Beer Bubble (2)
At Sam's words, Bell and Bob's ears perked up.
"Interesting news? What is it?"
As Bell and Bob showed excessive interest, Sam regretted what he had just said.
'This is quite high-level information.'
"Well... it's something that only I should know, so it's difficult to tell you."
Seeing Sam's reluctance to share the mysterious story, Bob became impatient.
"What, are you ignoring us now because you think you're better off than us?"
"No, it's not that. It's just..."
"Then what is it? Are you saying you don't want to mingle with people like us?"
"Well..."
"Just tell us straight. Are we strangers to you? Do you think I'm going to gossip about what we talk about here?"
"Sigh..."
Sam sighed deeply and, after a long moment of contemplation, finally opened his mouth.
"Well... this isn't confirmed yet, but we have our own speculation about why the guild leader's brother is moving like this."
"Our own speculation?"
"Well, I recently joined a club. It's a social gathering for people with a certain level of wealth."
As expected.
Rich Sam's social circle was different.
As he mentioned being part of something grand, Bell and Bob felt a sense of inferiority.
'Who is he hanging out with? Could it be nobles? If they're really nobles, Sam has come a long way. A really long way.'
If they were nobles, they would surely have good information.
Bob quickly jumped in.
"Share that information with us, too. We're not strangers, are we? We're not."
Seeing him poking his side with his elbow, Sam reluctantly decided to tell them.
He thought it would be fine to tell them since it wasn't confirmed yet.
"It seems that the reason for monopolizing beer is related to the Montefeltro region."
"Montefeltro region?"
Bell and Bob had never heard of this before.
"What's happening there?"
"Recently, there's been talk of gold ore being discovered there."
"Gold ore?"
Bell suddenly reacted as if something had occurred to him.
"Wasn't the Montefeltro region an incredibly rich gold mine in the past? That's what I know."
"Really? Was there such a story?"
"But I knew it as a dead land. So gold ore was discovered there?"
"What's gold ore?"
"What do you mean? It's ore with gold in it. Didn't you know that?"
"Really? So there's still gold there?"
As their gaze returned to Sam, he quietly nodded.
"Yes, it seems so. The lord of the region seems to be keeping it hushed, but the rumor has already spread, so I think everyone who should know about it knows."
The gold mine was still alive.
For the two who had experienced a bitter failure due to the Morning Glory incident, it felt like being introduced to the golden land of El Dorado.
"If there was such a place, you should have told us sooner! Life has been so difficult lately."
"This seems like an opportunity? We should go and make a big hit."
Watching the two, Sam shook his head.
"Anyway, there's an owner, so it won't be that easy."
"An owner?"
"Yes, the current power in the empire, Guild Leader of Lyon, is said to be the de facto owner of the region."
"What do you mean?"
Bell and Bob both questioned simultaneously.
"If it's a region, then it's the lord, of course. What do you mean by guild leader?"
"Well... actually."
Sam explained in detail how the lord's land had come to be in the hands of a mere guild leader.
After hearing the explanation, Bell and Bob naturally nodded.
"So that's what happened."
"I never thought the lord would become a debtor. Well, that's why he lost his good land."
"Exactly. But what does that have to do with beer?"
Sam said.
"It seems that the land originally belonged to the dwarves. So, looking at how the guild leader's brother quickly monopolized the beer, we think that a war with the dwarves may be imminent."
"What? They're going to war with the dwarves?"
Bell and Bob couldn't understand.
"No, is that even possible? Weren't the dwarves originally our allies? Weren't they?"
"Right. They are allies. They're not on the best of terms, but they're still closer than orcs."
Sam shook his head.
"But if gold gets involved, the story changes. You know how obsessed dwarves are with certain things."
"But what does that have to do with beer?"
"Monopolizing beer is a strategic move in anticipation of a war with the dwarves."
"Ah..."
Bell, who had heard about it somewhere, told Bob.
"I remember there was a time when orcs and dwarves fought near the border, and a certain church made a lot of money through a beer business."
"Really? Was there such a story?"
"I heard it too. So are they monopolizing beer because of that?"
"It seems so. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense to stubbornly monopolize only beer."
"Heh..."
Having said all he had to say, Sam tipped his hat to them and climbed into his carriage.
"Well, I'm busy, so I'll see you later."
As Sam hurried away, Bell and Bob began to think.
Their business had already been closed for a long time.
Bell had experienced a disgraceful failure due to a single investment, and Bob had long since become a full-time investor, only frequenting the stock exchange.
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