Unfortunately, not everyone was sufficiently sensitive to detect trouble brewing on the horizon, especially when it was sugar-coated like this to form such an appealing package. Furthermore, throughout the course of history, it was very difficult to pinpoint things that were definitively good or bad, and it was even more difficult to categorize something completely new as positive or negative. Seeing as people were enjoying the benefits and conveniences brought to them by these new changes, they naturally had to also accept the negative consequences brought about by these changes as well. Unfortunately for the general public, most of the time, they didn't even have the right to choose.

The citizens of Zans quickly became accustomed to carrying this light convenient paper money with them wherever they went, and it didn't take long for the currency to be hailed as "blessed notes".

With the widespread circulation of blessed notes, the city of Zans welcomed a new era of prosperous trading.

In order to fan the flames even further, the Ubiquitous Firm took the opportunity to release its deposit and loan services as well. This was Christine's idea. When it came to how to make money into more money, Erwin was truly extremely fortunate to have encountered Christine as his advisor.

Hence, all of the citizens of Zans who wanted to take advantage of this new era of prosperity to start their own businesses immediately had a source of funds.

Prior to this, there were some underground money houses that offered high-interest loans, but the Ubiquitous Firm had taken this unscrupulous and illegal business and made it a legitimate service. Thus far, the Ubiquitous Firm had followed through on all of its promises, and trust in the firm was quickly building among the citizens of Zans.

Everyone that took out loans from the Ubiquitous Firm had to have correct residency information. Christine was being very meticulous in the enforcement of this rule, and each person could only take out a loan of several dozen Loonies at the very most.

As for the interest rates for deposits and loans, those were all decided by Christine. Erwin was naturally quite happy to sit back and let her do her thing.

News of all of the changes sweeping through Zans quickly traveled to the Farody Family in Tellier.

"That Erwin really is a remarkable character. How did he suddenly just pop up out of the blue?" Mackney mused with tightly furrowed brows as he absentmindedly stroked the hourglass goblet in his hand. It was clear that he was in no mood to be sampling the delectable wine in his goblet at this moment.

On the event of the Canston Plain, he had discussed with his sons the identity of the mastermind behind all of this, but never had they even considered that it would be the artist that had only recently made a name for himself in Zans.

"He's not the only one, that Lia of the Universal Church is also a nasty piece of work," Lucidy said in a furious voice. He was of the opinion that he shared a good personal relationship with Lia, but they had been screwed over by the Universal Church.

"Weren't you always really confident that you could recruit Lia to do our bidding? What happened to that?" John asked as a hint of derision appeared on his face.

"How about you shut your mouth before I punch your teeth out?" Lucidy yelled as he turned to John with a hostile expression. "You were saying that the mastermind is either Duke Eru or that slutty cousin of his. How about that?"

John turned to the side with a stony expression and didn't say anything in response.

"Shush! Now's not the time to be fighting!" Mackney scolded in an authoritative voice. "If we can take over Zans just by yelling at each other, then I'd be happy to join you! Both of you are absolutely useless! If you two were even half as capable of that Erwin, the Boll Dukedom would already belong to our Farody Family! Even now, you still don't recognize the importance of working together!"

Both of his sons hung their heads in a sheepish manner upon hearing this.

"Looking at the Universal Church Freedom Army and the City of Freedom, it seems like Lia is indeed quite an ambitious figure as well." Mackney's tone had softened slightly, and it was clear that he had directed his thoughts back to the matter at hand.

"I don't think that's necessarily the case," John said as he took a glance at his father.

"Oh? And why is that?" Mackney asked with a curious expression.

"According to the past information we've gathered, Lia is not the type of person that can start such a huge revolution, even though we're all aware that he's one of the five elders of the Universal Church."

"What are you trying to say?" Mackney asked.

"What I'm saying is that Lia has always had a tendency to be quite cautious and lacking in decisiveness. Hence, I think there must be someone else behind all of this, and I believe that the mastermind in question is Erwin. Also, think about the first batch of policies that they released after conquering Zans. Those policies are not ones that the average person could think of."

"So what you're saying is that the so-called human rights advocated by the Universal Church were Erwin's idea?" Mackney asked after a moment of silent contemplation.

"Not just that, but even this Ubiquitous Firm and the blessed notes that they're using. I think Erwin is behind all of that. Setting aside everything else, just the concept of those blessed notes is an extremely innovative and wild idea."

Mackney nodded in response upon hearing this, then narrowed his eyes slightly as he tapped his goblet with his fingertips.

...

Right as the father and son trio were discussing how to deal with Erwin, the subject of their discussion had already arrived in Tellier in a nondescript fashion.

Erwin's courage really had to be praised. Even though this was an extremely sensitive time, not only had he paid a visit to Tellier, he was strolling walking through its streets as if he were strolling through his own backyard, and of course, he was accompanied by Onean.

