Chapter 33: The Legally Sanctioned Gambling Establishment

In Munhel, a thriving commercial metropolis, there existed a unique facility unseen in small villages or mid-sized cities – one found only in the major cities of the Holy Imperium.

The Land Registry Office.

A primitive real estate brokerage by modern standards, this establishment facilitated the frequent trading of land and buildings characteristic of a large city.

Through this facility, one could immediately sell land and property documents at market rates by paying a commission. The traded lands and buildings would then be displayed like merchandise, sold to others at appropriate prices.

Although the commission fees were not insignificant, the facility was an almost inevitable destination for those seeking to sell land or purchase buildings.

The reason was simple: Clearly documenting land and property transactions made tax collection easier for the lord while reducing the risk of evasion. Considering this, the current lord of Munhel offered a slight tax reduction for transactions conducted through the registry.

For sellers, despite the commission, receiving immediate cash payments made it worthwhile. For buyers, the ability to easily select desired lands and buildings, coupled with tax benefits, made it an appealing choice.

However, the key reason for the facility’s prosperity was distinct – the weekly fluctuations in land and property prices, which ultimately imbued this primitive real estate market with an additional character.

Namely, the nature of ‘legal gambling’.

The weekly price changes at the Land Registry Office, albeit not drastic, could still see sudden rises or falls for various reasons.

This gave the primitive real estate market qualities akin to modern stock exchanges or cryptocurrencies – the essence of ‘legal gambling’.

Consequently, many utilized the facility for speculative purposes, buying and selling properties to profit.

They would acquire properties at low prices, await rising market rates in the area, and then sell at higher values.

From the registry’s perspective, such speculative behavior by investors, profiting through commissions, could potentially undermine their operations.

However, upon closer examination, the registry had no reason to dislike or restrict speculators.

Just as casino owners earn the most, regardless of gamblers’ wins or losses, only a few investors truly profited, while most ultimately sold properties at losses, desperate to stem their hemorrhaging funds.

In other words, whether the other party lost or gained, the registry consistently reaped commissions, emerging as the greatest beneficiary.

Consequently, the registry actively encouraged speculative hopes by displaying fluctuating property rates through graphs and employing touts to subtly goad investors, driving their operations more vigorously.

Thus, fueled by investors’ vain hopes and legitimate fees from those simply buying and selling land, the Land Registry Office amassed immense wealth in Munhel. Today, its entrances were crowded with prospective property traders and numerous registry employees, simultaneously bestowing convenience, hope, joy, and despair upon different individuals.

And observing this intersection of fortunes from afar was Cazeros, who had played my role throughout this chain of events, exhibiting a restless demeanor.

“There’s no need to be so tense. With this, we’ve essentially overcome the most challenging aspect.”

“Is… Is that so?”

“Yes, of course. We’ve practically resolved the most worrisome part.”

I gently reassured the visibly anxious Cazeros.

Truthfully, while Cazeros had delivered an almost flawless performance as the ‘unscrupulous Inquisitor’ up to this point, in my presence, she had reverted to her usual, slightly timid demeanor as a Holy Knight maiden.

Evidently, while she may have maintained her composure before others, she felt comfortable revealing her true self around me.

And witnessing this side of her, I couldn’t help but find her rather endearing.

‘Like when she defended Shaylok previously, and now this… Despite her kind nature, she’s an incredibly talented actress, isn’t she?’

As I reflected on this, a sudden thought occurred to me.

‘Come to think of it… What was Cazeros’s life like before becoming a Holy Knight?’

I realized that I knew next to nothing about her past.

Of course, becoming a Holy Knight required at least 2-3 years of training and study as a cleric, so I could roughly surmise that period. However, I was entirely unaware of her life before that.

One certainty was that she did not originate from Milan or the Holy Imperium.

In that regard, I recalled her reaction when I had mentioned our destination, the Dragonian Empire, some time ago.

‘Her expression had turned quite sour then… I wonder if something truly happened there…’

Nevertheless, her lack of outright objection seemed to rule out any significant danger.

At any rate, from my perspective, while it might be premature now, there was a need to eventually inquire about it when an opportunity arose.

Putting those thoughts aside for the moment, I observed the beaming Inquisitor Lipton emerging from the registry.

‘He seems quite pleased with himself. Then again, even in the modern era, many fell into ruin by indulging in and abusing this very method.’

As I contemplated this, I recalled the ‘method’ I had used to tempt Lipton – a means of earning vast wealth through the guise of combating heresy, an act of utter destruction, yet simultaneously exceedingly perilous.

In the modern era, where capitalism had evolved to an extreme, methods of generating wealth had diversified to a frightening degree.

Stocks and bonds were merely the basics.

The so-called ‘derivatives’ that evolved from them amplified the scale of circulating capital by several multiples.

Economic theories enabled conducting transactions worth hundreds or thousands of times more than one’s initial capital of, say, a million won.

In reality, the ‘fictional’ derivatives market currently exceeds the actual funds being managed by over tenfold, rendering its impact formidable.

Of course, this has led to numerous issues, including major economic crises, representing an ever-present potential risk. However, these asset management techniques rooted in economics have created possibilities for generating wealth in any situation.

Economic theories that enable acquiring desired goods without any initial funds.

And among them existed paradoxical theories that could create winners from ashes.

I had utilized one such theory to ‘design’ this operation.