Episode 113 26. Black Label Union (1)
Shortly after the 1st Prince and his troops left Lyon.
A guild meeting hosted by the guild chief was held in Ghetto Nuovo.
It was the guild member’s natural duty to attend the guild meeting, so the guild members who came in haste after hearing the news started talking about Rockefeller, who met the first prince from the front of the meeting room.
“Hey, did you hear the news?”
“Of course I heard. Did the 1st prince just go away? Does it make sense that Tephez of Heaven just left without asking for anything?”
“That’s it. I didn’t believe it at first either? No one else, the first prince in the world just went away.”
“There was an army outside the city, what the hell did you do? Do you even have the heart of a beast?”
“This guild leader doesn’t seem to be afraid of the world. Otherwise, I can’t explain it.”
“I thought I was just young, but I have the guts.”
“It’s good to have the guts. We can’t do that because we’re cowards.”
“It is.”
“This guild leader is the real thing. I think it’s a really good choice. is not it?”
“Is business going better than before? Clearly, it’s far more profitable to pay a few bucks in interest and run a big loan business with the money you bring in. Strangely enough.”
“It’s the same with me. They are having a lot of fun these days.”
“You know where you are? I’m also in the mood to trade these days. In the past, there wasn’t one or two times where I had a hard time because I didn’t have money to lend. Now that I can worry less about it, of course it’s good.”
“It is said that Prince Benjamin committed suicide.”
“What could it be? Can’t you just hang yourself and die?”
“but. He went out and the business got better, but even I would have been hiding in a mouse hole. He insisted on the storage fee for gold coins like that, and it’s stinky.”
“Honestly, he died well. He was a guy who believed in his family and tried to eat it all by himself.”
Among them, a guild member whose stomach bulged out confessed one regret about the loan business.
“I’m also doing business, but it’s going well. I want to lend you more money, but I have nowhere to go. I think it would be pretty good if we could just do business in the area the Black Label Union controls. I heard that these days there is a lot of chaos due to the development of new routes and trade with the new continent. If you do it right, you can eat hundreds or thousands of times.”
black label.
It was the largest port city in the Empire and a place that was quite prosperous in trade with the New World.
It was also home to another banco coalition called the Black Label Union.
“Ah, no matter what, I can’t touch that. The Black Label Union is holding tight there.”
“If I accidentally touched it, wouldn’t it stay still there? It will definitely come out.”
“I don’t know anything else, but Ismail will move. uh uh scared Where are you afraid to go near there? I won’t even go near it because people’s lives are precious.”
“That’s right. so it’s very sad They said it was really upsetting because there wasn’t really any money to lend. And I have to do business… .”
“That’s a real bonanza.”
“There is really no good place to do business with money. If there are no problems, would you like to go there and do business too?”
Ground land!
When the bell to announce the start of the meeting rang loudly, the guild members who were buzzing outside the meeting room began to enter the catacomb guild meeting hall at once.
“Come on, let’s go in. Mass will begin soon.”
“But what did you call me for?”
“I don’t know. By the way, I heard that there is some major announcement?”
“A major announcement? what is that?”
“I don’t know either. let’s go in at once If you listen, you will know.”
Immediately after Mass, presided by the priest of the Church, before the start of the meeting.
Rockefeller opened his mouth for a guild meeting.
“The reason I am calling all of you who are busy like this is because there is an important announcement.”
What the hell is that big announcement?
What kind of announcement are you going to make when the matter related to the 1st prince is well settled?
When everyone has such a question.
Rockefeller spoke up.
“From today on, our Lyon Guild.”
After taking a deep breath, Rockefeller spoke in a rather strong tone to the guild members who were staring at him.
“We are about to declare an all-out war with the Black Label Union.”
At Rockefeller’s words, the entire conference hall began to roar loudly.
Meanwhile, Rockefeller continued to speak.
“I don’t think the empire market is that big. We have lived with them in the imperial market until now. Sharing this narrow market with them will only weaken our power in the Empire. Even if it is not us, the imperial family, who is in need of money, has no choice but to significantly lower their dependence on us because of their presence.”
The buzz of the conference hall continued, and Rockefeller’s words toward them were not unstoppable.
“They try to kill them or absorb them towards us.”
After speaking, Rockefeller stood calmly, waiting for the questions to be addressed to him.
After a while.
Some of the noisy guild members raised their hands and asked for a say.
Rockefeller named one of them and erected it.
“I will give you a chance to speak to everyone.”
An unknown guild member who stood up from the seat began to speak to everyone.
“Wow! That’s a good idea. I agree!”
Cheers and clamors erupted from here and there at the same time at the word Chansung.
“I never liked it! Let us just press it!”
“I’m going to spit it out right now! The imperial market belongs to us!”
“No, what kind of bullshit! Then if there is a problem, everyone will be held responsible!”
towards them.
Rockefeller asked in an unusually loud voice.
“Does anyone have a different opinion?”
When the other guild members raised their hand at the question, Rockefeller pointed him out and gave him the right to speak.
“I will give you the right to speak. You can speak at your convenience.”
“This is Gibson from Brewbon. To wage war with the Black Label Union. It will soon result in the inclusion of the Ismail family.”
