Promissory note trading.
A business of buying and selling credit for money.
In this business, two things matter.
First, how certain the credit behind the note is.
Second, whether you have enough funds to hold out until you can sell the note.
If either one is lacking, no matter how cheaply you buy, there is no profit left.
If you trust only the credit but have no money, you starve to death before turning the note into cash. If you have money but the credit is uncertain, what you hold in your hand becomes a scrap of paper.
But the moment the two mesh together—
Credit becomes a commodity, and the time it takes for that credit to turn into money becomes the price.
In any case.
The man who had almost become my first customer approached, scratching his head.
“Are you really buying this?”
“Yes. You can see it over there, right? ‘Immediate purchase at 50% of face value.’”
“Hmm… aren’t you cutting too much?”
Like a merchant, he began to haggle.
“Can’t you make it 70%?”
“I’m sorry. It’s fixed at 50%.”
“Come now, think about it a little. I’ve got a wife and children at home as dear as rabbits.”
“Mine aren’t exactly rabbit-like, but… I have parents and three older sisters.”
“Hey, 50% is too much! Ptui!”
Perhaps thinking the deal had gone sour, he spat.
“Humans are worse than orcs.”
“Sigh…….”
Did anyone threaten him into selling?
At that moment, Garen took one step forward.
Laughing heartily.
“Have you ever heard the saying that a man can be beaten to death with wood?”
“……?!”
“I have. There’s even a witness right here. Ha ha!”
“What… what are you talking about?!”
The man flinched.
Instead of answering, Garen rolled up his right sleeve.
CLACK— The sound of wooden joints locking together rang out.
“How about it? Shall I show you?”
“Eek! You were thug bastards!”
The merchant turned tail and ran.
A few more people came over and tried to haggle, but I shook my head.
‘If I cut any more than this, the numbers won’t work.’
For a while, no one came to us.
‘What if this doesn’t work…?’
Just as I was beginning to grow anxious, Garen scratched his head.
“Merchant Company Head. Is this perhaps not working?”
“Let’s wait just a little longer.”
“Understood!”
…Half a day passed.
Only the wind came and went inside the tent.
‘This won’t do.’
I rose from my seat.
“Garen, please watch the place for a moment.”
“Where are you going?”
“To do sales.”
Garen looked at me with an incredulous expression.
I smiled and stepped out of the tent.
Merchants were still gathered near our tent.
All of them held promissory notes in their hands and merely wandered around.
Anxiety.
Distrust.
The same words were written across everyone’s faces.
‘Of course.’
In the end, everyone had accepted promissory notes.
They had no choice.
The problem came afterward. Could they take these home, or should they sell them even at half price and turn them into cash?
Everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing. Until someone sold first, no one would be able to move.
And in the crowd, I spotted a man who kept stealing glances in this direction.
He was a middle-aged bald man wearing a worn-out coat.
“Excuse me.”
When I called out to him, he flinched.
“Were you perhaps thinking of selling your promissory note?”
“…H-how did you know?”
“You kept looking this way.”
He moved his lips for a moment, then said,
“I can’t sell all of it. I need travel expenses to get home.”
“Then sell only part of it.”
I gave a short smile and proposed a partial sale.
The more risk is divided, the smaller it becomes.
Transactions are the same.
“…What?”
“Only as much as you need. Partial sales are possible too.”
His eyes widened.
“Really?”
“Of course. Just have the note split for as much as you want to sell and bring it over.”
“Uh… yes!”
“Then come to the tent in the back.”
At that moment, the surroundings stirred slightly.
“That man is doing sales himself.”
“He says small amounts are fine too.”
“Then should I try selling just a little?”
“One gold coin’s worth should be fine anyway.”
The murmuring soon spread like a wave.
The middle-aged merchant came over with two promissory notes.
One was worth one gold coin, and the other was worth twelve.
“F-fifty silver coins should be enough for me to get home.”
“Yes. Here you are.”
Clink— clink.
I opened a pouch of silver coins and placed them in his hand.
When he turned away with a broad smile, every gaze around us focused on him at once.
After that, it was easy.
“I-I’ll sell just one gold coin’s worth too!”
“Here, two gold coins’ worth!”
A long line formed behind the tent.
Fifty silver coins, one hundred, forty.
Promissory notes piled up in my hand one after another.
Only now had the market begun to turn. So far, so good.
That was when I had spent about seven gold coins.
“I’ll buy all promissory notes at 60%! Don’t sell next door. Sell them here!”
