Reincarnated in a Fantasy World Where I Can Conquer All Women

Chapter 28: The discussion with the oni woman

The Merchants’ Guild was located in the heart of Valoria’s busiest district.

Unlike the Adventurers’ Guild, which resembled a fortress filled with noise, sweat, and weapons, or the Artisans’ Guild, which had the calm atmosphere of an academy, the Merchants’ Guild exuded an air of controlled wealth.

The walls were adorned with dark wood and light marble slabs.

Tents served merchants, caravan drivers, workshop owners, and even a few nobles who came to discuss contracts.

Private guards discreetly watched over the premises.

Adam had barely crossed the threshold when he heard raised voices.

Further on, near a counter, a man dressed in a richly embroidered white robe was gesticulating angrily.

Several guild employees were trying to calm him down, but the man seemed to relish raising his voice.

"You call this a trustworthy institution?!" he exclaimed, slamming his fist on the counter. "A bank run by non-humans can’t guarantee the safety of legitimate goods!"

The room fell silent.

Adam paused.

The word "non-humans" had been uttered with such a hint of contempt that he immediately understood the source of the problem.

Sacred Empire.

He approached slightly, without intervening.

Several merchants around him were already murmuring.

"Another Imperial envoy..."

"It’s not the first time this week."

"They come to deposit a few coins, then claim the guild stole them."

"They’re just trying to cause a scene."

Adam frowned.

So this wasn’t just a disgruntled customer.

This was an organized provocation.

The man continued:

"I demand immediate compensation!" Otherwise, I’ll report to my superiors that the Valorian Merchants’ Guild is committing fraud against the citizens of the Holy Empire!"

An employee gritted her teeth.

"Sir, your accounts have already been audited three times. No money has gone missing."

"A lie!"

The man slammed his fist on the counter again.

"You’re trying to cover for your oni masters!"

The atmosphere turned icy.

Even Adam felt the tension rising.

Then a voice boomed from the main staircase.

"My oni masters?"

A sudden silence fell over the room.

The imperial man froze.

Adam turned his head.

Shiora Crimsonhorn was slowly descending the stairs.

She wore an elegant, dark red outfit, perfectly suited to her status as a guild mistress.

Her white horns shimmered slightly in the light.

Her smile was calm.

Too quiet.

"That’s an interesting point."

Each step she took seemed to weigh down the air.

The imperial man paled involuntarily.

Adam immediately noticed the conflict in his expression.

Contempt.

Fear.

And above all, a hatred he was forced to conceal.

Facing Shiora, he couldn’t speak as he had just done.

Not here.

Not in this guild.

Not in Valoria.

Shiora approached him.

"Repeat what you just said."

The man gritted his teeth.

"I..."

"Yes?"

Shiora’s smile widened slightly.

"We’re all listening."

The man looked around.

All eyes were on him.

The guild employees.

The merchants.

The guards.

And Adam, standing slightly apart, watching intently.

Finally, the man lowered his head slightly.

"It seems there’s been a misunderstanding."

Shiora didn’t reply.

She simply continued to smile.

The man forced the words out.

"I... apologize for the inconvenience."

His voice was stiff.

Each syllable seemed to cost him.

Shiora inclined her head slightly.

"Apology accepted."

Then his gaze turned cold.

"But the next time you accuse my guild without proof, you will have to answer to the Valoria administration for commercial defamation."

The man paled even more.

"Is that clear?"

"Yes."

"Good."

He barely bowed, then left the guild under the silent gazes of the crowd.

As soon as he disappeared, the atmosphere relaxed.

The murmurs resumed.

Shiora remained motionless for a few seconds.

Then her gaze met Adam’s.

Her smile changed instantly.

It became warmer.

And much more dangerous in another way.

"Adam. You’re just in time to see the boring side of business."

Adam approached.

"If that’s the boring side, I’d rather not see the dangerous side."

Shiora laughed softly.

"Oh, you’ll probably see it someday."

She gestured for him to follow her.

"Come on. We’ll talk better in my office."

Adam followed her upstairs.

Shiora’s office was vast, luxurious, and filled with trade maps.

Land routes.

Sea routes.

Caravan routes.

Production zones.

Fortified cities.

Ports.

