MBD | Chapter 9

I had a hunch that around this time, Leonard Graf would be working at Valdes Finance. But not only did the timing align perfectly, he had just been fired, which was a stroke of luck.

Sorry to Karl Heinrich, but I’m going to use Leonard Graf first.

He might be a bit eccentric, but hiring such a genius later at a high cost would be a loss, wouldn’t it? I’ll make good use of him.

‘It’s all for you anyway.’

Who do you think I’m doing this for? It’s all to prevent Karl Heinrich from turning dark and getting beaten up by the protagonist.

“Ha, it’s so dirty and cheap that I might as well do it myself…”

“Are you Leonard Graf?”

“Huh? Who’s asking?”

Graf, who was sitting on a bench on the side of the road, looked up.

“What do you want from me…”

“I’m Everhart von Friedrich.”

“Ugh! Fr-Friedrich…?!”

Graf tried to stand up from the bench but fell back down, landing on his butt.

Even though the five great noble families weren’t what they used to be and everyone thought of them as easy targets, nobles were still nobles.

Ordinary people, who weren’t part of the upper class, still rarely had the chance to meet nobles.

“Wh-what… what is it?”

“You can speak comfortably.”

When Everhart extended his hand, Graf hesitated for a moment before grabbing it and standing up.

As he dusted off his clothes, he glanced at Everhart’s smiling face.

“What business does the eldest son of the Friedrich family have with me?”

“So you know who I am.”

“Of course I do. Aren’t you the second-largest shareholder of Adelheid? Adelheid is on my list of companies I’ve cut ties with. If they don’t improve their management structure, they’ll face a crisis within a few years. Ah, my big mouth.”

Surprised, Graf quickly covered his mouth. He was a genius, and when it came to his field, he spoke without hesitation.

It seemed that his way of speaking often led to big fights. But even Graf knew, albeit without much social awareness, that this wasn’t something to say in front of a noble.

“Please think of it as the words of an uneducated fool and overlook it.”

“Are you talking about the Graf who graduated top of his class from the Royal Eisenwald University and is called a legend in the financial world?”

“Oh no, not at all.”

Graf, sweating nervously, bowed his head. His already white hair seemed to shine even whiter than usual.

Everhart smiled kindly, as if to say it was okay.

“I know.”

“Sorry?”

“I know that Adelheid has serious management flaws.”

“Oh, I see. You knew. Haha, knowing that, you still manage it like that… Well, then there’s only room for improvement in the future. I’ll be going now…”

“Mr. Graf.”

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you interested in management?”

He turned back to look at me.

“I’m really sorry, but isn’t Adelheid a textile company? That’s not my area of expertise. Besides… never mind.”

Graf clamped his lips shut. Why did I feel like I knew what he wasn’t saying?

‘Your company is just a cartel full of corruption.’

To Graf, who advocated for a normal market economy, the companies tightly held by the five great families were the very obstacles that needed to be cleared for Eisenwald to become a developed country.

“Thank you for the offer, but I’ll have to decline.”

“It seems you’re mistaken. I’m not trying to bring you into Adelheid.”

“Then what?”

“Let’s start a business together. I’ll match the conditions roughly like this.”

Everhart handed over a prepared contract. As Graf skimmed through it, he was so surprised he almost dropped it.

A salary of 1 billion was indeed a jaw-dropping amount.

The official currency of Eisenwald was the Eisen Mark. However, the currency more widely used was the Ardenrian Gold.

Eisenwald was a member of the Continental Union, and Ardenrian Gold was the common currency of the union countries.

For those involved in finance, trade, or large transactions, Ardenrian Gold was more familiar.

‘1 Gold is roughly 300 won in Korean currency.’

Everhart didn’t figure this out himself; he remembered a top comment from some crazy reader who calculated it all.

Based on that, Everhart offered Graf a massive salary. 10 billion won in Korean currency, which was about 3.5 million in Ardenrian Gold.

I can confidently say it’s the best treatment in the industry. But this was just the beginning.

