Chapter 34:Currency Swapping (2)

Shing-

The sound of paper money tearing.

“Hup…!?”

A startled gasp immediately follows.

It was the sound of Seras and Leopoldus being horrified.

‘That Sejong the Great must be…Teonar himself, who created the Korean alphabet.’

‘She’s tearing that? That slime?’

They couldn’t help but be shocked.

Both had been exposed to the murderous intent of the five vassals.

Because they had experienced firsthand how loyal Mel was to Teo.

No, even putting aside the bizarre loyalty.

Isn’t it like a portrait of their lord?

To tear that, it was not something a vassal should do.

They couldn’t understand why she was doing that.

-Clink.

“……Hmm?”

But that was only for a moment.

Their eyes widened in a different sense.

Because the torn paper shone brightly, and suddenly turned into gold coins.

It was a Millenia gold coin with a dragon embossed on it.

“What is this?”

“It’s magic cast by the Great One herself! When a bill is damaged, gold coins are Teleported from our vault instead!”

“…Don’t tell me, all those bills have that on them?”

“Yes! All of them can be immediately converted into gold coins! All one hundred thousand!”

“One hundred thousand!!?”

Leopoldus was shocked once again at that.

Losing his composure, he opened his mouth so wide his jaw dropped.

Because he knew how enormous this was.

“Teonar, is there anything he can’t do…?”

“Your Majesty, is this such a big deal?”

“This is the royal office, protected by dozens of layers of barriers. But, he Teleports gold coins through all the barriers? Doesn’t that mean he can do it with bombs too?”

“…There are one hundred thousand of those?!”

Seras also understood with the tailored explanation.

He realized Teo’s strength once again.

Mel, who was watching, was filled with pride at their reaction.

[The paper money printing is finished. If we just finish the magic processing you mentioned, it’ll be ready right away….]

[Just a sec? Kroong. All done.]

[…Thank you♡]

‘You did this in just one second.’

But for him, it was easier than eating cake while lying down.

Even Mel couldn’t deny that it was amazing.

His voice naturally became triumphant.

“Don’t worry. We have no intention of doing such a thing at all.”

“Well, it’s not that I doubt that….”

“In the first place, if our lord just breathes once, half the kingdom will melt and disappear, so what’s new♡”

“…”

‘Even the words to not worry sound like something a demon would say.’

Leopoldus was a little daunted by the sight.

He picked up the gold coin that had just fallen.

He felt a sense of trust from the heavy weight.

“…Anyway, are you proposing to replace the currency with gold coins? With paper money that only Teonar can produce?”

“It’s not necessarily like that? Once it’s somewhat established, we’ll get rid of the gold coin exchange magic. It’s like a commemorative currency.”

“Anyway, it’s true that you’re only making Millenia ones.”

“Well, yes.”

“I know it’s a privileged thing to say, but it’s a bit hard to accept.”

He held another gold coin in his other hand.

A genuine gold coin from Arkenia.

The kingdom’s key currency, whose credibility had plummeted due to recent counterfeiting controversies.

“The right to mint coins is the unique authority of the Arkenian royal family. It can be said to be the backbone that supports the monarchy.”

“Seigniorage’ is important-.”

“Seignio…? What’s that?”

“The profit from minting coins.”

“You use scholarly words. Anyway, yes. In an emergency, we can increase the national treasury by lowering the gold content and issuing them.”

After that, he listed the advantages of the right to mint coins.

The right to mint coins is the sacred source of royal power.

The royal family secures taxes and stabilizes the currency based on this.

It is also very helpful in raising military expenses in an emergency, etc.

Each and every one of them was extremely important.

“…This is the lifeline of the Arkenian economy. Can we entrust it to another country?”

The long explanation came to one conclusion.

It was a very sad conclusion that could be summarized as, ‘Even if we’re in a hurry, this is a bit much.’

What was even sadder was that there were no other options.

“But I can’t refuse this offer. Our kingdom’s economy has already reached a catastrophe.”

He calmly stated the reality.

They had managed to endure for a year, but that was now the limit.

They had to bring in a new currency even if it meant handing over the right to mint coins or so.

‘Even if it means virtually becoming a vassal state.’

It was obvious what would happen if they handed over the right to mint coins.

He had no other choice.

His expression naturally showed guilt, as if he were selling the kingdom…

‘It’s fun to see him in pain, but it’s starting to be a waste of time.’

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry.”

“…What?”

“Look at this.”

At that moment, Mel snapped her fingers.

Then, wads of paper money fell from the air.

They were summoned from Teo’s Hyperspace.

“We are going to sign an unlimited, indefinite currency swap agreement with Arkenia.”

“…What’s that?”

“We’re lending you our paper money. In exchange for your gold coins.”

