Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Piggy Bank
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Death and taxes are inevitable.
I don't know who said that, but they clearly overlooked one crucial fact.
Avoiding death doesn't mean you escape taxes,
but trying to dodge taxes will surely get you killed.
"We're from the Tax Office."
"...Pardon?"
"We've received a tip that your bank is involved in tax evasion. We'll just run a few simple checks and be on our way, so no need to worry too much."
"What do you──."
"Grab everything."
"Yes, sir!"
One day, a high-intensity tax audit targeted the bank owned by the Vaultkeeper House.
Oh. The bank itself wasn't evading taxes.
Moneylenders wouldn't be sloppy enough to skim taxes carelessly.
The problem was that the bank's vaults and deposits had been used in tax evasion schemes by certain wealthy individuals and nobles.
"......"
The head of the Vaultkeeper House had a gut feeling.
That the head of the targeted family was behind this audit.
It wasn't hard to guess.
There was no concrete evidence, but with the two houses clashing at this exact moment, it was the most reasonable suspicion.
"How the hell do they even know about the hidden ledgers in the vault?"
There were a few puzzling points, but
that wasn't what mattered right now.
What was important
was that the blade was aimed not at the 'bank' itself, but at the 'corruption using the bank.'
This wasn't an attack on the bank.
The invaders were targeting the nobles who sheltered the bank.
"...Damn it. They're cutting off the limbs first. No room for cleanup."
If they were attacking the bank directly, just poke the bank.
Fines for accounting fraud? They could pay those easily.
Investigate the scams and dirty tricks via securities,
or crimes via usury?
They could sacrifice a few employees as scapegoats and be done with it.
Systematically defacing empire-issued currency,
and manipulating public opinion to make merchants use their own?
...A bit bigger issue,
but offering up one executive's head could smooth it over.
Yet the targeted family avoided attacking any of that 'corruption.'
They only went after the connected nobles.
The head realized their intent
when agents of several great nobles who had taken his bribes came calling.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Pardon?"
"Can't even guard a single vault key, and you let things get this bad?"
The reason the Vaultkeepers had rampaged so freely until now
was that even the lofty nobles needed 'money.'
In a word, they were vaultkeepers.
Guardians of the vault.
They were the piggy banks for extravagant high nobles.
And
no owner grows fond of a piggy bank ripe for the slaughter.
"No long speeches. There's no more connection between you and our house."
"What do you──."
Only then did the head grasp the targeted family's intent.
They were isolating him.
If they had attacked the Vaultkeeper House directly,
he would have immediately reached out to the great nobles whose connections he'd built,
and somehow ridden out the storm together.
But they hadn't received any aid yet.
No entanglements.
So it was easy to sever ties.
Even if they held some leverage on the corruption,
a mere vaultkeeper couldn't dare blackmail great nobles.
"Handle your own messes. I don't want to get dragged into your money games."
This was a signal from the targeted family.
Stick together, and you sink.
Even if we cover the corruption, you die. If anyone's in the same boat, we sink it with you.
Why take that risk?
That was their question.
"House Riddle! This is all that targeted family's doing!"
"Do I need to care about that?"
"We can't let them divide us!"
"...We?"
The head's words came out like a scream,
and the great noble's agent sneered in disbelief.
"You don't mean you and me, do you?"
"Well......"
"You're delusional."
"......"
"You're just a watchdog guarding the vault."
"......"
"If the dog barks at intruders whenever the master's away, why keep it around?"
For nobles fearing scandal,
boiling the vaultkeeper before their names surfaced was far cheaper.
Traditionally, when nobles needed money, they boiled vaultkeepers.
Their status had risen with the times,
but they could never truly become 'one of us' to old noble houses.
Buy a title with money?
What's the point.
Honor comes not from the title, but the history behind it.
"Die alone."
"......"
"Remember, the moment my name slips from your lips, your name gets struck from the Heraldry Office."
Struck from the Heraldry Office.
Even their flimsy title, existing only in name, would be revoked.
Vaultkeepers weren't 'real' nobles,
but as nobles, their assets were protected by imperial law.
The moment that title was stripped,
they'd become mere usurers anyone could stone to death.
In the truest sense,
a 'piggy bank' ready for slaughter anytime.
"......Understood. I'll handle it alone."
"Whether you fix it or die, it's not our concern."
"Yes."
With the agent gone,
the head of the Vaultkeeper House ground his teeth.
"They see us as real nobles' watchdogs......"
Their essence was wild dogs.
And
wild dogs have their own ways.
.
.
.
Watching the plan unfold, Torsso asked curiously,
"Why not attack the bank directly? With this level of corruption, you could bring it down."
"Can't collapse the bank. If it fails, panic hits, and commoners suffer. We're entering banking ourselves—no reason to shatter trust in the industry from the start."
"Ah. Makes sense."
Entering banking was the goal,
so destroying a bank for it?
That inverted means and ends.
If no one trusts banks,
what's the point of monopolizing the business.
No one would deposit for a fee.
"Separating the company from its managers is the mark of a good capitalist."
"Understood."
We had to target 'people,' not the 'bank,'
and handle it politically.
"Above all, that bank will become our asset someday."
"Pardon?"
And most importantly,
no need to devalue property that would soon be mine.
I'm swallowing their bank soon,
so best preserve its value intact.
"Who'd hand vault keys to vaultkeepers who've lost noble trust?"
"Hm."
Torsso tilted his head and asked again.
"Even if they lose credibility, that doesn't make the vault ours, right?"
"It will."
"Pardon?"
"They're usurers."
What would usurers do, losing noble credit
and facing loss of their flimsy rights?
Easy to predict.
Usurers are just thugs by another name, after all.
"From here, it's not law—it's custom."
In the empire, 'custom' is another word for 'barbarism.'
Law? Credit?
Last resort is always violence.
And
by imperial custom, seizing the assets of those who tried and failed to steal yours is innocent.
Aaah──.
This is what they call fantasy pre-modern vibes.
Property transfer is free game.
"...Sounds appealing, but isn't it risky?"
"Risky?"
"Yes."
"Heh. You serious?"
I pointed at a slave cleaning nearby.
Torsso followed my finger, stared at the slave,
and tilted his head.
"...Is there something about that slave?"
"Look at the build."
"Pardon?"
"Bigger than before, right?"
"...Now that you mention it, yeah."
Healthy diet, ample protein, regular routine, steady exercise.
Basics for slaves.
Stuff modern me could never stick to,
but slaves can manage easily.
Isn't the most disciplined, healthy phase of life when everything's forced—like military days?
So my slaves all have modern-level physiques.
While this world's commoners are generally small-framed.
In terms of weight class,
in terms of numbers,
I run the empire's top 'security firm.'
"Sure, they've built some history with usury, so they might have secret techniques...... Eh. Doubt it's that impressive."
"......"
"In the end, usurers are usurers, and thugs are thugs."
I could say it clearly.
Between the Vaultkeeper House and me──,
There's a clear hierarchy!