Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Lubeck Central Bank (1)
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*Swoosh—*
The crowbar, made of Ethernel, swung with a rather pleasant sound.
The weight felt good, and the grip was perfect. With this, couldn't I break even more heads?
“You're insane. You're truly the most insane person in this dwarf's life. A crowbar from a master dwarven craftsman.”
Dwalin sighed as he watched Kratos, who was smiling more happily holding the crowbar than when he had received the hammer.
The miracle Kratos had performed in the desert had already spread throughout the mercenary corps. Dwalin, too, had heard the news in quite some detail.
So, he had planned to craft a decent piece of armor as a reward if Kratos asked for one, but out of nowhere, a crowbar.
“As expected of you, Dwalin. This is amazing. The weight is nice and heavy, too.”
“You're probably the only person in the entire world who would make a crowbar out of Ethernel.”
“Hehe. I'll be sure to catch something like a Death Worm with this crowbar this time, too.”
He was quite a likable fellow. The way he treated weapons. And the way he knew their value.
Dwalin didn't dislike it, but not wanting to play along with Kratos's antics, he waved his hand dismissively.
“Just take that. I made some armor with the leftover material. It should be useful for a reckless bastard like you.”
“Oh! Thank you for your grace!”
Then, pointing to the armor he had worked on in his spare time, he strode back into the forge.
“Hmm. Are the preparations all done now?”
He slung the hammer on his back and equipped the crowbar to his side, ready to be drawn at any moment.
With his preparations complete, he planned to leave immediately.
“The mission just ended. You should be resting. Where are you off to so soon?”
“I have some business to attend to. Got to take care of it when I have the time.”
On his way out of the headquarters, the comrades on guard duty clicked their tongues at the sight of Kratos heading out on personal business before even recovering from the fatigue of the mission.
Unit 10, which had been on the same mission, was still recuperating.
“Come back safe. Keep the emergency contact line open at all times.”
“See you when I get back.”
Fortunately, the first destination was relatively close. He planned to go to the nearest city and take a train to his final destination.
“This should be far enough.”
Had he been walking for about an hour? Looking around, he saw no one. He couldn't sense any presence either.
With a flourish of his cloak, Kratos's face transformed from its usual appearance to that of an old man in his twilight years. His attire also changed from armor to a neat but aged robe.
“Nice. I haven't lost my touch!”
His gait slowed, and his slightly stooped back was, to anyone who saw him, the very image of an old man.
His face was a little older than the last time he had transformed into Da Vinci.
After all, it had been over twenty years since he'd last taken on Da Vinci's appearance. This was just an age adjustment, an age adjustment.
And so, in the guise of Da Vinci, Kratos slowly and leisurely made his way toward the city.
He figured it would probably take about three days to reach his destination.
***
In the past, my first profession after coming to this other world was that of an inventor.
Think about it. A young man in his twenties from Earth was dragged into a world of swords and magic.
Unlike here, on Earth, death was a concept both near and yet infinitely distant.
But do you think one can just pick up a sword and start killing monsters and people right away? It's not an easy thing to do. Nor could I use magic immediately.
That's why the first profession I chose was an inventor. Combining it with my knowledge from Earth, I created quite a few inventions. The magitech train was one of my inventions, too.
Without anyone realizing it, I was the one who sowed the seeds to transform this medieval fantasy world into a magitech era!
Hooray for my memory!
Anyway, thanks to that, almost no one knew that I was the person behind the Da Vinci identity. After all, the persona I used to begin my public activities in earnest was Arsène Lupin.
“You may pass, Mr. Da Vinci. However, it would be best if you renewed your identification.”
“Thank you. I've been living in the mountains for so long, I forgot.”
To think the identification I made in the past still works! And in the Empire under martial law, no less.
High praise for my past self, who established the Arsène Lupin identity first.
“The entire Empire is under martial law. If you see anyone acting suspiciously, please report them to the guard. We ask that you refrain from causing any unnecessary disturbances.”
“Ho ho. You're all working hard. I hope those wretched fiends are caught soon.”
Children and the elderly are the best identities for lowering people's guard. Who would think someone in such a weak guise would cause a disturbance?
“You should also be careful not to get caught up in anything, old man. Next!”
The place he arrived at was Lubeck, a perfect capitalist city where all sorts of things coexisted, including a black market, inventors, auction houses, banks, and a Mage Tower.
It was the city where he had been most active under the name Da Vinci, and the largest city in the Empire aside from the capital.
“Let's see... This place hasn't changed all that much, thankfully.”
It's just grown larger in volume.
After entering a simple pattern and renewing his identification, he found the central district was just as he remembered it.
Then again, it made sense. The central district had to be packed with the rich and powerful.
“Wow. It's gotten ridiculously big... no, ahem. This place has gotten even bigger. Heh heh.”
And even in Lubeck, on the largest building in the central district, were large, gold-leafed letters.
‘Lubeck Central Bank’
Whoa—it's gotten huge. Back in my day, it was just a small regional bank.
I feel a sense of pride. To think the bank I frequented simply because it was the closest has now grown to the point of bearing the name Lubeck Central Bank.
I wonder if a lot of interest has accrued?
The greatest advantage of this bank is that, much like a Swiss bank, it never divulges the secrets of those who entrust it with their assets.
One might think this doesn't fit an era of monarchy, but it was possible precisely because its biggest clients were royalty and nobles. Everyone has a secret or two they want to hide.
It was quite a peculiar system, but it had managed to establish a symbiotic relationship and a neutral position very well.
“Welcome to Lubeck Central Bank. How may I help you?”
