick had given it up too readily.

“…What are you thinking, Erick?”

The concern on Waynelight’s face deepened with each passing moment. If Erick generously shared even a few dozen Cordanas, he could earn the respect and trust of his colleagues. Waynelight couldn’t understand why Erick would invite discord over mere money.