Chapter 95: Documents of Will (2) A secluded fishing spot on the outskirts of the Empire.
I arrived alone at the site, where a thick mist rose from the water. I had considered sending Schatz, but I decided it would be better to handle this personally.
"Hmm..."
I waited, my fishing rod propped up at an angle.
The float bobbed silently on the surface.
"..."
Before long, the appointed time arrived. A figure approached and sat down a short distance away.
It wasn't Izenheim.
It was an ordinary-looking man with a bucket hat pulled low over his eyes.
Plop.
He cast his line and muttered under his breath.
"...Code name: Tuna."
"Yes. Nice to meet you."
"As you know, the Revolutionary Group is a cellular organization. They could be anywhere in the Empire, or anywhere in another country."
His eyes remained fixed on his float, but his voice was directed at me.
"However, there is a focal point that consolidates those scattered dots—a space called the 'Veil.'"
This was the reason the Revolutionary Group could stand against a giant like the Empire. It was one of the most ingenious feats of Great Magic in Imperial history.
The Veil.
That sub-space, manifested by a mage, had been preserved as a museum of immense academic value after the fall of the Empire.
"I am currently in contact with those who have access to it."
I adjusted my grip on the fishing rod, lost in thought.
"And?"
"Some of them are exhausted. They're growing weary of a cause with no end in sight—this endless resistance against the Empire. The new millennium promised by the Revolutionary Group hasn't come, and the Empire remains as strong as ever."
In other words, those prone to betrayal were beginning to turn.
"Sir Knight. Haven't there been some suspicious occurrences lately? Things that made you suspect information was leaking?"
I toyed with my chin as if contemplating, then replied.
"...There have been."
For now, I played along.
Rustle.
He handed me an envelope.
"This is the resume of an individual currently suspected of being your mole."
"A resume?"
"Yes. Within the Veil, there are records of the Revolutionary Group's personnel. They are called 'Documents of Will.'"
Documents of Will.
"To join the Revolutionary Group, one must complete this document using their own blood, sweat, and mana. Each page is absolute proof of membership."
"Is this the original, then?"
I shook the sealed envelope.
"I'm not certain. I haven't opened it myself. See for yourself."
Information loses its credibility rapidly the moment it is unsealed. Just as no one would feel comfortable drinking from a bottle that had already been opened on the street.
"I understand it may or may not be the original. However..."
I set the envelope down.
"I believe I'll need to meet the person who provided this information from the Veil in person."
I nudged the bag at my feet toward him. The heavy bag tipped over, its mouth falling slightly open. Through the gap, bundles of Imperial Dollars and high-purity mana stones glittered together.
"Operational funds. Use as much as you need, and keep the rest for yourself."
"..."
The informant's eyes widened.
"Your next mission is to bring that person before me."
He stared at me blankly. It was, of course, a high-risk task.
"If you succeed, the bonus will be far greater than this."
"..."
The informant glanced between the bag and me, hesitating, before nodding slightly as if he had made up his mind.
"...Understood."
The man left, slinging the bag over his shoulder.
I watched his retreating figure, and once silence returned, I opened the envelope.
Sssrrrk—!
As mana leaked out, the top page of the document was revealed.
「Mensi │ Yukia」
A familiar name was written there.
* * *
A spring afternoon at the training ground of my mansion.
"Hey, you brat..."
Priya glared at me, looking utterly dumbfounded.
"Are you telling me..."
Her gaze slowly lowered, pointing a finger at a certain fellow.
"To teach this son of a bitch?"
Leo was sitting there.
His back was straight, and his front paws were neatly gathered.
He looked quite aristocratic.
"Woof."
Having grown quite a bit, Leo's response was dignified. His voice had a unique resonance, as if he were hitting his adolescent phase.
"He understands you. He'll be hurt if you call him a 'son of a bitch.'"
"...Hah. Have you lost your mind?"
Priya let out a hollow laugh.
"Don't dismiss him so easily. I've already taught him Mana Breathing. Leo? Show her. Your skill."
I gestured to Leo.
As if he had been waiting, Leo closed his eyes and began a long breath.
Hoooo— Prrrr—
His inhalation was deep, and the skin around his mouth vibrated on the exhalation.
Hooooo— Prrrrrr—
Honestly, it was adorable.
"Are you... playing with me right now?"
"Shh."
"Don't 'shh' me, you brat. Are you mocking me?"
"Please, look closer."
Hoooo— Prrrr—
This was the unique Ebenholtz Mana Breathing technique, which I had personally demonstrated and passed down to him.
"What the— Huh?"
Priya's words suddenly cut off. Her eyes narrowed.
Hooooo— Prrrrrr—
Leo's breathing was not ordinary. The air taken in through his breaths circulated through his body, purely drawing up the energy of the elixirs settled in his dantian.
