Chapter 307: Flashing East and West (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 307: Flashing East and West (2)
This was already the second time.
Following his encounter with Dmitry, this cold treatment left Hoffman more dumbfounded than angry.
He turned around.
Glaring back at the Valentino mansion, he spat out his words.
"How dare they treat me like this."
Count Fabius.
Sharing a table with him had been no coincidence.
At first, he hadn't thought much of it, accepting Marquis Valentino's explanation. But during the conversation, he had caught Valentino and Fabius exchanging glances. That was clear proof. Roman Dmitry had demanded they sever ties with the Golden Bank, and absurdly enough, Marquis Valentino had accepted the proposal.
He couldn't understand it.
What exactly was a merchant?
They were people who pursued transactions based on clear profits rather than mere human relationships.
No matter how deeply rooted the Valentino family was in the Cairo Kingdom, strengthening their relationship with the Golden Bank at this juncture would have guaranteed their future in one way or another. The Golden Bank was a 'mere organization' capable of casually putting up one million gold as a ransom. Weighing the interests as a merchant, rejecting the Golden Bank to hold hands with Dmitry was by no means a practical choice.
Suddenly, rumors about Dmitry came to mind.
People often said that the bond between Roman Dmitry and his associates was as solid as an iron fortress.
‘Targeting Marquis Valentino from the start might have been my mistake. From the rebellion in Cairo to the total war with Kronos, Marquis Valentino and Roman Dmitry must have forged a significant bond during those events. Marquis Valentino has grown old, too... to sell out the future of his family for such a pathetic bond.’
Hoffman did not know the truth.
It wasn't because of any deep bond, but largely because of Valentino's collector's greed to possess a sword forged by Roman Dmitry.
In any case, it didn't matter now.
His next destination was one where he absolutely could not fail.
‘I will return to Valhalla.’
The Valhalla Empire.
That was where the headquarters of the Golden Bank was located.
* * *
It was an inefficient route.
If he had sought out Count Muriel from the beginning, he could have secured an ally first and then pressured Marquis Valentino.
He put his regrets behind him.
However, standing behind Count Muriel, whom he finally met, he spotted someone who made him doubt his own eyes.
"We meet again here."
A sly smirk.
At this warm, friendly attitude that made it seem as if they were on great terms, Hoffman's face couldn't help but contort. It was Count Fabius. He had clearly scheduled an appointment with Count Muriel immediately after leaving the Valentino estate, yet Fabius had arrived at the meeting place one step ahead of him once again.
Hoffman asked, "Why is that man here?"
"He had a prior appointment. Please, come this way. I will guide you to another drawing room."
He felt insulted.
Under Count Fabius's scanning gaze, Hoffman followed Count Muriel.
A prior appointment was something he couldn't help.
Still, Count Muriel showed a more sensible reaction than Valentino, who had openly suggested sharing a table with Fabius, so Hoffman was able to quickly suppress his irritation. Count Fabius's intention was obvious. Just as he had persuaded Marquis Valentino, he must have demanded that Count Muriel sever ties with the Golden Bank.
Fat chance.
The Muriel family could never do that.
Hoffman spoke.
"How is your father doing?"
"He is in excellent health, enough to return to active duty right away. He actually found retirement rather dull, so lately he's been tending to a vegetable garden every day. Ah, my father asked me to convey his deep gratitude for the gift you sent, Lord Hoffman. Wherever did you find such a rare herb?"
"There is nothing in this world that money cannot buy. I made a special effort for someone so precious to us, hahaha."
The atmosphere was warm and harmonious.
The Muriel family and the Golden Bank.
As forces rooted in the same Valhalla, they had shared a connection since the previous generation. Naturally interacting through this ancestral bond, they had become close enough to visit and look after each other whenever there was a special occasion.
Therefore, he did not rush to persuade the Muriel family.
They were not pro-Dmitry like Cairo or Hector, and there was no reason for a family of the Valhalla Empire to side with Dmitry at the cost of rejecting a request from the Golden Bank. So, they exchanged trivial small talk for a while. In Hoffman's relaxed demeanor, chatting as if he were in his own living room, one could clearly see his confidence in persuading Muriel.
Quite some time passed.
Around the time the tea ran dry, Hoffman broached the subject.
"The reason I have sought out the Muriel family is because of Roman Dmitry."
"...I see."
"Roman Dmitry, that fellow has gone completely mad. Ever since he defeated the Kronos Empire, he seems to think he's above the heavens. He held a sword to my throat and threatened me when I went to him for a transaction. Does this make any sense? As the president of the Golden Bank, I have resolved not to overlook this matter."
His voice grew heated.
The more he spoke, the more the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of Roman Dmitry dominated his mind.
"From now on, the Golden Bank intends to block all transactions related to Dmitry and isolate them economically. Count Muriel, I hear you trade a large amount of Dmitry-made steel. Please cease your transactions with them. I am not asking this unilaterally. If you accept the Golden Bank's proposal, we will supply you with steel at a lower price than theirs. Furthermore, we will completely waive the interest on the money you have borrowed through us."
It was an extraordinary offer.
Economic isolation.
The Muriel family was just the beginning.
By cutting off transactions one by one and letting the inventory of their main product, steel, pile up, he planned to tear them down step by step.
He was filled with ecstasy.
Roman Dmitry.
Those who knew nothing but the sword were fools who needed to be crushed by financial power to realize reality.
However,
"...I am sorry, but I do not think I can accept your request, Lord Hoffman."
Count Muriel's refusal.
That was an unexpected turn of events.
