Chapter 122: Father and Son (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 122: Father and Son (1)
Everyone present was shocked.
Including me, Kang Geomma.
I had arranged this gathering because Nox asked me to set up a meeting. I didn't know the exact details.
I had simply guessed it was a grave matter because his expression looked so terrible.
And yet.
“Money...?”
“...I have no excuse.”
Who would have thought someone from the Auditore family would come to borrow money? Was I dreaming right now?
Here I am, dreaming, while Nox is doing the borrowing...
Zzzzt.
A stinging gaze slapped my cheek. It was a glare from Ryozo, who had read the dad joke I snickered at in my head.
Whew.
Episode. Father and Son
Abel opened and closed her mouth in my place.
“Um, Lord Nox.”
Abel and Nox were awkward around each other.
There was no particular reason. It was simply because they rarely interacted. Abel operated in the light, while Nox operated in the shadows.
“Isn't Auditore one of the wealthiest among the hero families?”
“That is correct.”
“Did you happen to gamble it all away?”
“As if!”
It had been a while since I last saw Nox blow his top like that.
Then, looking embarrassed, he cleared his throat and sat back down.
“...My apologies for getting emotional when I'm the one asking a favor. But I swear, it's for no such illicit reason.”
“If not that, there's no way Auditore's funds would dry up. Why are you trying to borrow money in the first place?”
“There is an item I must purchase.”
Nox briefly scanned us. Pausing for a moment, he continued.
“Do you know Chloe's current condition?”
“Now that you mention it, has the kid been doing any better lately?!”
Rachel asked back.
Nox hesitated before replying.
“Her condition improved significantly after the Kali Yuga incident. On top of that, doctors from Joaquin Graduate School make regular house calls for checkups. However...”
A low sigh settled over his voice.
“It seems we are ultimately just buying time.”
“Buying time...?”
“Half a year at most. We have to settle this within that timeframe.”
So it was essentially a death sentence. I ran a hand down my face. My mind was conflicted. It wasn't merely because a classmate was facing death.
Looking back, I often viewed the siblings, Chloe and Nox, as a pair with a quiet sense of sympathy.
...Siblings.
Perhaps because of that, despite my disastrous first meeting with Nox, we had become reasonably decent acquaintances. Given my usual personality, I would have wiped the floor with him instantly.
In any case, Nox was going around borrowing money just to save his younger sister.
Kang Geomma didn't have much money himself. He was only allocated a dignity allowance appropriate for one of the Seven Stars.
Though the Heavenly Sword lacked personal wealth, he had plenty of rich friends.
I should help where I can.
Kang Geomma spoke up.
“Is the item you want to buy some kind of medicine to save Chloe?”
“For now, let's just say it's something like that.”
“Then you have to buy it no matter how much it costs. Where are they selling it?”
“It isn't a direct sale.”
Nox let out a weary sigh.
“It requires bidding...”
“An auction, then.”
An auction house. Old memories came flooding back.
Come to think of it, back then I had also run into a group of Auditore members at the Pertinax Auction House.
That utter chaos where Chloe went on a sword-swinging rampage and her older brother Nox knocked her unconscious.
It looked like I would have to go there with Nox.
“Before we lend you any money.”
Ryozo, who had been sitting with her back turned, spun her chair around.
As soon as she chimed in, the air chilled. Ah, right. No matter what it was, it couldn't proceed unless it passed 'Ryozo's Screening.'
Nox adjusted his posture too. Tense anticipation was written all over his face.
If anything rubs Ryozo's insight the wrong way...
He would be better off not doing it at all.
Everyone trusted her. Trusted Ryozo's insight, which bordered on foresight.
Even more so after receiving 'Yggdrasil' from Mesther, which upgraded her insight several levels further. The memories of the Earth Mother accumulated in the World Tree had been layered onto hers. History, after all, served as the primer to peer into the future. She was truly Saki Ryozo the Prophet.
“First, explain why Auditore's funds have dried up.”
“Ah, I missed that part.”
Nox cooled his heated chest with a glass of cold water.
“As you said, Auditore is among the wealthiest in hero society.”
“If I recall correctly, isn't that because Auditore claims a certain percentage of the assets whenever you eradicate corrupt factions?”
“...So you know.”
It was Abel who added the explanation. As the empress of high society, she had become thoroughly versed in the power dynamics of noble society.
“Correct. Among us, we call it blood money. You could say it's the price paid for surrendering honor.”
“Hmm.”
Ryozo rubbed the bridge of her nose.
Deducing cause and effect through elimination from a few tiny clues. And doing so in an instant.
