Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: On the Verge of Bankruptcy (2)
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I know the entire kingdom strained itself to carry out my excessive orders.
I know we borrowed money from the nobles for that too.
But this? I didn't see this coming.
'What kind of nobles not only lend from their own pockets but borrow from foreign noble houses just to loan it to the royal family?'
And even put up their own territories as collateral?
Does the royal family have blackmail videos on them or something?
"How much do the nobles owe to foreign powers?"
"We have to repay 77,000 gold coins right away in the first installment."
Each gold coin weighs about 5 grams, so...
In Korean won, that's around 500 billion?
But that's not the important part right now.
"Don't the nobles have any money?"
"…."
The atmosphere turns icy.
Their gazes are cold.
It's like they're saying with their eyes, 'This debt is all because of you, so don't say stuff like that.'
Misunderstanding.
I'm not saying it's not my problem...
"I was just asking if cash is really that tight, Prime Minister."
"All the gold and silver coins, mana stones—every liquid asset we had—was spent on this holy site pilgrimage."
They don't seem to believe me.
This is just damaging the Prime Minister's reputation with me.
'If only the kingdom had just gone bankrupt...'
The debt would be wiped out, and they could take the collateral themselves—clean slate.
No, bad thoughts like that won't help.
"When does the collection team arrive?"
"In a week."
"Oh yeah, I've heard you're paying the Royal Guard and court officials' salaries out of your own pocket these days?"
"That's not what you should be worrying about right now."
"Anyway, fine. I'll handle the debt issue."
The Prime Minister's expression doesn't brighten.
"I have a full accounting of the royal assets. The royal family doesn't have any spare funds either."
Time to reveal it.
I led the Prime Minister along.
To the mana herb cultivation fields at the center of my residence.
Upon seeing the field leaves glowing not with the usual green of plants,
but with a sapphire-blue hue, the Prime Minister dropped to his knees.
"Oh, Your Highness. This is...?"
"We've succeeded in artificially cultivating mana herbs. This will be the royal family's main business from now on."
The Prime Minister's eyes lose focus.
His shoulders tremble, then he whips around with a demonic gleam in his eyes.
"How far can we scale the cultivation?"
"Unlimited, as long as we have the labor."
"Can others cultivate them too?"
"Impossible. The method to obtain the seeds is top secret."
He doesn't ask what the method is or how I found out.
"What about the ones here now—their potency and quantity?"
"Duchess Ceres, the person in charge, will explain."
At the word "person in charge," the Prime Minister flinches slightly.
Ceres, in her dirt-stained work clothes, glances at me nervously before speaking.
"We have about 10,000 roots right now. They haven't absorbed much mana, so their potency is very low. If we transplant them to a mana vein and let them soak it up..."
"Your Highness, Duchess. There's no need for that at all."
"What?"
"What do you mean?"
The Prime Minister's face is resolute.
"Mana veins are everywhere anyway. What matters is mana herbs that can absorb mana."
Ah, I see.
Mana veins that flow with mana are common.
The problem is, to use them, you have to refine and consume mana herbs that have absorbed the mana—there's no other way.
"We sell them as young spirit herbs. Let the buyers handle growing them."
"Will we get a fair price?"
"We'll price them at top-grade spirit herb levels."
I thought they'd discount a bit since they need more growing,
but a money man goes even further.
"No, no. That's not enough.
Buyers can transplant them somewhere easy to manage and grow them, so we should charge more than top-grade spirit herbs."
"...Is that feasible?"
"It saves them the labor costs of mages and knights searching for mana herbs, so yes—they'll pay more."
"...Handle the sales as you see fit, Prime Minister."
His corpse-like face suddenly comes alive.
Pinia Kingdom's delegation.
They had come to collect the first installment from Arcana's nobles.
"I thought the prince had finally gotten his act together with his wedding coming up, but he's gone and wrecked the kingdom spectacularly."
"This is why selecting a successor is so crucial."
"A nationwide holy site pilgrimage? The prince got too greedy trying to boost his authority."
The delegation nobles gleefully shared fantasies of how much they could squeeze out under the guise of collection.
Count Oldbeker, the one in charge, livened up the mood.
"Now, now, everyone. Don't forget our true purpose. Remember, His Majesty the King has high expectations."
"Waive the debt in exchange for taking Princess Raisha as our queen—that's the real goal of this collection. We haven't forgotten."
"Don't worry, Count."
These nobles weren't fools.
No matter the collateral of territories, why lend money you can clearly see won't be repaid?
To actually seize the collateral might even require war.
The money Pinia nobles lent to Arcana nobles came straight from the Pinia royal family.