When he looked at the meeting room, most of the guild members shook their heads as if sympathizing with them.
“Everyone knows that they are the best assassins in the Empire, right? Still, do I have to touch the Black Label Union?”
He then asked Rockefeller.
“Or do you have any countermeasures?”
to self-questioning.
Rockefeller quieted the tumultuous conference hall and spoke up.
“Of course it is.”
The conference hall was buzzing for a while at the word that there was a solution, but soon became quiet to listen to Rockefeller.
“First of all, as I said at the previous guild meeting, our Lyon guild intends to support His Majesty the Second Prince in this war for the crown. As everyone knows, the second prince is a prince from the Ismail family. To support him like that is to score a lot from Ismail. Then think about it. How can the Ismail side treat us like that? Are you pushing the Second Prince?”
At Rockefeller’s words, the guild member who identified himself as Gibson asked another question.
“I heard that Prince Rockefeller had a good meeting with the First Prince. Then the other three princes are the problem… … As you all know, the third prince is from the Sinclair family. And we, too, have been with the Sinclair family for a long time. In this situation, if we are to support the Second Prince in the upcoming Crown War, will the Third Prince, or the Sinclair family, stand still?”
Some guild members who sympathized with those words shouted and made a commotion in the conference hall.
“Of course not! What are they stupid?”
“They are wizards! I don’t know what’s going to happen right now!”
“People have to keep their loyalty!”
towards that conference room.
Rockefeller first showed signs of sympathy.
“That is correct. What you just said is something I can relate to.”
“Then what do you think?”
“So we have to go to war with the Black Label Union even faster. The reason for supporting the second prince is because the war against the Black Label Union.”
“Then what about the Sinclairs?”
“If we show that we are focusing on the war against the Black Label Union, not the War of the Crown, they will have nothing to say. And even if the First Prince came to visit me, I just went. It is because we have reached an agreement to support only the second prince, His Majesty.”
“What do you mean?”
Rockefeller explained the whole story with the first prince.
The Lyon Guild decided not to support both the 1st and 3rd princes, and instead informed everyone that they promised to support only the 2nd prince.
“There is a promise we made with the first prince, so we have to support only the second prince. If not, the first prince, who passed without a problem this time, will come back and cause trouble.”
Rockefeller said to everyone.
“Everyone will understand what Tepez is afraid of. So we have no other choice. We have no choice but to convince the Sinclair family to support the second prince with a cause, and to abolish the Black Label Union, not the crown war.”
It seems that each guild member has a lot of thoughts.
Unlike before, the inside of the conference hall began to become quiet.
Then, a guild member who did not have the right to speak raised a voice.
“I can explain why, but would the Sinclair family have a disappointing voice?”
He continued.
“Maybe we can withdraw our support altogether. If the 3rd Prince His Majesty even wins the war for the crown, what will he do then? Without the papers they applied for in the first place, we couldn’t even make a IOU.”
Rockefeller questioned him.
“Then what will you do if the First Prince is victorious in this war for the crown? Are you all going to stop doing business like the 1st Prince made an oath?”
Unable to answer him, Rockefeller spoke to everyone.
“Everyone will agree that it is difficult no matter what choice you make. This ambiguity is the best option we can take. We will not bet on either the 1st Prince or the 3rd Prince. Of course, the Sinclair family will have a disappointing voice. It will definitely come out. But shouldn’t we also live? And it’s a pity that if the third prince wins the war for the crown later, he can repay it well.”
All of the guild members had different opinions on this matter.
As Rockefeller said, not taking anyone’s side might be the best option.
All the more so because they knew that the Second Prince couldn’t win the Crown War anyway.
In the quiet meeting room, the guild members who agreed with Rockefeller’s thoughts began to raise their voices.
“Then it would be better to focus on the war against Black Label Union and make our own cause as much as possible. After all, the Sinclair family won’t say anything to us who support Ismail, who is hopeless.”
Another guild member with whom I sympathized raised a voice.
“It is true that I have to help the Sinclair family. If that happens, the 1st Prince will start a riot again. Isn’t this something we should live and see apart from loyalty? Seeing that the 1st Prince also left quietly, the Sinclair family probably won’t take it too seriously.”
no more words come out
Rockefeller asked all of them to confirm.
“Any other opinions?”
Everyone seemed to affirm in silence.
“If there is no other opinion, the all-out war against Black Label Union will proceed as planned.”
A guild member raised his hand at those words.
Rockefeller gave him a say, and he stood up and questioned.
“War is good. How the hell are you going to make war with them, Prince Rockefeller?”
Rockefeller laughed.
“People like us will not fight with guns and knives like soldiers who went to war. Fortunately, it’s not like that.”
At those words, the guild members who were filling the conference hall laughed softly.
“Then how is it? Unless you’re fighting with a gun and a knife.”
“I’m thinking of going to the middle of the enemy camp and doing business. I heard that it is very hot these days. Are you saying that you need a lot of money to develop new routes or trade with new continents? It is said that the loan business is quite booming… … If not, would the people who couldn’t borrow money come to Lyon?”
Rockefeller smiled mischievously.
“In such a place, wouldn’t it be polite for us to go and do business?”