...

In front of the Hotel Wintersleep, Wolfsteeth

After what he would describe as an eventful dinner with Ocilia, Aurum went to his carriage with Maurice to do some errands before meeting with some old friends the next day, 'Can't believe that she riled me that much up.'

There was something about Ocilia that he particularly didn't like. It wasn't her low birth or lack of education in etiquette but that she slowly became like Alexander. Something about her, the arrogance she emitted, irked him the wrong way, as if she thought she was far above him.

However, from the standpoint of classes, she was. As the first disciple of Alexander, she would always be much more important than he was since her position was very particular and couldn't be easily changed. There was also the fact that if something happened and she made a terrible mistake, Alexander would need to take full responsibility, while with him, it could go either way.

He shook himself awake from the thoughts and climbed into the carriage with Maurice. Sitting down, he knocked a couple of times at the wall inside the carriage, "To the Golden Feather Bank."

The carriage began to drive, and he had time to kill, "So, we didn't talk much?"

Maurice was sitting on the opposite side of him and looked opposing from his physical build alone. His muscles bulged out of his half-plate leather armor, and he could even see that the armor needed to be changed, cut, or bent on some ends, as it probably became too little. However, his face and how he looked at Aurum was that of a gentle and curious boy, 'What a weird guy.'

Aurum never had much to do with him and barely saw him, as the training ground wasn't his usual hangout spot. However, he heard things about Alexander's personal guard and how he became better by the day, almost torturing himself to reach the next level and thus becoming more powerful. This alone did win his respect.

There were also rumors that he was very forthcoming and friendly. Apparently, he stood fully behind Alexander's ideals and voluntarily trained the cygnets of servants who worked at the estate. In Aurum's opinion, talking with him should be fruitful as it could open up a new perspective. Even better, he also now knew that Maurice likes to chit-chat, so it should go smoothly.

Maurice tilted his head in confusion, "Not really, but why should we? I mean, we are responsible for very different things, or am I wrong?"

Aurum shrugged and leaned back, "Well, just trying to do some small talk since we will have to do a lot with each other. Tell me, what are your hobbies, wishes, and aspirations for the future?"

Maurice smiled at him, "Sure. I like to cook and bake. At the moment, I am trying to make a lemon cake with cinnamon, but the taste is always somewhat weird. I think it's because..."

Aurum didn't interrupt him but listened to him simply go on and on about the specifics of baking a lemon cake and how the ratio of sugar and cinnamon was essential for the taste not to be overwhelming, 'It was a big mistake.'

For some reason, Aurum expected Maurice to have some interesting theories about things he was interested in, but it seemed to be not the case. Sometimes, people who had the same ideals as he or Alexander wouldn't have the theoretical understanding. They would act and do things because they find it right, which was probably the case with the big guy. It was not bad, and most of the time, people with such intuitions were more faithful to their ideals than those who studied them, so not talking about anything intellectually was fine.

However, it didn't mean he was pleased to listen to the art of lemon peeling, 'Why didn't he become a baker?'

...

30 Minutes Later, Late Afternoon, Bank of the Golden Feather, Wolfsteeth

"Wait here. I will be back in a couple of hours."

Clack

Aurum left the carriage, closed the door, and walked towards the bank. He would need to create multiple accounts for Alexander and every other retainer he had. Plus, for the ones who would soon join them.

Banks were essential for larger businesses and made everything much more manageable. For example, while Alexander gave wages to his servants every three months as a sum in coins, the estate gave bank notes every five months.

Lower servants could redeem the notes without hassle at any bank the Leonandra household had made an account. It was primarily for convenience, as counting and putting the coins into a pouch for hundreds of workers like soldiers, servants, artisans, and simple laborers was too much of a hassle.

However, the household gave the ones with higher status their own account and transferred their wages frequently to them. The reason was quite stupid: Most with higher status barely left the estate and would only collect their notes. However, when they decided to go to Wolfsteeth, most of the notes would expire, or they would just lose them. Then, it would be another hassle to find out which notes were redeemed and which not, how much they paid them, etc. It was far easier to open them an account.

