Ch.5050. Short Selling

Academy’s Professor of Magic, Weaver.

He had returned just about 12 hours ago from completing a mission unprecedented in human history.

The pursuit team, filled with madness, had successfully arrested the Hero. Though unofficial, it was obvious they would eventually go down in history.

The mission itself was successful. However….

‘The aftermath was truly bitter.’

That was the thought that crossed Professor Weaver’s mind after returning home and embracing his wife and son in turn.

The Hero’s assets were far too insufficient to recover from the disaster known as the Cordana Crash, the mental collapse of the Hero’s lovers, and the despairing expressions of the Papal State’s clergy.

In the end, Professor Weaver went to sleep feeling dejected.

Erick Wellesley had encouraged him saying, “Appropriate rewards will be given after the situation is resolved,” but it wasn’t particularly comforting.

Of course, he forced a smile since maintaining good relations with someone like Lord Wellesley would benefit his family and students.

Professor Weaver was planning to take a rest, thinking he should live quietly for a while.

But then.

“Professor. I need your help once more.”

That was what Erick said after suddenly visiting his home.

Professor Weaver blinked and said, “What? What?” but Wellesley paid no attention and handed him 10 Cordanas along with what appeared to be a hastily prepared loan agreement.

That Cordana which had given him such terrible memories. His hands trembled just looking at the Hero’s face engraved on the Cordana.

Professor Weaver tried to decline, but he couldn’t.

The conditions Erick offered were subtly sweet. It was a proposal to ‘temporarily’ borrow Cordanas owned by the imperial family, sell them in the market, and keep the profit—as long as he followed the script he was given.

‘This is impossible to refuse.’

Honestly, he couldn’t understand Erick’s intentions.

Borrow temporarily and sell. It meant he should buy them back and return them when the price dropped later.

It wasn’t impossible, but he wondered why he would do such a thing. When it came to Cordana, Erick was more knowledgeable, so he just went along with it.

‘But why did he choose me?’

Professor Weaver had lived a life far removed from political maneuvering. He had a habit of stuttering unconsciously when flustered, and often struggled to control his emotions.

Anyway, it was right to carry out the given mission. And make money too.

Professor Weaver moved forward nervously. As he approached the exchange, he began to hear the noisy sounds along with the heat emanating from the crowd.

“Kill him! Kill him!”

“Any place to get tomatoes? They’re all sold out?”

“Ah, let’s move along! I need the bathroom urgently.”

An enormous crowd packed densely around the exchange.

There was the Hero receiving visitors in one corner, and people struggling to enter or exit the exchange.

Some were even trying to sell beer or snacks in the midst of this density.

‘Will I even be able to enter the exchange at this rate…?’

Yet he couldn’t use earth magic in this situation. Professor Weaver sighed, already feeling hot.

But then an unexpected situation unfolded.

“Huh? That guy….”

“Isn’t he the one who threw stones at Prince with magic?”

Some people began to recognize Professor Weaver. This was strange since he didn’t have a particularly distinctive appearance.

“It’s the Stone Professor!”

That’s when Professor Weaver realized.

He was a celebrity in the Cordana market.

In a sense, he was even more famous than Erick Wellesley. He had ended the second market crash by creating a solemn scene (please spare me), and then built his reputation by leading the stone-throwing event.

Moreover, Professor Weaver had accumulated good deeds by using earth magic to repair the plaza he had damaged over the following days.

During that time, even cart-pulling laborers would encourage him saying, “You’re working very hard.”

People still vividly remembered those stories.

So much so that a path naturally opened as Professor Weaver approached the exchange.

Some people even tried to naturally guide him to the Hero, with faces that seemed to say, “You need to throw more stones, right?”

“N-no, I didn’t come to see the Hero.”

Because I already beat him plenty while escorting him.

Professor Weaver swallowed his words and moved on.

Actually, he didn’t need to manage his expression. His face was already flushing from the public attention. All he had to do was keep his gaze down and walk while preciously holding the Cordanas with both hands.

The special treatment continued even after entering the exchange.

The exchange was currently filled with tension.

It was a situation where nothing was certain except for the existence of a support line.

Everyone seemed curious about what this celebrity would do in the midst of this.

“Phew.”

Professor Weaver slowly approached the counter while checking his surroundings.

Though unintentional, the young employee who had processed his sell order previously was right in front of him. The employee’s eyes widened upon recognizing Professor Weaver.

“Customer…?”

Why are you here again, after you finally escaped? That was the expression.

Professor Weaver smiled awkwardly and carefully poured out the Cordanas he had been holding with both hands. As if worried he might forget even one. Up to this point, there was no difference compared to when he first cut his losses on Cordana.

The difference was in the number of Cordanas.

Professor Weaver, who had disposed of 4 before, was now presenting 10.

Even the counter employee who had been looking at Professor Weaver with sympathetic eyes frowned for a moment.

