A Tour of Bren(Part 2)

Hestia stared at Ezra, she was dumbstruck at how someone her age could possibly understand metallurgy and to even direct a blacksmith to make an unknown alloy at that. She observed Ezra's features and stood silent.

"Thank's Arran, we will be going now." Ezra turned to Hestia, "Shall we go now?"

Hestia nodded as she beckoned to her actrix.

"We shall head to the merchant's district next," Ezra beckoned towards his retinue.

Along the way, there were many that greeted Ezra, a lot of them were three years older than them. They greeted him with enthusiasm and also bowed their heads toward Ezra.

"Are all of those children your students?" asked Hestia.

"Well, kind of we meet at Helio, the first day of the week. That's the only free time they have you know. They work with alongside their parents during the weekdays." Ezra was compassionate toward the children. Child labour in this era was the norm, at around seven they were already doing mundane jobs and were already being trained in their craft.

He took pity on them. On earth, children their age were studying in school and learning was a chore to them, here by the age of seven they were practically treated as adults, except for criminal punishment.

It was convenient that his great-grandfather had decreed that no work should be done during Helio except for trade. This man had insight, this was probably one of the factors why Bren was so productive, by giving his subjects a rest day the overall economy of Bren steadily increased from that point on.

Even with Bren's obvious economic boost, none of the surrounding territories adopted this idea as they thought that it made people lazier.

Hestia looked thoughtfully again, she turned to Ezra with sincere eyes. "Ezra, why do you care about the commoners so much? They aren't of the same stock as us, we are nobles."

Ezra was taken aback he was at first offended at the statement, he had identified himself after all as a commoner and he was often told by his parents that they were the same people as he was and they felt the same emotions and the same urges even though they most probably had the same drives.

"Well aren't we just the same? We have the same body, don't we? They feel the same as we do, they feel hunger and thirst, joy and laughter, pain and sorrow. Don't you think it is us who are lucky? We were born to well-off families. I'd like to think we are in a position to educate them and help them because we are of a higher standing. Remember without them who would plough our fields and sow our grain? Who would hunt for food or make our homes? Without them, there is no us."

Hestia was dumbstruck at first, she did not know how to respond. She wanted to snap at Ezra but what he said did make sense. She kept to herself instead in a pensive mood. She didn't lash out because she already secretly look up to Ezra though of course, she would never admit it to him.

As they journeyed toward the merchant district, the crowds drew quite thick and even grew more because of Hestia's royal procession which attracted their attention. The austere air of knights bearing the Regaladeus crest gave an overbearing aura. Even though everyone drew their attention, they still paved the way for Ezra and Hestia.

Hestia looked at the faces of the crowds who were too afraid to even look at her. However, she caught glimpses of both children and adults who gazed at Ezra filled with elation and they looked like they wanted to greet him properly. This day had truly been a puzzle for her.

"Where are we going, Ezra?"

"We are on our way toward a business I own and manage, father gave me permission to direct the enterprise I see fit, princess."

Hestia scrunched her brows. When the day began, she couldn't help but think of herself highly, she was praised by others and even hailed as a genius. But none could compare her accomplishments and knowledge to Ezra. As their custom was if you were allowed to manage a business you were already considered an adult. She marvelled at him even more but still didn't say it out loud.

The procession stopped at The Imperial Bank of Blackfyre. It was a towering edifice but it was beautiful, Aerwyna's hand at the aesthetics were clearly seen. The marble slabs and the sculptures decorated the front. The gilded gates were also eye-catching as splendour and magnificence bedecked its walls. There were servants pouring wine to every guest and business proceeded as usual.

Ezra actually wanted to close down the bank today but he refrained from doing so since he wanted to show Hestia how good the business was, maybe she could even invest. But it right now Ezra was a bit greedy and he didn't want anyone cutting into his profits yet. The bank notes were a success. All he had to do was monitor the spread of these and make sure that the notes traded at par.

Hestia looked about and she couldn't understand what the business was about. Their people inline exchanging a piece of paper with gold, it was bustling with grandeur but she could not figure out what the shop was selling. She wandered away observing, she thought that the shop was selling art pieces but, however, there were no servants towing away anything. Finally, she conceded and asked Ezra as she bit her lip.

"Uhh, Ezra what exactly is this business selling?"

"Loans and other derivatives." Ezra chuckled, he saw her bewildered face and he had to admit she was quite cute when she wasn't having a tantrum and donning quizzical look. "We are lending people money but they will have to pay us back a little more than what they had borrowed."

Hestia's Eyes lit up, it was a novel concept and she didn't see anyone do something quite like it. "I know that I told you that I would be with you the whole day today but I have to check up on my employees."

"Employees?" asked Hestia, she didn't know the word he used.

Ezra waved his hand, "Servants." He never did like the word servants, in his mind they were just people who worked for him, but the culture in this empire dictates that when you pay someone they are in a way your servant. There was no job description here, you did what your master commanded regardless if you can do it or not.

"Anyway, I have to meet them today just for a little bit."

"Oh, can I come? I won't be a nuisance I promise."

Ezra was taken aback he had never seen Hestia this timid before. He nodded. "Of course princess."

Ezra and Hestia were tailed by Erela as they went toward a gilded door. It was surprisingly plain in contrast to that of the reception area outside. Extos smiled at Ezra and rushed toward him. Ezra was alarmed that he didn't even notice Hestia. He almost shouted. "Extos! Pay your respects to the princess first."

"Oh?" he said as he stopped in his tracks.

"Your Highness," Extos bowed immediately. "Will the princess take part in the meeting?"

"Just observing for now," Ezra replied while glancing at Hestia, he didn't know how she would react but it seemed that she was calm. Surprisingly she was malleable today.

The room slowly filled with people he appropriated as managers and above them all was Extos, he was quite enthusiastic as a bank manager. Hestia and Erela were given a seat while they continued to observe.

"Reports please," Ezra beckoned as servant gave him the papers he required.

"Thank you," Ezra nodded.

Hestia was amazed at this, however, it was evident that Erela didn't like Ezra's politeness to a commoner.

"All good news milord, For now, the banknotes are all trading at slightly above par."

Ezra raised an eyebrow, he had read it but coming from Extos, it was still quite a shock. It was like saying that money you loaned is less than what you actually have to pay.

"That is quite odd but that is a pleasant surprise." Ezra was smiling.

"The commoners love the new paper so there has been a demand for it, Actually they like the look and feel of it so much some of them don't even use the paper for trade. Some merchants even bought the bank note at double the amount of what it is worth."

"Hmm, this can have bad effects if not handled properly. It can cause deflation which we don't want." The entire room was puzzled at this statement.

"Anyway, for now, this is good, we can print more to counter its effects. I want a thorough account of everything, I trust you have people to look at the news. Please give me an exact report of how many times this is happening. I want real numbers, something I can calculate. Also, give me the statistics for the trade volume and demand for products next week." Ezra actually knew the exact numbers he just wanted them to do it so that they have actual experience in statistics, especially that he taught them the basics of inferential and descriptive statistics.

"For now let us discuss the logistics for setting up a bank in Aprox."

Everyone's eyes twinkled as they saw the opportunity for expansion.