Interlude (1) - The Golden Bank
Finance is the industry that governs the flow of capital. But in this medieval land, finance isn't an industry. It's simply a vile moneylending racket.
In other words.
It's one of the most despised professions.
One primarily practiced by other races.
“Please, just return the principal.”
“The principal?”
“The value of the spoils Her Majesty seized from the Black Tyrant exactly matches the principal. Hand those over, and I will consider this transaction settled.”
In this medieval land, the bankruptcy of kings and great lords is commonplace, and creditors' rights receive no protection. That is why the Golden Bank maintains an army of combat golems and mercenaries to seize territories, rights, and sometimes even people.
But.
Such methods held no meaning against a mage who had bound a dragon as his vassal.
“Aldanes. Mirkal.”
““Yes, Master.””
“Leave us.”
He dismissed his disciples first. What was about to unfold belonged to the world of adults. It was not something to show growing sprouts.
“What benefit would there be in repaying the principal?”
“…?!”
“Even if Belladia declares bankruptcy, you have no means to respond. Were you planning to bring your combat golems again and threaten us like before?”
The Financial King realized that the Grey Sage had never intended to repay the funds from the moment he borrowed them. It was a tremendous blunder. From the very beginning, the man must have orchestrated the entire board with this outcome in mind...
“Young mage.”
However.
He was a banker with two hundred years of experience.
He had dealt with powerhouses against whom brute force held no sway.
“I wish to maintain a good relationship with you.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Let’s call it advice.”
It was most definitely a threat.
He would overlook it once.
After all, the loan had been put to excellent use.
“But since you are a wise mage, you must already know. That in this world, there are many who are wiser and more powerful than you...”
He would overlook it twice.
Because the other party had every right to be angry.
“You asked me for justification to repay the debt you owe.”
The dwarf in the tailored suit glared at him with steely eyes. Financial King Dagren was the Grand Elder of the Gold Dwarves who ruled Goldenhold. His position was vastly different from that of an ordinary banker who would have to grovel and beg for even partial repayment when a human king declared bankruptcy.
“First. Dwarves do not forget grudges.”
“Is that a threat?”
“I am stating a principle.”
He raised a finger.
“Second. The Harrington dynasty borrowed funds upon their honor. If the debt is not repaid, no one will ever trust the promises of the Harrington dynasty again.”
His middle finger rose.
“Third. While I lack the martial power to defeat you, I possess the financial resources to create many who will despise you. This is the justification for why you must repay every single coin of the principal you borrowed.”
The Financial King finished his answer.
“Then it is my turn to respond.”
“I look forward to how wise an answer you will provide.”
Tellorian also raised his fingers.
“First. For the time being, no one will wish to make an enemy of me. Because no one can yet gauge the extent of my power.”
The Queenmaker who had elevated a count’s house to a royal dynasty.
The Archmage of the raid party that slew Balor.
The mage who had bound a Black Dragon as his vassal.
These were the achievements he had accomplished in merely four years since revealing himself.
“Second. The Golden Bank has always pursued nothing but profit, and thus has no friends. Therefore, there is no one who will sympathize with your misfortune. Though there will be a great many who will cheer for your downfall.”
The civilized races of every nation were already holding festivals upon hearing that the mountain orcs had been annihilated. They were wild with enthusiasm for the names of the Warrior Queen and the Grey Sage. If those same people learned that the hated loan sharks had been cheated of their money?
Everyone would cheer.
Declaring that justice had been served.
“Third. If I kill everyone, no grudges will remain.”
“…What?”
“You and your clan have earned the hatred of countless debtors, yet you never finished them off. That was a grave mistake.”
Tap. Tap.
He rapped the desk.
“I will not repeat the same error.”
“Just you wa──”
Dagren hurriedly pulled out a teleportation scroll. But a figure burst from the shadows like lightning, drawing a crescent of sword light, and Dagren was sliced into dozens of pieces along with the scroll.
“Hmph.”
Shing!
Glorinmar sheathed her elven curved blade at her waist. The strike had been so fast that not a single drop of blood clung to the blade.
“Finally dead! You piece of trash! Ptui!”
Glorinmar spat on the fallen Dagren, then completely dismembered the corpse and tossed the pieces to the eagles. With no body left, resurrection would be impossible.
“Thank you for waiting, Ambassador Glorinmar.”
“I am truly grateful for the opportunity to exact revenge. With this, my kin will be that much safer.”
Dagren had been listed on the first page of the kill list compiled by the Eternal Court. He stood at the very center of the high elf slave trade network.
“The Grey Sage never actually met the bastard. We ambushed and killed him on the road before he could even enter the tower.”
He nodded.
Politics and assassination were the specialties of high elves.
After living so long, that was all they had learned.
“Will there be no political backlash?”
“Those dung-brush bastards won’t want to escalate this incident either. It’s not as if we elves are the only ones who must keep an eye on the Empire.”
Currently, the high elves and dwarves had joined the Northern Alliance under the shared interest of checking the Empire. The elder races had united to stand against the younger ones.
“Then I shall trust the Eternal Court to handle the political repercussions of the events to come.”
He nodded.
“Leave it to us.”