Currency swap (currency exchange agreement between two countries).

A financial contract to exchange the currencies of both countries when needed.

It was a very unfamiliar concept in the Middle Ages, but…

“You’re saying you’ll exchange as much paper money as we want? We’ll have to replace all the kingdom’s gold coins.”

“It’s okay. We can just print them at the factory.”

“Even if it’s Millenia, you probably don’t have that much gold.”

“Don’t worry about that. I guarantee there won’t be any problems.”

“What about ‘seigniorage’? I know it’s shameless, but it’s essential for the kingdom.”

“Are you going to use our paper money for ten thousand years? After you develop anti-counterfeiting technology, you can mint gold coins again.”

“……I should thank Teonar.”

Leopoldus quickly understood the key point.

This was a temporary measure for the kingdom’s economic crisis.

A way to buy time until the counterfeit gold coins were completely expelled.

Hope sparkled in his eyes.

‘Given the situation, I suspected that the ‘invisible hand’ was behind it, but it’s not….’

-Flash.

“—Of course, there are a few conditions.”

“Conditions, you say. I’m listening.”

But that was only for a moment.

His expression became serious at the mention of conditions.

He was already afraid of what she would ask for.

“First. Until the counterfeit gold coin situation in the kingdom is resolved, all transactions with merchants will be done with paper money.”

“It’s a future matter, but what happens after all one hundred thousand bills are used up?”

“We’ll set up a bank in the kingdom and exchange them for gold coins. According to the market price.”

“One of these ten thousand won bills is worth one gold coin, right?”

“For the time being. It’ll change if the value of Arkenian gold coins fluctuates again.”

“I understand. I permit it.”

He lightly agreed to the first request, the use of paper money in trade.

Since Arkenia had to use only paper money for a while anyway, it was natural.

“Second. We’ll accept counterfeit gold coins for exchange, but this amount will be paid in installments within 10 percent of the tariff.”

“…You’re saying you’ll even accept those for exchange?”

“We have more leeway than the kingdom.”

“I should thank Teonar for her generosity!!”

He immediately answered the second request without even thinking about it.

Wasn’t it a way to help those who were on the streets because of the counterfeit gold coins with a small burden?

There was no reason to refuse.

“And third and last….”

“What is it?”

“It’s about the dwarves.”

“…”

‘Here it comes!’

He couldn’t answer the last condition immediately.

What kind of race were the dwarves?

Weren’t they the core workforce for the kingdom’s coal mining?

They were Arkenia’s precious second-class citizens.

They were treated like slaves, but anyway.

He couldn’t help but be nervous.

“They are clearly citizens of Arkenia.”

“That’s strange- They were wearing shackles on their feet, though?”

“Dwarves are inherently foolish and hot-tempered, so it can’t be helped. We are just guiding them to live a human life.”

Words he didn’t mean came out one after another.

He knew it was nonsense, but he had no choice but to say it like this.

“…Hehe, is that so?”

‘Wiz would have beaten him half to death if she heard that.’

Of course, Mel thought it was absurd.

Her soft expression naturally became subtle.

Her eyes narrowed, clearly showing how she felt.

“Yes. So, the proposal to transfer them to Millenia is never….”

‘We’ll have to hand over quite a few anyway. I’ll have to take a strong stance in advance and then negotiate.’

Leopoldus was determined in front of her…

——Mel didn’t care.

The most important request had already been passed.

This was just a bonus.

“It’s not that, just improve their treatment a little.”

“…What?”

“You know Wiz, right? She asked me. She said our underlings are dying of exhaustion, so please say something.”

The last condition was brought up casually.

It was such a trivial condition that he doubted his ears.

The corners of his mouth reached his ears.

“How much are you talking about?”

“He says he feels awkward saying this himself, but he wants you to keep work-life balance? Make them work less and let them drink some cold beer when they’re done.”

“I don’t know what work-life balance… is, but I’m happy to do that much.”

“Please treat them well. Wiz might come to check.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Then the contract is established♡”

Mel holds out her hand.

Leopoldus shakes it without hesitation.

The second handshake between humans and demons was more ordinary than he thought.

‘A temporary paper money loan, how generous.’

‘I don’t want to touch humans, but I have to endure this much since I made a good contract?’

Thus, the unlimited, indefinite currency swap between Millenia and Arkenia.

Start.

*    *    *

Exactly two months had passed since then.

“…Your Majesty? Is it okay to collect silver coins and exchange them for ten thousand won bills? It’s not that I’m going to do it, but it’s my adjutant’s intention.”

“Why?”

“He says it’s old-fashioned to carry a pocket jingling around without dignity.”

“…”

‘Is it even possible to go back to a life without paper money?’

Paper money became an unprecedented hit.