Unexpected Developments (2)
The current situation, where every resident in the North with a bit of spare coin was suddenly rushing to dive into money-lending, was fundamentally, deeply wrong.
"Jamie, can you get me the list of residents who have applied for money-lending licenses so far?"
"Here it is."
Jamie had rushed to the Lord's Castle due to the unexpected crisis, but he hadn't lost his sense of duty; he quickly pulled a file folder from under his arm.
"It’s not in the proper format. I came in such a hurry."
"This is more than enough. ...Hm? Why is this person here...?"
Scanning the list, which contained the applicants' names, affiliations, and brief one-line descriptions, Aiden spotted a familiar name.
"If it's Melania, surely..."
"Yes. The owner of that restaurant."
"She applied to register for a money-lending business, too?"
"...Yes."
She wasn't just someone running a few restaurants. She was the icon of the North's self-sustaining merchant guilds—a woman who owned ranches, poultry farms, numerous buildings, restaurants, and inns, and even managed a specialized grocery trading company to handle the goods she produced and consumed.
'Money-lending, of all things.'
The situation seemed quite serious.
"I’d like to have a word with her."
"I'll bring her here immediately."
"I’d appreciate it."
It was problematic to summon a busy businesswoman like this, but from Aiden's perspective, resolving the questions surrounding this public matter was more important.
"...So, the problem is the lack of investment opportunities?"
Aiden replied with a bewildered expression. In front of him sat Melania, her face a complex mix of nervousness and excitement. She blinked, wondering if she had given the wrong answer.
"When you think about it, doesn't it make sense? An eighty percent annual interest rate is enough to tempt anyone who couldn't start a new venture due to a lack of funds..."
"And since the government promised to help with the collection of bad debts, it seems even ordinary people who had nothing to do with the underworld made the decision easily."
"......"
As his adjutants chimed in, Aiden's head began to spin. It was supposed to be a policy to help those in ambiguous, difficult situations, but it seemed he had accidentally created a gambling den for the wealthy Northerners.
'I should have foreseen this.'
In the 21st century, this would be an absurd situation. But this was a world where stocks, coins, and even the real estate market were not properly established. He should have expected that the moment people who had been hoarding their excess wealth in safes found a place to invest, they would pounce on it with bloodshot eyes.
'I thought only the non-human races were good at utilizing capitalism, but it seems I was the only fool.'
Perhaps he should have considered that the people in this region were capable of even more reckless acts precisely because they lacked preconceived notions. It was a painful miscalculation.
Still,
"If it's investment, couldn't they do it through the Credit Union?"
One question remained. All those who had touched some money in the North were members of the Credit Union. Credit Union members could review business plans of those in need and decide whether to invest. Since experts carefully verified the plans, decided on the investment amount, and even handled the debt collection, that route seemed far more convenient in every way.
"The thing is, if I invest through the Credit Union, it's impossible to pour in as much capital as I want."
The answer came from Melania.
"According to the union's bylaws, one person cannot exceed thirty percent of the total investment. Even if I'm certain a business will succeed, I can't monopolize the profits, so there are times when I feel like I'm losing out. I know for sure that the union is safer, but..."
"Ha."
Aiden finally let out a hollow laugh. He had realized the essence of the problem. Ultimately, the core of those who stepped forward to do money-lending was this: the uprising of 'aggressive investors.'
Anyone who has ever invested through a bank or brokerage firm has analyzed their own investment propensity. In the 21st-century Republic of Korea, it was legally mandated for customers to self-diagnose so they could understand the range of losses they could handle.
'Was it five stages?'
Investment propensity ratings are divided into five categories: stable, stability-seeking, risk-neutral, active, and aggressive. As the names suggest, those further down the list are people who pursue 'investment returns far higher than the market average, even if it means actively accepting loss risks.'
Those from the stable to risk-neutral categories don't bother to take on risks. Therefore, they wouldn't resort to usury to start a new business. By the time you reach the active investor stage, if you're confident in your venture, you'll start actively searching for investors regardless of the interest rate.
'And the aggressive investors... should I consider them as people who would even think of lending money to such people?'
Naturally, it would be different from 21st-century standards, but the conclusion was that the tendencies of people like Melania before him had ultimately triggered aggressive investment.
"Haa-."
A deep wrinkle formed between Aiden's brows. This wasn't a problem that could be solved by blocking it. Since he had already set a ceiling for usury, even if he defined those who didn't register as money-lenders as illegal, personal money transactions wouldn't disappear entirely.
"Why don't you create a new investment venue for those who are willing to accept losses?"
At that moment, Kalisa, who had been watching the situation silently with her arms crossed, spoke up.
"A new investment venue? For those willing to accept losses?"
As expected, Kalisa was the only one who provided answers when money problems arose. The other two adjutants were busy exchanging notes, looking confused as if to say, 'Wait, isn't there a place to invest in the Credit Union?' Seeing this, it was clear that even capable administrators had their own specialized fields.
