Episode 884 Sinners (4)
There are two major achievements made by the three major banks of the continent.
The first is the integration of continental currencies.
Until just a few hundred years ago, every country had its own currency, and the currency of some powerful nations was designated as the international standard… However,after a long period of persuasion and persistent efforts led by the three major banks, the world’s currency unit was unified into a new currency called the ‘elk’.
The second is money circulation.
The three major banks of the continent completely overhauled the market, where currency transactions took place using gold, silver, and copper coins, through the invention of elk paper.It became an era where people carried light bundles of paper instead of heavy metal currency.
Furthermore, they extensively established a savings system, building and building financial trust so that even ordinary people could entrust their funds with confidence.
The bank, having built a mountain by gathering tiny specks in this way, circulated funds across the continent through investments and connected the interests of this world into one.
A massive investment!But it’s someone else’s money!
It was a natural progression for magical groups requiring massive funds, such as magic towers, and especially Artisan Magic Tower, to merge with the three major banks.The same was true for nations facing social stability emergencies after suffering unexpected national disasters.
With this, the bank became the center of the business world.
Even though they disapproved of the banks’ money games, no one could define them as enemies. For the moment the banks collapsed, the continental economy would be shattered.The war of the Transcendents is not the only thing that destroys society to its very foundations.
“It was the most difficult and rewarding task of my life. I had to lead the continent’s three major banks and persuade the world without drawing attention to myself, and I had to instill the mission of a bank president in each of them at every turn… Even though I selected the right people, there were more than a few who went astray, blinded by greed. And even when I placed the proper people in the positions, it was still a problem.”
The very person who painted that massive picture was the war merchant, Reginalf.
“After all, a bank president I can truly trust only lives for a few decades. Still, the current third presidents are the ones fulfilling their mission the best. That is truly a relief.”
I finally understood how the contents of the World Conference had reached the ears of the sinners so quickly, and what the source of the intelligence power they had built was.Overwhelming financial power that no single force, including Eon, could stand against… Since the founding of the three major banks, Reginalf had been behind every bank president.
Verden said.
“You said earlier that you poured everything you had into the Continental Alliance. Where did you get the funds to establish Magnus Bank?”
Among the three major banks, Magnus Bank was the first to be established. In an era when the concept of a bank did not exist clearly, it would have been impossible to operate it with ordinary funds.This was especially true given that, in addition to the first Necromancer, other sinners had not yet awakened.
“As expected of a great merchant… is he the Golden Sinner?”
The war merchant traded weapons with the old king, and the great merchant managed the old king’s funds. Since Reginalf was the former, the circumstances suggested that the Golden Sinner must be the latter.
That is the correct answer.
Reginalf agreed.
“I spent everything I had in the war fought against the ancient king. The first Necromancer also left his entire legacy to the Darkwarton Magic Tower. But the other two did not. The Sinner of a Fallen Kingdom and the Sinner of Gold. Since I am currently in business with the Sinner of Gold in Eon, you must know well just how formidable his resourcefulness and wealth are.”
As soon as the Golden Sinner woke up, he gave the ancient accessories and jewels from a nearby warehouse to Verden, and through him, he has seized control of the continent’s high society.Despite the chaos caused by the spread of the Bloodcrying Plague, the Golden Sinner has amassed a fortune.
“The Golden Sinner must have regained some of his memory by now. Have you spoken to him?”“Yes, I have.”
Verden pictured the golden-glowing skeleton twitching its jawbone.
“He said he recalled the fact that his wife and child had been sacrificed to the former king. That his wife’s name was ‘Dienia,’ and her nickname was ‘Dyna.’ He didn’t seem to remember the minute details, but his anger and hatred were real.”
Dyna Bank and Dyna.
Naturally, there was no way their names were the same by mere coincidence.
“I understand the mindset behind your choice of name, but as long as the Servants of the Old King are alive, the First Necromancer’s scheme could have been discovered. Was it really necessary to take such a risk?”“The Golden Sinner had as many enemies as the wealth he had stockpiled in his warehouse. A former black market dealer, he preferred to use aliases like me; while his name solidified as the merchant ‘Maxis,’ he kept strictly silent about his family. It was his only weakness. So, there is no way the Servants of the Old King, who had no interest in people like us to begin with, would remember him. They likely have never even heard of him.”“It seems you have quite a deep connection with the Golden Sinner’s family. Were you close before?”“We once banded together to survive at the bottom. Time passed, and after we had each found our own places, we reunited as collaborators of the former king some fifteen years later. We kept in touch quite a bit back then. It was truly our prime before the former king revealed his true colors, you see… Later, when Daienia left the Golden Sinners with her child—no, her child—I even arranged a place for her to stay.”“…?”
Adrian narrowed his eyebrows and glared with contempt.
Reginalf flinched.
“Ah, please do not misunderstand. I sincerely never intended to steal a friend’s family. I merely granted Dienia’s request. At the time, it was difficult for me to ignore her situation. In any case, there were such unavoidable circumstances……. To get back to the main point.”
Reginalf continued speaking.
“The wealth the Golden Sinner left behind for the future was my foundation. But his true legacy lies elsewhere.”“That must be the golden path.”
A golden path shall open to the one who gathers the three golden bones.
The inscription on the golden skeleton that sealed the Golden Sinner. The first Necromancer had indirectly mentioned that what lay at the end of that path was the Golden Vigo.
Adrian asked.
“What on earth is in this place called the Golden Vigo that makes you act so high and mighty? Did you bring some magnificent ancient artifact here?”“That is not my place to answer.”
Everyone’s gaze followed Reginalf’s head to one spot. Castian, having finished his tea before anyone realized it, set down his metal cup.
“The treasury of the Xerion Empire lies dormant in the Golden Vault.”“Treasury? Then the ancient king’s… why is that there?”
