Let's Pay Off the Debt (1)
The newspaper unfurled with a crisp flutter. It felt like I’d been doing the exact same thing for days now, but what could I do? This is what a trader’s life looks like.
Still, it was nothing like the stomach-churning, lifespan-shredding trading I used to do in front of a monitor. Here, I could feast on a future that was 99.9% guaranteed. Every single morning felt worth waking up for.
And finally, the last piece of news I’d been waiting for appeared.
Dr. Benzos’s Survey Reveals Actual Reserves Are Only One-Tenth of Previously Announced Figures…
“Heh heh heh. Perfect.”
The corner of my mouth twitched upward. Just as planned.
I wondered if Rachel had managed to sell the company yesterday. Please tell me she got out clean. It’d be a pain if she went bankrupt already.
I folded the newspaper and tossed it aside, rising from my seat.
“Tom, start packing. We’re heading back to the estate today.”
“Yes, sir!”
Tom scrambled to gather our things. We’d arrived with nothing but the clothes on our backs, so where had all this luggage come from? Well… I might have gone a little overboard with shopping while Tom tagged along. But who cared? That kind of spending would soon feel like pocket change.
We left the inn, rented a traveling carriage at the transit station, and set off toward Goldfield.
Clatter. Rumble.
As the carriage rolled down the road for a while, Tom spoke up.
“By the way, Baron Goldman, is it really okay for you to skip the stock exchange today?”
“Yeah. No need to go. It’s going to be an absolute madhouse. I already placed my sell orders anyway, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
The trip home would take roughly a week. By the time we reached the estate, the short-selling settlement should be complete. Oh man, I’m so excited! I’m so happy!
All that money I’d scraped together through switching positions… I couldn’t wait to see how much would be sitting in my account a week from now. This was the sweetest homecoming I’d ever experienced.
After several days and nights of hard travel, we finally arrived in Goldfield.
Inhale. Exhale—
Just taking a deep breath made my whole chest feel refreshingly clean. Maybe it was because this was a quiet rural backwater with no factories belching smoke or forests of buildings, but the air here was absolutely incredible.
“There’s really no place like home.”
The moment I stepped down from the carriage, I left the luggage with Tom.
“Tom, head straight home. I’ll stop by the bank first and then go settle the payments.”
“Um, Baron Goldman…”
“Yeah?”
Tom bowed his head deeply.
“This past month… I had so much fun. If it weren’t for you, I never would have experienced any of those things. Thank you for letting me.”
His sincere gratitude unexpectedly tugged at my heart.
“What’s with the sudden sappiness? Hurry up and go inside. Mr. Hudson is probably waiting.”
Tom picked up the bags and left. I watched his retreating figure and let out a small chuckle, then turned and headed for the bank.
“Welcome to the Altaina Imperial Bank—hic!”
The face I saw the moment I walked in belonged to the female teller I’d met last time. The color drained from her face the instant she recognized me. It’s not like this is our first meeting.
I offered a friendly smile and waved.
“Could you call the branch manager for me?”
“Y-yes! Please wait just a moment!”
She scurried off into the back and returned with the manager in tow. The man’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head, as if he couldn’t believe I’d actually come back.
“Y-you’ve returned, Baron Goldman. Please… allow me to escort you to my office.”
“Lead the way.”
I followed him into the branch manager’s office. As soon as I settled comfortably onto the sofa, he personally brought me a cup of coffee he’d brewed himself. While I casually sipped it, the manager swallowed hard and asked,
“It’s been a full month… May I ask what brings you here today? If you’re looking for another loan, it might be a little difficult to—”
“No, I don’t need a loan. First, please prepare a balance certificate for my account.”
“…A balance certificate, you say?”
The manager’s eyes grew suspicious. As if he’s wondering whether there’s even any balance left. I was dying to see what kind of face he’d make once he saw the number. This was going to be fun.
He forced his expression back under control and stood up.
“Understood. Please wait a moment.”
As he turned to leave, I added with a grin,
“Take your time.”
Smith, the branch manager, stepped into the printing room. Whirr. Click-clack. The moment the printer started running, he let out a heavy sigh.
“Sigh… It’s surprising he actually came back, but… will we even be able to recover the principal on that loan…?”
He had never once believed that the incompetent baron who had run his estate into the ground could possibly make money in the stock market. What on earth gave the man the confidence to act so carefree?
Come to think of it, the baron had mentioned some stock name a month ago.
“What was it again? Ra… Rach… Ah, whatever. Doesn’t matter.”
He couldn’t remember it clearly, and no matter what the stock was, there was no way the man had made money. The odds of getting struck by lightning while walking down the street were probably higher.
Click-clack—thud.
The balance certificate finished printing.
“Hoo…”
With the resigned attitude of someone who had already given up, Smith picked up the freshly printed sheet and glanced at the balance.
“…?”
He doubted his own eyes. He took off his glasses, wiped them furiously on his sleeve, put them back on, and looked again. The number remained crystal clear.
“Th-this… this is…!”
The manager immediately sprinted back to his office.
Bang!
