A Famous Traitor and Treacherous Genius

235 – How to Dispose of Waste (4)

Future.

So, the time when Nostrum collapsed and the empire ruled Nostrum and ruled the land.

-The moment the golden fate ended, Nostrum’s fate also changed.

A headline appeared in the imperial newspaper.

There was a lot of gold buried in the land of Nostrum, but gold was not infinite.

No matter how much gold you extract from a gold mine, unless the entire land is made of gold, the gold will eventually run out.

Only.

Nostrum was not like that.

“I will reveal everything to Carmen’s mother. This is something I will not tell her father, mother, or even the Emperor of the Empire.”

Queen Carmen keeps her posture straight.

Like an official attending a company’s business briefing, his eyes slowly began to shine despite his fatigue her.

“First of all, we need to take a look at the meaning of Barcelona’s gold mine. This has been the fiefdom of the Marquis of Barcelona for generations, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Although there were times when that position was taken over by another family, this is a family that has been close to the throne as the leader of the kingdom’s first order of knights for three generations. Isn’t that right?”

“Even when I failed to become a knight commander and was relegated to the second or third knights, I was never pushed out of power. With the power of gold.”

Carmen pointed to her floor.

“All the land in the kingdom belongs to the king, but the Marquis of Barcel has been in charge of managing the gold mine for generations.”

“How about comparing it to Morgania’s iron ore or gold mine?”

“If we had as many gold mines as Barcelle, the Black Rose would have consumed the 1st Knights as well. The gold mines here, in Barcelle, are actually the best on the continent. “It would be comparable to any land in the empire, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. So in the legend, it is said that ‘the gold dragon turned himself into gold and fell asleep in the ground.'”

The gold buried in Barcelona poured out like fire.

“But Mother Carmen, is that gold truly infinite?”

“…”

“Nostrum is a country that has a gold dragon as its guardian dragon, and has continued to use the gold system without reforming its currency for 500 years. That’s because the foundation of this country lies in gold.”

I took out the 10,000 gold pieces I had prepared in advance and put them on my finger.

“All gold coins are literally made of gold. Gold has been used as the currency of one country for 500 years, and even after all that mining and scraping, is gold still coming out?”

“…”

“From the Empire’s point of view, it’s crazy and running wild. Resources are finite, but if this crazy Nostrum runs out of gold, it starts by digging in Barcel, and the gold pours in.”

“Grey.”

Queen Carmen jumped up from her seat.

“Whenever I talk to you, I have to be relaxed and ready to listen, but since the topic is so intense, I can’t sit still.”

“Can I tell you the conclusion first?”

“Okay. I’m sorry, but talk about that with your knight over there.”

A story is like a chef’s course meal.

Enjoying cooking by explaining step by step what ingredients were used while preparing food, how to cook it, and how to taste it.

“Okay. Let’s start with the conclusion.”

But what is the point of saying such a thing to someone who is so hungry right now that his back skin feels like it is sticking to his stomach?

“Would you like to see this?”

I took out a box I had prepared in my office in advance, then took out a pile of materials from it and handed it to Queen Carmen.

“As you will take a closer look at later, this is the amount of gold mined over the past 5 years, from 8 years ago to 3 years ago.”

“…You’re trapped?”

“Yes. The graph is not only sloping to the right, but is heading straight to the bottom.”

“Where did you find this? It doesn’t seem to have a stamp on it. It’s an official document, but it hasn’t been approved. It’s a draft, right?”

“I discovered it while looking through the entire Marquis Castle. It seems that a document written by an administrator who worked at the Marquis Castle was secretly stored somewhere, and I found it in the library archives.”

How did you find it?

It’s something I was bound to find someday.

“…I must have been busy.”

“There is something strange about the items someone has hidden. If you have that keen eye, you can easily find them.”

“Did you know and find it?”

“No way. Well, it’s not wrong. I discovered it while looking for any hidden corruption to aggravate the crimes of the Marquis de Barcel.”

