There were continuous unpleasant actions, but Rockefeller did not show his feelings and first greeted him.
"Nice to meet you. I am Rockefeller Rothsmedici from Montefeltro territory. Please call me Rockefeller."
As he greeted, the elderly man who was with him warned him.
"That person is a member of the Lyon family, the leader of the Lyon guild, and also holds the position of a viscount. Behave like a commoner and show respect."
Rockefeller nodded briefly, indicating he understood, and the old man stepped back and stood quietly.
As this happened, the guild leader continued to berate Rockefeller.
"I bet you didn't know this, but I've been wanting to meet you. I was really curious about what kind of person you were."
Although the uncomfortable atmosphere persisted, Rockefeller decided not to act rashly, as he had something to gain from the guild leader.
After glaring at Rockefeller for a while, Benjamin finally cracked a smile and stood up from his seat.
"Right! You have a very impressive idea. Paying interest to those who deposit gold!"
Guild leader Benjamin dismissed the old man with a wave of his hand.
Then he continued his conversation with Rockefeller at the table where only the two of them remained.
"Honestly, when I first heard about it, I thought Carter was half mad."
Rockefeller decided to listen quietly to what Benjamin had to say.
"Did his brain rot from being stuck in such a remote place, or did he decide to suck up to the church in hopes of going to heaven? I really couldn't understand how he came up with such a crazy idea. I mean, it's not logical to pay interest when we should be collecting gold storage fees, right? Why don't you answer that?"
"Yes, as you thought, it's not a logical thing to do."
"That's right, it's not logical. Absolutely not."
Benjamin's expression was not good, as if he had many grievances against Rockefeller.
"But then a very funny thing happened. Until now, Bishop Verkis, who had been paying me gold storage fees and entrusting me with his gold, left his own family and went to a complete stranger to entrust his gold. What's that about?"
Despite Benjamin's glaring gaze, Rockefeller's expression remained unchanged.
At Rockefeller's boldness, Benjamin naturally began to nod his head.
"I understand why. They get interest when they deposit there. Although I don't understand it, it's obviously better for those who deposit gold to receive interest than to pay gold storage fees."
Rockefeller could feel a certain hatred in Benjamin's gaze.
"But do you know who got hurt because of that?"
Rockefeller answered as if he had been waiting.
"I think I have a rough idea."
"That's right, you know well. Because you came up with that idea, I'm the one who's suffering here. Someone who doesn't know anything about it is having a hard time because of your strange ideas!"
After finishing his words, Benjamin calmed down his excitement and returned to his seat.
"Alright. I don't know why you did such a thing. Maybe it was a mistake. There hasn't been a single person who has done business like that until now."
There was a certain thorn in his continuing words.
"But if someone gets hurt because of that, and that someone is a pretty important person."
Finally, Benjamin forced a smile.
"Isn't it only natural for a subordinate to reconsider that?"
Now it was Rockefeller's turn to speak.
Before answering, Rockefeller thought for a moment and realized that he was at a crossroads.
'Do I choose the unintended connection with the bishop, or do I start a new relationship with the guild leader here?'
If he sides with the guild leader and withdraws the interest-paying business he has been doing, it was clear that his relationship with Bishop Verkis would worsen.
The church, like the guild leader here, was a place where old-fashioned ideas were deeply rooted.
'If I withdraw the interest-paying business, Bishop Verkis will probably question my faith. It's obvious even if I don't see it.'
Both options were too extreme, so Rockefeller decided to try to persuade Benjamin first.
"Now it's my turn to answer, but before I do, I have one question I'd like to ask."
"You have a question?"
"Yes."
"Go ahead and ask."
"Do you, Lord Benjamin, have a negative opinion about the business I've done?"
"Negative?"
Guild leader Benjamin let out an incredulous chuckle.
"Do you think it's normal to pay interest when you should be collecting gold storage fees?"
"Well, not exactly, but when I compare loan interest and deposit interest, I don't think it's a loss. Rather, if we collect a lot of funds by using deposit interest as bait, wouldn't we be able to do bigger lending businesses?"
However, not everyone shared Rockefeller's thoughts.
Benjamin shook his head outright.
"I don't think so at all. We're merchants. As merchants, we naturally think about making more money. There's no law dictating how we do business here, but I am the leader of this guild. From my business perspective, I can't accept your idea. Instead of paying interest, we should raise the trust in our bank and collect more gold storage fees."
"......"
Rockefeller couldn't believe their thoughts could be so different.
However, he soon came to understand.
The level of finance here was like that of a newborn baby.
That's why he thought that people here wouldn't understand his thoughts.
'I get it. These people are still ignorant about finance.'
"But doing it my way could be more profitable."
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