Ch.4949. Forces

Shortly after the appearance of unidentified suckers, the Cordana Exchange was openly buzzing with activity.

The 20 million threshold was an extremely ambiguous amount.

Selling at this price to recover money was concerning because of the price drop right after opening (6.4 million), but buying more was equally troubling with the Hero screaming in agony outside.

“AAAAARGH…!”

The Hero was wailing and screaming, having suffered some unknown torment.

Several investors who had been fingering their money pouches hesitated and sighed.

It was literally a dilemma.

Though barely two hours had passed since the market opened, the investors filling the exchange were facing the decision of their lives.

Enter, exit, or simply observe?

The only certainty was that everyone had abandoned their livelihoods to camp out at the exchange. In fact, everyone had completely forgotten about their regular jobs.

The “forces” causing this chaos were still positioned both inside and outside the exchange.

Several commoners with unremarkable appearances. People hiding in the crowd while possessing massive amounts of cash.

Some had already been identified by intelligence agents, but there was no way to deal with them immediately. Arresting people for buying Cordana would immediately trigger civil unrest.

‘Could they be under some enchantment spell?’

Some intelligence agents harbored this suspicion and requested a mage skilled in mental magic, but with over 10,000 people gathered in and around the exchange, there was no room for the mage to work.

As tension continued to build throughout the exchange…

“Ah, fuck it. I don’t care anymore.”

Let’s go in!

Finally, people began opening their purses, trusting in the support level.

***

I had been staying at the Imperial Palace ever since displaying the Hero in front of the exchange.

Not to receive rewards for capturing the Hero—looking at the capital’s atmosphere, this was hardly the time for such matters.

What needed consideration now was the aftermath that would follow today’s market close.

“Baron Wellesley, I hate to say this to someone who’s worked so hard, but we can’t even determine how many commoner investors there are. Merchants from the Western Commercial District seem to have conducted over-the-counter trades among themselves. They probably don’t even understand the concept of OTC trading.”

“…Oh my.”

“The number of people who picked up the shares that nobles dumped in desperation—shares that were lying around like corpses at 2,000—is enormous. Of course, so far no one has suffered fatal losses or made significant profits. There’s only expectation.”

“……”

This meant the capital’s situation had deteriorated while I was out hunting the Hero.

Of course, the Imperial Palace hadn’t been idle.

They claimed to have prevented junior officers from the Imperial Guard and mid-level officials from jumping in. They also stopped managers of production facilities owned by nobles and royals from entering with large sums.

However…

“We couldn’t stop merchants who run their own shops. They believe they have insight into money flows.”

“……”

Restaurant owners, general store proprietors, tavern keepers, and so on.

The economy wouldn’t completely collapse if these people got into trouble.

But public sentiment would inevitably worsen. Considering each of them employed at least a couple of clerks, the ripple effect would be beyond imagination.

And there was an even bigger problem.

“They seem to think the country will compensate them even if they go bankrupt.”

This was what Lord Necker, the Minister of Justice who knew the pain of investment failure better than anyone, told me.

‘Compensation?’

Looking at the amount, it wouldn’t be impossible. Setting aside moral issues, with Cordana’s price having fallen so low, a sum of around 10 billion could somehow appease them.

But their wishes would never be fulfilled.

“…That’s absolutely impossible. If we did that, we’d have to compensate the nobles’ losses too.”

“Of course not. The problem is they could claim we’re only helping nobles and discriminating against commoners, Baron Wellesley. …In reality, support for nobles only involves sending necessities to territories with paralyzed liquidity, and even that’s in the form of relief supplies for the territory’s residents.”

It was a situation that gave me a headache just hearing about it.

Still, I couldn’t complain.

Even now, countless clergy in the Papal State were praying without food or drink. All clergy except the imprisoned Pope and Saintess.

The Papal State was even more political than the Empire, but now they were united with one mind.

Compared to the Papal State’s desperate struggle, the capital’s situation might actually be more stable. Though both were equally unpredictable.

“Now then…”

Just as I was about to offer my opinion on preparing for after the market close (after Cordana’s life ended)—

“I have a report!!!”

A messenger burst into the conference room.

***

The urgent report came from the Intelligence Agency, an organization directly under the Emperor.

Though different in nature from the Royal Order, they were also elite. In peacetime, they mainly monitored local nobles and the Demonic Land border, but they had been overworked since the Cordana crisis began.

There was only one reason they would be alarmed at a time like this.

It meant there was a problem at the exchange.

– There are people buying whenever Cordana’s price approaches 2,000.

– They’re all commoners from territories outside the direct imperial domain, generally young men.

– Their funding sources are clearly suspicious, but we can’t arrest people just for buying Cordana, so we’re observing from a distance. We suspect mind control or enchantment magic, but detailed assessment is impossible as they’re mixed in with the crowd.

