I Resign From the Coin Mercenary Knights

The hero Kun Hei-jin seated me before him, attempting to create a solemn atmosphere.

His jutting chin, roving gaze – his appearance unchanged save for the ill-fitting gloves, which seemed mildly off-putting.

“Eric, you realize the defeat of the Demon King is imminent, don’t you?”
“I understand one Demon Lord still remains.”

“Tch. This isn’t some game where eliminating all four Demon Lords is required to face the Demon King. That final one is just a chief adjutant anyway, holed up in the Demon Realm. …It’s about time we ended this dreary war, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes, if that is what you say, Sir Hero.”

I played along perfunctorily, neither making a fuss nor offering unsolicited opinions.

This was how I had handled the hero back when I was slated to join his party:

Was it freshman year of high school? My father made a blunder during a major case investigation, demoting him to a lowly prosecutor position. My juniors wouldn’t even greet me properly back then, the ingrates. As if a prosecutor’s career is so predictable.

Ah, I see.

But now he’s actually doing quite well, to my concern. At my brother’s suggestion, I wanted to invest in a mining operation, but Father dissuaded me, saying he still has one shot at making chief prosecutor. …Come to think of it, not going into it was a blessing in disguise.

Mining…you don’t mean?

I’m not talking about actual mining. You wouldn’t know, would you?

No, of course not.

The best approach with the hero was to listen without comprehending, feigning ignorance.

After all, he wasn’t rambling for the sake of being understood.

‘If I just nod along, he’ll eventually get to the point himself.’

As expected, the hero soon lowered his voice.

“By the way… Eric. Doesn’t it seem strange for me to be looking out for you like this all of a sudden?”

“To be honest, it does pique my curiosity as to why, Sir.”

“Heh, I appreciate the candor. …The truth is, with the Demon King’s defeat imminent, I’ve been feeling rather conflicted myself. At first, I just wanted to slay the Demon King swiftly, receive a title, and enjoy myself. But after staying here for so long… how do I put this? It may sound odd, but I’ve come to see you people as human too.”

How gracious of him to acknowledge our humanity.

“Could it be that in the midst of this, you’ve been troubled by having expelled me from your party?”

“Eung. Something like that.”

Kun Hei-jin adopted a smirking expression, as if to say, “You’ve got some perception, I’ll give you that.”

Of course, it was true that I had lost the opportunity to join the hero’s party. But it hadn’t particularly dampened my spirits back then.

However, it was unlikely the hero felt any remorse over it. If he had truly possessed such scruples, he would never have recruited a barely advanced expert female knight (whose only remarkable quality was her beauty) in the first place.

If anything, he might regret overpaying me with those consolation Codanas. He was hardly the type to pity me.

It was a moment where I keenly felt the hero’s inherent lack of regard for me.

What the hero failed to realize, however, was that during his holy knight-led campaigns against the Demon King’s forces, I had become a wizened Codana investor in the Imperial City.

Frequently exchanging insights with Bingo, monitoring the movements of other investors, I had even extricated myself from the Imperial Knights’ collective oppression through my own efforts recently. Nowadays, I was even diversifying my investments to hedge against volatility.

Naturally, I also knew how to maintain my composure before such transparent machinations.

In fact, this was a skill I had honed long before the Codanas – as a commoner striving to achieve top academic honors at the academy and gain admission to the Imperial Knights, such self-possession was a prerequisite.

“You’re familiar with the Second Prince, I take it?”

“Of course. But why does His Highness…”

The hero exhaled heavily before licking his lips.

“Haah. It seems that nobleman has been dipping into the Imperial coffers recklessly to purchase Codanas without His Majesty’s knowledge. He likely won’t face punishment for being discovered, but falling out of His Majesty’s favor is inevitable. …Which is why he’s now urgently trying to offload his Codanas, having caught wind of some unsavory developments.”

“I see.”

“Faced with this dire situation, he seems willing to sell below market rates… And in the midst of the prince’s ramblings, your name came to mind, Eric.”

“……”

“Purchase 70 units at 32 million rir each, Eric.”

“70 units, you say?”

“Yes. The prince gets to recoup funds while minimizing market impact, which benefits him. And you get a solid investment opportunity, so it’s a win-win, no? I’ve heard about your recent acquisitions, but you should still have around 22 billion available, right?”

On the surface, it seemed a tempting proposition.

Codana prices had been holding steady around 38 million for days now, and trading volumes were honestly rather low – everyone likely awaiting the hero’s temporary return to the Imperial City, and whatever boon or bane he might bestow at that time.

