The Four Nations Bank — a banking institution founded jointly by the four great empires and spread across the entire Yulan Continent. Anyone who could open a Magic Crystal Card at the Four Nations Bank was, without exception, a person of considerable wealth. After all, just the fee for opening a card was one hundred gold coins. The average person could never justify that expense.
Ten thousand gold coins, packed into those palm-sized little cloth bags, filled a full hundred of them. Even a rice sack of the kind used in households could only be filled about halfway — they were terribly heavy.
"A hundred gold coins, just like that — gone." Lin Lei walked out of the Four Nations Bank located within Ernst Academy, sighing inwardly, while in his chest pocket there now rested a single Magic Crystal Card.
He understood the situation well enough. He still lived inside Ernst Academy, and keeping a pile of gold coins in his dormitory was simply not safe. It was far better to convert them into a Magic Crystal Card.
After all, the production cost of these cards alone was no small matter. They had only been developed by alchemists within the last few hundred years, utilizing the principle that every person's palm print was unique. Each Magic Crystal Card could only be used by the person who had registered it.
That was precisely why the fee for opening one was a hundred gold coins.
"With these ten thousand gold coins, my living expenses at Ernst Academy are fully covered, and I'll have plenty left over — enough to help Father as well." Lin Lei felt a surge of happiness.
Yeru threw his arm around Lin Lei's shoulder, whistling proudly as he looked over at Land and Ruisen.
Land and the others had emptied out their own living expenses to help. The four of them probably had less than a thousand gold coins between them now. Fortunately, the school year was nearly at its end.
Rein and George were chatting and laughing too, teasing Lin Lei from the side.
But in truth, neither Rein nor George had been hit too hard.
"Second brother, third brother, fourth brother — tomorrow is the last day of the month. My father's people will be arriving, and I can arrange a carriage and guards. How about the four of us take a trip to the Holy Capital?" Yeru proposed.
"The Holy Capital?"
Rein, George, and even Lin Lei's eyes lit up.
The Holy Capital — Fenn City. That was no ordinary place of prosperity.
"The Holy Capital? Sure! When I came from the O'Brien Empire to Ernst Academy, I only spent two days in Fenn City. There were so many places I didn't get to visit," Rein said eagerly.
George and Lin Lei nodded as well.
"There's quite a lot to see in the Holy Capital. Tomorrow I'll take you all on a grand tour." Yeru's voice took on a mysterious tone.
******
The next morning, Yeru dragged Lin Lei, Rein, and George out for an early breakfast, then headed straight for the main gate of Ernst Academy to wait for the caravan from his father.
They waited for roughly two hours, but the caravan had yet to appear.
"Squeak squeak~~~" Bei Bei cried from Lin Lei's shoulder.
"Even Bei Bei's getting impatient. Yeru, you hauled us out here at the crack of dawn, and the caravan still hasn't shown up," Rein complained from the side. Yeru gave an apologetic grin. "I don't know what's going on — they should've been here by now." Lin Lei simply stroked Bei Bei's head.
"They're here," Yeru suddenly announced.
Rein, George, and Lin Lei — nearly dozing off by now — all looked into the distance. Sure enough, four horse-drawn carriages accompanied by several hundred mounted knights were approaching in a grand procession. Seven or eight griffins soared above the column, and among the hundreds of knights, a dozen or more rode magic beasts — some mounted on Bloodthirsty Iron Bulls, others on Wind Wolves.
"Just Yeru's family's caravan is this impressive," Lin Lei couldn't help but exclaim. Rein and George's eyes were shining too.