When there is a problem, there is a process before deriving an answer, but I just omitted that process as a regressor.

Traitor Gray and Governor Morgania.

The two people mainly investigated and uncovered the crimes that the existing nobles of Nostrum considered to be clear corruption in the name of ‘custom’ and ‘tradition’ in the empire.

“If it weren’t for me, Mother Carmen would have found these. I just found them first.”

“…I’m just looking at this briefly, so I’m not sure what it says.”

Carmen laughed as if she was shocked.

“It’s completely different from what was reported to the royal family?”

“The context is different, but since I insulted the royal family, it’s natural for me to die, right?”

“…Sure.”

Despise the royal family.

Submit a false report to the king.

“What happened to the person who wrote this?”

“He died. Data was recorded up to 3 years ago, so he probably died 3 years ago, right?”

“…Saint Geo, you crazy b*stard.”

Carmen’s hands trembled as she held her parchment.

“Nothing else, defrauding gold in a country where gold itself is used as currency?”

That’s right.

“The Marquis of Barcel is a family that was a descendant of Saint Geo Nostrum. There is no way that Saint Geo Nostrum does not know what the Marquis of Barcel knows.”

The world called him an incompetent king, but the spectrum of his incompetence is aligned with the ‘normal operation of the country’.

“If grades were determined based on corruption, St. Geo would be at the master level.”

“That’s right. Cutting off the tail is also of a very high standard.”

Manipulated statistics.

Concealment of information.

“I understand. If the kingdom’s largest gold mine, which seemed to have been inexhaustible for 500 years, has run out of gold, that would be a national crisis.”

Although the Marquis de Barcel was the manager of the gold mine, he hid the amount of gold remaining.

“You’re trying to sell this.”

Hehe.”

“Everyone in the world knows that the gold mine is healthy, so they are trying to sell the mining rights to people who know nothing.”

“Barcel keeps a small portion of the gold dug up as a fee, and the miners are left to take care of the rest.”

“…The continent’s economy will be shattered?”

“It will be destroyed.”

The golden scent that seemed to sparkle forever has disappeared.

“But isn’t it the continent’s economy that is being destroyed, not Gibraltar and Morgania?”

“Wouldn’t you like to pay some attention to Nostrum now?”

“Of course Nostrum won’t be destroyed either. We found out that nothing comes out when we dig, so who would buy that piece of trash land?”

“Ha. Sell it to the people of the empire?”

“It’s just right.”

Some parts of Nostrum know, but many companies in the empire do not.

The gold mine is almost depleted, and there is nothing left.

“Mother Carmen. There is a saying in the Empire.”

“Is investing an individual’s responsibility?”

“You guessed it correctly.”

“What kind of curse are you going to hear later?”

“I already have all my excuses ready for when that time comes.”

I raised my hands.

“I sold the mining rights after looking at the official national data and judging that ‘gold mines still remain.’ The fault lies with the Marquis of Barcelona, who hid the depletion of the gold mines.”

“If that’s revealed, don’t you think investors will dig up the Marquis de Barcelona’s grave and destroy him?”

“That’s why I should have looked closely when I first came to invest. Haha. And I don’t intend to just benefit myself.”

I pointed at myself and slit my throat.

“I will also use up my personal wealth to dig up bare ground. Land that is not productive at all. Although I am literally throwing money on the ground… “

“To become an incompetent governor?”

“It’s not that he’s incompetent. It’s just that, even though he appears on the outside, he doesn’t always succeed in investing. All you have to do is make it look like that.”

“Then, are you really trying to make a profit by putting forward Baji President?”

“The boss of the pants. There is the word ‘agent,’ which is a noble and traditional expression of Nostrum, but aren’t you using too imperial a word?”

“The meaning is clearer that way, but there is no need to say that he is an agent.”

Queen Carmen rolled up her parchment and tapped her shoulder.

