Episode 54 15. The Birth of a Deposit (1)
18 years old.
In the customs of the Empire, the age considered to be the age of majority.
By that age, adults no longer treated Rockefeller as a boy.
Carter, the owner of Banco, treated Rockefeller as an adult and respected him from an early age, and most of the residents of the Montefeltro estate who were well aware of Rockefeller’s influence had the same thought as Carter and treated Rockefeller as an adult from an early age. .
However, since he was still young, there were some people who treated Rockefeller as a child and ignored him.
It was only a month ago that Rockefeller began to be treated like an adult like this.
As the years went by, I became an adult, 18 years old.
‘It’s snowing.’
Rockefeller, who was quietly reading something in the store, raised his head for a moment and looked towards the window.
White snowflakes were falling peacefully on the winter street.
‘Has it been two years since Andrew left? Time is so fast.’
It has been three years since I got a job at Banco.
In the meantime, many things happened, and the biggest of them was that the second Andrew left for the emperor with a big dream of his own.
Andrew, who wanted to become a soldier after graduating from the military academy, left for the imperial capital, Huangzhou, two years ago, and until today he has been regularly sending greetings to Rockefeller and his family.
And the letter that is now in Rockefeller’s hand was a congratulatory letter from the second Andrew.
Rockefeller, who lost his gaze at the window for a moment, lowered his head again and began to read the letter he had read once again.
How are you, Brother Rockefeller?
It is my joy and my natural duty to write this letter to my eldest brother and the head of the family.
It has already been two years since I left the estate for Montefeld, where my older brother and younger brothers live.
Even after leaving, I always felt sorry for my brother, but there was no opportunity to repay that feeling of regret, so I spend every day like a guilty sinner.
However, as my brother said, I think that graduating and doing well as a cadet at the military academy is the best way to pay off the debt I owe my brother, so I am diligently working on hard training every day.
Life as a cadet is very difficult, and it is always a series of frustrations when I learn about my limitations, but I try not to give in to thinking of my older brother and younger brothers who are firmly protecting my family in my hometown in such moments of crisis.
Wouldn’t that be a way to repay your brother a little bit?
Dear Brother Rockefeller.
I’m sorry to bring this up all of a sudden, but I feel that my brother’s monthly tuition and living expenses are a little, no, a little too much.
As a cadet at the military academy, I met and felt people from all walks of life, but there are certain limitations that can be enjoyed as a commoner.
But considering the money my brother sends me every month, am I really a commoner? You send me so much money that it makes me question it.
Would you believe me if I told you I was getting more pocket money than Miss Stella?
It really is.
It is a story of how much love the elder brother loves.
If you reduce that love a little, I think I will be happy enough.
(syncopation)
I also miss the young Joshua and the less talkative Leo from time to time.
And the pretty youngest Lucia is also doing well, right?
Lucia is now a 9-year-old girl, so she doesn’t have to worry as much as she used to.
I miss all my brothers and sisters.
When this semester is over, I want to go back to my hometown with Miss Stella to see my older brothers and sisters.
Until then, stay in good health.
After reading the letter again, Rockefeller thought for a moment with a strange expression on her face.
“Hmm… … .”
Second, it was certainly a good thing that Andrew was doing well in a distant land.
the problem is… … .
‘I don’t know how to spend money at all.’
The reason I spent a lot of my monthly living expenses was to take care of Andrew, but also to teach him how to handle and spend money.
‘If you don’t have the confidence to roll, it’s better to meet people of different classes and get to know each other. If it was an academy, there would be nobility, or there would be people from the imperial family. In particular, I can’t afford to buy a relationship like that from my school days.’
After all, money was meant to be spent somewhere.
If I put a penny on it and save it, would it only rot?
Of course, it could have been better to save money and live rather than spend it all.
But from Rockefeller’s point of view, pennies were never spared.
Saving money is saving money to be saved, and if it is money that becomes the blood of a new foot, it would be much better to profit it in another way.
‘It’s a small amount of money, so I have to spend it somehow. Wherever you invest, or who you use to meet. You have to write it one way or the other so you have something left. You just train hard, and when you return as a soldier, you seem to know that there is something left.’
With that thought in mind, Rockefeller began to write to Andrew a letter containing his thoughts.
After writing the letter for a while, Rockefeller suddenly came up with another problem.
‘As Joshua said, the reason I went to the military academy was because of the lord’s daughter… … .’
Stella de Montefeltro.
Rockefeller didn’t even know her.
Because she was a daring girl who came to her because of the debt that the lord owed.
‘Do you still have feelings for the lord’s daughter?’
There was nothing good about being entangled with the lord’s daughter.
After all, the lord was going to make him die under debt.
