Money is Faith (1)
"Here it is."
A man clad in a long robe that reached down to his knees expressed his doubt.
"What is this?"
He had definitely handed over a magic stone and naturally expected dalant, the imperial gold coin, in return. But to his surprise, the magic stone merchant handed over an unfamiliar piece of paper.
His confusion was brief.
A young girl accompanying him spoke up with curiosity in her voice.
"Is there a problem?"
Though her face was hidden deep under her hood, making her small stature more pronounced, her manner of speaking suggested she held a higher status than the man with her.
"Miss Isabella, instead of dalant for the magic stone, he has given me something else. I am doubting whether this is a proper transaction."
"He gave you something other than dalant?"
"Yes, Miss."
Despite her young age, the girl wasn't naive about the ways of the world due to her time spent outside.
"What did he give you instead of dalant?"
The man quickly examined the paper the magic stone merchant had handed him.
Upon inspection, it seemed to be a promissory note issued by some bank.
“That is... a promissory note.”
“A promissory note?”
As far as the girl knew, sometimes goods were paid for with promissory notes.
“It’s a promissory note from Carter Bank...”
“With a promissory note, can’t you just go to the bank and exchange it for dalant?”
“That would be the case, but...”
The man was troubled for a different reason.
The promissory note he received was slightly different from the usual ones.
Typically, a promissory note would state that upon presenting it at the bank, the holder would be given the specified amount in gold. However, this promissory note merely had a bare statement saying it was issued against a promissory note written by a lord.
“The content is somewhat odd. This promissory note doesn’t guarantee any gold.”
He was a highly educated magic instructor.
Hence, he strongly doubted what the local residents had overlooked and neglected.
“No guarantee for gold? That can’t be right.”
"It seems to be issued based on the credit of the lord."
As the shopkeeper found himself in danger of being branded a swindler, he hastily started to speak.
"Ah, I am well aware of that matter. However, if you take it to Carter's bank, the owner of the bank will surely give you the equivalent amount of dalant without any issue. If the bank refuses to do so, please come back to our store. Then, I will find another way to pay for the magic stone."
It's unbelievable that this strange promissory note can be exchanged for gold coins at the bank without any issue!
The two customers who visited had faces of utter disbelief.
"Are you really saying that the bank will exchange this for gold coins?"
"Yes, it's true. There haven't been any problems so far."
"That's strange. We find it hard to believe. The credit of your lord here isn't even comparable to the imperial family."
"But he is still our lord. Although it used to be a place where gold was found, now it's an area that nobody pays attention to, so what problems could there be? There won't be any issues as long as the empire doesn't go to war."
While the girl was inspecting the promissory note, she eventually shook her head in denial.
"There's nothing here guaranteeing gold coins."
She lifted her head to examine the shop owner.
His expression, filled with confusion, showed no sign of deceit, even upon the closest inspection.
He believed in this strange promissory note.
"It doesn't seem like he's lying."
The girl became interested in the bank they were talking about.
"It would be better to go and ask."
