Chapter 253: The Merchant King

Money Lover sat in a chair around a round table. With him were five other men and women in different garbs of opulence.

The room they were in was similar to a conference room for lords of different empires to discuss business treaties in. Behind each of the 6 people in the room were various servants and guards in heavy armor, waiting in silence.

Money Lover had greatly changed from when he first entered the quest. He went from a young lord who had been disgraced to a man of limitless wealth, with many rings and adornments on his body, making him blend in with the others.

Soon, a woman who was quite fat and pudgy spoke in a croaky voice. "Now that all of us Merchant Lords of Boroneo are assembled, we shall conduct the selection ceremony for the appointment of the centennial Merchant King."

"Bah, who doesn't know this? Get on with it!" Shouted another pudgy man who had more chins than years left to live.

"Well, we have a new member among us, an unprecedented talent who rose to prominence in just a few years." Argued another woman who was quite beautiful actually, despite her wealth.

Still, the sharp glint in her eye told that she was a rose with thorns. Wanting to pluck her would be considered an act of self-harm unless one had the qualifications.

And from the looks she was giving the ever-calm Money Lover, it seemed he had quite frankly done exactly that. Money Lover winked at her, and she smiled prettily, telling others that they had something going on behind the scenes.

"That is true, so please get on with it." Another thin and frail woman demanded. She was considerably older than the first two women, which was quite a sight.

"Such a waste of time..." An old man who looked a lot like Baron D'our sighed.

"Harrumph. As I was saying, the centennial appointment has arrived. Due to the untimely death of our previous Merchant King, there has been a vacancy for decades now. How do we handle this matter?" The fat woman said, whose name was Hagia.

"Ah yes, the strange death of our previous ruler before I or Money Lover came around, leaving Boroneo to be governed as an oligarchy without a central figure. Wonder how that came about?" The beautiful woman Katerina asked while looking her straight in the eyes.

"I can see what you are trying to insinuate, girl, but you'd best be careful about what you say. The walls have ears and knives have no conscience." The old woman said darkly, whose name was Heidi.

Katerina humphed angrily and was about to retort, but was cut off by the old man who was called Rodrigo. "No need to banter my dear, the old one had been starved of love down there for decades. Frankly, it can get to anyone."

Katerina burst into laughter, and Heidi's face became black with anger. "You stupid old fool, you dare?"

The fat man, Borgious, spoke in that loud and shrill voice of his. "Is he lying? Old thing, show us the cobwebs in your undergarments or shut up and let the proceedings continue!"

Heidi, not understanding why so much fire was directed at her, humphed coldly and went silent. Katerina smirked derisively, making Heidi want to lash out, but she kept quiet.

Hehe, in her youth, she was a magnificent beauty like Katerina, also laughing at older women who dared to contradict her. But time was merciless and didn't care for beauty.

In time, Katerina would be in the same spot...

Thinking this, Heidi smiled genially towards Katerina, who felt all her joy bleed away when her victim was no longer bothered by her provocations.

Suddenly, the silent Money Lover spoke up. "I propose we select the next Merchant King based on wealth and assets. Frankly, we all know this is the obvious answer."

The others in the room went silent and then agreed one by one. Boroneo was an Oligarchical state by default, where mercantilism was the religion and money was their god.

In order to rule a kingdom like this, one would have to be the wealthiest and sharpest of them all. In a cutthroat capitalist environment, it was hard to rise, but once one neared the zenith, the view from the top was truly invigorating.

None of these people wanted to lose their wealth and becoming the Merchant King was the surest way to ensure that while also gaining even more. They would gain the rights to the military and foreign trade aspects, allowing them to expand crazily.

The previous Merchant King had been assassinated without a doubt, and no one really mourned him because he was advocating for the kingdom to become one where the government controlled all the resources and funds.

He didn't even last 6 years in his supposed 100-year office before he was done away with. No one bothered to investigate and no funeral was ever held. To try and arbitrarily make such a drastic change in a kingdom like this was just giving assassins a free job posting.

"Alright then, shall we declare our assets?" Money Lover prompted.

"Hmph! Since it has come to this, let me teach you plebeians what true wealth is!" Borgious announced derisively while throwing out a token.

This was his Merchant's token, the sigil of his position and the recorder of his wealth. Every single merchant had a unique one, and it was for the Merchant King to audit and assess his best Merchant Lords and below.

In times like this however, it was the most objective and impartial display of wealth should one allow others to see into it.

｢Borgious Belagro's Estate - Token

Contents:

a. 1,500,000 platinum in liquid funds

b. 120,000,000 platinum in Fixed Assets

c. 2,000,000 platinum in Decor

d. 3,500,000 platinum in Artifacts.｣ (Total = 127 mil)

What terrifying numbers... should Borgious enter the world of Boundless, he would be able to buy out almost everyone else in the human race. He could even swallow many kingdoms into his fold.

When the other Merchant Lords saw this, their face became solemn. Borgious was known to be the biggest spendthrift amongst them, yet he still had so much...

Clearly, he had intentionally played the pig to eat the tiger!

"Hm, hm. Let's evaluate mine and see." Rodrigo proceeded with a smile as he placed his own token down gently for the others to see.

