A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 226 Mysterious Passenger

Cano gestured for the mage who had previously cast the spell on Rorschach to also cast the [True Word] spell on Valen. Then he asked the general manager to tell all the mages about the shady dealings he had been involved in.

Varen delivered his speech in the hall, exposing the fraud perpetrated by the mining company and the Necker organization, which caused a huge uproar.

The gold nugget initially discovered was actually hidden in the supplies being sent to the sub-plane.

The mining company has never produced any gold from the sub-plane.

The company's mission, especially the most important mission of General Manager Varen, is to drive up the stock price.

"Therefore, all you sub-plane lords, including this Lord Granor who is frozen in place, your endorsement of the gold mine's reliability to nobles and investors, though in your personal capacity, is, in my personal observation, primarily due to your status as high-level spellcasters and within the magic guilds.

"The amount of funds initially raised after the company's stock went public is now insufficient."

"Why hasn't the stock price fallen yet?" Many monks are not immune to this trend and have invested a lot of money in the stock market to make a profit. Overall, the stock prices of mining companies are still barely keeping up with the rate of inflation of paper money.

Varen revealed the "alchemical magic" that astounded them: "It's simple. Our company holds a lot of stock, which we use as collateral to borrow money from banks. Then we use the loan money to buy more of our own stock, driving up the share price. At the same time, we use the repurchased stock as collateral again at the bank."

This was inspired by Necker to do by Varen. The general manager in charge of the execution was, after all, a young man with a conscience and the character of an old-fashioned aristocrat. Although he could linger in the beds of countless ladies, Varen felt a deep fear whenever he directed such an operation.

Varen's seat was like an ever-increasing balloon, and he was responsible for blowing it up! He was doomed sooner or later. Gradually realizing that he would become Mr. Necker's shield, Varen began to be plagued by nightmares until he was rescued by Rorschach for the second time.

Now that everything has been revealed, Varang felt a great sense of relief.

This kid is finally relaxed. Many people's blood is rushing to their heads right now. If it weren't for the Chief Archmage keeping things under control, they would have rushed out of the venue to sell their stocks immediately.

"Liar!" "Liar!" Countless curses and spells were cast against the crystal seals of Varang and Granor. Granor could still hear and see what was happening outside, but he felt dizzy and disoriented. If it weren't for the seals holding him up, he probably would have fainted on the spot.

Then he started blaming Cano for letting him hear and see all of this.

The alchemy department members finally fulfilled their "bodyguard" role, erecting a blue light barrier to block the attack on Valon and escorting him out of the venue.

The attack stopped, but the heated discussion did not.

Kano could only slam his hand on the table to silence the room again.

"Gentlemen, the facts are clear, and I believe the trial of Granor will also come to a conclusion."

"Guilty!" "Liar!" The most indignant were the monks who had invested in the stocks, followed by the monks who had attended in person from the beginning and sided with Kano, who also began to denounce him. Seeing that the tide had turned against them, the "aristocratic faction" also began their own performance, mixing in with the others and shouting "guilty" to the very people they had originally pledged allegiance to.

"Therefore, I hereby declare that Archmage Granor has encroached upon the interests of the Magic Guild, severely damaged its credibility, led a corrupt and decadent life, abandoned his principles as an elder of the Arcane Elders' Court, and made peace with the upper echelons of the Kingdom of Valuwa, seriously affecting the image of the Magic Guild and all mages."

Kano rattled off a long list of dishes, and finally removed Granor from all his positions in the guild, revoked all the honors he had received, and forbade the guild, its subordinate merchant guilds, and the Tower of Stars from cooperating with Archmage Granor again.

This is equivalent to a magic guild version of an excommunication order, meaning that Granor can now theoretically go to a lower plane to be his lord without worry.

With the trial concluded, Kano immediately moved on to the next agenda item: "Gentlemen, what has happened today will have a profound impact on the entire kingdom and even the continent. During my tenure as chief, it was my dereliction of duty and a disgrace that I inadvertently allowed spellcasters to be involved in such a deception. Since the reputation of the Magic Guild has been betrayed by a few individuals for their own selfish interests, we must try to salvage it."

"Soon, King Charles XVI will convene a 'Conference of Nobles,' and according to our traditional agreement with the kingdom, I will represent all those present. However, Lionel Cano hereby declares that I will not only represent the will of all the mages, but also strive for the rightful interests of all merchant guilds affiliated with the magic guilds."

His last words were emphasized as he looked at everyone: "Who agrees with this, and who disagrees?"

It takes time to process such a declaration, and then, after someone leads the applause (Rorschach and Pascal), thunderous applause immediately sweeps through the hall.

The dissenting voices are no longer important.

After the temporary lifting of martial law at the Magic Guild Building, the news spread quickly or slowly. It was already evening, and the stock market bell rang to close. The people leaving the market had no idea what tomorrow's morning paper headlines would be, nor did they know that what they were hearing was the death knell for the mining company and for everyone else.

The crystal seal that had bound Granor was broken, but the person involved seemed to have all his strength drained away, collapsing in the hall. His son, François, was not qualified to attend, but had arrived at the first opportunity.

It's unclear whether the young man understood the situation; he simply helped up his father, whom he once admired, without saying a word, silently brushed past Luo Xia, and left the building.

Luo Xia watched the other's retreating figure with some regret. At least in his memories of the secondary plane, François was a warm-hearted and upright young man who had never done anything wrong.

The father and son staggered onto the carriage.

"Father, you..."

"As a mage, I have lost, lost to Master Kano. From this day forward, our family will only be the masters of the Earldom of the Sareanna Region, and the only one we can be loyal to is His Majesty the King."

Whether it was spellcasting or status and tactics within the guild, Granor was utterly defeated by Kano. Granor slumped in his seat, as if his spine had been ripped out.

François remained unfazed: "Father, the outpost in the secondary plane is almost complete. We can move there with the recruited people and start afresh."

"I'm sorry, you were originally more talented than me." Granor thought of a new path: "If all else fails, you can go to the Empire, to Istani to study magic. Son, you're stronger than me, you'll definitely become an archmage!"

François was about to say something more when he was startled to find that there was another man in the carriage.

Count Granor also noticed the newcomers; rather, the newcomers now allowed them to notice them.

"Stop the carriage!" Granol shouted to the driver, then to his son, "François, get out."

"Father." François tensed up.

"It's alright, I know this guest. I suddenly remembered I have other things to take care of. You should rent a carriage and go home to take care of your sister and mother."

François was suddenly taken control of, his body involuntarily falling from the carriage. By the time he regained control, the carriage had vanished, leaving François bewildered.

"Do we know each other? Your Excellency, I'm afraid you only know me as the chief of the Thunderstorm Tower." The guest removed his hat in greeting. "Please allow me to reintroduce myself: Christian, Lord of the Inner Ring of Valois, Stonemasons' Brotherhood. It's a pleasure to meet you, Master Granor."

The space inside the carriage was locked, and it drove all the way to the abyss.

(End of this chapter)