The Ebenholtz style ignores the external. It focuses solely on refining internal mana to be cleaner, purer, and denser.
It was 'cultivation'—the proper refinement of mana.
"...Hah."
Priya let out another hollow laugh. She glared at me with an incredulous expression.
"You fed him elixirs, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"You lunatic. You fed this dog things meant for your descendants?"
"He is Leo, the guard dog of Ebenholtz. He is more than qualified."
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to wait for descendants. The survival of humanity was at stake.
"Tsk. Fine, whatever. Dog, go over there for now."
Priya waved her hand. Leo trotted over and sat quietly in a corner of the training ground.
Priya's lips parted slightly.
"Does he... really understand?"
"I do not lie."
"...Fine. Show me your homework."
"Yes."
I gripped my longsword. Calming my breath, I concentrated my consciousness on the blade.
Sssshhh—
I thrust the sword forward. The physical blade stopped, but from its tip, silver sword-light rose like a haze.
Extension of the Sword.
The longsword, measuring 1.6 meters, surged through the air as a blade of mana.
"...Mana that resembles moonlight. It's certainly the Ebenholtz color."
Priya tapped the mana gathered in the shape of a blade.
Mana is different from a physical blade. It is pure sharpness. Touching it could cause a severe wound, but—
Ssssh—
The mana touching her fingertips merely scattered like ripples.
It was my control.
An aristocrat is not indiscriminate. I harm my enemies, but I spare my friends.
"Not bad," Priya nodded.
"Next is the Extension of Sense, and then its expansion. It's a technique to load your senses into your mana."
Extension of Sense.
I had already performed this crudely with the help of the Virus during the Gigantes infiltration.
"Like this."
Priya stepped on the ground. Shadow-like mana slithered out from beneath her feet.
An invisible thin film flowed along the ground, reaching my toes in an instant.
"Mana can travel quite far through natural mediums. Embed your five senses into that flow. Touch, smell, and see things through your mana."
I closed my eyes. I placed my hand on my collarbone.
Thump.
Silver mana flowed along the ground. Moving mana felt as natural as moving my hands or feet.
It was likely thanks to the Virus.
The Virus understands mana in a way that cannot be defined by human language.
Ssssssh—
Like spreading ripples, my senses expanded.
The texture of the soil, the vibration of insects, the direction of the wind...
It was then.
Thump—
A small collision occurred. My mana bumped into another's.
One was Priya's mana, directly across from me.
It was incredibly sophisticated, delicate, and pure.
Truly, she was a master far beyond me.
However, there was one more strand.
Something raw and unknown approaching from a corner.
A coarse but pure movement.
"...?"
I quietly opened my eyes.
The first thing I saw was Priya's strange expression. Her mouth was agape as she stared at something.
"What is it...?"
I turned to look where she was staring.
In the corner of the training ground.
Leo was sitting there. His eyes were closed peacefully, his front paws planted on the ground.
"Hah."
A hollow laugh escaped my lips.
Had he been eavesdropping on the lesson? Ripples of mana were shimmering beneath his paws as well. It was also the Extension of Sense.
"...What is that thing?" Priya muttered.
At that moment, Leo opened his eyes.
His left eye was gold, his right eye blue. Every time I saw them, those odd eyes looked profoundly intelligent and mysterious.
"I told you."
I wore a confident smile.
"If humans were the only ones who could handle mana in this world, the legends of divine creatures like the Sacred Bear or the Great Tiger would never have been passed down."
Mana is not a power permitted only to humans. Beasts, and even monsters, handle it by instinct.
However, a beast mimicking human techniques was extremely rare.
"Leo is a genius among geniuses."
Before my regression, Leo had taught himself mana and saved his master even without this kind of early education.
The dog of dogs.
The Leo of Dogs.
I turned back to Priya triumphantly.
"So, do you feel like teaching him now?"
Priya looked at me and retorted.
"Do you think I would, you crazy bastard?"
* * *
—Mid-April.
In the season when spring was in full bloom, Dieter Schmidt felt the collapse of Kanilan with every fiber of his being.
Ransom was only the beginning.
The failure of the Land Protocol caused a general collapse of trust in Kanilan companies, and simultaneously, foreign capital investment ceased.
Banks, their cash flow cut off, refused to approve or extend loans for corporations.
Companies with approaching maturity dates were desperate.
They made pathetic appeals, such as forcibly announcing non-existent new technologies to secure loan extensions, but the banks did not acknowledge their efforts.
They couldn't.
Their vaults were dry.
Despite this, various securities firms and insurance companies tried to hold on, but eventually, the weakest link snapped first.
[Breaking News: Sabrin Investment Bank Declares Insolvency]
Fear spread like a plague at the news that Sabrin, one of Kanilan's five major investment banks, had collapsed.
The numerous products Sabrin had guaranteed became worthless scraps of paper, and the Corporate Debt Obligations (CDOs) created by bundling corporate bonds were also dangerously shaken.
