"It's not as easy as you think. We inevitably have to watch the guild master's mood here, even if it's not the case on your side. Some merchants tried to do it like you, but they ended up in big trouble for falling out of the guild master's favor. He was outraged, questioning if it was right for him to have such crazy thoughts. You should have seen it."
What Rockefeller felt throughout the conversation was that the guild master had more problems than he had thought.
"From what I've heard, you must have a lot of complaints about the guild master here."
"Of course, there are many complaints. There's a lot I want to say besides that, but there's nothing we can do, so we just let it be."
Rockefeller expressed his doubts.
"Despite having such an unsatisfactory guild master, are the Banco merchants and guild members here not thinking of driving him out?"
"Drive out the guild master? Huh..."
His reaction was not casual, as he judged it to be not an easy thought.
"To be honest, I want to drive out that stubborn guild master too. He's so stubborn that he doesn't listen to others, and he eats up all the successful businesses by himself, so the Banco merchants here are also dissatisfied. But even if there are many complaints, we can't do anything. We can't drive him out."
Rockefeller had a rough idea, but he asked just in case.
"Is there a good reason for that?"
"Isn't he from the Lyon family? As you know, Bishop Verkis of the Lyon family is in the church. Even if we don't care about him, we inevitably have to watch the church's mood. It's because the church knowingly or unknowingly turns a blind eye that we Banco merchants can do business so comfortably. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to do business at all."
The reason why the guild members belonging to the Lyon Guild had quietly refrained from complaining so far was because of the existence of the church here.
"Since the Lyon family began to be interested in Banco business here, the place has rapidly risen as the center of imperial commerce, knowingly or unknowingly. In fact, the city of Lyon was not such a great city in the past. But people who want to do various things need money to do something right away, don't they? This is the place where you can borrow money more easily than you think, so it has developed into a commercial city."
His words continued.
"And in the Lyon family, there are both Banco merchants and church people, so they help each other grow. Banco merchants make money, and church people need money unknowingly, so the church secretly turns a blind eye to what Banco merchants do, and they both grow together."
He asked back.
"Can people like us dare to raise a banner against the Lyon family, which is the real owner of this city, just because we have complaints about the guild master? Try telling them."
Instead of answering, Rockefeller just shook his head.
"By the way, you must pay a lot of church money."
"Of course, we have to pay church money. If we don't pay church money, we can't do business. That's obvious."
Church money was also an unwanted expense in the end.
Is there a way for Banco merchants not to pay church money obligatorily?
'It might be possible. If the Banco merchants here hold church funds like I do and inflate them in the form of interest, the church won't want church money unconditionally. In that case, the church won't be able to favor the Banco merchants who inflate their property.'
Rockefeller continued to think.
'And at some point, they will have to rely on Banco merchants while watching their mood. Then, the church money can be a little off the coercive form.'
"I heard you well."
Rockefeller, who thought he had a rough conversation, began to think about this conversation.
First of all, it was about the guild master.
'Anyway, the position of the guild master here is more solid and immovable than I thought. The biggest problem is that he is from the Lyon family, the real power in this place.'
Is there no way out?
That wasn't the case either.
'But the relationship with Bishop Verkis has become estranged due to the interest issue, and on the contrary, my relationship with him continues to improve, so it's worth trying a gamble. If Bishop Verkis supports me, then Guild Master Benjamin won't be able to keep his position. The guild members have been watching the church's mood rather than the Lyon family's mood in the end.'
"This is a separate question, but I heard that the guild master is elected through a guild meeting."
When Rockefeller mentioned what he had heard from Carter, the shop owner quietly nodded.
"That's right. It's an old tradition that has been handed down since the early days of the guild. At that time, the power of the Lyon family was strong, and they could also receive support from the church, so the Banco merchants gathered together and voted for the Lyon Guild Master. And that tradition continues."
"Is there no election every few years? Is that correct?"
"There's no fixed rule. It's just a form of electing a guild master naturally when the guild members' intentions are gathered. Besides, only those from the Lyon family can become guild masters, so who would be interested in voting for a guild master?"
"Has there been anyone other than the Lyon family who has become a guild master?"
"Haha, not a single person. I wonder too. Will such a person ever appear? It's probably difficult."
He thought it would be difficult.
Because arms bend inward.
Since the bishop of Lyon had also been in charge of the Lyon family for generations, the Banco merchants, who had to watch their mood, thought it was impossible to seat a guild master from another family.
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