Chapter 5 (1/2)

t.i.tle Here

From that day onwards, Ritone secluded himself inside the study.

As he realized the main problems that occur inside the Shylock’s territory.

「First of all, the source of the conflicts permeates society as a whole.」

The actual Rostania Kingdom, being the only powerhouse in the continent, only supported economic activities within its own borders.

In other words, this is like the Edo era, where they had a policy of national isolation, and because the hero solved the dispute with the Demon King, there was peace for a long time, causing the economy to decline.

「The social standing of the aristocracy seems to be set in stone mostly… 」

The king, queen and prince/princess stand at the peak of the aristocracy, followed by the knights, plebeians, merchants, and finally, slaves; that’s how the country ranks all the social standings inside the kingdom.

In addition, the merchants were being underestimated because they don’t contribute to manufacturing goods.

「However, all the gold has been acc.u.mulated by those of the merchant rank, and it’s causing a problem. The reason falls mainly on the barley, which is the staple food in this world, making it the base of our economy.」

Even the value of a territory is represented by how many people you are able to support with barley. For example, the Shylock House is able to sustain 2.5 million people, so it’s considered as one of the top Houses of the aristocracy.

「It’s like the economy is based on feudalism, huh… But the times are changing and the economy is switching over to an economy based on monetary currency (mercantilism). The era where you only needed to harvest barley is over, but it seems that the n.o.bles and knights haven’t realized it yet.」

The merchants, who understood about the importance of currency economics, are increasing in rank, and making fools of the n.o.bles. And to accomplish revenge over the n.o.bles, they make loans with high-interest and squeeze money out of them.

「To our fortune, Great-grandfather was able to predict such an outcome. He stopped relying on barley as the sole source of income, and s.h.i.+fted his focus as loan sharks to reorganize the territory. However, this led to resentment from the n.o.bles… 」

At the moment, because Eagle, the minister of financial affairs, is the current heir of the house, no one has gone against our family publicly. However, the moment he dies, they will be persecuting our House.

「To prevent all this, it is essential that I alternate between the carrot and the stick. For starters, I’m going to start with these guys.」

Ritone reaffirmed his resolution as he looked at the list of n.o.bles who had became unable to pay their debts.

Ritone went to his own storehouse, where the summoned garbage was being stored.

Among them were a large quant.i.ty of PET bottles, empty cans, dirty stuffed toys, cast-off articles of clothing, cardboard, tires and some broken bicycles.

「Among these, which one do you think will sell well?」

「Let’s see. Without a doubt, I believe that clothes are the best choice. It’s hard to believe that clothes of such quality are being wasted. Also, the style is superb.」