Episode 74 19. Lyon Guild (2)
After the conversation ended, Overseer left, and Rockefeller went straight to Joshua and threw something.
“Joshua.”
Joshua, who managed to catch what Rockefeller threw, questioned.
“what’s this?”
“Gold ore. I have to hurry up.”
Joshua looked down and looked at the gold ore he had picked up.
There were glittering gold studded with it.
“Is this a gold ore? Are you talking about the gold ore the dwarves go to mine for?”
“right. To be precise, it could be alloyed quartz, or it could be a silver and gold mine mixed with silver. After all, it is an ore containing gold.”
If you look closely, you can see something sparkling in the cracks in the ore.
“Where did you get this from? Rockefeller-hyung couldn’t have brought it himself, right?”
“Where did I get it? The Overseer brought it. To be more precise, they said that the children in the village brought what they accidentally picked up while playing near the water.”
Joshua questioned.
“Is that possible? This… … Is it gold ore? Why was it near the water stream?”
“Isn’t it pretty noisy due to the earthquake in the last few days? That’s when it came out.”
Rockefeller continued.
“If the children picked it up while playing, the number of gold ore found in this area will gradually increase. Then people will question it. Since this used to be Azrak Goldmine, you will have doubts about whether there is a gold vein here again.”
Naturally, Joshua bit his thumb and responded immediately.
“This is a big deal. Wouldn’t that be a bad thing if rumors spread that the gold vein might be alive here? Were we the only ones who knew that fact?”
“It won’t be like that anymore. People are not stupid.”
“Then what will happen?”
“People who can stand up for themselves will look into this land like hungry wild beasts.”
“Is this Youngju? Will Yeongju also say something else at that time? They said this was originally their land.”
“No, the lord here doesn’t have to worry too much.”
Rockefeller was pretty sure.
“Anyway, it seems that Andrew and Stella gave up half of their arranged marriage at the same time. And of course we have the right to this land. Even if I become greedy, I will give up easily because there is no chance of winning.”
“But the right to this land hasn’t been recognized by the imperial family yet, has it?”
“It’s easy to be recognized. All you have to do is go and put your money in.”
“Do it.”
“It bothered me, so I made an agreement with the lord here. Even if that becomes a problem, the lord cannot claim the rights of this land. Because I already promised in front of the church members.”
“then… … Who is the problem?”
Rockefeller spoke in a very serious tone.
“Rather, the targets we should be on guard against are the Emperor’s majesty and the lords located in nearby areas. Since this land is not in a normal state yet, they are sure to rush in by forcibly asserting their rights to this land. It must be a symbol of wanting to eat something.”
“under… … .”
Joshua sighed a little.
“But this is our land, isn’t it? It’s a right, of course we have it.”
“That’s right. But if we want to make sure we stand up for our rights to this land, we’d better be qualified quickly. That way, all the bastards will be thrown away.”
What is that qualification?
Joshua knew right away.
“At least we should be a noble family. At least influencing several noble families… … .”
“Of course it would be. So you have to hurry up. We don’t even have a banco with our family name yet, don’t we?”
“So what do you think Rockefeller will do? Just because we want it doesn’t mean we can pay a banco in our name right now, right?”
“So I’m going to Lyon.”
Joshua had heard from Carter about becoming a goldsmith.
“You’re going to Lyon, you’re going to meet the Lyon guild chief, not Leo?”
“I’m going to Lyon and I’m going to see Leo too. But the real purpose is to meet the Lyon guild chief. Only then will I be able to become a goldsmith with the most ease.”
Just because you learned goldsmiths did not mean you could become a goldsmith.
Goldsmiths also had their own faction.
There were two major factions in the Empire, one was the Lyon Guild located in Lyon, and the other was the Black Label Union located in the port city of Black Label.
You could only become a goldsmith if you belonged to one of these two factions.
“I don’t know if the imperial family directly selects goldsmiths. It’s not like that, so you have to be friendly with one of the two factions.”
Joshua knew this well.
Because that’s what I heard when I was bored with Carter.
“I heard a lot from Uncle Carter that if you want to become a goldsmith, your relationship with the Lyon Guild or the Black Label Union is more important than a goldsmith.”
Joshua, who remembered something as he spoke, expressed concern.
“Have you heard of that? Uncle Carter told me that the Lyon Guildmaster was pretty strict there. I’ve heard that it’s hard to become that person if you don’t like it.”
Rockefeller knew this already.
Because of that, I kept putting off becoming a goldsmith.
“I should see you first. I’m leaving tomorrow, so I’ll leave this place to you for a while.”
Joshua was doing just as well as Rockefeller.
“Okay. Don’t worry too much about this, I’ll take care of myself.”
“The earthquake damage has caused people to come here to borrow. Do you know exactly how to proceed like I said back then?”
“Of course you know. Interest rates should be low, but trustworthiness should be checked.”
“You definitely know it.”
“And the money going out will be replaced with the IOU here.”
