Garius leaned back, rubbing his chin.
"Our church and everything… the budget is already set, right?"
Alf nodded.
"Yes, my lord."
"Our priests have already refused any extra funding."
Garius raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
Alf smirked slightly.
"They said the current budget is more than enough. The salaries for the church staff and the improvents you've already funded—
They don't need more."
Erinnete sighed.
"Even the holy n know excess wealth is pointless in Armand."
Hesbeirn grinned.
"They're probably afraid if they take more, you'll start making them work harder!"
Garius chuckled.
Alf continued.
"And the people… they refuse to take any more aid from us."
Garius narrowed his eyes.
"Refuse?"
Alf grinned.
"They say the lowest tax rate you set already makes them feel happy and free."
"High inco, low cost of living—"
"They have no complaints."
The region of Armand was different.
Its people weren't oppressed.
Its economy was stable.
Even the lowest class could live comfortably.
And now—
Even when offered more wealth,
They didn't want it.
Because they already had everything they needed.
"So… I'm getting richer, my people don't need more money, and my priests are refusing extra funds…"
He looked at Alf, Erinnete, and Hesbeirn.
"…What the hell am I supposed to do with all this extra gold?"
As Garius sat in frustration over his endless wealth,
The door suddenly swung open.
"How about buying more at for ?"
Garius slowly turned his head.
Standing at the door, arms crossed, looking completely serious—
Eridith.
Hesbeirn laughed.
Alf sighed.
Erinnete massaged her temples.
Garius raised an eyebrow.
"We already doubled our at supply."
Eridith nodded.
"I know."
Garius continued.
"The rchants delivering to us are already bringing two full carriages of at every day."
Eridith tilted her head.
"Then make it three?"
Garius stared at her.
Eridith stared back.
Hesbeirn grinned.
Eridith crossed her arms, huffing.
"I don't see the problem."
Garius sighed.
"Of course you don't."
She grinned, walking toward the table.
"More gold, more at. Seems logical to ."
Garius just rubbed his temples.
At least one person in Armand knew what to do with excess wealth.
Garius sighed, shaking his head.
"Why can't you be like other girls?"
Eridith tilted her head, confused.
"Other girls?"
"You know—wanting jewelry, necklaces, dresses… that kind of thing."
Eridith blinked.
Then—she asked in complete serious.
"Hmm? Can it be eaten?"
The room fell silent.
Hesbeirn choked on his drink.
Alf covered his face.
Erinnete let out a long sigh.
Garius stared at her.
"…No. You don't eat jewelry."
Eridith frowned slightly.
"Then what's the point?"
Eridith crossed her arms.
"Gold is for buying food. Not useless shiny things."
She nodded to herself, satisfied with her logic.
Garius just sighed, rubbing his temples again.
"…Forget I asked."
Hesbeirn grinned.
"My lord, at least you now have a way to spend so of your excess gold."
Garius shook his head, looking at Eridith.
"You're impossible."
Eridith smirked.
"And hungry."
Garius let out a long sigh.
Fransesca smiled as she sipped her tea.
"But dear?"
Garius glanced at her.
"Hmm?"
Fransesca let out a small chuckle.
"I saw your youngest son grilling premium wyvern at with his maids near the Pekko pen earlier."
Garius raised an eyebrow.
"Wyvern at?"
Eridith's ears perked up.
Fransesca nodded.
"Yes. That at was from one of his hunts, stored inside his magic storage."
Alf sighed.
"So, it's from before he went to school?"
Fransesca smiled.
"Most likely. Since his storage prevents food from rotting, it's still as fresh as the day he hunted it."
Eridith suddenly narrowed her eyes.
"Wait… Javier has premium wyvern at… and didn't share?"
Fransesca covered her mouth, hiding a giggle.
"It seems so."
Eridith crossed her arms, pouting.
"That brat eats better than !"
Hesbeirn grinned.
Alf smirked.
Erinnete just sighed.
Garius shook his head.