The voice split through the middle of the marketplace.
In an instant, the line stopped, and every gaze turned that way.
“What…?”
“Is he serious?”
Merchants are the sort of people who fight over a single silver coin.
A man at the very back of the line quietly slipped out and turned toward the other line.
This had become troublesome.
A merchant who had been about to complete his transaction awkwardly put his promissory note back into his pouch.
“Um…….”
“Ha ha, there’s no need to feel sorry.”
“I’m sorry, but… I’ll think about it a little more before selling.”
“Of course.”
“Th-thank you!”
I gave a short smile and nodded.
I would sell over there too, if I were him.
Still, seeing someone in the neighboring spot copy my method exactly… left a subtly bitter taste in my mouth.
And the problem did not end there.
“I’ll buy promissory notes here at 70%!”
What? 70%? That’s a price where a merchant loses money.
A merchant who went one step further had appeared.
This would not do.
It seemed I would have to step in myself.
“Garen, please bring those merchants over.”
“Ha ha, just leave it to me!”
A little while later, Garen whispered something to the two merchants, then dragged them over with a satisfied expression.
The two merchants, on the other hand, had gone pale.
‘No… what on earth did he say?’
“Why did you call us?”
“Is it all right for you to threaten us like this?”
I opened my mouth with a smile.
“It isn’t a long story. I’m simply saying we shouldn’t all die together.”
“……?”
“……?”
“At 70% in this game, all three of us go under.”
The merchant who had offered 60% opened his mouth.
“Are you threatening us right now?”
“No.”
I laughed.
“Can you guarantee a merchant won’t appear a little later offering 80%?”
“Th-that… is not something anyone can know.”
“Then I’ll go to 80%. No, 90%.”
I shrugged.
“Follow me if you want.”
The two merchants looked at each other.
Cold sweat formed on their foreheads.
The face of the faster calculator stiffened first.
“……Then what are you saying we should do?”
I thought for a moment, then said,
“Let’s set rules.”
“Rules?”
“We sell in turns. Decide the order, and don’t break the price against each other.”
“Will that… work?”
“This game won’t last long. There are more than enough people trying to sell promissory notes anyway, and only a limited number of people have gold coins.”
I subtly put strength into my voice.
“It’s better for all of us to earn a little together than for one person to rush ahead alone.”
The two merchants reluctantly nodded.
And so, we decided to receive customers in turns.
The first and fourth would be mine.
The second and fifth would go to the 60% merchant.
The third and sixth would go to the 70% merchant.
It was a simple method of the three of us taking turns selling, but it was enough to establish order.
“Next person!”
“Here, two gold coins’ worth!”
Three deals, then four. As the transactions continued, a strange liveliness filled the air.
Clink, clink—
The sound of silver coins changing hands filled the tent.
“Now there’s finally some order.”
“I know. We need to hurry and sell before they all run out of money.”
The merchants who had come to sell their promissory notes also nodded, their faces satisfied.
Of course, it was not all smooth sailing.
Someone in the back grumbled.
“Isn’t this collusion? Who does business while deciding the order like that?”
“Then why don’t you try selling them yourself?”
“Wh-what? I don’t have any gold coins!”
“Then shut your mouth.”
“Ha…….”
There were complaints along the way asking whether this was collusion, but in the end, the mood was one of acceptance.
I smiled quietly. After all, collusion and “market normalization” are only one sheet of paper apart, are they not?
In that slow way, the two merchants and I kept to our order and each spent close to ten gold coins.
‘I spent seven gold coins earlier, so that’s seventeen today. Even considering pure profit alone, that’s seventeen.’
Before even a full day had passed, I had the value of half a countryside cottage in my hands.
“Puh-huh-huh-huh…….”
Even as I sat there dazed because it did not feel real, laughter surged up inside me, and I forced it back down.
The sunset disappeared, and the moon rose.
Just as I was thinking that I should buy up all the remaining promissory notes tomorrow—
I suddenly remembered Sera’s older sister, Sena.
‘Right, I promised to deliver the medicinal herbs.’
“I’ll stop here for today and buy the rest tomorrow.”
“Hmm, I should be able to buy everything by tomorrow as well.”
“I’ll stay and finish selling, then leave today. Good work, everyone.”
Like that, the other merchants and I dispersed one by one.
Garen asked while yawning.
“Merchant Company Head, where will you sleep tonight? Shall I look for an inn?”
