"Th...this is..."
When he saw that sight, Atou involuntarily gaped, struck dumb.
Piles of gold coins stacked high.
As if excavated from a mine, the gold coins were heaped haphazardly, reflecting the sunlight filtering through the gaps between the trees and glittering brilliantly.
The place where the gold coins were being stockpiled was the town square—now a storage site for construction materials—but it was now so covered in scattered gold coins that there was barely room to set foot.
"GIGIGIGIEEEEE!!!"
Over a dozen long-legged insects were all around.
Every single one of them was transferring gold coins from the baskets on their backs into the mountain, then bustling off to disappear somewhere. It seemed there was more to come.
Certainly, even just from what Atou had visually confirmed, there were a vast number of gold coins.
Given that, it was understandable that more would still be arriving, but before that, a worry arose—was there even enough space?
"Th...that's an incredible amount!"
"So much money!"
"Well...seeing it for real is just...staggering. And really bright, huh."
Even he, who had given the order, probably hadn't imagined it to this extent.
Atou quickly voiced his question to Takuto, who was gazing at the mountain of gold coins with curiosity.
"Lord Takuto. You were mass-producing the long-legged insects...was it for this?"
"Yeah. The monsters from Brave Questus dropped gold coins. I ordered the long-legged insects to collect them. They have high mobility, so they can gather them efficiently."
"I...I see...but even so, if we were to flood the market with this much at once, the economy might collapse. Even if we used it for trade with Fonkavun, I suspect they wouldn't have enough goods to offer on their side."
Atou asked cautiously.
I couldn't imagine my lord being unaware of that point.
Currency circulation is strictly managed within a nation.
For Mynoghra, where the population was still small and barter was common, this amount was far too large. Even if used for trade with other countries like Fonkavun, the scale was excessive.
To put it bluntly, it seemed like a case of having a treasure but failing to make use of it.
"Oh, right. Since Atou only knows Mynoghra's strategies, she wasn't too familiar with what playstyles other nations used."
Takuto nodded in understanding, slapping his hands together as if the solution was obvious.
As he said, Atou only knew Mynoghra's strategies and wasn't well-versed in the strategies other nations excelled at.
However, even mobilizing all her knowledge, she couldn't think of any other nation that could effectively utilize this vast amount of gold.
"That is certainly correct, as you say."
"Atou. Do you remember what 'currency' refers to within 'Eternal Nations'?"
"Yes... Normally, currency is something established by the state to circulate the domestic economy. However, since each nation uses its own unique currency, it isn't a particularly prominent feature..."
"Right. If we set the details on that too finely, the game becomes less interesting. So, essentially, within the game, 'Mana' is used in place of currency."
"'Mana', which possesses the characteristics of both energy and currency. It has high versatility and is easy to understand in transactions with other countries."
"Exactly!"
In "Eternal Nations," the three most critical resources were "Mana," "Food," and "Materials."
Food, needless to say, was used to maintain the populace and the army, and served as an indicator of national power.
Materials were primarily used in the production of units and buildings, also acting as an indicator of productive capacity.
And "Mana" became the measure of economic power, required in various aspects including emergency production.
Maintaining a nation by balanced production of these three basic resources was the foundation of "Eternal Nations."
"Yes. That is precisely why I don't understand. No matter how many gold coins one has, they are still just gold coins. Even if one goes out of their way to collect them like this, I don't think they have value beyond the physical substance of gold, but..."
In "Eternal Nations," gold is considered a strategic resource.
It is required for the production of high-level units and structures. It is valuable, but that is all.
Unless the nation's scale had reached its final stages, he didn't understand the point of being so fixated on it now.
"If you've already said that much, I'd think you'd understand..."
"...??"
"Well, never mind. Then let's check the answer!"
Atou still had a question mark floating over her head.
Seeing this, Takuto gave a wry smile. As if to say he had no choice but to explain everything, he spread his palm towards a part of the square.
"Activate [Emergency Production]—Market!"
"M-Master Takuto!?"
In that instant, the earth trembled.
A deep, rumbling sound echoed as Takuto's mana dissolved across the square.