While it sounded then like a great idea to open everyone an account to reduce the workload even more, it would be too expensive as the main account holder would have to pay for every subsequent account, and this would become too expensive.

Aurum wanted to do something close to this: Open a main account, multiple pivot accounts, and many more sub-accounts. However, the problem was that Alexander had barely anyone of lower status working for him, as only those trusted and loyal would be granted entrance to his mansion because of the mana paper-making production and mana ink experiments he did. Then there would be the charity.

He already had a plan on how to administer the estate, Alexander's part, and the charity he was now responsible for efficiently, and for this, he would need to open dozens, if not hundreds, of accounts. He slightly touched his spatial pouch where all his current diagrams for the accounting structure were, remembering the mess he needed to entangle.

[https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kiruschka/kiruschka.github.io/main/Chapter_80_88/Chapter_83/economic_diagramm.svg]

Authors note: It is enormously simplified with one easy example to show the structure visually.

While main-accounts acted as treasury and were fully independent in their functions, pivot- and sub-accounts weren't. Pivot accounts, like the name suggested, could only transfer coins toward the sub-accounts linked to them while only receiving gold from the main account and issuing a limited amount of banknotes in their name. Sub-accounts would then act as little treasuries for their people.

It was all for easier bookkeeping. If he started to open only main-accounts, different branches of the estate and charities could transfer their gold between each other, and it would become a giant mess. To avoid such a bureaucratic monster, he readied himself to pay a lot of gold for what he needed to work as efficiently as possible.

Usually, many nobles didn't do it, as it was too expensive for them. They also didn't treat their servants fairly or pay as much, so giving them a pouch with some copper or silver coins was generally more straightforward.

The guard households were always a little weird, though. They had a deal with the Golden Feather Bank, which had thousands of branches around the continent. The Knightages would respect their autonomy to some extent, and in return, the fees they paid were minimal.

What was that autonomy? If, for example, a human walks into the bank inside their territory and has an account from another branch from another region, they couldn't touch them if they didn't commit any serious crimes, which they had written down and agreed on before. Banks basically bought the status of an embassy.

The crimes the bank accepted were also written down and contained things like murder, tax evasion, etc. They wholly ignored other laws, like insulting the ruler of the fief, as such laws could be interpreted very widely.

There were cases in Mal-Gil when a noble became enraged by some high-demons who apparently could barely speak the beast-kin dialect and were accusingly insulting the ruler. The bank harbored them, but the noble didn't accept it and confiscated their branch, killing the director and workers of the bank. The end of the story was that the main branches sanctioned the noble's territory till it went bankrupt through various means. Something like this only worked with lower nobility, as for higher nobility, the banks had their merchant's guild, which was part of the council, and they basically forced the acceptance of such regulations onto everyone through economic pressure.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

However, if there was an accusation of a broken law, which they agreed beforehand, a costly mana contract would be brought out, making the accused tell the truth. Depending on the investigation, the Golden Feather Bank would either decline the noble's request or give in.

While it all sounded highly convoluted and one-sided, it also gave the noble beast-kin, who were often nothing more than slaves in other territories, a chance to hide inside the bank by paying exorbitant fees for their stay should they be kidnapped but then escape. However, there was also blatant corruption and other trickery where the nobles of the territory where the bank was located paid them off to declare them criminals. Yet, it rarely happened with the bank he was about to visit.

Nonetheless, the branches weren't also omnipotent. When the director made a mistake or was caught breaking the law red-handed, the regional director would step in, and heads would roll, while the payouts would be enormous toward the victims, like in corruption cases.

Banks, not only the Golden Feather one, were built on reputation and trust. If they failed to hold onto a high standard, they wouldn't get any customers. They would fail sooner or later as the costs of having a continental bank were enormous.

The tricky thing was that they needed to walk a very tight line between kingdoms and localities to foster an amiable relationship for themselves. The banks cared little for conflicts between kingdoms but only had interest if the new ruler would respect their autonomy like the last one.

It was a whole bureaucratic and political mess he learned at his school and how to navigate it. He went through an entire course where he only learned about the biggest banks and how they operated so he could make sense of them later on.

