We pushed through the bustling crowd in the plaza and headed toward where Jeremy’s ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) party was gathered.As we drew close, Jeremy sensed our presence and glanced back.“……!”He spotted us and his face hardened.But Jeremy swiftly wiped away the stiffness and greeted us with his usual bright expression.“Ah, Loen. Miss Ciel is here as well. And that one over there… was it Student Garfield?”“Right. It’s been a while. But isn’t it class time now, Jeremy? Why are you here?”When I tapped my wristwatch to voice my question, Jeremy opened his mouth.“I have separate business to handle. Official business.”Jeremy signaled with his eyes to his entourage.At a glance, faces slick with oil and bellies round—people who looked rich.Judging by their ages, they didn’t seem to be heads of merchant guilds; more likely shadows unknown to the public.They wouldn’t be foolish enough to brazenly show their faces together after shamelessly causing a stock manipulation incident.If these shadows had brought Jeremy all the way to the stock exchange, it was probably to time their exit.To read the market’s atmosphere and trend in person and receive authorization from Jeremy, the decision-maker.They might also want to confirm their profits in visible form.Anyway, there’s no timing like this timing.“Official business at the stock exchange—how very curious.”“And what brings you here, Loen? Isn’t it likewise class time for you?”“How novel. As if it’s the first time I’ve skipped class.”I shrugged and went on.“And there’s only one thing to do at a stock exchange.”When I formed a coin shape with my fingers, Jeremy showed interest.“Aha. It seems you’ve invested somewhere? If it’s not rude, may I ask which guild?”“The Lombard Guild. Its stock happened to have fallen quite a bit. I snapped it up.”At my words—that I’d bought shares of the Lombard Guild—Jeremy’s companions suddenly burst out laughing.“Pffft.”“Kkh— ah, my apologies.”“Mmhp…”Merchants who, as if they had no intention of hiding it, openly let out sneers.It was a derision as if pitying prey caught in the net they themselves had cast with such effort.Jeremy maintained a poker face as best he could, then lightly scolded his entourage.“Wellun, and everyone. Apologize to Loen at once.”“We’re sorry.”They bowed their heads to me, yet their mouths kept smiling.I snorted inwardly and looked down at the ones bowing their heads.'From their point of view, I suppose it is funny.'The stock they had diligently driven down with false rumors and short selling.Saying right to their faces that I’d bought a stock that could still fall as much as they liked—it was laughable.Feigning ignorance, I asked them,“What’s so funny?”To my question, a plump man called Wellun answered.“My apologies, Lord Loen. But have you perhaps not heard the rumor going around?”“What rumor do you mean.”When I asked back as if I truly had no idea, Wellun waved his hand.“Ah, no. Perhaps it is better you don’t know. But if I may overstep and offer advice, it would be wise not to hold that stock for long.”“Thanks for the advice.”I nodded as if to show I’d taken their advice, then spoke calmly.“Then I’ll offer you some advice as well. Above the one who runs… there are always those who fly.”“Yes, well, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”Wellun spoke with a sneer and spread his hands.As if to say, Oh, I’ve received such a great piece of advice~.“And what brings Lord Garfield to a place like this?”Shifting his gaze from me, Wellun asked Garfield in a somewhat softer voice.Unlike me, the family’s cast-off, Garfield was the child of the great upper-world Moti house.“Lord Loen said there would be an amusing spectacle today, so I came along to watch.”“Indeed, it will certainly be an amusing spectacle. Heh heh.”When Wellun laughed first, the other merchants joined in.“That’s right, one should experience something like that at least once in life. Perhaps it’s fortunate it’s only a small sum?”“Hoho, don’t be too disheartened.”Merchants running their mouths at will, as if it were a foregone conclusion I would lose money.I, promising myself the time when their faces would twist with despair, let their words pass without much retort.It was then, while we were exchanging a brief conversation with Jeremy’s party.“Oh my, here you were.”An individual appeared, pushing through the crowd with her bodyguard.She lifted the cloth that covered her face just a little and smiled at me.“You’ve come, Sheika.”Outwardly the vice guild master of the Bellatea Merchant Guild, in truth the owner of the Lombard Guild—Sheika.At her appearance, Jeremy’s party began whispering among themselves.— Isn’t that lady a spice merchant?— Likely a person at the managerial level of the Bellatea Merchant Guild. I hear their movements have been suspicious of late.— I also know she’s somewhat connected with the Lombard Guild.While they traded this and that, exchanging information among themselves—Step-.Two more people arrived and joined our group.A large, taciturn bodyguard in a fedora.It was Alfredo using a disguise spell.And beside him, a red-haired woman wearing strange black glasses.Rebecca Schofield, Panopticon’s Western Branch chief.She had deigned to grace us with her presence.“Whew~ Lots of people~”She lifted her sunglasses slightly and whistled toward the thronging crowd.I spoke to Rebecca.“You came in person. What should I call you here?”“Mm~ Just call me noona.”“I’ll call you Beca.”“Aw.”Clicking her tongue as if disappointed, Rebecca soon spotted Jeremy nearby and her eyes sparkled.“Oh, a golden-haired pretty boy. But he’s too dazzling. I’m into those with decadent charm.”She then slid her sunglasses back down and jerked her chin toward the exchange.“Let’s go in already. Once the disclosures pop, it’ll be hard to get inside because of the crowd.”