Ch.6464. Resolution

“Maybe this isn’t such a serious problem.”

That was the thought I managed to grasp while standing in the silent trading hall.

No, of course it was serious, but looking at it objectively, this was just a minor setback.

Compared to the first market crash where I briefly feared for my life, or the day of the short selling that nearly caused a rebellion in the Imperial Capital—those nightmarish days made this seem like nothing. Though it might be slightly more difficult than my one-on-one confrontation with Gwon Heejin.

Being human, I did momentarily envision some grim scenarios.

Cordana replicas becoming indistinguishable from genuine ones, throwing the Imperial Capital into chaos, with everyone bringing Cordana and demanding compensation. I wouldn’t have let things deteriorate that far, but significant confusion would have been unavoidable.

Fortunately, we were still in the early stages of recovery.

From now on, we just needed to question each investor about how they obtained their Cordana.

For instance, a country peasant who sold a few livestock to get 30 Cordana.

“Um, Sir Knight. I mean, Lord. …Oh my, what should I call you? I’m going to die.”

Though I felt sorry about taking away his chance at sudden wealth (which for a rural villager was more than that), I could simply buy back the Cordana at 100,000 each and investigate the circumstances. Afterward, I could put him on a merchant carriage heading toward the border and send him home.

Since he hadn’t even known Cordana existed until recently, he shouldn’t feel wronged. Even if he did, there was nothing to be done about it.

“Right. It’ll take effort, but that’s how we’ll handle it.”

I nodded while unconsciously clenching and unclenching my fist.

Those who realized the dissolution of the enchantment and possibility of replication a moment later than I did still wore expressions of utter loss.

“…Lord Wellesley. This is…”

Especially the Prince, who was staring at me with empty eyes.

Prince Simon.

Though not yet formally invested as Crown Prince, he was essentially guaranteed the next imperial throne. I’d heard that nobles who had once aligned with Matthias were now desperate to curry favor with the Prince.

But now.

“This… in this state, isn’t it already too late?”

The Prince already had shadows under his eyes.

He must have believed that within days, all Cordana would be recovered and the Empire’s wounds healed, but now that future seemed suddenly clouded.

I worried his enthusiasm for succession might vanish. Fortunately, I gathered my thoughts and spoke before the Prince could break down.

“Your Highness. Fortunately, since we caught this early, there are ways to address it.”

“Really?”

“We simply need to separate those who cannot explain how they obtained their Cordana and investigate them while recovering the items. We can either confiscate them without compensation or provide a nominal sum of about 100,000 per piece. For the remaining investors, we continue paying 2 million as before.”

“Ah, I see.”

The Prince’s face regained a hint of vitality, and the faces of his guards and attendants brightened slightly as well.

It was concerning that they all had their mouths slightly open, but at least they seemed to be maintaining minimal rationality.

“Deploy intelligence personnel to trace each acquisition path. This might be an opportunity to root out demons who have infiltrated the Empire.”

“The costs incurred during this process…”

“They’ve been giving us counterfeit Cordana anyway. It’s inefficient, but we should be able to cover it. …We’ll need to thoroughly measure the purity, just in case.”

The atmosphere in the trading hall subtly improved at my suggestion.

While investors were still anxiously shifting their eyes, at least those overseeing the Cordana recovery were sighing with relief. One person even playfully tapped their head, saying they’d become too timid after dealing with the Cordana crisis.

“Good! Resume operations as the Baron suggested.”

The recovery work soon restarted.

We separated those with unclear acquisition methods for detailed investigation, and a report was sent to the Emperor.

Commander Waynelight, who happened to be at the palace, even proposed identifying a couple of beastfolk habitats near the border for retaliation. While a full expedition into the Demonic Land would be excessive, he suggested using force as an example.

As usual, the Commander’s timing was off, but it wasn’t a bad proposal.

Yes, targeting the beastfolk, presumed to be the weak link, wasn’t a bad idea.

Once we finish this first…

That was my thought as I watched the carefully proceeding recovery operation.

I was still struggling to control my expression and unintentionally intimidating investors, but since I wasn’t particularly fierce-looking, it didn’t create an atmosphere of terror.

I felt sorry for those who had been caught up in the Demon Lord’s army’s plot without knowing, and the commoners who suddenly faced investigation from intelligence services, but there was no choice. Eventually, they would receive some gold coins and transportation back to their hometowns.

‘If things continue like this, we should be fine.’

…

However, unfortunately, the situation didn’t end there.

Someone appeared who could never have imagined being entangled in the Demon Lord’s army’s plot.