Even if Nox came to borrow money, he was still a key executive of Auditore. Divulging internal family affairs was strictly treated as a grave offense, regardless of the situation. Even the head of the house could not escape the shadows' discipline.
Nox would be no exception.
The conversation would hit a wall due to regulations. The constraints on detailed explanations were severe. That was why Auditore earned trust, but conversely, in desperate situations like this, it became extremely difficult.
“Auditore invests an enormous amount into every single member, right?”
So Ryozo saw right through it.
And then...
“...”
“Good. From now on, silence equals agreement. I will keep asking questions, so just stay quiet.”
She replaced Nox's explanation to free him from his dilemma. Ryozo crushed Nox's disadvantage with sheer intellect.
“That's how Auditore accumulated wealth, but lately, work has dried up. Right?”
“...”
Ryozo and Nox glanced at Kang Geomma as if by tacit agreement.
“Me?”
“Yeah. Geomma, thanks to your existence, corrupt nobles have decreased drastically lately.”
“So I was stealing Auditore's business.”
“Let's get one thing straight,” Nox corrected him. “Auditore isn't a group crazy for money. Even if we starve, as long as noble society is purified, we are ready to starve to death.”
“Sure, whatever. But still, even if work dropped off recently, Auditore must have wealth accumulated over time. No matter what the item is, with Auditore's financial power, you should be able to bid multiple times over.”
“That is...”
As Nox hesitated, Ryozo chimed in.
“Everyone knows Auditore's main business shifted to food service, right?”
“Yeah! They have tons of franchises in the US!” Rachel nodded. “Even that Korean restaurant I went to with Geomma-kun a while ago—!”
Ah.
That place belonged to them?
No wonder it tasted good.
More importantly...
My heart sank. Ryozo and Abel were demanding further explanation with their glares. An icy chill seemed to cut into my skin.
“...”
“...”
“Th-That's not what's important right now!”
Thank you, relief pitcher Nox.
“The current Principal is right. Our Auditore family invested all available cash into the restaurant business.”
“Don't tell me... you have no money because it failed?” Abel subtly threw out a rude question.
Kang Geomma gently shook his head and added, “Whether the business is doing well or not, they just don't have liquid cash available right now. You can't just pull out capital.”
“Even if it's their own money?”
Honestly. She really was a young lady ignorant of the world's ways. Though that was often cute in its own right.
“Even personal assets become corporate funds once converted into capital. Taking that out is embezzlement.”
“...Aha.”
...
...
Why did it suddenly get quiet?
I glanced around. Everyone was staring blankly at Kang Geomma. Did I say something wrong?
“Geomma, you...” Ryozo stepped up as the representative. “I've wondered about this for a while, but you're surprisingly sharp in unexpected areas. If you actually studied, you probably would have easily surpassed Weapon.”
“No, well...”
It was just that the restaurant industry was my specialty in my past life. I had educated a few corrupt business owners trying to embezzle corporate funds... but I couldn't bring that up here.
“Thanks to Geomma, the answer is clear.”
Ryozo stood up and straightened her attire.
“Auditore lacking funds is partly because they lack liquid cash, but also because their assassination business suffered due to certain people.”
“...”
People.
Ryozo used a plural pronoun. And she wasn't someone who made mistakes in places like this.
“The reason Nox didn't speak directly to Geomma—who is tied to 'various factions'—and instead brought Abel and Rachel...”
A spark of static electricity passed through my temples. So far, it seemed only Kang Geomma and Ryozo had picked up on it.
“Is because the party listing that item for auction is the Imperial Family.”
Nox remained silent.
“And the intention behind putting up such an item at this timing...”
Kang Geomma frowned.
“Is a clear act of provocation directed at me.”
No wonder things had been so quiet lately.
The Imperial Family seized this moment to initiate a move.
* * *
I made a phone call to Royal Steward Garyeon.
—Yes, Lord Heavenly Sword.
It was on speakerphone.
Ryozo had insisted on it.
—This is your eternal brown-noser Garyeon~
“...The key personnel of Joaquin are all listening right now.”
—Clatter!
Dammit.
Why are you making the sound of my inner sanity crumbling?
—This is Ryu Garyeon, holding the post of Royal Steward of the Victoria Imperial Household. Please give your orders, Lord Heavenly Sword.
It was already ruined.
Whatever happens, happens.
“Not orders, but I have a few questions.”
—I am all ears.
“Has the Imperial Family listed any items for auction recently?”
—Yes.
“Details?”
—I am sorry. Under Imperial Law, detailed descriptions of non-monetary property cannot be disclosed.
So it was classified.
She might have told me via the Blessing of Telepathic Transmission, but there were too many perked-up ears listening.
“Approximately what do you think the starting bid will be?”
—My apologies for this as well.
