Are they trying to compete with us? Sawo thought, as he stared at Official Brym in the front of the meeting room. All around, the murmurs had started up again. The other merchants only sounded concerned, but Sawo was terrified. As ice-cold water spread throughout his veins, the former city lord stared at the calm smile before him in horror. He had seen the crown's work in the manufactories. He had seen the efficiency of their soldiers, and of their labor camps.

Unlike these commoners who didn't know how the administration of an estate worked, he had an idea of just how many resources the king had at his disposal. If the king's bank entered the finance game, no-one in this room would be competition for them. Even if they managed to keep their business open somehow, they would have to feed off the scraps the crown would deem unworthy of its attention. However, before he could compose himself enough to voice any complaints out loud, Brym continued.

“There's no need to worry. King Corcopaca doesn't plan to compete with you for customers, and neither will I.” The official seemed proficient in reading a room. As a result, his tone had become a lot warmer to calm down the commoners. “The central bank is an organization that does not store money from outsiders and does not lend to private customers unless there are exceptional circumstances. First and foremost, it is an organization for exclusive use of the banks.”

“Banks?” one merchant asked in confusion.

“Banks are any organizations like yours. That is, businesses that store and lend money, or exchange currencies. In the future, every business which declares itself a bank and follows the orders of the central government will be under the umbrella of the central bank. Any private bank like yours will be allowed to loan money from the central bank, for a low fee. This is meant as a last line of defense, in case you end up in trouble, despite your best efforts, and are temporarily unable to pay out your customers or fulfill any other financial obligations.”

“Wait, would that not mean we would be employed by our lord?” Next to Sawo, the merchant's face brightened up as he began to understand what the crown was offering here.

“That's correct, though it's not that simple,” Brym replied. “In principle, you would still be free men. You would still be able to conduct your business as you see fit, just like before, and you would still be able to move and work wherever you want within the empire. Please remember: The crown could have simply introduced new laws to regulate your behaviors and force you into compliance. Instead, we decided to organize this meeting and talk to you about your importance for the future of this country. Everyone has been very reasonable, so we hope we have made that responsibility clear enough. Of course, you will also get a status that will correspond with your duty. While we can't make you official warriors due to concerns from other lords within the southern kingdom, your association with the crown will still impact your lives in a very real way.”

Even Sawo had to admit that at least this much was true. In Medala, most commoners would not come into contact with the high nobility all their lives. The inner city walls alone made sure of that. Even though Saniya had already opened most of its gates to the commoners, the king was still a figure an ordinary citizen would only get to see from a distance, and only during special occasions.

Even at those times, only the craftsmen would sometimes be allowed to listen to the king if he needed their support for a new project. Sometimes he would also work with the farmers, all of whom showed great pride in their strong connection with the crown. However, not a single merchants had ever been close with the elusive Lord of Saniya.

Such a status – subordinate to a real department of the king – would elevate the merchants to the same levels as the other commoners in the city from one day to the other. No matter whether or not this connection was in name only, the craftsmen and farmers would show them the respect they had yearned for all their lives.

Still, Sawo wouldn't be won over just like this. Even now he was convinced that this was no more than another ploy from the false king, another attempt to gain control of one more facet of society, of yet another class. It was time for him to say something, anything. If he didn't speak up now, the others would be won over. He could feel it. However, for once he couldn't come up with a single complaint. As he was about to despair, the least likely of helpers came to his aid.

“Now that this has been cleared up, we should be talking about one final issue that has been quite pressing for us,” Official Brym said. “It is the opinion of the crown that your businesses should be pickier about the people they loan money to.”

As soon as he heard another hint at tighter rules, Sawo jumped at his chance. He stomped his feet and pretended outrage.

“What does that mean? We were meant to be independent. Those were official's words, were they not?”

“Yes, within the regulations of the kingdom,” Brym clarified. “However, if you exclusively loan your money out to gambling addicts, it's not helpful to anyone but yourselves, and maybe the gambling dens.”

This time, none of the merchants were brazen enough to complain, not even Sawo. Even so, the atmosphere turned heavier again, to reverse the previous elation. None of them would ever say it out loud, but their best customers were gambling addicts, drunkards and the like. Anyone who lacked the control to live within his means and needed money to afford his lifestyle would find them whenever they were short on coin again. If they couldn't take from the addicts anymore, who were they expected to take from instead?

