Chapter 47 - The Bank

Gradually approaching the village of Adastra, at an altitude of 100 meters above the ground, Otto and Anna finally got a glimpse of it.

The village was built in the shape of a large circle. In the center of this circle was an enormous square paved with stone, in the middle of which burned a fire similar to the one they arrived through. To the left and right of the Arrivals gate stood two departure gates. Houses surrounded the square, among which stood out a large, three-story mansion, comparable in size to the "Hog's Head Inn" where they were staying.

"What about that house? It clearly stands out from the others."

"Oh, that? That's the Morningstar family's research center. Sometimes it's closed, sometimes it's open, and sometimes wizard researchers hold meetings there. But unlike the Hog's Head Inn, it's not as large inside, though it's still not small. When it's open to the public, they exhibit all sorts of strange magical devices and new magic books for sale. In fact, the entire land on which the village is built belongs to Asmodeus Morningstar."

"Isn't that a monopoly?"

"What's a monopoly?"

"...," Otto realized he needed to get used to common sense in the magical world. Over the past two days, he heard the Morningstar surname so many times that now he thinks it's the most important wizarding family in the world, so he decided to ask the driver.

"How many members are there in the Morningstar family, and why is this family so powerful?"

"Ha-ha-ha, I understand your surprise, and many people ask that, but in fact, there's only one person in the Morningstar family now. Asmodeus Noren Morningstar, the one who developed the magical rings. This 14-year-old achieved what none of the 28 sacred families could."

One person? 14 years old?"

Astonishingly exclaimed the Nelson couple. They couldn't imagine founding a family that felt like the most important in the entire magical world at such a young age.

"Yes, I know. It's amazing, isn't it? In fact, Mr. Morningstar is now considered the most enviable groom in the wizarding world. Because any woman who marries him becomes a princess in the magical world. No one dares to offend the Morningstar family because he has accumulated enormous connections, and one should not underestimate former squibs. Many of them would be willing to give their lives for him. He gave them magic, something they craved all their lives."

Otto and Anna nodded. They already understood the attitude towards squibs in the magical world before the magical rings. So, it's not surprising that Asmodeus gained followers.

A few more minutes into the flight, the flying carpet landed in the parking lot on the outskirts of Adastra's central square.

"We have arrived at your destination. I know you've already paid for my services at the hotel. Thank you. I wish you a good day."

"Oh, wait, sir. Do you know how to get to the wand shop on Omnis's trading street?"

"Oh, that's not far. The trading street is to the north of the village. You see, the square is surrounded by houses, but there are streets between them. You need that street over there. It's the widest. Walk 200 meters along it, and you'll find yourself on the trading street. Don't worry; you won't get lost; there are signs everywhere." The driver said and then added, "If you want to exchange gold, I recommend the local bank Adastra, it's called the same. It's also owned by the Morningstar family, and they currently have the most favorable exchange rates for gold to galleons."

"Thank you very much. How do we get back? We heard that most drivers are busy or don't want to take anyone except alchemists."

"Don't worry about that. See over there?" The driver pointed to something like a gigantic beetle in the form of a phone booth, to the right of the parking lot.

"That's a beetle-telephone booth. You can ask it to connect you with the hotel administration. They'll call me or someone else to pick you up. But, as you already know, we charge a bit more than those standing on the street."

"Not much more. We'll probably order a taxi from the hotel when we return. Thank you very much for the advice."

"You're welcome. It's my job; I immigrated from India to England after seeing how vibrant life is here."

After bidding farewell, the Nelson couple set off on their way. They kept looking around all the time, drawn to everything they saw.

Although Adastra is called a village, it looks more like an ancient city. The buildings are mostly constructed in one style, resembling old Germanic architecture. Not tall but neat houses.

Occasionally, you can see a tower with a pointed roof and oddly shaped clocks on it. The clock face is not mechanical; it consists entirely of a strange black flame. The hands are also made of fire, but the second hand is of red flame, while the minute and hour hands are of blue flame. It looks beautiful and entirely reflects what could be called magic.

The closer they got to the trading street, the more banks and shops they saw.

"Dear, there's the bank the driver mentioned!"

Anna pointed to a 4-story building clearly standing out from the general view of the street. The main part of the building was the color of mammoth bone, with black and red flame patterns on the walls.

The name "Magic Bank Astra" was carved on one of the walls.

There was no entrance on the first floor; instead, there was a staircase leading directly to the second floor and tall iron doors with two inscriptions on them.

The first one read:

"Wealth can be found, but it's much harder to keep. Does wealth make you happy?"

And the second one:

"Is he poor who has nothing to lose?"

Otto and Anna didn't ponder much on these inscriptions; they thought they were there for atmosphere.

Before they could knock on the door, it opened by itself. They saw a large reception area and heard a slightly excited voice.

"Hello, are you here by appointment or without an appointment?"

They saw another house elf dressed like a butler, but this one was noticeably younger, and his attire was very elegant. They didn't know that just two months ago, wizards would have considered this house elf insane.

Asmodius decided to hire those house elves who had been abandoned by their previous owners. He told them that if they wanted to work for him, they would have to wear the uniform he provided. Also, Asmodius had a hard time convincing the elves to accept a salary. He pays them 10 galleons a week. He wanted to give more, as he does not support slavery, but they outright refuse...