“You certainly have a lot to apologize for.”
—I am sorry for being sorry.
I needed to squeeze her a bit more.
Right. This was out of sheer indignation.
“You remember that contract between the Imperial Family and me, right? The one granting unlimited material support.”
—...Yes...
“You know what I'm getting at, right?”
—If I am not mistaken, you plan to bid on an Imperial item, and you intend to buy it using the Imperial Family's own money... It appears I have gone deaf rather than blind, Lord Heavenly Sword.
“You heard correctly.”
—Aha.
The temperature of her voice over the phone shifted.
—Though I am unworthy to speak, may I offer a word, Lord Heavenly Sword?
“As long as it's an encouraging answer, go ahead.”
—Faced with your creative economics, Lord Heavenly Sword, I, Garyeon, could only slap my forehead in wonder.
“Do you support it?”
—Not over my dead body.
“...”
“—”
“Hmm.”
—I correct myself. Not even if dirt gets in my ears... What am I even saying? Anyway, I am sorry. I will apologize separately for this rudeness. Goodbye.
Click.
She hung up first.
“Hmm, highway robbery won't work then.”
I pulled my gaze away from the screen. Everyone was staring at me again. This time, the nature of their stares was different. To put it roundly, it was like looking at a lunatic.
“Geomma, you... said you were from the Seori Kang clan, right?”
That's a bit late to bring up.
“Yeah.”
“Is your uncle from the same clan origin...?”
“I, guess?”
“...”
“Besides, if the Emperor is openly provoking me, I can't just buy the item with my own money. It feels like a total loss.”
“Bidding is a legitimate transaction, though.”
“Not all transactions are created equal.”
In the silence, they exchanged glances with one another. It seemed the image of us father and son was plummeting in real time.
“Don't look at me like I'm crazy. Listen, everyone.”
As the eldest son of the direct line of the Seori Kang clan, I laid out my scheme.
“If robbery won't work, what's left?”
“Th... theft.”
Quick on the uptake.
I wore a satisfied smile.
“I have a plan.”
Seasoned with a single sashimi knife.
* * *
A desolate street.
Beside a roof with flaking gold paint and a side standing sign stood a man handing out flyers.
“Step right up, take a look! We sell the world's rare marvels and treasures!”
His name was Pertinax X. As the younger brother of Pertinax IX, he had involuntarily inherited the auction house after his brother's death. Passersby spat mockery at him like phlegm.
“Pfft. Rare marvels my foot. The Pertinax Auction House is just a junkyard for washed-up stuff now.”
“Seriously. Even fence shops have tiers. Pertinax is so ancient. Maybe back under IX, but X? Please.”
“Right? X is... sigh, don't even get me started.”
“...”
Pertinax X let the stack of flyers in his grip slump down. The papers scattered messily across the ground. It was draining.
“Fuck.”
Playing fence was never in his destiny!
Pertinax X had no interest in money. He had planned to enjoy life doing whatever he wanted.
However, because that bastard of an older brother had dabbled in the family taboo of 'Majin trafficking,' he ended up dead, and the auction house was shattered into pieces.
I wish it had just faded into the dustbins of history.
Yet, fragile as it was, the lineage of the auction business persisted. Someone had to inherit the family trade. It was a 'discipline' that anyone born into a noble family was obligated to uphold.
“It's an auction house on the verge of collapse...”
Pertinax X cast his gaze into the distance. A long line of people was entering a building. Their clothes and gold ornaments glittered magnificently.
“That newly opened auction house is doing so well.”
Rumor had it that the backer was the Imperial Family. Well, with that immense capital backing them, they could build a lake in the middle of a desert.
His eyes returned to his own domain. A shabby exterior. Just looking at it depressed him.
Pertinax X was destined to spend the rest of his life as a doorkeeper for this worn-down, old auction house. If it succeeded, at least he'd be handling money.
“Today's business is ruined, completely ruined.”
Just as Pertinax X was about to turn around—
“Oho~ You're still open~”
A smooth, melodious voice held his heels in place. Turning around, he saw a mysterious young woman of striking height.
“Are you still open here?”
“A-Ah! Yes, yes we are!”
“I see~”
The woman was wearing a rabbit mask.
If she knew the etiquette of the Pertinax Auction House, she had to be quite a regular. He had to hold onto her! The moment he made up his mind, the woman beat him to the punch.
“Boss.”
“Yes, customer?”
“Do you want to get... rich?”
“Rich?”
“Yes.”
Choi Seol-ah raised the corners of her lips so high that the corners of her eyes twitched.
“Filthy. Rich.”
It was a sneer fit for a grand villain who, in her prime, was second to none in despicable cruelty.