Episode 83 20. Guild Meeting (3)
As he looked concerned, Rockefeller spoke right away.
“This time, you have to become the Holy Father. After all, the seat is not determined by heaven, but by the person who sits in it.”
It was too high a place that I had assured that I would not be able to climb it.
A banco assistant was poking at something he had never even thought of before.
At this moment, Bishop Berkis had only this thought in his mind.
Is it really possible?
In fact, I had never done such an effort before.
He knew from the beginning that money was the most important thing to get attention from the denomination.
So, he wrapped around the most despised banco traders in the denomination and made a way for them to do business with ease.
Bishop Berkis, who began to recall the past, broke his luck.
“It was great back then. Unlike other members of the church, when I promote banco companies, the donations are well collected, and I can be seen well in the church with the donations.”
The funds collected from the Diocese of Lyon naturally flowed to the Imperial Palace, and with the full support of Pope Felix III at the time, he was elevated to the position of Archbishop.
“At that time, relations with the Holy Father were not so bad… … His alien forces were the problem.”
However, a movement to contain him suddenly emerged from within the denomination, and the denominations, who were trying to get a hold of it, began to take issue with what he had done, namely, the work surrounding the banco contractors.
“I have a close relationship with the banco vendors. Why did you rescue those who are going to hell? There were so many words. I did it knowing that it was obvious where all the donations came from. I guess I was just blind A guy who used to be a priest suddenly rose to the rank of Archbishop. Still, the Holy Father was on my side.”
Again, I had to hear the rumors myself to know them properly.
“Didn’t you think your relationship with the Holy Father wasn’t bad at that time?”
“right. It was really good back then. The reason it went wrong was because of the reduced donations.”
With a bitter expression on his face, he continued.
“But I don’t know if it’s because of the reduced donations or because of the factions that were estranged from the side. In any case, the attitude toward me has changed since the donation decreased, but I am not sure if it was because of the reduced donation or the faction that was estranged from the side. It could just be that those times coincidentally overlapped.”
“Such things have happened to you, Bishop.”
“Still, it would have been better if I had been a little more pushy back then and had raised the donations more. No matter how alienating the forces, if they donate so much money, they can’t even make a sound.”
“Didn’t the donation to the Ministry of Justice not increase further at that time?”
Bishop Berkis naturally shook his head.
“It was hard. At that time, it was too much. The donation was made by squeezing and squeezing banco vendors… … Anyway, the donation has not increased since that day, and it has been like this since it decreased to some extent. no progress So even the church started not paying attention.”
Bishop Berkis said to Rockefeller.
“I’m sorry for saying something useless all of a sudden. I didn’t know you would tell me such a thing. I’m going to ask you if you don’t want to become a pope… … To be honest, I used to have that kind of greed too. What kind of seat is that? It’s not a place where anyone can sit, but in a way, it’s a higher seat than the emperor, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“It’s a place closer to John than anyone else. It’s such a place… … .”
As he swallowed the slurred words, Rockefeller opened his mouth in a strong voice.
“It is possible.”
Bishop Berkis responded to that word.
“Is it possible?”
“Yeah, you can do it with me.”
“Then do you think there is no hope at all now?”
Rockefeller smiled softly at the question.
“Don’t you know better now than I do? How are you? Do you think it is possible in your view?”
Bishop Berkis’s voice continued for a long time.
Certainly, as Rockefeller said, the present reality was only grim.
“If things go well here in Banco, I don’t know. Banco vendors, if they make good money, they don’t want to go to hell, so they donate a lot. But I don’t know when, but those businesses aren’t growing at all. In my view, if those businesses are to grow bigger than they are now, they will need to borrow more money than they are now… … But it’s not easy. It doesn’t look like that.”
His words continued.
“There may be various reasons why the amount of money loaned out does not increase significantly, but I am in a position to appease the Emperor by receiving donations from such businesses, and the guild leader here is thinking of plundering gold coin storage fees. So, the amount of money coming in doesn’t increase, so it’s like this.”
Rockefeller said strongly to him, sighing.
“If you are with me, it will definitely change.”
“Can it be different if I’m with you?”
“Yes, I can assure you. At least it will be very different from what it is now.”
Bishop Berkis gave him a brief tongue-in-cheek.
“Look. I don’t really trust talkative people. There are a lot of people around you who are just talking about making me a pope like you. Those are the kind of people you see when you’re bored. So let me be specific about it so I can trust you. You’re asking me to explain so I can understand how you’re going to help me.”
Rockefeller got a feeling from this point.
The fact that Bishop Berkis has come this far means that his fate may change depending on this conversation.
“First of all, the most important thing that Bishop Berkis needs is, unfortunately, donations. There may be people who say to the church members what the donation is going to be.”
