Episode 85 21. Guild Meeting #2(1)
One week left until the guild meeting hosted by the guild chief.
An unwelcome guest came to Benjamin, the owner of Lyon Banco and also the head of the guild.
“Hmm… … .”
“That is the meaning of His Majesty Layan. You have made it clear that if you support anyone other than yourself in the upcoming Crown War, you will have to pay the price for it.”
The person who suddenly came to Benjamin was none other than an Imperial Army officer in a neat uniform.
He was following the first prince of the empire, Rayyan Tepez, and he met the head of the Lyon Guild today to deliver the first prince’s warning directly.
“No, look at this man. What if you suddenly come to me like this and say that to me? Everyone knows that the Lyon Guild is protected by the Sinclair family.”
“That’s not important to His Majesty Rayyan. What His Majesty Layan cares about is the coming Crown War, and everyone involved in this must heed His warning.”
The Imperial Army officer continued.
“And you must have heard the rumors. His Majesty Layyan has no mercy.”
“You have no mercy… … .”
“Have you never heard of His Majesty Laiyan?”
“I knew that the Tepez family was inherently atrocious. Because it was like that in the first place.”
“He is a person who has properly inherited the blood of such a family. So you’d better not support the third prince in the upcoming crown war.”
Is the position very difficult?
Benjamin, who naturally wrinkled his expression, protested.
“Then there will be horses from the Sinclairs, so what do you do with that?”
The imperial army officer who came to me then smiled softly.
“That’s not up to us.”
“I don’t know… … .”
“I am only giving a warning from His Majesty Lai Yan. The judgment rests solely with Prince Benjamin.”
Benjamin grinned bitterly.
‘I’m going crazy. I hoped it would come out like that.’
Crown Wars.
It is a long tradition of the imperial family that made the survival of the fittest and the eating of the weak as virtues.
It was their own war to select the crown prince who would ascend to the next throne from among the princes who inherited the blood of the emperor.
Princes wishing to ascend to the throne were able to participate in the Crown War of their own will, and only one of the princes who participated in the Crown War survived to have the title of Crown Prince and the Emperor’s surname.
‘No, what does the War of the Crown have to do with us? We just need to do business quietly.’
As if he couldn’t agree with this, Benjamin tried his guts once.
“Look. Do you think I’ll blink an eye? We have the protection of the Sinclairs. Even the Sinclairs will never stand still if they touch us.”
Then an officer who came to see him as if he thought his guts was very plastic, laughed openly.
“Haha, depending on the victory or defeat of the upcoming Crown War, His Majesty Layyan may be able to completely wipe out the Lyon Guild.”
“What? No guilds, or destroy them?”
“Isn’t it a place that is rejected by the Bancoya Church anyway? Even the people who do usury business are thugs, so the people of the Empire are arrogant.
“Who, who do you mean! We are also doing business according to our own legal procedures!”
“If His Majesty Lai Yan becomes His Majesty the Emperor, there is nothing he cannot do. After all, it is the law of the Empire.”
The Imperial Army officer, who was smiling implicitly, continued the rest of the story.
“Isn’t it all the will of His Majesty the Emperor?”
“under… … .”
From Benjamin’s point of view, it was a situation that brought out a sigh of relief.
The first prince, Rayyan Tepez, was one of the most strongly talked about as a candidate for the next crown prince among many princes.
So, the words of the Imperial Army officer who came to Benjamin did not sound light at all.
‘That’s not wrong, but I can’t ignore the Sinclair family either.’
The first prince, Rayyan Tepez, was fully supported by the sword master Tepez.
On the other hand, since the third prince, Karlman Sinclair, was supported by the Sinclair family, a master of magic, assuming that both princes participated in the War for the Crown, the position of the Lyon Guild, which was protected by the Sinclair family, was very embarrassing.
“Give me time to think. We are also under the protection of the Sinclair family, but what will we do if they come to us recklessly and tell us not to support His Highness 3rd Prince? Our guild has a position of its own.”
The imperial army officer who came to visit didn’t seem so urgent either.
That didn’t mean he was taking Benjamin’s position.
“I will give you enough time to think. Probably, His Majesty Laian will be visiting Lyon soon for something related to the Manastone Tank, so you can think about it until then.”
“for a moment. Your Majesty Laian is coming to Lyon soon?”
“Yes, there is no schedule yet, but it will come soon. It will be almost immediately after the subjugation against the Jormungand Revolutionary Army is over.”
“haha… … I know that the subjugation against the revolutionary army is almost over.”
“So you will be here soon.”
The Imperial Army officer who came to visit gave him his last words with some satisfaction.
“Then I believe that Prince Benjamin will make a wise decision. If you want to keep doing business as both Prince Benjamin and the guild members have done so far.”
In the office where the Imperial Army officer left and he was left alone.
Benjamin shook his head and began to ponder.
‘shit! damn… … .’
But the only thing that came to mind was a curse about the current reality.
‘Oh my God, that crazy war-maniac is coming to Lyon? If the subjugation against the revolutionary army is over, it will be soon.’
In the midst of preparing for a guild meeting, the visit of Prince Rayyan, who has been strongly discussed as a candidate for the crown prince, also became a headache for him.
‘There is no such thing as mercy for such a person I’ve heard of. Because the Tepez family is famous for that in the first place.’
A master swordsman known for his cruelty and lack of mercy.
