To Be a Power in the Shadows!

I and my mob friends, Hyoro and Jaga, decided to go out shopping for the first time in a while.

Although I had nothing special to buy, I gather the daily necessities needed into my basket and carry it over to the cashier.

“I’ve received 5000 Zeni. May I provide your change in notes?”

“Ah, yes.”

Before responding, adding “Ah” to a sentence is a must ‘characteristic’ for a mob.

Although only recent, bank notes are now more commonly used in the kingdom. It is a basic monetary system, but it had spread quite considerably within the kingdom.

It’s not bulky and is easy to carry, it’s really convenient. However, it’s not available in every store as some people aren’t used to it, so it’s good manners to ask for one’s consent.

After receiving and counting the change, I left the shop while inadvertently staring at the bank notes.

“Are...?” [TN:あれ means what...?]

Looking at the 1000 Zeni banknote, I suddenly noticed something peculiar about the design.

“What’s the matter, Sid-kun?”

I suddenly stop as Jaga asked me what was wrong.

“Is this the design of a 1000 Zeni banknote?”

“What are you talking about? These are the new banknotes issued by the Commerce Alliance. What, how did you come out to shop not knowing that?”

“With friends?”

“Isn’t today the Commerce Alliance’s newly issued banknotes bargain sale?”

“Ah~, right, that is so.” [TN:ああ、そうそう、そうだったね]

Is that so?

“Pull yourself together, Sid-kun.”

So, the new banknotes are circulating in favour of a bargain sale.

Hmm?

Aside from the new banknotes issued by the Commerce Alliance, what the heck are the banknotes that we used before?

With a casual motion, I skillfully take the banknotes from before out of my wallet to observe them, there I discovered a shocking detail.

“What’s this!!”

I reflexively shouted.

“Hey, what’s the matter, Sid-kun?”

“Oioi, what’s the matter, Sid?”

“Why is ‘Mitsugoshi Bank’ written on it?”

‘Mitsugoshi Bank’ is firmly written on the edge of the 1000 Zeni banknote. What’s a Mitsugoshi Bank? are the girls also managing a bank?

“Those’re the notes from Mitsugoshi Bank I think.”

“Banknotes were an idea first started by the Mitsugoshi Co., weren’t they. There’s even a discount when using them at a store affiliated with the Mitsugoshi Co. too”

“Ah, that’s right.”

It seems banknotes were originally a product made by the Mitsugoshi Co. Nevertheless, it’s strange that there’s a discount when using it at one of their stores, I guess it’s that sort of thing.

From the sounds of it, they were managing banks nationwide.

Nationwide?

Are? Speaking of which, I remember back then I seemed to have told the girls stories about banks, paper currency, etc ...

That was a few years ago, I had appropriately talked to them about my knowledge from my previous life, everyone was like “as expected of Shadow-sama.” With their praise, I got carried away and talked about many things and I feel that I had spoken about the use of a credit system.

I had explained to the full extent of my knowledge about the creation of the credit system from my previous life with my faint memories of a 2-hour documentary.

Everyone had a scary look in their eyes halfway through and I was feeling doubtful of my faint recollections as well, so I said “Think about it yourselves later” to close things off. But I got the feeling that they definitely talked about starting a bank afterwards.

Was that serious?

Iyaiya [no, no,] even so, it’s still too much. Do the girls not understand the meaning of the word prudence in their heads?

Taking this into consideration, It’s reasonable for a large group like the Commerce Alliance to get mad. It is unmistakable to say that it’s because of this that they’ve begun targeting the Mitsugoshi Co.

“Is that why the Commerce Alliance is also issuing banknotes?...”

Only the Mitsugoshi Bank would win if things continued like this. Fufufu, is it really like this?

The problem is, how well does the Commerce Alliance understand the risks of using a credit system?

My brilliant mind has discovered the precise details of the rising tension between the Commerce Alliance and the Mitsugoshi Co. through the banknotes.

I compare the simple yet complex design of the Mitsugoshi Bank’s excellent banknotes, with the flashy and fancy, despite its crude design, banknotes of the Commerce Alliance with my eye.

That, this is...

The Mitsugoshi Bank’s banknotes have a serial number and a watermark on them.

Whereas the Commerce Alliance’s banknotes have a serial number, but no watermark on the bill and the design itself is not very refined.

Looking at this, couldn’t you easily make counterfeits of the Alliance’s banknotes?

I couldn’t do it alone. However, I have a partner from the underworld who is fully capable of such a task.

“Fufufu...”

I abruptly burst into laughter.

“He’s finally lost it...”

Ah, I see it, I can see it.

The path to becoming【 The boss of a large organization in the shadows that control the world of commerce】is within my reach.

Let see, first, my vast memories must come back.

Why don’t we change my plan of showing the counterfeit money scheme to one where I can smugly show off my knowledge on something like how minting works to Yukime.

“Hyoro, Jaga, soon I will have the world in the palm of my hand...”

“Sid-Kun, poor thing...”

“Ah, I can’t take it anymore...”

Come on brain, remember!

The memories of that 2-hour MHK documentary—!!

The world is whispering to me, to become 【 The boss of a large organization in the shadows that control the world of commerce】.