The life of a knight is a profession that chases after romance.
For example, embarking on a journey to defeat a wicked dragon.
Engaging in a legendary battle where magic and aura bloom spectacularly.
Emerging victoriously with honor at the end.
Then, the kidnapped princess falls in love, her face lighting up.
Returning with countless gold and silver treasures, maidens cheer and throw bouquets.
The king praises him as the knight of knights.
And so, he is praised as the great dragon slayer for years to come.
Any knight would dream of such a thing at least once.
‘For Teonar… it’s realistically difficult.’
‘Even Lady Seras gave up, how can we possibly defeat a dragon?’
‘Unlike the legends, it’s not even evil, they say. There’s no need to stir up trouble.’
Of course, there weren’t any who would risk their lives for romance.
Those types went extinct 50 years ago.
Most knights these days are just immature show-offs.
There’s no way such people would willingly face hardships like the heroes of old.
They only wanted the honor and sweet fruits that came at the end.
‘Ah, I wish there was a cool way to waste some gold coins.’
‘I wish commoners would look up to me, saying, “As expected of a knight!”
That’s why knights chase after gold coins.
Showing off by casually throwing down a gold coin, the most expensive currency in the kingdom.
Teo calls their overspending “flexing,” and it’s their realistic romance.
No, it was their romance.
‘Who can do anything with a single gold coin these days?’
In present-day Arkenia, one gold coin wasn’t really a splurge.
The massive amount of gold and silver treasures that their ancestors brought back after defeating the dragon.
That had directly led to inflation.
The gold coins that were recklessly printed due to infighting among humans became the main culprit for rising prices across the continent.
Although it’s still the exclusive property of the upper class because it’s still gold, even if it’s tarnished…
It wasn’t like 50 years ago when a merchant would prostrate themselves at the sight of a single gold coin.
To achieve a similar effect, one had to carry around dozens of gold coins.
‘But jingling around with a pouch full of gold coins is a bit much. It looks vulgar.’
‘And I’d worry about the gold coins getting damaged.’
Carrying around a bunch of coins was already out of the question for romance.
It felt like they were trying too hard to show off, which wasn’t ideal.
That was a minor reason why knights didn’t open their wallets much these days, but…
‘Did they send money to their families or something? They’re only sipping their drinks, not like those guys who used to love extravagance.’
“Calculate the cost for them to eat all night with this. Keep the change.”
“……!!!”
Seras, who had no idea about the knights’ pointless worries.
The situation changed 180 degrees as she casually tossed down a wad of bills.
The knights’ eyes naturally turned towards it.
‘That’s worth a hundred gold coins…’
‘To generously give away that much money, so her subordinates don’t feel discouraged?’
‘As expected of the Commander! Knightly and cool!’
Seras, the kingdom’s best swordswoman and the king’s right-hand woman. The realistic role model for the kingdom’s knights.
With her androgynous appearance, everything she did seemed cool.
But, to hand out a stack of bills for her subordinates?
And to do it so nonchalantly, as if it were nothing?
The knights couldn’t help but fall for her.
It was incredibly cool.
“Ah, oh my! Thank you, thank you!”
“With that much, you can serve the highest quality goods, right?”
“Of course! Everyone, close up shop!! Today, the kingdom’s best swordswoman, Lady Seras, has chartered this place for the Royal Knights!”
What fueled the fire was the tavern owner’s reaction.
He was so captivated by capitalism that he bowed deeply.
Practically prostrating himself.
Not to mention loudly praising her.
The romance that the knights held in their hearts.
It was a scene that was more than enough to stimulate it.
‘Besides… unlike gold coins, it’s not vulgar.’
‘It doesn’t make any noise when you walk, and you don’t have to carry around a pocket full of them. You can just keep it in your pocket and casually toss it down.’
‘Most of all, it’s so knightly!’
I should definitely try it sometime if I get the chance.
That’s what the knights resolved.
* * *
The one who started the overspending was Seras’s adjutant, the vice-commander of the Royal Knights.
“Father, I wish to contribute to the family.”
“Is this pity? Get lost. Thanks to something called chemical fertilizer these days, the situation is quite….”
“Ten thousand 10,000 won bills. It’s the salary I’ve saved up until now.”
“H-Heok!!!”
She, who had been treated poorly by her family, returned in triumph.
She exchanged the gold coins she had saved up until now for bills and generously donated them.
It was like salvation for the territory, which had not yet recovered from the aftermath of a long period of crop failure.
“You’ve come back well, my proud daughter!!!”
“…Pfft.”
“What are you doing! Prepare a banquet immediately!!”
“”””Yes!!””””
Even the cold-hearted head of the family couldn’t hold back and held a banquet.
Forgetting that he had mistreated her for being born out of wedlock, he held it lavishly.
Only then could the vice-commander relieve her resentment.
-Whisper, whisper.
“Did you hear the rumor? That the vice-commander this time….”
“They say that as soon as they saw it, their mouths dropped open so wide that a fly could have flown in without them noticing!”
“With bone-grinding effort, overcoming the humbleness of her origins and gaining the family’s recognition… it’s no different from a heroic tale.”
“There’s a reason why the Commander values her so much. She’s truly a model knight.”
The rumor spread like wildfire and reached the Knights Order.
To that, everyone said, as expected of a knight.
They only thought to themselves…
‘-Cool.’
The knights’ desire for recognition blazed.
They themselves had money, not a lot to be honest, but they had a decent amount.