Then, as if sprouting from the ground, a building with a distorted and bizarre design appeared.
"Oh my? ...Wow!"
"Big sister, it's dangerous, come over here!"
The twin sisters, who had been playing in the pile of gold coins moments before, fled in a panic.
Pushing aside the heap of coins, the building grew, constructed to encircle the square. It was divided into several buildings of varying sizes and multiple tents.
Its asymmetrical, strangely colored form was vastly removed from any design a human could conceive, but judging by its functionality alone, it could certainly be called a market.
Takuto had used Emergency Production to create MyNoghra's structure, the Market.
"My mana is completely spent now."
Takuto nodded with a satisfied look. Just like food and items, structures could be built instantly. What would normally take considerable time and manpower was accomplished as easily as this. Witnessing the sheer scale of emergency production once more, Takuto turned back toward Atou with a smug expression, expecting to see her surprise.
But.
"...Atou?"
"Hmph..."
Atou was sulking. It seemed he had been too vain about it.
"I-I'll explain right away, of course! Here, Atou, this way!"
Realizing that letting her stay angry any longer would be troublesome, Takuto hurriedly urged her on. He left the twins buried in the heap of gold coins heaped nearby and quickly led Atou toward a building in the market.
...
...
What Takuto had approached was the largest structure in the market. Among the tents and stalls that primarily served as places for exchanging goods, it was the most prominent building.
Upon entering, numerous shelves and stacks of documents were visible. It appeared to be a place for handling valuable items and keeping accounts.
And strangely, even though it was Takuto and Atou's first time entering, there were already visitors inside.
"Oh, oh, oh sir. Pardon."
With twitching, asymmetrically-positioned limbs in bulging, grimy skin, this individual showed no sign of intelligence; it was one of the Pseudo-Humans unique to Mynoghra. The creature who seemed to be the market’s administrator raised its hand as a matter of course in greeting when Takuto approached for a consultation, and soon Takuto was shouting towards the outside.
"Hey, could someone bring some money over?"
"Right away!"
"Right away-su!"
Following that, accompanied by a clattering sound, the Elful sisters appeared with a basket they’d fetched from somewhere and stuffed it to the brim with gold coins.
At this point, Atou finally began to understand what Takuto was planning. And at the same time… her expression turned to one of shock.
"I’d like to exchange this money for magical energy. Is that possible?"
"Ah, understand I do."
The Pseudo-Human market owner, with a tottering gait, lifted the basket of gold coins with a strength unimaginable from its appearance and carried it into the back. Before long, it returned with the same staggering steps, and in its hands was a strange substance that looked like a faintly luminous, gas-like matter.
"Here, here, sir, here."
"Thank you."
As Takuto held out his hands, the substance was sucked towards him. Atou stared at the sight, trembling with emotion. What Takuto had absorbed was undoubtedly the very thing she knew.
"I thought the exchange rate would be lower, but they bought it back at a price higher than expected. Surprising. If I prepare a few more baskets full of gold coins, I can easily recover the market's cost."
With these words, Atou became certain.
The market function in "Eternal Nations" was an effect that boosted economic capability.
But as a secondary element, it enabled the trading of resources.
Sell surplus goods and acquire what you need in return.
The basics of economic activity, but in this situation, it carried significant meaning.
By offering large quantities of gold coins, what do you get in return?
Naturally, that was--"Mana."
"This national-scale market, created by scraping together the last of our mana, wasn't just for improving economic power. Rather, this is the main point."
"Could it be... even gold coins dropped by enemies in an RPG count as a target..."
"No, they're targets precisely because they are gold coins. To get to the heart of it, this is simply 'gold' as a strategic resource."
Through repeated emergency productions, Takuto had succeeded in roughly grasping the rules underlying them.
[Emergency Production Rules]
First: Production is possible even for items outside "Eternal Nations" if the necessary mana is provided.
Second: The mana required for production corresponds to the value of the item in the other world.
Third: For items known within "Eternal Nations," the mana required for production corresponds to their in-game value.
Conversely, no matter how common or ordinary an item might be in another game, if it is something known in "Eternal Nations," its valuation is based on this game's standards.
