Germany had been vanquished in World War II, but the Karjan family had been able to survive. However, the national division of East and West was quite burdensome to them, and they had lost power for a while. When Germany was unified and its economy faltered due to the unification fund, the Karjan family was finally incorporated into the forces that created the world’s policies. In other words, they had regained their heyday.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Lee. Welcome.”
This old butler, whom I didn’t know by name, must have been at the heart of modern German history. In his prime, he must have controlled the European economy behind the curtain.
I entered the main house of the Karjan family, and the butler guided me to the guest room of the historic mansion. The Karjan board of directors had been called there, and several seats were vacant as some of them had not arrived in the country. Everyone’s eyes were on me.
“I’d like to tell you the story of a man who attacked the Bank of England.”
The actual power broker of the family was Aron von Karjan, a noble old man who was sitting on the seat reserved for the head of the family.
“As you already know, that guy earned a reputation and money after destroying the Bank of England, but the world doesn’t know much about how he had to suffer from the lawsuit for fourteen years. Even people who are quite aware of it know nothing except that it was due to an incident in France in 1988. Aren’t you curious about the truth?” Aron asked.
“You’ve already told me,” I replied.
“Then, I will be brief and concise. Stop the attack. I’ll pay you the loss out of my pocket, so take it as a secret fund.”
I responded, “You must have misunderstood. LTCM is under Jonathan Investment Finance Group, but this investment is…”
The old guy interrupted me.
“This attack! It’s not an investment!”
He shouted, and all the directors seemed to be afraid of the old man’s words. However, his anger didn’t agitate me at all.
“This investment was initiated by LTCM alone, and all of the hedge funds under our group, not just LTCM, move at their own discretion,” I replied calmly.
Cough. Cough.
The old man coughed multiple times. He looked precarious, but no one even looked at him. Well, they couldn’t, because of the strict rules of the Karjan family that governed this space. The old man’s cough died down, and he nodded to the butler. Then, the butler sat across from me.
“You call it an investment, but it’s an attack on the entire European economy. You already know how the European economy has been since the collapse of the Bank of England. At this time, when the stagnant global economy is about to revive itself by overcoming the impact of the 8.11 terrorist attacks, this attack is bound to have a crucial effect even on the private sector. Lee, am I wrong?”
The butler acted like he was possessed by the Wall Street ghost.
“Then, why did you visit us if your group’s hedge funds act at their own discretion?” the butler asked.
“That is what I meant by you misunderstanding me. I’m just here to meet my friend,” I replied.
“Your friend?”
“The representative of Berlin Telecom, his name is Joshua. He invited me here,” I responded casually.
“He never told me that.”
“You were busy checking my identity, so I had to reveal my private information. Only a few people know that I’m the largest shareholder of Jonathan Group. It was a huge decision for me, but I guess the timing was bad. Anyway, I hope you keep the secret,” I said.
The Karjan elders couldn’t take their eyes off me.
“Joshua invited you, right?” the butler questioned.
“Yes, it has been a while, but I’m very uncomfortable here right now. I also don’t like how LTCM invests.”
“Then, could you please make a statement on the group’s position? Speculative forces are joining the offensive line after LTCM because of Jonathan Investment’s move. LTCM is under your group. People think that LTCM would never participate in a fight that they would lose.”
“You know that’s ridiculous, right? LTCM is under our group, not just me. Regardless of my personal desires, the group has a duty to support them,” I replied.
“Please look at the forest, not just the trees, Lee.”
“Let’s think about the situation that LTCM is facing. After they went bankrupt during the Russian financial crisis, we brought them in. They became desperate to make up for that failure,” I answered.
“You guys are attacking the European economy, so you will be unable to avoid criticism.”
“The real attack was done on Asia in 1997. Okay, let’s say that this one is an attack. Then, do you mean that it’s okay to attack Asia, but not Europe? Is that what you mean?” I asked sharply.
“…”
“Why are you so nervous? You guys are the Karjan family. There’s no way you’ll be crushed by just one hedge fund attack,” I added.
The butler’s face stiffened.
“There are very few speculative forces that have joined the LTCM. What do you think the reason is? It’s because a powerful family like you guys has been pressuring banks and institutions. I didn’t come here to argue. Tell Joshua that his friend has arrived,” I continued.
I got up. I was certain that no one had ever stood up freely like me in this mansion, not even someone at the top of a superpower. The directors looked at the old man, their eyes full of expectations and worries, and waited for his order.
“Excuse me for asking you so many questions. Escort him to the room and take good care of him,” the old man finally said.
After a while, I saw Joshua’s car entering the gate, and he ran in a hurry as soon as he got out of the car. I expanded my Sense and focused on his breathing while ignoring all the other noise. He wasn’t gasping, and he sounded very embarrassed.