｢Rodrigo Herno's Estate - Token

Contents:

a. 2,000,000 platinum in liquid funds

b. 100,000,000 platinum in Fixed Assets

c. 10,000,000 platinum in Decor

d. 10,000,000 platinum in Artifacts.｣ (Total = 122 mil)

Rodrigo was also extremely wealthy, just a little bit behind Borgious. This made everyone's face become even more solemn as Rodrigo was known as a man who loved to spend on art and useless artifacts, a rich man's hobby.

It seemed like his artistic purchases and his 'trinkets' were not just things for him to gaze at when bored, but things his sharp discerning eyes had been able to spot.

The old man laughed and tapped the table lightly. "Old hag Heidi, please enlighten us upon the way to go forward."

"Hmph!" The 'old hag' threw her token down and didn't even bother to look further, as if her victory was assured. This made the others inspect it quickly in order to understand why.

｢Heidi Amour's Estate - Token

Contents:

a. 12,500,000 platinum in liquid funds

b. 130,000,000 platinum in Fixed Assets

c. 500,000 platinum in Decor

d. 200,000 platinum in Artifacts.｣ (Total = 143.2 mil)

Everyone in the room blanched as they read this. It turned out that the woman they had been bullying as an old hag was truly packing some serious wealth.

"Shit, old thing, how do you have so much wealth? Weren't you the one spending wantonly on boy toys?" Katerina asked with an apprehensive expression.

Heidi smirked and licked her lips. "Only the first time. After I'm done with them, they always come back for more."

Everyone shuddered, feeling pity for whomever she played with that become twisted enough to wantonly come back for more.

"Hohoho, now I shall show my prowess!" Hagia chortled with a slap of her belly.

｢Hagia Marian's Estate - Token

Contents:

a. 500,000 platinum in liquid funds

b. 140,000,000 platinum in Fixed Assets

c. 100,000 platinum in Decor

d. 1,500,000 platinum in Artifacts.｣ (Total = 142.1 mil)

"You fat thing, didn't you spend all of your money stuffing your face? How can you be so wealthy?" Heidi asked with a shrill screech. She even pointed a shaky finger at Hagia, who chortled happily.

"Never believe what you hear from others. All of us have hidden our wealth behind exaggerated spending methods, including yourself, so why are you surprised?" Hagia asked with a glint in her eye.

Heidi harrumphed coldly and Rodrigo sighed in agreement. Borgious pointed to Katerina and spoke haughtily." Well, you two younglings are the only ones left. Heh heh, I hope your wealth can match ours, as well as your sharp tongue."

Katerina frowned, but still threw her token forward.

｢Katerina Beaufort's Estate - Token

Contents:

a. 1,000,000 platinum in liquid funds

b. 50,000,000 platinum in Fixed Assets

c. 1,000,000 platinum in Decor

d. 100,000 platinum in Artifacts.｣ (Total = 52.1 mil)

There was a short spell of silence before the other began chuckling, in a manner that said 'look at that, I was right.' Katerina squeezed her fists in indignation, but Money Lover rubbed her back gently, giving her great comfort.

"And? Don't keep us waiting. It's time for you to show your wealth, boy." Borgious demanded with a sneer.

Money Lover nodded and calmly placed his token on the table. When everyone inspected it, there was another spell of laughter, but this was much longer.

｢Money Lover's Estate - Token

Contents:

a. 3,000,000 platinum in liquid funds

b. 20,000,000 platinum in Fixed Assets

c. 50,000 platinum in Decor

d. 100,000 platinum in Artifacts.｣ (Total = 23.15 mil)

"It seems the choice is obvious then. I, with the highest wealth among us, shall become the new Merchant Queen!" Heidi pronounced with a proud expression, making the laughter of the others cut off.

While they had been busy laughing at the two youngsters, they had forgotten that this was not a flaunting show, but an assessment for a position... a position over everyone else!

"Hold on." Money Lover said gently, brining all attention back onto his person.

"What is it, boy? You have any complaints to make to your new Merchant Queen?" Heidi asked with a playful smile.

"Why, yes. I have some things to add..." Money Lover answered cryptically as he removed another token and threw it on the table.

Confused as to how one person could have two tokens, everyone else checked it out.

｢Kieran Vastia's Estate - Token

Contents:

a. 10,000,000 platinum in liquid funds

b. 100,000,000 platinum in Fixed Assets

c. 10,000,000 platinum in Decor

d. 5,000,000 platinum in Artifacts.｣ (Total = 125 mil)

"How can this be?!" Heidi screamed as she stood up.

"How can you have Kieran's token?! It should be impossible to display unless you are his... heir... oh no..." Heidi's face displayed endless fear, as did that of the other three who had stood up in shock with her.

"Yes, interesting isn't it? I am the son of the man you all killed, and had my hereditary wealth seized. I regained it just an hour ago, when Katerina's family, who control the judiciary, ruled that my father had been innocent of all his crimes you tried to put on him." Money Lover explained while tapping his chin playfully.

Katerina smiled wickedly and leaned on Money Lovers' shoulder like a young maiden lost in love.

"My father's token was returned to me before his wealth could be divided up by you lot, which was my only saving grace." Money Lover added with a shake of his head.

He slowly rose to his feet, holding Katerina's supple body in one hand while playing with the two tokens in the other.

"And now, my first act as the rightful Merchant King of Boroneo, I shall mete out justice on his behalf."