...And these gold coins were the prime example.
It didn't matter how much value the currency called "Gold" held in "Brave Questus."
Even if fifty of them were required just to get a wooden stick—a token of how low their value was—it didn't matter.
"Eternal Nations"treats it equally as a strategic resource called "gold." If that is the case, an equivalent amount of "mana" can be obtained in exchange. That was the answer Takuto had derived from deduction and obtained with certainty. "B-But where on earth does this mana come from?" "Who knows? It was a mystery in the game too. Well, if you went into those details, the game would become tedious and lose its charm." And this one thing, no matter how the game's system disregarded the known laws of physics, it would persistently replicate those phenomena. The Demon Lord's army, representing the RPG faction, being able to perform phenomena like infinite subordinate summoning or event insertion that utterly ignored physical laws, was a stark demonstration that these rules were undeniable. Likewise, Mynoghra, representing the SLG faction, transforming territory into a cursed land and altering the elemental affinities of the Dark Elves who became subjects, proved the same. Takuto understood this well. The power of the game did not directly become a weapon. Wielding the immense power that existed as setting was not the essence. The true weapon they possessed was the reality laws forcibly twisted to establish the game's balance. ...The weapon of Mynoghra, the SLG faction, lay in state administration. Materials and buildings that could be generated by ignoring time and physical laws, provided there was mana. The cognitive function that allowed the player-king to perfectly grasp all affairs of the state at all times and issue immediate orders to subordinates. The unique special abilities possessed by most buildings and units. These completely disregarded the balance of this world. In other words, it was proof that by exploiting loopholes in the rules, one could obtain results bordering on cheating. "It's commonly called an economic playstyle," he added.
Though she hadn't been asked, the sisters eagerly brought additional gold coins of their own accord. As Atou thanked them, he continued to request the exchange of "gold" with the Pseudo-Humans.
"Generate massive funds through trade and domestic economy, then use emergency production to force-build structures. Economic power generates further economic power, with national strength increasing exponentially. That's the playstyle favored by the 'Dwarf Nation Great Wall' and the 'Ocean Nation Seven Sea Fleet.'"
The mechanism by which the Pseudo-Humans took the "gold" away remained a mystery.
Yet as a matter of fact, the exchange continued. And there was no end to it.
Because fluctuations in exchange rates and depletion of tradable goods were never implemented—they would only complicate the game.
Therefore, this strange cycle would continue until the gold coins ran out.
"Originally, 'gold' as a strategic resource has high rarity value and low production output. It's always required for top-tier unit production, so it was always a pain to acquire every time..."
In proportion, the exchange rate with mana was also high.
True to those words, Atou could feel the "mana" stockpiled in Mynoghra swelling ever larger.
That what they had already accumulated was a quantity of "mana" that could only be called exorbitant, given this was still the early stages of the game.
"S-so in other words... if this many gold coins—no, this much 'gold'—could be invested into the nation as mana..."
Here was revealed the cheat that ingeniously exploited a loophole in the SLG system and a loophole in the RPG system.
A bug that could never have existed had their respective games not collided was now running rampant.
The weakness of an SLG is that it requires a great deal of time to grow a nation into something formidable.
That weakness was now being halfway erased.
"Come, Atou. Time for our fun little cheats."
From somewhere far off, the shrieking of a long-legged vermin could be heard.
It seemed it had brought back still more gold coins.
At the same time, the voices of old Mortar and the others could be heard from outside, shouting something in a panic.
They had jumped the gun, but an explanation for them would be necessary as well.
Takuto paused for a moment and stepped outside the building.
"There's enough gold to make your head spin. Why not enjoy the feeling of being a wealthy magnate for once?"
A mountain of gold coins, piled high in heaps.
Having obtained a limitless supply of funds—'Mana'—Takuto smiled cheerfully for the first time in a while.
=Eterpedia====
[Market] Building
National Mana Production +5%
Unlocks resource trading using Mana.
The market is the most primitive building that supports a nation's economy.
Its effects are modest, but it improves the nation's economic power and increases the production of 'Mana.'
Additionally, resource trading using 'Mana' becomes possible.
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