Beer Bubble (1)
Joshua, the third son of the Rosmeditch family, who had been exchanging letters with Rockefeller from time to time, heard the news that his elder brother, Rockefeller, returned to the Montefeltro territory and started the beer business again.
Holding the letter sent by his elder brother in his hand, Joshua thought for a moment and then smiled broadly.
'That's a good idea.'
When the Totem War broke out before.
He had had fun dealing with mercenaries with his second brother, Andrew.
'Back then, I couldn't make as much money as Rockefeller.'
That was so frustrating.
But not anymore.
'This time, it will be different. I plan to make more money than Rockefeller.'
In a way, this was an opportunity.
Moreover, he was located in Black Label, the wealthiest trading port in the empire, which was financially very comfortable for him to do anything.
'I'm going to buy up all the beer this time. I'll buy every beer on the continent. Until there's not a single seed left.'
Since he had heard about the upcoming Goldmine War from Rockefeller, Joshua knew to some extent what would happen to the dwarves in that war.
'If they need supplies, they'll try to buy them nearby. They have a lot of money, so they won't bother bringing them from their homeland. As Rockefeller said, dwarves also like to solve problems with money.'
It was difficult to monopolize food here.
Dwarves had a similar taste in food to humans, so there were many things they could use as food.
But beer was different.
Unlike food, beer was a luxury item, and its quantity was limited to some extent, so it was possible to monopolize it.
'If they're not careful, they'll be caught off guard.'
Did the dwarves know that there would be a shortage of beer to be consumed in the upcoming Goldmine War?
'No, they wouldn't know. Who would have expected the dwarves, who are allies of the empire, to declare war?'
So, this was something that could only be done by someone who had predicted the future or knew the future accurately.
'Anyway.'
Rockefeller hyung said that life was a bet.
Joshua, who had engraved those words deep in his bones, got up from his seat and ordered the people he was leading to buy up all the beer on the continent. He also started buying up the beer in Black Label indiscriminately.
After a few days, not only Black Label but also the surrounding areas were running out of beer.
As a result, Bel, the owner of a clothing store who had been in disgrace and had been drinking only alcohol, became alarmed.
As usual, he went to the tavern to lament his life and looked for the relatively cheap beer among other drinks, but the tavern owner said that there was no beer.
"What do you mean there's no beer?"
So Bel thought to himself.
'No, I haven't run a tab or messed around. Isn't this too much?'
"Are you picking and choosing customers now that I've gone bankrupt?"
Bel argued with the angry tavern owner, who made an awkward expression.
"It's not that, it's really not there! I've been going to the brewery since yesterday to order beer, but they say there's none. What am I supposed to do?"
"Stop talking nonsense and bring me a beer."
"No, it's really not there!"
"No, you bastard!"
Enraged, Bel jumped up from his seat and grabbed the collar of the tavern owner, Buckan.
"When did I ever run a tab or mess around! Why are you saying there's no beer! Is that even possible in a tavern? Then what are you doing business with?"
"I have a lot of things to sell. There's wine and other alcohol. There's even poison."
Buckan, who had barely escaped Bel's grip, glanced at Bel and continued.
"But it's expensive."
"Are you really doing this to me, too? I've spent so much money here! Even if I'm bankrupt, you shouldn't be doing this to me!"
"Calm down, first listen to me. It's true! They said there's no beer for sale at the brewery. Someone bought it all up."
"What nonsense is that! Who would buy up all the beer like that? Who on earth?"
At that moment.
Someone hurriedly rushed into the tavern.
It was Bob, the owner of a small store who had lost half of his assets due to a bad investment in a trade ship, though not as much as Bel.
"Ah, you're here!"
Bob, who had rushed in, immediately started talking to Bel.
"Did you hear that news?"
Bel, who was in a bad mood because of the beer situation, replied gruffly.
"News? What news. I was already in a bad mood because of that guy picking a fight over some nonsense."
"Ah, well, there's the guild master's younger brother. They say he's buying up all the beer around here."