Castian Linigea Tain Xerion───The sinner of a fallen kingdom answered.
It is because I embezzled it.
* * *
“As the Xerion Empire fell due to the Seal of the Old King, everything it possessed, including territory and treasures, was divided among the Continental Alliance. However, aligning myself with the will of the First Necromancer, I had previously secretly retrieved the most important items from the Imperial Palace with the Golden Sinner and hidden them in a separate location. It was there that the First Necromancer provided me with great assistance.”
[I never imagined my first theft would be that big.]
Even if the Xerion Empire has become an ownerless mountain with the disappearance of the old king… … Invadingthe capital of the empire was not enough, but sifting through and taking out the treasures of the old king and his servants is not something just anyone can do.
At the very least, someone who knows the internal affairs of the empire and the structure of the imperial city in detail would be needed.
His demeanor and name, which naturally evoked royalty, accurately pointed to Castian’s true identity. He was the only person to personally convey to the Continental Alliance the fact that the former king was undergoing a ritual of immortality.
Prince Xerion, the Second Prince.
Akand’s only younger sibling.
A blood relative of the ancient king sits before Verden and Adrian as a sinner, without having become undead, unlike the others.
“You may be wondering how I am able to live and breathe in this era. After all, even if life were extended, 800 years is an incredibly long time. Especially for me, who was merely a human being rather than a transcendent being. I will explain this in due time.”
Castian straightened his back.
“After the War of the Transcendents came to an end, an intractable chaos remained. How to distribute the spoils, how to respond as a scarred humanity when pressured by the Dwarves, Beastmen, and Elves, with whom to cooperate, and which nation has been weakened the most….”
War brought about another war.
“International politics has scattered the Continental Alliance, which had become one before the Old King. In the midst of this, it was clear that if the treasury of the Xerion Empire were to be revealed to the world, the continent would once again shed blood.”“…….”“Therefore, we decided to use the treasures possessed by the Old King when the aftermath of the War of the Transcendents had completely subsided, when the Empire’s treasury was desperately needed, and when the Old King’s resurrection was carried out. From this point on, the sinners embraced their respective missions. At that moment, the Golden Sinner volunteered to be the ‘Gatekeeper.’”
The Golden Sinner was in charge of a massive seal that could not open the Golden Path without his own existence, or even another sinner.The principle of the seal was identical to the treasure vault shown to Verden, and Andes personally designed the mechanism connecting existence and the seal.
“Thus, the Golden Vault is being safely protected even at this very moment. However, there is one feature that distinguishes this vault from other safes.”“A difference?”“It is that it is one-way. You cannot take what is stored inside the vault out, but you can store what is outside inside. It is perfect for hiding something for the long term.”
Reginalf asserted.
“For example, the weapons I’ve gathered.”
For a very long time, Reginalf collected weapons and artifacts from all over the continent that had virtually no known origin.He went to great lengths to ensure no one could track him down, even going so far as to create a market specifically for him.
Merchants who collected and sold weapons, or merchants who acquired weapons cheaply and supplied them elsewhere… …A significant portion of these weapons fell into Reginalf’s hands.Consequently, the two merchants had the same customers, but no one noticed this fact.
Adrian opened his eyes a little.
“Surely, even the merchant guild known as the Path of Sinners is not a place your influence has reached?”“What kind of guild is it?”“Yes, my lord. I do not know the details, but… I have heard that it is a guild that buys weapons of unclear origin or those that are difficult to dispose of.”
City, Downt.
They secured a new recruit of Beldoran, Gluttony’s third fang, and the following words were exchanged at the place where Sandir Faen first encountered him.
My role is to act as that middleman. I receive weapons and artifacts from the Western Continent that are of unclear origin or difficult to dispose of from those who wish to sell them, and then I find customers to pass them on. Essentially, I am what you would call a distributor. However… there is a bit of legal controversy involved here.
“So, where do the weapons go?”
───I don’t really know either. Ah, wait. Seriously. Please loosen your grip. I really don’t know anything properly. I’m just a middleman, so what’s the use of knowing the rest? Still, if I were to guess, they go all over the continent. They might go to ownerless lands, or to other trading companies.
The trading company you mainly do business with is.
There are several places, but the two with the biggest hands are ‘The Path of Sinners’ and ‘Brant Trading Company’. The former has a unique name, doesn’t it? I have no idea who founded it or when, but there are rumors that it has an enormous amount of money. These trading companies occasionally appear periodically.
It was a conversation between Adrian and a merchant in the underground shopping mall while searching for the name under which a Gluttony executive was hiding.
When Adrian mentioned the prisoners’ route, Reginalf gave an awkward smile.
“I suppose it was indeed a name too blatant to those in the know. To those who don’t know, it simply remains a mystery, so it doesn’t really matter.”“As such, the Golden Vault stores not only the treasures of the Xerion Empire but also numerous weapons gathered by the Sinner of Death.”
Castian rummaged through the nape of his neck, took off his necklace, and placed it on the table.A golden key hung from the tough leather strap.
The Golden Sinner, who is gradually becoming aware of his past, lacks two things. One is memory, and the other is the key to unlocking the Golden Path. If you hand this to him, the moment his memory is revived, it will lead you to the Golden Vizier.
The prisoners had come to meet Verden to deliver the key to the Golden Treasury.This meant entrusting Verden with a grand plan spanning 800 years.Although he had already heard about it from Andes, the weight of it was considerable.
“…….”
Verden was lost in thought, then reached out his hand toward the golden key.
Before that.
Castian quietly pulled the key back.
“Isn’t there something to verify?”“Is there anything else left to verify?”“Because, with this, we are colleagues.”
A reddish tint ran through the eyes looking at Verden and Adrian.
I think it’s good to know each other’s strengths.