If it’s just a debt issue, they won’t be enemies.
Rather, the lord was more likely to fear Rockefeller.
Because the lord was a debtor, and Rockefeller was the creditor who had to pay him.
However, if Rockefeller took the place left by the lord, the relationship between the lord and Rockefeller could not be so good.
The lord who has lost his place will never have a crush on the Los Medici family.
But do the daughter of such a person and her brother have feelings for each other?
‘I don’t know exactly what kind of relationship the two have, but I don’t really like it.’
Of course, since we were from the same hometown, we were able to get along well within the military academy.
But Rockefeller didn’t want the relationship to develop into deeper feelings.
‘Last time, I asked in a floating way… … .’
Fearing that he would break up with the lord, Rockefeller had sent a letter to Andrew in a previous letter stating that he should never be friends with the lord’s daughter.
Of course, Andrew didn’t know why.
‘Cause I’ve explained everything.
‘Should I ask again this time? Now that Andrew is all grown up, I’ll tell you for sure. Whether the lord’s daughter has feelings or not.’
The best scenario would be to broaden Andrew’s horizons and make eye contact with a woman other than the lord’s daughter.
That would be the best thing for any noble girl like the lord’s daughter.
‘It would be great if… … .’
However, it was difficult to achieve what Rockefeller had envisioned.
Because Andrew was still a commoner, and as Andrew wrote in his letter, there were certainly limits to what he could enjoy as a commoner.
‘If Andrew wants to get involved with other noble maidens, I must first become the lord. Only when that precedes Andrew will be able to break free from the yoke of commoners and freely meet noble young girls.’
The grand plan that had been carried out for three years to occupy the territory of Montefeltro was now slowly seeing the light of day.
‘I’m almost to the point I had in mind. Now I just need to get past the last hurdle.’
last hiatus.
It was the totem war that was about to end.
‘When the war ends here, many mercenaries here will return to their original areas.’
Most of the funds used to defend the estate were in two types of IOUs brought by the lord from Carter Banco.
IOUs and IOUs of Gold.
These two IOUs are being used to defend the territory like ‘money’.
‘It’s actually fake money we printed. People think it’s funny that all the gold coins on the IOU are here. That’s not it.’
The lord was not using ‘real money’ to defend the territory, but was using ‘fake money’ created by Carter Banco, and the ‘fake money’ was being used like ‘real money’ among the mercenaries.
And that ‘fake money’ had to be replaced with ‘real money’ someday.
‘When the war is over, the mercenaries will want to exchange all their IOUs for talents. If the Gold IOU issued by our store can be used anywhere on the continent, there is no need to exchange it, but unfortunately, the IOUs they have are only used in this region. So, you’ll want to exchange them for talents.’
What if mercenaries come to Carter Banco to exchange for gold coins, but there is not enough gold in Carter Banco, so there is a problem?
If such a problem occurred, a major accident called a bank run might have occurred.
‘When there’s a bank run, it’s all over. Until now, I have survived only on credit without any gold coins, but a bank run means that the credit is completely destroyed.’
But the bank run Rockefeller feared also happened when all of Carter Banco’s credibility and trust had collapsed.
In other words, a bank run could be avoided if Carter Banco’s credibility and trust were strong.
‘Gold coins that the mercenaries take in exchange, there’s nothing you can do about it. Because they don’t need a IOU here. The important thing is that our credit shouldn’t be compromised in the process.’
The bank run was all a matter of credit.
If people’s perceptions do not erase the idea that Carter Banco is sturdy, the people of the estate will not come to Banco to find their gold coins and exchange ‘fake money (IOU)’ for ‘real money (talents)’.
Then Carter Banco will be able to deceive everyone with fake money printed out of the air, as he has always done.
And if you can continue that deception… … .
‘I will become richer than I am now.’
First of all, in order to announce the soundness of Carter Banco, it was necessary to secure a sufficient amount of gold coins in advance for a large-scale exchange to come.
That way, Carter Banco’s stability in people’s perceptions will be solid.
‘So, the problem to be solved right now is to supply the required amount of gold coins in advance in case of a large-scale exchange to come soon.’
As always.
Rockefeller always had a plan.
‘I’ve thought about that too.’
The bank, the next step for Banco, has always had to be strong and large.
‘The bigger the money you roll, the more useful you can cope with this kind of situation.’
And if the amount of money you roll is large, the interest income will also be large.
In that sense… … .
‘It’s quite possible to pay 3% monthly interest to our lovely Carter Banco customers.’
Why?
Because ‘loan interest’ is always higher than ‘deposit interest’.
At this moment, Rockefeller felt my lips curve long.
‘Would you like to grow a little bigger now? Let’s play properly.’