Bishop Berkis, who was listening to Rockefeller, suddenly interrupted.
“Okay. There is no need to package such things, and donations are the top priority. That’s not what I’m good at.”
“greatness! you’re right. Donations are important. However, donating money does not mean that it is forcibly removed. When the surrounding conditions are adequate, the donation will naturally follow.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“At this point, Prince Benjamin is not at all helpful to the Lyon Guild.”
Bishop Berkis looked a little surprised at Rockefeller speaking firmly.
“What do you mean? Are you saying that Benjamin doesn’t suit the guild leader at all?”
“Yes, in my view, Benjamin is rather a big obstacle to the development of the guild. The interest payment from this gold coin deposit is a big problem just by blocking the business.”
“It’s an interest-paying business, it’s just a matter of me and his interests. Why is that a problem for the guild leader?”
“Do you really think so?”
It’s a Banco thing, Bishop Berkis wasn’t familiar with it.
Bishop Berkis tucked his teeth in the hope of hearing what he had to say.
“Keep talking.”
“As your Excellency Bishop said earlier, the banco business here need more gold coins to lend to others if they want to expand their lending business to a greater extent than before.”
“That’s right. The more gold you have, the more loans you will get.”
“Then I will ask you here. Would people be willing to entrust their life’s worth of gold to gold coin storage or ripped bancoes? Or would you rather leave it to Banco, which takes care of the interest as well? Assuming both are the same Bancor.”
There was nothing to think about.
“Of course, I will leave it to the place that pays the interest. As long as both of them are fine Banco.”
“That’s right. This interest-paying business is actually better for our loan business. Even if I don’t know, if the banco dealers here start a business that pays interest, all the hidden money in Lyon will be flocked to banco. Then there will be more money to lend, and the loan business will flourish.”
Bishop Berkis, who was interested in Rockefeller’s words, trimmed his beard.
“Oh hey. There was such a thing.”
“Of course, you may think that paying interest is not worth it and it is a loss to the banco business. But that’s just adjusting the interest rate for depositing gold coins. When we lend you gold coins, we get 6% interest on the loan each month. And I offered the Bishop an interest of 3 percent on a deposit.”
Bishop Berkis shook his head.
“That’s right. It was three percent.”
“Then you can only offer 1 percent interest to other people. No, even 0% doesn’t matter. After all, it’s an advantage for them not to pay the gold storage fee.”
At that moment, Bishop Berkis made an expression that he understood.
“Right. There was such a thing.”
“If that happens, Banco will be able to lend more gold coins than it is now, and the resulting profit will increase significantly. The interest income on the loan is far greater than the cost of storing a few pennies of gold.”
Rockefeller continued.
“Sir, Bishop. Please do not forget that the main source of income for Banco is interest income from gold coin loans. There are many people who are reluctant to keep gold coins by themselves, so you can’t make a lot of money from that.”
Bishop Berkis shook his head again to see if he sympathized.
“You are right. Because I was too bothered by his gold coin storage fee.”
“If your Excellency Bishop agrees with me, then Prince Benjamin is not going to be of any help to the development of the guild.”
Bishop Berkis asked Rockefeller if something was missing.
“Did you explain enough to Benjamin about that?”
“You don’t even want to understand without me needing to explain. Rather, you are more defending the existing form of receiving only gold coin storage fees. And if a person like me starts a business that pays interest, the existing business that receives gold coin storage fees will be completely destroyed.
There seems to be no rest.
Rockefeller continued.
“During my few days here, I met some banco vendors. They have different ideas, but there are people who agree with me and try to run an interest-paying business like me.”
“okay?”
“But it seems that the guild leader was noticing, so he couldn’t dare to do it. How many people in Lyon can rebel against the Lyonians?”
“There won’t be one. Who would do that to our family members?”
“Now Benjamin Ball is just that. At least in Lyon, he is in absolute power. How much more can you, even the Bishop, come from the same clan, who will go against his will? No one.”
From what Rockefeller said, the Lyon Guild seemed to have no possibility of development due to the guild leader being completely blocked.
“after… … .”
Still, he was of the same family.
Rockefeller continued to push on him as he sighed heavily.
“I am well aware that this is a very difficult task for the Bishop. Wouldn’t it be better for a member of the same family to occupy the guild leader’s position than a guy who doesn’t mix with a single drop of blood and has no roots like me?”
At this moment, Rockefeller’s eyes became infinitely serious.
“But you should know this. As long as Benjamin Ball remains seated. My interest business will go out of business as it is, and your Excellency Bishop will have to continue to settle for reality. How can you think of the former position of Archbishop and, even further, the position of the Holy Father, when the surrounding environment does not change at all? That is impossible.”