A member of the Archnite Ducal family.

The most powerful house after the Imperial family.

Of course, they couldn’t truly be compared to the Imperial family, but they symbolically ranked first among the nobility, especially among provincial lords. They were not entities that mere demons should dare approach.

Yet in their hands was a quantity of Cordana suspected to be counterfeit.

***

“Where did you obtain this Cordana?”

“Well, that…”

A middle-aged man stammered at my question.

He was one of the Duke of Archnite’s brothers.

Even a duke cannot provide titles for all family members, so he had none. However, unlike minor nobles whose positions rapidly diminish once removed from inheritance, he lived comfortably managing the family’s trading company thanks to the Duke’s consideration.

The trading company head had brought 24 Cordana.

There was nothing unusual about this so far. The Archnite trading company was large, after all.

The problem was that he couldn’t clarify the acquisition route for more than half of them. He just nervously shifted his eyes without revealing when or where he had purchased them.

As if it was too difficult to disclose, or as if he hadn’t expected such questions. He should know that prolonged silence would only make things worse for him…

‘Actually, he might not know.’

In truth, even I hadn’t imagined questioning investors about acquisition details until a few hours ago.

Moreover, I never expected to be asking such questions to someone from a ducal family. They employed several magicians, after all.

But with suspicious circumstances discovered, I couldn’t just let it go. I began to question him more sternly.

“Well, you see, there’s no law saying Cordana must only be purchased at the trading hall.”

“Unreported private transactions were common, especially recently. I just need to know who you bought them from.”

“……”

“Are you unable to tell us?”

The tension in the trading hall gradually increased.

One of the knights who had accompanied him as a guard placed his hand on his sword hilt with a serious expression. He was my junior from the Academy. He hadn’t been skilled enough to join either of the two major knightly orders, but he seemed to have trained diligently, as I could sense decent energy from him.

His posture was appropriate for responding to a situation where his charge felt anxious.

However, I had no intention of praising his posture and instead decided to use it.

“…I ask about the acquisition route, and your guard tries to draw his sword. How should I interpret this?”

“Uh…?”

“And in front of His Highness the Prince, no less.”

Immediately, the guard knight turned pale and hastily knelt. I heard a frightened squeak.

The Archnite trading company head’s face also turned white as he realized his knight might be charged with disrespect. He even hesitated as if about to kneel himself. And I hadn’t even made a move to draw my sword.

I had no intention of making him kneel; I just wanted him to reveal the acquisition details.

“Where did you get this quantity?”

The trading company head stammered and confessed that he had received the items from his mistress.

He revealed before a hundred onlookers that he had a mistress living in a scenic village on the outskirts of the duchy, whom he visited occasionally for trysts.

However, he insisted she was definitely not a demon, saying she had tearfully claimed, “I invested without telling you,” and that he had only brought the Cordana to dispose of them on her behalf.

“Yes, that woman probably isn’t a demon.”

“Exactly! I even carry an artifact that detects mental magic! There must be some circumstance…!”

“But demons could have approached your mistress.”

It wouldn’t have required any enchantment magic to seduce a noble’s mistress living in an isolated village. Honestly, I could have done it myself in a short time.

“…Oh?”

The trading company head finally seemed to understand what had happened and let his arms drop limply.

To be honest, everything until now was just my speculation. But there was no possibility that a duke’s family member’s mistress would foolishly hold onto a dozen or so Cordana until now and belatedly try to dispose of them. She had obviously been used.

Either way, the situation had become messy. We couldn’t simply treat the Duke’s brother as an innocent victim.

Eventually, the Duke’s brother was moved elsewhere. He probably wouldn’t be punished, but I suspected he would definitely lose his mistress.

How many counterfeit Cordana had entered circulation this way?

At the moment, perhaps not many. But there was a high possibility they were spreading rapidly even as we spoke. At this rate, even the Imperial Capital wasn’t safe.

A comprehensive investigation wasn’t impossible. But while we wasted time doing that, there was nothing preventing the Demon Lord’s army from distributing Cordana through “plausibly explainable methods.” Additional plots would surely follow.

‘This won’t work.’

After brief consideration, I decided to continue the recovery operation only for today and then stop it.

And I requested the Court to announce new guidelines.

The contents were as follows:

– Unified recovery price of 100,000 Lyra per piece.

– After a one-week recovery period, Cordana would be treated as gold bullion of the same weight.

– With confirmed substantial involvement of the Demon Lord’s army, there would be no compensation for individual investors’ losses.

Naturally, the Court accepted my request.

It was a declaration that peaceful resolution had ended.