“Customer, what is this?”

Professor Weaver hesitated briefly, then sighed shortly several times. After a while, he finally mumbled in a shrinking voice.

“I was trying to quit… but I was momentarily tempted by strange persuasion.”

No one questioned Professor Weaver further.

His face was the very image of a family head who had already failed in investments and burdened his family, yet made another mistake. The kind of head who couldn’t even get a meal from his wife and received contemptuous glances from his children.

“…If possible, please sell them at a good price. I beg you.”

The counter employee nodded with an expression of responsibility. He seemed to believe that no one but himself could save Professor Weaver.

The price at which Professor Weaver put out his Cordanas was 21 million.

Of course, the forces did not intervene. They were the ones protecting the 20 million mark.

“Let’s wait a bit, Professor.”

“Ah, yes.”

10 minutes, 20 minutes. Anxious time passed.

Seeing Professor Weaver’s gloomy expression, some investors seemed to feel uneasy and began to put out their quantities. Some placed orders at 20.7 or 20.8 million, giving the professor very apologetic looks.

The employees looked at Professor Weaver with pity, but the exchange was cold. Especially in a situation where the Hero was being beaten in front of the exchange.

Eventually, the counter employee was about to advise Professor Weaver to lower his price and place another order, but fortunately, that wasn’t necessary.

“I’ll buy them.”

Because a rescue team had appeared.

It was a commoner customer with a very ordinary appearance and attire.

An impressive sight of sweeping up all Cordanas below 21 million, including Professor Weaver’s quantity.

The face of Professor Weaver, who had been hanging his head dejectedly, brightened slightly. The counter employee also nodded generously.

***

Stupid bastards.

That was what the succubus ‘Iclit’, disguised as an old woman hiding among the crowd, muttered.

When Professor Weaver appeared at the exchange, Iclit was momentarily tense. He was the most skilled among the magicians who appeared at the exchange today.

If he were a high-level mage who specialized intensely in mental magic, he might find her managing her ‘puppets’ hidden among the people. Though it wouldn’t be easy.

However, Iclit’s tension soon eased.

Professor Weaver had staggered away with a sigh of relief as soon as his Cordanas were sold. People looked at him as if he were pathetic or pitiful.

‘The Empire has gone as far as it can go. Even their magicians behave like that.’

It was a moment when she felt silly for having been tense, even if briefly. But at the same time, she felt she was successfully carrying out her mission.

‘By the way, this is a better operation than I expected.’

It had been years since she had been surviving by sucking life force in some rural area without even receiving attention from the Demon Lord’s army.

When orders related to Cordana suddenly came down from the Demon Lord’s castle, she was perplexed, but now she understood why such orders were given.

Humanity seemed to be breaking down in real-time because of this commodity called Cordana. Prolonging this situation was definitely advantageous for the Demon Lord’s army.

‘Being in the imperial capital is a bit dangerous, but….’

Iclit resolved to endure well until the market closed, while not forgetting to manage the children she had brought after enchanting them to use as puppets.

Although Iclit only had enough magical power to avoid being detected by the anti-demon barriers spread throughout the imperial capital, it was obvious she would receive a great reward if she succeeded this time.

If there was one thing that bothered her in this situation, it was that more people started throwing quantities after Professor Weaver’s appearance.

‘Ugh. How annoying.’

Some of them were throwing more than 10 at once.

A human with thinning hair and short stature threw 11, and a nobleman who looked like a high official but was skilled at shoulder fighting threw 16 at once. Each time, Iclit had to step in to defend the market price.

‘I might get caught at this rate.’

The children she was controlling were already attracting people’s attention. Although they were children she would abandon later, a long tail gets caught.

As Iclit was thinking, she came up with a good idea.

‘Maybe… I should cause a temporary surge?’

If she raised the price sharply instead of just maintaining the support line, it was obvious the exchange would be in turmoil. Perhaps investors would self-destruct without Iclit having to spend money.

It was a very clever idea for a succubus who didn’t even know what Cordana was until receiving orders from the Demon Lord’s castle.

But before Iclit could implement her plan, an incident occurred.

“Move aside-!!”

A knight with a sturdy physique appeared with a sweat-drenched face, broke through all the people blocking his way, approached the counter, and placed a sell order. The identity presented at the counter was the former vice-captain of the Forest Knight Order, the only knight order in the Kingdom of Lessotona.

He put out as many as 53 Cordanas.

“Quickly, process it quickly! It’s urgent.”

“What? Ah, yes!”

A sudden large-scale sell-off by a very plausible ‘foreigner.’ Moreover, the foreigner looked haggard as if he had just fought in a war.

At the moment when the pupils of commoner investors who were already hesitating experienced an earthquake, the succubus Iclit swallowed hard. She still had plenty of funds, but she didn’t know why she felt uneasy.

And right after that.

The sell orders began to pour in.