Chapter 90: The Party (4) Rumble...
An ominous vibration, as if something were scraping the ground beneath their feet.
"...What was that?"
Ren muttered, startled. The champagne in her glass trembled slightly.
"Who knows?"
I replied, feigning ignorance, and took a sip of my champagne. People throughout the hall began looking around at one another with anxious eyes.
...
However, after that first rupture, nothing else happened. No disaster struck; only a brief silence followed.
—Hoo... Now then!
The CEO quickly regained his composure. He scratched his eyebrow with a fingernail and clapped his hands.
—Was everyone startled? Great births always come with labor pains. That was merely the magnificent fetal movement of the earth settling into its place on the seabed. Please, rest easy and enjoy yourselves!
"Phew."
Just as Ren and many others were breathing sighs of relief, it happened again.
Sssssss—
The sea beyond the stage surged unnaturally. The waves swelled violently, as if they were about to swallow the island whole.
"..."
I stared at the scene. The virus within me was the first to comprehend the flow of mana rising from that landscape.
Creating artificial land through human power.
It was a possible technology. Not impossible. Maintaining a small-scale island like this Panulan Island might have been well within their capabilities.
But they had grown too greedy.
When you forcibly raise such a massive area of land in a single instant, an imbalance occurs between the mana of the sea and the mana of the ground. The water pressure and gravity of the ocean versus the repulsive force of the massive, congealed earth. Magi-engineering would be crushed by that friction, and the price for underestimating the laws of nature would be catastrophic.
—Now! To the main point. Ransom Corporation is offering the shareholders here today the priority right to purchase territory on this newly risen continent...
Cr-cr-crack...
—By granting...
Crrraaaaack!
Between the CEO's words, sounds like bones being crushed erupted in succession.
It was no longer at a level that could be ignored. Most of the VVIPs, who valued their lives above all else, were already preparing to leave with their bodyguards.
"...Ah, shit, what's wrong with this thing?"
A harsh curse escaped Ren's lips.
I quietly set my glass down.
Crrruuuumble!
The shaking intensified. Only then did a bodyguard rush onto the platform and urgently whisper something into the CEO's ear.
The CEO's face flushed red. He shoved the guard away as if enraged and gripped the microphone, but—
—...
No sound came out. Whether the power had been cut or the machine had broken, I couldn't tell, but his silent mouthing was a rather pathetic sight.
And then, in the very next moment.
Roooooar!
The artificial land collapsed as if exploding. A massive impact sent plumes of water geysering into the air, and a wall of debris-filled water surged in from all sides like a tsunami.
People finally began to flee.
"Aaaaah!" "Uwaaaah!"
I stood up from my seat. I walked leisurely through the chaos of screams, curses, and the sound of crashing waves, avoiding overturned tables and shards of broken glass.
"Wh-what the—"
In the middle of the carnage, I found Russell standing dazed, unable to move.
"Oh, crazy, what the hell is—"
"Vice President Russell."
When I placed a hand on his shoulder, he spun around in shock. He tilted his head with a vacant, simple-minded expression.
"...Director?"
"The 1,000-to-1 payout on the promised 100 dollars."
The terms of the bet were: if Ransom failed, I would give him 1,000 times 100 dollars.
If Ransom succeeded, he would give me 100 dollars.
"Eh? No, what, why are you talking about a bet right now—"
"It's 100,000 dollars."
"What do you mean, a hundred thousand—"
I pulled a pre-prepared check from my coat and handed it to him.
"...Huh? Wow. Well, thanks, I guess?"
Russell snatched it up and tucked it into his inner pocket.
"Well then, good luck."
I left Russell's dazed eyes behind and moved on. Cutting through the panicked crowd, I arrived at the helipad.
"Director. You may board."
Dieter was already inside the waiting helicopter.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The helicopter took off with a roar.
Below my feet, the artificial island—now a scene of total carnage—receded. The collapsing land and the surging sea level.
I could see numerous people escaping on lifeboats. They were screaming as they swayed in the waves, but they would likely arrive safely.
Kanilan was a country famous for insurance. If they were wealthy enough to be invited to this island, they certainly had the means to pay for their own lives.
Thud-thud-thud-thud—
A short while later, the helicopter landed on the safe main island of Kanilan.
"Director."
Dieter handed me a terminal. I checked the screen. A massive profit from short selling was already being recorded.
"Good work."
I patted Dieter on the shoulder.
"It's a shame about Kanilan."
Today was merely the opening shot.
