“But it seems you also need a lot of money, sir. To me, it looks like you already have enough.”
Upon hearing those words, he nodded his head listlessly.
"It's not like that. It's just... I'm disappointed about this deal. It's somewhat of a black market transaction, right? But if the risk outweighs the profit, it's naturally disappointing."
"The lord came earlier to borrow money, didn't he? Can't you make a lot by lending money to the lord? He has good credit as a lord."
"I do make money. Of course, I do."
Although he tried not to show it, Carter reluctantly admitted it, feeling a contradiction in what he had said.
"Even so, the interest from there is just 6 percent. No, it was reduced to 4 percent. Yes, you're right. Even I, to others, may seem very rich, but the reality is different."
Rockefeller showed a slightly surprised expression as part of his act.
"You already have a lot of money, right? And you still think it's not enough?"
"Hey, kid. Put yourself in my shoes. The more money, the better, obviously."
"True, no one hates having money."
"Money, you see, no matter how much you have, it's never enough. You might not understand it now since you're still young, but just wait until you're a bit older. You'll be absolutely obsessed with it."
Rockefeller had no intention of denying his words.
'I know. I'm just like you, obsessed with money.'
Rockefeller, pretending to be ignorant, threw a very simple question at him.
"But uncle, this just occurred to me. You lend money to others and earn interest, right?"
What was he going to say this time?
Carter nodded absentmindedly in response.
"That's right. So, what about it?"
"So, if you lend out a lot of money, you'd receive a lot of interest, right?"
"Of course."
"Then please lend a lot of money. Wouldn't that significantly increase your interest earnings?"
Honestly, he hadn't expected much, but it was indeed a pitifully naive question from a child.
Who wouldn't know that?
"Sure, as you say, lending more would increase the interest income. But here's the thing."
"Yes? Is there a problem?"
"Of course, there's a problem. I need to have a lot of money to lend a lot, right? But do you think someone like me, doing business in this remote backwater, would have that much gold?"
Rockefeller tilted his head as if he had been waiting for the question.
"Isn't there a lot of gold here? I know you make gold coins, but you also store gold for others, right?"
Carter frowned before answering.
"That's not my gold. It belongs to the people who entrusted their gold to me. It's not mine."
"Then, can't you lend out the gold that people have entrusted here?"
"What a foolish boy! Think about it. What would happen to me if the people who entrusted their gold came to me demanding their gold back immediately?"
Carter thought Rockefeller was naive about reality.
"Listen carefully. For a goldsmith like me, trust and credibility are everything. Imagine if such rumors started spreading. Who would entrust their gold to me then?"
Carter clicked his tongue.
"Tsk, tsk, you mustn't do such things. I may be crazy about gold, but I'm not that immoral. And if such rumors reached the lord, what would become of me? Not only would I be punished, but I would also be thrown out of here immediately."
Carter thought the foolish boy who had asked him a question understood his words well.
'If this guy had worked in the banco like I did, he might have ended up like those big shots doing grand business in Lyon. Contrary to my first impression, he seems to be a very dangerous fellow.'
But that was a misconception of his own.
Rockefeller was still facing him with a sly smile.
"How strange. Sir, have you ever, in your life, had people who entrusted you with gold coins all come at once demanding their gold back?"
Unable to answer that question, Carter was momentarily struck dumb.
He had unexpectedly encountered a complication in a conversation he thought he was winning.
"Well…"
Carter trailed off, pondering whether such a situation had ever occurred.
It had not. Not even once.
As Rockefeller had said, there had never been a day when everyone who had entrusted him with their gold coins came all at once to reclaim them.
"Well, there's never been such an occasion, but still, isn't there a chance, however slim? I'm just being cautious because of that slim possibility."
Rockefeller continued with a sly smile towards Carter.
"Anyway, the people who entrusted their gold coins to you are unlikely to all come at the same time to take back what they've entrusted, right? If that's the case, why not secretly lend out some of those gold coins? You could earn interest and make a profit without anyone knowing."
At this moment, only one thought crossed Carter's mind.
'Yes, there was a reason why those guys in Lyon were so brazen in their business.'
Not everyone would come at the same time to retrieve all their gold coins.
That was the secret behind their audacity.
'I've never in my life seen the vault completely empty. Not even once.'
Seizing the moment, Rockefeller drove his point home.
"Until this day, the credit and trust you've built up over your lifetime remain intact. Even if the vault inside this shop were to become completely empty, the people who entrusted their gold coins to you would have no idea, right? Because they believe their gold is safely stored here, don't they?"
