Yes. We Are a Newlywed Couple.
Yes. We Are a Newlywed Couple.
Sharon said nothing.
"......."
No. Calling it a lapse of sanity would be more accurate.
Ian walked right past Sharon as she stared blankly into empty space.
Two days later. The weekend.
Word began to spread that Sharon Pierce had vanished from the academy.
[ Sylvia ] : I found out where Miss Sharon went.
[ Ian ] : Where?
[ Sylvia ] : The Northern Ducal Territory. The academy doesn't seem inclined to make much of a fuss anyway, since St. Gregory's Rest Week is almost here.
She must have been deeply shaken.
Understandably so. The worst possible grade evaluation result, followed by a total defeat before the disciplinary committee.
'So she really did go home.'
He'd expected this. In the game, the event occasionally triggered if you failed the so-called "Sharon Pierce Nurturing" route.
Enemy or not, he felt a faint pang of pity. Even in that vast estate, there would be no real place for Sharon to rest. The only spot where Sharon Pierce could lay her head in peace — metaphorically and literally — was on the path of the sword.
Ian set aside his worries about Sharon Pierce, who had already departed and whom he would soon meet again to settle things.
A more urgent problem than Sharon Pierce required his attention right now.
Money.
With incidents exploding daily and training consuming every spare moment, time was melting away at a terrifying pace.
And for Ian, "time" was literally "money."
The debts Pongpongi had racked up playing the sucker.
Every month, an obscene amount of interest was bleeding out.
He needed a large sum even just to pay that off.
An ordinary person might have felt helpless, but Ian was different.
He knew the names of companies that would soon show explosive returns.
The moment had come to actually buy shares in "that company."
[ Ian ] : Oh, and could you recommend a guild for securities trading?
[ Sylvia ] : Stocks? For blue-chip securities, the "Standard & Riches" branch is near the East Gate. For mid-cap tech, the "Pan-Continental Securities Association" is better. That one's by the North Gate.
[ Ian ] : Thanks.
...And so, a leisurely weekend arrived for the first time in a while.
Ian arrived in North Town, the bustling district just outside the academy's North Gate.
— This train will soon arrive at North Town 11th Street Station. The platform area is congested, so please mind your surroundings...
True to the academy's northern district, known for its affordable shops, North Town teemed with crowds and a chaotic variety of stores.
Ian's first stop was a bank.
[ Charles Bankcorp, Lichten Branch ]
Judging by the notice that had been pinned to his dormitory door, this was Pongpongi's primary bank.
As soon as he walked in, a female clerk welcomed him.
"Ian Blackangus, it's been a while. Please, come right this way and have a seat."
The clerk's enthusiastic greeting was only natural.
Someone like Ian qualified as an excellent customer.
Banks in Lichten offered a wide range of loan programs for academy students.
The interest rates, too, were considerably lower than those for the general public.
This was possible thanks to partial guarantees and subsidies from the academy.
Considering the principal on Ian's debts and the interest he paid each month, he'd be classified as an excellent customer even if he wasn't quite a VIP.
"I'd like to repay a portion of the principal and interest."
"...Pardon?"
The clerk visibly startled.
"This is the first time you've ever made a principal repayment. One moment, please..."
Pongpongi had been far too busy throwing money at the heroines to think straight. He would've taken out more loans, never repaid them.
The only mildly surprising detail was that he had at least paid the interest on time.
The clerk scribbled something into a thaumaturgical crystal orb.
The orb soon glowed green.
"Oh? Interest rate adjustment?"
The clerk murmured to herself, flustered.
Then she smiled awkwardly and spoke.
"Congratulations. Due to your recent improved reputation and this partial principal repayment, your interest rate has dropped. Your monthly interest burden has... decreased by about 30 percent."
"Thank you."
Ian flashed a grin.
This really was no different from the game.
All banking decisions were processed through that crystal orb.
And one of the easiest strategies for reducing loan interest was meeting the "reputation boost" and "partial principal repayment" requirements.
He'd come hoping it would work, and since it did, he'd come out ahead.
'...Wait. Do I actually come out ahead on this?'
Wasn't he basically celebrating a lighter burden while paying off someone else's debt?
He shook his head sharply.
Think positive. Stay positive.
Above all, he was going to pay off this monstrous debt soon enough anyway.
"Do you have any remaining business?"
"Yes. I'd like to take out an additional loan."
"...Pardon?"
Flustered by Ian's response, the clerk echoed back in disbelief.
◆
Making money on stocks is simple math.
A hundred thousand won, even multiplied a hundredfold, is only ten million.
But ten million won, multiplied just ten times, is a hundred million.
Without capital in hand, no rate of return matters.
That was why Ian had resolved to take out an additional loan.
Fortunately, he still had credit available, and the amount he could borrow was adequate.
One gold coin.
In modern terms, roughly ten million won.