Everhart laid out an offer that would leave Graf speechless.

“In addition to the salary stated there, an additional 50% of the salary for achieving annual performance targets, double bonuses for exceeding mid-to-long-term goals every three years, and 5% of company shares with up to an additional 15% based on performance.”

“That…”

“Besides that, an office, a car, a personal secretary, or a dedicated team are basic. It’s not set in stone, so if there’s anything else you need, we can negotiate.”

Everhart deliberately spoke informally.

After all, from here on, it wasn’t Everhart, the eldest son of the Friedrich family, but Everhart, the employer.

Graf, shocked by the massive salary and conditions, didn’t have the luxury to care about Everhart’s informal speech.

“Are you serious?”

“Should I promise on the family name?”

Graf chuckled slightly at Everhart’s joke. He still seemed tense.

Even while talking to me, he quickly skimmed through the contract. As a professional, he knew exactly what to check first in the vast contract.

“…You’re serious.”

The contract had been legally reviewed by a lawyer, so it was no joke. In fact, everything I mentioned was included without omission.

“Honestly, it’s so outrageous that I can only think it’s a scam.”

“Why would someone from the Friedrich family scam you?”

“That’s the part I’m suspicious about.”

Assuming anything could happen in the future, Everhart was a diamond spoon, a second-generation chaebol who would have money rolling in without doing anything.

“This doesn’t seem like a scout offer from Adelheid Textiles… EberTech? What are you planning to do with this?”

“I’m planning to get serious about the magic stone business and investment. How about it? Do you have some time?”

“Of course.”

Everhart gestured towards a vehicle across the street. Soon, the car stopped in front of the two of them.

“It seems like it’s going to be a long conversation, so I’ll buy the coffee.”

I brought Graf back to the Arcadia Hotel. Graf couldn’t help but be impressed by the hotel’s grandeur.

“Do you like it?”

“When would someone like me ever visit a place like this? Isn’t this a place you can’t come to even if you have money? Especially during the peak season in May.”

The Arcadia Hotel was famous for being selective about its guests. How did Everhart manage to book the Arcadia Hotel during the peak season? Of course, it was possible because he was from one of the five great noble families.

The special treatment for nobles at the Arcadia Hotel was well-known. That’s why Karl Heinrich mentioned staying at a nice place.

‘They’d rather leave the rooms empty than give them to capitalists.’

The reason I booked this place was, of course, because of Graf. No matter how much I dressed it up as being from one of the five great families, the current Everhart was just a young mushroom.

There’s no way I could afford the massive salary I offered Graf, right? So this place was deliberately to show off the privileges I had.

“If you like it so much, I’ll let you stay. How about it?”

“If you let me use it as an office.”

“No, that’s a bit much.”

I was showing off, but the room rates here were really shockingly expensive.

I couldn’t even bring myself to ask for a discount because I was a noble, so I was paying the full price.

“That’s a shame. If you had, I would have signed immediately.”

Graf, sitting on the sofa, placed the contract on the table and joked. It seemed he had organized his thoughts quite a bit on the way here, as he appeared somewhat relaxed.

“For now, I’d like to hear what you’re thinking.”

“The contract?”

“Let me decide after I hear it. It seems like you need me, Everhart.”

Even though he was much younger than me, he used honorifics, but he knew he was in a superior position in this contract.

‘I didn’t think it would be easy.’

Just getting Graf to the negotiation table before Karl Heinrich recruited him was a significant achievement. And Everhart wasn’t afraid of failing.

Regardless of the contract, if I wanted to work with Graf, I had to have an open conversation at least once.

Everhart slowly explained the future of Magic Stone Tech. As he did, the relaxed expression on Graf’s face disappeared. By the end of the hour-long conversation, cigarette ashes had piled up next to Graf.

I also bummed a cigarette from Graf.

“…So you’re saying that with the technology developed by Magic Stone Tech, even non-magicians can use magic? If that’s true, this isn’t just development; it’s a revolution.”

“Exactly, a revolution.”

Got him.