But then again, this would have happened even without me. Before my regression, there were several financiers who, like me, had timed this perfectly.
"I will be staying in Kanilan for the next few weeks."
"Right."
Dieter would likely have a lot to do. He needed to reap the money, establish influence in Kanilan, and simultaneously work on purchasing the technologies that were the true gems of this place.
"Keep it up."
Their party was over, but for me, this was just the beginning.
* * *
Ransom Corporation had failed.
Simultaneously, a certain 'element' that constituted Kanilan's golden age was partially destroyed.
Ransom's stock price plummeted, breaking through every safety circuit, and signs appeared that the aftermath would spread to other companies.
"Ha..."
Ren paced inside the Acarius Commander's office all day. Her eyes were bloodshot. She gripped her terminal, making call after call.
Ring... Ring...
The longer the dial tone dragged on, the more her insides burned.
Ring... Ring...
—Hello.
Finally, a voice came through the receiver.
"You son of a bitch, you finally picked up!"
Ren poured out her words.
—...Ugh. Hey, why are you like this? I'm having a hard time too. You know that.
Russell's voice was thick with exhaustion. In the background, a mix of shouting, ringing phones, and the sound of furniture breaking could be heard.
"Listen, you bastard, I'm not trying to blame you, I just want to talk."
She spat the words out without even taking a breath, fearing he might hang up again.
—Fine. Speak. I won't hang up.
"Phew. Hey, look, Ransom... that Ransom thing, fine. Let's call it a loss. But that remaining CDO or whatever, I'm still in the black on that, right?"
Ren asked, feeling like she was clutching at straws.
—...
Russell was silent. Don't do this to me, you bastard.
"Can't I sell it now? Can't I liquidate it for cash even now?"
—...I told you, you can't. Those are the contract terms. How many times do I have to tell you there's a one-year mandatory deposit period? No early redemptions.
"Hey!"
—Just wait a bit. Once the market settles down...
"God damn it!"
Ren resisted the urge to spit.
—...I'm sorry about the Ransom thing. But honestly, that's what investing is. You handle your own risks.
"I know. I know, but is there any chance of recovery?"
—How many companies are there in Kanilan? You think the whole country is going to collapse just because one goes under?
Rustle, rustle.
The sound of someone packing things could be heard over the phone. It sounded like stacks of paper being stuffed into a bag.
"You bastard... you're not thinking of running away, are you?"
—Hey now, what are you talking about? Wow, but seriously, I'm so glad I bet on that gentleman back then.
"What bet?"
—Nothing. I'm hanging up for now.
Click.
The call ended immediately. A vein throbbed in Ren's temple.
"That absolute piece of shit—"
Just as she was about to hurl her terminal.
Ring.
Another call came in immediately.
The moment she saw the screen, Ren's heart dropped.
[Kronen Schatzinsel]
It was the bank that had lent her money, using all of Acarius's mercenary contracts and future earnings as collateral.
...
The failure of Ransom Corporation. The shockwave hit Kanilan's securities, banks, insurance, and corporations in turn. The air in the brokerage offices, in particular, was as precarious as a thin sheet of ice.
Of course, for now, it was only the failure of a single company, Ransom, but the crack had given everyone a certain 'realization.'
The realization that perhaps they had been expanding far too excessively all this time.
"No, no. It doesn't matter. It's fine."
In the breakroom of Merylchi Securities, employees were talking to each other, their hands trembling as they smoked.
"We have insurance, right? Don't we?"
Insurance products that guaranteed the principal and covered losses if a company failed.
Insurance and corporations were inseparable.
"...Hey."
Just then, a team leader in the corner spoke up, his face devoid of color.
"We sold all of that."
"...Pardon?"
"Don't you remember? To meet last quarter's performance targets, we sold the entire lot with a risk premium attached. We figured the companies would never fail anyway, and that paying those insurance premiums was a waste of money."
The employees' complexions turned the color of cigarette ash.
"To... to whom? What kind of madman bought all that, and when?"
The team leader rubbed his face with his hands and muttered.
"I don't know. The name was... Small Money, or something. They said it was a fund created by an Imperial noble."
A lunatic who had appeared out of nowhere, and despite being treated like a fool, had bought up every insurance contract and related derivative.
In other words—a madman who had shorted the entirety of Kanilan.
Ah, or should he be called a prophet now?
"We're the lucky ones. Some insurance companies even created entirely new products just to sell to him."
"Heh... No, no, but surely we won't fail that badly? Ransom will just end with Ransom..."
