A Dragonslayer’s Peerless Regression – 170



Episode 170

Zeke looked dumbfounded at the pamphlet Boris brought.

I read the content and it said that they were going to hold an informational session for investors in the development of a black ore mine.

Boris brought the results of his investigation centered around Vincenzo Rossi as per Zeke’s instructions.

“The place holding this briefing is one of Vincenzo Rossi’s front companies.”

Zig thought about it for a while and then said something as if he had just remembered something.

“Come to think of it the reason Dario was called the Steel King was because he was involved in the mining business.”

“Yes. We have been heavily involved in mining investments. What is a bit questionable is that when Dario’s side entered the bidding process there were many cases where competitors suffered unexpected accidents and gave up bidding.”

“The Nostra family must have had a hand in it.”

“Perhaps the other side had suspicions but could not be sure. Most of the time the representative suddenly died or got sick.”

Zeke recalled Dusk’s words about putting a curse on his rival for Dario’s sake.

“That’s what you used the curse for. You sly bastards. By the way should we consider the black ore mine as a business in the same direction as the current one?”

“That’s very likely. After investigating I found that they gather investors like this to raise funds then use that money to hold a mine development bidding contest and after eliminating competitors in the same way as I explained earlier they receive bids and develop the mine. Then they make investors with high stakes borrow money in a different way take away their stakes and swallow it all up selling the mine at a high price.”

“Your head is turning in a bad direction.”

“The mining investment is Dario’s main business so I think he would be more likely to stick out if he contacted this company among Vincenzo’s companies.”

Zeke nodded.

“Okay. Apply for an investor position under the name of Zeke Murray. He’ll take the bait when he sees Graham Bank’s Mithril Mines investment.”

“All right.”

Boris wrote up the documents and sent them to the investment briefing to sound out their interest in investing. The response came quickly.

Surprisingly it was Vincenzo Rossi himself who contacted me to meet him in person.

‘To catch a lynx you have to go into its den.’

* * *

As Heli is a city with many businesses and commerce there are many famous hotels.

In particular the 30-story super high-rise hotel built by the Siemens family was a landmark and symbol of wealth in Heli.

Zeke whose face had been transformed by the cloak headed to the Siemens Hotel Sky Lounge.

When he got off the magic elevator the staff guided him to a private room.

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As I entered the room a bald man stood up from his seat.

“Mr. Murray! Nice to meet you. Welcome!”

The man was Vincenzo Rossi.

Vincenzo a short man with a potbelly asked Zig to shake his hand.

Zeke whose face had been transformed by a cloak now had the impression of a businessman in his 30s.

He greeted Vincenzo in a deep voice and took his hand.

“Thank you for the invitation.”

Vincenzo offered Zig a seat and ordered food.

Soon the staff brought out dishes I had never seen before one by one on dazzling dishes.

Vincenzo took out a bottle of expensive wine worth ten gold pieces and poured it for Zeke.

“I don’t know if it will fit Mr. Murray’s mouth.”

Zik savored the aroma and taste of the wine.

He nodded.

“Good. Is this Mount Jupiter?”

“As expected you know right away.”

Vincenzo showed his trust in Zick who knew about high-quality wine even though he only told him what he saw by displaying the wine information in the system.

Over wine and food Zig was the first to make a move.

“I’m surprised you contacted me first. Actually I thought there wouldn’t be any room for me since it was so late.”

Vincenzo waved his hand and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“That’s impossible! If Mr. Murray participates as an investor this offering will be a success.”

“Well then that’s fortunate. The Mithril mine was a success due to luck but they say that black ore is different.”

Vincenzo nodded in agreement with Zeke’s words.

“That’s right. Mithril is mithril but some people say that the most valuable mineral is black ore. It’s also called fairy stone and it’s more valuable than the highest-grade magic stone. It has the properties of metal but it contains magic so it’s the best for making artifacts. Even if you find a vein the quantity you get is small so it’s called expensive.”

