Magical Journey: The Other Shore Blooms on the Other Shore

This kingdom is paradise for anyone who loves gold coins.

This is a nation of merchants with highly prosperous commerce and extremely rich wealth—a nation that has practiced "mercantilism" for generations.

Unlike most countries that uphold the supremacy of magic, this place upholds absolute pragmatism. If you possess magical power but lack the ability to monetize it, you will remain at the very bottom of the social hierarchy.

Here, you can exchange gold coins for anything you want, as long as you have enough gold coins in your sight—it's just a matter of how much you have to pay.

Perhaps I still haven't been able to express myself clearly.

Here, you can get anything—including, but not limited to, power, freedom, status—and even life.

In this country, hiring someone to commit murder is not illegal, as long as you pay enough deposit to the business hearing. In fact, if you want, you can even hire someone to commit murder at the business hearing.

If you wish to change certain policies of the kingdom, you can also become a member of the Merchants' Council by paying enough gold coins. Your influence in the council depends on your financial resources.

There's nothing you can't buy with gold coins.

The only thing that can restrain people's inner desires is conscience.

Oh, and it's all about maintaining the balance of interests in this paradise made of gold coins. No one would allow anyone to destroy this beautiful country for personal gain.

"This bread is so expensive." Elena looked at the croissant in her hand and suddenly it didn't taste so good anymore.

Prices here are higher than in the kingdoms I've been to, almost as high as in the country with inflation I once visited.

But now, here, the currency being paid is indeed genuine.

I thought this kingdom would be my fantasy world, but now that I'm here, I'm not so excited anymore. If I stay here for a few days, my wallet will be completely drained by this kingdom.

Perhaps the only advantage is that swindling and cheating isn't a big deal here—making money depends on one's own abilities.

In fact, you can see all sorts of gray industries here.

In fact, these gray industries are all legitimate green industries here.

The slave trade, which is prohibited in many kingdoms, is commonplace here, and many contraband items are auctioned off as legitimate commodities.

As long as you abide by the one rule—do not disrupt the order of the Pierre Merchant Federal Republic. As long as you don't disrupt it, everyone will turn a blind eye to these things.

Money laundering, receiving stolen goods... as long as it generates GDP for the kingdom, none of these matter.

If you lose money, it's because you're not as skilled as others.

The entire kingdom maintains a dynamic balance under the powerful influence of self-interest.

In other words, this is a game arcade for the wealthy.

Unfortunately, Elena doesn't belong to the category of wealthy people, nor does Qin.

In many other countries, their wealth might be considered modest, the kind that many ordinary people couldn't earn in a lifetime. But here, they're merely qualified to watch others play the game.

Many people don't even qualify.

"Please have mercy...give me some money so I can survive." The eliminated person wanders the bustling streets, begging everywhere.

Players here generally ignore people like them; thinking about them for even a second is a waste of gold coins.

People who have nothing will not be driven away, since people who have no value will not be valued at all.

Yet there will still be people who have nothing and hope to try their luck in this glittering place, after all, it must be said that there are more opportunities to make money here.

"Huh... there are gold coins here..." The eliminated player picked up the gold coins on the ground. How could anyone drop money here? Oh well, if I picked them up, they're mine.

Although a single gold coin is nothing here, money is money, and even a little bit of money can be a bargaining chip to keep playing.

"You're really generous." Elena noticed Qin's little gesture, deliberately dropping a gold coin. He always did this before, and Elena often didn't understand it, but she didn't want to say anything.

As time went by, she gradually came to understand the meaning behind Qin's foolish actions.

Doesn't he realize that his approach is just a drop in the ocean for those who are eliminated?

He knew it quite well.

But he was just trying to deceive himself, thinking that at least he could make others live better, even if it was just a little bit better, that would be enough.

This may be the belief that has allowed him to live to this day.

I've never received any proper values ​​from childhood to adulthood—when life feels tasteless, I always try to find an excuse to keep living.

Is this kind of feeling considered optimism?

"It's not exactly generous, anyway, I don't need that much," Qin said.

No one will thank you.

"I don't need thanks—it's always been that way."

Irene didn't want to say anything more.

She couldn't think of any words to change this kind of stubborn thinking—perhaps she didn't even have the power to change other people's minds.

Throughout the entire journey, he and his companions were constantly traveling.

But we never lived on the same layer.

They will refuse to integrate into the masses, resist normal life, and infinitely devalue themselves—lowering all expectations to the minimum.

Ultimately, he was just afraid—afraid of disappointment, afraid of loss, afraid of living.

Compared to his innate curse of not being able to overeat, this curse was the one that truly haunted his heart and could not be removed. That curse was brought by that twisted country—giving him this so-called difference.

……

"This is the list of transactions for this time. Please take a look." In a secret meeting place, a group of people were exchanging information.

Secret spaces like these are plentiful in the Federal Republic of Pierre Merchants.

After all, information can also bring in gold coins, and these gold coins can be quite valuable.

“Very good, very good. I wonder how much profit we can make by selling these things.” One of them said, “Our cooperation is getting more and more skilled.”

“After all, this pollen is illegal in neighboring countries; it can only be legally sold here,” another person said. “May our cooperative friendship last a long time to come.”

"Don't worry, don't worry, I can take as much as you can supply. After all, many customers are still waiting to inhale your pollen to save their lives. I'm telling you, the feeling of inhaling it is even more pleasurable than having sex."

"Mike, with your word, the goods I bring next week will double."

"This glass is a toast to our friendship, my dear White."

Such wicked deals were rampant throughout the kingdom.

But no matter how badly these people have behaved, they all understand the basic principle of maintaining order in the kingdom. They need this place to provide them with a continuous source of profit.

The kingdom also needs these vicious people to maintain its stability.

This is also a two-way transaction.

“Speaking of other things, Mike, I heard your casino is making quite a bit of money lately,” White said. “I have some capital I’d like to invest in, I wonder if you could do me the honor.”

"How could I possibly refuse my brother's request? But White, I only care about making big money, you know that."

"I brought five thousand gold coins. I don't know if that meets your standard."

"Brother, you know me. I won't let you down. Just wait for this money to double. Cheers!"