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It was almost a week before the royal guards gave us the ‘OK’ to leave the academy grounds. During that time, I spent most of it in Professor Sageira’s office with the corpses of the hobgoblin brutes that she placed in a preservation array, all the while bitching at me for frying one of the brutes and not leaving the other one alive for her to study.

She was going on about things like “Bruning the internals beyond use.” and “Live specimens are optimal for tests.”, after a while I just tuned out her complaining as I stood by her side to help take notes while omitting her rants.

When we were given the go-ahead to leave campus grounds, I brought the boys to a bunch of jewelers I found when previously exploring the capital, we went from jeweler to jeweler to get different evaluations and see who could give us the best price.

It also helped that I was walking around with my house crest stitched onto my uniform, they may not recognize the crest of some border house like mine, but I am pretty sure they would be less likely to scam us in case my house takes issue with their business.

Sad to say, but it is quite easy for unscrupulous merchants to get away with scamming commoners if they think they can withstand the repercussions, but scamming a noble is a whole different story, businesses empires have shuttered for less, their name besmirched in the eyes of rich and well-paying customers.

After making the rounds and selling to the jeweler who offered us the highest price, we walked away with 23 gold and change, and after splitting two ways between Dave and Sam, it was 11 gold and change, which was a lot for them considering the average farming family only makes one to two gold a year.

When they exited the jeweler’s store, the two boys were acting twitchy as hell, their eyes darting to every dark corner or anyone walking too close to them, and seeing the way they were clutching their newfound wealth, it looked like they believed they were going to be mugged at any second and I could not blame them, this was more gold than they had ever held in their lives.

Seeing them in fear of losing what they got did not sit right with me, so I suggested a solution to give them peace of mind. I suggested they store their money at a bank.

“What? Luke, that's for rich people.” Sam scoffed.

To which I quirked an eyebrow at him and told him, “You may not know it, but with the money you got now, you are technically richer than the majority of the people in the kingdom. Besides, the only reason most people do not use the bank is because they are mainly located in major cities, and the minimum amount to open an account is two gold coins, which you definitely have. So let's go start an account for you, and you can withdraw it at the end of the year when you go home for a visit.”

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It took a bit of prodding to convince them to trust their money to the bank, but I eventually convinced them.

When we got to the bank, my house crest was once again doing an excellent job of getting me priority service. The moment I entered, there were a few bank staff waiting, and from the way they reacted, it seemed like they were all in competition to attend to me.

They tried not to make it too obvious, but the moment I stepped through the door, I saw all of them jerk forward, but only the first to react walked forward to attend to me.

“Greeting, young master, what can I do for you today?” a young man said as he zoomed up to me.

“I am here to make a deposit, and to open accounts for my two friends here.” I said as I gestured to Dave and Sam.

“Of course, young master, if you would follow me.” he said as he eyed Dave and Sam up and down like he was unsure if they could even afford to open an account.

We were brought to a booth where we were served tea and biscuits. I have to say, despite this guy giving my friends the side eye, they sure got good service.

After getting comfy and taking a sip of tea, I got down to business, “I would like to make a deposit under my house’s name,” I said as I took out a small pouch and emptied it on a cushioned tray in front of us to reveal some uncut gems I set aside for myself, “and as I said earlier, my two friends would like to open an account.” I gestured for the boys to put their gold on the tray.

Seeing the stacks of coins the boys put down, I could visibly see the change in the expression on the man's face to become more accommodating towards Dave and Sam, “Very good, young master, now all that is left is the matter of identification.”

I nodded and reached into my pocket and took out a signet ring Dad passed to me before I left for the capital and put it on the tray, “I am Luke Ironcrest, and if I am not wrong, my father should have written ahead in regards to my stipend while I am at the Royal Academy. As for my friends… would a probationary license from the Adventurere’s Guild do?”

“Yes, Lord Ironcrest, that would suffice.” he replied.

After the boys added their probationary license to the tray, the man got up, “Thank you, Lord Ironcrest, I will be back shortly after processing this transaction, please enjoy the refreshments in the meantime.”

After some time, the man came back with my ring and a receipt for my deposit, and for the boys, he had their probationary license and a small booklet for them to keep records of their transactions with the bank.

After we left the bank, relieved of most of our on-hand funds, we went to celebrate the boys’ sudden windfall and discuss what other quests we should take up during the break, not that they needed the money, but it was something to keep busy.