“Interesting.”

Zeke slowly prepared to throw his prey.

“Let me get straight to the point. Is there an upper limit to this investment?”

Vincenzo was taken aback by Zeke’s words.

“Yes? If it’s the upper limit…?”

“I’ve been lucky enough to have a few businesses I’ve been involved in recently that have been successful including the Mithril mines I invested in through Graham Bank. The money keeps piling up but you never know what’s going to happen with money. I want to entrust it to a trustworthy investment company.”

Vincenzo swallowed dry saliva.

“Haha. Well that’s the upper limit. What do you think Mr. Murray is thinking of?”

“How about one million gold?”

Vincenzo almost spit out the wine he was drinking at Zeke’s words.

“A million pears?”

“Will it hit the ceiling?”

Vincenzo took out a handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat.

“Haha one million gold. If it’s that much money I think we need to discuss it with the management.”

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Zeke nodded.

“I see. Please feel free to discuss it and let me know. If there are any other good investment opportunities besides this one please let me know. Graham Bank can recommend a loan with good terms using the Mithril mine as collateral so I can get as much money as I want.”

Vincenzo smiled broadly at Zeke’s words.

In his eyes Zeke looked like a nouveau riche who had made a fortune from a single investment.

‘If you trick those guys well they will pour in investment money without even looking at the investment product properly.’

Vincenzo said with a businesslike smile.

“There are many places to invest. I will prepare a separate guidebook and send it to you.”

“Good. I look forward to it.”

After finishing their meal Zeke and Vincenzo shook hands and parted ways promising to meet again.

Zeke came out of the lobby got into the luxury carriage that was waiting and left the hotel.

Zeke who had taken off his cloak and returned to his original form spoke to Boris through the communicator installed in the carriage.

“Boris can you hear me?”

I told Paynun that it was a long-distance communicator made from a high-pressure magic stone.

―“Yes boss. I can hear you.”

“Is the wiretapping device attached to Vincenzo working?”

―“Yes the signal is coming in.”

“Okay. I’ll be there soon.”

Zik went straight into a nearby luxury hotel.

The suite had already been rented under Murray’s name.

As Zeke went up to the suite Boris was in the room controlling the long-range radio and repeater eavesdropping on Vincenzo’s conversation.

“Boss Vincenzo is talking to the crystal ball.”

Zeke sat next to Boris and listened to their conversation.

―“Quickly get this straight to the boss! Quickly!”

Vincenzo’s urgent voice was heard followed soon by a crackling noise and someone else’s voice.

―“What’s going on?”

―“Boss I have something to tell you. It’s about the investment in black ore.”

Vincenzo had only one person he could call his boss.

‘Dario Totlino.’

It was a contact with Dario one of the bosses of the Nostra Family.

Dario said in an annoyed voice.

―“Are you bothering me with that kind of thing?”

―“That’s it. A guy showed up who said he would invest one million gold in the black ore investment project.”

-“million?”

Dario’s voice changed when he heard the amount.

He answered slowly.

-“Tell me.”

Vincenzo explained what had happened earlier.

―“He’s a young businessman named Zeke Murray. He’s the majority owner of the Mithril mines that Graham Bank invested in some time ago. He’s a billionaire in his thirties and he’s been enjoying the luck of his investments so he’s looking for mines to invest in.”

―“Zeke Murray. I’ve heard of him. Are you sure about his identity?”

―“You know Boss. How picky those Graham guys are. If you just get rid of them once you can consider them clean.”

―“The black ore mine is a planned investment for operational purposes but you’re investing a million without even looking into it properly?”

―“He even asked me to introduce him to other investment projects. He said he was even thinking of using his Mithril mine as collateral to raise cash.”

Dario was silent for a moment after hearing Vincenzo’s words.

He opened his mouth again.

―“Isn’t there a possibility that it’s a trap?”

