"Then we have to collect our gold coins before we leave this place. We were all paid with these, right?"
The mercenary who finished speaking pulled out a paper promissory note from his pocket.
It was undoubtedly a promissory note called Gold, issued by Carter Bank.
Seeing the promissory note, the other mercenaries around them also began to take out similar promissory notes from various places on their bodies.
Some from their chests, others from their bags, and some from their groin area.
They had been hiding their money, which was as precious as their lives, somewhere on their bodies until this day.
"It's really convenient. If we had gold coins, we would have been robbed a hundred times."
"Since it's made of paper, it must have been less likely to be stolen. Because it's made of paper, it can be hidden somehow."
"But how do you keep it there? It'll smell."
"Shut up. What does it matter to you where someone hides it? The bank takes these anyway. Or are you going to exchange it?"
"Forget it. Go talk to the bank. I'm not interested."
The mercenaries finished speaking and stared intently at the promissory notes they had taken out.
Then, suddenly, they had a question.
"It's strange here. They use these like money."
It was an unusual usage.
"Yeah, it was a bit surprising to me too."
"Do you remember when people went crazy when they said they would pay our wages with these instead of gold coins? They said this isn't money."
"That's right."
"Some people accepted it after seeing the bank easily exchange it."
"But there were still some people who insisted on gold coins. They got robbed in the middle, haha!"
"Really? They got robbed?"
"Hey, which is easier to hide, gold coins or these? It's obvious. They just don't know their place. If they're not smart, they deserve it."
"But it's still... pitiful, isn't it?"
"Leave them be, it's none of our business. All we have to do is take these to the bank and exchange them for gold coins."
The convenience of the promissory note.
The mercenaries, who were discussing the convenience of paper currency, secretly hoped that the currency system they were enjoying would spread widely.
Because it was convenient.
"It would be nice if this spread throughout the whole empire, not just here. For people like us, it's more convenient to carry than gold coins, right?"
Then one of the mercenaries started talking about a fatal problem they had known from the beginning but had now forgotten.
"Hey, what if these paper scraps can't be exchanged for gold coins?"
At that question, the mercenaries were momentarily speechless.
No one stepped forward to answer confidently.
"No way."
"Hey, Carter Bank is solid. I know it's safe there, at least."
Instead, most of them showed a strong belief in the bank and tried not to consider the worst-case scenario.
Why?
Because if there were problems with the bank where many people had deposited their gold coins, it would cause a huge issue.
So they thought there would be no problem and went through today comfortably.
"They'll exchange 100% of it at the bank. No matter how many promissory notes you bring, they'll exchange them all. I've seen it. They exchanged 500 Dalant on the spot last time."
"What? 500 Dalant each?"
"Yeah, 500 Dalant."
The amount of gold coins they would exchange at the bank would not even reach 500 Dalant.
But did they need to discuss the safety of Carter Bank, which had exchanged 500 Dalant at once?
"Then there's no problem. If they can exchange 500 Dalant on the spot."
"Hey, I told you it's safe there. It's a really big place if it can lend that much money to the lord. There's no problem."
However, there are always people with many doubts in any group.
"Hey, do you know? Honestly, these are just paper scraps. What if they suddenly don't exchange them?"
But even with that worry, everyone shook their heads.
Their trust in Carter Bank in this territory was that solid.
"If you're so suspicious, you should try exchanging it first. I'm planning to exchange it safely when we leave."
"Me too."
"It's better than being robbed by some random guy while carrying gold coins."
"It's safest here in my groin. No one can steal it here. And since it's paper, it doesn't show even if I hide it here. It's the best."
"Stop talking dirty. There are plenty of places to hide it other than there."
Their faith in Carter Bank remained, but one of them suggested something due to the inconvenience of exchanging.
"Hey, since we're leaving, it's going to be a huge hassle if all these people exchange for gold coins at once, right? Why don't we just go to the bank tomorrow and exchange them for gold coins in advance? I don't think we'll have time to exchange them later. There are so many people here."
Since they talked about leaving, they wouldn't be here for much longer.
Once the departure began, it was natural for them to get busy.
Many mercenaries in the group began to agree with one mercenary's suggestion.
"So, should we exchange them tomorrow? We're leaving here in a few days anyway. As they say, I don't think we'll have time to go to the bank?"
"Okay, let's all go together tomorrow. We don't have anything else to do anyway."
"Agreed!"
"Alright, let's go get our gold coins at the bank tomorrow."
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