Chapter 83: Daxam Version 5

Chapter 83 -083: Daxam Version 5

When they came out of the grand boutique, their looks had changed. For the better. Mostly Kadre’s.

She wore a high-collared long coat and tightly fitted trousers matching the coat’s color. She had also gotten a free parasol as a thank-you for shopping. The sun was up at the center of the sky and a bit warmer, so she had no reason to refuse it!

She tilted it against the light and, for a moment, looked almost pleased with herself.

As soon as they were out on the streets and had asked a resident the way to the Artificers’ district, the duo got themselves oriented and were there in no time.

Unlike Mikael’s expectation of stalls filled with hot air from furnaces, sweaty workers, and the clanging of metal, all they met was the same controlled quiet that had preceded the district. And instead of stalls, there were storeyed buildings bearing logos and names signifying which company was where.

Each name was set in clean letters above a door of polished wood, and not one of them advertised what it sold.

“Which one are we going to?” Mikael asked. Adrian’s memories were pretty much useless when it came to settings like these, and he had no idea where to even begin looking!

“How would I know? Don’t ask me!” Kadre snapped.

“Are you still angry?” Mikael asked, the look of surprise on his face quite genuine. “It’s been, what, twenty… thirty minutes.”

She scoffed, picked a random building, and went through its entrance.

The doorway swallowed her whole, and Mikael followed with the patience of a man who had decided long ago that some battles were just not worth fighting.

The only reason Mikael could think of for her tantrum was that he had rejected all the clothes she had wanted to choose and had instead forced the much more practical ones on her. He entered after her.

Their first view was a lounge, which was mostly empty, causing Mikael to doubt whether the store could actually provide what they needed.

A few chairs sat against the walls, and a low table held a single vase. Nothing here looked like it needed anything from anyone.

Kadre was discussing something with a lady at the counter while Mikael went to take a seat.

There was a particular cloak he had been eager to get for himself, but in order to be able to scold Kadre, he had restrained himself, noting to come back for it later. And-

“Hey!” A fist bumped into his shoulder. It was Kadre, no longer pouting. “Let’s go, you fucking daydreamer. Tch,” she scoffed.

They were guided to the tiny room Mikael had noticed, the one that went up and down, transporting people from the ground floor to the three floors above.

“And this is called?” He didn’t mask his curiosity as he looked around, figuring out the basic workings of the mechanism.

“An elevator, sir,” the escort replied, brimming with smiles. “It works by using-“

“Runes that basically repel and push,” Mikael cut her off.

“A pulley-like system mostly. That works with runes too.” The escort completed.

Kadre chuckled.

They got off at the first floor and headed to a door. Behind it was the workshop area, and there lay all the noise and heat they had expected from the start. The noise was kept from going outside by runes, which Mikael traced back to their source under the hall.

Their sojourn there lasted no more than a few moments, as they were led to a different room, quiet and cool like the other parts of the building.

Even in passing, he could feel how much of the building’s life was hidden beneath the floors, pipes and runes and hands working where no customer would ever see.

There were rows and rows of shelves, all displaying rings, necklaces, pendants, orbs, and the like!

“The comm rings are on the other side of the room. These here are the money storage rings.”

“Prices range from as low as fifteen gold up to a cool ninety thousand. It all depends on your pockets, esteemed customers.”

Mikael looked at the nearest shelf and noted that the cheapest ring sat beside the dearest with no more ceremony than a loaf beside a cake.

The concept of money had always surprised Mikael. The exchange value mortals entrusted to it was so great, and he sometimes wondered how the concept had even come to them in the first place.

This money was what basically ruled and decided lives, besides bloodline. If your predecessors or parents had little of it or none, you would have to suffer to make it: studying, doing odd jobs, inventing new things. And the scarcer your work, the more money it fetched.

He did not understand it, and he did not need to. It was enough to know the rules of the game, and he intended to play it only as long as he had to.

Somehow, he was a good example. A million gold was a very large sum, but the Limnors had sent him well above that amount, which meant that sales were going well.

I should probably make time to go see them. It’s been two months.

“Mikael, stop spacing out, dammit! It’s only a matter of time before I’m noticed. Which one are we going for?” Kadre whispered.

He slowly looked over the options. More expensive usually meant a better experience.

“Get the most expensive one,” he replied, waving them off, leaving them dumbfounded until the escort closed her jaw and got her professionalism back.

“What are the specs?” Kadre managed to ask, a smug look in her eyes as she tried to act cool-headed.

“Ah, yes. The Imperial Daxam Version 5 boasts a storage capacity of almost two cubic meters! With it, you can also deposit your money at the bank, and it will be set up as a mini payment portal. Anywhere you want to withdraw, or you can simply transfer value.”

“Make it make sense, Miss….”

“Timbot, ma’am. Yes! After purchasing the Daxam V5, you can opt to open an account, a bank account, after which you deposit however much you wish. The deposit will be verified and linked to your ring. Once the transaction is completed, the bank keeps the coins in its vault, while the owner, you in this case, simply holds the right to withdraw the deposited amount at any time. Or… transfer it to another user.”

Mikael nodded. Then again, he couldn’t be bothered with these kinds of things.

A bank was simply a vault with a clerk in front of it, as far as he could tell, and the clerk was the only part that needed explaining.

“So how do I get the coins when I want to pay for something?!”

Someone was visibly jumpy and excited, even forgetting her qualms about the clothes she had been given, and the fact that her scarf was probably the only reason she hadn’t been recognized yet.

She leaned over the counter, practically bouncing on her heels, and asked the escort three questions in a row before the first had been answered.

The escort was all smiles. The couple seemed a bit eccentric and generally weird, with the man not even sparing her a glance and the lady much more interested. All in all, she silently hoped the lady would convince her lover to get her the ring, and then she would get a cut of the proceeds!

“Yes. Where there are shops with approved banking devices, you just touch your ring to the device, and the amount is deducted from your account after your identity is verified and it is confirmed that the amount in your account is sufficient. Then the seller is credited. But I’m afraid this service is only available to those in the noble districts who have bank accounts with the Imperial Merchant Office or its branches.”

“And when I need physical coins? After I have deposited into the account?” Mikael grumbled the question, genuinely pleasing the clerk, who was already calculating how much she would get.

“Simply visit any branch of the bank and request a withdrawal. If you didn’t open an account, simply will the money out of the ring’s storage. The main difference is that the banking system user will be able to earn interest on their money and be sure of its maximum safety.”

Mikael rolled his eyes in boredom and growing lack of interest. He had sat through longer lectures from beings far older than this clerk, and he had not enjoyed those either.

“Enough of the explanations. Do you want it, Kadre? Decide fast. I’m bored of this place.”

“While it’s good, I can’t afford it now,” which translated into ‘only if you’ll pay for it’, something Mikael understood instantly. He was not a stickler for mortal wealth, believing it to be a tool he needed to get through this phase as a mortal smoothly, with major emphasis on the smoothly.

And so, an hour and two hundred thousand gold Crowns later, the duo walked out of the store looking completely the same as when they had entered. Almost the same.

The only difference was the sleek black-and-gold rings on their fingers.

Kadre held up her hand to the light and turned it, watching the gold catch. She said nothing, but she did not stop turning it.

Somehow, Mikael had been convinced to get one, and the duo headed off to explore the inner parts of the district.

And the clerk, happy about how it all played out, took a well-deserved day off!

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