'She really is something else.'
Aiden's trust in Kalisa, who had reached the same conclusion as him from just a few words of Melania, grew firmer.
"We should bifurcate Northern investment. The Credit Union will continue to lend funds to secure investment targets to minimize losses for members' assets, as it does now. In the new investment venue, individuals can contribute as much capital as they want based on their own judgment."
"But what if a con artist takes the investment money and runs?"
Jamie interjected, throwing a wrench in the plan.
"Couldn't we just give opportunities to hold briefings only to those who meet certain qualification requirements?"
"But con artists exist everywhere, no matter what."
"If you don't like that, you can just expect average returns from the Credit Union instead of the new investment venue."
Jamie pouted at Kalisa's firm words.
"Would anyone really do something that dangerous?"
He pouted as if to be heard, but—
"Um... Then what kind of returns would that have?"
Melania, who had been sitting in the corner of the table like a discarded sack of barley, unable to do anything, asked with sparkling eyes.
"......"
"......?"
Aiden was speechless in his bewilderment, and Jamie's jaw dropped in shock.
"The new investment venue won't have a set profit ceiling. We will have the profit distribution for each investment case notarized in advance—."
"So if I enter as an early investor in a business that succeeds tremendously, like Aimhand's Carriage Workshop, I could literally be sitting on a pile of money!"
Melania replied with a face half-melted in ecstasy at the mere thought of it.
"That's exactly it."
"...No, you could lose all your investment money. It might not become Aimhand's Carriage Workshop; it could become the merchant guild of Jefferson, the former adjutant to Viscount Lontes!"
"But it could also be ten, no, a hundred times the investment, couldn't it?"
"Administrator!"
Jamie urgently looked to Aiden, as if begging him to stop her, but—
"Kalisa. Can you draw up a concrete plan?"
"Of course."
Aiden had no intention of stopping it.
'This is a stock exchange.'
If it worked out like this, the bourgeoisie of the North, who had nowhere to invest their money, would flock here with their purses in hand. Perhaps it wouldn't even be limited to the North. They would struggle to separate the wheat from the chaff among various options, and those with true business acumen would gain opportunities.
'It won't just have advantages, of course.'
Con artists would surely run rampant, and there would be a long line of people who would lose all their property and ruin their families. Aiden was a 'stable-type' investor who only knew about savings and deposits, so he didn't know much about the history of the stock market. But having lived in a world where you could easily see one or two economic criminals just by turning on the news for a few hours, he knew the dangers without needing further explanation.
"Still, we must put safety devices in place. If they fail after working hard, that can't be helped, but we must also make it known that there will be punishments worse than death for those who blatantly try to commit fraud."
"Of course."
"One more thing. It's a very joyful thing to have money pouring into the North, but it must never happen that Northern money leaks out to the wrong people."
"How about limiting those who can receive investments and the businesses themselves to Northerners or Northern-only entities? And the opposite for those who can invest."
"Hm. That's good."
"I think it would also be fine to divide grades based on investment scale and require those who want to invest more money to prove their assets and income."
"The direction seems set, at least."
As expected, things become clearer when you talk them out.
"Please, leave it to me."
Kalisa's red hair fluttered as if excited. Her usual cynical demeanor was gone, and she looked like an enthusiastic new recruit.
"Is it that good to work like that?"
At Aiden's muttered words that slipped out before he knew it, his three adjutants' necks snapped in a strange angle. Regardless, they shook their heads as if to say he was hopeless, and Aiden headed to his desk, arms full of documents piled up due to the sudden meeting.
Jingle-!
"Phew, it's cold, so cold."
"Welcome!"
It was now the middle of winter. Melania's restaurant, which was already overflowing with customers, had now become a restaurant with no rivals in the North thanks to the 'Red Stew Filled with the Lord's Passion.' Even those who didn't know the beauty of spicy flavors came once out of curiosity, and then again out of a useless pride that 'a Northerner can handle this much' despite the fiery pain. Because those who repeated it twice or three times and became addicted to the spicy taste flocked like zombies whenever they drank alcohol.
"One stew here!"
"Yes, coming!"
Now, a single word, 'that stew,' was enough to complete an order.
"It's snowing like crazy again this year."
"That's for sure."
"They say many villages have their roads cut off, right?"
"There's no helping it in winter. No matter how much maintenance we do, it pours down like this, so what can we do?"
"I suppose."
"I heard the hunting competition was postponed, too."
"Agh, I was looking forward to that, what a shame."
The customers chatted among themselves, struggling to find entertainment for the winter. In a world with little entertainment, getting through the long, long nights of winter was a truly arduous task.
"You guys, haven't you heard the news yet?"
"What news?"
"Oh my, to be so slow with rumors, honestly."
"What is it?"
"The news that the Cat-folk village carriage race is being held!"
"...Carriage race?"
A piece of news thrown to the macho men who were bored out of their minds. The quiet winter of the North began to stir with noise.