Section 124 Trace

The night in Eagle Falcon City is quiet.

Although there had been a rebellion by Lord Regent Byron a few months earlier, it had not caused any real damage to the city as a whole. There may be some victims, but they are a drop in the bucket compared to the sheer size and population of the city.

At the very least, the trade area of Eagle Falcon City has not been affected, let alone destroyed. To this day, it is still functioning normally.

On such nights, most people have already gone home to sleep. But at this moment, on the third floor of an ordinary-looking building in the business district, the light still shines through the windows.

A meeting is taking place. Of course, for outsiders, this is nothing special. Because any organization will encounter some temporary emergencies. But in reality, it was not a single Chamber of Commerce that was meeting here, because everyone in the meeting was wearing the uniforms of different Chambers of Commerce, or at least the emblem of their own Chamber of Commerce.

“...... The above is what happened in the past six months, and all of you may have already understood. A middle-aged man dressed in blue and white stood there — not seated even though there was a chair behind him. This uniform is quite classic indeed, and it can impress those who meet it for the first time. Now almost everyone knows that this is the uniform of the old multinational chamber of commerce, the Pierce Chamber of Commerce. "Originally, we all thought that the financial collapse of the Makremiz family was inevitable, but in fact...... This did not happen. ”

A detailed report was placed in front of each participant. The facts are abundantly clear that there is a serious mismatch between the income and expenses of the little queen. Not to mention anything else, in the past six months, she has successively repaid nearly six million gold ollies' debts with interest. Compared to these huge expenses, that is, but her income is horribly low.

In fact, except for a few people who had close contacts with Duke Byron in the early stage, but did not follow Byron to get a sum of money from the guys, she did not have a large income at all.

"Faced with this situation, there can only be two explanations. Or maybe she's got some mysterious power...... Let's say the Turanians, with their aid. Or maybe she has a secret fortune that no one knows about. In order to investigate this secret," the man in blue and white looked around and said slowly. "Our Chamber of Commerce has made considerable efforts in its branch in Turan. The worst result seems to have nothing to do with the Turanians. ”

"It doesn't matter if the Tiberius are either. A balding old man replied.

"It's not the Shem, they don't have time to take care of themselves......"

"Other countries are even more impossible......" everyone spoke.

"It is true that there are few forces that would support the Makremiz family, investing too much and making too little profit. I have not heard of any important diplomatic agreements signed by Her Majesty the Queen...... "said the presiding officer of the Pierce Chamber of Commerce. "But if the kings of the Makremiz family foresaw that one day this would happen, they left a legacy for future generations...... It's also ridiculous. After all, the Makremiz family has only been founded for a hundred years, and there are only four generations of kings before and after, so it is impossible to have such a background. The most important thing is that the gold oli is a currency that has only appeared in recent years, and if it is the inheritance of the previous king, it must not be the gold oli...... The Silverfish Chamber will be busy exchanging gold coins. But that didn't happen. ”

It was a logically rigorous argument that was accepted by everyone present.

"So, where the hell is this money coming from. And then there's how much money is there!", the moderator said. "Only by solving this problem can we correctly judge what we should do next. Should we accept Byron's demands, remain neutral, or simply support our Queen? It is important to understand that this choice is very important...... If we fail, the consequences will be very serious, and we may even be hit hard in Gruny, or even simply excluded. ”

Everyone was silent. In the current situation, no one will offend the chambers of commerce for no reason. But if the race is over and the victor establishes his rule, I'm afraid that those who stand in the wrong position will be unlucky.

It can be said that it is a very simple thing for the leader to find the businessman's stubble, and even as long as he wants, he will definitely be able to find it, and it can be made very reasonable and legal. The king's word, it's even simpler.

"In our judgment, the core of this mystery lies in the former Queen's personal bodyguard, the current Chancellor of the Exchequer, Count Essoufat. Please look at this portrait. ”

The presenter held up a portrait. This painting is clearly the work of a master, and although the structure is simple, it clearly outlines the face of a young man. This man has a cold and serious looking face, with delicate facial features, a straight nose, a moderate face, and a clear scar left by a sharp weapon on the bridge of the nose. However, although the scar was conspicuous, it did not have the usual disfiguring effect, but only added a bit of coldness to the man's cold and serious face. The man in the portrait is smiling faintly, and his eyes reveal a contempt that looks down on all beings.

