The Stock Exchange Is a Gambling House
Rachel Besmont stood inside the Hamilton Stock Exchange. The wall-sized screens flickered with real-time prices and percentage changes for dozens of companies. News of the Magic Amplifier development had broken at noon, drawing a massive crowd. Every gaze in the hall was locked on the displays.
Plunging blue candles. Surging blood-red candles.
Some voices dripped with despair. Others rang with pure ecstasy.
Even though it was the middle of a workday, everyone packed into the hall stood transfixed, staring at the screens. It was the age of capital and pure chaos.
And right in the middle of that frenzied crowd, a woman with flowing crimson hair gazed up at the massive display board.
Rachel Besmont.
"Haa..."
Her golden eyes lingered on the blinking numbers.
It had been two years since she fled that wretched ducal household. She had sworn to succeed spectacularly and make the blood relatives who treated her like vermin regret it. Yet the growth of the company she had founded under her own name remained painfully stagnant.
To be honest, she never wanted headlines like "The Besmont Duke's Illegitimate Daughter" when the company listed. Those were just cheap clicks written by reporters chasing views. Still, she couldn't deny the power of that cursed family name. Thanks to it, investors had flooded in during the early days, and that capital was the only reason she had survived this long.
Damn it… I can already imagine how those disgusting relatives would laugh and sneer if they saw this mess.
But the bubble had popped in less than a week. The moment people realized her company wasn't backed by the Besmont conglomerate, most of the investors dumped their shares and ran. The stock price had slid steadily downward, and fresh capital was almost nonexistent.
She had been certain that as imperial technology advanced, the future of mining would shine brightly.
…Was it arrogant to believe I could succeed with mining equipment?
Rachel bit her lip until it hurt. She had carved time out of her schedule every single day to visit the exchange and check the price, but there was still no sign of a rebound.
…Staring at the board won't magically make the price rise. I should just focus on work.
She swallowed her bitterness and started to stand when—
BANG!
The main doors flew open with a violent crash. Every head in the hall snapped toward the entrance. Rachel turned reflexively as well.
A man and a child stood there, both caked head to toe in mud and dust, looking like beggars fresh from the gutter. The man ignored the stares, pulled an envelope from his coat, and strode straight to the trading counter.
He spoke without hesitation.
"Rachel Mining. Three million gold. Buy the entire order at market price."
"…!!"
Rachel shot up from her seat, doubting her own ears.
…Oh my god.
With a single order, the price had rocketed up forty percent in an instant.
Three million gold?! On Rachel Mining of all companies?!
No single investor had ever poured that kind of money into one stock at once. Rachel Mining was nothing more than an ordinary small-cap mining equipment manufacturer. Its representative might carry ducal blood, but she was a woman who had abandoned her house—practically a commoner. Investors had every reason to be wary.
Yet this man had just bought three million gold worth of a shabby little company that barely earned a corner mention in the financial papers?
Rachel's eyes trembled.
Who… exactly is he?
The man wasn't finished.
"…Once the proceeds from the sale I just executed hit the account, use the full amount to open a short position on Rachel Mining. All of it."
"…Huh?"
A stunned sound slipped from Rachel's lips.
He buys three million gold and then immediately shorts the same amount the moment it sells?
No way…!
A rumor flashed through her mind—whispers of shadowy "operation forces" in the back alleys of the market who manipulated prices with monstrous capital.
Is he one of them?
The man finished his transaction and turned to leave. Rachel clenched her fists until her knuckles whitened. She couldn't let him walk away. She knew she wouldn't sleep tonight if she did.
She needed to know who he was. What kind of scheme would make someone dump a fortune into her stock and then immediately bet against it?
She stepped beside him as he headed for the exit.
"Excuse me."
Wait, why is the female lead at the stock exchange? Was there a scene like this in the original? I couldn't remember.
Well… It's only been listed for a week. She might have come because she's curious about her own company's price.
While I was still sorting through my internal panic, she spoke first.
"Do you know me?"
Oops. Calling her by name on our first meeting was a mistake. I needed a natural-sounding excuse, fast.
"Ah, well… Of course I do! I saw you in the newspaper!"
"The newspaper…? Ah, you must mean the listing announcement from a few days ago."
"Yes! Exactly that one!"
I nodded awkwardly, playing along. A strange little smile curved Rachel's lips.
"That article didn't include a photograph of me. I've never shown my face to the press before. Yet you recognized me as Rachel right away?"