"So, while I'm wondering how to spend our excess wealth, my son is casually eating premium wyvern at in the backyard?"
Fransesca nodded.
"With his maids. Enjoying life."
Garius leaned back.
"…Unbelievable."
Javier flipped a perfectly grilled wyvern steak.
The aroma filled the air.
Liana and Gloria sat beside him, plates ready.
Buddy, his Pekko, was squawking excitedly.
Javier grinned.
"Ahh~ Nothing beats grilled wyvern at with my girls and my Pekko."
He took a bite and sighed in satisfaction.
Life was good.
Garius leaned back in his chair, tapping the latest report.
"By the way, Alf… I read sothing that caught my interest."
Alf raised an eyebrow.
"Which one, my lord?"
Garius flipped the page.
"The issue about a new type of currency."
Alf nodded.
"Yes, my lord. There's a proposal from certain nobles—
They want to introduce paper money as the main currency."
Hesbeirn leaned forward, curious.
"Paper? How does that work?"
Alf explained.
"They claim its value will be backed by gold. aning, for every paper note issued, there will be an equivalent amount of gold stored sowhere to support its worth."
Fransesca smiled knowingly.
"Hmm… That reminds of sothing Javier kept rambling about one day."
Garius glanced at her.
"Oh?"
Fransesca nodded.
"He ntioned that a currency like this can be… manipulated."
Alf chuckled.
"Ah, yes… Javier went on a long rant about it before."
Garius sighed.
"Of course he did."
Fransesca grinned.
"If I recall correctly, he said paper money has too many flaws."
Erinnete nodded.
Fransesca gently tapped the rim of her teacup, a small smile forming on her lips.
"He was so into it when he talked about this."
She let out a soft chuckle, rembering the mont.
"At first, I thought he was just rambling nonsense…"
Hesbeirn raised an eyebrow.
"Javier? Rambling nonsense? That's new."
Fransesca shook her head.
"Oh no, you don't understand. He wasn't just talking—he was lecturing."
Alf smirked, leaning back.
"Let guess. He even had diagrams?"
Fransesca nodded.
"Diagrams. Papers. He even started drawing on the floor with chalk."
Erinnete sighed.
Fransesca set her cup down and crossed her arms.
"He kept saying that paper money was dangerous."
Garius rested his chin on his hand, intrigued.
"Dangerous how?"
She tapped her fingers against the table, recalling his exact words.
"Gold and silver coins—you hold the value in your hands."
"Paper money? It's only valuable because people 'believe' it is."
"If those in power print more than they have gold for, then it's just… worthless paper."
"Gold and silver are difficult to fake."
"But paper? It can be copied, forged, and spread like wildfire."
"Imagine a rchant receiving fake notes—how do they even check if it's real?"
"If they print too much, the value of everything drops."
"Prices go up. People suffer. The rich get richer, and the poor lose everything."
"The mont they print more than the gold they have—chaos."
"Gold lasts for generations."
"Paper? It burns. It tears. It rots."
Everyone took a mont to process those words.
Alf sighed, rubbing his temples.
"So, he was right… again."
Hesbeirn grinned.
"And here I thought he was just a spoiled brat who liked hoarding gold."
Fransesca smirked.
"Oh, he still hoards gold. But at least now, we know why."
Garius leaned back, smirking.
"Then Armand will not accept this paper currency."
Alf nodded.
"I'll send the notice imdiately."
Erinnete exhaled.
"It seems we should start paying more attention when Javier goes on his 'rants' from now on."
Fransesca chuckled.
"Yes… because sohow, that 'nonsense' always turns out to be true."
Garius smirked.
"So, in short… paper money can be controlled, manipulated, and even counterfeited."
Alf nodded.
"Yes, my lord."
Garius placed the report down.
"Then Armand will not accept it."
Hesbeirn grinned.
"I knew you'd say that."
Fransesca smiled.
"Javier would be pleased."
Garius smirked.
"Our wealth is real. Our economy is stable. Why throw that away for a fragile promise?"
( End of Chapter )
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