Evan’s party was waiting in an elegant, old-fashioned parlor that seemed to be the Adela Guild’s VIP room.
Rozi kept showering Evan with praise, looking at him with a satisfied expression.
“Your explanation was absolutely brilliant. Young master, at this rate you’d do better than me at promoting— you could travel in my place and it’d work out great.”
Evan shook his head.
“It’s better to do things like this occasionally, rather than be so direct.”
They were in the middle of their conversation when someone knocked on the door and entered the parlor.
“Oh! Isn’t this Evan-nim? What an honor to have you visit our Adela Guild.”
A middle-aged man with gray hair came in and greeted Evan warmly.
“I’m Seram, the Vice Guild Master. Nice to meet you.”
When he introduced himself, Evan responded appropriately and took a seat.
“Did you come here together with Count Rozi?”
Evan nodded.
“Yes. Fate brought us together this time, so we decided to visit. I’ve developed a keen interest in Guild Currency.”
“Haha, I see. Then the person beside you must be…”
“I am Count Rozi.”
“Ah! Count Rozi. I received your Guild IPO application. Truly, it’s a solid plan. I actually wanted to talk to you about something because of that.”
With a sly smile, Seram pulled out a contract.
“There’s a very good plan I’d like you to hear.”
Central Hall of the Adela Guild.
After Evan’s party disappeared inside with their guide, the Hall was abuzz with people chatting in groups, creating quite a commotion.
“Did you hear just now? Rozi Currency? I’ve never even heard of it.”
“A Rozi Guild IPO? I’ve never come across that.”
“It’s probably because it’s the Central Region, right? I heard Guild Currency hasn’t spread to the Central Region yet.”
“No, but really— is it true that Evan-nim is going to buy Guild Currency?”
“Only the people here know for now. Hurry.”
Their only concern was the Rozi Guild IPO and the rumor that Evan would purchase Rozi Currency.
It was sure to become a hot topic in the Guild Currency market.
These were all high-ranking, reputable officials from the Holy Union of Bellium’s temple.
No, their renown was likely even greater.
A heroic image easily won public support.
Moreover, even Bellium itself was stepping in to back them.
That’s why Evan was one of the most notable figures in the Southern Region.
For someone like Evan to show interest in Guild Currency was major news.
“I’m a bit stuck at the moment…”
“If it rises back up to the previous peak, I’ll sell immediately.”
As everyone buzzed with excitement—
Someone suddenly began shouting in shock.
“What the—! Hey, what’s wrong with Adela Tower?”
At his exclamation, people began shifting their gazes to the screens showing the Guild Currency market prices.
Soon, everyone, without exception, cried out in horror.
“M-madness. This has never happened before!”
“Why did it suddenly collapse?”
“N-no! My money…!”
Adela Guild’s tower, which had always steadily risen floor by floor, was considered the very symbol of the Southern Region, so enormous that all the region’s capital flowed into it.
Because of that, everyone trusted and invested in Adela Currency regularly and consistently.
But today, something unprecedented happened.
Suddenly, Adela’s Transmission Tower began to waver.
It collapsed from the very top, dropping from the 4,300th floor down to the 4,000th.
Surely, today was supposed to mark the smooth construction of the 4,301st floor.
But against all expectations, an unprecedented 300 floors had crumbled at once.
“W-wait… hold on. There must have been some mistake. Didn’t all Transmission Towers used to only fall in units of 10 floors?”
Some began analyzing the situation calmly, trying to explain what was happening.
In the Subspace World where Transmission Towers were built, there was an unknown resistance.
Many entered the subspace to physically build the towers, but sometimes an inexplicable force would interfere, causing collapses.
Of course, there were standardized methods for building the Transmission Towers, so until now, there was little fear of a real disaster.
Sometimes, 1 to 20 floors would fall at a time, but in those cases, they could be quickly rebuilt and restored.
But this situation was unprecedented.
No one could have imagined 300 floors collapsing at once.
No, it was something Southern Region residents had always considered impossible.
“K-keep calm.”
Though they tried to stay rational, no one could respond appropriately to this first-ever occurrence.
Moreover, people feel more afraid in situations they can’t understand.
There was no previous record of the ever-rising tower crumbling like this.
Fear began to slowly devour them.
Some denied reality; others quickly dashed off somewhere.
The noisy murmuring inside soon turned to cries of despair.
“I bet everything I had at the 4,300th floor…”
“Damn it! What does this mean?”
“N-no, after a collapse, the tower always rose even higher than before.”
“It’ll be fine. The Adela Guild will release an explanation, so let’s just wait.”
But the screams continued from all directions.
“Why did the Gelle Guild collapse again?”
“N-no! Mar Guild, why…!”
When Adela Guild’s Transmission Tower collapsed, the impact caused every other guild’s Transmission Tower to collapse by at least 10 floors and as many as 100.
All guilds’ Transmission Towers were based on Adela’s Main Transmission Tower.
That made Adela Guild the center of Guild Currency and the arbiter of its fate.