"This is Count Ashrufat, from Brasian. He was recommended by Countess Marianne to Skadra, the former Grand Master of the Court, and with the Grand Master himself as his guarantor, he served as the Queen's personal bodyguard. The Count of Ashrufat was skilled in martial arts, skilled in swordsmanship, and legend has it that he mastered some magic. The host commented in a tone that was not personal. "On the day of Duke Byron's coup d'état, Ashruphat protected the queen from the siege and finally broke through the gates of the falcon city. Not only that, but it is said that on the side of the barracks, it was also thanks to him that he killed General Farusha and seized the command of the Guards Legion. Either way, there is no doubt that he is a great warrior. ”

"Here," he said, putting down the portrait and pulling out another document. "There's a little more about him. The Count of Essurofat was not a native of Brasian, but from a foreign country, and he had come to Brasian to fulfill a marriage contract. And the objects of the marriage contract are none other than the two nieces of the Countess Marianne. However, according to our investigative report, he had an accident when he first arrived in Brassian, which resulted in amnesia. In other words, the current Count of Ashrufat has no memory of his previous visit to Brasian, at least on the surface. ”

"Although he was only a squire nobleman before he came to Eagle Falcon City, he actually had quite a lot of personal assets. According to the investigation of our Chamber of Commerce, the personal property of this Ashrufat may be as high as ...... Three million Quioklie. There are two chambers of private ownership. One is the Fur Chamber of Commerce and the other is the Tobacco Chamber of Commerce. He is a real bourgeoisie. ”

"Why did such a person come to Eagle Falcon City to serve as a small personal guard?" someone asked.

"It's a mystery, but we don't have to pursue it for now. The host said. "What we need to know is, where did he get the money to pay such a huge amount of arrears and achieve a miracle that would otherwise be impossible?"

"He paid for the Queen's debts?" someone asked.

"Unfortunately, no. At least so far there is no such evidence. He did not touch his property because there was no change in his right to run the Chamber of Commerce. The moderator replied. "Moreover, although he is rich, the little queen's debts are far beyond his ability to pay. ”

"Any clues available?" someone asked.

"Yes, those secret auctions held by the Scroll Chamber of Commerce recently. The president's name is Ah Jin, and I believe everyone knows it, or at least heard of it. Some time ago, Ah Jin presided over several auctions in a row, and the auction was a business license certificate issued by the elven prince Eshurufat. ”

"Ashrufat, Elven Prince?" was the talk of the name.

"On this point, it should be just an accidental duplicate name. After all, the language of the elves is very different from our lingua franca, and it is only because of the difference in language that the pronunciation is the same by chance. The host said. "This is the only big money flow in recent times...... Ah Jin maintains a high degree of confidentiality about many matters of this auction, so we have no way of knowing who the consignor is, let alone where the money from the auction goes. ”

"You mean, the Pierce Chamber of Commerce thinks that this mysterious owner may be Count Ashrufat?

"It's just a possibility. We have to admit that anything is possible. ”

"But where did he come from and the elven prince has permission to do business? Although his name is Eshurufat, he is not an elf!"

"It's just a guess. As for the source or something, it's not a question for us to discuss this time. The moderator pulled the topic back in time. "Our question is if the auction consignor of these licensing documents is Count Ishrufat...... Perhaps, then, the funds he has on hand are much greater than we imagined. ”

"This thing...... Is there any other evidence?" asked again.

"Unfortunately, no. At the moment all this is just speculation. Ashrufat is very qualified as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, because he has complete control over everything, turning everything into a secret, and no one can know what the specific income and expenditure of the road is. ”

"Can you find out through other channels, such as his colleagues, his friends, or the little queen?"

"Unfortunately, no. He didn't spend much time with his colleagues, so he couldn't find a suitable method. The little queen is also well aware of the importance of this secret, so she never mentions it. Since the younger queen came to power, she has never discussed financial issues. But now, there is clear news from the city of Fornoros, and the Duke of Byron has asked us to make a decision immediately, to decide our choice with practical actions. ”

"He's asking us to put a commercial blockade on Eagle City?" someone asked.

"No, he's not that excessive. He asked us to force us into debt. That is, let the little queen repay the loan early. Now, ladies and gentlemen," the moderator said in a very heavy tone. "We were faced with a dilemma. The situation no longer allows us to remain neutral. The only way we do it is to hold together...... That's why I've invited you to this meeting to sign a collaboration contract. When the time comes, we can advance and retreat together. ”

"Wait. "Objections have been raised. "In this way, although it is a win, it is also a loss! We can't put all our eggs in one basket. ”

"That's right. A voice rang out, and someone walked into the venue. "But it's stupid to put eggs in a broken basket. ”