Redemption

Morning finally came to the city of Skycloud after what seemed like an endless night. The light of the sun washing over the city and shedding light on both the flourishing part of the city and the ruins left behind by the destructive battle between forces unfathomable by the common man.

"Did you hear? More than a quarter of the city has been left in ruins and the casualties have gone up to nearly 10 million lives."

" It doesn't make sense I say, what kind of power did those terrorists wield that they were able to cause so much destruction in one night? "

" I cannot believe that my beloved Gabriel was the one behind such mayhem. Are you sure this news is correct?"

" This news was publicized by the Church itself and not just that, it turns out the charges against the pope were done in an attempt to frame him in order to restrict the power of the church and cause chaos"

" Oh Lord of Storms!!! How could such evil lurk within the glory of the church"

" I heard the affected parties involved in the framing of the pope would be compensated heavily by the Church. Say does that mean that brother and sister pair would be made to take charge of all their family assets? "

" What nonsense are you speaking? How can those magnates possibly spit out what they've eaten? At most they'll be given a monetary reward enough to settle them for life. "

" Hey, I heard the sister has been selected to be a disciple of the Pope. How true is this? "

" It's very true. To think a day like this would come for those siblings, I'm personally very happy for them. I remember when the pope had me inform them of this news. "

" Hey, I thought he only asked you to let them know he left? "

" Shut up woman, what do you know about the discussion between his Highness and me? "

" I can't believe such a distinguished person graced our building? Do you think..... The landlord would use it to increase rent? " A sudden silence befell the gossipping tenants as this was a very likely thing to happen. Most people turn the places the Pope has been to into a shrine and that greedy bastard might just as well increase the rent.

The siblings that were the subject of the discussion however were sitting in the only room in their rented apartment as they tried to process what was happening.

"So just like that, they throw money at our face and expect it to be equal to the lives of our family and the disgrace we suffered? Those fucking bastards!! "

" Now now Olivia. You must remember the position we are in right now, we can only take this for now. This is why you must take your training seriously. If you become strong enough then we can seek true Justice. If we tried something stupid as we are now, we'll only bring destruction upon ourselves. Be patient, okay sister"

Olivia was still disgruntled but she understood what was at stake so she gave a reluctant nod of approval.

" I'll train really hard brother and when I'm strong enough, I'll knock all of their teeth out. "

" Haha well that's one way to look at it. Anyways since we've got this sum of money, this changes a lot of things. It looks like I'll be doing more than just being a loan shark. Olivia could you excuse me?I need to think and I'd like to be alone. " Olivia was curious but she still left the room, leaving Davis to his thoughts.

The total net worth of the Newman Empire at its peak was well over 10 Billion Gold Coins. It's scope of business covered a lot of things from merchant guilds, factories, mercenary jobs and lots more. It was the economic giant of Olympus and it's downfall brought sorrow to some and joy to most.

It was impossible for them to give him back all he lost but he was still given a whooping sum of 1 billion gold but in notes which he found more easy to work with.

Initially he wanted to open up a small shop and start a loan company but with this large amount of money it was enough for him to set his sights at bigger heights. Banking!!! In the entirety of Olympus there were different financial institutions scattered around the realm but there was no one institution that completely controlled the banking industry.

The Church did not want to involve itself in the mundane act of money management and left that to different bodies who in turn paid back certain commissions to the church. Coins and Notes were diverse within the realm and all needed to be authorized by the church to be legitimate. The value of each currency is not equal but depends on the economic strength of the body supporting the currency.

In the end a specific body named The Lord's Treasury was reluctantly made by the church to analyze and determine the strength of each currency depending on various factors as well as register new ones. The currency commonly used in Skycloud was the Kior currency and it was average in strength but the economy of Skycloud was barely compatible with it.

The coins given to him however were the very rare universal coin that was only printed by the Treasury and had the highest purchasing power. It could be exchanged for other coins but could not be used directly to purchase items. The Pope most likely did this in order to allow him choose were he can settle down as different cities used different currencies.

Although the universal coin was useless to the average man but to banks it was everything. With enough universal coins they can print out more of their coins and strengthen their economies, in fact a billion universal coins could be exchanged for 2 times the amount at the top financial institutions and even 5 times at the lower ones.

Davis however had a flash of inspiration as he saw this coins. Banking in this world had not been fully developed and was simply limited to holding money and allowing ease of transaction. At the most was a lending system put in place but this was only for the rich as they believed the poor would not pay back.

Davis might not have been a banker in his previous lifetime but with the common knowledge he had, it would be enough to create a powerful institution that would put the rest to shame and what more he had such a good guarantor to use so that would make his currency more reliable. A currency sponsored by the pope would be more reassuring than most.