"For now, we have to hope so."
The team leader bit down hard on his cigarette.
...
In the executive office of the Managing Director of Rekiano Securities, located in a skyscraper in Kanilan's financial district.
Dayson, a man who resembled a badger, was drenched in cold sweat.
"..."
The numbers on the monitor were fluctuating. Ransom's stock price was plummeting.
This 'Community Land Protocol' had to succeed. At the very least, it had to show potential. The resources poured into that project were astronomical.
In Dayson's head, which had rolled around this industry for a long time, the next scenario was already being drawn.
First, the subcontractors supplying Ransom would go bankrupt one by one. Next, the banks that had lent money to Ransom would be unable to get their funds back. Then, to cover their losses, the banks would refuse to extend loans to other companies or recall them entirely, and in that way...
"M-Managing Director."
A secretary entered and handed over a document.
"Ransom has urgently requested a bridge loan..."
Dayson tore at his thinning hair.
"Ransom is finished. After failing that miserably, what... more importantly. That guy who bought the insurance contracts?"
He gripped the desk with trembling hands.
"That Imperial guy, Eberich or Small Money or whatever."
"Yes, yes."
"He's an Imperial, so he probably doesn't realize how serious the situation in Kanilan is yet. He'll just think he got lucky. Tell him we want to buy them back."
They had to buy them back somehow.
"Tell him we'll give him double—including all the fees he's paid so far plus a premium."
"Will... will double be enough?"
"Pretend to negotiate and go up to triple, no, quadruple if you have to, but no more. If we offer too much, he'll get suspicious."
Before long, the payouts for those insurance contracts would skyrocket, and if that happened, Rekiano would be bankrupt.
"Ah, but as for where he is..."
"Find him! Scour everywhere and find him!"
The badger screamed, throwing his telephone.
"Fuck, I don't care if you have to bow your head to the floor or lick his boots, just buy them back! Otherwise, we're all... dead!"
...
Having returned to the Empire, I put the affairs of Kanilan out of my mind for a moment and returned to my duties as a Knight.
It was time to analyze the accumulated Active Residual Traces.
"..."
As I stared at the documents containing the crime scenes, the virus within me took over my optic nerves. Fragments of mana in the photographs—the Active Residual Traces—glowed blue and reconstructed themselves before my eyes.
As I analyzed the scenes in this manner, over and over—
"Sir Knight."
An administrative official entered. He was holding an envelope.
"A letter has arrived from Empire Point."
"A letter?"
"Yes. An instructor named Phillips came to the Knights' headquarters personally and asked for it to be delivered."
Phillips.
I searched my memory for a moment. The commoner instructor from Empire Point. He was a fairly humane person who had worried about Hannah during the Jacob incident.
I took the letter and opened it.
—To Sir Maximilian von Ebenholtz, Knight of the Sentinel and Heir to Ebenholtz—
I am Instructor Phillips of Empire Point. Although I know this is an impertinence, I have taken up my pen, for which I am deeply sorry...
...The cadet I have instructed, 'Hannah Usar,' has achieved grades that place her at the absolute top of this graduating class. She is a talented individual who has achieved excellent results not only in swordsmanship, mana sensitivity, and tactical understanding, but in all areas, including the newly added aerial assault.
However, Cadet Hannah has currently not received a single letter of recommendation.
At this rate, let alone the Sentinel, she will be unable to even receive a general knightly commission, leaving her at risk of being held back or forced to abandon the path of a Knight...
* * *
I skimmed through Hannah's report card attached to the back of the letter.
Perfect scores in practical exams. Top marks in instructor evaluations.
Despite this, the reason no recommendations were attached was obvious.
To begin with, at this point in time, there was essentially zero chance for a mere commoner to enter the Sentinel. It was because fellow noble cadets would engage in counter-lobbying to ensure they didn't receive recommendation letters.
"Hmm."
It would be a burden for me to use my own name for a recommendation letter as well. I wasn't of the right age or seniority yet.
However, Hannah had to join the Sentinel.
I wasn't entirely sure of her ideology yet, but she was an Aranian with clear talent. She was a character who could give hope to commoners.
"If I can get about three..."
To enter a major knightly order like the Sentinel, three letters of recommendation were required.
One from the military, one from a Knight, and one from the Imperial family.
I had specific people in mind for each, so there shouldn't be a problem.
"I'll be seeing you soon."
I looked at the photo of Hannah enclosed with the letter, the corners of my mouth twisting into a smirk.
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