Chapter 28: Coin and its Symbolic Value
"...Look at this, Eve...LOOK AT ALL THIS GOLD!!" I say, seeing a not-so-big chest open and full of gold coins, real gold, the reward for winning that damn duel.
At first, I was really pissed off that Augustus had reduced me to a mere 1,000 gold coins, but now seeing the gold in front of me, I’m excited, the gold matches perfectly with a beauty like me.
"I wish I could scream that I’m rich...it’s just unfortunate that this money won’t last long," I say, trying not to get discouraged by this fact. I close the chest and let out a happy sigh.
"You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much money in my whole life." Unfortunately, the value of these coins in this world is not as high as it would be in the modern world, each coin is made of real gold.
However, the monetary system of this world does not value the material of the coin itself, but rather its status and symbolism, which means that here I have over 30 kilos of gold, in the modern world it could easily be worth around $1 million, considering just the weight of the gold.
But in this world, it shouldn’t even amount to $20,000, considering the weight of the gold and not the symbolic value of the coin. The monetary system is divided into 5 simple layers of coins that work throughout the world, since the world’s currency was unified in the past.
Silver coin, gold coin, platinum coin, Dadyon coin, and Cryan Obsidian coin, these 5 coins are all the money in the game and across all continents.
Gold coins are the second most common coin, so even though they’re valuable, their value isn’t that great, and in this world, there’s no copper coin because they’re considered too "limiting," so the cheapest coin is the silver one.
Since I was completely addicted to the game, I even managed to find out how much each coin would cost in dollars using internet forums, calculations, and game item research.
A silver coin is worth 1 dollar, a gold coin is worth 100 dollars, a platinum coin is worth 1,000 dollars, a Dadyon coin is worth 100,000 dollars, and finally, the rarest and most expensive coin in the game.
The Cryan Obsidian coin, which has a monetary value equivalent to $10 million per coin. Dadyon and Cryan Obsidian are ores from this world that don’t exist in the modern world.
Dadyon is a blood-red ore, so its coins are also red and impossible to counterfeit due to the material, while Cryan Obsidian is a completely black ore with a glowing blue core.
The Cryan Obsidian coins are black, but if you strike them hard, they will immediately glow in a beautiful cyan blue, and they are absurdly resistant, so it’s impossible to counterfeit.
Of course, until I can get the two most expensive coins in the game, it will be complicated, not only because of their absurd value, but also because only the richest people in the world negotiate using Cryan Obsidian, which shows its rarity.
We haven’t even seen such a coin among the candidates for the throne. I only know about it because I saw it in the game on some routes, and it’s the coin that shocked me the most because of its disproportionate value.
With 1,000 of them, you could automatically buy whatever you want, and your money wouldn’t run out. In short, this coin has such an absurd symbolic and purchasing power that even minor criminals don’t dare try to steal it.
Because this coin is heavily monitored, if you possess one, you need to prove where it came from, or be from a powerful noble family, so no common criminal can use this coin, which becomes more of a decoration.
Even in the underworld of crime, this coin is almost a taboo, since about 90% of criminals can’t accept this coin because they can’t even use it.
This coin is so ridiculously valuable in the symbolic context that in the event of peace, a country giving one of them would show how serious the country is in the negotiation, because the real value of the coin is not in its purchasing power, but in its symbolism.
In this world, the symbolism of the coin is more important than its value as a precious metal, combining the rarity of Cryan Obsidian with the symbolism of the coin, they basically created a coin that is the symbol of the highest nobility.
To the point where smaller cities would kill to obtain a single one just for the social status that such a coin can give when considered publicly legitimate.
"Hahaha, what am I thinking, obviously I can’t get a Cryan Obsidian coin." I decide not to think too much about the illusion of obtaining such an item, I doubt I’d be able to.
Even in the game, it was almost impossible to find such a coin, even though the demon king’s vault is full of them...that’s right...my father is filthy rich, he has so many that he can swim in them.
I think he can even build small mountains of this coin, it’s really cool to have such a rich father, while I have to be content with measly gold coins.