“Let’s.”Leaving behind Jeremy’s party, who tilted their heads, we entered the exchange.***“Who are they?”Jeremy narrowed his eyes as he watched Loen’s group disappear toward the exchange.Ciel and Garfield aside, the others didn’t seem like the sort who would keep company with the likes of Loen.To this, Wellun answered,“That purple-haired lady is Sheika, vice guild master of the Bellatea Merchant Guild. They’re a company famous for spice trade. At Stella Harbor, they’re the largest in scale.”“Then the red-haired woman beside her?”“T-that much I’m not sure…”The merchants, including Wellun, scratched their heads awkwardly.They knew the merchants of Stella Harbor inside and out, but not Rebecca’s true identity.Considering even the publicly known Alfredo had disguised himself as a mere bodyguard, there was no basis at all to infer Rebecca’s identity.“……”Jeremy glared for a moment at Loen’s group vanishing into the crowd, then quietly narrowed his eyes.For some reason, Zimmer was also presently out of contact.There must be no hitch in the plan.“I don’t have a very good feeling. Is the plan truly proceeding without a hitch?”“Ah, of course. The very reason I contacted Your Highness today is related to this. To confirm the plan’s progress and the profits earned so far, and to receive permission on whether to push a little further or to wrap up and withdraw.”“……You have already secured sufficient funds?”“Of course. If we continue, we could gain even greater profits than now. However, we must pull our feet out before the Lombard’s merchant ships arrive, so taking that into account, Your Highness should decide whether to liquidate the position.”After a brief thought, Jeremy made his decision.“Then wrap up the plan as quickly as possible and pull out. I don’t like this feeling.”Jeremy recalled the individuals who had just joined Loen. Each one of them was no ordinary face.How did he know that, you ask? Because Jeremy possessed a trait called [Insight].'Innate intuition for seeing people.'Jeremy could, by intuition, see through the potential an individual possessed.He could distinguish that potential by the spectrum of color that flowed from a person.'This woman named Sheika… she is not someone who will remain merely a vice guild master of a spice merchant guild.'Emitting a blue energy, she possessed at least the potential equivalent to the head of a giant merchant guild.What’s more, the huge bodyguard who followed and the red-haired woman in strange black glasses.From those who felt of reddish-yellow energy came potential—no, something even more dangerous than that.As if encountering a venomous snake from which no good would come by getting entangled. He did not like the feeling.That wasn’t all.Jeremy had also heard of Loen’s recent movements.If his conduct—so different from before—were to affect this matter, he thought they might suffer great losses.From the time they’d met in childhood until now, Loen had always been a thorn in his eye.When Jeremy ordered a withdrawal, Wellun asked, puzzled,“Your Highness. Is it because of Loen? There’s no need to concern yourself with such a ruff—”“Enough.”When Jeremy’s eyes flashed sharply, Wellun flinched, stepped back, and apologized at once.“M-my apologies, Your Highness. We will do as you command.”It was while Jeremy and the merchant-guild figures were conversing thus.Tap-tap-.A tapping sounded from the magic loudspeakers attached around the plaza, and soon an announcement flowed out.“At 8:25 shortly. Disclosures for each merchant guild listed on the Stella Harbor Stock Exchange will be posted. Investors, please gather in front of the bulletin boards.”“Ah, Your Highness, the disclosures are up just in time. Let us go check the information. It will help Your Highness make a decision.”“……Very well, lead the way.”Jeremy’s party pushed through the crowd and headed for the hologram bulletin boards placed throughout the plaza.Tick-tock-.As murmurs swelled before the boards, the second hand of the great clock tower at the plaza’s center moved.When the tip of that second hand pointed to twelve—Flash-.New information popped up on the boards.A moment of silence washed over the plaza.“……”At this moment, investors exerted their highest concentration to check the information on each guild’s stock they had purchased.As investors buzzed while checking the various posted disclosures, a bystander shouted in a hurry,“L-lo— the Lombard Guild!”“What is it?”“Did something happen?”With someone’s shout, the crowd gathered like clouds in front of the board where the Lombard Guild’s disclosure had appeared. Jeremy’s party was among them.In no time, the gathered people took in the disclosure written on the board with their eyes.[Current Shareholding Status of the Lombard Guild][Bellatea Merchant Guild] 65.3%— Acquired an additional 32% stake by exercising call options.[Black Rose Association] 28.4%[Meluin Company] 0.42%...“……!”Faces of Wellun and Jeremy’s party went pale as they checked the disclosed share ratios.According to the stock exchange’s official posting, with the exercise of call options, Bellatea Merchant Guild’s stake had surged, and currently 94 percent of the Lombard Guild’s shares were locked up.That meant only 6 percent of the float remained.But the quantity they had shorted presently exceeded 20 percent by far.Even if they gathered every share currently out on the market, it meant they could not repay all they had borrowed.“Th-that’s impossible…!”“Who on earth!!”At the same time Jeremy’s party stared blankly at the board and fell into panic—“Ou… out of the way!”“Hey! Run!”“Uwooo!”The thousands gathered before the board all at once began surging toward the exchange building, each not to be a step behind the other.

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