This was the most important.
Rockefeller nodded to himself and opened his mouth.
“That is the most important thing. Whatever you do, give me the IOU in lieu of gold coins. That will be beneficial to us.”
Keep the ‘real money’, but borrow ‘fake money (document of loan)’ to collect interest.
That was why Rockefeller insisted on the IOU.
Then, it would be like trading with the money that was not there, so from the standpoint of Banco, the loan interest rate was 1% or 3%, which was an unconditional profit. Also, since the IOUs could be issued indefinitely, it was possible to borrow more than the gold coins that Banco had.
‘The logic of the miracle of banks.’
“You know?”
Joshua smiled confidently.
“Of course you know. That’s what benefits us.”
“And do the repairs on the fortress side in advance. It will cost you more money if you repair it later.”
Rockefeller, who knew the future, knew at what point the dwarves would attack.
“The enemy within is important, but the one you need to be most wary of is the enemy outside rather than the enemy inside.”
“Is that because of the dwarves?”
“right. Originally, the owner of this land was a dwarf, not a human.”
“Okay. Then I will pay for the cost of repairs on the fortress side with the IOU.”
Rockefeller smiled brightly at Joshua.
“Yeah, it’s not too difficult, so you can do it on your own.”
* * *
After a busy trip to Lyon, Rockefeller and his guide arrived a few days later in Lyon, one of the most prosperous commercial towns in the Empire.
Lyon was a large city that could not even be compared with the Montefeltro estate on the outskirts of the Empire, and many people lived there.
Arriving in Lyon, Rockefeller was the first to walk towards the cathedral.
It was because there was his brother Leo, who was suffering in a distant land, and Bishop Berkis, whom he had known through the Priest Priest Peter.
‘Before meeting the Lyon guild chief, the order would be to meet with Sir Berkis first.’
The Lyon guild chief was also a member of the Lyon family.
And Bishop Berkis is also a member of the Lyon family.
For that reason, Rockefeller had planned to meet with Bishop Berkes before meeting with the Guild Chief of Lyon.
Arrived at Lyon Cathedral.
The whole building was covered with metal, as if it were covered in iron armor, and the spire that soared high into the sky was quite impressive.
In terms of scale alone, it boasted an overwhelming size that could not even be compared with the small church building in the Montefeltro estate.
‘Did you say that the Archbishop also came from here?’
Currently bishop.
The reason Lyon’s position within the denomination decreased compared to before was largely due to political reasons within the denomination.
‘It also changes from time to time.’
Rockefeller, accompanied by a guide, went into the cathedral and first found his younger brother, Leo.
Leo was not too difficult to find, and contrary to what he was worried about, Leo was living well as a priest.
As soon as he saw Leo, who was no longer a child, but a full-fledged priest, Rockefeller smiled brightly.
“Leo!”
“Brother Rockefeller!”
Leo, who hugged Rockefeller with a much brighter look than before, questioned Rockefeller, who had come without any news.
“Why did Brother Rockefeller come to Lyon?”
“What happened? We came to see Leo. After all, just because we became church members, doesn’t it mean that we have already become male and female?”
“Is that possible? Even when I’m in Johann’s arms, I’m always a member of the Los Medici family.”
“Yeah, it’s good to see you doing well.”
After meeting with Leo, Rockefeller simply finished talking and immediately asked to meet with Bishop Berkis.
Since they had a good relationship, there was no reason to reject the Rockefeller who Bishop Berkis had visited, and the meeting soon took place.
After a while, Rockefeller, who was alone with Bishop Berkis, spoke up.
“I am very sorry that I have come to visit you all of a sudden.”
“No. I was rather happy to hear that you were here.”
“Haha, thank you so much for saying that.”
The conversation that started like that slowly moved on to the main topic.
“What else did you come here for? Could it be that something went wrong?”
When Bishop Berkis asked with a slightly worried look, Rockefeller shook his head at once.
“no. It’s not like that, but I came here because I had something to do.”
“Is it a business? What’s the deal?”
“That’s why I came here to join the Lyon Guild.”
“Lyon Guild?”
“Yes, I would like to meet the Lyon guild leader here.”
Contrary to what Rockefeller thought, Bishop Berkis’s expression was not very good.
“suddenly… … Why?”
“You said you came here to meet Benjamin? Hmm… … .”
“yes. Is there something going on?”
This time, when Rockefeller asked worriedly, Bishop Berkis shook his head.
“No. It’s not really like that… … .”
It looks like there’s something different about what you’re saying.
“If it’s not an excuse, may I ask what’s going on?”
“It’s nothing. Because of what happened with you, my relationship with the guild here has gotten a little worse.”
Rockefeller questioned that statement.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s just housework. It’s something you don’t know.”
“Aren’t you still a member of the family?”
“It is, but… … Yes, because it is only closer than others.”
Rockefeller couldn’t help but tilt his head at the vague words.
‘What the hell is going on?’