Aurum also asked himself multiple times if he should choose a local one instead of the Bahamut, which was the Golden Feather, but he quickly decided against it. If the charity project grew, besides Alexander's business ventures, he would need a financial institute with branches all around Mal-Gil. Choosing only the local ones would only bring headaches.

There was also the fact that the Golden Feather Bank had an excellent reputation. However, if a noble wanted to have more than the basics covered up, they would need to pay a horrendous amount of gold annually. But for him, it was chump change. If he wanted the project to work and be as big as envisioned by him and Alexander, he needed to do everything right from the beginning.

The Golden Feather Bank he was now before looked as their reputation suggested. Around the bank, the whole plaza, from the buildings to the streets, was plastered with costly white stone, which became pinkish, a usual occurrence in Moorgrel as it soaked in the demonic miasma around them. Nonetheless, it looked exquisite, and the pink made it look even better if he was honest.

The massive compound and buildings, comparable to Alexander's mansion, were also fully pinkish with golden accents here and there. It looked much more luxurious, with fine engravings and four statues of the founders around it, than any of the mansions in the estate, as they were primarily built to protect from sudden attacks. So, a comparison was impossible, but it didn't mean he wasn't in awe, 'How much coin did they put into this branch?!'

He saw multiple branches on his travels and, while in school, of different banks. This, though, was the most massive building he had seen and a show that Wolfsteeth was massively profitable, 'The Lady did a really good job.'

Through old accounts and recounting of his Mother, he knew that the current Lady needed to scrap many policies away from the previous rulers and overhaul the whole territory. It was whiplash for many merchants and minor nobles as they got rich through the old system and thus protested strongly. Yet, she stood firm and administrated how he saw fit, and it showed. For the last decades, the territory boomed.

He would like to know more about how she did it, but every time he asked his Mother, she ranted about how she wanted nothing more than to behead every earl, major, etc. It was a touchy subject as his Mother stood in the forefront and led most discussions. Little to say, he needed to find it all out himself through indirect means like reading reports, analyses from newer and older administrators, or using his [Mystic Skills].

There were too many policies to recount, but the most important were about taxing, trade, zoning, and fighting corruption. Some worked well, others not so much, and sometimes they would work but only in some parts of their fief. Aurum understood little since he wasn't specialized in managing a territory. His maxim was the administration of businesses and finances, so everything fief related to him was learning by doing, 'Thoughts for another time.'

He walked beside the guards stationed around the main building entrance, opening the door nonchalantly. When he came in, cold air flew at his face, a nice change to the hotness of the outside.

The interior was as extensive and luxury-looking as the outside. An enormous arc went through the whole main hall while nice-looking pillars decorated the place, giving the already high ceiling an even more expansive look.

The arch was finely decorated with local tribalistic patterns, which were also seen on other, more traditional houses and clothes—a remnant from ancient times. In the past, it was used for many things, like tattoos, to show the merits of warriors. Now, it has become stylish to decorate everything with them.

As part of a noble household, he also learned their history, which had such tribal tattoos thousands of years ago. He knew also what they meant. So, seeing some of them on the arc made him cringe, 'Blood shall wash away the... honorable dumplings. Urgh, which moron painted them on?'

The first part was a burial tattoo, which warriors got after an honorable death, while the dumpling part was literally a joke one for cygnets. It was mostly painted on at events to the winner of small competitions. Later, they could easily wash it away. So, seeing it here with the combination of the burial one was quite a stupid mistake. However, he ignored it quickly and looked first around to orient himself.

There were multiple counters with workers who wore exquisite suits. They were all of different races, not even beast-kin subraces, but also some high-demons, fire- and earth-djinns, and a nature-dweller centaur woman who flirted with a horse-kin from the estate who managed the draft animals.

The Golden Feather Bank and other similar financial institutions with broad reach were exceptional when it came to accepting other races and working together for one good reason: Gold. Nobody cared if gold was to be made. Making a profit was their ideal, and something petty like politics, cultural differences, and appearance would only get in the way.

He smirked slightly as this mindset reminded him of someone, 'Alexander would probably like it here.'