Mines.

Banks.

Everything was connected by colored wires and small metal plates.

Adam immediately understood that this office wasn’t just a workplace.

It was a battlefield.

But instead of swords and magic, the weapons were gold, contracts, and information.

Shiora sat down behind her desk, then crossed her legs.

"What you just witnessed isn’t an isolated incident."

Adam sat down opposite her.

"I heard some murmurs. Does this kind of thing happen often?"

"More and more."

Her smile faded.

"The Holy Empire knows it can’t attack our banks directly. So it tries to smear them."

Adam frowned.

"Your banks?"

Shiora nodded.

"My family, the Crimsonhorns, manages one of the largest banking networks on the continent. Nearly every major kingdom uses our vaults, credit cards, deposit systems, and trade guarantees."

She pointed to a card.

"Valoria." The oni territories. Several independent human kingdoms. The elven trade routes. The trading posts of the beast-folk. Even some dwarven cities work with us."

Then his finger stopped on a large area marked in white.

"Except for the Sacred Empire."

Adam understood quickly.

"They want to create their own banking network."

"Exactly. But it’s not that simple."

Shiora smiled coolly.

"A bank isn’t based solely on gold. It’s based on trust."

Adam nodded.

"If merchants don’t believe they can get their money back, the system collapses."

Shiora’s eyes shone.

"You catch on quickly."

"In my old world, the economy also relied heavily on trust. Even when the currency was different."

"Interesting."

She leaned slightly toward him.

"The Empire wants to replace our network with their own. But to do that, they must first convince the merchants that our banks are corrupt, dangerous, or controlled by hostile races."

Adam crossed his arms.

"So they send men to provoke incidents. Then they use those incidents for propaganda."

"Yes."

"And if they manage to damage your reputation, they can offer their own bank as a ’purer’ and ’safer’ alternative."

Shiora smiled.

"You sound almost like a merchant."

Adam shook his head.

"No. Like someone who’s seen companies smear their competitors to take their place."

"Your old world sounds charming."

"It had its own monsters. They just wore costumes instead of armor."

Shiora burst out laughing.

"I like that line."

Then she became serious again.

"Today, I was supposed to teach you the basics of trade. Margins, routes, contracts, taxes, caravan insurance, deposits, loans, and the circulation of gold."

Adam studied the maps.

"We can always start."

"Very well."

Shiora stood up and invited him to approach a large table covered with documents.

She began with the trade routes.

She explained how goods circulated between the duchies, kingdoms, and independent territories.

Grains.

Salt.

Metals.

Fabrics.

Monster cores.

Alchemical ingredients.

Artifacts.

Then she moved on to the risks.

Bandits.

Monsters.

Excessive taxes.

Closed borders.

Local wars.

Poor harvests.

Political rumors.

Adam listened attentively.

Sometimes he asked a question.

Sometimes he offered his opinion.

At first, Shiora answered like a teacher.

Then, little by little, his expression changed.

"Wait. Repeat what you just said."

Adam blinked.

"That spreading investments across multiple routes can reduce losses if a caravan is attacked?"

"No, not after."

"That the cost of risk should be factored directly into the final price?"

Shiora stared at him.

Then she smiled.

"Go on."

Adam hesitated for a second.

"In my old world, we called that risk diversification. Not depending on a single route, a single supplier, or a single market. If one source collapses, the others compensate."

Shiora remained silent.

Then she pulled up a chair and sat down opposite him.

"This is getting more interesting than I expected."

From that moment on, the lesson took on a completely different form.

It was no longer Shiora teaching and Adam listening.

It was a discussion.

Then an exchange.

Then almost a debate.

Shiora was explaining the logic of guilds, magical contracts, vaults secured by oaths, guarantees given to caravans, and how Crimsonhorn banks maintained their reputations over generations.

Adam, for his part, spoke of concepts he knew from his old world.

Business reputation.

Debt.

Interest.

Inflation.

Monopolies.

Insurance.

Supply chains.

Dependence on scarce resources.

Crises caused by panic.

Shiora listened with increasingly noticeable attention.

"So in your world, a simple loss of confidence could cause a bank to collapse?"

"Yes." Even though she still had assets. If too many people tried to withdraw their money at the same time, she could collapse."

