Chapter 29: Greed

The lead-up to the Rainbow Festival brought a massive influx of business opportunities to Salem City, and this also happened to be the busiest time for the banking industry.

Sea captains, wealthy merchants, and their most trusted confidants all came in person to withdraw money, and the bank was nearly packed to capacity, a chaotic sea of bodies and greed.

There were so many people that the lines stretched from the grand entrance all the way to the teller windows, forming three long, shuffling dragons of impatient customers. The pleasant, musical sound of clinking gold coins came from behind the ornate metal grilles. Dwarves wearing tiny spectacles weighed gold and silver on delicate scales, handing out golden bank notes and taking in heavy bags of gold coins. Most of the employees at the Fellen Brothers Bank were dwarves, because people believed that a dwarf’s promise was as good as solid gold and were therefore more at ease entrusting their fortunes to their notoriously secure vaults.

Gima stood to the side, tapping her finger impatiently as she counted the people, estimating the length and speed of the lines. Compared to the lightning-fast banks on Earth, the transaction speed here was as slow as a drunken snail. If she waited patiently in line like a commoner, she would probably run into George the moment she got back, and her poor, innocent butt would be in mortal jeopardy.

She didn’t think a bunch of pathetic sewer kobolds could hold George up for very long.

“Kid, this is not a place for you to play.”

Gima lowered her hand and turned her head towards the source of the gruff voice.

A man was standing right behind her. He had dark, weathered skin, a tall, powerful build, and was wearing a short jacket that exposed his ridiculously muscular arms. He smelled faintly of the ocean. But perched on his nose was a pair of small and delicate gold-rimmed glasses, giving him the comically absurd air of an orc trying to act like a civilized scholar.

His face was etched with anxiety, and he impatiently pointed to the side. Gima followed his finger and only then saw that the bank had just opened a new window. The newly formed line had managed to perfectly sandwich Gima, and she was now blocking the muscle-bound glasses man’s direct path to the counter. In his large palm, he was impatiently kneading a shiny golden card.

“Be patient,” Gima said with a sniff, turning her head and walking with purpose towards the counter.

Wait in line? What a joke. Gima did not want to be spanked. She planned to speak directly to the bank clerk behind the counter and exercise her privilege.

Alright, she wasn't entirely clear on the bank’s specific rules and regulations. She didn’t know if she could actually cut the line, but at any rate, the account she had opened was the highest, most exclusive tier. When she had opened it all those years ago, the banker, the great Mr. Fellen himself, had smiled like a four-hundred-pound child who’d just been given a lifetime supply of candy.

Walking to the counter, Gima placed her hands on the cold marble surface and stood on her tiptoes. Behind the black iron grille, a dwarf was slowly, almost painfully, sorting through a stack of bank drafts. His beard was so long it reached his thighs, and it was as white as a ball of freshly picked cotton.

It had to be said, his leisurely, unhurried movements were truly, profoundly anxiety-inducing.

“Hey, you can’t just cut the line,” the young merchant Gima had just cut in front of warned her with a frown. “Otherwise, I’ll have the guards throw you out.”

Gima turned her head, smiled sweetly at him, and said in her most angelic voice, “Hello, big brother. I’m just here to handle some business for my master. He has a Gold Account. I just want to ask the clerk a few quick questions.”

The young merchant’s heart warmed instantly. He felt as if the entire gloomy bank had brightened up by several degrees. He couldn’t help but smile back. “Oh. Well, in that case, you can just say a few words.”

Just then, the white-bearded dwarf, whose movements were as slow as a sloth on tranquilizers, slowly raised his head and asked, his voice a low grumble, “What Gold Account? Do you have a card?”

“My master uses an anonymous account,” Gima chirped. “I just need to give the account name and password.”

“Huh? Is there such a thing?”

Just as Gima was about to speak, a muscular, dark arm pushed her hand aside and unceremoniously squeezed her out of the way. The muscle-bound glasses man threw a gold card into the small opening in the grille. “I’m the Gold Account.”

“VIP card has priority,” the white-bearded dwarf said, taking the young merchant’s card out of the opening and tossing it back out. He waved a dismissive hand at Gima. “Everyone else, get in line.”

Gima, furious at being pushed aside, angrily squeezed forward again and shouted at the window, “My master has rented an entire magic vault in your bank! If you don’t believe me, just check the account!”

“This is not a place for children to play,” the muscle-bound glasses man said, easily pushing Gima aside again. She fell against someone and almost tripped. “Guards! Guards! How could you let a child in here? If she delays a customer’s urgent business, will you compensate them?”

A guard in a shiny breastplate pushed through the crowd and walked over. A heavy wooden club hung from his waist. He saw Gima and said, “If you have no business here, don’t play in the bank.”

“She doesn’t even have a card,” the muscle-bound glasses man added smugly.

“Get out, quickly. Either you walk out on your own, or I’ll drag you out.”

“I really do have business to attend to!”

Gima glared daggers at the muscle-bound glasses man.

The guard reached for Gima, about to grab her. “This is not a playground.”

“Wait, wait,” the white-bearded dwarf’s voice suddenly came out. “I just flipped through the records. It seems there really is such an account. What was the account name again?”

With that, the white-bearded dwarf slowly bent down, pulled out a large drawer, and began to slowly, methodically search through a thick stack of documents.

“Hey! Can’t you handle my business first?! I have a Gold Account with priority!” the muscle-bound glasses man said, looking like he was about to jump up and down with raw impatience.

“Her priority is higher than yours,” the white-bearded dwarf said flatly. He took out a very thick, very important-looking stack of documents, straightened them, and neatened them up with agonizing slowness.