In a panic, everyone rushed at the guides.
“What happened here!”
“What’s going to happen to the value of this currency now?”
Just then, in the chaos—
“Oh, they’re rebuilding!”
At someone’s shout, the pandemonium paused for a moment.
The Adela Transmission Tower, which looked like it might collapse further, barely held at 4,000 floors.
Then, almost instantly, the 4,001st floor was reconstructed.
“Mar Guild’s Transmission Tower is being restored too!”
“Whew, that gave me a scare for nothing.”
One by one, sighs of relief began to fill the hall as the crowd calmed.
Just then, a senior official of the Adela Guild appeared.
Bowing his waist in apology, he spoke.
“Everyone! We sincerely apologize. An unforeseen anomaly has caused this unfortunate event. Restoration will begin soon, so please remain calm. We will quickly investigate and clarify the cause, and publicly announce the details shortly.”
But even his words failed to soothe the hostile mood.
“What’s the meaning of this?!”
“I bought in at the 4,299th floor—what are you going to do about that?!”
“Shouldn’t there be compensation?! What if everyone tries to dump Adela Currency? What if the tower can’t be built anymore?”
As everyone pressed for answers, new information seemed to surface.
If everyone decided to sell at a loss at once, Adela Guild’s capital would suffer severe damage.
If that happened, they wouldn’t be able to sustain wages, and in the worst case, they wouldn’t be able to continue building the tower.
And if the tower wasn’t built, it could keep collapsing due to the force of resistance.
The crowd felt as though Adela Guild had stabbed them in the back.
They’d lost their faith and trust.
“S-sorry.”
The official kept bowing and apologizing, but the crowd’s anger did not subside.
As he stood there, flustered, unsure what to do—
Suddenly, a loud voice rang out from somewhere.
“Ahem, ahem. Apologies for the confusion, everyone. This is Guild Master Barennes speaking.”
On the podium at the center of the Hall, an old man with white hair stood.
Wearing full regalia, his impression was strict and imposing.
Adela Guild’s co-founder and current Guild Master, Barennes.
A former high magistrate of Bellium, he was so influential that people called him the Pontiff’s right hand.
Now, he could move all of the Southern Region’s capital at will.
Everyone listened to him in silence.
“We are still investigating the cause of today’s incident, and we will take swift action. But now, more than ever, we must all come together and help. Please hold off on liquidating your Guild Currency for a while, so that we can restore the tower.”
His speech, which shifted from explanation to a near-command, provoked renewed anger.
It was already too much to ask for help instead of compensation.
“What’s he saying?!”
“Damn it. If I’d known, I’d have sold at the 3,900th floor.”
But Barennes’s next words completely reversed the mood.
“To those holding Adela Currency, we will, for one day, distribute 10 Rozi per 1 Adela held.”
At his words, everyone seemed to freeze in disbelief.
Rozi Guild’s currency was the same Guild Currency Evan had just expressed intent to purchase.
He’d praised it, guaranteeing its bright future.
It was sure to become the rising Guild Currency of the Southern Region.
It seemed it hadn’t yet been listed, but everyone planned to invest a certain amount once they could.
Just as everyone was having such thoughts—
Barennes’s proposal was sweet as honey.
“Is— is that for real?”
“Rozi Currency hasn’t even been issued that much yet, has it?”
“Can they supply enough?”
As questions arose, Barennes explained further.
“As it happens, Count Rozi has visited our Adela Guild. We’ve discussed matters regarding the Guild IPO.”
He pulled out Rozi Currency and held it high for everyone to see.
“This Rozi Currency. After hearing the explanation, I found it truly attractive. Count Rozi has shown his ambition to build a Main Transmission Tower in the Central Region, and establish a Guild Currency market there, where none exists yet.”
“No way!”
“Is that true?”
“Yes. Going forward, Southern Region’s Guild Currency will spread even more widely, all the way to the Central Region—using this Rozi Currency.”
As they listened, everyone swallowed nervously.
Watching them, Barennes worked even harder to stoke their excitement.
“Our Adela Guild will take responsibility for supplying Rozi Currency.”
At his sensational declaration, the previously hostile atmosphere immediately turned to jubilation.
“Waaaaah!”
Everyone inside the Adela Guild erupted in cheers and applause.
One by one, all eyes turned to the screen.
Right now, the Adela Transmission Tower was collapsed at the 4,000th floor.
But with the promise of Rozi Currency distribution, they began to see the ruined tower as a stroke of luck.
After all, the value of Adela Currency had dropped, meaning they could now buy more currency at a cheaper price.
“Whoa, hey! It’s already up to the 4,010th floor!”
The pace of Adela’s tower reconstruction was accelerating.
“Hurry, we have to buy!”
“Of all times, now?!”
Everyone’s hearts grew restless.
At this rate, the Transmission Tower would soon rise again.
They had to buy more currency while it was still cheap.
Soon, people started rushing to the Guild Currency purchase counters one after another.
And so, the scene at Adela Guild was once again dyed in madness and greed.