Chapter 112

Chapter 112

About 2 weeks ago.

Emilia Raymond’s office.

Emilia was savoring the pleasant smell of money permeating from the Academy.

“The progress of our plans is currently smooth. The conflict between the cult and the autonomous government is escalating.”

Upon hearing her subordinate’s report, Emilia tapped her fingers on the table.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The table, made of fine wood, responded with a soft resonance. However, she wasn’t fond of the texture of the wood. Each time she tapped her fingers, its slight roughness bothered her.

“Please ensure the conflict continues. We must expand our influence as much as possible by exploiting the blind spots.”

“Yes.”

Lichten Academy.

It was like a pot of money in itself.

That’s how Emilia Raymond saw it.

She began to engulf Lichten from its darker corners.Ne/w novel chapters are published at novelhall.com

Capturing professors to expand influence, ultimately even taking control of the board of directors.

Seizing Lichten Academy.

That was Emilia Raymond’s primary goal.

Currently, the plan seemed to be sailing smoothly.

However.

“...”

Someone was bothering her.

Since the first time she saw him, constantly.

Ian Blackangers.

That’s what it boiled down to.

“... Come to think of it, what about that guild we were concerned about last time? How’s their stock doing?”

“Are you referring to EcoMana?”

“Yes.”

“As you mentioned, we’re currently selling off all the shares.”

“Selling off aggressively, I presume?”

“Yes. We’re dividing and selling off the shares to maximize the impact on the stock price, just as you instructed.”

“We should be able to push down over thirty percent.”

“Yes. Unless something unexpected happens. However... if there’s unexpectedly good news, given our short positions, we’ll have to bear some losses... Are you okay with that?”

“Mr. Kyle.”

“Yes.”

“Ever dabbled in stocks? You’d be rich if good news spreads.”

“I-I apologize.”

“Don’t worry and handle it.”

◆

A week passed.

Silvia’s office.

“... Actually, that’s the thing. The stock has been plummeting until recently.”

Silvia said, her complexion turning pale.

“Plummeting?”

“Yes.”

“How much did it drop?”

“About 35%. That was the last I checked, three days ago.”

“Hmm.”

Ian rubbed his chin.

Wasn’t the investment one gold?

From Ian’s current standpoint, it was a considerable sum, but not enough to be a major problem if forgotten about.

Just skip a meal or two a day.

“So, Ian, you mentioned before heading north, if it drops, you’d like to borrow under your name and keep buying.”

... Ah, right.

He requested Silvia to buy at every dip.

That was Ian’s request to Silvia.

“But it shouldn’t be too much, right?”

Anyway, Ian was already halfway detached.

Even if a loan was taken out in his name, it might only amount to around 0.5 gold.

“W-Well.”

Ian’s eyes softened as Silvia leaned against him naturally.

She casually linked her arms.

-It’s all an act. Remember when we pretended to be newlyweds here?

Her cheeks blushed slightly as she whispered.

“Are you here to check on the stock you purchased back then? What kind of stock was it again? Come this way for now.”

The staff’s attitude was quite arrogant.

Well, it was understandable since everyone ignored his recommendations back then.

Well, customers forgetting what they bought was normal for this level of employee.

As they walked through the corridor into the exchange.

Through the window, Ian noticed the mana-related stocks tinted in blue in the distance. There were stories about all related stocks dropping.

Ian asked the staff member.

“I remember you recommended mana-related stocks when we were here last time. Seems like they’re not doing well these days?”

“Oh. Um, well. It was a decent sector back then.”

The employee ended vaguely, exaggerating his tone.

“Well, rather! Mana is all the rage now. Remember the incident with the North Trans-Mountain Train stopping recently?”

“Yes. It was in the news not long ago.”

“It’s been on the rise ever since. If one had invested in this from the start, they’d be rich in no time. Not many people like that, though. They’re truly skilled.”

“Is it that significant?”

“As a guest, you probably wouldn’t know much if it was your first time buying back then.”

Another employee interjected.

“Even just looking at EcoMana, one of the best-performing mana-related stocks recently, it’s staggering.”

Silvia, who had been concentrating on the sensation of her arms around Ian, blurted out without thinking.

“...EcoMana?”

“Yes, ma’am. What’s interesting about this stock is that it’s tripled three times and doubled once in the last four trading days.”

“W-what? So, that means...”

Silvia’s eyes widened as she tapped her temple.

Seeing her widened eyes, the employee chuckled.

“Hard to believe, isn’t it? It’s risen by more than 60 times. If you played this stock well, it could go even further.”

The employee, as if he had become a shareholder of EcoMana, was in high spirits.

“Anyway. Well. This is the realm of the experts after all. By the way, sir. What did you buy last time? Let me check the returns for you.”

The employee’s expression as he asked this had a faint smirk.

Checking the stocks Ian had bought while ignoring his recommendations, as if to see how much they had risen.

Ian replied calmly.

“...EcoMana.”

“...Yes?”

“The stocks I bought last time were EcoMana.”

Upon arriving at the main stock exchange, the employee’s legs froze in place.

Above his head, a terminal flashed with the message [EcoMana, up 10% today].

“How much did you buy it for back then, sir?”

“I bought it for one gold. I think I bought more, so it’s around three gold now.”

“Ah, um...”

The employee was tongue-tied again, like a cat that had eaten the cream.

Ian asked him.

“Could you check my balance now?”

“Oh... Yes, sir. Please wait a moment.”

Taking Ian’s membership card, the employee scanned it on the terminal and checked the numbers.

—Ah!

A death like a scream.

He returned, almost as if he had seen a ghost.

“Your current balance is... 180 gold, sir.”

Combining Silvia’s additional investment amount with the original three gold, now evaluated at 180 gold.

A return rate of more than 60 times.

“Well, then. I’ll sell half for now.”

The employee, who should have mumbled something like ‘what the h*ll’, silently went to get the cheque.

“H-here you go, sir.”

Ian lowered his hand.

90 gold.