Bonus chapter thanks to @SuperLazerBeam and others from Kofi!
The Stock Exchange (1)
Gudut's restaurant owner, Bob, was restless due to the recent news he had heard.
'How... does that mean it's all going to be worthless?'
Before hearing that news, he had always been immersed in happiness, thinking he would hit the jackpot.
The minimum profit was four times the amount of his investment.
Depending on his luck, the dream of a jackpot that could reach five, eight, or even ten times was possible.
However, that dream was shattered after yesterday.
'My house... my six-wheeled carriage...'
Why did this happen?
The trading ship he had invested in had been captured by pirates.
'Damn those pirate bastards. If they were going to mess with a ship, they should've messed with another one! Why did they have to mess with the ship I invested in?'
It had been more than half a year since he had invested in a trading ship heading to the new continent.
In the meantime, a stock exchange, which had never existed in the world before, was established in Black Label. Since the establishment of the exchange, Bob had visited it daily to check the value of the stocks related to the trading ship he had invested in.
Just the day before, the value was four times the face value, but after the news of the capture spread, the price plummeted to a tenth of the face value, and there was no one willing to buy it.
Everyone knew it would soon become worthless.
'It's already a tenth of the face value. It even went through the floor and into the basement.'
This feeling was undoubtedly the same as seeing his wealth being cut into a tenth in an instant.
Most of his wealth had disappeared into thin air without him doing anything.
"Sigh... my luck."
As Bob sighed deeply in his shop, he heard the familiar sound of a carriage approaching.
Shortly after.
A familiar figure visited Bob's shop, his friend Bel, the owner of a clothing store.
"Hey, did you hear the news?"
Bob barely had the strength to answer, but he squeezed out what little strength he had to reply.
"What news?"
"Well, you know, the Morning Glory that you invested in."
"I already know it was captured by pirates. Damn those pirate bastards. I hope they get punished and die."
"Did you already know?"
"Of course, why wouldn't I? As soon as the news spread yesterday, the stocks I had became worthless."
Bob took out his stocks, which were now as good as toilet paper, and showed them to Bel.
"How can this become a tenth of its value overnight! And that too in just one day!"
Bel felt sorry for Bob as well.
If only the trading ship they had invested in had returned safely.
If only the ship had returned safely, they would have been able to secure at least four times the profit...
Seeing Bob sighing deeply, Bel was grateful he hadn't followed Bob's investment in the trading ship.
'That's why you should've listened to me when I told you not to do it. You even brought all your house deeds and took out loans, tsk tsk tsk.'
"What are you going to do now?"
Bob could only reply weakly.
"I don't know. I haven't even told my wife yet. If I tell her, I feel like I'll be kicked out naked."
"You still have to tell her. It doesn't seem like an ordinary problem."
At that, Bob became angry all at once.
"Who doesn't know that! What can I do by telling her? Should I go and tell her that I'm about to lose my house and shop all at once? Do you want to see someone get beaten to death by their wife during the day?"
Bel couldn't say anything, feeling sorry for Bob.
Especially since Bob's wife had been bedridden since the day he invested in the trading ship.
Although they had the dream of hitting the jackpot, his wife had known about the risks of the investment beforehand.
'Well, there are more than one or two people who have been ruined by investing in trading ships. Considering that, Sam the shoeshine boy is really amazing. How did he manage to avoid the sinking ships and only invest in the ones that returned safely? Well, that's why he lives in a mansion like a noble.'
"I'm sorry. I should've stopped you back then. I did warn you, though."
At that, Bob stood up and looked at Bel with a resentful half-glare.
"That's why you should've stopped me by force back then! If you knew I had never succeeded in anything, you should've stopped me no matter what!"
"No, did you even listen to me back then? You were the one who ignored me and went all-in on that ship."
"Sigh... What should I do now? What should I do..."
Seeing Bob slump down again, Bel couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"How much is it now? How much has it fallen?"
"I don't know. The last time I checked, it was a tenth of the face value. And there were no buyers, so it seemed like it would fall even more."
Bel, who had heard various stories, opened his mouth to console him.
"Don't be too discouraged. I heard that the pirates who captured the Morning Glory are in a big fuss trying to get back their captured deputy captain from the navy."
"Do you think the chancellor would listen to their demands?"
"You never know, right? They might release all the captured ships as a condition for the hostage exchange."
How great would that be?
'There was such a story, but...'
Perhaps the reason why his stocks didn't immediately become worthless yesterday was because of the possibility that the captured ship might return safely, as Bel had mentioned earlier?
'But there's no way that would happen. The chancellor here is such a ruthless person. He's a man who has nailed it down that he will never compromise with pirates.'
"Sigh..."
Bob reluctantly stood up from his seat, feeling like he was grasping at straws.
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There’s a lot filler chapters
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