Conversely, the value of the default insurance owned by Maximilian skyrocketed.
Representatives from numerous financial firms, including Rekiano and Merylchi, begged Dieter for a meeting, but Dieter turned them all away.
"Nice to meet you, Governor."
Instead, he chose only one person.
Thomas Haven, the Governor of Old Haven Bank.
He was the only person who had taken the 'hand' Maximilian had extended during the past video conference.
"...Nice to meet you."
The Governor looked terrible. His beard was shaggy, and the skin under his eyes was dark and sunken.
"Please, speak."
"Yes. Currently, Old Haven is..."
He moistened his dry lips and made a difficult confession.
"Effectively insolvent. We have enough assets, but the market has run dry of cash, so we cannot cover the notes maturing immediately."
Dieter nodded as if he had expected this.
Based on his investigation, Old Haven's books were relatively clean. They hadn't invested in reckless derivatives and had only approved loans to healthy companies through rigorous screening.
Because of that, they had been marginalized during the boom years and pushed down to the lower tier of banks.
However, even that honesty was swept away in this economic crisis.
"Governor. Our Chairman values faith and integrity."
Dieter said, adjusting his glasses.
A world where banks that issued reckless loans out of greed grew in size, while banks that followed principles and incubated companies were instead weeded out.
That had been Kanilan until now, but the bloated bubble had finally burst.
"So, do not worry too much."
Dieter pushed forward a document.
"We will acquire the bonds held by Old Haven at face value. In exchange, you simply need to transfer the bank's shares to us."
In a situation where every bank was trying to dump bonds at a fraction of their price and run, this was an offer to pay full value.
"...Thank you."
The Governor let out a sigh of relief.
He was losing the bank his family had built for generations, but at least he could protect his customers.
"Thank you, truly thank you. I... I will go and deliver this good news to my employees and customers first."
As the Governor tried to stand, Dieter stopped him.
"There is no need for that."
"...Pardon?"
"Governor Haven. Please continue to work with us. We will guarantee your position and management rights."
Dieter felt he was too good a man to lose, and Maximilian felt the same.
"A person who has kept their faith must not disappear from a bank that keeps its faith—"
This was the reward for the man who had preserved the expensive value of integrity in a Kanilan stained with madness.
"That is what our Chairman said."
Tears welled in the eyes of the elderly gentleman, Thomas Haven.
...
—[Special Report] Ransom Corporation Fails to Receive Public Funds... Effectively Entering 'Bankruptcy Proceedings'—
A massive special report echoed through Kanilan.
The failure of the Community Land Protocol. Hundreds of victims during the artificial island evacuation. Massive environmental destruction, and class-action lawsuits from shareholders and the fishing industry.
Faced with unbearable liability for damages, the Kanilan government did not accept Ransom's application for a bailout.
The Kanilan Myth had received its official death sentence...
"You've arrived."
On the rooftop of Panimaro Tower, a skyscraper in Kanilan's financial district.
Dieter greeted Maximilian, who had flown to Kanilan in person.
"...It's crumbling."
Maximilian looked down at the forest of buildings stretching far beyond the railing. The atmosphere and the air were distinctly different from before.
The aura of alcohol, perfume, and nightlife that had been soaked in hedonism had been squeezed out, like a dried squid.
"Yes. Corporate bankruptcies have begun. The value of the insurance we hold is hitting the ceiling, but..."
Dieter reported with a voice full of concern.
"The counterparty risk is too high. If insurance companies and securities firms go bankrupt in succession, we might not be able to settle our profits."
Maximilian nodded.
If the house goes bust, the chips on the gambling table are just pieces of plastic.
"It doesn't matter. I wasn't planning on taking it all in cash anyway. If they don't have money, we'll have to make them pay with other things."
Maximilian's eyes gleamed coldly.
"Dieter. We are going to subjugate Kanilan."
National bonds, port operation rights, territorial sea development rights, insurance management rights, and so on. Taking the nation's infrastructure and sovereignty as collateral instead of cash, and acquiring or purchasing the technologies they had scouted beforehand at bargain prices.
"And, who knows? There might be mana stones hidden in Kanilan's waters."
Maximilian smiled as he spoke.
"Yes. Understood."
Dieter opened his notebook. He precisely noted down Maximilian's instructions.
The task of turning this into reality fell to Dieter and the think tank under his command.
"It seems I'll be seeing a lot of numbers ahead."
"I suppose so."
Pat. Maximilian placed a hand on Dieter's shoulder.
"Because we have so much to do from now on."
"..."
Dieter suddenly felt an inexplicable surge of emotion as he looked at Maximilian's hand, but he soon pushed up his glasses with his usual dry expression.
"Yes. I understand."
Emotions had to be excluded from his work.
Only by treating numbers as numbers could they be handled most correctly.
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