The door flew open. Allen turned his head toward Smith, who stood frozen in the doorway. The man’s face—which had looked at him with pity as if he were a pathetic debtor just moments ago—was now deathly pale.
“You’re back? Let me see it.”
With trembling hands, Smith handed over the certificate. Allen took the paper and lowered his gaze.
BALANCE: 85,500,000 G
“One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million…”
Eighty-five million five hundred thousand gold. This was the result of cashing out at the peak and then betting that entire seed money on the downturn. The stock price had crashed to one-fifth of its high. The beautiful number sparkled like a work of art.
Smith stammered, barely able to speak.
“B-Baron Goldman… D-did you really earn this… this enormous sum… just from stocks?”
I smirked and shot back,
“Why? Were you worried I’d done something illegal?”
“N-no! Of course not! Perish the thought! It’s just… in a market that’s been swinging wildly up and down lately… I was simply astonished that you managed to earn such a massive amount…”
“It’s precisely because the market is like this that I could pull in this much. If it had just crept up and down a little, would it have even registered in my liver?”
I slid the balance certificate onto the table.
“Anyway, enough small talk. Please deduct the three million gold principal from my previous loan… plus one month’s interest!”
“Y-yes! I’ll process it immediately!”
Just a month ago, the man had treated me like a pathetic debtor. Now he was giving me full VVIP treatment.
I took another sip of coffee. Now this feels more like how a noble should be treated.
The repayment was handled with remarkable speed.
“Right, that takes care of the loan… Could you withdraw some cash for me?”
Carriage and horse costs, lawyer fees, and Mariel’s salary. As for the other creditors…
I knew where the transit station and law office were, so I could settle those today. The creditors, however, were a different story. There were too many of them, I didn’t even know where most of them lived, and some had contracts requiring cash payment. Clearing everything in a single day was impossible.
Just how much debt had I racked up? And it was all because I’d tried to help others. If only that real estate crash hadn’t happened back then.
The thought of having to contact all those people to repay them made my head throb. I shook it, trying to clear away the complicated feelings.
I’ll just pay them off later.
“Yes! How much would you like to withdraw?”
“Hmm… Around three hundred thousand gold? Please give it to me in bundles of 100-gold notes. Oh, and if you have a spare bag I can carry it in, I’d appreciate that too.”
“Of course! I’ll prepare it right away!”
After stuffing the thick bundles of cash into the bag, I left the manager’s office. On my way to the exit, I felt Glen’s furtive glances from the teller window. I stopped walking and called out to her.
“Did you have something to say?”
“Eep! Ah, um, well…”
A startled Glen fidgeted before finally speaking in a voice as quiet as an ant crawling.
“Um… I heard from the branch manager last time… and, well… I bought a little bit of Rachel Mining stock myself…”
“And?”
When I responded indifferently, her cheeks flushed and she twisted her hands together.
“I made a pretty decent profit… so I was wondering if… maybe you could recommend the next stock for me too… hehe.”
I was speechless. Was she shameless, or had she simply lost all sense of fear? Even if I was just a rural baron, it was ridiculous for a commoner to openly beg a noble for stock tips.
I let out a snort of disbelief and answered firmly.
“Earn it by working.”
“Y-yes…”
Leaving the stunned woman behind, I exited the bank.
After leaving the bank, I headed straight for Golden Horse House.
“Mr. Hudson? Are you there?”
At my call, the elderly man slowly emerged from the back room.
“How’s your health? I heard you collapsed.”
“Heh heh, it’s nothing unusual for an old man like me. More importantly, did you have a good trip to Hamilton? That rascal Tom took the carriage without permission. I hope he didn’t cause you any trouble.”
What? He didn’t even get permission? So it had been Tom’s own decision after all. Still, thanks to him, I’d been able to make money.
“Trouble? On the contrary, he was a big help.”
I set the bag I’d been carrying on my shoulder down on the table. Ziiip! I opened the zipper, pulled out thick stacks of 100-gold notes, and piled them on the table. The moment Hudson saw the money, his eyes nearly popped out.
“W-w-what in the world is all this money?!”
“I ended up losing two horses and the carriage on the way. I promised I’d pay you back double.”
“E-even so, this is…”
“Plus operating expenses and a life allowance, for a total of two hundred thousand gold. That should be enough, right?”
“M-more than enough… but how on earth did you come into such a huge sum…?”
“Oh, and Mr. Hudson. Did you know Tom is incredibly smart?”
The dazed old man snapped back to attention and nodded.
“I know very well. The boy remembers everything he sees.”
“He said he wants to become an engineer. So I’ve decided to cover all his education costs. Is that all right with you?”
At that moment, Hudson’s face—which should have lit up with joy—stiffened instead.
“Does that mean… Tom will have to leave for the city?”
“That’s how it’ll have to be. All the higher education facilities are concentrated there. It’d be a waste to keep such a talented kid stuck in the countryside.”
Hudson paused for a long moment before clearing his throat and answering.
“…Let’s discuss that matter again later.”
“…? Ah, yes. I understand.”
Sensing that the mood had suddenly grown heavy, I left the transit station.
“Next up… the law office, I suppose.”