Volume 1 Chapter 8 Sometimes It's Happier Not to Know, But It's Too Late After You've Already Picked a Fight.
"I couldn't land a single effective hit on Master..."
At the Luster Report mansion.
Rangella was slumped over the living room table.
Tiaris was preparing tea and sweets for her.
"...Could it be, in your raw specs?"
"Yes, my whole body is brimming with high-quality magic, too stable. It's impossible. The master has turned his bones into golems, which would multiply his combat power, but he doesn't even use that."
Rangella sighed, but it seemed she wasn't really upset.
"To be that strong, huh, hehe, what a scary person."
"He has had a lot of experience... or rather, he was managing the system of the capital swarming with refugees, so I can understand why his experience points are astronomical."
"It's good. I always thought we could rely on that broad back of his, and it's still as big as ever."
"Yes, during our journey, we faced many difficulties, but if I think I can just cry and go to him, I might even try to confront the enemy once."
"And actually breaking through like that is just plain stupid, but..."
"That's fine, too."
Because the Demon Lord held power over men, any man of ability had to keep his distance.
Of course, there's no effect unless you see her directly or hear her voice, but that doesn't mean you can let your guard down.
That's why, somehow, Horace was always in the background.
And... having someone reliable behind them is very important when they're on a journey.
"By the way, the eldest son of the Count Imodeth family got involved, didn't he?"
"Imodeth... oh, I thought I'd seen it before, it was on the debtors' list. It should have been 2,000 gold coins."
"Huh?"
Rangella was taken aback by Tiaris's explanation.
Moreover, all the gold, silver, and copper coins come from monsters, but when used as energy in magic items, silver coins are worth 100 times more than copper coins.
Gold coins are worth 10 times the silver coins.
This energy value directly translates to their value as currency.
So, around the world, 1 gold coin equals 10 silver coins, which equals 1000 copper coins.
In a country with enough food, a simple loaf of bread costs 1 copper coin.
For one meal, you can eat a satisfying amount for 5 copper coins.
In the Diamante Kingdom, you need about 5 silver coins to live for a month.
Well, with taxes taking a chunk, people probably earn more than that.
The economic scale and population ratio are not much different in the Chaos Stone Dragonstone Kingdom either.
"What does 2,000 gold coins mean?"
"It's about ten times the annual budget of the Count Imodeth family."
"Oh, I see..."
"But still, that area has poor industries, so they probably use up the whole budget. I heard the eldest son was raised to Count because he can use the holy sword."
"Is that so?"
In short, they must perform well.
You gain money by defeating monsters.
This is the golden rule of this world.
There are many ways to increase the efficiency of magic tools or enrich the territory without relying on them, but since the basics of magic tool development are widely known, rulers and businessmen really rely on them.
Territories without nearby dungeons filled with monsters have poor industries.
In fact, merchants don't come here.
There are various ways to develop technology and keep it secret, or to bring back seeds from unexplored lands to cultivate, ensuring 'uniqueness,' but you need money for that too.
Having a holy sword, which is precious and rare for many, is certainly a good point, but even with a holy sword, you can't grow wheat, so in the end, defeating monsters is what matters.
"Why come to this country?"
The Count Imodeth family is a noble of the Diamante Kingdom.
If they have a holy sword, it makes sense to go earn money in nearby dungeons or areas where monsters create ecosystems, but why are they in the Dragonstone country?
"Our story about being in this country is spreading slowly, and if so, we will live in Jewel City Lapis. Well, if they want to nitpick, I understand why they'd come to this treasure city..."
"Are they free?"
"They must be free."
Whether a Demon Lord exists or not, people earn money by defeating monsters, so strength is still needed.
But if you don't go defeat monsters, you get nothing.
If you come here just to complain and do not act, you must be free.
Or maybe they already had a big failure in a dungeon or a monster area.
"One thing I don't understand is... since many 'exceptions' will be gone and debts must be paid, the royal family must want to cut the budget for nobles. So, why are they so relaxed?"
"Maybe they don't know about the debts at home."
"Could that really happen?"
"It's a common story. Very common. Right?"
Tiaris smiles, looking somewhat nostalgic.
Rangella did not press her about that smile.
* * *
"This stupid son! What are you thinking?!"
In a high-class inn in Dragonstone country,
Guodrel was being yelled at by his father, Gadorl Imodeth.
"What do you mean? You said before that those commoners are lying about defeating the Demon Lord, and it's a problem!"
"Even so, is there a fool that directly complains! My Count Imodeth family has a debt of 20,000 gold coins to the Luster Report!"
"What?! 20,000 gold coins?!"
Tiaris said it was only 2,000, but it seems there is one more 0.
In other words, they were in debt 100 times the annual budget of the Count family.
...to put it simply, the excuse of an emergency is quite something.
It's just like that.
"The Demon Lord is defeated; debts must be paid. We already received over 100,000 gold coins in aid and still have this debt."
"Then, let's make them admit they didn't defeat the Demon Lord! Then, the world will have a crisis, and we can use exceptions for the debt..."
"The hero acknowledges that the Demon Lord was defeated at the world conference! Can you say that to the world?!"
"N-no way..."
Guodrel's face turned pale.
"This is bad. This is really bad. We were supposed to negotiate for lower interest rates, but now, we can't lower it at all..."
"W-We are the Count family, holders of the holy sword! Even the royal family will pay us!"
"Don't be stupid! The annual budget from the royal family to the Count family is only 200 gold coins. Even with a 1% interest rate for a year, we can only pay that interest! Do you understand!?"
"..."
Guodrel, who knew nothing.
He must have some idea that 'he could live lavishly because money came from the royal family.'
But if he doesn't spend that 'noble budget' of 200 gold coins a year, the Imodeth Count family can't manage their territory.
And even if they use the whole budget, they can only pay the interest back.
The answer is simple.
Bankruptcy.
"S-Such a huge amount of money. What do we spend it on..."
"Most of it is for the holy sword's usage fees."
"Why so much..."
"The Church of Shinathica also has a large debt to the Luster Report, and they need to pay it back by squeezing money from various countries."
"No way..."
Guodrel's face turned completely white.
"It's no exaggeration to say that 'the world was maintained by gold coins supplied by the Luster Report.' And you're picking a fight with the 'top of the hero community.'"
Gadorl's words slid smoothly into Guodrel's mind.
"Ugh, uaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Guodrel dashed out of the room.
"H-Hey! Where are you going! Wait!"
Just before Guodrel burst out of the room, he was gripping the hilt of the holy sword tightly.
It's no wonder Gadorl was desperate.
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