* * *
Hoffman's eyes twitched.
In the chilling atmosphere, Count Muriel calmly stated his position.
"I would also like to take your side if possible, Lord Hoffman. But are we not 'merchants'? Considering our practical benefits as merchants, it is impossible to sever ties with Dmitry."
"...Please explain so that I can understand. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to reconsider our ancestral connection."
"Very well."
Count Muriel took a deep breath.
Ever since Hoffman had requested a meeting, he had anticipated an uncomfortable situation.
"First of all, Dmitry's steel is irreplaceable. The reason the Muriel family goes all the way to Dmitry to procure steel is because Dmitry-made steel is the best on the continent. You know this well, Lord Hoffman. Would the warriors of the Valhalla Empire want to buy low-quality steel? No matter what alternative goods we try to replace it with, if we do not supply Dmitry-made steel, it will be impossible to monopolize the steel market as we did before. That is the first reason."
It was a valid point.
Because Dmitry-made steel was evaluated as the finest quality, the Dmitry family was able to amass such wealth.
But it shouldn't have been to the extent of giving up their relationship with the Golden Bank.
While they only traded a single item—steel—with Dmitry, the Golden Bank exerted significant influence across a wide variety of sectors. The Muriel family was a merchant family. They ran various businesses besides steel, and a ruptured relationship with the Golden Bank would result in immense damage to them.
The steel industry?
It wasn't important enough to bet their future on.
Hoffman still wore a look of incomprehension.
"Actually, the second reason is the most important. Valhalla is a nation of warriors. The people who work for Muriel are also hot-blooded warriors, and Roman Dmitry recently sparked a swordsmanship revolution through his 'Swordsmanship Presentation'."
During his prior appointment, Count Fabius hadn't said much.
He had merely given a light explanation of what kind of impact severing ties with Dmitry would have on the Muriel family's future.
"The Dmitry family is the force leading the swordsmanship revolution. They publicly revealed the concept of the 'Dantian' and have stated that they will share a certain amount of information with friendly factions. The tides of the times are changing. With Roman Dmitry leading this era, what do you think will happen if the Muriel family turns its back on Dmitry? The warriors of Valhalla will refuse to work for us. While others forge ahead, if we cling solely to Alexander's outdated method of utilizing aura, the Muriel family will inevitably regress. You know very well that here in Valhalla, the strength of the warriors a family possesses resolves all conflicts, do you not?"
Just as he said, practical military force was crucial.
If a conflict broke out in Valhalla and they were still using Alexander's aura method, the outcome was obvious.
Dmitry was a pioneer.
Even if they couldn't ride the coattails of those surging forward, choosing to reject them first was a choice they simply could not make.
Kronos and Valhalla.
The two were different.
While the Emperor's dominance was absolute in Kronos, Valhalla was still a country that held a romanticism for strength.
Count Muriel's attitude changed.
He pleaded earnestly, appealing to emotion with a desperate voice.
"Lord Hoffman. Forcing us to choose between the two is far too cruel. Even if only for the sake of our ancestral connection, please understand the Muriel family's circumstances."
* * *
The conversation had broken down.
Having failed to persuade Count Muriel, Hoffman felt he finally understood why Roman Dmitry had been so confident.
‘So you were relying on martial arts.’
The swordsmanship revolution.
Roman Dmitry held an intangible power in his hands.
The fact that the aura swordsmen currently leading the continent wished to learn Dmitry's 'martial arts' was a domain that could not be suppressed by the Golden Bank's gold coins alone.
This was especially true for Valhalla.
Hoffman had thought persuading someone from Valhalla would be easy, but when it came to a matter involving martial arts, Count Muriel refused to compromise.
Roman Dmitry.
He was a formidable fellow.
He had never seen anyone cross the Golden Bank and dominate the situation like this.
However,
‘Things will not go entirely your way.’
The president of the Golden Bank.
Or, the man called the Poisonous Snake.
Hoffman did not know how to give up.
Because he would use any means necessary to achieve his goals, people called him the Poisonous Snake.
Roman Dmitry was a difficult opponent who could not be dealt with through money.
Considering that even the Kronos Empire had struggled against him in the first place, it had been a mistake to think he could be pressured from the start.
But that didn't mean everyone in the world was like Roman Dmitry.
If Marquis Valentino shared a close bond with him, and Count Muriel could not go against the sentiment of Valhalla, the situation would be different for the last remaining tycoon.
‘Vincent, the tycoon of the Kingdom Alliance, is a man of my own kind. No matter how much Roman Dmitry leads the swordsmanship revolution, Vincent values the gold piled before his eyes above all else.’
Right now, Hoffman was furious.
He was insanely irritated.
Usually, things went the Golden Bank's way without much effort, but these continuous variables were grating on his nerves.
This matter could not be passed over lightly.
If he, the president of the Golden Bank, had been threatened into spitting out one million gold and failed to exact any retribution, it would surely set a laughable precedent.
Without fail, he wanted to deal a blow to the steel industry.
Hoffman's venom finally reached its peak.
‘From now on, I will show you exactly what overwhelming wealth looks like.’
His final destination.
In Frank of the Kingdom Alliance, he would put an end to this irritating situation.
* * *
There is a saying that the first meeting is a coincidence.
The second meeting is fate.
And the third meeting is destiny.
Those words, which he would normally take in stride, thoroughly grated on Hoffman's nerves as he entered Viscount Vincent's drawing room.
"Hahaha, we meet again?"
Count Fabius.
The Raccoon of Cairo welcomed Hoffman with a mischievous grin.