Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Non-Existent Ghost
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Reporting the Vaultkeeper House's act of rebellion,
Torsso's conclusion was this.
"I think securing rights to the business is the best approach."
"Rights to the business?"
"Yes. Private banks face a lot of restrictions, after all. With the Imperial Family suddenly absorbing all of the Vaultkeeper House's assets and rights, they'll find it tough to manage. This is our chance to take all the rights they had monopolized."
Rights to the business.
From the Imperial Family's perspective, it meant no additional expenditure and little burden,
while we could extract maximum profit.
The problem was that these rights could only be maintained through "Imperial recognition."
"Can we trust the Empire? They've shown they're prepared to use any means to reclaim currency issuance rights."
"We won't go after core rights like currency issuance. Instead, negotiate to lift restrictions on securities and insurance. The Empire should view that positively. Currency issuance directly infringes on 'Imperial' rights, but securities and insurance are just ways for the private sector to extract money."
"Meaning the Imperial Family can't afford to take a loss?"
"Yes."
In the end, even the Imperial Family operated on capital logic.
Though their methods were excessively radical and barbaric,
that was their goal, at least.
I pondered for a moment.
Was there a way to encroach on Imperial interests without directly harming them,
effectively screwing them over in the process?
"...Torsso."
"Yes."
"Is Talant currency?"
"Yes?"
In essence, currency issuance boils down to "taxes."
There was real value in being redeemable for metal,
but from the nation's standpoint, it was nothing more than a means to collect taxes.
So.
Talant wasn't "currency."
"Slaves don't pay taxes, right? And civilians can't redeem Talant either. In the end, Talant's value is zero in the 'Empire's' markets."
"..."
"Talant isn't for taxes. It's ration vouchers."
"...Yes. You're right."
Talant's essence was a voucher redeemable for "one loaf of black bread."
And even that only held if you were a slave.
No.
Let me rephrase.
It only held if the master—"me"—permitted it.
Talant had no special value in itself.
It was solely because "I," as an individual, assigned and guaranteed its value.
"Yet within slave society—not the Empire's markets—this Talant holds real value. Because I determine and back that value here."
"Yes."
"And that holds true even if Talant is redeemable. Whether for gold, Imperial currency, or adding it as a 'ration item,' Talant can't gain special status in the Empire's markets."
"..."
In short,
precious metals had simply been added to the list of redeemable "ration items" via Talant.
Semantic gamesmanship, you say?
Exactly.
But there's a reason this wordplay works.
"Because in the end, it all happens within my pocket."
For currency to function, "exchange" must be possible.
Exchange means the transfer of property rights.
But transactions among slaves involve no "transfer of property rights."
Everything belongs to the master.
That's the core issue. Slaves pay no taxes, and all rights and responsibilities belong solely to the master.
"With outing privileges, they can exchange Talant for Imperial currency to buy goods. Conversely, if they have leftover money or earn from outside, they can convert actual currency to Talant. But ultimately, it's just slaves running errands with my money. The Talant-currency exchange happens entirely within my pocket. From the market's view, it's just a normal transaction using Imperial currency."
It's bizarre.
Two completely separate markets exist within the same Empire.
No.
One market doesn't even exist.
The dimwitted Imperial Family, holed up in the capital scheming,
can't even perceive this "non-existent ghost."
"Inform the Empire of the treason charges and, as a reward, ask for just one thing."
"..."
"Until the Demon King is slain and the war ends, guarantee 'absolute' ownership of slaves."
The Empire's only way to check this would be one.
Slave emancipation decree.
The traditional means to curb lords with vast slave holdings.
In times of active war like now,
it could be issued anytime under the pretext of conscription.
"...That's quite fitting."
"Isn't it."
I'm not asking for some award.
Just a promise not to seize my property.
The Imperial Family couldn't easily refuse.
With treason involved, being stingy over something so minor would damage their prestige too much.
No noble would stay loyal to an Imperial Family that disregarded noble property rights.
"...Setting the deadline to the war's end is cleverly nuanced. After that, they can't issue emancipation without cause, but if cause arises, they can anytime. The Empire won't want the burden of 'radical' measures."
"Exactly. Better to minimize risk."
"And if Your Excellency's plan succeeds... it becomes a sturdy shield."
The foolish Imperial Family scheming in the palace might not realize,
but this is a time bomb.
One bomb is in the church.
Someday, when one of my slaves receives holy orders and becomes a priest,
the Empire must guarantee ownership rights to that slave.
It'll spark massive controversy, no doubt.
"If the Imperial Family can always opt for radical measures, just keep piling on political burdens to make such 'radical choices' impossible."
Contradictions upon contradictions,
stacked higher still.
And thus,
relentlessly pack in the gunpowder
until the slave system itself collapses,
forcing the Empire to choose the deadly poison of "denying slavery" for regime survival.
"...I'll do my utmost to make it happen as Your Excellency desires."
In the end, the Empire accepted all our demands with suspiciously eager compliance.
Bolstered by Imperial authority,
House Riddle aggressively entered banking, securities markets, insurance markets, and more.
And.
My impression after conquering the financial markets was this.
"It's simplistic."
"Pardon?"
"No. It just feels... hollow somehow."
"...Does it? The reports were so convoluted I couldn't follow half of them."
"It's complex. Complex, sure, but..."
How to put it.
Each financial product was intricately designed, no doubt,
but the spectrum felt narrow.
Something essential was missing.
"Ah. No futures market."
"Futures market?"
"Yeah. A market for trading futures contracts. Guess it's only done at the merchant house level, not open to the public?"
"Futures contracts... what are those?"
"What."
I gave Torsso a quick rundown on futures trading concepts.
Only then did he nod in understanding.
"Ahh. You mean pre-harvest purchase agreements from farms. I have heard that with the prolonged war, those kinds of contracts are on the rise. Pre-arranging is more stable, after all."
"Right. That's it."
As a "great merchant house" running numerous merchant groups and farms,
they surely recognized such transactions.
Just never thought of them as financial products, apparently.
"Turning those contracts into tradable products... that does sound intriguing. With House Riddle's farms and merchant groups, piloting it wouldn't be bad."
"Yeah."
And explaining futures led to something else I had to explain.
"Then you probably don't know options trading either?"
"Options...?"
"Yeah. If futures trade rights to the 'goods' themselves, options trade the right to 'buy or sell goods at a set price.'"
"The right to buy or sell at a set price...?"
Due to this world's standards lacking so many "non-existent concepts,"
I summarized past-life financial products for Torsso.
I wasn't an economics major, so I didn't know the depths,
but I had trading experience and grasped the basics.
What was the result?
......
Let's drop this topic.
"And you could turn these insurance products into tradable financial goods... Originally for risk hedging, but trading insurance on risks without the underlying assets turns them into gambling products predicting risks..."
"Umm, Your Excellency."
"Yeah. Torsso. Something on your mind?"
"Even if the Imperial Family used radical means, turning the Empire into hell..."
"Huh?"
"...No. Nothing."
"Right. And we need to teach economics to the slaves too, so compile it neatly into textbooks."
"Yes, understood."
Capitalism is cold.
So, for the slaves who'll gain independence later,
we should educate them in advance.