Late at night, when the excitement about earning a huge amount of money was slowly cooling down.
The night dew that had come out to greet the dawn hung heavily on the tips of the grass leaves.
Creak-
Dolores opened the door to the rooftop after a cautious glance around.
The rooftop of the girls' dormitory was off-limits to students, so it was a cautious move.
She had just stepped through the door and onto the roof.
"....Hello"
A voice like scraping metal greeted her.
The Night Hound. He stood at the edge of the railing.
He stood at a height that was dizzying to look at, relaxed, as if he'd been there for a while.
"I'm sorry, I'm a little late, I was trying to avoid the housemaster. You've been waiting a long time, haven't you?"
"Not really."
Dolores stared at Night Hound's cloak.
Judging by the lack of night dew, it hadn't been long since he'd arrived.
"Did you get lost when you came? It must have been hard to find the girls' dormitory, with so many similar buildings around."
"It wasn't that hard."
Night Hound answered Dolores's question nonchalantly.
For a moment, Dolores's eyebrows twitched.
'The dormitory buildings all look alike and don't have any identifying markers, so it's hard for a newcomer to tell the difference. Are you from the academy, Mr. Night Hound?'
If someone could find this hard-to-find place in such a short time without getting confused, they must be familiar with the internal geography.
Suddenly, Dolores remembered an incident that had happened not long ago.
The mysterious female black mage who had come into the academy during the festival, leading a group of undead soldiers.
She had said something strange.
'Where did you take Night Hound? I found traces of Night Hound in your room.'
At the time, Dolores let the words slide.
Dolores, who values her privacy, doesn't allow anyone to enter her space.
She even fixes her own furniture when it breaks.
'Now that I think about it, why did she say that?'
Dolores wonders about their relationship, but she's more concerned about the fact that Night Hound had been in her room.
At that time.
Rattling-
Something rattles in Dolores's arms as she takes a step forward.
It was the Mirror of Truth.
It's an artifact that shows the bare face behind the mask of the person it reflects, and it was the prize for winning first place in the University League.
'... Shall I use this mirror to look at Night Hound?'
Dolores thought for a moment.
But then she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.
'I brought it up just in case, but no.'
She didn't want to learn his identity this way.
'Let's wait until Night Hound speaks first. It would be impolite.'
Dolores closed her eyes tightly, lost in her own anguish.
"?"
Vikir aka Night Hound was staring at Dolores curiously.
Finally, Dolores opened her eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke.
"I did everything you asked me to do."
Dolores told Vikir everything that had happened.
The ten thousand people Piggy had known in finance. The letters Sinclair had written, each one predicting the future.
Sometimes it was the price of gold, sometimes it was grains like soybeans and wheat, sometimes it was futures options on minerals like bronze or orichalcon, sometimes it was real estate or bonds.
The outcome was always either wrong or right, but the 30 or so investors who won that 50% chance in a row fell for the bait thrown by Night Hound.
Night Hound even made a fortune on his last investment, a merchant guild led by a dangerous figure named Cindiwendy.
"You're really good at investing, I didn't know that."
Dolores seems genuinely impressed.
Of course, Vikir didn't care much.
"It was a trick that Cindiwendy used a few years in the future.
Vikir just had to apply it a little sooner.
"Now all that remains is to gather the members of the Bourgeois Family."
It's clean money, so there's nothing wrong with that.
It was a bit of a scam, but there's no problem with the current law anyway.
"And tell your friends thank you for their help."
"Yeah. I will, but make sure they don't get caught up in a fight with the demon...."
Dolores looked worried about Piggy and Sinclair.
Of course, that had been on Vikir's mind as well.
"We'll just have to make sure they're in a safe place when the time comes."
With that, Vikir placed a vial in Dolores's hand.
It was a sleeping pill.
Dolores looked nervous.
Vikir opened his mouth.
"Now we have the last step before the final battle."
"When you say final, do you mean...?"
"We will bring in an insider."
Vikir's words made sense.
The Bourgeois family was shrouded in secrecy. They are untouchable unless an insider provides information.
"We need to find a Bourgeois who's on the inside, and who's at enmity with the current family."
"Do you think there is such a person?"
"Of course. I've already researched them."
The Bourgeois family lord.
It wasn't hard to find someone in high places who was at odds with him.
"You can find out by looking at newspaper articles. You can find the answer by looking through old economic newspapers."
For a moment, Dolores paused.
...old economic newspapers?
'...Also, he reads all the economic newspapers from a very long time ago, and his enthusiasm is really great....'
Dolores must have heard that somewhere in the back of her mind.
'When was that?'
Dolores must have heard it recently, but she couldn't remember when or who.
When Dolores was feeling déjà vu, Vikir thrust several newspaper articles in front of her.
They were clippings of economic news from a very long time ago.
[Economy] Who will be the lord of the Bourgeois family?