―“I did some background research before meeting him but there was nothing particularly concerning. He is an Alencia citizen and originally from the northern part of the country. He also seems to have ties to Reinhart’s Company but I think I need to look into it more.”

―“It’s Reinhart Trading Company. It’s a company that’s been growing recently. The Empire is keeping an eye on it too.”

―“Yes. Starting with this planned investment project we can drag them in extract a list of assets put them in the investment products we’ve planned and slowly sink them into the swamp. Then we can even reach the Mithril mines.”

The Mithril mines that Graham Banks invested in successfully are now worth enormous amounts.

If only he could get his hands on Zeke Murray’s share of the mine he could sell it for several times the price and put pressure on Graham Bank.

Dario who had been thinking hard slowly opened his mouth.

―“Have you set a time to meet again?”

―“I haven’t decided yet. Should we contact each other again?”

―“Set a time. I will meet you sometime.”

Vincenzo was surprised by Dario’s words.

―“Are you saying that the boss wants to see it himself?”

―“My grandfather always said that you should look into someone’s eyes to judge them. I will look at them and judge for myself whether they will be a blessing or a curse to the family.”

Zeke who had been eavesdropping chuckled when he heard that Dario Totlino was coming to Heli in person.

‘Things will work out easily.’

It was certainly difficult to meet Dario in person as he was the boss of the Nostra family and a famous businessman.

Zeke said to Boris.

“We should attack Dario when he comes to Heli.”

“Are you planning to kidnap?”

“There is information I need to get from him.”

Boris frowned.

“It’s not just a matter of getting rid of the escorts and kidnapping them but also of getting out of this city. As you know this is Siemens’ city.”

It was clear that Siemens with its pro-imperial leanings would side with Dario a businessman who was on the side of the Empire.

Zeke nodded and said.

“I have an escape route in mind.”

“Where are you talking about?”

Zeke pointed upward with his finger.

Boris looked surprised.

“Above? Are you talking about the sky?”

Zeke chuckled.

“Okay I’ll take Dario and escape to the sky.”

* * *

A few days later Zeke received a call from Vincenzo again and was invited to the Siemens Hotel again.

As Zeke entered the hotel lobby Vincenzo greeted him with a smile.

“Welcome Mr. Murray.”

After greeting him warmly he spoke to Zeke secretly.

“Actually we have a special guest today.”

“What kind of guest are you talking about?”

“You probably know. I’m talking about the steel magnate Dario Totlino.”

Zeke looked at Vincenzo with a surprised expression.

“Isn’t he the empire’s mining magnate?”

Vincenzo smiled and nodded.

“Yes. He has a connection with our company and when I happened to mention Mr. Murray he was curious. He stopped by Heli today on business and I invited him here to introduce him to you.”

Zeke grabbed Vincenzo’s hand and squeezed it tightly.

“Oh my goodness Mr. Rossi. When I first got into this business Dario was my role model. I can’t believe I’m meeting him in person.”

“Haha. Mr. Dario is also looking forward to meeting Mr. Murray. Let’s go up together.”

The two took the security elevator up.

I went up to the top floor instead of the regular rooms to see if there were special rooms for big shots like Dario.

When I got off the elevator I saw members of the Nostra Family as well as knights dispatched from the Siemens family standing tightly guarding the front of the room.

‘If anyone saw this they would think the king was here.’

Zeke followed Vincenzo and got a quick look at the skills of the organization members and knights.

Most of them were of Purple Knight level or lower.

‘Are the blue knights and above placed inside?’

The most troublesome thing was the bloodline ability users. There were too many variables depending on what kind of ability they had.

As Vincenzo stood at the guest room door the secretary announced his arrival inside.

“Tell them to come in.”

Dario’s voice was heard from inside.

Zig followed Vincenzo inside slowly.

But then at that moment Zeke’s eyes wavered.

An unexpected person was sitting next to Dario Totlino.