Hot Springs, Queen and Coal Quarry
Humanity"s greatest invention was probably the organisation that came to be known as a bank. Achilles mentioned it before, albeit indirectly, but I didn"t notice. I didn"t have the time to go and play some tricks at the bank when I visited the imperial capital, either. The bank isn"t as simple as a place that stores money, which is why I argue that the bank isn"t a place to store money but credibility.
Modern money is a nation"s credibility. The concept was the same as the current currency, which had Queen Sisi"s face carved onto them. The currency represented humanity"s empire. Fundamentally, it was another way of evaluating Queen Sisi"s credibility. Humanity"s empire was strong and wealthy, and they were the nation that slew the Demon King. The chance of the empire collapsing was miniscule. That, in turn, meant more races were willing to use humanity"s currency. Compared to other coins, their value was also naturally higher. Furthermore, thanks to Queen Sisi"s absolute authority, the practical value of the currency was exceptionally stable; no one would try to spam the market or depreciate the value.
That"s why Bitcoin is a bubble. A non-existent currency such as Bitcoin doesn"t have any nation supporting it to give it credibility. To add, the fluctuations in prices are too drastic. As a result, it won"t be considered a viable currency to be circulating. Bitcoin"s price is controlled by the people at the top of the pyramid. They earn money from Bitcoin by developing the lower layers and then developing the layers below that bottom layer. Simply put, it works the same way as multi-level marketing.
Now, since the bank stores credibility, what we can withdraw includes credibility itself. I could use my credibility to exchange it for a particular item. That"s the current nature of banks and current currency. Hence, as long as I had something to p.a.w.n as collateral, I could acquire infinite money from the bank.
The two were able to start a company with a loan from the bank. Accordingly, I could get a loan from the bank and then buy shares of the bank to finally become the largest shareholder, subsequently becoming the one who had the highest authority in the bank. I wouldn"t get enough funds to pull it off from loaning money from the bank alone.
As they were mining in my backyard, I had countless ways of making money off them, such as transportation fees, toll fees and storage fees. I had plenty of ways of seizing opportunities for my own gains in this sort of finance industry that had just taken off. Capital could equip one with the power to change the entire world. With that said, I needed to make lots of preparations to successfully pull it off. In any case, Queen Sisi was in the North; she was my biggest concern at the time.
I didn"t get any sleep that night. Leah climbed into bed and hugged me. My mind was occupied with how to get my hands on the world"s greatest invention and the mineral. They might not have understood the underlying value of those things, but I did. The machines were exactly what Queen Sisi dreamt of having for what they provided: power.
The next morning, I personally watched Leah transform back to her child form and sit up. I went downstairs and prepared dinner. Angelina also started joining us for meals downstairs. After I ordered Anna to take food up to the elves, I joined the others at the table. Seeing the women with bulging bellies next to me and in front of me left me speechless, especially since they were mother and daughter. Seriously, you"d be speechless if you were there.
Veirya didn"t know the purpose of the visitor last night and the true value of the news he brought. That was why she was her usual self. Leah looked up at me from her plate. She was concerned, since I was s.p.a.cing out. She asked, "Papa, are you all right? You"ve been s.p.a.cing out since yesterday. Isn"t what that man said over already? You just need to get the money today. What are you thinking about, Papa?"
"Ah, no, nothing. Papa is thinking about what comes after."
The principle for moving the capital that came next was very simple. In saying that, it was difficult to explain it to a young girl. Therefore, I didn"t reply. Leah rested her face in her hands. A wave of emotions flitted pa.s.sed her face. She pouted: "Geez, Papa never cares about Leah. Leah wants to be able to make Papa think of Leah so much, too."
"Leah, everything that Papa does is for your sake. Papa is trying to earn money so that you can live a happier life in the future."
"Leah is already very happy to just living together with Papa. Life at home is very lively now, as well. Leah is very happy now."
I knew Leah wasn"t lying. Leah smiled a lot more compared to the past. Nevertheless, as her parent, I couldn"t feel as complacent. After seeing the pope"s awesome house, I couldn"t let my Leah continue living in the shabby house. I wanted Leah to live a life of luxury.
Veirya looked up at me dissatisfied. She seriously asked, "Then. What about me? Why do you. Only take care for Leah? I"m also Mama Veirya. Will you. Think of me?"
"Of course. Of the five of my "sweet dreams" each week, you"re the star in four of them. The last one is you and Leah…" I didn"t think it was wise to say that, though. It"d be s.e.xual hara.s.sment if I said that… though Veirya wouldn"t feel that way.
I replied, "Of course you"re included. I do it for the two of you. The two of you are my family. I put in all of this effort for your sakes."
"How about me, then?" asked Angelina, as she shamelessly hugged my arm.
I glared at Angelina to tell her to take a hike: "Who are you?"
Angelina let go.
I continued grumbling in my mind, "My forehead still hurts due to getting intimate with the floor yesterday, and you happen to be the one responsible for it."
Veirya ignored her mother and continued conversing with me: "In that case. You don"t. Need to work hard. I can. Take care of you. You just. Need to think of us."
Veirya said it with an expressionless look, but it warmed my heart. In saying that, the whole overbearing CEO"s "I"ll feed you," isn"t quite appropriate for a woman to say to a man. Plus, it was Veirya we were talking about. If I believed her, I might starve to death.
"I have to work hard for your sakes. That"s my goal."
I gave a simple one sentence response. I had no intention of giving a touching response. I just expressed my genuine thoughts. My biggest goal at the time was taking care of Leah and winning Veirya"s heart.
Before we could finish breakfast, I heard a number of footsteps outside, which could only have been Queen Sisi, since there was yet to be a knock. Only Queen Sisi would bring such a large group of people to our place. I sighed and went to answer the door. Veirya and Angelina instantly set down their food and sat properly. Leah was in the middle of preparing to put a piece of bread in her mouth. Seeing the mother and daughter pair swiftly change their expressions, Leah started to feel afraid and unsure if she should continue eating or not.
"Little Doggy, let"s go to the hot springs together today!! My valiant cavalry located a hot spring in the valley yesterday, and they repaired the surrounding area overnight. I can"t wait to go there now. Let"s go!! Let"s go for a dip in the hot spring together!!"
I had yet to greet Queen Sisi after opening the door, yet she had hugged my head and cheerfully fired off. I knew I couldn"t get out of it.
I never heard of the hot spring in the valley before. I planned to go with Veirya and Leah to the mountain last time for some fun, so it was a nice idea to take advantage of Queen Sisi"s suggestion. However, among the people following Queen Sisi, which included her cavalry and ladies-in-waiting, I spotted the eye-catching blonde hair. As I thought, the youth accompanied Queen Sisi. He brought Queen Sisi her favourite thing. I was absolutely certain Queen Sisi"s cavalry didn"t go out just for the hot spring last night.