Purely by the numbers, accepting this allotment and gradually releasing it onto the market would be profitable. But I had no intention of agreeing to the deal.

“Oh, and Eric? The purchase needs to be completed today.”

It was this condition that gave me pause.

‘It seems something is about to begin. Exactly what, I can’t say for certain.’

As I hesitated, the hero let out a chuckle before adding:

“Eric. Alright, I’ll admit it… To be honest, I’m doing this out of concern for the future fallout. If you later complain about being forcibly expelled from my party after the Demon King’s defeat, it would put me in an awkward position.”

“…Sir Hero.”

“Am I being rather shoddy? My apologies. But you must understand my circumstances. After all the hardships of the Demon King’s campaign, I can hardly be expected to face some petty controversy, can I?”

The hero gave me a wry smile, as if to say, “Indulge me this much, at least.”

I nodded vaguely in return, feigning bewilderment at such excessive consideration.

‘How do I extricate myself from this?’

The simple solution would be to flatly refuse.

But I doubted the hero would let me off so easily. As if urging me on, he firmly gripped my shoulder with one hand, applying pressure – not painfully, but enough to convey a sense of coercion.

However, I was a knight on the cusp of the peak expert realm.

My physical conditioning had not deteriorated in the slightest since leaving the Imperial Knights – not only had I maintained rigorous training, but I was also consuming vitality elixirs, knowing my body was my most crucial asset.

Instead, the hero’s actions only made me keenly aware of his desperation, buying me time to formulate a rationale for my refusal.

“Eric, I’d like to give you more time to consider, but the prince is in quite a hurry. Could you make a decision here if possible?”

“……”

“What is there to hesitate over? Simply withdraw 21.4 billion from the Imperial Bank and exchange it for the Codanas. Just report the off-market transaction details to the exchange later.”

The hero cocked his head, as if saying I would only have myself to blame if I passed up such an opportunity.

After briefly meeting his gaze, I let out a weary sigh while lowering my eyes.

Then I spoke.

“…Sir Hero, do you truly hold me in such low regard?”

“What?”

“If so, might I suggest contacting the Magic Tower to send over a mage? I will gladly swear a geas scroll vow. That if I ever raise any suspicions regarding the hero party selection process, I will forfeit my life without hesitation.”

“Hey Eric. Hearing you, one might think I’m threatening you or something.”

The hero’s expression subtly contorted, caught between anger and placation.

But it had been his own suggestion to offer me an investment opportunity as hush money, after all. Perhaps he had intended it to seem persuasive, but to me, it was simply an excuse to withdraw.

“My apologies if I have caused offense, Sir Hero. Having endured a series of unpleasant incidents recently, I seem to have grown overly sensitive. You may not be aware, but I have only recently parted ways with the Imperial Knights. Being expelled from an order carries a greater impact than one might expect.”

I murmured before slowly rising to my feet, not even observing basic courtesies – a subtle intimation that my self-respect had been deeply wounded.

“…I wish you good fortunes, Sir Hero.”

Until I had fully departed the Imperial Palace grounds, I maintained a dejected gait and sullen countenance.

‘There may be informants reporting to the hero or Second Prince, so I must remain cautious.’

But once outside the palace confines, I quickened my pace to signal Bingo that it was time to escape.

Lately, Bingo had been assisting me with various odd jobs and errands.

To efficiently manage the villas I had recently acquired, he was handling tasks like hiring servants and securing security personnel outside the Imperial Knights’ sphere of influence. It seemed he was indulging himself by spending my money ever since I had left the order.

But I could hardly watch idly as such a loyal friend risked destitution. The moment I met up with Bingo, I immediately instructed him:

“Bingo. Drop whatever you’re doing and head to the exchange right now. This instant.”

“Huh? What’s this all of a sudden?”

Bingo regarded me with a puzzled look, likely intending to point out that prices were still far from their “expiration” level. But I cut him off.

“I just met with the hero. The Second Prince is trying to dump his holdings on me.”

“The Second…Wait, the hero is in the Imperial City right now?”

“You said the current price level was the ‘solar plexus,’ right? Just sell at that level.”

Otherwise, we would soon be staring down the ‘knees,’ or even the ‘ankles.’

“…The hero arriving in the Imperial City without any victory celebrations… That means…”

“Go, Bingo.”

His eyes widening, Bingo immediately spun around and began hurriedly scurrying towards the exchange, his short legs carrying him in a frantic sprint.

It was an all-out sprint to escape.