’Damn, I feel humiliated by the money!! Damn monetary power, damn the capitalists, the rich, and...wait, I’m now among these people...so long live capitalism and the rich!! And may all their fortunes come to me when I become queen!!!’ Nothing like trying to get coin from unsuspecting suckers.
There are some good places for me to get money here inside the castle, I’ll get so rich that I’ll be able to swim in money someday, not that you can actually swim in money considering coins are metal and not liquid.
"Eve, take 40 coins from the chest and bring them with us." I won’t take everything or we might get robbed, I’d rather take just 40 of them, knowing I can use that as an initial payment and then send the rest of the money for what we buy.
"Understood, Evelyn-sama, one moment, I’ll get a small bag to put the money in." She says as I think about hiding the gold under the bed, it seems like a good hiding spot.
’Screw the boogeyman, the bed will now be occupied by gold!!!’ I crouch down next to the bed, passing my hand to remove anything that might be there. Soon I feel something furry and quickly pull my hand back.
"Kyaa!! A rat, a rat!!" A rat climbed onto my hand and is walking up my arm. I instinctively move my arm, throwing the rat out the window, which breaks with a snap, and the rat lets out a horrible squeak as it falls down below.
"D-Damn...minus 7 gold coins..." The castle’s windows are expensive, repairing the window must cost at least 5 gold coins, and it might even go up to 30 gold coins depending on the damage.
’Damn bad luck!! How the hell was there a rat exactly where I stuck my hand!!’ It was right on the rat, fate really likes to play nasty tricks. I see Eve looking at me with a silly smile on her face.
"Please don’t laugh, rats are disgusting!!...seriously, what pests...why are rats so gross when hamsters, beavers, and other rodents can be so cute? Like, a rabbit is cute and it’s a rodent..." I think of something that gives me a shiver.
’In fact...I’m glad I reincarnated as a demon...imagine reincarnating as a rat!!? Or maybe something worse!! How gross!!’ I was lucky in that regard, I reincarnated into a body that is thousands of times more beautiful than my original average self.
"Evelyn-sama, if you’d like, I can do a more thorough cleaning of the room later," Eve says with amused devotion in her voice as she approaches.
"No need, Clarissa should clean better! You’re not a maid!! You’re a swordswoman, and your beautiful hands need to be preserved as much as possible," I say, taking gold coins from the chest and handing them to Eve while pushing the chest under the bed with effort.
It fit in perfectly, if it had been a little bigger, it wouldn’t have gone in. Fortunately, the area inside the bed is hollow...or unfortunately, since it’s hollow because I’m too poor and mistreated to have a perfect bed.
’Well...at least the top of the bed is very comfortable...’ It could be worse, besides, a rat is perhaps better than a spider biting me out of nowhere, and I’m sure there were spiders in the cracks.
"Eve, with this money, we can go shopping now...Clarissa will take care of this, I’ll leave a note for her to fix the window," I say, picking up a piece of paper and writing with a pen and ink.
’At least I have a pen, ink, and paper! Before I didn’t have the ink, but Clarissa brought it along with the supplies, it’s good to see she’s working efficiently.’ I think, mentally praising her.
It’s a simple and direct order, and I also leave 6 gold coins under the paper for her to take and pay for the window, I doubt she’ll steal from me because of her fear.
"There, done." I say, placing the paper on the table with the coins underneath. My wonderful calligraphy will surely enchant Clarissa, who hasn’t heard my beautiful voice yet in the last few hours.
’She still hasn’t even seen Eve! What a lack of awareness, she needs to see the unbelievable beauty that I am, and with Eve by my side, our beauty complements each other perfectly!’ I like Eve’s appearance.
She is perfect, she is beautiful, she is magnificent, she is glorious...ah yes, she is exactly me, so it’s obvious that she is the purest perfection, like me. If beauty were a crime, I would be executed!
Well, it’s a good thing that being beautiful is not a crime...it’s really terrifying to die, I don’t want to die a second time! And if I have to die, it can be in a less violent way.