Bel immediately showed his doubts at the tavern owner's attitude.
"What? What nonsense is that? He's buying up all the beer here?"
Bob, who had hurriedly come to ask, checked with the tavern owner, Bukan.
"Do you have no beer here either? They say it's not available anywhere else now."
As if to appeal his injustice,
Bukan spoke, glancing at Bel.
"Of course not. I mean, how can I have it when they don't even sell it at the brewery?"
Bel couldn't help but question.
"Why is there no beer? How can the common beer suddenly be gone?"
Bob explained to Bel, who was tapping his chest out of frustration.
"That's what I was telling you earlier. Right now, that guild master's younger brother is buying up all the beer around here."
"Why is he doing that? Is there something going on?"
"How should I know? I don't know, that's why I'm like this."
"But how did you find out?"
Bob had lost half of his assets due to the never-returning Morning Glory, but he couldn't give up the taste of capitalism he had experienced once. Unlike Bel, who was completely ruined, he frequented the stock exchange every day.
He was aiming for another comeback.
In doing so, he naturally became friends with the exchange employees, and by chance, he heard about the guild master's younger brother who was currently hoarding beer from them.
"I don't know what it is, but the brewery's stock price has doubled because of that. I was curious, so I immediately asked the exchange employees."
"So, the guild master's younger brother is buying up all the beer here?"
"Well, that's what they say. That's why I'm doing this now. I ran all the way here to confirm if it's true."
Bel still had doubts.
"Why?"
"I don't know either."
"Ha ha... What can you do with beer... It's not even something you can drink all at once."
"That's true. I mean, why would such a rich person care about the beer that commoners drink? If he drinks, he'd probably drink expensive liquor."
"Then what is it?"
"I don't know, okay?"
Soon, the gazes of the two turned to the tavern owner, Bukan.
"Do you know anything?"
"Tell us if you know something."
Bukan was just as frustrated as he didn't know the situation.
Beer accounted for half of his sales, and without it, he was on the verge of exploding.
"It's been cut in half for days because of that. I'm curious too. I mean, why are they messing with the unrelated beer? Is it because there's nothing to gain from doing that?"
"What about other liquors?"
"Well, there are other liquors."
"Is everything the same?"
"Everything is the same. There's no problem with other liquors. It's just the beer that's causing trouble. It's all about beer."
"Heh..."
The three, who couldn't find an answer, just drew a picture of the guild master's younger brother, who was doing something inexplicable, in their heads.
"What on earth are they doing..."
"I have no idea. Are they trying to do business with that?"
"Hmm... But why are they only targeting the cheapest beer and leaving other liquors alone?"
"That's what I'm saying, I don't know."
"Did they suddenly develop some kind of mental illness?"
"Hey, that person is the guild master's younger brother. The guild master is now a real power in the empire."
"Ah, has it come to that?"
"Look at this guy. So ignorant of the world's news, tsk tsk tsk."
When the three of them couldn't find an answer and were talking nonsense,
A familiar face entered the tavern after a long time.
It was Sam, the most successful shoeshiner among them.
"Hey, it's Sam!"
"What are you doing here in broad daylight...?"
"Didn't you move to the other side? You don't live in a place like this anymore, you live in a nice place."
"They say it's a mansion..."
Sam, who had come close to the tavern owner, asked him something.
Bob asked the same thing.
"Do you have no beer here either?"
"Beer? Yes, we don't have beer right now."
"Of course, there's none here either. Okay, I got it. Take care."
As soon as Sam confirmed the fact and went outside, Bel and Bob, who had been watching him, glanced at each other for a moment.
And the two of them followed Sam as if they had made a promise.
Bob, who had barely caught up with Sam before he got on the carriage, politely asked the former shoeshiner.
"Hey Sam, what brings you here? We haven't seen your face lately."
Sam had no intention of even pretending to greet Bob now that their situations had changed, but he still nodded his head out of courtesy.
"Bob, it's you."
"Yeah, what brings you here?"
"I just stopped by to check. I heard some interesting news recently."
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