The Crown Prince In Hiding

"Let's say the current price of a candy is 10 credits."

Nora placed a blue candy in front of Dan.

"I am the owner of this candy. But Mr. Fury believes that in two days, the price of this candy will drop to 2 credits for whatever reason. You come to me. We make a contract that you will borrow my candy and sell it. You sell it and receive 10 credits, which you hold onto for now. Two days pass, and sure enough, the price drops to 2 credits. So you buy the candy back and return it to me at 2 credits."

When she finished speaking, Nora circled the numbers on the paper.

"That means you've made a profit of 10 minus 2, which equals 8 credits. But if you're unlucky and the price rises to 15, you'd have to reach into your own pocket to buy it back. 10 minus 15 equals negative 5. You lose 5 credits. That right there is shorting."

"Oh, so that's how it works."

Everton leaned his face into view.

"There goes the image of the great leader of Diablo. You didn't even know something this basic."

"That's my own fault for never paying attention to money matters. I'm busy looking over OUR country SECURITY."

"That's perfectly fine, Mr. Fury. Not knowing is just not knowing. It's actually quite endearing that you say so openly."

Throughout the entire journey back,

Dan felt as though he had simply faded from the group.

Nora and Everton were deep in conversation about the short contracts on his mortgage bonds.

And he could faintly hear that Nora was beginning to be won over by Everton's argument that the bubble across all of Mathema would soon burst.

For the most part, the two debated about the timing of the collapse, but judging by their tone, it was a conversation where Everton treated Nora as a true equal — someone who knew what they were talking about, speaking with someone who knew just as much.

At least far more so than Fury, who kept being called thick-headed, clueless, and so on.

"Your Grace."

Galatasaray stepped in to interrupt, calling Everton away as the third banker had come out to receive him for their scheduled CDS contract meeting.

Dan and Nora sat spinning their chairs idly in the reception room. Then, out of nowhere, Dan spoke.

"Everton would probably make a better mentor for you than I would."

"Are you sulking?"

"I suppose I'm no longer of any importance to you."

"Good. Now you'll know how I feel."

Dan looked up.

"Are you still angry about Rafinya?"

Nora didn't answer, but her eyes said it all.

"It's just us now, Nora. That's done. It's over."

"You've already broken your word once. How am I supposed to trust you again?"

"You're not angry because I broke my word. You're angry because you didn't get to keep the good thing all to yourself."

"Hmph."

"Well then. After this, all that's left to do is wait."

Back at the hotel, the contract documents were folded up and packed away.

"Start burning money while we wait."

"Mr. Everton, where will you get the cash flow from? The candy factory?"

Nora wondered whether that cash flow might not be enough. The candy factory in Zentinel alone generated a monthly cash flow of 700,000, which was already impressive on its own.

"Well, there has to be a little alchemy involved, if you will."

"You're funneling money from Diablo through the sugar factory?"

"Zentinel's laws don't have strict account auditing. I'm not doing anything wrong."

"...Mr. Fury currently has 10 million. Could Mr. Fury enter your fund?"

Nora shifted to the more pressing question. Dan looked at his younger brother's face.

"My fund is Diablo's asset. The contract states that Diablo's assets cannot be used to settle personal debts."

"It's true that Mr. Everton's fund is Diablo's asset. But if Mr. Fury uses his own 10 million to purchase a share in your fund, that would essentially mean bringing outside money into the fund. And if the mortgage bonds really do default, the money Mr. Fury receives wouldn't fall under Diablo's assets, would it?"

"!"

Randy froze. Dan froze too.

He turned to look at Randy's face.

Nora had just found a loophole in his contract.

A faint sweat broke out on the young businessman's face.

"But it's still not guaranteed to succeed."

Everton was quick to add,

"No one knows whether what I believe will actually come true. I could be wrong. Those bankers might be right that I'm a fool throwing money away for free. Just ten months of premiums would already equal your principal, dear brother."

"But you've dared to put in as much as 100 million. I don't trust words. I look at actions. And you trust your actions greatly."

Dan crossed his arms.

"Then may this older brother join in shorting the bonds too, dear younger brother?"

"If you want to risk losing, suit yourself. But I know you well. You're not someone who can sit easy watching your account go into the red. And let me tell you, we might have to stay in the red for quite a long time. As in, years."

"....."

What Everton said was true.

As Marshal of the Diablo army,

it was an instinct deeply rooted within him that everything had to be approached with the most conservative mindset possible, just like Casca.

On the battlefield, he could never bring himself to risk anything, because it meant lives lost. It was different from Everton's world, where everything existed as numbers on paper.

But even if they were just numbers on paper, they could still have real consequences. 10 million vanishing in an instant was no small thing.

Everton was shorting something that had never happened before. There was almost no data to back it up whatsoever, which made it extremely risky.

If Everton lost, at the very least it was a loss of face. But if Fury invested too and they lost, those 10 million would vanish in an instant.

And then go back to starting from zero?

It weighed heavily on Dan. He leaned back and stared at the ceiling above.

"Then if I hold some back and put part of it into yours, that should be safer."

"That's exactly what I was thinking, Mr. Fury."

Nora agreed.

"How about 3 million? And the remaining 7 million, wouldn't it be better to do something else with it?"

"That's not a bad idea."

Dan turned to his younger brother.

"Then I'll join your plan with 3 million in capital."

"3 million, is it..."

Everton narrowed his eyes.

"Fine. Gala, note it."

Galatasaray: "Yes."

"And as for the remaining 7 million..."

"What are you planning to do with it, Mr. Fury?"

"If the bubble really does burst, the stocks in MTSE will fall too, right?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll have the chance to pick up good things at low prices."

Dan clasped his hands together.

"Then let's take this opportunity to open an account. Hey there, my dear little brother."

Dan ruffled Randy's hair.

"Before we part ways, help your big brother open an account, will you~"

"Heh heh..."

Gulp.

And so, with Everton's "assistance" (which was more or less coerced),

Fury obtained a personal account in Mathema — the kind that allowed trading in financial assets — and had already deposited 7 million credits into it.

Whenever he wished to make a purchase, he would need to contact a branch of Blackwood established in various kingdoms, or send trade orders through other banks connected to Blackwood.

"Bye-bye, Princess Nora. Bye-bye, dear brother. See you again~"

"Thank you for the experience, Mr. Everton."

Just then, Everton pulled the Princess's hand closer and spoke softly by her ear.

"Big news is on its way, Your Highness."

"What news?"

"You'll find out soon enough. And when that time comes... you may get the chance to repay your older brother."

"What do you mean? Mr. Fury?"

A wide, knowing grin... with no further elaboration.

Everton saw them off at the train, and the two eventually made their way back to the area of the paleontology research center in the north.

The Hotel

Nora lay on the bed, her eyes tracing the intricate patterns on the ceiling, then drifted over to Dan's figure, slumped in an exhausted, dead-to-the-world slumber on the hard floor nearby.

"Mr. Fury, are you asleep yet?"

"...Already asleep..."

The Princess craned her neck to look at him.

"Then how are you answering me?"

"Sleeptalking..."

"Do you even know what sleeptalking is?"

"I'm not that stupid."

Dan was lying with his back turned, but Nora was certain he was dying to ruffle her hair.

"What is it, Nora?"

"Mr. Everton said there's big news coming... What news?"

"What did he tell you?"

"He said you'd probably have something to ask me for help with."

"It's nothing bad."

"Are you saying it's something big?"

"You don't need to know right now."

Nora tilted her head, curious.

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