Shiora slowly placed a hand on her chin.

"A controlled panic attack..."

Adam froze.

"Perhaps I shouldn’t have said that to such a dangerous merchant."

She smiled.

"Too late."

They continued on.

Adam didn’t even notice the time passing.

Neither did Shiora.

At one point, an employee knocked on the door to remind them of an appointment.

Shiora replied without taking her eyes off the map:

"Cancel it."

"But Guild Master, it’s with—"

"Cancel it."

The employee bowed quickly and disappeared.

Adam looked at her.

"Was that appointment important?"

"Probably."

"And you canceled it?"

"This conversation is more interesting."

Adam remained silent.

"I don’t know whether to be flattered or worried."

"Both."

"After almost two hours, Shiora finally leaned back in her chair.

Her eyes shone with obvious amusement.

"Adam, I was supposed to teach you the basics of commerce."

"And?"

"Instead, we talked about economic warfare, banks, roads, risks, imperial propaganda, and financial collapse."

Adam scratched his cheek.

"So I missed the lesson?"

Shiora burst out laughing.

"No. You’ve just proven to me that you already understand the essentials. You’re only missing the precise rules of this world: local laws, magical contracts, business customs, and the names of the great families."

Adam nodded slowly.

"So, more books."

"A lot of books."

He sighed.

"I’m going to end up buried under a mountain of books." "

"With Elaria and Vespera by your side? That’s already planned."

Adam couldn’t argue with her.

A notification then appeared.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Learning Complete

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Trade and Economics: Foundations Acquired

Understanding Trade Routes: Progressing

Understanding Banks: Progressing

Strategic Analysis: Increased Progress

Eyes of the World: Synchronized with Economic Data Improved

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Adam silently read the window.

Shiora noticed him immediately.

"Your power?"

"Yes. He says I’ve learned the basics."

She smiled with satisfaction.

"Perfect. Then tomorrow, we’ll talk about contracts, debts, guarantees, and how to legally ruin someone."

Adam froze.

"Excuse me?"

"I’m kidding."

She paused.

"Half-joking."

Adam sighed.

"You all have a disturbing way of teaching."

"That’s why you’ll progress quickly."

He finally stood up.

"Thank you for today, Shiora. It was... much more interesting than I expected."

The oni smiled.

"For me too."

He headed for the door.

But before he left, Shiora called to him.

"Adam."

He turned around.

"Yes?"

She remained silent for a second.

Her usual smile was still there.

But it seemed less mocking.

More sincere.

"Be careful with the Empire."

Adam looked at her seriously.

"Because of what happened today?"

"Because of everything."

She placed a hand on the map of the continent.

"Fanatics are dangerous. But fanatics who understand money are even more so. They don’t just try to conquer land. They try to control the roads, the banks, the debt, and the fear."

Adam nodded slowly.

"I’ll remember that."

Shiora’s playful smile returned.

"Good. And come back tomorrow."

Adam rolled his eyes.

"Obviously."

"You say that as if you have a choice."

"I sometimes wish I could still believe it."

Shiora chuckled softly.

"See you later, Adam."

That phrase again.

That tone again.

Adam noticed this time that it sounded much like Selene’s.

A promise hidden behind a banal phrase.

He decided not to ask any questions.

Not now.

Shiora, however, seemed reluctant to let him go.

She walked him to the door of her office, then to the stairs, continuing to ask him questions about his old world.

"Did the banks in your world really use paper as proof of wealth?"

"Sometimes, yes. But it’s more complicated than that."

"And invisible numbers?"

"Those too."

"Fascinating. Terrifying, but fascinating."

Adam smiled despite his weariness.

Finally, he managed to leave the Merchants’ Guild.

When he reached the street, the sun was already high in the sky.

His body still ached from Selene.

His mind was filled with runes, alchemy, blacksmithing, trade routes, and banking strategies.

He took a deep breath.

"Fighting in the morning. Crafting next. Economics after that..."

He gazed into the distance.

The Mage Tower rose above part of the city, imposing, strange, and slightly unsettling.

Adam felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Only Vespera remains."

He remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he murmured,

"Oddly enough, this might be the most dangerous time of day."

And he headed toward the Mage Tower.