The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound

Chapter 273: Money War (1)

As if recalling a thought, Sinclaire spoke suddenly, “Hey, how about we ask big brother Vikir to join us! I’m sure he’d be of great help!”

A single exclamation mark appeared above Dolores’ head.

Vikir.

Dolores tried to conjure Vikir’s face in her mind. The first things that came to mind were the bangs, glasses, and the expressionless face. An attitude and demeanor that seemed indifferent to everything in the world. However, Dolores had encountered numerous twists and turns with Vikir in the past, be it during volunteer activities at the orphanage, festivals, university leagues, or even the drinking incident that made her ears as red as a cherry tomato.

She lowered her head to the documents for a moment, then raised it, casually asking, “Does Vikir also have an interest in this kind of thing?”

In response to Dolores’ question, Sinclaire replied with a bright expression, “Yes. Big Brother Vikir is really good at these things. Since he reads all the newspapers from every media outlet regularly, he knows how society functions well. Lately, he has shown a lot of interest in the economy, like trade with the red and black mountain tribes. And he even reads economic newspapers from a long time ago with great enthusiasm!”

“That’s right! Vikir can do anything. He will definitely be a great help! Actually, just being quietly by his side becomes a source of emotional support, you know.”

Figgy nodded in agreement. After a moment of contemplation, Dolores nodded her head. If Vikir’s personality and skills were as good as Sinclaire described, there was probably no need for a test; he could be trusted.

“Then, when you meet Vikir later, could you tell him? Ask him to join our temporary club,” Dolores suggested.

“Sure!”

Sinclaire and Figgy nodded their heads.

“Since Big Brother often comes to the library, I’ll try to talk to him when he’s there.”

“Yeah, or since I’m in the same room as Vikir, I can tell him tonight. It’s hard to see Vikir around the school these days.”

“Oh, right, right. Where has he been hanging around lately? Figgy, do you know anything since you share the same room?”

“No, even I’ve been applying for night self-study sessions recently, so I go to the room late. I’m so tired that I almost collapse and fall asleep when I enter, so I haven’t paid much attention.”

The two chatted about Vikir’s recent whereabouts, and Dolores left them for a moment, getting up from her chair.

“Hey, guys. I’ll quickly fetch some materials. I left something at the student council.”

“Yes! Go ahead!”

Sinclaire and Figgy responded energetically.

Dolores left the classroom and walked down the hallway, planning for the future in her mind. After a while, she stopped.

“Huh?”

In front of the lobby on the first floor of the main building, where the post office is, near the vending machines for drinks, Dolores spotted a familiar face.

Vikir.

He was walking with a pile of letters and packages that seemed freshly received from the post office, cradled in his arms.

“…Vikir?”

Dolores called out to him without realizing. Vikir turned towards her, struggling to turn his head due to the multitude of letters and packages he held.

Dolores asked cautiously, “Um, need some help? Looks heavy.”

“It’s okay. It’s lighter than it looks.”

“…If you say so.”

Coincidentally, Vikir and Dolores were headed in the same direction. They walked down the hallway without exchanging words for a few minutes.

“…”

“…”

Strangely, there were no people in the hallway that day. Feeling the slightly uncomfortable silence, Dolores spoke first, “You have a lot of letters and packages. Did you order something?”

“Nothing in particular.”

“…Then, what’s all this?”

“I don’t know. They’re from different schools, and I got a message from the post office to pick them up.”

Vikir also seemed unaware of the identity of the letters and packages.

“Can I take a look?”

“Please.”

After getting Vikir’s permission, Dolores inspected the letters and packages.

“Perfume, skin lotion, shoes, belt, hat, sunglasses, shirt, bag, fountain pen, tie, wallet, sneakers, hairpin… Wow. There’s even an artifact from the national university league. And what’s this? A key to a carriage?”

Various stickers indicating the contents were stuck on the exterior of the packages. The sender was mostly similar.

[To Vikir-nim]

[With love♥]

[-From all your fans in Temisquira-]

[These words and the carriage are my personal gifts!]