-A bitter dispute is brewing over the position of lord of the Bourgeois family...
The most likely candidates are the eldest son, Bartholomew, and the second son, Damien...…
[Economy] Deputy Director Bartholomew becomes the target of a strong tax investigation!
-On October 0, Bartholomew, the eldest son of the Bourgeois family and Deputy Director of the Mineral Futures Exchange, is responding to a sudden tax investigation...
Meanwhile, the Imperial Tax Investigation Team accuses Deputy Director Bartholomew of treachery, embezzlement, and tax evasion, with instructions to make such unannounced raids more frequent. ...
[Economy] Deputy Director Damian laughs at his daughter's antics at her first birthday party
-On October 0, Damian, the second son of a Bourgeois family and Deputy Director of the Money Manufacturing Bureau, flashes his dad's smile at his daughter's birthday party...
[Economy] Deputy Director Bartolomeo, volunteering briquettes even in the bitter cold, 'I convey my heart'!
-On December X, Bartholomew, the eldest son of a Bourgeois family and Deputy Director of the Mineral Futures Exchange, went out of his way to help the less fortunate during the holiday season...
Despite the cold temperatures below freezing, he was sweating profusely as he delivered briquettes to the elderly living alone, showing his down-to-earth civic-mindedness...
[Economy] Deputy Director Damian, controversy over abuse of power
-On May X, Damian, the second son of the Bourgeois family and Deputy Director of the Money Manufacturing Bureau, was involved in a 'gambling' and became a hot topic...
At his daughter's picnic, he insulted an attendant who was providing security, telling him to 'do his job' and causing mental damage...
If you look through the articles from a long time ago, right before the head of the Bourgeois family was decided, you can see who the rival of the current head of the bourgeois family, 'Bartholomew', was.
Whenever there was a newspaper article accusing Bartholomew of a negative image, there was a newspaper article promoting a positive image.
Conversely, when a newspaper article was published promoting a positive image of Bartholomew, a negative image was published.
Thus, it became clear who the Bourgeois's enemy was.
[Economy] Bloody shareholders' meeting, who is the winner!?
-On the D day of the month D, the head of the Bourgeois family was decided.
The eldest son, Bartholomew, was elected as the next family head...
The new head of the family promises to revitalize the family and announces a number of personnel changes...
The personnel changes are as follows
00 Department Head of the Administration Department 000 is transferred inside the family...
XX Director of an administrative department XXX transferred outside the family...
DD Director of the Management Department will go on a long-term regional trip...
Deputy Director of the Money Manufacturing Bureau, second son 'Damien' promoted to Director.
The younger brother who lost in Game of Thrones.
As a result, he was completely cut off from his family and taken as a hostage to the imperial family.
Bourgeois Ju Damien.
Once an aspirant to the throne. A former rival. A secret antagonist.
Vikir was paying attention to this 'silver medalist'.
"Bourgeois Je Damien. Count of the Bourgeois family and current Director of the Imperial Money Manufacture. At the same time as he is eating away at the imperial family, he is also an advisory member and external director of several top branches run by the Bourgeois. However, since he is half-imperial, he cannot interfere in the internal affairs of the family."
His promotion from Deputy Director to Director was likely the result of losing a political battle.
Originally, it was customary for talented members of the Bourgeois family to rise only to the second-in-command position in the imperial institution, learn only the know-how, then resign and return to their home family to take on important positions.
However, the abandoned dogs of the family have no one to call upon, so are left to sit at the imperial palace.
By becoming a hostage to the imperial family.
"...This is Damien. I know a little bit about him."
Dolores flipped through the newspaper articles.
In her University League days, she had been on a quest for the Bourgeois in the second round.
Bourgeois / Difficulty [★★★★]
The Money Manufacturing Bureau has recently issued higher denomination bills, which have been plagued by a growing number of counterfeit bills.
From the perspective of the Bourgeois family, choose a product that would benefit from the monetary reform and suggest a new product or an improvement to an existing product.
Four stars for difficulty. This was a tough assignment.
Count Bourgeois Damien, the head of the Imperial Money Manufacturing Bureau, had personally asked, Dolores had some acquaintance with him.
Vikir nodded and said.
"Now that we've made our pitch, it's time to meet Damien."
"How? He doesn't seem to be selling meal tickets."
Dolores asked with a puzzled look, and Vikir answered simply.
"Let's throw a party."
Dolores's eyes widened as she looked at Vikir's party quote.
"Huh! This is the budget for a party? Did I get the number of zeros wrong?"
The cost was so enormous that even the Saintess of Quovadis, one of the Seven Great Families, was shocked.
Vikir planned to spend the astronomical sum of money from this investment in a single party.
"I'm going to make it so lavish and extravagant. So extravagant that all the celebrities in the capital are rolling their eyes."
Literally, money is just a means and not the goal.