Chapter 79 (2)
"Well, they say that a young assistant working there led an operation to capture a local lord."
"Capture the lord?"
"Yes, they turned the lord into a complete debtor and put him under their control."
The candid expression was pleasing to Rockefeller.
"So, how much do you know about this?"
"I only know that much. It's unbelievable that a powerless banker like us could capture a lord. I thought it was a lie when I first heard it."
"But has the story already spread this far?"
"Of course! A simple banker captured a lord, so it would be even stranger if the rumor didn't spread."
Until now, bankers had been nothing more than powerless subjects.
But one of them suddenly captured a lord, so it would have been strange if the rumor hadn't spread.
"The young assistant, who is said to have just come of age, fearlessly carried out such a feat."
The shop owner, who had been talking excitedly, began to notice that the rumored assistant's appearance overlapped with the young man standing before him.
"Where are you from?"
Faced with the question about his identity, Rockefeller hesitated for a moment.
'Should I tell him?'
His identity would be revealed soon at the guild meeting in two weeks anyway.
But there was no need to reveal it here, so he decided to listen to the objective evaluations of himself circulating among the bankers first.
"I'm just a passerby. I was interested in the rumor and happened to stop by your shop. I wanted to confirm if the rumor was true."
"I see. There are quite a few people like you. Although the territory is located in the outskirts, people are curious about how a simple banker captured the lord, so they come here to ask. Anyway, it's a story about a banker, so it spreads quickly among us."
He continued.
"Our circle is quite small. We are just a few connections away from knowing each other. Well, we're all in the same guild, so it's possible."
Rockefeller asked him what he had been curious about.
"So, what do you think?"
"What do I think?"
"I'm curious about your thoughts on the assistant."
"Well, I can only say that he's incredible. I don't know exactly how it was possible, but now that bank is in a great position. They don't have to worry about anything anymore, and unless a sudden group of thieves attacks, what big problems could they have? We, the other bankers, are just envious."
"I see."
At this, the shop owner showed a quite surprised expression.
"So... you are that..."
Rockefeller, still smiling, pointed to himself.
"Yes, that's right."
"But why did you come all the way from the remote territory?"
"I briefly visited Lyon to become a goldsmith. I've already met the guild master, and I'm curious about how the story of my business is being heard by the existing bankers, so I came to visit."
"Oh... Oh, I see. You were his assistant. The one who caught that lord..."
The shop owner, who was rambling in surprise, regained his composure and began to treat Rockefeller.
He was also interested in the rumored assistant.
"First, have a seat here. Do you need tea?"
When he met the guild master, he was beaten with a cane instead of tea.
But here, he was treated fairly well, and Rockefeller felt a strange feeling.
"No, I'm fine."
"No, I'll feel bad if you don't. Do you want black tea? Or I also have herbal tea. Both are delicious. We only use the highest quality in this store."
"Then I'll have the herbal tea."
After a while, the shop owner brought the herbal tea and sat down comfortably opposite Rockefeller.
"You were the rumored assistant."
The shop owner's gaze changed 180 degrees as he learned Rockefeller's identity.
"Yes, I happened to come to Lyon. But the guild master seems to have a lot of complaints about me."
At that, the shop owner began to nod vigorously.
"It's natural. The losses caused by you must be significant."
Rockefeller, who thought there was no need to be too cautious with the friendly shop owner, continued.
"What do you think about the business I started? I'm curious whether you or other bankers think the same as the guild master here."
"To be honest, I'm fifty-fifty. As I mentioned earlier, I really don't know. Plus, wasn't there a precedent where you caught a lord? So I'm even more unsure."
Rockefeller nodded alone.
'It seems that the rumor of me catching a lord is working quite positively here. It's natural since there's already a successful case.'
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