[-P.S. President Merelini Lovegood-]

99% of the letters and packages were sent from Temisquira Women’s College.

(The remaining 1% came from Varangian…)

“…Woah. You’re quite the popular one, aren’t you?”

“Nowhere to escape, just a headache.”

Dolores thought inwardly that she might have a bit of bad luck, but seeing Vikir genuinely puzzled about how to handle all these items, she decided to let it be.

“Good-looking people always get tired,” Dolores casually remarked as if passing by without much thought. She was just stating what she had thought.

At that moment, Vikir’s response came, “I am not good-looking. People around me are just weird.”

As someone who had lived a lifetime with a scar-ridden face before regressing, Vikir’s answer could be considered natural in a way. However, Dolores, unaware of such facts, responded in a perplexed manner, “Why would someone with that face say that? Humility is one thing, but that’s almost self-deprecation.”

“It’s awkward to hear such words from a senior.”

Vikir responded again with a stern voice. Hearing that, Dolores hesitated for a moment.

‘What is this? Is this…?’

Vikir’s words were clearly a compliment about the other person’s appearance. Suddenly, Dolores recalled an incident (Between Osiris and Vikir) from the recent festival.

“Oh, speaking of which, when I was coming, I saw a pretty girl in the tent looking at you, staring at you. What’s your relationship?”

“Are you talking about Student Council President Dolores?”

Without any hesitation, Vikir pointed to Dolores in response to the question about the ‘pretty girl.’ In an instant…

*Boom!*

Her ears turned bright red. Perhaps because of that, Dolores quickly shifted the topic with an urgent tone.

“Uh, by the way, Vikir! Are you interested in mock investing?”

Even though Figgy and Sinclaire mentioned asking him earlier, it seemed like a good opportunity to inquire here as well. Vikir paused for a moment before asking, “…Are you talking about the upcoming competition?”

“Yeah. I’m participating, and I even formed a temporary club for it. Of course, I’m not doing it alone; Figgy and Sinclaire are with me. If you’re interested…”

However, Vikir shook his head, “I don’t have the time. Except for the newspaper club activities, I don’t plan on joining any club activities.”

Dolores felt a bit disappointed at his response. In truth, she had secretly hoped that Vikir would join. But there was no reason to be upset; after all, joining a club was a personal choice.

“Well then. By the way, Vikir! I’ll head this way.”

“Alright then.”

At the intersection, Dolores headed in the opposite direction from Vikir. Vikir inclined his head in a nod towards Dolores and then turned towards the dormitory.

At that moment, “President…”

Dolores, who had turned away, was suddenly called by Vikir. As she turned back with a puzzled expression, she saw Vikir looking in her direction.

Finally, Vikir spoke, “…I wish you good luck.”

A sudden cheer. A faint smile appeared on Vikir’s lips, reflecting in Dolores’s eyes. “Oh? Uh, thank you. You too.” Dolores raised her fists, seemingly surprised.

The ear that peeked out from her hair was slightly redder than before.

About three weeks have passed since then. Dolores, Figgy, and Sinclaire gathered in an empty classroom, sitting in a circle around a table.

“…Unbelievable.”

Everyone had a dumbfounded expression while staring at what lay in the middle of the table. It was a massive pile of bills and heaps of gold coins.

In less than three weeks, the Oracle Investment Club had amassed an incredible amount of money. Unquestionably in the first place, to the extent that checking the competition results seemed unnecessary.

“R-Really impressive, President! This is the first time I’ve ever touched this much money!”

“How did you have such skill… I couldn’t have imagined it!”

Figgy and Sinclaire looked at Dolores with dazed expressions. However, despite leading the Oracle, Dolores herself wore a vacant expression, seemingly detached from reality.

‘I just followed the instructions of the Night Hound…’

Dolores reminisced about her recent past. In the beginning, Night Hound gave her a command.

“Select about 10,000 individuals with thin connections in the financial world who have made a name for themselves.”