You might think that Asmodius enslaved those first 10,000 squibs. But in reality, the contract of loyalty to the Morningstar family clearly specifies the payment for their work. They earn very well.

As for the house elves, Asmodius treated them the same way. Instead of simple words of submission, the elves signed a contract with Asmodius – they would serve him on his terms. Asmodius' terms were clothing, salary, and self-respect.

Thus, around 300 house elves currently work for Asmodius in various shops and enterprises of the Morningstar family.

In fact, he wants to verify his suspicions about house elves. He and Nicolas found records that the entire race was enslaved by a witch in ancient times. That's why now, they look like this. Although they used to look completely different. Asmodius and Nicolas are trying to find a way to lift the curse. Of course, not for all house elves, only for those who signed a contract with Asmodius.

That's why only house elves work in this bank branch. He decided not to deal with goblins. Let the goblins and the bankers from the Muggle world compete with each other. For now, he will develop his banking system.

"Uh, we don't have an appointment. We came to exchange gold for galleons," Otto said.

"Oh, I understand. Please proceed to the hall to your right. There will be four currency exchange desks! Can I help you with anything else?" the house elf said, still excited.

"No, thank you. We don't have any questions for now."

"You're welcome. It is an honor for a house elf to help wizards. Feel free to approach me anytime!"

Otto and Anna nodded and headed into the hall to the right of the registration desk. They entered a wide hall with four long tables. Behind each table sat two house elves who were actively calculating, weighing, assessing, and so on.

They found an available spot, and a house elf gestured for them to approach. Sitting down, Otto said, "Good afternoon, I need to exchange gold for galleons."

"Good afternoon, respected wizard. How much gold do you have, approximately by weight?" the house elf asked.

"I brought 500 grams of pure 999 gold with me."

These were Otto's savings from the past year; he had initially planned to spend them on a trip to Bali...

"Then I can give you 6580 galleons. You can check the exchange rate in other banks, but I can assure you that we have the best exchange rate in the entire magical world!" proudly stated the house elf, who clearly held himself in higher regard than other house elves they had seen.

"I know you have a good exchange rate. I agree to this exchange," Otto replied.

The house elf nodded and opened a drawer in the table, from which a voice emanated, "How much?"

"6580, and a bag with the Undetectable Extension Charm on it," replied the elf.

"Ah, bloodsuckers..." grumbled the voice, and a pouch with money was spat out. This alchemical creature, accidentally created by Nicolas, was essentially a living box, but to put it mildly, it was quite greedy.

Taking the pouch with money in hand, the elf placed it on magical scales, which immediately determined the amount of money in the bag.

Ensuring everything was in order, the elf opened another box containing stacks of documents, reminiscent of Muggle checks. Handing Otto a form for completing the currency purchase agreement, the elf inquired, "Mister, do you have any form of identification? Muggle documents are acceptable."

Otto nodded and handed over his driver's license.

The sound of a pen writing on paper was heard.

".....6580. Otto Nelson," mumbled the elf to himself.

Finishing writing, he snapped his fingers, and an identical copy of the form appeared to the right of the original. Handing the original to Otto, the house elf said, "Thank you for using our services. I would like to offer you the opportunity to open an account with us. By becoming a client of our bank, you will receive our Astra card. If you deposit more than 5000 galleons, we will also offer you a 6.18% annual interest rate."

Otto was surprised by such a high percentage but decided to ask, "What does the Astra card offer?"

"Oh, many things. Firstly, you can make purchases in the city of Adastra and all establishments owned by the Morningstar family using the card, and you won't have to carry a large sum with you. Additionally, the ticket price for passing through the portal to the village of Adastra from any gate-equipped point in the world will be reduced from 1 galleon to 1 sickle. Also, in the case of limited sales of Mr. Morningstar's research results, you will be in the first group of interest."

"Alright... let's deposit 5000 galleons into the account. I hope I'll have enough for purchases today with the remaining 1580," Otto said.

"You don't need to worry about that. The average salary in the magical world today is 100 galleons per month. In fact, Muggle wizards and squibs who have become wizards are now considered a wealthy group among wizards. If you're not buying a vehicle or real estate, it will be difficult for you to spend more than 200 galleons at a time," explained the house elf.

"Okay, then let's deposit 5500 into the account. I'll leave the rest in cash."

Five minutes later, Otto rejoined Anna, who was waiting on the couch with the card in his hands. It was a black card with a gold border, the name "Otto Nelson" written in the middle, and the number 5. The number indicated the client's level, with a total of 7 levels. Accumulating more than 5000 allowed the client to advance to the fifth level.

"Wow, what's this?" Anna asked.

"That's what wizarding bank cards look like," Otto said, boasting.

But before he could celebrate, Anna snatched the card from his hands and tucked it into her chest pocket.

"It definitely won't get lost, and you won't spend all the money," she said.

Otto's heart was broken... but then he remembered a good thing. The card was linked to him through blood. Anna couldn't spend the money without him. Ha-ha, I love magic.

Having finished their business at the bank, Otto and Anna stepped back onto the street.

"Dear, turn right there. That's the beginning of the shopping street! Let's go quickly," Anna said, pulling Otto along.