“Wh—where did you get this?”
“Uh… where I got it is a secret. The young lady told me to keep it quiet…”
“No, it’s not just that it’s unbelievable for this to be here. You’re carrying something this precious just shoved in there? Hurry and wrap it up tightly so others can’t see it.”
“Eh… yes? I understand.”
I hurriedly moved the Cloak of Protection artifact into another messenger bag.
“What are you doing? Hide it quickly.”
“I am wrapping it?”
At that, Master Hailey spoke as if he were frustrated.
“No, not that scrap of a cloak! I mean that token.”
“Huh?”
What? It wasn’t the artifact? Is he talking about this?
I lightly tossed and caught the coin-shaped badge that the old man had given me.
Seeing that, Master Hailey said in a panicked voice, “That is a Token of Gratitude guaranteed by the Rothschild Family, the most famous wealthy house in the world! If you present that badge to the Rothschild Family anywhere in the world, it serves as proof that they will provide help once for anything within their power. Did you really not know that?”
Master Hailey spoke in shock, saying it wasn’t an object to be handled so carelessly. I was even more surprised by his words.
“What? This thing? I just thought it was a souvenir some old man gave me.”
“Haha… you mean you accepted it without knowing? Well, if you had known, you wouldn’t have carried it around like a loose coin in your bag.”
Master Hailey seemed lost in thought for a moment. Then, he explained just how valuable the badge was.
“First of all, the value of this badge is greater than our carriage and all the horses combined. You likely received it from Master Rockefeller Rothschild here in Grunvalt; he is the Merchant Guildmaster of the Teuton Kingdom Merchant Guild.”
“What?”
“And his family is the wealthiest in the world, and he himself is one of the Eight Heroes who defeated the Demon King.”
“What?”
It was one surprise after another. To think he was such an incredible old man…
‘Is it like a Token of Gratitude from the Five Great Families in a martial arts novel?’
“Keep it well-hidden in a deep, inconspicuous place. While its value cannot be strictly converted into money, we view it as an item worth at least 2,000 gold coins.”
“What?”
I couldn’t help but repeat the same word like a parrot in my shock.
If it was 2,000 gold coins, that was gold equivalent to four billion won.
“But why… why did that old man… I mean, why did that gentleman give this to me?”
Master Hailey looked at me with an expression that said, ‘The one who received it should know; how would I?’
Why did he really give it to me?
Regardless, I now knew it was an incredible treasure. To think such lottery-like luck had come to me…
“Master Hailey, thank you once again for providing such valuable information.”
“Um… by any chance, do you have any intention of transferring that badge to me? I will pay you a fair price.”
Master Hailey asked, but I had no intention of selling it yet.
“I’m sorry. I still don’t know with what intention it was given to me.”
Seeing the refined Master Hailey get so excited, it must be a truly extraordinary item.
I hid it securely deep inside my messenger bag.
‘What if I lose it? Should I make it into a necklace? I should at least buy a Subspace Pocket.’
“Phew… if you ever think about transferring it in the future, please be sure to talk to me first.”
Master Hailey smacked his lips as if he were disappointed.
“Then this is truly a brief farewell. I will depart immediately.”
I quickly climbed into the carriage cabin, worried that Master Hailey might keep eyeing it.
“Yah!”
As Hyde whipped Thor and Lux, the carriage began to move.
Since I had made a proper start with the Unicorn Company, it was now time to carry out Miss Frana Bella’s mission.
The carriage sped forward energetically.
***
“You’re saying a merchant guild doing a communal carriage business has appeared?”
“Yes. It seems they are just starting out, so we need to observe a bit more. It’s said they prepared fifty carriages, horses, and coachmen to carry out a business called Maber.”
Rockefeller Rothschild, the Merchant Guildmaster of the Merchant Guild, heard an interesting story from his adjutant.
All issues regarding merchant guilds were reported to him through the Merchant Guild.
It was a peculiar business, the likes of which had never been seen before. After hearing the explanation, he slapped his knee.
“A communal carriage? Why didn’t anyone think of using carriages that way? Isn’t it a truly excellent business model?”
With his supernatural insight for business, he saw this as an idea with a high probability of success.
“Who on earth is the person who started such a wonderful business?”
“That is… it is William Steven of the Unicorn Company, who just established a Fifth Grade Merchant Guild and a Mercenary Company three days ago.”
Rockefeller looked at his adjutant with an expression that asked if he was joking.
How could someone start such a business in just three days?
It was something impossible even with his own wealth.
However, the adjutant was a man who didn’t know how to joke… Rockefeller’s mouth hung wide open in shock.
“Could it be… that boy I gave the badge to a few days ago? That child should have only just formed his guild… is he from a prestigious family?”
The adjutant shook his head.
“Do you know anything about his history?”
“That is… he is said to be from a Communal Living Area.”
“A Communal Living Area? The one in the Ashford Territory? Isn’t that an orphanage for children who lost their parents in the war?”
“Yes. We have confirmed his origin from the Communal Living Area with relatively certain information.”
“Tsk, tsk. How surprising. Though his appearance didn’t suggest it, I surely thought he was the scion of a noble or a wealthy merchant.”
Rothschild was surprised by the business acumen of William, who came up with the amazing idea of the communal carriage, and even more surprised that he had no background.
Then, a thought occurred to him.
“Adjutant. Did he perhaps use the Rothschild Family’s token?”