The path to power was not cheap and even though this money seemed much, it was only so if considering from the mortal aspect. If one considered training resources then the money would not even be enough to push him to stage 3. He needed a steady source of money that was also sufficient enough to handle his training expenses and with such a powerful enterprise behind him, it would make his training a whole lot easier.

With his mind made up, he rushed out and bought paper and ink. Such things weren't kept readily in the house, as soon as he returned he penned a letter to the address given to him by the Pope detailing his plans. To the Pope it would not be seen as a suspicious move as it could be taken as a young man trying to revive his family's empire. With the Pope's help, everything would be made a lot easier. He also attached a draft showing his plans for the bank as well as the kind of services it will be offering. He went on to state that the bank would be located here in Skycloud for now and any further attempt at expansion would be postponed till they were ready.

He rushed to the post office and had it mailed to him while he went back and gathered the universal notes and hid them away. With that out of the way, he decided to fulfill his promise to Olivia. He initially wanted to hire a carriage to attend to them for the entirety of the day but Olivia intervened "Every extra coin could be what is needed to get ourselves a better house. We can simply hail a carriage when needed. "

Their first stop was the boutique were she saw those dresses with the blue ribbon she liked so much. They hailed a carriage that took them towards the center of the city where the boutique was located. She had seen the dresses on a mannequin while she was coming back from school and had fallen in love with them but at the time they couldn't afford it so she had to let it go.

Now they may not have so much but a couple of dresses would not be a problem and she was completely ecstatic. As the carriage slowed to a stop, Davis stepped down from the carriage before giving a hand to help Olivia come down. He payed the man 3 copper coins for the way fare and led Olivia in hand towards the boutique.

The name of the boutique was Heaven's Collection and was a popular brand across the entire realm of Olympus. It was sparsely filled as the dresses here were not something the ordinary person could afford. An attendant spotted Davis and Olivia and he initially wanted to choose another customer to attend to until he noticed the bearing they carried.

Davis may not have been the real heir of the Newman Empire but he was someone that commanded full authority over his own estate. It won't be wrong to say he lived as a king and though he reined in such attitude when he was with the Pope but towards others he simply didn't care. Olivia may be rough at times but she had a regal side to her that can be observed from the way she walked and her overall bearing.

The attendant let out a smile and walked towards them without minding their current look. "May I be of assistance to this esteemed Sir? "

" Oh hello. Please do well to help my sister pick out a few dresses and shoes, oh yes it will be good if you can find accessories to match with that. Do you have cosmetics here? "

" Yes sir. We have only the best here at Heaven's Collection. "

" Oh then that'll be great. Olivia follow this good man and pick out what you like. I don't know what kind of cosmetic you'll need so you take care of that while I'll see if I can get something decent for myself. "

Olivia happily nodded before being led by the attendant towards the dress section. Davis let out a gratified smile before heading towards the Men collection. He took a look here and there before finally settling on his choice and taking it to the counter where he paid for them amid the surprised expression on the salesgirl's face.

He stepped into a dressing room and when he came out he looked entirely different. As he stood in front of a full body mirror he let out a sigh.

He had on a white cotton T-Shirt, with a blue waist coat and black trousers. He wore a long dark tail coat that was exquisitely embroidered with gold decorations and he looked every bit of a gentleman with his white gloves, deep black boots and a half top hat for the finishing touches.

"Indeed the clothes make the man"

"What a nice saying young lad, haha indeed it's the clothes that make the man. Allow me to show my appreciation to a scholar like yourself. Attendant get this dashing scholar 3 ties from the Gentleman Collection and a Lion Head cane and put it on my tab. Take it as my appreciation for such a good statement." A scholarly looking man with a complete absence of facial hair, which was quite peculiar in a time when men paid quite a bit of attention to such things, was dressed in a blue sky suit with a white boutonniere (1) stuck neatly on it.

"This generous sir would be?" Davis didn't reject the gift as he felt it would be offensive and he had actually set his eyes on those items but it would have broken through his budget.

"Oh where are my manners. My name is Williams, Williams Shakespeare (2). I'm the president of the Literary Union and I initially just stopped over to oversee the opening of one of our branches here. Who would have known I would see such talent in a dressing store? You must attend the opening ceremony, I won't have it any other way. "

" Mr William overestimates my talent but I would be happy to attend such an honorable event. "

" Well then it's settled. Jeffrey, hand the young lad an invitation from my carriage. Well then Mr? "

" Davis Sir. Davis Newman"

Williams raised a brow " Newman, as in the Newman? "

" That would be me Sir. "

"I see. I'm sorry for the tragedy, it's a shame that your family would become the victim of such stupidity." The Butler by the side slightly jabbed Williams but such action did not escape Davis' sharp eyes.

