The tailor looked back and forth between the promissory note marked '1 Gold' and a single dalant placed in front of him.
In reality, a paper promissory note was more convenient to carry than a gold coin.
"No, I'll take this. If I take the gold coin, I'll just have to deposit it again later, right? Then the storage fee would be a waste. And this is easier to carry."
The tailor chose the paper promissory note among the two forms of currency and went back to his shop.
Rockefeller watched this and smiled faintly, and Carter did the same.
Carter then opened his mouth towards Rockefeller.
"The work seems to be going better than I thought."
"People seem to like the lord's promissory notes more than I expected. That's the feeling I get."
"Well, that makes sense. The promissory notes issued here are only backed by my guarantee, but the newly issued ones are guaranteed by the owner of this land."
"Then I'll move again."
"You're going out again?"
"I need to move around a lot for people here to become more familiar with the 1 Gold promissory note, right?"
How many times he had repeated that.
"What about the clothes you bought earlier?"
"The same, of course. I have to return them."
Yes, he would go and return them again.
After all, Rockefeller's goal was to familiarize people with the new 1 Gold promissory note, not to indulge in reckless shopping.
'I don't have the money for that anyway.'
"Then I'll be off again. Please take care of the store while I'm gone."
With Rockefeller gone, Carter couldn't help but let out a faint laugh.
'That guy has some impressive initiative. Here I am, getting old without that kind of energy.'
"It looks like I've somehow managed to get lucky with money."
It seemed like sheer luck that Rockefeller had been brought into this store.
The initiative to promote the 1 Gold promissory notes started smoothly, and after a few days, some of the market merchants began using 1 Gold instead of the usual 1 IOU.
"This is a promissory note guaranteed personally by the lord."
"Ah, I've seen it too. It's the new one, right?"
"You know that the lord goes to the bank to issue these promissory notes whenever he needs quick cash, right?"
"Yeah, I know."
"They issue these based on that as collateral. The bank trusts the lord as solid as a rock, so they exchange these for dalants just like the promissory notes they issue themselves."
Two merchants who happened to meet in the market continued their conversation.
"I've been thinking, you know. The Gold promissory notes related to the lord seem better than the IOUs issued by Carter Bank. If the bank goes bankrupt, there’s no way to get the dalants back from their IOUs, but that’s not the case with these new promissory notes, is it?"
"I also think the same. That's why some of the people I know have already gone to the bank to convert their existing IOUs into Gold loan certificates."
"What? They've already done that?"
"Yes, they have. Think about it. If the bank collapses, those loan certificates will become worthless. Who would like a loan certificate issued by Carter Bank? A loan certificate associated with the lord would be safer."
"Huh... So, are you planning to do the same?"
"Of course, I am. It's just common sense."
Rockefeller, who was passing by, happened to overhear the conversation of two market merchants.
Things were progressing more smoothly than he had expected.
'I thought it would take a long time for the new loan certificates to hit the market floor, but it's surprisingly quick.'
The fact that these newly issued loan certificates were replacing the old ones at such a rapid pace was also proof of the lord's good credit.
'Well, I understand. People would think that a loan certificate associated with the lord is safer than one issued by a mere bank. The reality is not like that though.'
If one were to read the words written on the 1 Gold promissory note closely, it was clear that the note was not directly related to the lord himself.
What guaranteed it was a 'promissory note written by the lord,' not the 'lord himself.'
Despite this, the reason why market merchants did not pay much attention to these words and easily overlooked them was because they could get the gold coins without any problem when they went to the bank with this promissory note.
'Exactly as I aimed. If we had shown reluctance or hesitance in accepting this promissory note, people would have thought entirely differently. They would have suspected that there must be something wrong with the new promissory notes.'
In deceiving the public with finance, the most important thing was their ignorance, first and foremost.
'If everyone knew what I was thinking, would they move as I expected in the game I set up?'
Rockefeller unwittingly chuckled.
'No, people hate being used, so that would never happen.'
But people were still ignorant.
The same will continue in the future.
‘Thus, everyone on this market floor will move well on the board I've set.’
The dream of a commoner who subjugates the lord with debt and covets the land he abandoned.
The first step of that dream was going quite smoothly.
"If things go like this, I won't feel wronged for not possessing a noble. After all, I can become a noble on my own."