“…And then?”

“Send letters tomorrow to half of them stating that ‘Stock OO’ will rise. Send letters to the other half stating that ‘Stock OO’ will fall.”

Dolores acted swiftly. Creating a list of individuals and sending letters to each one was a laborious and costly task. Figgy, adept at information gathering and analysis, compiled a list of influential figures in the business world. Sinclaire, skilled in secretarial and office tasks, took charge of sending the 10,000 letters.

…And the next day, ‘Stock OO’ actually rose in value.

Upon it’s success, Night Hound issued the next order, through pigeons.

“Divide the 5,000 people who received letters predicting the rise of ‘Stock OO’ yesterday. Send letters to 2,500 stating that the value of ‘Stock XX’ will rise tomorrow. Send letters to the remaining 2,500 stating that the value of ‘Stock XX’ will fall.”

The next day, ‘Stock XX’ indeed fell in value.

This pattern continued. And Night Hound’s predictions kept on becoming true.

“Divide the 2,500 people who received letters predicting the fall of ‘Stock XX’ yesterday. Send letters to 1,250 of them stating that the value of ‘Stock YY’ will rise tomorrow. Send letters to the remaining 1,250 stating that the value of ‘Stock YY’ will fall.”

The next day, ‘Stock YY’ rose in value.

This process repeated. As stocks either rose or fell, the Oracle Investment Club consistently achieved a success rate of fifty percent.

After about a week, the number of people who needed to receive stock prediction letters was reduced to around thirty.

Around that time, the Oracle Investment Club started receiving an overwhelming number of visitors.

“Is this the place!? Is this Oracle!?”

“They accurately predicted whether the stock would rise or fall for seven consecutive days!”

“Indeed, there’s something different about a prestigious university!”

“This is where the stock geniuses gather!”

“Please! Please make my money grow!”

“I sold my house and everything! I want to invest!”

…

Predicting the stock market accurately for seven consecutive days made it hard not to believe. Those who received the letters until the end had already become fanatical believers in Oracle. Even rumors started circulating, attracting more and more people.

When the stock prediction letters first arrived, those who received incorrect predictions quickly forgot the name Oracle, while those who guessed correctly became intrigued. At this point, the gathered investors were unaware that they had been chosen using probability.

Night hound’s final command was left.

“Tell them that we will double their wealth, and ask for their investment funds.”

Dolores did just that.

The amassed investment funds were then invested by Night Hound in a trading company called ‘CindiWendy.’

It’s a company that trades with the indigenous people of the Red and Black Mountains, and due to the significant profits, it’s also a risky field that people hesitate to invest in. And Night Hound, as if to boast, achieved tremendous success.

CindiWendy succeeded in the third trade, distributing a substantial amount of dividends to investors. “I told you, having wealthy friends pays off.” Dolores could only stare blankly, her mouth agape. She had expected to either receive or borrow money from her wealthy friends, but this result far exceeded her imagination.

Figgy and Sinclaire marveled continuously at the tower of wealth that piled up like a mountain. “We didn’t know the chairman was so keen on investments! If this gets known outside, the empire’s business laws might change. Hahaha!”

“Indeed. If this continues, oracle might compete with Bourgeois Clan..” How much money one earns is important, but how one earns it is equally crucial.

Academy students gathered a substantial investment through a clever (somewhat close to a scam) means, and using it wisely, they raised a massive return on investment. The results were astonishing, and there was nothing suspicious about the process. Truly, a brilliant imagination, sparkling talent! Who wouldn’t want to meet these young investment geniuses?

No wonder the Bourgeois clan is drooling for those young investment geniuses.

“…” Watching Figgy and Sinclaire rejoice, Dolores smiled faintly.

It’s too early to be happy or surprised. The plan was just entering the intermediate stage.

Operational Forces.

The blade aiming for the pinnacle of the business world, The industrial conglomerate, Bourgeois.

‘…What exactly is he up to?’

Dolores began to grow even more curious about the identity of Night hound.