The World is Whispering to Me

It was a day off.

For the first time in a while, the three of us—Hyoro, Jaga, and myself—headed out for some Mob Shopping.

That being said, I didn't actually have anything in particular I wanted to buy. I just tossed some random daily necessities into a basket and hauled them over to the register.

"That will be five thousand Zeny. Is it alright if I give you your change in banknotes?"

"Ah, yes."

Standard Mob Point: always lead your response with a non-committal ‘Ah.’

Still, paper money had really started to circulate lately, hadn't it? This world used to be a strictly coin-based economy, but banknotes had become pretty widespread throughout the Royal Capital.

They weren't bulky, which was convenient, but some shops still didn't take them and certain people still turned their noses up at the things. Asking for permission before handing them over was basically common courtesy at this point.

After pocketing my change and finishing the transaction, I stepped out of the shop and took a casual glance at the bills.

Wait a second...

Looking at the 1000 Zeny Note, I noticed something. Is it just me, or does this design look different?

"What’s wrong, Cid-kun?" Jaga asked, noticing that I’d come to a sudden halt.

"Was the 1000 Zeny Note always designed like this?"

"What are you talking about? That’s the Great Commerce Alliance New Note they just issued. Wait, did you seriously not even know why we came out shopping today?"

"What do you mean?"

"Today is the Great Commerce Alliance New Banknote Issuance Bargain, obviously!"

"Ah, right. Yeah, that’s right. I totally knew that."

Did I?

"Pull yourself together, Cid-kun."

I see. They were using the bargain sale as bait to get their new bills into circulation.

Wait.

If this was the Great Commerce Alliance New Note, then what the heck were the bills I'd been using until now?

Driven by a sudden itch of curiosity, I fished an old bill out of my wallet and gave it a close look. That was when I discovered a shocking truth.

"What the hell is this?!" I shouted before I could stop myself.

"Whoa, what’s the matter, Cid-kun?!"

"Hey, hey, what’s gotten into you, Cid?"

"Why the hell does this say 'Mitsugoshi Bank' on it?!"

There it was, printed clearly on the edge of the 1000 Zeny Note: Mitsugoshi Bank. What even is a Mitsugoshi Bank?! Are they seriously running a bank now, too?!

"Uh, because it's a Mitsugoshi Bank note?"

"The Mitsugoshi Bank was the first one to start the whole banknote thing, remember? You got discounts and bonuses if you used them within the Mitsugoshi Company Group."

"Ah... come to think of it..."

Now that he mentioned it, the bills really could only be used at the Mitsugoshi Company Group at first. I’d thought it was weird that you got a discount for using them, but I guess that explains it.

They were running a bank behind my back?

Wait, 'behind my back'? Actually, I feel like we might have talked about this once upon a time...

It was a few years ago. Back then, whenever I’d spout random bits of knowledge from my previous life, everyone would suck up to me with "As expected of Master Shadow!" I’d gotten a bit carried away and rambled about all sorts of things. I'm pretty sure that was when I brought up banks and Credit Creation.

As for the Credit Creation part, I’d spewed out every half-remembered detail I could recall from an MHK 2-hour Documentary I saw in my previous life.

Eventually, everyone’s eyes started getting that "scary-serious" look and my own memories of the facts were getting hazy, so I’d wrapped it up by telling them to "think of the rest yourselves." I definitely remember them all discussing how they absolutely had to start a bank after that.

They were actually serious about that?

No, no, they'd gone way too far. Did those girls not have the word "restraint" in their vocabulary?

It was no wonder the major guilds were pissed. In fact, that was definitely the reason the Mitsugoshi Company Encirclement was happening in the first place.

"So that’s why the Great Commerce Alliance issued their own notes..."

If they didn't, it would be a total shutout victory for the Mitsugoshi Bank. Heh heh heh... I see how it is.

The real question was how much the Great Commerce Alliance actually understood the dangers of Credit Creation.

My brilliant brain had finally mapped out the entire conflict between the Great Commerce Alliance and the Mitsugoshi Company.

I compared the two bills. The Mitsugoshi Bank note was simple, yet sophisticated and detailed. The Great Commerce Alliance note was flashy and gaudy, but the design was sloppy. That was when it hit me.

Wait, this is...

The Mitsugoshi Bank notes had serial numbers and watermarks.

The Great Commerce Alliance notes had serial numbers, but no watermarks. On top of that, the design wasn't even that intricate.

Holy crap, I could totally forge these.

I couldn't do it alone, obviously. But I just happened to have a reliable partner who was a big deal in the underworld.

"Heh... heh heh..."

"He’s started laughing for no reason..."

"He’s finally snapped..."

Oh, I see it. I can see it now!

The winning road to becoming the "Boss of the Great Secret Organization that Rules the World's Commerce" was opening up right before my eyes!

Alright, step one: it was time to show off my "incredible" knowledge for the first time in a while.

I’d drop some knowledge about Credit Creation on Yukime with a smug look on my face, and then transition right into the Counterfeiting Plan.

"Hyoro, Jaga... I'm about to take over the 'world'..."

"Poor Cid-kun..."

"Yeah, he's a goner..."

Now, don't fail me now, brain! I'm counting on you, MHK 2-hour Documentary!!

The world is whispering to me. It's telling me to become the Boss of the Great Secret Organization that Rules the World's Commerce!!