The atmosphere in the conference room, which had been concerned about the aftermath of Cordana, suddenly turned cold.

The ministers blinked in confusion, and honestly, I was no exception.

“What madman would pay 20 million for such garbage…?”

Yes, it was madness.

Anyone buying these gold coins (with the Hero’s face clearly embossed on both sides, slightly smaller and lower in purity than the Empire’s current gold coins, valued at around 90,000 Lyra each in gold content alone) couldn’t be in their right mind.

Opinions varied about their identity.

“…Even with the price drop, buying more than a dozen at once? Commoners couldn’t possibly have such financial resources. Someone must be funding them.”

“We can’t rule out the possibility that some nobles from the Kingdoms of Microssia or Inel are behind this. They’re probably doing this because they’re afraid they’ll be scapegoated when Cordana collapses.”

“Could it be the Demon Lord’s army?”

From speculation about foreign nobles fearing backlash buying up the supply, to claims about the Demon Lord’s army trying to extend Cordana’s lifespan to throw the capital into chaos.

All were plausible theories.

‘Demon Lord’s army, that’s possible.’

Of course, it was rare for the Demon Lord’s army to directly meddle in the capital.

Anti-demon barriers were installed throughout the city, so anyone with significant magical power would inevitably be detected. If someone from the Demon Lord’s army was currently plotting something, it meant they were a low-level demon.

‘Well, seeing the Empire’s current state, even the Demon Lord might be tempted. Manipulating a few naive commoners would be child’s play.’

However, the ministers using their deductive skills overlooked one fact.

What mattered now wasn’t just identifying the culprits. Disrupting their operation in the Cordana market was equally important.

After listening to the ministers, I quietly spoke up.

“Everyone. Of course, capturing and punishing these… let’s call them forces… is important. But more urgent is defeating their strategy. The extension of Cordana’s lifespan itself could bring disaster.”

“No, Inspector. That’s why we need to quickly capture the masterminds and interrogate them.”

“By then it might be too late.”

What if we couldn’t crush this scheme today?

After the market closed, all kinds of conspiracy theories would be generated in taverns across the capital.

False rumors about the Imperial Palace defending the price would be just the beginning. It wouldn’t be surprising if conspiracies emerged about the Hero being “punished” to bring him to his senses and return him to duty (despite having his severed hand hanging around his neck).

This wasn’t about disrespecting commoners—it was just how investor psychology worked.

“I apologize, but the Cordana market is where rumors spread that holding Cordana could prevent minor illnesses.”

“Ah, yes.”

Some ministers shifted their eyes, seemingly troubled by something.

“Tomorrow—no, even now—there must be commoners wondering if they should buy more Cordana. Lower-ranking nobles who came from the provinces are no exception.”

“……”

“We need to end this today.”

The ministers accepted my argument.

I never worried about being rejected. Until just a few months ago, I was desperately trying to protect my life and property, but now I was clearly one of the Emperor’s confidants.

‘Of course, if I spout nonsense as a solution, I’ll get an earful.’

In the suddenly solemn atmosphere, I started to rack my brain.

Should I ask court nobles to dump their holdings?

But the quantity a few ministers could dump would be insufficient. It might even backfire by strengthening commoners’ conviction that Cordana wouldn’t collapse.

‘Not enough volume, not enough.’

While pondering, a certain “volume” suddenly came to mind.

“Excuse me, Court Minister? Where are the 70 Cordana coins confiscated from Matthias?”

“…They’ve been incorporated into imperial assets. We can’t just throw them away.”

“Do you know what happened to the 150 coins Matthias dumped on the Papal State?”

“The capital’s diocese seems to have disposed of about half on their own. But the rest were practically thrown at us right after the Hero’s party’s whereabouts became known. It seemed like some political statement, but it felt awkward to just accept them, so we provided necessities in return.”

This meant the Imperial Family still had about 150 Cordana coins in storage.

A substantial amount.

Crudely selling them to force the price down would cause severe backlash, but using them cleverly might naturally induce commoner investors to cut their losses. It could also help identify the forces behind this.

‘The problem is the method…’

These 150 Cordana coins were ultimately imperial property. But we couldn’t send a royal or their proxy to the exchange. Word would spread.

Nor could we use a nominee like the Hero. Despite needing to disrupt the operation, the risk was too great.

“If we can’t find the masterminds, we might be misunderstood as the Imperial Family fleecing commoners. …Sigh. What to do? We can’t just give them away for free and ask someone to sell them.”

A minister’s muttered words, which I almost overlooked, made me pause.

I wasn’t intrigued by the idea of giving away the Imperial Family’s Cordana for free.

But perhaps lending them out temporarily was entirely possible.