The Arcanium Boom and an Unexpected Encounter

I succeeded in mining the Arcanium vein, then stopped by the market to buy some new clothes. After that, I checked into an inn and peeled off all the grime in a tub of hot water. Plop! I collapsed onto the bed.

"Ugh! This is the life! A man belongs in a proper bed!"

The warmth from the bath still lingered as I sank into the soft mattress, and my eyes closed on their own. Dumping all three million gold into a single stock and then going straight to sleep would be insane from a retail investor's perspective, but… I slept like a baby.

'It's a guaranteed moonshot anyway.'

And just like that, the night passed.

The outdoor terrace of the inn's café. I was enjoying my morning coffee under the bright sunlight.

Slurp.

"Mm, cheap taste."

I suddenly missed the fancy coffee the branch manager of the Imperial Bank had treated me to a few days ago.

'When I pay off the debt later, I should ask what brand that was.'

Click! I pulled out my pocket watch to check the time.

"He should be here any minute now."

Almost as soon as I muttered that, I spotted Tom sprinting toward me in a panic.

"Lord Goldman! I got yesterday's newspapers like you asked!"

"Oh, good. Hand them over."

I took the bundle of papers from Tom. I didn't even need to open them. The headline was plastered right there on the front page.

"Heh heh, this is exactly it."

A machine that literally amplified magical power. Supposedly, this single invention would cause the Empire's overall technological capability to explode.

'I don't really get the complicated stuff, but I know this is going to make money.'

I smiled contentedly and drained my coffee cup.

And then, a few days later.

While I flipped through the newspapers every day, waiting for the right moment, the good news finally arrived.

"Yes!"

A cheer burst out of me. Everything was unfolding exactly as I remembered from the original story.

Humming a little tune, I got ready to head out.

"Lord Goldman, where are you going so early in the morning?"

"Where else? The stock exchange. I need to see how much the stock price has gone up."

Watching stock prices rise is good for your health.

"Want to come with me?"

"Yes!"

I took Tom along and headed for the stock exchange. But even before we stepped inside, the shouts of the crowd were already ringing through the air.

Creak. The moment I pushed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠open the main door, I was greeted by pure chaos. Hundreds of people with bloodshot eyes had completely surrounded the counters, waving fistfuls of cash and shoving forward.

"Billy Mining, five shares at fifteen gold! Buy them right now!!"

"Howard Industries, ten shares at thirty-two gold! Buy!!"

"Hey, stop pushing! I was here first! Get in line!!"

"Are you insane? Why is Rachel Mining so expensive?!"

I clicked my tongue at the frenzied scene.

"Wow, good thing I bought in early. Otherwise I'd be stuck in that mess getting crushed. Right?"

"D-Did you… predict all this would happen and invest your money ahead of time, Lord Goldman?"

Tom asked with a stunned expression. I snorted.

"Just a hunch."

I lied through my teeth with a straight face and turned my gaze toward the quotation board.

"Bwahahaahaha!"

The flood of dopamine made it impossible to hold back my laughter. How could I? My average buy-in was around sixty-seven gold, and now it was sitting at ninety-seven.

"Rough calculation… that's about a forty percent gain?"

If three million gold went up forty percent, how much was that exactly? Most amateurs would sell here. But me?

I knew exactly how high this thing would climb.

'And exactly where it would crash back down.'

Gulp. Just thinking about devouring the entire range from bottom to top made my mouth water.

'Still, the rate of increase is insane.'

It hadn't even been a full day since the good news article dropped, yet the price was skyrocketing. This really was an era of capital and chaos.

'…Wait, is the modern stock market or crypto scene really any different?'

A strange sense of déjà vu hit me.

In truth, at this point in the original story, Rachel Mining should have been hovering around the sixty-gold mark. The reason the price had exploded far beyond that?

'Because I slammed three million gold into it at market price and drove the price up myself.'

That probably triggered a wave of FOMO from other investors too.

'But this is just the appetizer.'

The main course hadn't even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠arrived yet. Once articles came out about the Arcanium vein and how Rachel Mining's rock drill was the only thing that worked… the stock price would multiply several times over from where it was now.

A grin refused to leave my face.

"Alright, let's go. I've seen enough."

I turned to leave the exchange. At that exact moment—

Thud. I bumped shoulders with someone.

"Ah, my apologies."

A smooth yet bold voice. When I looked up, a tall young man was offering an apology. He ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had tanned, bronze-colored skin and striking, glossy brown curly hair.

My eyes automatically scanned his outfit.

'Whoa. Designer coat, gold necklace, rings dripping from every finger. Looks like someone with real money.'

Here to buy stocks? The truly rich really do love gambling on the market. Anyway.

I gave a light bow in return.

"It's quite alright."