Dagren’s death would send massive ripples through the continent’s diplomatic circles. But the high elves would bury it. The influence they wielded from the shadows was far greater than what appeared on the surface.
‘Above all, the Gold Dwarves have an exceptionally bad reputation even among their own kind. Ordinary dwarves will blindly help their kin no matter what, but Gold Dwarves always calculate their abacus first.’
Therefore, other dwarves would weigh the strategic gains first even if their Grand Elder was assassinated in broad daylight. After all, that was exactly how the Gold Dwarves had always behaved.
“Belladia. Distribute the proclamation I prepared.”
“…Are you truly going to issue this?”
Belladia read the proclamation Tellorian had written and spoke in a worried tone. She looked delighted. From her perspective, it was a situation where losing one’s reason would be perfectly understandable, yet she was still prioritizing rational judgment.
Specimen:Belladia Harrington
Learned Trait:‘Composure’
Research Clues:7/10
Experience +10
Legacy Points +1
Until Level 39:10/100
Legacy Points:19
“The situation may spiral beyond our control.”
“This time, the dwarves need to learn their lesson too.”
If he were to confess a secret, he rather liked other races. If the planet Sinear ever became a world belonging solely to humans, it would be terribly depressing.
“If you want to do business on someone else’s land, you should at least show humility and read the room. Whether you’re human or dwarf.”
But he had no intention of giving them special treatment. Especially not to those who acted arrogantly without even understanding the situation.
I, Belladia the First, ruler of the Essil Kingdom by the support of the noble houses, hereby inform my loyal subjects of grave tidings.
The Financial King Dagren has issued the following threat against the Grey Sage Tellorian. There are countless wealthy perverts willing to pay a fortune to claim the virginity of the Warrior Queen… (omitted)
Therefore, in order to restore the sanctity of royal authority and the dignity of the kingdom, I hereby declare war upon Goldenhold.
This was medieval land.
An insult was more than enough justification for war.
“How dare those mere merchants!”
“How dare those dwarf dung-brushes!”
“““Kill them all!”””
Enraged mobs swarmed toward the dwarf residential districts in droves. The clever dwarves saved their lives by explaining that they were not Gold Dwarves and that the mob could take whatever goods they wanted, but...
“Shut up! If you borrowed money, you should obviously pay it back!”
“If you don’t get lost right now, I’ll kill you!”
The stubborn dwarves who refused to yield were all massacred. Countless forges were destroyed and warehouses looted. The Gold Dwarves in particular met their ends with their limbs torn off while still alive.
“This is a windfall!”
The lords of each region seized workshops and assets in exchange for protecting the dwarves. Moreover, when Belladia called for an expeditionary force against Goldenhold, every lord judged that both justification and profit were clear and flocked to join.
“Oho! We’re striking that thorn in our side, the Golden Bank?!”
“If we destroy Goldenhold, our debts will vanish too!”
“Those bastards who sold my sister! I’ll kill them all for you!”
“A fight? Count me in!”
It wasn’t only Essil. Everyone who had any motive to destroy the Gold Dwarves joined Belladia’s army. The force that had begun with twenty thousand instantly swelled to forty thousand and soon reached a hundred thousand. The great army crushed every obstacle in its path as it marched on Goldenhold.
“Come, if you dare.”
“…”
But the great army halted its advance.
Blocked by a single man standing on the bridge.
“I am Naelam-Dar-Lakard, the Mountain King who represents the twelve dwarf clans.”
The Dwarf King was an exceptionally tall man (for a dwarf). He was armed with weapons even the gods would covet, and he was a warrior capable of displaying martial prowess akin to magic with those very weapons. A superhuman who had trained for hundreds of years and far surpassed the limits of mortality.
“You may call me Nelam.”
“…”
“That is, if any among you possess the courage to challenge me as a true warrior! Hahaha!”
Like many ancient races, the dwarves were in decline. But that was only on a racial scale. Their cities remained incredibly wealthy, and their warriors were still tremendously powerful.
“Is there no one?”
“…”
That was why the man called the King of Dwarves possessed strength befitting his title. A level of power that humans, who lived less than a hundred years, could never hope to overcome.
“It is an honor to meet you, King of the Mountains.”
“Hm?”
When the Warrior Queen stepped forward, the Mountain King’s thunderous gaze softened. In his eyes, she was little more than a child—a human of an age that barely counted.
“The Queen of Essil sends her regards to the King of the Mountains. Yet why do you stand in the way of my rightful vengeance?”
Belladia was not wearing armor. To others, it looked as if she had rushed forward without time to don it, but in truth she had come out unarmed. It was to prevent the unfortunate event of the Mountain King immediately swinging his hammer at her.
‘Look at this. Quite the cunning little brat.’
Mountain King Nelam was a ruler who had reigned for a very long time. Thanks to that, he had gained the insight to see through a person’s true nature with a single glance.
‘…No, it’s worse. A beast is pretending to be human. How is something like this even possible?’
A cruel beast was acting like an exemplary monarch. It was as bizarre as the rumor that a rock troll had become a monk.
“Before we speak, there is something I wish to ask.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“Who is your master?”
He wanted to have a conversation.
With the miraculous tamer who had taught a beast how to live.