Aurum looked to the side, and there were open rooms for cygnets with toys. It was obviously a room for servants or, in general, parents who came with little ones to attend to some business quickly. To avoid getting annoyed by the cygnets, they would throw them into the playroom and later take them back. Parents or servants who needed to look after them wouldn't like to let them run around alone in Wolfsteeth while attending business, so proposing such a place was a great idea, 'The worker attending the little ones looks really stressed out, though.'

The door only opened for a second, and he saw how a worker was pulled on his clothes and got thrown stuff at while the cygnets ran around him, screaming, 'He fucked probably up and needs now as punishment look after them.'

He ignored the poor soul quickly and looked to the top, what he was most interested in, and found it, 'Why is the damn price for wool so high? What are the damn sheep-kin doing?'

Far to the side on a wall was a massive table of the monthly exchange rates of dozens of commodities like gold, silver, iron, wool, steel, certain leather types, pig meat, certain fruits, vegetables, wheat, and much more. They took an average copper coin and one kilogram (~2.2 pounds) as a base.

The Golden Feather Bank also traded with merchants or, on certain days, they would open their space up for markets for which one could only build a stand if they paid one large silver coin as a fee. It was apparent that they wanted to avoid dealing with small merchants who would only take space away and, all the while, make a lot of gold.

He was once or twice at so-called golden pig markets at other banks, and it was as, if not more, rowdy as at the normal ones outside. They would scream at each other, throw insults, and haggle so loudly and rudely that sometimes fights broke out.

Aurum walked toward a counter after acclimating himself to the interior and putting fun memories from the past away. On the way, he saw a dozen other servants or soldiers who were here to withdraw their wages from the banknotes they brought with them. It was impossible not to see them since they were pretty loud, yet he greeted them with a friendly wave and nod.

Before Aurum could find the counter with the shortest line, a worker came over. She looked well-dressed and beautiful. It was a fire-djinn, as seen by the slightly longer ears, androgynetic body, and somewhat reddish skin and hair color. She also had the typical smell of burning wood around her, which was natural.

His old tick of analyzing everyone when trading kicked in, and he looked at her as unnoticeable as possible while trying to perceive with whom he would be dealing.

He could see immediately through her smile. She looked annoyed and didn't like working here much. She had the same blueish suit with a delicate golden feather sewn on her chest as everyone else. Still, she looked like she came from a wealthy family, as she wore a bracelet made of blue gold with tiny diamonds arranged in a very meticulous but cute pattern, representing a smiling flame. He didn't need to use any skills to know that it would cost at least 2,000 gold, 'And Ocilia called me posh-boy.'

Through simple deductions and experience, her background became obvious. Her family sent her to other territories so she could learn the language, culture, and how different systems worked. It was familiar to him as he also had foreign exchange students at his boarding school, who were always from either nobility or wealth. The same was also the other way around, as many alumni went outside the empire for their apprenticeship, work, or studying.

She smiled at him, and her voice sounded welcoming, "Hello, how may I help you?"

Aurum nodded at her and immediately discerned her accent, but there was something that indicated her background. Not nobility but the typical dialect wealthy youth had from good households, "Hello, I am a servant of Alexander K. Leonandra. I am here to open multiple accounts."

While he was talking, he felt like she was analyzing his clothes, stand, and speech to find out if he was a waste of time or if she would take him to some colleague who would do the annoying work for her. Only now did he become aware of his rather lax clothing. It was nonetheless an expensive suit but one which was tailored to be more comfortable than good-looking, as many, even the expensive ones, were poorly tailored, constricting his wings, 'I should've brought my better garderobe with me.'

He casually pulled out the Leonandra household's plaque without waiting for her answer. Her facial expression immediately changed into one of surprise and into a more honest smile, 'Now we are talking.'

There were probably many who would come here and present themselves as some servant of some noble. So, only an identification like a plaque would help discard doubt.

"May I see the plaque, Mister?"

He nodded and gave it to her, "As I said, I am not a noble, so call me just Aurum."

After some seconds of observing it, she took it and smiled happily, "Please follow me, Aurum."

He followed while having flashbacks of his school time, studying the intricacies of the banking system, 'I fucking hate it already... urgh, hopefully, I will be done today.'