Am I Overthinking This?

He took a slow, deep breath.

Carefully, so the other man wouldn't notice, he steadied his emotions.

Nothing good came from rushing or getting angry.

Besides, nothing had actually been done to him yet.

"I understand the offer. What happens if I decline?"

"Oh come now, you won't find a deal this good anywhere else! Well, there are other people interested in investing, so I'd simply take it to them. I came to you first precisely because you're so promising, Yohane-san. We can prepare a fair number of bonds, but once they sell out, we can't offer any more."

"I see."

Martz brought his cup of tea to his lips, said "Ow, hot," and blew on it to cool it down.

As expected, if he refused, this would be the end of it.

The point of contact would likely vanish entirely.

If he tried to approach them later, he'd probably get turned away at the door.

Still, what a transparent sales pitch.

Even a scammer would do a better job.

The man had probably been coasting through his work without much effort until now.

"Then I'd like to start with three bonds."

"Oho, splendid! Three at once, that's the vigor of a man on the rise."

"Oh, not at all. I just happened to have the funds on hand."

He'd been keeping capital available recently for business expansion.

He would use part of it to purchase the bonds.

This would establish a connection.

As a side note, no matter what returns were promised, investing in his own business would yield a far better return than buying Insurance Association bonds. His operation was small enough that expansion had an outsized impact.

Larger, well-capitalized trading companies probably did invest in things like this.

The claim that other buyers existed was likely not a lie.

"Before we proceed, though, I have a few questions I'd like to confirm."

"Of course, of course. That's precisely why a director like myself came in person."

"First, if I suddenly needed the funds, could I cash out?"

"Hmm… I'd prefer you didn't, but given the circumstances, we could accommodate it. However, we'd deduct a processing fee from the principal. So our honest preference is that you hold until maturity."

"That's reassuring. And the term?"

"Ten years only."

Ten years.

Combined with the principal returned at maturity, that would come out to roughly one and a half times his investment.

The kingdom didn't levy taxes on bond interest or capital gains, so it would be pure profit.

"Can I sell the rights to someone else?"

"That's perfectly fine. As far as we're concerned, as long as the bonds are placed, it doesn't matter what you do with them afterward. You're free to do as you please after purchase. If you absolutely need the cash, that's actually the recommended route."

"That's more flexible than I expected."

"Given the amounts involved, the pool of buyers is limited anyway. We simply pay interest to whoever holds the rights."

And in the meantime, the Insurance Association would use the capital secured through the bonds to generate even more money.

According to Adventurer's Guild data, the number of adventurers had been trending upward in recent years, so there was no such thing as enough capital.

Labyrinths were becoming more active, and monster numbers were on the rise.

Something still nagged at him, though.

Under this system, adventurers were golden eggs for both the Guild and the Association.

Rather than treating them as disposable, nurturing them carefully, as he did, should yield greater returns.

Instead of just lending money, they should consider more of a protective approach.

But they wouldn't. The effects were uncertain, and the returns didn't show up neatly in the numbers.

From their perspective, it wasn't charity work.

If they'd intended to do it, they would have already.

"One last thing. These are bonds issued by the Insurance Association, correct? If I were to hold a large quantity, would it be possible to have some influence over the Association? Proposing agenda items, for example."

"… Indirectly, perhaps. A bond is ultimately just the right to receive interest as a creditor. It doesn't confer any right to participate in our management. However, if you became a major holder, we would naturally extend you a certain level of consideration. The current chairman himself originally came in from outside through just such a path."

"Is that so?"

So it was possible to become a director, and even chairman, from the outside.

Interesting. It wasn't a completely closed organization.

"That said, the current chairman has been in place for decades now. He's that capable a man."

"That's… impressive."

"Indeed. You may have already met him, in fact."

"What do you mean?"

"It's simple, really. The chairman is Finance Minister Count Morman."

"Wh—"

He managed to swallow the words "You're kidding."

So that man was the one running the Insurance Association.

"Well then, you'll be purchasing three bonds. I'll prepare the official paperwork and visit again within the next few days. If you could try to be home, that would be appreciated."

"… Understood. I'll make sure we don't miss each other."

"Ah, sharp young folks are so quick on the uptake. I can head home in good spirits. Well then, if you'll excuse me."

Martz polished off the cookies that had been served with tea, drained his cup, and stood.

Yohane saw him to the front door and watched him leave.

Returning to the parlor, he loaded the dishes onto a tray.

Orleans immediately came to collect them.

He sank deep into his chair and let out a breath.

What a tiring affair…

The shocking revelation at the end weighed especially heavy.

He'd been trying to avoid that man as much as possible, but a connection had formed in the most unexpected way.

Had it been fate that they'd eventually cross paths?

Cross paths, huh. From the other side, he was nothing more than something that would blow away in a gust of wind.

"Finn, I know you were listening. Come on out."

"Oh my."

Finn appeared from seemingly nowhere.

Where she'd been hiding was anyone's guess.

Despite there being nowhere to hide in the room, and despite it having been shut the entire time, here she was.

"How'd you know? Maybe I'm losing my touch."

"It was just a guess. I couldn't tell if you were actually here or not. I just figured you'd definitely be eavesdropping, so I said it."

"Oh, is that all? You startled me there for a sec. Anyway, you look unhappy. Was that conversation really bad enough to put you in such a mood? Collecting money and investing it is standard practice. The interest rate isn't predatory, so it's probably helping people. Though I guess the original purpose has been completely forgotten."

Finn studied his face with an amused expression.

His irritation must have shown. She was poking fun at him for it.

Same as ever. What a personality.

"I get it intellectually. The lending system genuinely helps adventurers. I'd borrow money myself if I needed to. But no matter how reasonable the rates are, lending freely to uneducated people is a recipe for ruin. Most adventurers have no one to bail them out when they're in over their heads. 'I didn't know' doesn't cut it. The fact that they're doing this with money that was collected for compensation… I just can't stomach it."

Setting aside outright violence, he believed debt was the single most common way people lost their way.

Used well, it could shortcut a long road. Used poorly, it sent you off a cliff.

How many adventurers actually read every word of a loan agreement?

"Aren't you overthinking this? Even if that's true, the people who decided to borrow did it themselves. It's none of your business, really."

"Maybe… you're right."

He understood Finn's point.

The borrowers themselves would probably even say it was a good system.

And yet, he couldn't stop the fierce anger churning inside him.

As a merchant, or perhaps simply as a human being, something about this felt unforgivable.

"Finn, I have a job for you. Look into the Adventurer Insurance Association. Don't go near the Finance Minister for now. His defenses will be tight."

"Fine, but I'm charging extra for this."

"Of course. Safety first."

"Got it. I'll start moving first thing tomorrow."

If it was just him overthinking things, or reading too much into it, that was fine.

If spending a bit of money would put his mind at ease, it was worth it.

Maybe it was time to act on his gut for once.

Perhaps Princess Yupe's influence was rubbing off on him.