Chapter 102
People often say.
Money comes and goes.
Money isn't a condition for happiness.
Money isn't an essential part of life.
Well—can't say those things are wrong.
It is a fact that being broke is tiring in all sorts of ways.
The most difficult thing about living in a cabin in the woods was, without a doubt, having no money.
I have no interest in dressing up, and I don't have much of an appetite, either.
Even so, I couldn't go around wearing absolutely nothing and eating absolutely nothing.
I needed money even to buy fantasy novels to read in bed... no, history books.
There is nothing sadder than forcing yourself to work when you don't want to.
So, if I had to pick just one reason why you need to have lots of money,
it's to win the freedom to do what I want whenever I want.
No, more precisely, it's for the freedom not to do what I don't want to do.
-I... need to make money.
So hearing that Senior Estelle had spent her entire vacation hustling for cash bothered me more than it should have.
It would be a real problem for such a capable senior to waste her talents somewhere completely unrelated.
She was supposed to become my personal magical-device maker, yet some strange part-time job was eating up all her time.
Then a thought suddenly occurred to me.
Just how much money did I have right now?
I rolled around on my bed, counting off my fingers one by one.
For starters, I still had almost all of the hundred gold coins the dark mage had tossed at me before leaving. Since the academy provided food, clothing, and shelter, I had nowhere to spend money.
On top of that, there was the money I'd earned selling the Basic Theory of Natural Mana, as well as the money the Imperial Mage Corps had said it would send me.
After the Magic Tower auction ended, I had opened an account under my name at Imperial Bank.
That was only natural; I couldn't exactly walk around carrying more than a thousand gold coins.
“Hwaaam—”
Today happened to be Thursday, a day with no classes.
“Since I'm going out to get a late lunch anyway, should I stop by the bank and check?”
I stopped lazing around in bed, got up late, and left my room.
When I opened the door, one of Her Highness's escort knights was looking at me as if wondering whether I was really a student.
It was probably about time I moved out of the princess's room, too. I had no idea when the bed for my own room was supposed to arrive.
*
The Imperial Bank had branches in many places.
Elterion Academy had its own branch on campus as well.
Perhaps because it was the middle of class time, the bank was fairly quiet.
“Welcome~ How may I help you?”
The bank clerk sitting at the counter greeted me with a formulaic smile, still wearing her school uniform.
Looking at the nameplate in front of the counter, I guessed that a fourth-year graduating student from the Department of Economics had come out for practical training.
A work-placement internship—important stuff, I suppose.
“I'd like to check how much money is deposited under my name.”
“You'd like to inquire about your balance. May I have your name?”
I answered absentmindedly, my chin propped in my hand.
“Lunaris Evermoon.”
“Yes, Lunaris... Huh? Lu, Lunaris?!”
The bank clerk's shoulders gave a startled twitch when she heard my name.
“...?”
I watched her quietly, wondering if something was wrong, and the bank clerk hurriedly shook her head.
“Ah, I-I'm sorry. J-Just a moment... I'll check right away.”
“So I'm really seeing the Lunaris from the rumors in person...”
“And of all times, she has to be my customer...”
Her soft muttering slipped into my ears.
Perhaps it was because she was an intern, but her attitude felt a little unprofessional for a bank clerk.
As I watched her with a sullen expression, the senior student teller hurriedly infused mana into the Wizboard and checked something.
Before long, her shoulders gave another startled twitch.
“Uh, uhh...”
Her expression, as if she had seen a ghost, was remarkably animated.
After glancing back and forth between the Wizboard and my face several times, the bank clerk finally asked in a trembling voice,
“Are you... are you really Lunaris Evermoon?”
“I am.”
“You certainly seem to be, but for verification... Excuse me, but could you channel some mana into this?”
The bank clerk suddenly thrust a transparent crystal orb in front of me.
Apparently, mana served as a kind of identification card here.
No wonder they had told me to register my mana as well when I opened the account.
I did wonder whether someone like the First Prince, who had no mana, could get anything done properly, but anyway.
My mana flowed into the crystal orb and lit it with a soft glow.
The bank clerk abruptly rose from her seat when she saw the light.
“V-Verified, ma'am!”
