Became an Assistant at the Bank #3(1)
They paid 3 shillings for the exchange fee? What kind of fools are they, got ripped off big time.'
Hound Mercenary Captain Karl had arrived in front of the Banko located in the Montefeltro territory to safely store the advance payment received for his current mission.
He couldn't believe his subordinates, who hadn't even blinked in front of the most ferocious monster weapons, got ridiculously overcharged by a mere boy at a frontier Banco.
‘How naive must they have looked to get ripped off by a green kid. Well, those used to chasing the scent of blood on the battlefield wouldn't know much about bargaining.’
Karl cleared his throat loudly to make his presence known.
While thinking to himself,
‘Proper bargaining, you see, should be done just like I do it.’
Confidently believing he would fare differently, Karl entered Banco, only to soon hear something utterly preposterous.
"What? How much are you asking for the gold coin storage fee?"
Rockefeller repeated what he had just said in a bland tone, as the man who was bigger and looked more fierce than the mercenaries who had come the day before wore a baffled expression.
"You said you'd be depositing 150 dalant, right? The storage fee is 10 percent of the total amount, which makes it 15 dalant."
Karl's face betrayed his surprise as he heard the perfectly repeated phrase, not missing a single beat.
His face turned as red as a beet.
"15 dalant? What nonsense is this! A storage fee of 10 percent of the amount deposited? This is madness. Utter madness."
Like many other customers before him, he decided to end this absurd conversation and confront the shop owner directly.
He thought it better to settle the matter face-to-face with the shop owner than to argue with a boy who clearly wasn't the owner.
"Enough of this, where is the owner? You're certainly not the owner, are you?"
"Why are you looking for the owner?"
"Well, I want to negotiate directly with the shop owner, not you. What kind of storage fee is this!"
"There's no need for that. I'm in charge of all transactions here regarding loans and gold storage."
"A young kid like you? Are you saying you're the owner here?"
"Not exactly."
Rockefeller flashed a smile that didn't quite suit him.
"Meeting the boss won't change much. In fact, I might be better than the boss, you know?"
At that remark, Carter, who was making gold coins inside the shop, frowned slightly.
'What audacity? Asking for 10 percent of the amount deposited as a gold coin storage fee.'
Most banks charged about 3 percent as a storage fee for gold coins.
While a 3 percent storage fee wasn't small, it was sometimes a decent option for those who wanted to safely store their gold or needed to hide it from everyone.
Additionally, there was something called a gold coin storage certificate made of paper, which was very portable, making it an excellent choice for those who couldn’t carry a lot of gold coins on their own.
But 10 percent for a gold coin storage fee!
'What if the client leaves because of this? The amount they deposited isn't small either. It's a whopping 150 dalants. That's a huge sum.'
As Carter hesitated whether to step in or not, the conversation between Rockefeller and the mercenary leader Karl continued amidst all this.
"We safely store the gold coins and even provide a certificate of deposit for you to retrieve them at any time, right? So, it's only natural that we charge a storage fee for the trouble."
"Who's complaining about the storage fee? The problem is not that. It's about this bank charging a whopping 10 percent for it. Which bank in the world charges 10 percent for storing gold coins? At most, they charge 3 percent, and in places like Capital and Lyon, some banks only charge 1 percent. Are you totally unaware of this?"
"Of course, I'm aware. I've heard that banks in Capital and Lyon do that. But that's there, and this is here."
"What do you mean?"
"In this territory, our store is the only bank, and since the owner is close with the lord, there's no risk of our business failing, making it very safe. Therefore, it's only natural for our storage fee to be higher. It's about the premium we add."
"What kind of premium could a tiny bank in such a remote place possibly add?"
"Of course, there's a premium. Our store is a member of the largest Lyon guild among the bank unions. In other words, we're a store you can trust."
"You're joking."
"As we are affiliated with the Lyon Guild, any gold coins entrusted to us can be retrieved at any bank of the Lyon Guild. So, considering various aspects, it's only natural that we add a premium to the usual storage fee."
Rockefeller added another comment while Karl couldn't respond.
"And this is a frontier area, after all. The cost of living is high."
Karl frowned, seemingly realizing something wasn't right.
'Even so, taking 10 percent as a storage fee is just not acceptable.'
"Forget it. Instead of paying a 10 percent storage fee, I'll handle it somehow. What's this about 10 percent?"
Thinking it was about time, Rockefeller stopped the argument and began to make a secretive offer.
"Hey, mister."
Rockefeller glanced around the inside of the shop and then started speaking in a low, secretive voice.
Of course, it was all a planned act.
"This is something the shop owner here shouldn't know about. Actually, the idea of taking as much as 10 percent for gold coin storage is something this gentleman here came up with."
Rockefeller continued, observing the changes in his expression.
"It does seem a bit excessive, doesn't it? A mere 10 percent for gold coin storage fees. This is practically daylight robbery. Even in Lyon, they charge at most 3 percent."
Feeling that there might be a chance to negotiate a lower fee, Karl naturally lowered his voice and asked.
"So, what are you trying to say?"
"I’ll secretly charge you just 6 percent, without the owner knowing. Just 6 percent. How about that? Not too bad, right?"
