I reached out to Ian. Ian looked at me blankly and said ‘Ah!’ With a short exclamation, he handed the disc to me. After smiling, I looked at the man again.
“This.”
“Why is that?”
“A free spirit doesn’t need this.”
“Ha. Why? I’m going to make a lot of money with that…”
“No. If you’re a free spirit, you won’t be obsessed with money. You can just steal it all, right?”
“…”
He smiled as he closed his mouth. In fact, it wasn’t even a very elaborate lie. It’s because the person himself is just making up sophistry with strange words in an effort to hide his embarrassment. It was information that could be grasped enough if you paid attention for a moment.
“Well, as you said, if even a free soul needs money, it’s not this disc, but the value corresponding to this disc, that is, if you receive money, the problem will be solved. But you had this disc. The disc used for counterfeit money. I have a little question about this part, so the question is whether a person called a free spirit can withstand the restraints that come with all activities related to production, supply, and distribution. My answer was no.”
Bedel tried to put on a relaxed expression.
“Well, wouldn’t it be fine to use the disc freely to make a lot of money? It doesn’t matter how you make money, you just have to be free.”
“You’re not wrong.”
He spun the disc. It was not that difficult to print gold coins using this disc. It was easy as long as there were all the ingredients, the gold content, and the distribution channels accordingly. But why make counterfeit money? There is only one. The gold content should be low. If gold coins are made in the same size, there may be a slight error, but the weight does not differ greatly. However, if a material that is inevitably different in weight compared to existing gold coins is used, it is bound to be noticed immediately. Because the density of gold is greater than that of iron. If so, you have to play with iron more to match the weight, and then the size naturally increases. If this happens, everything is a joke, so you need a skill that can delicately manipulate the subtle difference. You need a tool, and a self-proclaimed free spirit can do it all? That wasn’t even funny.
“But when I think about it, you didn’t get this disc.”
After handing the disc back to Ian, he looked down at Bedel and narrowed his eyes.
“This is a delivery item. It’s not for you to use, it’s for someone behind you, right?”
“Ha… ha ha. This woman is crazy. The Acjtain family said they were smart, but it must have been a rumor. Seeing such delusions spread out, it’s definitely insane. Hey, the Grand Duke is better. Such a crazy woman…”
Ian, seeing that Betty’s eyes were moving, reached out and grabbed his chin. When the fluttering tongue and jaw were sealed, only the sound of boiling phlegm could be heard from the mouth, which could no longer speak. Ian looked at him and said coldly.
“Unfortunately, that seems to be true. And one more thing, your life is up to me anyway, so it’s my heart no matter how you use it, but if you think your life is precious and don’t enjoy suffering, there’s something to keep in mind.”
His voice flew low to Bedel, who flinched and groaned.
“I have a lot of patience like the overflowing sea, but if you curse Lawrencia, that patience can dry up in an instant. Let’s reveal what you want to hide and what else you are hiding one by one.”
Ian grinned, then removed his hand from Bedel’s chin and swung it through the air a few times. As if to remove the dirt, Ian instructed the knights to restrain himself, and then he looked at the rest of the knights. He asked me, twitching his chin.
“Are you going to interrogate those guys too?”
“Am I?”
Why did you ask me that? I looked up curiously.
“Because you look talented. Where did you learn that?”
“Have a talent? Me?”
“Yes. You’res very good at interrogation.”
I tilted my head. Was that an interrogation? It’s just a guess, but it left me scratching my head. I could feel his hair brushing against my cheek. It seemed dry now. The night was getting deeper. It was definitely after the rain, so it became more humid and the temperature lowered. A slight chill shrugged his shoulders. As he gently wrapped his hands around both elbows, warmth was transmitted. Then suddenly my whole body was wrapped in Ian’s arms. eyes widened
“Eh, Ian?”
“Oh, it’s because it’s so cold. I’m sorry, but can I hold you for a bit?”
“Now, wait a minute. This is a little…”
If it’s cold, I should hug you, why was he hugging me from behind?! It felt like blood rushing to my face as his body heat seeped through my back. I twisted his body, but he leaned in front of me and put his head on his shoulder. Hehe… This is dangerous, but I rolled my eyes. As soon as the knights and attendants who were watching us met our eyes, they hurriedly turned their heads.
‘Look at that! I was watching you all, Ian! Release me now!’
I tapped his forearm as thick as my calf. But instead of letting me go, he let out a pleasant laugh and then quietly opened his mouth.
“Stay still. I’m holding back from wanting to hug you and go into the carriage.”
“What…?”
