Episode 307: A flash in the east, a flash in the west (2)
It was already the second time.
Hoffman was more embarrassed than angry at the poor treatment that followed Dmitry.
I turned around.
Looking at Valentino’s mansion, I spit out the words as if chewing them up.
“How dare you treat me like this?”
Count Fabius.
Meeting him together was not a coincidence.
At first, I didn’t think it was anything special as Marquis Valentino explained, but during the conversation, I saw Valentino and Fabius exchanging glances.
It was clear evidence.
Roman Dmitry demanded to sever ties with the Golden Bank, and the Marquis Valentino absurdly accepted the offer.
I didn’t understand.
What is a merchant?
These are people who pursue transactions with clear compensation rather than general human relationships.
No matter how well the Valentino family is rooted in the Kingdom of Cairo, if they take this opportunity to strengthen their relationship with Golden Bank, it will somehow guarantee their future.
Golden Bank is a place where ‘an organization’ can offer 1 million gold in exchange for its life.
Considering his interests as a merchant, rejecting Golden Bank and joining hands with Dmitry could not be said to be a practical choice.
suddenly.
Rumors about Dmitry surfaced.
People used to say that the bond between people related to Roman Dmitry was as strong as an iron fortress.
‘It may have been my mistake to target the Marquis Valentino from the beginning. From the rebellion in Cairo to the all-out war with Kronos. In the process, Marquis Valentino and Roman Dmitry must have developed a significant bond. Marquis Valentino is also old. ‘To sell the future of the Valentino family for such an unlikely bond.’
Hoffman didn’t know the truth.
It wasn’t because of the bond, but a large part of it was Roman Dmitry’s desire to collect swords.
Anyway.
It didn’t matter now.
The next destination was absolutely impossible to fail.
‘Going back to Valhalla.’
Valhalla Empire.
That was where the headquarters of Golden Bank was located.
* * *
It was an inefficient route.
If he had gone to Count Muriel from the beginning, he would have been able to secure allies and put pressure on Marquis Valentino.
I put my regrets aside.
however.
Behind Count Muriel, I saw a person who made me doubt my eyes.
“See you here again.”
A sly smile.
Hoffman’s expression couldn’t help but be distorted by the friendly attitude that made it seem as if he had a good relationship with him.
It was Count Fabius.
Apparently, as soon as I left the Valentino family, I immediately made an appointment with Count Muriel, but this time, Fabius arrived at the meeting place one step ahead.
Hoffman asked.
“Why is he here?”
“First of all, there was a prior agreement. Come here. “I will take you to another reception room.”
I felt bad.
As Count Fabius looked at him, Hoffmann followed Count Muriel.
The prior promise was something that could not be done.
Still, Count Muriel showed a more common sense response than Valentino, who openly asked to sit down with Fabius, so he was able to calm down his feelings quickly.
Count Fabius’ intention was obvious.
Just as he persuaded the Marquis Valentino, he would have asked Count Muriel to cut ties with the ‘Golden Bank’.
It was an unreasonable thought.
The Muriel family couldn’t do that.
Hoffman said.
“How is your father doing?”
“You are so healthy that you can return to active duty right away. He said he feels more secluded now that he has retired, but recently he has been cultivating a vegetable garden every day. By the way, my father asked me to tell him that he really appreciated the gift that Mr. Hoffman sent me. “Where on earth did you get that precious herb?”
“Nothing in this world is impossible with money. “For this precious person, I worked especially hard, hahaha.”
It was a friendly atmosphere.
House Muriel and Golden Bank.
As a force rooted in the same Valhalla, they have been connected since ancient times.
As we interacted naturally through our ancestral ties, we became close enough to look for each other and take care of each other when something special happened.
so that.
I was in no hurry to persuade the Muriel family.
He was not pro-Dmitri like Cairo or Hector, and there was no reason for him to stick to Dmitri, even though the Valhalla Empire’s family refused the Golden Bank’s request.
So we talked trivially for a while.
Hoffman’s conversation as if it were a comfortable home showed his confidence that he could persuade Muriel.
Some time has passed.
Just as the car was about to run out, Hoffman tried his luck.
“The reason I came to the Muriel family is because of Roman Dmitri.”
“… … okay.”
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“Roman Dmitry, that guy is completely crazy. After defeating the Kronos Empire, he seemed to not know how high the sky was, and threatened me by holding a knife to my throat when I visited him under the pretext of making a deal. Does this make any sense? As president of Golden Bank, I am determined not to overlook this issue.”
The voice became louder.
The more I spoke, the more the humiliation I suffered from Roman Dmitry took over my mind.
“From now on, Golden Bank plans to block all transactions related to Dmitry and isolate him economically. Count Muriel. I heard that they trade a large amount of iron from Dritrysan. Please stop doing business with them. This is not a unilateral request. If you accept Golden Bank’s offer, we will deliver ‘iron’ at a lower price than them. Additionally, we will completely waive interest on money borrowed through us.”
It was an unprecedented condition.
Economic isolation.
It started with the Muriel family.
The plan was to cut off transactions one by one and gradually destroy the inventory of steel, the main product, as it built up.
I was filled with joy.
Roman Dmitry.
Those who only knew the sword were idiots who only realized reality when they were oppressed by wealth.
however.
“… … “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can accept Mr. Hoffman’s request.”
Count Muriel’s refusal.
That was an unexpected development.
* * *
The corners of my eyes were trembling.