'This much investment should be appropriate for now.'
Buying too large a stake all at once risked distorting the future.
"Please visit us again, sir."
With that done, he headed for the securities exchange association.
[ Pan-Continental Securities Association ]
The association's building was substantial in scale.
A sleek structure that evoked the feeling of a large art museum.
The staff seated at the information desk eyed him with faint suspicion. They probably thought a young student had wandered in by mistake.
"The exchange floor admission fee is one silver."
A hundred thousand won just to get in. It wasn't that he didn't begrudge the cost, but Ian handed over the money without a word. His pockets were flush for the moment.
The clerk's demeanor shifted instantly.
"Current crowd density is high, so there will be a short wait. Allow me to escort you."
He arrived at the waiting area, guided by the clerk.
Through the glass window, a sweeping view of the main exchange floor stretched out before him.
Tall ceilings gave a sense of spaciousness, and enormous pillars caught his eye.
Papers affixed around the pillars streamed with lines of constantly shifting numbers. In front of them, people frantically shouted orders through phones, celebrated, or despaired.
"We are assisting customers in the order of arrival. Please wait just a moment."
Ian leaned back into the luxurious chair.
It was exactly what you'd expect from an exchange where vast sums changed hands.
Everything seemed to operate on the logic of money.
He had little to agonize over, since the guild he wanted to buy was already decided.
He settled into a comfortable posture and idly scanned the surroundings.
"...?"
Beneath the white lights, translucent golden hair shimmered. Violet eyes that flickered past the edge of a pair of sunglasses. And sharp, feline features.
It was Sylvia Laurent.
She sat at the far end of the waiting area, a wide-brimmed noble lady's hat pulled low, staring blankly off into the distance.
She'd clearly told him she was busy today.
So why was she sitting there?
Ian quietly slipped up beside her.
"...Sylvia?"
"Eek!"
"What brings you here? I thought you said you were swamped with work for the Laurent Trading Company."
"Shh! Keep your voice down. The Raymonds hold a big stake in this place. It'd be mortifying if I got caught here."
She glanced around furtively from behind her stylish yellow polarized sunglasses.
Watching her, his curiosity only grew.
"Don't tell me you came here to see me?"
"Wh-What?! Your narcissism really is something else, isn't it? As if someone as busy as me would ever secretly come all the way here just to see you...!"
Hm. Well, obviously.
When they'd exchanged Kirtalk messages in the morning, she'd given off a vibe that she wanted to meet, so he must've briefly let his imagination run wild.
Still, calling him narcissistic? That stung.
He'd been planning to treat her to tea as thanks for her help before the disciplinary committee, but that could wait.
"Sorry. Guess I got the wrong idea."
"O-of course you did! But you don't need to be sorry... I'm sorry too, um. That narcissistic comment just slipped out because I panicked. Anyway, I really didn't come here to see you, Ian. Some business just came up? Really. You know how sometimes work just pops up out of nowhere...? Truly?"
Sylvia launched into a vigorous self-defense, even using hand gestures. What exactly she was defending against, he wasn't sure...
"Alright."
Even after his reply, Sylvia still eyed him with skepticism.
"I mean it. It's not like I specifically came here because I saw your Kirtalk message. Work just happened to cross my mind, so I came. Okay?"
"I said alright."
Hmph! Sylvia folded her arms, whipped her head around, and muttered.
"But I do have a bit of time to spare now, you know? I could at least show you around."
How amazingly convenient that her schedule had freed up like that.
The timing was almost uncanny.
Ian nodded.
Right on cue, a staff member approached.
"An acquaintance, I see. I'll guide you both together."
The distance from the waiting area to the main exchange floor was considerable.
As they followed the staff member down the corridor, the heat gradually intensified. Faint shouts echoed from a distance.
- Didn't I say this stock would go up today?
- It's going. Going. It's gooooing!
- You son of a—! Delisted? You swore it was a good stock! You said it was a good stooock!
The clerk seemed embarrassed by the noise and asked a question.
"By the way, may I ask the nature of your relationship?"
Ian and Sylvia both froze.
They needed to hide Sylvia's identity, but they hadn't prepared any agreed-upon story.
Fortunately, the clerk leaped to her own conclusion.
"Ah, newlyweds, I presume."
"Yes, that's right."
A delayed answer in a moment like this only invites unnecessary suspicion.
Ian seized the opportunity.
"Heh?"
Sylvia, meanwhile, made a bizarre sound.
Hmm. She wasn't normally this slow on the uptake. Why was she acting like this? Her earlobes had gone red, too. Did she have a fever?
The clerk cast a vaguely suspicious look their way.
Ian put on a warmth he didn't possess and asked Sylvia a question.
"Are you alright, dear?"
"Heeng."
Sylvia collapsed right where she stood.
Evidently, her legs had given out.