The young man smiled, then walked past me toward the quotation board.

"…Who was that?"

He looked strangely familiar. Was it just my imagination?

"Let's go, Tom."

"Y-Yes!"

On the way back to the inn, I kept turning that face over in my mind.

'I swear I've seen him before… who was he?'

Someone from Allen's memories? No, it felt more abstract than that. Bronze skin and ridiculously handsome features.

"Hmm…"

Wait.

"Aaaah!!"

My sudden scream made Tom jump in fright.

"W-What's wrong, Lord Goldman?!"

I froze in place.

'Hold on, today's date is… March 10th. I just remembered who that guy was…!'

A single piece of setting information from the original story slammed into my brain.

The future Merchant King of the South.

Edward Selwyn.

The second son of the Selwyn Viscount family and president of the trading company Selwyn Trading.

'At this point in the story, he's supposed to be traveling across the Empire on vacation and stops by Hamilton City.'

Because of his workaholic nature, he visits the stock exchange even during his break and sees the chart for Rachel Mining. He already knew that Rachel had left the ducal family and was starting from the bottom. Intrigued by her unusual moves, he would visit her company in Hamilton.

'Though he won't actually meet her because she's away on a business trip.'

And the female lead's next business venture would begin through her connection with Edward.

'To think I'd run into one of the original story's male leads in a place like this.'

The feeling was strangely complicated.

'…Wait, I literally met the female lead yesterday. Why am I acting surprised now?'

I swallowed a dry laugh.

"L-Lord Goldman? Why are you suddenly like this? Are you feeling unwell…?"

"Ah, it's nothing. Just a bit tired. Let's hurry back."

I shook my head and started walking toward the inn again.

At the same time, in the Delos Mountains, at the Arcanium mining site.

Hundreds of workers were sweating buckets as they struggled with the rock drills.

Vrrrrrr! Bang!!

"Goddammit!"

Clang! The workers hurled the broken drills whose bits had snapped off and cursed loudly.

"This is bullshit! Nothing works! The rock doesn't even get a scratch! How the hell are we supposed to mine this?!"

"Ugh, I'm losing my mind. If we'd gone to the iron ore site instead, we'd have earned a full day's wage by now!"

"Damn it, that's the twentieth company drill we've broken today. Even the famous brands are getting their teeth knocked out. Is this even mineable ore?"

Just then, the youngest worker came running, pulling a cart loaded with a brand-new drill.

"Brothers! The foreman says to try this one!"

The already furious workers responded with indifference.

"Huh? Where's that from? The brand says… Rachel? Rachel Mining?"

"A small company? No need to even look. It's gonna get wrecked too."

Even as they grumbled, the workers lifted the new drill and jammed it into the rock wall.

Click. They flipped the power switch.

Vrrrrrrrr—

"W-Wait, what?"

Where the drill bit met the rock surface, a beautiful violet ripple spread outward.

Crack!

"…Huh?!"

Rock fragments flew from the surface that had previously crushed even steel bits. And then—

Crack-crack-crack-crack!!

The immovable rock wall began to be shaved away cleanly.

"Holy shit, it works!! The rock is breaking!!"

The workers cheered as they watched the drill bit dig in. Everyone rushed forward, grabbed the Rachel Mining rock drills, and began tearing into the wall. And finally—

Clang!

The rock split wide open. Inside the fracture, an ore glowing with an aurora-like shimmer revealed itself.

"I-It's here! It's Arcanium!"

Flip. I opened the crisp morning newspaper.

"Mm, perfect."

I nodded involuntarily. Now it was time for Rachel Mining's stock price to truly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠explode.

"Tom, shall we head to work?"

I took Tom with me and headed for the stock exchange. The trading floor was far more crowded than it had been a few days ago. Everywhere I turned, I heard nothing but Rachel Mining.

"Four shares of Rachel Mining! Buy them immediately!"

"All-in on Rachel Mining at one thousand gold!"

"If Rachel Mining drops ten gold on the next five-minute candle, load me up with twelve hundred gold worth!"

With a satisfied smile, I turned my eyes to the quotation board.

It had already more than doubled my average buy-in.

"Whoaaaa!"

Tom checked the numbers and got extremely excited.

"Lord Goldman! Last time it was still in the double digits, and now it's already at one hundred seventy-nine gold!!"

Then, as if suddenly remembering the stock lessons I'd given him in passing, his face turned pale and he asked urgently.

"B-But… you said there are tons of stocks that shoot up like this and then suddenly crash… shouldn't we take profit around here?!"

I wagged my index finger.

"Nope, nope. It's still got a long way to the top."

"A long way?! You mean it's going to go even higher from there?!"

"Until the thirtieth. It's going to climb way higher than that number."

Why the thirtieth? Because that's when Rachel sells the company.