In the chilly atmosphere, Count Muriel calmly stated his position.
“I, too, would like to take Mr. Hoffman’s side whenever possible. But aren’t we ‘merchants’? “Considering the practical benefits of being a merchant, it is impossible to break off business with Dmitry.”
“… … Please explain so I can understand. Otherwise, we have no choice but to look back on our ancestral ties.”
“All right.”
Count Muriel took a deep breath.
From the moment Hoffman requested the meeting, he expected an uncomfortable situation.
“First of all, Dmitry’s iron is irreplaceable. The reason the Muriel family goes all the way to Dmitri to get iron is because the iron from Dmitri is the best on the continent. Don’t you know this well, Mr. Hoffman? Would the warriors of the Valhalla Empire want to purchase low-quality iron? No matter how much we substitute products, if we do not supply Dmitry iron, it will be impossible to monopolize the iron market like before. That’s the first reason.”
It was a valid statement.
Because Dmitri-made iron is considered to be of the highest quality, the Dmitri family was able to achieve such wealth.
but.
It was not to the point of giving up the relationship with Golden Bank.
Although it would only trade with Dmitry for one item, iron, Golden Bank had considerable influence over a variety of items.
Muriel is a top family.
They were engaged in a variety of businesses, not just steel, and the strained relationship with Golden Bank would cause enormous damage to them.
Iron industry?
It wasn’t important enough to risk the future on.
Hoffman showed an expression that he still didn’t understand.
“Actually, the second reason is the most important. Valhalla is a land of warriors. “The people who work for Muriel are also warriors with boiling blood, and Roman Dmitry recently started a swordsmanship revolution through a ‘swordsmanship presentation.’”
Just now.
Count Fabius didn’t say anything.
It was only briefly explained how the separation from Dmitri would affect the Muriel family in the future.
“The Dmitry family is the force leading the swordsmanship revolution. They have publicly revealed the concept of ‘severance of power’ and have announced that they will share a certain amount of information with friendly forces. The times are changing. With Roman Dmitri leading the era, what would happen if the Muriel family turned against Dmitri? The warriors of Valhalla will not work for us. While others are moving ahead, the Muriel family has no choice but to regress if they cling to the outdated methods of using Alexandre’s aura. Don’t you know that here in Valhalla, the power of the family’s warriors resolves all disputes?”
As he said.
Actual force was important.
A conflict broke out in Valhalla, and if Alexandre’s aura was used, the outcome was obvious.
Dmitry was a pioneer.
Although I couldn’t ride on their backs as they rushed forward, I couldn’t choose to reject them first.
Kronos and Valhalla.
The two were different.
While Kronos’ emperor’s control was absolute, Valhalla was a country where there was still a romanticism about power.
Count Muriel’s attitude changed.
He appealed to his emotions in a earnest and earnest voice.
“Mr. Hoffman. Forcing one or the other is too harsh. Even considering our ancestral ties, please consider the situation of the Muriel family.”
* * *
The conversation broke down.
Hoffman, who had failed to persuade Count Muriel, now seemed to understand why Roman Dmitry was confident.
‘Did you believe in martial arts?’
Swordsmanship revolution.
Roman Dmitry held intangible power in his hands.
The fact that the current leading Aura swordsmen on the continent wanted to learn Dmitri’s ‘martial arts’ was an area that could not be suppressed with the gold coins of the Golden Bank alone.
This was especially true of Valhalla.
Hoffmann thought it would be easy to persuade someone from Valhalla, but Count Muriel did not compromise on the issue of martial arts.
Roman Dmitry.
He was a great guy.
I’ve never seen anyone take control of a situation like this, losing money with Golden Bank.
but.
‘Things will not always go as you wish.’
President of Golden Bank.
Or, a person called a poisonous snake.
Hoffman never knew how to give up.
People called him a poisonous snake because he achieved his goal by any means necessary.
Roman Dmitry was a difficult enemy that could not be solved with money.
Considering that even the Kronos Empire had a hard time dealing with him, it was wrong to judge that they could persuade him from the beginning.
However, not everyone in the world was like Roman Dmitry.
The Marquis Valentino formed a close bond with him, and while Count Muriel could not go against the sentiments of Valhalla, the situation was different with the last remaining great rich man.
‘Vincent, the rich man of the Kingdom Alliance, is a similar type of person to me. No matter how much Roman Dmitry is leading the swordsmanship revolution, he considers the piled up gold coins in front of him to be the greatest value.’
today.
Hoffman was angry.
I was mad as hell.
Usually, Golden Bank’s wishes were met without any special effort, but the constant variables were frustrating.
This problem could not be simply overlooked.
The president of Golden Bank had been threatened and had coughed up 1 million gold. If no retaliation was achieved, it was clear that a ridiculous precedent would be set.
must.
I wanted to deal a blow to the steel industry.
Hoffman’s venom has finally reached its peak.
‘From now on, I will clearly show you what financial resources you cannot afford.’
Final destination.
In a united Frankish kingdom, this frustrating situation will come to an end.
* * *
The first meeting was coincidental.
The second meeting was fate.
There is a saying that a third meeting is inevitable.
Those words, which would normally be taken kindly, really touched the nerves of Hoffman, who visited Viscount Vincent’s reception room.
“Hehehe, are we meeting again?”
Count Fabius.
Dmitry’s raccoon greeted Hoffman with a funny face.
fantasy,
