Ch.3131. Farewell Ceremony

Cordana Exchange.

Even after closing, numerous investors lingered near the exchange like ghosts, unable to leave.

In the reception room, on the steps in front of the exchange, even on the bare ground. Each was suppressing their resentment with different postures and expressions.

And among them was one investor with an anxious expression.

Hair prematurely gray despite his relatively young age, hunched back, eyes darting nervously.

It was Professor Weaver from the Academy’s Magic Department.

In truth, he wasn’t an investor. He was someone who had disposed of all his Cordana holdings just hours ago and fled the exchange.

He had even returned home immediately afterward and patted his son’s shoulders—the son who was about to enter the Academy—while expressing relief.

“Son, I sold everything. When I boldly put it all out there, someone took it. Do you know about the Kingdom of Lessotona? It’s a small country bordering the Great Forest. A nobleman from that country snatched it up like he’d been waiting for it.”

“Dad, you’ve been acting strange lately, haven’t you? Don’t worry anymore. I’ll just think of it as paying tuition for life lessons and forget about it all. …Just 590,000. It’s nothing.”

The words were mixed with bravado to reassure his son.

However, 590,000 was not a trivial amount that could be dismissed as “just.”

It was enough money to buy two decent houses in the expensive 3rd District—a truly enormous loss even for a Magic Department professor with considerable side income.

‘Still, I need to forget about it, let it go.’

Professor Weaver shut himself in his study and repeated this to himself. Swearing that he would never even glance toward the exchange again.

But that oath was quickly broken. Before he knew it, Professor Weaver had slipped out of his house and returned to the exchange.

He hadn’t returned because he wanted to jump back into the Cordana market.

‘I need to see it with my own eyes.’

He desperately wanted to confirm whether his decision to escape the Cordana market, even at a greatly reduced price, had truly been correct.

He felt he couldn’t bear it if the Cordana price rebounded even slightly. He didn’t understand why he was pathetically lurking around despite thinking it would be better not to look.

Fortunately, the Cordana price hadn’t rebounded at all.

Rather, it had closed at 3,000, having plummeted further. The investors stood around in despair, their expressions filled with frustration.

“It’s Professor Weaver. Why is he here?”

“Sigh. I should have escaped when he did. As expected, I can’t match a wizard when it comes to using one’s head.”

Hearing such comments helped ease his anxiety somewhat.

So I was right after all.

Professor Weaver breathed a sigh of relief and clenched his fist. He thought it was fortunate that he had escaped even at 4,000.

However, his relief didn’t last long.

Before long, an indescribable self-loathing overwhelmed him.

It felt utterly wretched to feel relief while watching people struggling in despair, and to justify that his choice had been correct.

‘How did I end up like this?’

Professor Weaver stared into empty space, newly realizing how broken he had become.

Come to think of it, despite being a professor, he hadn’t properly attended to his lectures for the past couple of months. Of course, the entire Academy was in disarray, but Professor Weaver was particularly bad.

He had even broken his promise to his son that he “would never look at Cordana again.”

Professor Weaver, immersed in a dazed feeling, just stared blankly at the ground. He didn’t have the courage to face his son when he returned home.

Just then, the surroundings began to grow noisy.

“It’s the Prince! The Prince!! He’s come out of the palace!!!”

Someone shouted as if in their death throes.

Even if the Demon Lord’s army suddenly attacked the imperial capital, they probably wouldn’t cause such a commotion.

Considering Matthias’s impact on the Cordana market, the comparison to the Demon Lord’s army wasn’t far-fetched. Both major crashes were closely related to him.

“That miserable bastard…”

“Exile? They’re talking about exile. I bet they’re just sending him to some small estate to rest. He’s probably happy to avoid the awkward atmosphere.”

“Still, he’s a prince, so we should be careful with our words.”

“Don’t you know his name was struck from the imperial registry? That bastard has been demoted to commoner, demoted!”

From elderly nobles to twenty-year-old Academy students, everyone hurried to see off the former Prince. Professor Weaver naturally joined the procession.

Fortunately, meeting Matthias wasn’t difficult.

He was kneeling in the square near the exchange. Next to him stood a shabby-looking cardinal.

‘A cardinal…?’

For some reason, the cardinal was holding a well-sharpened knife. It wasn’t to slaughter Matthias, but for another purpose.

A tonsure ceremony.

“This person was born with noble status but, blinded by greed, abused his authority and caused all manner of harm. From now on, he will spend his life serving in the lowest and dirtiest places in the Papal State as penance. …First, we will perform the tonsure ceremony to symbolize cutting off all worldly attachments.”

