Shilton walked back into the guest room again, head hanging low and mood equally heavy.

"Look at that." Taler wiped the beer foam stuck to his lips and let out a sigh of admiration. "Now that’s what you call learning your lesson the hard way."

As he spoke, the spymaster put the silver fork Shilton had habitually palmed earlier—then angrily slammed back onto the table—back onto the plate.

Taler raised his tankard toward Lann.

"To our screwed-over Dwarf."

"To him." The Demon Hunter drew his gaze back from Shilton’s door, raised his mug, and clinked it. "To this screwed-over, yet still loyal, friend."

"Hoo~" Letting out a long, frosty breath, Lann shook his head helplessly.

"So you don’t blame him."

"Blame him? For what?" The Demon Hunter asked Taler back in puzzlement.

"Investing comes with risk; once you enter the market, you own your losses. Shilton’s strategy was a bit aggressive, sure, but he never cooked the books. The failed investment means the two of us got screwed; it’s not like he screwed me."

"I just feel things got a bit troublesome. I was planning to go on a big shopping spree."

The Demon Hunter was thinking he should bring back a space bag for Rong Buqiu this time too.

It was expensive, yes, but should be worth every coin.

After all, the space in the Alchemy Pouch at his lower back was starting to feel cramped.

And this time, Muddy Stream·Destruction had directly ’eaten’ the Spiral Sword fragments he’d tossed in there.

Sure, it turned out to be a good thing in the end—the fragments of the Spiral Sword granted extra power to the Greatsword "Ember"—but who knew if the next time would still be a blessing?

Bad things always have higher odds than good ones.

And that was just the main chunk of his planned expenses this time. Then there were the scattered costs of replenishing Magic Potions, preparing Alchemy Bombs, plus the costs of his biochemical experiments...

He’d originally thought that once he came back, all these things would naturally go ahead smoothly. But the sudden storm in the financial markets had still given the Demon Hunter a solid lesson.

There’s no such thing as guaranteed, risk-free profit.

That said... the problem Shilton was now torturing himself over, for Lann, was really just something that made him feel ’a bit annoyed’ at best.

"If you need help—" Lann hadn’t even finished his sentence before Taler across from him naturally spoke up.

"Still remember Veltrest’s promise? Other countries sent spies after you and, in order to investigate, gave Temeria quite a few customs duty concessions. You have a share in those profits, as long as you say the word."

When the spymaster said this, he sounded utterly casual, as if he wasn’t talking about tens or even hundreds of thousands of Oren in Gold Coins, but just a small plate of cheese slices on the table.

For someone who had once displayed a battlefield presence of near-absolute deterrence, the question of "what if Lann runs out of money" was never something Lann himself needed to worry about.

Countless rich merchants and nobles, upon hearing such news, would have the same first reaction: "Can the job of handing him money be given to me?"

And if this world truly became absurd enough that no one rushed to bring ’warmth’ to a ’down-and-out’ Lann...

Then the person panicking most certainly wouldn’t be Lann.

So when Lann faced the situation of Shilton mismanaging his personal fund to the point of breaking the capital chain, he didn’t feel at a loss.

He was just a bit surprised he’d actually run into something like this.

He even felt that the matter itself bothered him less than the thought of Shilton refusing to continue managing his personal assets.

Faced with Taler speaking on behalf of Veltrest, Lann casually speared a slice of ham with his silver fork and popped it into his mouth as he spoke.

"I’ll pass, Taler."

"Even if I’m on the verge of bankruptcy... tsk, this really is a first for me. But I still don’t want to get tangled up with the Royal Family and nobility over some financial hiccup."

If the gap really were in the tens of thousands of Oren, that would be another story. But according to what Shilton had just said, the capital chain shortfall was only thirty-two thousand.

Though thirty-two thousand Oren was a huge sum even for a noble with his own castle.

It was equivalent to over a hundred full sets of knight’s plate armor; counting warhorses and horse armor, that meant full equipment for more than fifty Knights.

Within Lann’s current network, pulling that kind of money together was hardly difficult.

Compared to that, Shilton’s resignation was the real headache.

Because even if this money were injected to restart the cash flow, the fund structure Shilton had built would immediately begin operating again.

But then who would manage this whole bundle of business and assets?

Lann ran through his contacts and confirmed there didn’t seem to be anyone in his circle with that level of business acumen.

Still, thinking was one thing; the matter wasn’t urgent yet.

Lann set his mug down on the table, the wood clinking lightly.

Taler’s gaze, which had drifted over to observe another patron in the tavern, snapped back to Lann in an instant.

"You lot collect information here in broad daylight, and I go about my own business."

The Demon Hunter gave the spymaster a small smile.

"Keeping things as they are now suits me just fine."

Often, there’s no need to spell everything out.

Taler immediately nodded, even slipping a hand into his collar to scratch his neck, looking relaxed and natural.

"Right, what the fuck else can I say?"

Since the other party didn’t need it, they might as well keep the usual distance.