That was it! There was the badge he had given him.
If he had used the family’s token, it wasn’t entirely nonsensical.
It was a mystery why the usage history hadn’t reached his ears yet, but it was one of only two remaining tokens of the family.
If the token had been used, it certainly wouldn’t be impossible.
“It is not certain, but… no trace of the Rothschild Family’s badge being used has been discovered.”
“He must have used the badge. It wouldn’t make sense otherwise.”
Rockefeller opened a drawer. There was a single piece of paper inside.
On the paper, the phrase ‘William Steven of the Unicorn Company, to my dear Lac’ was written.
While looking at the paper, he spoke softly.
“But if that boy really accomplished that without using the badge…”
The moment he thought of that, goosebumps broke out across his entire body.
“It was my first time acting on impulse to hand over the family’s token, but it seems I didn’t make a losing deal this time either…”
His eyes glinted with interest.
“I want to see that boy again soon… Well then, let’s get back to work. Bring me the documents that need approval.”
He returned to his work with a joyful heart.
***
Late in the evening, Frana Bella was receiving news about William through Sir Richard.
William had sent a carrier pigeon to Sir Richard.
“Miss Frana Bella, it’s reported that William has started a business called Maber under the Unicorn Company. He conducted trial runs until yesterday, and the response is said to be quite good. He has hired fifty carriages, fifty horses, and fifty coachmen. Ah… he says they aren’t employees, but business partners. And he says he received a carriage and two horses as a gift this afternoon and is leaving for Tanne.”
The contents of the carrier pigeon message William sent were full of unbelievable details.
Even Sir Richard had wondered if he should report this after reading it.
Frana Bella nearly dropped the teacup she was holding. There were several points to be shocked about.
“He didn’t buy the carriages… he started a carriage business?”
“Yes, that’s right. I heard that he invested most of the gold coins he received from you into the communal carriage business.”
“How is it possible to hire fifty carriages, horses, and coachmen? The money I gave that child should only have been enough to buy and operate a single carriage…”
“I don’t know how he proceeded, but after checking through other routes, it seems certain that he has started the carriage business.”
Frana Bella took a sip of tea. Though she drank as gracefully as possible, her hand trembled slightly without her realizing it.
“Hmm… surely he promised to give me 40% of the net profit once he formed the guild.”
“And he said that 30% of the remaining 60% profit would be used as funds to maintain the Communal Living Area and create a vocational school…”
As she listened to those words, she had thought it was just a dream-like story.
Perhaps… she had unknowingly obtained a goose that laid golden eggs.
“Let’s watch a little longer. If he returns after meeting Master Serranos, I should be able to see him in ten days.”
She found herself looking forward to the day she would meet William.
“And… Miss…”
Sir Richard felt apologetic for having to deliver this kind of news to the young lady.
“Speak.”
“It’s said that Young Lord Blackwater used a private loan and didn’t repay it, so he has been detained by the Red Beard Band.”
Miss Frana Bella set her tea down in an elegant pose and picked up the fan beside her.
Snap!
The fan broke in half.
“Miss, you’ll get hurt. Please be careful.”
Frana Bella clutched her forehead. Just how far was he going to go?
“Whew… how much did he say he borrowed?”
“That is… they say it’s 50 gold coins.”
This time, she wordlessly looked around for something else to break.
“Not five gold coins? 50 gold coins? Is that because of the high interest?”
“The principal alone is 50 gold coins. I confirmed that the principal amount is real through a copy of the promissory note and a personal guarantor. How shall we handle this? If you give the order, I will go and take care of the Red Beard Band.”
“No… didn’t the Red Beard Band lend the money to my brother legitimately? How much did they say the interest was?”
“That is… they said they would not accept interest.”
“Lending a private loan and not taking interest? What a strange group…”
Why? Was it because they were afraid of a noble family? She couldn’t understand their actions either.
“No matter how much of a lord’s family we are… if we have borrowed money, we must pay it back.”
50 gold coins. At a time when the territory’s finances were not improving, it was an amount that could be a significant burden.
“Tell them we are preparing the gold, so to wait a little longer. Since it’s 50 gold coins, they will understand.”
“The Red Beard Band…”
She had heard of that group before.
Their origin seemed to be a mercenary group…
They were called bandits by some and a band of righteous thieves by others.
She had heard they were a group that lived in small units across various parts of the kingdom.
Since no reports of damage caused by the Red Beard Band had been received yet, she had only tracked them at a basic reporting level.
“Um… and somehow the Red Beard Band found out and said they would be willing to accept an artifact instead of Master Blackwater’s debt.”
Frana Bella’s eyes narrowed instantly. Artifact manufacturing was a top secret…
“An artifact?”
“No. Surely my brother must have mentioned it…”
“That brother of mine, honestly.”
“Tell them to give us ten days. My brother needs to suffer a bit while being detained during that time anyway. Tell them I understood and will deliver either the money or an artifact. And when William returns, I should entrust this task to him.”
“To that boy?”
“Yes. Is it not William’s Main Quest to deliver the artifact?”
She thought that the things happening now were quite alien. They were things that hadn’t happened before.
Someone requesting an investment from her and making her have expectations…
And the fact that the family could manufacture artifacts was becoming known even to commoners.
“Is it an era of change…”
The long war had ended… and a new era had begun.
And the new era was also fluctuating in a flow she had never experienced before.