Historically, members of the Tepez family have been described as madmen who love to slaughter and slaughter their enemies.
‘Damn it… … Should I contact the Sinclairs about this? No. That’s stupid. Of course, the Sinclair family would tell you not to listen to such words with your ears.’
Still, it was funny to sit still.
It was said that the 1st prince would come soon, so the lights went out.
‘I don’t think it’s going to come out like that from the first prince’s side… … This means that you have to choose one of the two somehow.’
The 1st and 3rd princes were mentioned as potential candidates for the upcoming crown war.
‘Second Prince, the support force is weak, so I don’t know if it will come out or not. With a slightly higher probability than half and half, it seems that the probability that the first prince will win the crown war is high… … Should I change the line to the Tepez family at this time?’
When Benjamin is struggling with which line to ride.
A visitor came to him, Sebastian, who was running the store on Benjamin’s behalf.
“Benjamin, who has been there before? To give me a rough explanation, they say I am an officer of the Imperial Army.”
“He’s from the 1st Prince’s side. He threatened me not to support the third prince in the upcoming war for the crown.”
“Yes? Then why not? We are under the protection of the Sinclair family.”
“of course… … You can’t do it the way you want. As you said, we have a deep connection with the Sinclair family.”
Sebastian expressed concern.
“But I heard that His Majesty the First Prince was very warlike. If we support the 3rd Prince as usual, wouldn’t His Majesty the 1st Prince riot?”
“It’s obvious if you don’t see it. The Empress is from the Tepez family, where will the blood go?”
“Then what is the position of our guild, which was originally supposed to support the third prince?”
Benjamin opened his mouth after a lot of thought.
“I should put it up as an agenda for this guild too. It’s too much of a problem for me to decide on my own. Anyway, at the same time as the guild meeting is being held, the interest on the deposit will be permanently withdrawn, and at the same time, I will have to talk with the guild members about the upcoming crown war.”
It seemed like a good idea to share difficult problems with the guild members.
So Sebastian, who shook his head without realizing it, continued.
“It is a difficult matter. I don’t think I can give an easy answer either. Obviously, it would be better to settle the matter through the guild meeting.”
“I think the first prince shouldn’t have come here before the guild meeting.”
Then Sebastian immediately expressed his doubts.
“Did your Highness the First Prince say that you are coming here?”
“He said he was coming here for something related to the Manastone Tank. There’s a magic tank factory here in Lyon, right?”
“Ah, the First Prince seems to be very interested in the Manastone Tank.”
In Lyon, where commerce and industry were developed, a lot of money could be drawn from Banco, so factories like Manastone Tanks could be created.
“It’s a magic stone tank, isn’t it? It should be good… … .”
stone tank.
Heterogeneous races such as Orcs, Lizardmen, and Undead were showing off their might on the battlefield with monster weapons the size of a house.
The weapon developed by the Empire against such a monster weapon was a powerful firepower weapon such as a magic stone tank.
“There is a lot of talk these days about the Manastone Tank. Because it is in the early stages of development, there are many malfunctions.”
“I have heard and know that there are many problems with the Manastone Tank.”
“Recently, Count Frank asked me to lend you some money. What kind of money goes into that chunk of scrap metal.”
The person who developed the Manastone Tank and set up a factory in Lyon was Count Frank, from the Valen family and well-known in the Magic Society.
The Valen family was originally a mean baron, but it was a family that quickly emerged as a countess in recognition of their contribution to developing the Manastone Tank.
“Did you ask me to borrow money again?”
“The Manastone Tank itself is a complete lump of money. He asked me to give him some money for research so he could improve it if he did. I don’t know if this money is being used properly.”
“That is also a problem. It is still unfinished.”
“I’m worried that I’m just spending money on useless places. Right now, the military is buying magic stone tanks in a hurry, but if it becomes known that the magic stone tanks are broken, they can go bankrupt in an instant.”
“Then we, who lent the money to Count Frank, will also have a problem.”
“It will all be bad debt.”
The Manastone Tank was also a problem, so Benjamin’s expression was not good.
“I think I can make a lot of money if I do it right… … .”
If things go well with the Manastone Tank, it wasn’t a problem to make a lot of money as he thought.
In a battlefield dominated by giant monster weapons, the only power of the Empire to fight against such monster weapons was a magic stone tank that moved with magic stones and spit out great firepower.
“But it is not easy to judge. I am no developer. I’m just a banco business that gives me money.”
“Still, if the First Prince visits directly, isn’t the magic stone tank worth it?”
Then Benjamin said with a crumpled expression.
“Prince 1, what do you know? He’s a very ignorant guy who was born and learned nothing but swordsmanship. It’s a pity that I don’t write right now, so I’m going to drop by as an encouragement. Please make it usable somehow.”
“It looks like there are a lot of breakdowns.”
“If you listen to the story, it’s amazing how it rolls, right?”
Anyway.
“I’ll have to think about this too. I don’t know what the future holds. If I could know the future like a god, I would be able to decide whether to invest more heavily here or just fold it neatly. But it is not easy.”
Sebastian also strongly sympathized with Benjamin’s words.
“That’s it. As Benjamin said, if you could only know what the Gem Tank will be like later, you could make a lot of money. Still, Count Frank’s situation is not good, so if you help out, wouldn’t you be able to take a stake in the factory?”
“right. What matters is the stake. If all goes well, how much stake you own in the factory is more important than the money you lent right away.”