Imperial Express

The three of us stepped inside a magnificent building that was more of an art than a commercial space.

After passing by the forest of columns at the entrance, we got to a wide, spacious hall. Its floors were made with reflective stone while its walls were adorned with elaborate paintings depicting some sort of historical moments.

But in all honesty, I couldn't care less. I was only interested in the orderly set of booths lodged into both of the side walls of the main hall.

"Let's go," I hurried the rest of my group as I approached the nearest available counter.

"Hello there," I called out.

"Welcome to the Imperial Express," a young man sitting on the opposite side of the counter politely bowed his head. "How may I be of service?"

I beckoned at my younger brother, prompting him to pull out the tablet and place it on the counter.

"We are interested in opening a company tab with your bank."

I took the only seat at the counter and made myself comfortable while making both my younger brother and the imperial slave stand behind me.

"This is…?" the young clerk looked down at the tablet.

He glanced through its content in a second, quickly raising his eyes to my face… Only to do a double… and then triple take down at the tablet. Each time he looked down, his eyes turned wider than before. And by the time he finally gathered himself to look properly in my face…

"I'm sorry, but for this matter I better call one of my uncles," the young clerk reported before pushing the tablet back toward my end of the counter. He then stood up and retreated a few steps deeper into his booth. "Please, wait for just a moment."

I took a deep breath while trying to ignore the weighty stare of the slave girl.

Ever since I've met her, she didn't utter a single word.

When tasked with guiding us to the most important bank in the area, she quietly followed the order… All the while, keeping the pair of her golden eyes locked on me.

'It's pretty damn unnerving,' I thought, raising my fist to my mouth before clearing my throat to mask my slight anxiety.

"Welcome, good sirs," the young clerk returned with a much older man. Even though they wore exactly the same uniform, it was obvious from a single look that the old man's clothes were made out of the finest quality fabrics. "May I invite you into a private lodge so that we could discuss our matters in private?"

"We will gladly take you up on your offer," I politely replied while raising up from my chair.

A few moments later, we were confined to a luxurious room where both I and my brother could find a place to seat.

Obviously, there were more than enough chairs for Nay to sit as well… Yet, just like some kind of stone sculpture, she simply stood her ground and refused to buckle.

"Now then," the older clerk sat down at the opposite side of the table before slapping his hands against his knees. "Are you the winners of the recent tournament, by chance?"

'What a keen eye he has,' I initially thought, only to discard this realization upon analyzing it a bit further.

Five hundred imperials were one heck of a fortune. As such, there were only a few people capable of issuing tablets of such worth… and even fewer moments where such transaction made sense.

'Rather than a good observer, he is a quick thinker,' I realized before focusing back on my smile.

"I'm aware that all the procedures required to set up an account could take some time, but I'm really worried about carrying this invaluable tablet around," I revealed the struggle that I came to this place too, at a fee, fix. "So, while I'm more than happy to postpone the full procedure for tomorrow, it would be of great help…"

"Ah, yes, that's extremely considerate of you, good sir," the old clerk quickly caught my tune and sang along. He also didn't seem to have any trouble discerning who was calling the shots in our group, addressing me and me only rather than speaking to all three of us.

A high-ranking clerk of a powerful bank like him had to see his fair share of all sorts of people, giving him the experience necessary to smoothly conduct business with anyone.

"We would be more than happy to issue you a promise bill, that you can then use to set up the account and deposit this tablet's worth of money," the clerk suggested before putting on a huge smile. "And it will be respected in every branch of our organization," he added with a glint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

"What can I say?" I suddenly asked while putting a big smile on my face. "I can already tell it will be a pleasure doing business with you," I added to butter up to the man a bit.

"Sir, I'm still obliged to inform you that after deducing all the appropriate fees…" the old clerk looked down at the tablet and thought for a bit. "We can provide you with four hundred and fifty imperials of operating money for a period of seven years," the clerk called out for one heck of a price for his services. "And that will include all the support of our company that you could ever desire, sir."

I locked my eyes on the elder's face.

"How do four hundred and seventy-five imperials sound?" I asked.

Haggling was a huge part of the medieval world as people imagined it. That's why in all my novels, I made sure to make it into a huge deal.

And while I couldn't tell for sure my way of thinking would apply here…

"Four hundred and sixty," the elder countered before I could even gather my thoughts.

"Four hundred and sixty" I repeated after him, "but we will cash out one imperial for our current needs," I added the first demand, before putting a wide smile on my lips.

It was a difference of a single imperial, nothing when compared to the entirety of the fortune we were dealing with here.

But to my host's limited knowledge, cashing out this single imperial before setting up an account was one heck of a criminal action. After all, I wasn't cooperating with the bank, yet, so who could know where this money of mine came from?

"Let's add five imperials to the fee that you will write off for your personal service," I added some lubricant to my offer, giving the banker quite the lavish bribe for stepping over the rules for me.

After all, I had no desire whatsoever to open the account anytime soon. All I wanted was to exchange this unhandy and troublesome tablet that the nobles could dishonor at any time they wanted, for a bill of exchange backed by a powerful organization!

In the end, four hundred and sixty imperials that I could use were far more valuable than five hundred imperials that existed only on paper!

"That's a… reasonable offer," the elder spoke after a moment of thought.

Now that we were talking money, his face turned all serious.

For a moment, he continued to scan both me and two of my partners. His eyes visibly lingered on Nay for a prolonged while. Yet, rather than looking at her curves with lust, he stared at her imperial slave mark that shone gently on the right side of the girl's neck.

"I see," the elder muttered before turning his eyes back to my face. "In that case, I will arrange for one of my junior brothers to guide you to a safe inn," he spoke. "As it's our branch business, all the fees, from rooms to stables, will be covered."

'He knows,' I realized.

This man, after interacting with me for only a few moments and making one heck of a financial deal… He already knew my plan.

He knew I was the unlikely victor of the massive tournament that just concluded. He saw me desperately trying to cut all that tied me to the nobles… and deduced that I wanted to ditch the town as soon as possible while throwing sand in everyone's eyes by making them think I will wait until tomorrow to get the company account done.

'But to even go as far and provide an inn with stables…' I thought, shaking my head a little as I forcefully removed my exasperation. Then, I stood up and offered my hand to the elder.

"As I expected, it's a pleasure doing business with you," I openly and honestly admitted.

The elder smiled gently.

"Oh, no," he shook his head before reaching out and accepting my hand. "The pleasure is all mine."