“So how much is there?”
“I'm terribly sorry, but could you wait here just a moment... just a moment? It'll only take a second!”
“Sure. All right.”
The bank clerk hurriedly ran into the office behind the counter.
From inside came the clatter of a chair toppling over.
She was making an incredible commotion. Was checking a deposit balance really such a serious matter?
The bank clerk soon returned, accompanied by a middle-aged man dressed to the nines.
The moment he saw me, he rubbed his hands together and bowed repeatedly.
His ingratiating grin was so unnatural it was almost painful to watch.
“Goodness—welcome, Miss Lunaris!”
His back bent at precisely ninety degrees.
Unlike the student intern, this man's posture alone was on an entirely different level.
“Come to think of it, I haven't introduced myself! I'm the branch manager of the Elterion branch of Imperial Bank.”
“Ah, yes. Hello.”
“It is an honor to have such a distinguished person visit this lowly place in person!”
“...”
This man's reactions were over the top.
Really... this was incredibly burdensome.
I took a step back and asked cautiously,
“Um, first of all, I came to check how much money is in my account.”
“Goodness—so that's why you're here!”
The branch manager fussily rubbed his hands together again.
“Now, now! Rather than stand around here, why don't you come upstairs first?”
“Huh? Upstairs where?”
“We'll escort you to the VIP room upstairs. It would be far too improper to assist you at the ordinary counter, so please!”
“...?”
Why was checking how much money I had such a troublesome process?
Still, it wasn't as if they were asking me to do anything. I decided to go along with it and followed the branch manager up the stairs.
*
The VIP room on the second floor was certainly different, starting with the air.
Unlike the somewhat hectic floor below, it was an antique space that practically reeked of money.
There was already a customer in the VIP room.
“The branch manager rushed downstairs so urgently that I thought even Princess Celestina had come...”
I thought the person looked familiar, and sure enough, it was someone I knew.
“So it was you, Miss Lunaris.”
“...Department Head?”
Head Raymond Cloud of the Magic Department waved his hand lazily at me.
I reflexively dipped my head in a bow.
“Hello.”
“Sit here. Whatever else you can say about this place, they make an excellent cup of tea.”
I sat down across from the department head.
“What brings you here? Have you run out of money and come to ask for a loan or something...?”
“Haha, what a joke.”
Head Raymond gave a snort of laughter and set down his teacup.
“I came to see whether my money is working properly. For a man of my assets, stopping by the bank is practically part of my daily routine.”
“I always thought the department head's image was that of someone who did nothing but spend money like water...”
“Being able to spend it like that is all thanks to managing my assets well in the first place, isn't it?”
Head Raymond shrugged and crossed his legs.
“Anyway, I didn't expect to see you here, Miss Lunaris. Then again, I suppose I did think it was about time you came by at least once...”
Just then, the branch manager came running over, drenched in sweat and carrying a huge bundle of documents.
“I'm terribly sorry to interrupt your conversation! Miss Lunaris, shall I help you check the amount in your account?”
“Yes, please. How much is in there to make such a fuss?”
I asked listlessly as I took a sip of tea.
“The current balance in Miss Lunaris's account is... approximately this much. Please note that, for ease of viewing, units represented in silver and copper coins have been truncated.”
The branch manager's hand trembled as he discreetly held out a note to me.
“Let's see. Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands...?”
The note I glanced at without much thought contained a number I had never imagined.
I squinted at the branch manager.
“Is this number actually correct?”
“I-I assure you! I brought the entire transaction history, just in case!”
“So, it's this much in gold coins?”
“That is the exact amount calculated in Imperial gold coins!”
Not silver coins, either.
This much in gold coins...?
As I kept tilting my head in confusion, the branch manager began shaking—not just his hands, but his entire body.
“M-Might you also need the figures including the truncated units?”
“I don't really need it down to that level...”
At that moment, Head Raymond, who had been drinking tea beside me, joined in with interest.
“Why? Is the number a little short?”
“No, it's not that.”
I examined the number on the note thrust before me once more.
“It seems... a little more than I expected...”
I never imagined the amount would have five digits in gold coins.
In other words, more than ten thousand.
When did I become this rich?”