The cardinal firmly grabbed Matthias’s hair. The cardinal himself had already shaved his own head.

Matthias, his hair seized, began to struggle and protest. His expression was already half-crazed.

“Who forced anyone to buy Cordana? You bought it because you wanted to, so why are you doing this to me…!”

“Be still.”

“You too, Cardinal. You were happy to accept when I offered to lower Cordana prices, even giving me the Holy Grail, but now…”

Matthias struggled as if unwilling to give up even his hair.

Watching his pathetic state, sighs involuntarily escaped from the investors’ lips. Some looked around for stones, while others bit their lips in barely contained anger until they bled.

“Fucking bastard.”

“Because of that bastard, my uncle… huh.”

At most, they could only mutter quiet curses. That was all the investors could do.

Even though a former prince was about to be tonsured and driven out in the public square, there was somehow an unsatisfying feeling. Rather, the investors’ despair only intensified.

It was then that Professor Weaver took action.

“Earth’s Binding.”

The next moment, the cobblestones on the ground broke with a cracking sound, extending like stems to bind Matthias’s arms and legs.

The investors gathered in the square fell silent for a moment.

Even Professor Weaver himself wore a blank expression. It was something he had done without realizing it.

However, that silence didn’t last long. Despite being restrained, Matthias’s mouth continued to run non-stop.

“What are you trying to do? Gwon Heejin is here too, you should hold her responsible too. Why only me…!”

“Will shaving my head make you feel better? Instead of doing this, let’s find a solution together.”

It was simply unbearable to listen to.

“Earth’s Breath.”

The ground broke again, and several stones flew up to strike Matthias’s face. They hit his nose, eyelids, and most importantly, his mouth.

“Kuhep!”

Matthias, momentarily writhing in pain, looked around for the culprit. Meanwhile, the cardinal paid no attention and concentrated on the tonsure. His skill at shaving with just a knife, leaving only the roots, was almost miraculous.

“How dare you commoners in the imperial capital treat a member of the imperial family…! No, wait.”

Earth’s Breath.

“Ubp!”

Earth’s Breath.

“W-wait. I’m wrong.”

Die.

“Tehyak!”

Gaining momentum, Professor Weaver even took out his wand and cast spells with ultra-fast incantations. With each spell, Matthias’s face increasingly resembled a rag.

But perhaps he got too absorbed.

Thwack!

A stone the size of a child’s fist struck Matthias’s forehead, and he finally lost consciousness from the impact.

The investors who had been eagerly watching were momentarily stunned. They worried that killing the Emperor’s son might be going too far.

However, that concern didn’t last long.

“Matthias, it seems the people are reluctant to let you go.”

The cardinal who had been performing the tonsure suddenly used his holy power to heal Matthias.

True to his position as cardinal, Matthias soon regained consciousness. After finishing the treatment, the cardinal even nodded slightly toward Professor Weaver.

Encouraged by this, Professor Weaver began casting spells again, but… unfortunately, it didn’t last long. There was a limit to his magical power.

‘This is… all I can do.’

Professor Weaver collapsed in his spot, feeling drained.

He couldn’t quite grasp how insane his actions had been. The thought even crossed his mind that he might lose his professorship.

By then, the tonsure was almost complete. The now-bald Matthias wept bitterly, thinking, it’s all over now, I’ve survived.

But Matthias’s ordeal wasn’t over yet.

The people who had been quietly watching began picking up stones scattered around the square—stones that Professor Weaver had created by tearing up the square with his magic.

An elderly collateral imperial family member who had purchased 10 shares just before the market collapsed and suffered a loss of 3.5 million,

A guard regiment commander who had disappeared for a while, leaving only a note of apology to his family,

The wife of the Minister of Justice who had worried all day that her husband might make an extreme choice—they all picked up stones as if by prior agreement.

“I-isn’t it over…?”

Meanwhile, the cardinal who had finished the tonsure brushed off the hair from Matthias’s clothes. Matthias looked at him with pleading eyes.

“It’s alright. It’s all over, Matthias.”

Of course, only the tonsure was over. The cardinal stepped back slightly.

Immediately after, numerous stones began flying toward Matthias.

Thwack! Thud!

Some people threw tomatoes or bricks from who knows where, while others just hurled insults with wild screams.

A passing commoner who stared in shock at the scene reported to the Imperial Guard that the nobles had all gone mad, but unfortunately, the report was not accepted.

The farewell ceremony continued for more than two hours afterward.

And late that evening, a rickety cart driven by an old, shabby priest who had stepped down from his position as cardinal left the imperial capital. The cart carried a bundle wrapped in cloth that occasionally twitched.