“But isn’t this too dangerous? If Saint Geo knows…”

“Mother Carmen. That’s why I’m telling you.”

I spoke clearly.

“There’s a secret I haven’t told anyone.”

“…What is it?”

“That is.”

I whispered into Queen Carmen’s ear

“…”

Carmen must have gotten goosebumps just hearing it, so she shuddered and bit her lower lip.

“Really?”

“How can a minor despise the royal family?”

“Don’t joke around. Is this true?”

“Of course. We’ll have to officially investigate, but it’s not like it’s completely non-existent.”

One thing you need to know.

“The land called Nostrum is a land that has everything. Are the gold mines depleted? …Sounds impossible.”

Just as heroes appear in droves whenever they are needed, Nostrum is a crazy land where descendants will never perish anytime, anywhere.

“Mother Carmen. Let’s talk about possibilities. During Queen Naria’s reign, everyone learned that Barcel’s gold mines were depleted. It seems that no more gold will be produced, and all the gold we already have will be used. What would you do if a situation arises where you need to solve something?”

“…Create a new currency using the gold standard, introduce the imperial thaler, secure gold by capturing those who secretly stole gold from noble families, or reform the existing currency made of gold coins.”

“Wrong. Nostrum’s crisis does not go away that way.”

“Then?”

“I pray that a great hero of alchemy who can transform copper into gold will appear.”

“…”

Queen Carmen frowned openly.

“You too… Is that really happening?”

“Just kidding. How do you make gold out of copper?”

“So? Are you saying that we have no choice but to pray for an economic hero who can solve the problem of gold depletion? In a crisis situation?”

“The crisis is bound to come anyway. Right now. After the Governor of Barcelona sells the mining rights and starts digging, you will realize one by one. Oh, there is no gold?”

“Let’s bring about a national crisis ourselves? Is the solution just hoping that a hero will emerge?”

“No, the hero is already prepared.”

I raised my hand to my heart toward the national flag hanging on one side of the office.

“Naria Geo Nostrum, Her Majesty the Queen.”

“I don’t think Naria knows something. …Aha.”

Queen Carmen snapped her fingers and laughed.

“You. You’re trying to make Lia her hero.”

“…”

“All I have to do is set up a full meal for Leah and then just pick up a fork and eat her steak, right?”

“It feels awkward to ask for the steak to be cut with a knife, but that’s true.”

Makes Naria a hero who saves Nostrum from crisis.

“We make money by selling mining rights during a crisis, and Queen Naria solves a situation where a traitorous governor has revealed an inconvenient crisis that could destroy the country.”

As always, it is the royal family that saves Nostrum from danger.

“Yes. Just as a hero is born again, Nostrum will definitely be able to overcome the crisis.”

And although the royal family sometimes seeks out the right talent where they need it, there were also cases where the royal family themselves solved the crisis.

“With Barcelona’s gold mines depleted, the person who discovers a gold mine that can sustain Barcelona for the next 500 years or more will be a hero.”

“…Wait a minute.”

Queen Carmen smiled bitterly, and she came towards me and pressed my shoulder.

“Didn’t you say that not everyone who digs fails?”

“Of course.”

Even if 99 people digging the land in Barcelona fail, if one person finds an equivalent gold mine, he or she will become a hero.

“Could it be that our great guardian dragon left only a gold mine that our descendants could use for 500 years?”

I took Queen Carmen’s hand and pointed to a place on the map.

“This is the place.”

“This is…”

“And this way, all the way.”

Along the outskirts of Barcelona, I drew a straight line.

“A land where no development has taken place for 500 years. A land where everything had to be devoted solely to the defense of the border, and no one dared to develop it.”

“…Gibraltar?”

“Mother Carmen.”

I brought Carmen’s finger close to a certain point and whispered into her ear.

“Mother Carmen bought the mining rights to land close to Gibraltar so that the Marquis of Gibraltar would not be bothered, and she was rewarded for her long love. Do you understand?”