As he entered the bank, a receptionist with a wide, practiced smile greeted him.
It was a strange facial expression. The mouth was smiling, but the eyes were completely indifferent.
If one were to read his inner thoughts, he was probably wondering, *Are you a first-floor customer or a second-floor customer?*
Well, this robe is a bit old. And it doesn't look aristocratic at all.
Heh heh, but one shouldn't judge by appearances. I'm a VIP.
“Sir—!”
With a completely different demeanor from when he passed through the city gates, Kratos scowled, ignored the receptionist, and approached the mana pattern slate for identity verification to input his pattern.
Heh. This is my invention, too. Though it seems to have been improved from the initial version.
The receptionist watched nervously as he entered the pattern.
Entering a mana pattern meant he was, at the very least, not a first-floor customer.
If he was a high-floor customer and a complaint was filed about the recent service, it would be a huge black mark on his performance review.
*Beep—*
A sound indicated the mana pattern input was complete, and on the screen, the name ‘Da Vinci’ and the word ‘VIP’ clearly appeared.
Take a taste of capitalism—
*Clatter-thump—*
Not even a few seconds later, the sound of something tumbling down the stairs from the upper floor could be heard.
“Welcome, Mr. Da Vinci! It's been a long time since your last visit!”
The receptionist bowed a full 90 degrees, and the employee who had practically flown down the stairs also bowed toward Kratos, hiding his pain.
“Welcome! To Lubeck Central Bank!”
It was like a scene from a comedy.
***
“It's been a long time since your last visit, sir. Phew. Not just a month or two, but nearly twenty years.”
“So? Is there a problem? I showed up because the time was right.”
At Kratos's prickly response, Lloyd Gianni, the man in charge of VIP clients, broke out in a cold sweat and shook his head vigorously.
“Oh, of course not. I was just asking out of concern since you haven't visited in so long. It has been a long time, after all.”
Da Vinci. The man who contributed most to the founding of Lubeck Central Bank. One of the bank's earliest VIPs.
At his peak, the amount of money he deposited was estimated to be in the billions of gold.
It was an amount so large that one would question if an individual, not a merchant guild, could ever earn it.
No one knew his true identity. Only that he was an inventor.
For such a man to suddenly appear after more than a decade? Even if he knew the pattern, shouldn't they be suspicious first?
And one more crucial fact.
‘Damn it. The deadline for the assets to revert to the bank was almost here. In just one more week, that money would have belonged to the bank.’
When Lubeck Bank was growing into the Central Bank, it had contacted all its clients once.
The notice stated that if an individual's deposits and stored items were not verified within five years, the assets could be reverted to the bank.
Naturally, there wasn't much backlash. The official notice itself was a joint creation of the Empire and the nobles, after all.
‘How am I supposed to explain this to the bank president? We had an agreement to divide that bastard's deposits with the nobles once they were reverted.’
The remaining sum was close to a hundred million. And that was despite him having withdrawn most of his money the last time he visited the bank.
“I'd like to retrieve my money and my things.”
“Ah, yes. Of course! We must. If you would please enter your identity verification pattern, I will escort you to the vault.”
Kratos unhesitatingly entered the pattern he had set in the past.
“Verification complete. If you'll just wait a moment, I will be right with you.”
“Hurry it up. Why does it take so long to withdraw money from a bank? I'm just getting what's mine.”
“Ah. The procedures have become more complicated these days because of martial law and what not. If you could just wait a little longer.”
At Kratos's rebuke, Lloyd Gianni gave an awkward laugh and quickly returned to his office to make an emergency call to the bank president.
- What is it? I'm in an important meeting.
“Da Vinci. He's appeared.”
- What?! That Da Vinci bastard? Now? Fuck. The deadline is in one week! And he shows up now!
“What should I do?”
Lloyd Gianni asked the question, hoping for a solution, but it wasn't as if the bank president had an answer.
What reason was there to stop a client from exercising his legitimate rights?
Unless they were to take it by force.
- For now, give it to him. Stall for time. What does the bastard look like?
“An old man. Looks to be... over 70.”
- Is he a mage?
“I don't think he's a mage. His robe is just an old, worn-out thing that looks like it's from twenty years ago. There was definitely no emblem of a magical school on it. He's not carrying a staff or anything like that, either.”
- So he's not a mage, just a powerless old man...?
He didn't know who this man's backers were, but their own backers were the Imperial family and the central nobles.
Besides, it wasn't like they were going to keep the money for themselves. They were going to offer it all up and just pick up the scraps that fell.
Yes, in that case, they could just take it. If they did, it wouldn't be an offering; it could be an opportunity for them to take more money for themselves.
- Alright, I understand. Stall him for an hour. Just one hour until he leaves the bank.
“Understood.”
- Do not fail.
The communication ended. Only then did Gianni rub his shin, where a wave of pain was setting in.
He'd been so startled by the alarm signaling Da Vinci's arrival. His legs had gotten tangled as he came down the stairs, and he'd taken a proper tumble.
He glanced at the clock and straightened his clothes. The president had ordered one hour. It was tight, but he thought he could just barely manage it.
“Hoo. I can do this. If I pull this off, my future is set. I might even become the bank president.”
Suddenly, a rosy future painted itself in his mind. All he had to do was hand over the money slowly, right?
“I can do it. I can do this.”
***
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
When he re-entered the VIP room, the grumpy old man met his eyes, the corner of his mouth curling up.
A sudden chill ran down his spine.
“Are you done? Well then, let's go get my money.”
He said, with what looked very much like a villain's smile.