'Princess Raisha is a genius who will one day become a legendary mage renowned across the continent.
If we could only bring her back as our Pinia queen...!'
With that wastrel prince having trashed the national treasury.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
Three days after the Pinia delegation arrived.
They were formally received by the prince acting as regent for the king.
Canelian and Ceres were also present.
The duchess sisters watched the tense delegation perform their formal bows.
"Canelian, the Pinia nobles' real goal isn't collection."
"Huh? What do you mean, sis?"
"The Pinia prince wants to marry Princess Raisha as his queen.
The money the nobles lent might even come from the Pinia royal family."
"...Never thought of that."
"If so, they might refuse a mana herb settlement."
"That far? You can't even buy mana herbs with money."
For knights and mages to grow stronger, mana herbs were essential.
That's why noble houses never sold mana herbs once they had them—they always consumed them.
"Their goal is Princess Raisha. She's destined to be a legendary mage on the continent."
Canelian thought.
If Prince Ragna succeeded and sent off Raisha—a rival—to Pinia?
'No choice then. That's when I'd draw my sword...'
After enduring the lengthy greetings, Prince Ragna said indifferently,
"We've prepared a banquet. Let's enjoy it together."
"We are deeply honored, Your Highness."
The prince led the banquet's atmosphere.
Every casual remark he tossed out made the Pinia nobles jump.
"Your Highness, is that true? Such a phenomenon in our Dryspen Mountains..."
"The red dragon's final breath petrifying into a barren landscape—astonishing."
The Pinia nobles chimed in agreement,
but their faces didn't show true belief.
Prince Ragna added indifferently,
"The mana overflow near the Dryspen Mountains? That's from the red dragon's flames melting the earth and sinking deep into the bedrock back then. It's still burning even now."
"Ooh, eternal flames burning underground... Sounds epic."
"If it erupts once, it'd be catastrophic, so best not to build cities or villages nearby."
Ceres whispered to Canelian,
"How does His Highness know so much about myths tied to famous spots across the continent?"
"...Yeah. He knows everything. You'd think he was a geography professor."
Canelian stole a glance at the prince and thought,
'Is he really pretending to be a wastrel for some reason?'
His knowledge of various regions on the continent was that impressive.
'But there's no reason for that, right? Better to believe his soul swapped bodies.'
The banquet was lively.
Regardless of whether they believed the prince, the stories were entertaining, so the Pinia nobles enjoyed themselves.
As plates and bottles emptied, Ceres and Canelian grew tense.
'It's about time for the debt talk...'
Soon the Pinia nobles would elegantly ask, 'When do we get the money?'
And the prince would elegantly reply, 'No money.'
But...
'Why isn't anyone bringing up the money?'
The Pinia nobles were just exchanging glances like 'You bring it up first,' putting it off.
Canelian could see it clearly too.
"Why isn't anyone mentioning the debt?"
"Have you heard of the prisoner's dilemma, by chance?"
"P-Prime Minister?"
The Prime Minister suddenly jumped in.
With a wicked smile, he scanned the eye-contacting Pinia nobles.
"Yesterday, I secretly visited Count Oldbeker and sold him 300 mana herb pots at a premium price.
It was a bribe for help in the collection negotiations."
"Premium price...?"
"30% above top-grade mana herb market rate. Gave him a better deal for bulk."
'More money is a 'better deal'? That's a bribe?'
"I bought out the count's debt claims and got an extra 15,000 gold coins. Same deal with all the nobles."
The Prime Minister grinned.
"300 mana herbs they could transplant to safe home mana veins—who could refuse when another noble would profit otherwise?"
They just didn't know.
How abundant the young mana herbs were to offer the same deal to everyone.
"...So that's why no one's mentioning money?"
"Yes. None of them have any claims left to collect."
No Pinia noble brought up money until the banquet was nearly over.
"A gift from Princess Raisha!"
Arcana Kingdom's pride.
Princess Raisha, gifted with exceptional magic talent and beauty, entered the hall with her mage mentor.
"Gasp!"
Prince Ragna made a choking sound,
and Canelian glanced over to see his gaze fixed on Raisha's mage mentor.
A slender figure hidden by robes.
Long green hair cascading to her waist, pointed ears, flawless clear skin—a young beauty.
He muttered in a trembling voice,
"Why is an elf...?"
Canelian was dumbfounded.
'Raisha's mentor, and he's seeing her for the first time?'
"Your Highness, appearances aside, she's lived for centuries. Never be rude to the princess's mentor."
I wasn't shocked because Raisha's mentor was a stunning beauty,
or because she was an elf.
I've sunk 10 years into this game alone,
but this is my first humanoid Object.
An Object that doesn't even know she's an Object?