Chapter 31: I Wanna Start a Bank
I was alone in my office.
The lights were low. My desk was ssy—papers, ink bottles, and receipts from twenty different cities.
Veldena had left two days ago.
Mira returned to her guild, said sothing about "not being able to sleep next to a freak who never gets tired."
Not that I cared.
I wasn't the type to cling.
And now, it was just . And the silence.
Until—
Knock. Knock.
I looked up.
The door opened slowly, and a familiar face stepped inside.
Noel.
"...I'm back."
She looked the sa as always—quiet, unreadable, with that calm gaze that made people underestimate her.
But I knew what she was capable of.
I leaned back in my chair. "...Took you long enough."
She walked across the room and sat on the couch like she'd never left. "There were so things I had to take care of."
I nodded, eyes still on her.
"...Welco back."
She blinked, just for a second. And then smiled. A small one. But it was real.
Then I looked out the window.
Because right now—I wasn't thinking about her.
I wasn't thinking about friends. Or the Academy.
I was thinking about power.
Influence.
GTP.
[Listening.]
What's the fastest way to control this world?
[Political power, military strength, religious authority, or economic domination.]
...And which of those do I already have?
[Your publishing company has cultural influence. Burgertory dominates food and retail. You currently have over 60,000 gold coins in liquid assets. In short: economic.]
Good.
That ant I just had to keep going.
"Let's start a bank," I muttered.
Noel tilted her head. "Huh?"
I stood and walked to the window.
Outside, the city moved slowly—like pawns across a board.
"I'm going to build the first financial institution in this empire. A place where nobles store their gold. Where rchants borrow funds. Where even kings co to ask for loans."
Noel watched for a mont. "That's... ambitious."
I turned and t her gaze.
"But I have you, don't I?"
Her eyes widened.
Then she nodded.
"Always."
I turned back to the window.
"Then let's build sothing that'll shake this world."
* * *
Two weeks.
That's how long it took.
Renovations. Security enchantnts. Staff vetting. Architecture adjustnts. Logo designs.
Now, I stood in front of the result.
A massive white-stone building in the heart of the Capitol's rchant quarter, gleaming under the morning sun.
The Avencroft Central Bank.
It looked nothing like any other building in the city. There were no banners. No decorations. Just stone, gold-trimd fras, and a vault so thick not even a dragon's breath could burn through.
I took a deep breath.
GTP.
[Online.]
We're here. Now tell —how do I make money off this?
[Simplified breakdown: A bank profits in several ways.]
[1. Deposits: Nobles store gold here. You lend it out with interest. You earn profit from their need to borrow.]
[2. Loans: You create loan contracts with rchants and noble houses. Charging 5–15% interest ensures consistent passive profit.]
[3. Fees: Services like vault rentals, account maintenance, inter-city transfers.]
[4. Investnt: You reinvest stored gold in various ventures, using their money to fuel your empire.]
[5. Credit: Eventually, introduce paper money or written promissory notes. You set the value. You beco the standard.]
Heh... that's actually kinda insane.
[You are, quite literally, building a system to profit off of everyone else's wealth. Indirectly, you'll own everything without owning anything.]
I nodded slowly.
"But..."
I turned and looked down the street. A few passing nobles glanced up at the building, then whispered amongst themselves.
"He's doing it again."
"Avencroft opened a... what now?"
"A place to store gold? That sounds risky."
I smirked.
"But we might have a problem."
[Correct. Large-scale banking requires imperial oversight. You may need permission from the Emperor's Treasury Office to conduct regulated currency exchange and long-term contracts with noble houses.]
Tch. Bureaucracy, huh?
I chuckled.
"Got it."
The golden doors of the bank creaked open.
My assistant approached. "Sir, the first few noble clients are waiting in the hall."
I smiled faintly.
"Ti to take their money."
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