Reducing entanglements of interest while leaving only a pure relationship—this model struck Taler as perhaps the wiser choice.

Otherwise, if other countries learned that Lann was receiving financial backing from Temeria, who knew what the situation would devolve into later.

On the surface everything might stay calm, but in the shadows, a lot of blood might end up being spilled.

Seeing that the clever man across from him understood what he meant, Lann relaxed and smiled.

"Have you figured out who screwed Shilton over? The technique looks pretty seasoned."

The Demon Hunter and the intelligence chief slipped back into a casual, chatty rhythm.

"Drop the act. You definitely looked into it."

If it were some ordinary merchant who got taken by a competitor or a scam ring during market dealings, basically no one would care about the how and why.

People are busy, and the market changes in a flash; someone strikes it rich, someone jumps into the river—that’s all perfectly normal, isn’t it?

But Shilton’s situation this time was different, because the personal fund he managed belonged to a special person.

Anyone who knew about this could not possibly just ignore it.

Faced with Lann’s smile, Taler raised both hands as if surrendering.

"Alright, alright." he said helplessly, cursing along the way. "Yeah, who the fuck could sit still after hearing news like that?"

"We did dig into it, but how should I put this..."

"Less than ideal?"

"Yeah, downright not ideal."

Taler tilted his head and spat onto the floor beside him.

"What we found at the end of the trail is just a bunch of financial scammers. You get it? The type who dress all high and mighty, and clutch these ’super insider’ market tips like they’re something."

"They went roundabout and showed Shilton carefully selected company info and development prospects. Of course, to make it credible, the news was half good, half bad. Only most of the ’bad’ bits were basically irrelevant, while the ’good’ ones were mostly crucial."

"Then our loyal Dwarf friend took the bait."

"Use a few genuinely promising companies to hook his interest, then in the final round sweep away the biggest chunk. It’s not even classic fraud—it’s making money off an information gap."

Lann calmly listened to the process of how his money got swindled, and even found it a bit interesting.

"That’s it? This pack of sharpest-nosed scammers and brokers just happened to fixate on an obviously sketchy fund like that?"

"So far, that’s as far as we can trace it. Finance, equity, corporate ownership... all that stuff is complicated."

Taler said helplessly.

"Like these brokers I’m telling you about—I only know that they exist. As for who they actually are, what they look like... I’ve got nothing. Shilton probably didn’t even realize they were there at all."

The intelligence chief took another sip of Redania beer and sighed.

"Playing finance... that’s what I call stabbing from the shadows. They don’t even have to show their faces."

"Airetusa is also investigating your personal fund. If you still have doubts, you can ask your people after you’re back in Gos Velen."

Taler spoke bluntly, even suggesting Lann go to Airetusa Academy to reconcile intelligence.

"I will. Thanks." Lann nodded. "Oh right, there’s one more thing I forgot to ask just now."

"What?"

"Why is Shilton in Dark Water?" Lann was baffled. "What’s he doing in this village? Waiting here just for me?"

"Should be." Taler replied offhandedly. "This time he came to Vizima to attend a meeting with the local Blacksmith Association—something about Valerian steel."

"He came over here three days ago and took a room here at the inn."

Three days ago...

Lann thought to himself without changing his expression.

That must have been when Margaret noticed the tidal shift of Chaos Magic Power and then told Shilton she’d be back soon.

So the Red-bearded Dwarves could time it perfectly and wait for him here.

Ever since they’d studied information on the Conjunction of the Spheres through the Elf Beacon, Margaret and Tishaya both seemed to have made some progress.

With one last gulp, Lann finished the remaining Niflgaard lemon liquor in his cup, set it on the table, and stood up.

"Want me to pick up the tab?"

Taler’s teasing voice drifted over.

Lann didn’t stand on ceremony. As he walked out, he waved a hand without looking back.

"Then I’ll thank you for your generosity—helping out a poor, bankrupt Demon Hunter."

"Always at your service."

Taler’s mocking, odd tone was eventually left behind by Lann.

Leaving the tavern and the village, the Demon Hunter found Rong Buqiu and the Qilin horsing around out in the wilds.

The Three-Floral Kitten was standing on the Qilin’s back, hoisting a big bundle. With its horse-like body structure, the Qilin couldn’t reach the green herbs poking out from the bundle no matter how it tried.

The Qilin was hopping and prancing, but Rong Buqiu, relying on the Light Body Skill Lann had taught it, stood steady on the Qilin’s back as if glued there.

"Boss is back, meow!"

Rong Buqiu jumped down with the big bundle, wobbling toward Lann.

The Qilin stretched its neck, trying to stick its head into the bundle from above.

But before it could succeed, Lann grabbed the Qilin’s bluish horn, which looked like a crystal spike, in one hand.

He lifted the Qilin’s head and told it solemnly,

"I’m bankrupt, Qilin."

The Ancient Dragon’s face was full of question marks.

"Hrrr, hrrr-rii-rii?"