***
“Are you talking about ‘the’ John Doe?” Joshua asked.
“Think carefully,” the butler answered.
“I have never met anyone from Jonathan Investment. I don’t even know who the largest shareholder is. Isn’t he disguised?” Joshua grimaced.
“He said he’s your friend and that you invited him. Can you remember any of the people you invited to the house? He wouldn’t have disclosed his true identity for nothing, since he’s such a secretive guy.”
“I’ll recognize him once I see him. Where is he?” Joshua questioned.
“Follow me.”
The butler didn’t lead Joshua to the room that he had escorted me to. Instead, he brought him to the private room that resembled a storage room. It was used to exchange secret conversations in the mansion.
“Did you get all the information about the one you were chasing?” the butler asked.
“Yes, thanks to you.”
“Then, I would like you to stay here and help me with work.”
For a moment, Joshua thought he had misheard the butler, since the latter’s words meant that Joshua would join the board of directors. Joshua had been looking forward to this day, but he wasn’t happy as he had expected, because of me and the fact that his family was under attack.
“How’s the situation?” Joshua asked.
His family’s power was veiled, the same way that I was hiding my real identity.
I don’t know who is attacking my family, but they will lose a great fortune. They touched something they weren’t supposed to.
The mark[1] had become stable again while he was on his way to the family house. However, the butler’s reply was unexpected.
“Things are not going well.”
“I thought you guys were controlling everything.”
“We barely set up a temporary defense, but the attack will start again soon.”
The butler then explained the situation. According to him, the speculative force that was attacking the mark was LTCM, a famous hedge fund that belonged to Jonathan Investment, and the Karjan family was warning prestigious banks not to join the offensive line.
Did the man come in to check on how my family’s doing by pretending to be my friend?
Joshua couldn’t wait any longer to see the face of the largest shareholder of the world-famous Jonathan Investment.
“Your friend is insisting that he has nothing to do with the situation. He keeps claiming that it’s the hedge funds’ discretionary investment. However, the family’s opinion is different, and we have been spending enormous amounts of money to defend the European currency. It’s now impossible to protect it without Jonathan Investment’s support,” the butler said.
“That sounds serious.” Joshua grimaced.
“Yes, it’s very serious. Jonathan Investment is putting up just one hedge fund now, but we don’t know when the whole group will suddenly attack us in full force.”
“We can’t stop them with lip service,” Joshua said firmly.
It was a matter of megabucks, so verbal threats or persuasions would never work.
“It’s not important whether their largest shareholder is your friend or not. The point is that he volunteered to be your friend.”
“Yes…”
“This is the only opportunity we have. In a few days, the attacks will become more severe and fierce, then everything will be irreversible. If Jonathan Group stops attacking, our family will compensate them for their loss. So…” the butler explained.
“Compensate them for their loss? Even before fighting against them? Our family is going to do that?” Joshua raised his voice. He had never thought that he would question something that was decided by the family.
The butler nodded. Their opponent was Jonathan Investment, and they were on a different level, as the scale of their net assets and the operating property was massive compared to others. Joshua had heard that the two owners of the group had more than three hundred billion dollars in capital, even after excluding their investor and pension funds. Joshua knew the actual amount would be much larger since that was just an official record. In addition, he was aware that more forces would attack them when Jonathan took action in person, and more than a trillion dollars of capital would collide then. In other words, the entire Europe would be drawn into a financial war!
“Sir… This… is not supposed to happen.”
The butler’s voice shook, and it was a shock to Joshua.
“What are Silverman and AP Morgan’s positions on this?” Joshua asked hurriedly.
“We’ve received a pledge that they won’t join the attack line, but we are not hundred percent sure.”
“Then…”
It became clear what Joshua had to do for his family. He needed to head to London right away with the elders of his family, rather than waste time convincing a stranger who was pretending to be his friend. He was determined to bring in the Gillian Group on the defensive line as they were the greatest investment group in Europe.
“In London…”
“The elders in London are meeting with Gillian Investment right now,” the butler interrupted.
Of course, they are.
Things had gone back to square one.
“Please convince your friend. And… This is my personal opinion, so please just refer to it, okay? I think your conversation with your friend will determine the fate of the Karjan family.”
The butler was never wrong, and he was now discussing the fate of the family. Joshua never imagined that his family could collapse.
“I see.”
Joshua hardened his resolve.
“Where is he?”
***
The conversation in German between the butler and Joshua ended, and I heard him walking toward my room.
Knock, knock.
He knocked first, and slowly opened the door. When he saw me, he froze while holding the doorknob, as if someone had used the Solidification skill on him. His eyes were wide open, and he stopped breathing for a while.
“Hallo, Joshua.” I smiled at him.
1. German currency ☜