"*Cough* *Cough* Well then, I must be on my way, Mr Davis. It was nice making your acquaintance and I hope to see you at the opening night. "

" I wouldn't miss it for the world, Mr Shakespeare. "

" Ah there you go again with those witty lines of yours and a simple Mr. Williams would suffice, Mr Davis. Good day to you. " With that Williams walked away leaving a stumped Davis behind.

'What are the odds. Haha, Williams Shakespeare but it's too much of a coincidence to meet him here and he just abruptly invited me to such an important ceremony cause of a few witty lines? I'll be damned if the Pope doesn't have a hand to play in this. He must be trying to give me a backing of my own. Forget it, I'll think about that later. At most I would use the influence of the union to further strengthen my currency. Speaking of which, I wonder how that's coming along? '

Little did he know that the Pope as well as his attendants were trying to decode the meaning of words like Mortgage, Insurance, Stocks etc. He could barely make head and tails of it and simply gave his seal of approval and had his people fully support him. It was the least he could do to repay an old friend of his.

That was none of Davis concern though as he saw a gorgeously dressed Olivia heading towards him with 6 dresses in hand and scrunched up brows. She started talking before even looking at him

"I can't make a choice. Could you pick out 3 for me, I love all of them and I'm too conflicted plus I don't trust the attendant's opinion. I feel that..." Her words suddenly broke off as she saw her smartly dressed brother before her and tears filled her eyes as she reminisced about the past. Davis seemed to sense her thoughts as he lovingly wiped her tears away before giving her a peck on her forehead.

" It'll only get better okay. As for the dresses, no need to make a choice. We'll take them all"

" Is that okay? "Olivia meekly asked.

" Silly lass. If I couldn't pay for it do you think I'll say so. Attendant please wrap this up for us while I settle the bill. Also do help us stop a carriage "

" Of course sir" The attendant gave off a wide smile as he thought about the commission he would be getting for selling off so many dresses. After paying for everything and receiving the cane and ties, they boarded the carriage and headed towards a restaurant where the house salesman would meet them.

"I didn't think we'd be able to eat here again but here we are now." As the pair of siblings stood outside a restaurant with a signboard beside it that read 'Violet Cuisine', Olivia felt a variety of emotions. Davis let out a low chuckle.

"Alright that's enough now. If we stood out all day, they may see us as people trying to make trouble. Let's head in and order your favorite dessert platter mix. " As the siblings were dressed quite richly, someone attended to them right away and led them to a good table. This was expected as the money Davis spent for the 6 dresses, 3 pairs of shoes, 1 Vague Cosmetic set and 3 sets of Men wear including a Full Suit with gold threaded boots, his current dressing and an informal wear consisting of a silk shirt and leather pants and boots cost all in all, a bit below 10 Gold.

That kind of money would take someone 10 years to save for but here he was wearing it. He set those dark thoughts aside as he placed his order intending to meet all of his sister's needs. He may not be the brother she knew but to Davis who had never truly experienced familial love this was a new feeling to him and he loved it.

With the food placed before them, the siblings ate happily while keeping up the manners they were brought up with. Before they finished, the House salesman arrived and they quickly rounded up their meal before paying their bill. The salesman then escorted them to a carriage as he took them to the mid area of Skycloud where the houses which were not too expensive but were still nice could be found.

They perused a couple of houses before finally settling on one with a yard that met Olivia's expectations. There was even a pool at the back to the slight shock of Davis as in Earth's history pools only came about far later in time but there were bound to be some differences between the world's.

A small garden was also included in the 1 storey house that was fully furnished and the siblings were finally bought over by this one and were ready to pay for it but the weirdest thing Davis noticed was that there was a look of apprehension on the Salesman face as they explored the building.

The man even refused to step into any of the rooms and simply waited outside while the siblings checked it out. He wondered to himself if the reason this man was so afraid was the same one that made such a beautiful house go for the dirt cheap price of 5 Gold coins a year.

Usually a house like this would easily go for 7 or even 10 Gold Coins due to the exquisite furnishing but here it was being sold at 5. Davis didn't mind though, he didn't sense any powerful energies within the house so he would keep that aside.

It seemed the salesman had a conscience as in the end he couldn't help himself from telling Davis that the house had some problems and if he would like to look at another one although he refused to specify the problem when asked.

Davis refused not just because of the lower rent but because he saw how happy Olivia was..... Okay maybe the lower rent also had a hand to play in it. The salesman quickly went over the formalities and by the time the sun set the house was legally Davis' for a year.

"Olivia will be staying here from now on okay. I told you, it's only going to get better from here on out."

The girl shyly looked towards the beautiful sunset and after a while, a quiet "hm" came out of her sweet mouth.