“Tch… If you understand that much, then don’t do unnecessary things…!!”
“That was punishment for being careless and stupid. I don’t care what you do behind the scenes, but don’t make such blunders that the other ducal houses notice it again.”
After chiding her father with an exasperated voice, Lucilia leaned back arrogantly in her chair and propped her cheek on her hand.
Even while glaring at such a Lucilia, Equitas swallowed his anger to proceed with the conversation.
“…The matter I wish to discuss concerns this pilgrimage.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll properly maintain my usual behavior as a saint in public and fulfill the saint’s duties, so don’t worry about it.”
“That’s not what I’m referring to. I’ve come to request a separate job alongside the pilgrimage.”
“Haaaah!? You’re making me go on this pointless territory tour and now you’re messing with me!!”
As if anticipating such a reaction from Lucilia, Equitas showed a slight smile.
“Don’t worry. If things go well, it won’t be a bad deal for you either.”
“…Hah?”
“It’s about the banking business that Sanctus operates in the imperial capital. A problem has been discovered there, and it’s been reported to me as a matter requiring urgent attention.”
Upon hearing it was about business, Lucilia slightly adjusted her attitude and took a posture to listen.
The banking business was one of the enterprises managed by the Sanctus ducal house.
The Sanctus ducal house, as the headquarters of the [Divine Word Church], had a history of being entrusted with financial activities such as national treasury management due to their position and trust as religious people who maintained pure and upright standards, adhering to doctrine and strict precepts.
The banking business was an enterprise commissioned by the Emperor about thirty years ago. By having believers who valued Sanctus’s words and precepts above all else perform the work, they could reliably keep related information secret, and through robust information protection using sacred magic to create barriers and defenses around related facilities, they resolved issues like counterfeiting and successfully introduced a paper currency system within the imperial capital.
Having reached the present day without any notable problems, when the head Equitas received an urgent report, the nature of the problem was fairly predictable.
“Don’t tell me some idiot actually counterfeited paper money at this point? No matter how hard they try, it’s impossible to break through all the anti-counterfeiting technology applied to the paper currency.”
“Indeed, regarding paper currency counterfeiting, I can declare in Sanctus’s name that it’s impossible. However, this problem was discovered when a different type of counterfeit was brought in—not paper currency.”
“…A different type of counterfeit?”
“Gold bullion.”
Upon hearing Equitas’s response, Lucilia frowned.
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Since the northern regions and demi-human territories primarily used monetary systems, when wealthy individuals from other countries conducted transactions in the empire, they would exchange equivalent value currency for paper money issued in that form.
At such times, in addition to exchanging precious metals like gold and silver, the bank would also accept requests to temporarily hold precious metals of unknown origin and purity, then re-refine them and engrave Sanctus’s name to guarantee both value and origin under Sanctus’s authority.
The names of the six great ducal houses wielded tremendous influence not only within the empire but in other countries as well.
Having Sanctus, one of the ducal houses, guarantee value and origin was definitive proof, and even in transactions outside the empire, gold bullion bearing Sanctus’s guarantee seal had high credibility.
That’s precisely why this problem was reported to the head as a matter of high urgency.
“The counterfeits—are they gold bullion that we Sanctus refined?”
“Not gold bullion we refined, but gold bullion refined elsewhere and brought to us. Investigation is ongoing, but so far there are no reports of our bank’s guarantee seals being counterfeited.”
“If it’s gold bullion refined elsewhere, shouldn’t you be conducting even more stringent inspections?”
“Exactly. The appraisal was conducted by multiple people as per regulations, and strict inspections using magical tools were also performed. Yet the counterfeit gold was judged acceptable and sent to the refining process, where workers found unusual reactions and foreign substances during refining, leading to the discovery of this incident.”
Taking the current situation seriously, Lucilia also refrained from making light remarks and silently pondered.
Since the appraisal work was performed by multiple believers with appropriate knowledge, the possibility of human error through oversight in the work process was low, and the possibility of workers being bribed was also slim.
Personnel requiring secrecy in their work consisted of fanatics who wouldn’t hesitate to commit suicide if commanded by Sanctus’s word. Therefore, betrayal and bribery could also be ruled out.
The magical tools used for appraisal work and identification were precision products from the Maledictus ducal house, making malfunctions or errors virtually impossible.
However, this counterfeit gold had passed through all appraisal work and inspections.
In some cases, the trust that Sanctus had built up could crumble.
And yet… there was composure in Equitas’s expression.
“While the manufacturer and origin of the counterfeit gold haven’t been identified, we’ve narrowed it down to a general location. Therefore, the counterfeit gold problem can be resolved quickly.”
“Ho-oh, you managed to identify it quite quickly.”
“The northern merchant who requested re-refining was someone who had coincidentally been stuck with counterfeit gold in past transactions. When we conducted questioning about this incident, he voluntarily offered to cooperate. By tracing that merchant’s transaction history and connections, we could narrow down the scope.”
“And that scope is?”
“Near the center of the continent. Recently, in Fermund, which was transferred from Ornament, a large-scale vein was discovered. Edel-Mercator, daughter of the northern Mercator Great Trading Company, has been focusing on refining the gold and silver produced there as a new business venture.”
“Don’t tell me Mercator is involved in this counterfeit gold?”
“There’s a possibility, but it’s virtually nil. While the Mercator Great Trading Company has strong influence in the north, that’s not the case within the empire. Considering that Edel-Mercator’s reason for expanding into the empire was to establish a foothold there, there’s no reason to cross dangerous bridges and stir up unnecessary trouble.”
Moreover, Equitas smiled before continuing.
“Whichever it may be, it’s a trivial matter. The origin of the counterfeit gold isn’t important in this incident.”
“…Even though someone spat on the trust that Sanctus has built up?”
“Exactly. After all, the relevant area includes territories of elves, dwarves, and dragonkin.”
Upon hearing Equitas’s words, Lucilia slightly moved her eyebrows.
“Heh… Those human wannabes have the nerve to pick a fight with us.”
“Exactly. Despite being mere imitators allowed to play at being human through Eisenhud’s detestable transactions, they’ve caused us harm.”
After agreeing with Lucilia, Equitas erased the smile from his lips.
“Counterfeiting currency is punishable by death under imperial law. If demi-humans are involved in manufacturing this counterfeit gold—according to Eisenhud’s compact, the relevant demi-humans will be judged under imperial law.”
Because she understood Equitas’s intention, she grasped the meaning of his earlier words.
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