Of course, it was only empty flattery to refer to Erwin as courageous in this situation. The reality was that he had no choice but to pay this visit.

Through his discussion with Christine, it was decided that it was nowhere near enough to have their paper money in use in only a single city. Hence, despite how well things were going in Zans, they hadn't done anywhere near enough to truly usher in the new era.

Hence, Erwin's objective for this trip was to discuss business with the Farody Family.

Erwin's motto was that business and war were completely different matters. He was confident that as long as Mackney was a sufficiently shrewd businessman, he would share the same mantra. After all, there were no true enemies in the business world, and all things were open for negotiation.

Furthermore, from the last battle, Erwin had also detected that Tellier wasn't all that powerful a city, so even if Mackney were to turn on him, there was nothing that he would have to worry about. Given his and Onean's powers, they would be able to easily ensure their own safety.

A short while later, Erwin and Onean walked casually up the doors of the Farody Family's luxurious mansion before knocking on it, and even in their wildest dreams, the father and son trio wouldn't have anticipated such a visit.

However, Erwin didn't inform the butler of his own name. Instead, he merely told the butler that he was an art merchant that was approaching the Farody Family with a business proposal.

Given the confidence that Erwin was exuding, the butler was led to believe that he was an extremely important figure, and he hurriedly rushed away into the mansion to report the visit. At the same time, he was wondering why a mere art merchant was so confident to the point of haughtiness. It was almost as if the Mackney Family wanted something from him, rather than the other way around.

It was inappropriate for Erwin to appear in person for any matters related to the Ubiquitous Firm, but when it came to discussing business with Mackney, he had no choice but to come in person.

As for Onean, he had been convinced to accompany him after much persuasion.

On the surface, this visit appeared to be quite a brave venture, but if he really were a man of bravery and courage, then he wouldn't have dragged Onean along with him for protection.

...

"What? An art merchant?" Mackney was staring at his butler with a dumbfounded expression as if he were staring at an idiot.

Given Mackney's lofty status, there was no way that he would interact with these insignificant merchants in person. There were countless merchants of all descriptions that wished to request an audience with him, and if he were to meet them one by one, all of his time would be occupied.

Upon seeing Mackney's expression, the butler immediately realized that he had made the wrong decision.

However, as the butler of the Farody Family, he naturally had quite a sharp eye for people, and that was why Mackney didn't dismiss him right away.

All of a sudden, a thought occurred to John, and his eyes widened as he turned to his father. "Father, could it be..."

Lucidy had naturally also realized what John was hinting at, and his heart immediately began to pound in his chest as he wondered whether the so-called "art merchant" was accompanied by his breathtakingly beautiful wife.

"What does this art merchant look like?" Mackney hurriedly asked.

"There are two of them, one man and one woman. The man appears to be quite friendly, while the woman's face is concealed under the brim of her hat, but I can tell that she seems to be quite a beauty," the butler replied in a truthful manner.

"Invite them to the guest hall," Mackney instructed without any hesitation.

Following the butler's departure, John turned to Mackney with a perplexed expression as he asked, "Father, what reason could those two possibly have for paying us a visit?"

"I'm not sure," Mackney replied as he shook his head with tightly furrowed brows. "But I'm sure they must have something important to discuss with us."

...

By the time the father and son trio of the Mackney Family arrived at the guest hall, Erwin and Onean were still enjoying the iced fruit beverage that the butler had brought to them, and they seemed to be completely unconcerned that the beverages could've been laced with poison.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Mr. Erwin. What's brought you all the way here?" Mackney strode toward Erwin with a welcoming smile, while Lucidy and Farody stood behind him on either side.

Erwin and Onean were just about to stand up, but Mackney waved a hand and gestured for them to sit down again.

"There's no need to stand up, we don't have that many formalities around here like the nobles do," Mackney said before sitting down on the main seat.

Erwin took a subtle glance at Mackney, and he was surprised to discover that there was no sign of sorrow or concern on his face. It seemed that the battle on the Canston Plain hadn't dealt the Farody Family a very heavy blow at all. At the very least, the impact wasn't as severe as Erwin had imagined.

"You've truly made a name for yourself of late, Mr. Erwin," Mackney chuckled.

"No no, you're far too kind, Mr. Mackney. I haven't done anything of significance," Erwin replied with a modest smile.

"Oh? You're saying what you've done so far is still insignificant?" Mackney asked as he put on a surprised expression, and he was also taking the opportunity to take a close look at the handsome young artist. During the battle on the Canston Plain, they had been situated very far apart from one another, so he was unable to see Erwin clearly, but he was able to get a good look at Erwin up close now.

Mackney naturally wasn't surprised by Erwin's ambitions. However, what he did find remarkable was Erwin's disposition and mannerisms, and he became even more curious about exactly who this young man was.

In addition to that, Erwin also had a stunning beauty sitting beside him, and that only further fueled Mackney's intrigue toward the two.