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
Is this an interrogation? Most people would just let it slide. Why is she pressing so hard?
I cleared my throat a few times and scrambled for an excuse.
"Th-that's because… I'm actually a noble. A rural baron, but I still get access to various bits of news. Haha!"
Rachel's eyes widened slightly at my quick lie.
"Oh my, a baron. It is an honor to meet you. I am Rachel Besmont, representative of Rachel Mining."
She pinched the edge of her skirt and offered a polite curtsy. I returned the greeting on pure reflex.
"Ah, yes. I am Baron Allen Goldman."
"…Goldman?"
She repeated my name thoughtfully, then met my eyes with clear interest.
"If it's the Goldman family, do you mean the prestigious house that once led the Gold Rush?"
"Huh? Yes, that's us. You know the story? It's pretty old history."
Rachel smiled.
"As the head of a mining company, I'd be ashamed if I didn't know the history of imperial mining."
After she finished speaking, her gaze traveled up and down my mud-caked appearance.
"Pardon me for asking, but… did something happen on your way here? Your condition, Lord Goldman…"
I looked down at myself. Mud and dust from head to toe. I really did look like a beggar.
"Ah, this is a bit of a long story. I had a bit of an adventure."
"An… adventure?"
"Yes. A rather rough one. You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"I… see."
Rachel's expression turned dubious. No surprise—she wasn't about to believe I'd stowed away in a freight train's cargo car.
"Anyway, it was nice meeting you, Miss Representative. I'm quite busy, so I'll be on my way."
I tried to step past her.
"Just a moment!"
I froze.
"…Y-yes?"
Rachel cut straight to the point.
"I'll ask only one thing. What exactly were you thinking when you invested three million gold in my company and then immediately placed a short order right afterward?"
"Hm? Well, I invested because I thought it would rise."
"What? What exactly did you see in my company that— No, if you believed it would rise, why open a short position?"
"Is there any stock in the world that only goes up? After a big surge, some pullback is inevitable. I simply bet on that. Even if your company keeps performing well and my account gets wiped out, that's on me. Is there something wrong with that?"
"That…"
She faltered, at a loss for words.
"Then… you're saying you aren't plotting some kind of operation or scheme against our company?"
"…?"
The moment I met her anxiously trembling eyes, it clicked.
Aha. She thinks I'm part of one of those shady syndicates.
I let out a small chuckle.
"Play with money all you want, but never play with people."
"P-pardon?"
"It's a personal motto of mine. In plain terms, I'm not here to pull any dirty tricks."
I'd been burned by those same syndicates myself once. My account had been completely destroyed.
Bunch of absolute bastards.
"If I really wanted to do something suspicious, who would make such an obvious market buy in front of everyone? I'd do it quietly where no one could see."
"Ah…"
Rachel fell silent.
"Besides," I continued, "I invested because I believe in your potential."
"…Yes?"
Her golden eyes widened.
"Everyone knows the Besmont ducal family owns several highly successful businesses across the empire. If you had founded your company under their umbrella, you would have received massive support and grown rapidly. From a business perspective, that route would have been far easier. Am I wrong?"
"W-well…"
"Yet you chose to strike out on your own and build a small independent company. Anyone with that kind of determination and venom is bound to succeed. That's why I invested."
Someday Rachel Besmont would stand at the very peak of the imperial economy. The fuel for that ascent was her burning desire for revenge against the family that had tormented her. Looking at her future path, she truly was a woman with the heart of a beast.
"……."
"Has the misunderstanding been cleared up?"
"Y-yes…"
"Then I wish you great success in your business. Have a wonderful day."
I gave a polite nod, turned, collected Tom from the bench where he'd been waiting, and left the exchange behind.
Crack. Snap.
I twisted my stiff neck and heard my joints pop. After sleeping curled up on the rattling metal floor of a freight car, every muscle in my body was screaming. Not to mention I hadn't washed or changed clothes, so I felt disgusting.
"Ugh, my whole body aches… I'm exhausted. Let's buy some new clothes, find an inn, take a hot bath, and sleep in a real bed."
Tom, keeping pace beside me, suddenly asked with open curiosity.
"By the way, Lord Goldman. What exactly is a stock exchange? Everyone in there was shouting, crying, laughing—it was complete pandemonium."
"Hm? Ah, the stock exchange. How should I explain it to you…"
I thought for a moment, trying to find a simple analogy that a kid could understand.
Ah, perfect.
"It's a gambling house."
"I see!"