It was the perfect moment to spend the salary that had been put on hold due to the counterfeit gold coin problem.
‘His Majesty wishes to supply bills, so as knights, shouldn’t we follow our lord’s will?’
‘If one is a knight, one must be a model for others. I should go on a spending spree for once.’
‘This is only to follow His Majesty’s orders, yes.’
Therefore, heroes and heroines with gold coins in their hands flocked to the bank.
They exchanged them for bills and roamed around here and there.
The saying “earn like a prime minister, spend like a dog” was a perfect fit.
“Aigoo!! A knight has brought a hundred 10,000 won bills!!”
“Something that even the head of a noble family can’t easily buy!!”
“Kyaa!! You’re so cool, Sir Knight!!!”
Thanks to that, only the merchants were having a field day.
Inwardly thinking, ‘What’s wrong with these guys, why are they like this,’ but still grinning from ear to ear.
They sold off various things as if they were releasing pent-up frustration from the stagnant domestic demand.
The economy, which had been depressed due to the aftermath of the counterfeit gold coins.
It was absurdly revived by something as trivial as this.
* * *
Once the knights started, everything went smoothly afterward.
“Marquis Ghent, this is a sculpture that I cherish, but….”
“Hmm. Do you prefer gold coins or bills?”
“Bills, of course. Who carries around clunky coins these days?”
“Butler? Bring three thousand 10,000 won bills.”
“Immediately, sir.”
Even the nobles began to use bills.
In their eyes, bills were beautiful works of art in themselves.
It was natural that they were a much more ‘aristocratic’ currency than the metallic-smelling gold coins.
There was only one problem.
That these were made by other races, by monsters…
‘This King Sejong guy, he looks human no matter how you look at him.’
‘A human is drawn on the currency of an other-race nation? They know their place, yes.’
‘Even the dragon has acknowledged it. That we are the most superior race of all things.’
The portrait of King Sejong printed on the 10,000 won bill.
This brought about an unexpected misunderstanding.
There were even those who thought, ‘Yeah, even dragons can’t beat us.’
“Did you hear? These days, even the Duke only uses bills, they say?”
“Our reckless spending has paid off.”
“His Majesty will be pleased.”
How could knights be left out when nobles were using them?
Their shoulders rose with pride as they led the trend.
“I heard you’ve been spending money like water recently, where did you get that much money?”
“His Majesty’s intention is the circulation of bills, so I have contributed my meager strength.”
“…I will be sure to convey your loyalty to His Majesty.”
“Thank you, Commander!”
Even Seras was impressed.
The kingdom’s best swordswoman, the idol of all knights, directly praised them.
She wouldn’t have done so if she knew they had wasted a year’s worth of salary to pursue romance, but anyway.
It was only natural that the knights’ spirits soared.
“This… we need to set a better example?”
“Let’s gather all the silver coins and exchange them for bills.”
“For the great Leopoldus His Majesty!!”
-It was only a problem that they touched the silver coins.
“Mel? The knights have come to exchange bills, it seems you need to come out yourself, Mel.”
“Milanoi? What’s going on?”
“Well, they want to exchange silver coins for bills….”
“……Silver coins too?”
Even Mel was taken aback.
Gold coins were one thing, but even silver coins?
She knew how absurd this was.
‘Gold coins, which are currently pegged to bills at a one-to-one ratio, are fine. It actually went as he intended.’
‘But… silver coins? If we exchange them for bills, there will be a severe shortage of silver coins?’
‘Silver coins are the currency that the middle class actually uses. The moment that decreases, the kingdom’s economy
will be affected. After all, it’s the middle class that supports the economy.’
‘If the kingdom prints new ones… Gresham’s Law will appear again. Inflation will occur.’
‘We’ll benefit, but Arkenia might face hell.’
A myriad of thoughts flashed through her mind.
Mel’s instincts shouted to just close her eyes and exchange them.
Both gold and silver coins were minerals whose value was bound to increase in the long run.
Holding a lot of these would clearly be of great benefit to Millenia’s economy in the future.
It wasn’t her business if Arkenia suffered from rising prices, honestly.
On the other hand, as Teo’s vassal?
‘Absolutely not. This is not what he wants.’
She had no choice but to refuse firmly.
She had a rough idea of why he was going to such complicated lengths to win over Arkenia.
If Arkenia collapsed here…
‘It will become a pretext for invasion.’
“Explain that silver coins are not under our jurisdiction and send them back.”
“Are you talking about a currency swap? They won’t understand even if I explain… Where are you going?”
“To the Royal Palace.”
Therefore, she went straight to the Arkenian Royal Family.
She set out to convey to Leopoldus the meaning of ‘Are you guys crazy’.
“…They’re trying to exchange even silver coins? Saying it’s my will?”
“That’s what they said. Did you perhaps issue such an order?”
“Seras, did you perhaps do that?”
“I have never done such a thing.”
“Heo….”
‘Even if we develop anti-counterfeiting magic, can we go back to the days when we used gold coins?’
To that, Leopoldus grabbed the back of his neck.
He couldn’t help but sigh, wondering what would become of this kingdom’s future…
——Contrary to his expectations.
The most dangerous thing was not the future, but the present.
‘Coexisting with things like this?’
-Clank.
Goooo…
‘The master is wrong about this. We and humans cannot coexist.’
Southeastern Arkenia, coal mine.
One of the five vassals turned into a warmonger.