Chapter 158 : The Show Begins
Chapter 158: The Show Begins
After arriving in the Royal Capital, John indulged in every kind of noble banquet and entertainment venue, feasting and reveling without restraint. Even the two male servants following behind him wore clean, expensive suits, fully displaying his wealth.
Mitia had once told him that a proper display of extravagance is one of the fastest ways to blend into mainstream society and elevate one’s social standing. She told him not to worry about his budget—the Seris Alliance had given him an unlimited one.
“As long as you believe it’s the right move,” she had said, “do it. The entire central treasury will cover you.”
To revive the economy of the Church State, Grand Duke Farhad Francis had come up with a rather bold idea—artificially lowering the silver content in the Church’s common silver coins by 20%. Wouldn’t that allow them to mint more coins?
However, this so-called “genius” move was stopped by his advisor, a merchant of Surian origin. After the advisor analyzed the pros and cons with him, Farhad broke out in a cold sweat.
Still, something had to be done. The King had practically handed him all authority and given him his full support.
Now, not only was the Church facing dire internal problems, but under the pressure of the Goddess’s oracle, it also had to expand its army and prepare for war. To wage war while already poor—it could be said that the King was on the verge of being driven mad by the Pontiff.
Under such circumstances, John’s extravagant spending at noble gatherings in the Royal Capital soon drew Farhad’s attention.
John claimed publicly to be the financial advisor to Prince Bratt of the Kingdom of Suria and that he was visiting Dmitria merely for leisure and relaxation.
At present, Prince Bratt’s reputation across the continent was soaring. He had spearheaded Suria’s industrialization efforts, allowing the kingdom to enjoy the rapid dividends brought by modernization.
Especially after the Seris Alliance discovered large reserves of shallow oilfields within Suria’s territory and began increasing crude oil imports step by step, Suria gradually transformed into a major oil-exporting nation.
It could be said that the entire Kingdom of Suria was now “dripping with oil.” Many families could strike a well in their backyard and have black liquid gold gush out.
Thus, wealthy Surian tourists who came to splurge in the Church State were hardly rare—indeed, they were everywhere. Each one spent lavishly, dressed in gold from head to toe, as if even their slippers were made of the stuff.
John’s identity as a Surian made Farhad instinctively accept the legitimacy of his extravagant spending. Yet, what truly caught his attention was the title of “financial advisor” and “economic expert.”
Those two words—advisor and expert—carried great weight. Both originated from the Alliance, and “expert,” as the term implied, meant a specialist in the field.
Coupled with Suria’s booming economy, foreigners had developed the impression that Surians were simply good at making money. That Surian advisor, John, must be one of them.
Soon, Farhad expressed his interest in John to his Surian-born advisor. Through that advisor’s connections, the two finally met at a noble banquet.
At the banquet, John was elegant and courteous, yet also very engaging in conversation. One particular remark stood out:
“Dmitria’s current fiscal difficulties stem not from a lack of productivity, but from a shortage of currency.”
That single sentence made Farhad’s eyes light up instantly.
It hit directly at the heart of his previous reform ideas—he had been thinking of solving the financial crisis through monetary regulation, though he had never quite figured out how to implement it.
He had proposed numerous plans, but all were dismissed after his advisor analyzed their flaws. The repeated failures made him doubt himself—perhaps this was truly a matter best left to professionals.
And wasn’t John, the financial advisor to Prince Bratt, exactly that kind of professional…?
When Farhad asked him for help, however, John flatly refused. His reason was infuriatingly sound:
“I’m on vacation, but that doesn’t mean I’m free. I’m still bound by my duties as Prince Bratt’s advisor—I have to return once my break ends.”
Finally, John added casually:
“Actually, the solution is quite simple. The kingdom’s problem lies in its shortage of precious metals—without gold and silver, trade can’t flow. So why not anchor value differently and issue paper currency, like the Seris Alliance?”
That seemingly offhand remark struck Farhad like a revelation—Of course! Paper currency!
But on what basis would the paper money be issued? How could the people be made to trust it? Those were still problems.
He didn’t truly understand such matters—or rather, not deeply enough. For now, only the Seris Alliance used the gold standard as the basis of its credit.
For that reason, the Alliance had long been purchasing and hoarding gold, keeping its global price high. They even issued standardized, serial-numbered gold bars through their central bank to tighten control over the market supply.
In short, the kingdom’s treasury lacked precious metals—gold and silver alike—to back a currency issue. And as for the nobles’ and bishops’ private vaults… unless one resorted to confiscation, every single one of them would claim poverty.
Still, as the saying went—he didn’t need to understand everything himself, as long as he could find the right expert. And before him now was clearly one such expert who could identify the root of the problem with a single glance—a true specialist!
Farhad courteously invited John to stay at his manor, while urgently contacting Prince Bratt, who was then serving as a diplomatic representative within the Seris Alliance.
After appealing to Bratt with both emotion and reason—and offering a few incentives—he finally secured the prince’s reluctant approval. Farhad was overjoyed.
Once the call ended, Bratt turned toward Mitia, who was calmly sipping her tea nearby, and respectfully asked:
“Your Majesty, what should I do next?”
“Nothing.”
Setting down her teacup, Mitia said leisurely, “The show’s about to begin. How could we miss the fun of watching it unfold?”
As someone who had all but personally tutored John, Mitia naturally knew how he would set things in motion. The Church State’s fiscal problems stemmed from debt and a trade surplus that had turned into a deficit, leading to chronic shortfalls.
The nation could only borrow from its nobles—but loans were never free. After years of accumulated interest, the Church’s internal finances had likely reached their breaking point.
To restart the economy, one must first inject liquidity into the market—without disrupting the overall stability—and solve the currency shortage.
Yet metallic currency carried a fatal flaw: it was inconvenient and poorly suited for circulation. At the same time, the Church State lacked sufficient reserves of precious metals—its currency supply couldn’t support both development and debt repayment.
So what was the solution?
To use the Church’s circulating Glory Silver Coins, the crown’s land assets, and the combined credit of the royal family and the Church as collateral—to issue paper currency. There was no other viable path.
In other words, John would establish a Church Bank backed by the royal and Church guarantees, with the Glory Silver Coin as its anchor, and issue paper notes.
The Church and the crown would absolutely agree to John’s proposal, for it seemed perfectly reasonable from every angle.
It was indeed a sound plan—and it was precisely because it was sound that it gave Mitia room to maneuver.
To her, the royal and Church credit was worthless. But the Glory Silver Coins gathered under their dual authority into the bank’s vault? Those were very much worth something indeed.