“Excuse me.” Gima’s small hand pushed at the muscle-bound glasses man. He looked at her unpleasantly and pretended not to hear.

“Little sister, come here.” The young merchant from before kindly gave his spot to Gima. She went over, stood on her tiptoes, and said to the white-bearded dwarf, “The account name is: nishishabi250.”¹

“Oh, let me check.”

With that, the white-bearded dwarf lowered his head, licked his finger with a wet smack, and slowly began to flip through the thick documents. “There are… quite a few.”

The muscle-bearded glasses man laughed angrily. “What kind of dog-shit bank is this? A child just shouts a few random words, and you leave a Gold Account customer waiting on the side?”

“These are the rules and regulations.” Perhaps because his movements were so slow, the white-bearded dwarf’s voice sounded half as slow as everyone else’s.

“Tomorrow, I’ll hire a hundred little brats to come in every day and say they have some anonymous gold account that doesn’t need a card. See if you deal with them then!” the muscle-bound glasses man fumed. “I’ve never heard of such an account! If one actually exists, I’ll throw my gold card to the dogs!”

“Found it,” the white-bearded dwarf said, pulling out a single, dusty document. “There are too few people who use this exclusive service, I can’t remember them all. You have the highest priority. Come, write down the password for verification.”

With that, the white-bearded dwarf slowly pushed up his glasses with his middle finger and threw the gold card out of the opening.

The young merchant, his heart filled with a delicious sense of schadenfreude, picked up the gold card and handed it to the muscle-bound glasses man, smiling. “Here you go. Your dog-food gold card.”

The muscle-bound glasses man clenched his fists, snatched his gold card away, and indignantly stomped a meter away. The young merchant smiled and shook his head, also moving a meter away to watch the show.

Gima quickly wrote down the password and handed it in. The white-bearded dwarf put the password paper and the document in a paper bag and handed it to another employee.

A moment later, a woman came down from the second floor. She had a standard, professional smile on her face and was wearing a tight-fitting long dress. She found Gima in the crowd.

“Hello, miss. Please follow me to the second floor.”

“Okay.”

Gima breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she could get the money out, everything would be fine. A life without money was truly, deeply miserable. Just then, the white-bearded dwarf in the booth finally, slowly, put the document back into the drawer. His leisurely, unhurried movements greatly tested the patience of all the customers. If the password verification had been handled by someone else, Gima herself would have gotten a little impatient.

Gima followed the woman towards the grand staircase.

“Your secret account has not been touched for a very long time. It has been kept very safe and secure in our vault. It would be much more convenient if your master came in person,” the woman said as they walked.

Just then, a furious roar erupted from behind them. “You’re slower than my pet snail! Hurry up! Do you hear me?! And what are you pushing your glasses for?! You think I can’t see you stalling?! Fuck you!”

They turned their heads and saw the muscle-bound glasses man raising his fist and hammering it on the counter. A guard rushed over with his heavy wooden club.

“I’m very sorry for the disturbance,” the woman said, not batting an eye. “Some of our customers are very irritable. The room on the second floor will be much more quiet.”

She thought she saw Gima’s little finger twitch just now.

“Patience is a virtue,” Gima said sagely. She tucked her entire hand into her cloak, looked at the woman, and stepped onto the stairs. “What were you saying just now?”

“It would be much more convenient if your master came in person,” the woman smiled.

“Why?”

Gima felt a little wary. The agreement had been that even a dog could withdraw the money as long as it knew the password.

“This is not a good place to talk,” the woman said with a practiced smile.

They went up to the second floor.

Gima received the full VIP treatment: a quiet, luxurious room, and one-on-one, personalized service. If the tea on the table hadn’t been so bitter that it made her entire tongue tingle and curl up, it would have been even better.

Gima put down the white porcelain cup and muttered to herself, “What’s with this Western fantasy world serving tea? Isn’t coffee better?”

“Would you like some coffee, miss? It will be here shortly,” the woman smiled, having overheard her.

Gima glanced at the woman. She was wearing a drab gray long dress and a matching gray jacket. A gray high collar covered her neck, and she was wearing gray gloves. She was completely covered up, with only her head exposed. Her figure was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, like a lead bottle.

The second disappointment of the day. The Fellen Brothers Bank should really promote black lace bras and jackets that show off a healthy amount of cleavage as their official uniform.

“I’d like to ask, why does my master have to come in person? If it were convenient for him, I wouldn’t be here.”

Gima stared at Miss Lead Bottle’s chest. She wasn’t so thirsty that she was trying to penetrate her drab shell with her gaze, but rather she was observing the seven whirlwinds of desire around her chest, especially the blue one.

Gima found that from the beginning of their interaction until now, the blue whirlwind of greed around Miss Lead Bottle’s chest had been gradually growing larger, its color getting deeper and deeper.

“Because it has been a very long time, and the vault needs to be opened in person with the password. If the password is wrong, the contents of the vault will be incinerated,” Miss Lead Bottle said with a dazzling, but completely fake, smile.

“Are you worried about my memory?” Gima felt more and more that something was deeply wrong.

“If you are alone, something might happen on the way when you are carrying such a large treasure,” Miss Lead Bottle said. “It would be better if your master came with you. Besides, for such an old and prestigious account, the bank has a certain… sentimental attachment. I heard that they were all opened by Mr. Fellen’s oldest and dearest friends. If your master could come, Mr. Fellen himself would personally wait for him. Of course, this is just a suggestion. If you wish to withdraw the contents now, we cannot stop you.”

Gima could already feel a faint, but distinct, stinging sensation. The target of the other party’s greed was her!

“You have a point. I’ll be going now. Goodbye.”

As soon as Gima’s words fell, she saw a look of pure, undisguised astonishment on the other party’s face.