“I only slept three hours during these days just because I ran all the way here. So you can take this much.”
“…” I bit my lip.
“Are you offended?”
I didn’t know for sure, but Ian seemed to know women quite well. As if he knew exactly how he would react if he heard that in this situation.
“…no.”
I have no choice but to give up one step.
* * *
When the rain stopped and morning dawned, the frozen ground melted. Ian, who had been stomping on the damp ground, lined up the group, tied all the prisoners into an empty wagon, and locked the door. Some people questioned whether he was moving too luxuriously on the subject of captivity, but it was difficult to escape after riding on a horse. I thought Ian’s judgment was correct. The head that came back rationally organized the surrounding situation. It was not very good for his mental health to come to pay his respects at his parents’ graves, kill people, and go through near-death incidents. Even though I slept soundly in the wagon, Ian somehow still felt tired, so I yawned lightly and Ian came over and handed me some water.
“All prisoners will be moved to the principality. Do you have anything else to say?”
I filled my stuffy mouth with water, gulped it down, and shook his head.
“There is none. Oh, if there is one, I wonder if more copies have been released and how many counterfeit money have been circulated.”
“Does this guy even know that much?”
I glanced at a man named Bethel, who seemed more insignificant than I thought. Bedil was being carried like a piece of luggage with his arms and legs tied and his mouth and eyes blocked. Uhm, I did it like that, but there’s nothing wrong with it.
“You have to ask. If you want to live, why don’t you spit at least one thing out of your mouth?”
Ian shrugged his shoulders. What was that action? Ian gave a very refreshing answer.
“He is going to die anyway, so you have to tell us if you don’t want to die as painlessly as possible.”
A shriek of laughter came out. In fact, I wasn’t really immune to this kind of thing. I’m a businessman making money, not a mercenary or a knight who rolls his head in a bloody place. The death of someone did not touch the skin at once. Of course, I knew what death meant when people like her grandfather and Aunt Mesha who lived in the hills of Porrel died, but Ian just stared at me and reached out and rubbed my cheek a few times. What did he ask? I rubbed my cheek again with the back of my hand and Ian tilted his head and smiled. What?
“It’s just because you’re cute.”
What was this person doing this in broad daylight? Didn’t the expression of affection become excessive just because he kissed me once yesterday? It was just a way of thanking you! I argued inwardly, but when he remembered what happened yesterday, I couldn’t stop my face from blushing.
Ah, are you updating the dark history once again? I forced my gaze back and looked at the people. They looked quite busy, but me, Ian, and Ersia, who got into the carriage and couldn’t see their faces, were very free. Could I stay still like this?
“Ian.”
He shook his head instead of answering. Maybe he’s trying to compete with my cuteness now, but his round eyes didn’t look her age. Come to think of it, I was twenty-eight before Icame back, so he’s like a little brother. Was this why the feeling of being older was so strong?
“I have some experiments to do.”
“What experiment?”
Ian rubbed the back of my hand. He rolled his eyes and untied the back of his hand. There were no wounds, but I wondered if there was a crack in the bone, but I’m not sure because it doesn’t show any signs of pain.
“I wonder how much the gold content can be reduced by using the disc according to the size of the imperial gold coin standard.”
He ran a finger across his chin, thought for a moment, then looked up.
“Why don’t you try to distinguish if there are counterfeit money circulating in the market?”
“That’s true, but I don’t think the appearance of the counterfeit money will be very different. It seems to have been made quite elaborately. So even if the weight is slightly different, the overall size would not have been accurately identified with the naked eye.”
Even the most sane person couldn’t help counting the difference in size between counterfeit gold coins and those made by the Treasury Bureau. In addition, gold coins were a monetary unit used in large businesses or national units.
“I don’t know the specifics, but I would expect the overall shape of a coin to be larger than the standard size to reduce the gold content and balance the weight because gold is very dense. He listened intently to what I was saying and then calmly looked away.
“A place where gold coins are made…”
It’s an era where a lot of magic died. With the exception of a few wizards, most of them lived in seclusion or belonged to the imperial family and kept their position only to the extent of continuing the life of the past. These days, witches’ workshops and alchemists have disappeared, so a special space was needed to elaborate counterfeit money.
“What is the percentage of gold that goes into the existing gold coins?”
“I don’t know for sure. But about 20% of gold production in a year is spent on making gold coins. In terms of weight, each gold bar produces about a hundred gold coins.
“So, does that mean that approximately 100,000 gold coins are produced in a year?”
“”Normally, yes. It’s fluid, though.”
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. Thank you very much for reading.
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