“It seems like there is still a lot of work to be done.” Brym summed up the room with a sigh. “Here is the plan: Within three years, we want ninety percent of your loans to go towards either the founding or the expansion of businesses in any form. That can include other banks, private workshops and manufactories who want to buy tools or new work space, farmers who want to expand their fields, merchants who want to buy ships and the like. In turn, we want to limit the amount of private purchase loans that are handed out, as in loans to individuals for buying short-term goods. The three year period should give you plenty of time to readjust your business in that regard. If you are dissatisfied and believe you can't operate under those constraints, it also gives you time to look for other work in the meantime. In the end, your business – like any other – should benefit the people of the kingdom. Thus, these measures are necessary, even if you dislike them. Fueling unhealthy habits of those who can't help themselves and funneling money into the gambling houses is not something you should actively support. I hope you can all understand that.”

“Yet despite all of the nice talk, we are still controlled. In the end it is just as I said, is it not? Official says that there will be no interference, but these are already fundamental changes to the way we do business. This meeting has lasted for not even an hour and already we have been confronted with this many demands. At this rate I wonder how many more of these suggestions we can expect in the future.”

Confronted with another of Sawo's sharp jabs, the official dropped his mask for the first time. Although his smile remained, it looked much sterner as he turned to the former lord and confronted him directly.

“Master Sawo, was it?”

“Yes, that is correct,” Sawo replied with a frown. While he felt secure in front of the chubby official, exceptional danger seemed to be lurking behind that calm smile. Not to mention, he was unsure how the official even knew his name. Did he know about his former identity as city lord? Did he intend to make trouble for him based on his former status as a convict?

“I remember, we met half a year ago, when we exchanged certificate notes. In fact, you were our very first customer, the first one to exchange copper for notes. From what I have seen of you then and today, you should be an astute businessman, someone who can see an opportunity for what it is, and someone who can see trends develop long before anyone else does. I don't know why you seem so opposed to the crown's central bank proposal, but no one will force you to subjugate yourself to us if you're uncomfortable with authority. However, if you want to exchange precious metals for notes in the future, and if you want to benefit from the central bank's advantages, like elevated status or the ability to loan from us in times of need, you will have to make a few compromises. I'm sure a talent such as yourself will be able to make a simple decision on this, rather than ask questions everyone knows the answers to, simply to disturb the proceedings.”

Confronted with the naked truth, Sawo fell into a brooding mood, silenced just like all the other bankers in the room. Now that he had been called out, he couldn't simply shout out complaints any more. He could feel the eyes of every other merchant in the room on him. If he continued to create a scene, he would lose all credibility among his peers. Thus, he calmed his breath and began to think.

If he was being honest, the offered deal wasn't bad. Similar to his previous status of warrior, he would be bound to a lord, and thus elevate his own standing in society. Yes, he would have to agree to certain limitations, but they were not half as harsh than what he had expected when he had entered the castle for this meeting, and worlds apart from the strict social rules imposed by the old class system.

As for his opposition so far, he simply disliked the way he had been pushed around by his old foe, the King of the South. However, the proposal itself seemed reasonable. In fact, with all of their advantages, him and Tawo would overtake all the other people in this room in a fair competition. Soon, they would rise through the ranks to stand atop this new banking industry. All the official named Brymstock had done today was show him a new path to the top. And if ever it got blocked off by the king's machinations, he would simply find a new one, like he had always done.

When he looked back up from his ponder, the other merchants stared at him, bodies tensed and eyes wide. With bated breath, they all awaited his decision. All this time, he had spoken out for them, against the kingdom. In the process, he had turned into something of their representative for these talks. Once more confronted with his inherently noble status, his confidence rose once more. Already, he felt like the leader of Saniya's bankers, yet this was only the beginning.

“In that case, I will no longer make things difficult for Official Brymstock. I will be glad to work within the framework of the crown, to the betterment of the kingdom.”

As Sawo began to smile, a huge weight lifted off his shoulders, and from the entire room. With the eased atmosphere, more questions bombarded Brym, but Sawo didn't listen. Already, his mind was set on future plans. His path had opened up once more, and he would storm ahead, like he had always done. Once more, the future looked bright.