"We have a customer here to open an account. Please take care of him," the man said to a woman at the reception before walking away.
"Welcome. You'd like to open an account, correct?" the receptionist, dressed in a navy blue jacket with a red ribbon, greeted him from behind the counter.
"Yes. I'm new to this, so I might need some help."
One of Silva's strengths was his ability to admit when he didn't know something. Pretending to know too much could be dangerous, so it was much safer to be honest.
"Certainly. Could you please write down your name here?" she handed him a parchment and a pen.
(Why parchment?) Silva wondered but took the pen and parchment.
Name: Silva Schneizel
Age: 17
The form only had fields for a name and age—no address or anything else. Without much thought, he wrote down his name and age and handed the parchment back to the receptionist. It was then that he realized something.
(Huh? The writing... it was in English, wasn't it? Is the script the same across worlds?)
However, the receptionist didn't seem bothered and continued her work. At the very least, English appeared to be understood here.
"Your name is Silva Schneizel, and your age is 1...7 years. Is that correct?" she asked, glancing at Silva's face as if she doubted he was only 17.
"Yes. Do I not look it?" Silva replied. He was used to people being surprised when he told them his age.
(I'm just used to looking older than I am...)
"Or is there an age restriction on opening an account?"
The receptionist shook her head. "No, there's no problem with your age. It's just that... you seem much more mature, so I was surprised when I saw your age. I apologize for any offense."
"Ah, that's fine. I'm used to it. Then, I'd like to open an account, please."
"Certainly. I'll create a card for you, so please wait a moment."
With those words, she began writing something on a piece of paper about the size of a business card. Afterward, she placed the paper between two transparent sheets.
(A lamination process, perhaps?)
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It was hard to tell whether the level of technology in this world was advanced or primitive with that magic around.
"Thank you for waiting. Now, please place your hand on this orb."
She inserted the card into a slot in the glass orb's pedestal and pushed it towards Silva.
"Like this?"
When Silva placed his hand on the glass orb, it began to glow softly.
"Yes, that's perfect. This card now contains your personal information, Mr. Schneizel. If you ever lose the card, please visit the nearest bank, and we'll issue you a new one."
Saying this, she handed the card back to Silva.
"Is that it? Is it all done?"
"Yes, that's all for opening the account. Is there anything else I can assist you with?"
"Well, I'd like to deposit some money into this account."
"A deposit, you say? Thank you very much. Please place the coins and your account card here."
With that, she placed a tray on the counter. Silva took out ten gold coins, twenty silver coins, and fifty copper coins from his pouch, and placed the rest on the tray.
"Thank you. I'll now verify the amount, so please wait a moment."
She then took all the coins out of the pouch and started stacking them in piles of ten.
(So, the amount verification is done manually, huh...)
Despite the existence of a card system, there seemed to be no machine to automatically verify the amount. While Silva lamented, she continued to make stacks of coins.
He waited for about twenty minutes. After checking the amount three times, she spoke.
"Thank you for waiting. You have deposited 23 gold coins, 58 silver coins, and 731 copper coins, which totals 236,531 baht. Does this amount seem correct to you?"
(A lunch at Sea Sound Inn was 25 baht, right? This is quite a substantial amount.)
At least, for a while, he wouldn't have to worry about expenses for food and lodging.
"Yes, that's correct. Please proceed."
"Very well, we have received 236,531 baht."
She placed the card on the tray.
Although he had some living expenses for the time being, he still needed to work to survive. Silva left the bank and entered the adjacent guild.
Beyond the door, there were several counters with receptionists seated at them. Silva took a seat at an empty counter.
"Welcome. What can we assist you with today?"
The receptionist greeted him.
"I'd like to register as an adventurer and get some job recommendations."
"Certainly. May I ask if you have a bank account?"
"Is this okay?"
Silva handed over the card he had just made.
"Yes, that's perfect. Recently, payments are being made via cards, so we've been asking new registrants to open an account beforehand."
"Oh, is that so? I heard there wasn't anything specific I needed to bring, so I almost missed that."
"Yes, many people don't bring it at first. In such cases, we ask them to come back after creating one."
As she spoke, she inserted the card into a slot on a pedestal with a glass orb.
"Alright, the registration is complete, Mr. Schneizel."
"Huh?"
"Bank card information can be shared with the guild's registration system. So, as long as you bring your bank card, we can load the guild's information onto it."
While explaining, she took out a stack of papers and began reviewing them.
"Um, can I also take on some quests?"
"Yes."
Silva nodded.
"Are you familiar with how the guild system works?"
Silva shook his head.
"Then, I'll explain it to you. If there's anything unclear, feel free to ask."
She placed a sheet of paper in front of Silva.
"When you register with the guild, your initial state is at level 1, with a guild rank of Single I, which is the lowest rank. The rank is marked on the card's surface, which also serves as your adventurer identification, so please take good care of it."