I set my gaze far away. Under the moonlight, white tents could be seen faintly in the distance.
“No. I see relief tents over there. Let’s stay there.”
“Yes! I’ll secure a spot.”
“You go to sleep first. I have somewhere to go.”
The corners of Garen’s mouth rose.
“Could it be? Heh heh.”
“Could what be?”
“Are you perhaps doing something else every night? Ha ha, you leave your place often.”
“You worked hard. Rest well.”
No, it was something else… but not that something else.
Avoiding an answer, I loaded the medicinal herb box onto the cart.
After that, I took the reins of one mule and slowly set off.
Step, step.
When I went toward the relief flag, the junior official I had seen earlier was organizing supplies.
“I need to find a priest. I heard she is doing relief work here. Do you know where she is?”
The official raised his head.
“Ah, you’re Mikael, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I can tell you, but…….”
I did not miss the slight hesitation.
“……?”
He caught his breath for a moment, then raised his hand and pointed into the distance.
“Over there. You see the village, right?”
Beyond the official’s fingertip, I could faintly see the ruined plains and the collapsed roof of a church.
“If you go that way, you can meet her. However….”
“However?”
“It’s a place where a pack of orcs could burst out at any moment. If possible, it would be better not to go.”
I nodded.
“It would be nice if that were possible.”
I gripped the mule’s reins again.
The box of medicinal herbs rattled and shook.
***
The farther west I walked, the more the lights went out one by one.
NEIGH— SNORT.
The mule suddenly stopped.
It pricked up its ears and sniffed.
The animal would not move any farther.
“Hey, it’s all right. It’s nothing.”
I soothed the mule and led it forward.
The road toward the western edge of Marcella. It made the claim that this place had been the center of the raid feel real.
Orc corpses lay scattered here and there along the roadside. Puddles of blood that looked like a mixture of yellow and green had collected on the ground.
On top of that, a yellowish stench unlike the smell of human blood—like iron mixed with mold—stabbed my nose.
“……The villagers must have all taken shelter.”
I murmured softly and took another step forward.
Rattle, rattle—
The roof of the church I had seen from far away was now close enough to touch.
And then.
“Stop and raise your hands.”
A sharp voice came from the direction of the church.
I let go of the reins and raised both hands.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Mikael from Heindel. A peddler.”
“What? A merchant?”
He had no manners when he spoke.
“Yes, I am a merchant. And today, I’m not here to do business.”
Step, step.
A slender man approached me.
Silver armor. Resplendent patterns.
The moment I saw his attire, I knew.
‘A Paladin.’
“Then what business brings you here?”
“I came to meet Priest Sena.”
“Sena?”
“Yes. I came to deliver medicinal herbs.”
I showed him the pile of medicinal herbs loaded on the cart.
The Paladin took out one of the herbs and brought it to his mouth.
He cleared his throat.
“Greetings. As this is a wartime situation, I ask your understanding for my rudeness a moment ago.”
“What? Was there any rudeness?”
I shrugged.
“…Heh heh. You may go in this way.”
“Yes, sir.”
The moment I entered the church, my breath stopped.
It was no longer a place that served god.
“Aaaargh! My arm, my arm’s been cut off!”
“Priest! Where is the priest……!”
“Damn it, look at my comrade first! This bastard isn’t breathing!”
The smell of blood and medicinal herbs mingled together and stabbed my nose.
It felt as though the nightmares of my previous life had revived exactly as they were.
“…….”
Was it right to sell the medicinal herbs?
I fell into thought.
Sera had certainly told me, “It’s fine if you sell some of them yourself.”
But… maybe this damn body still had not shaken off the mark of a soldier.
Just as I was lost in those thoughts—
A female priest walked out from inside the church.
I could tell who she was at a glance.
‘She said older sister… Were the two of them twins?’
She had the same face as Sera.
Her eyes were long, and her lashes cast long shadows.
But the atmosphere was different.
If Sera was a saintess in prayer, this person was like a healer standing on a battlefield.
The hem of her priestly robe was soaked with blood.
“You came looking for me? For what reason?”
“Yes. Priest Sera asked me to deliver medicinal herbs to you.”
“Ah, she did? Ha ha, Sera made someone do something again, did she? So, how much are the medicinal herbs?”
Straight to the point?
Unlike her younger sister, she had a refreshingly direct personality.
“The price….”
I took a moment to catch my breath, then said, “I’ll give them to you for free.”
At least for today, I decided to be a soldier again.