"Right, that is enough fun for today," said Arin as he looked toward the sun and judged the time. It was already around three o'clock in the afternoon, which meant they had spent considerably longer at the range than he had intended. He lowered his bow and stretched his shoulders before looking over at the others. "We still have something important to take care of before we can call it a day."
"Why is it that we were having such a good time?" Tom asked as he walked toward the targets. He had just hit one of the dove-shaped targets directly in the head, and the achievement had put a wide smile on his face. He was still having trouble shooting accurately at such a long distance, especially compared with Arin, whose archery skill was practically unfair. "I finally hit one at three hundred meters, so I don't understand why we have to stop now."
"Because we were asked to collect the money from the bow and arrow shop we operate in town," Arin explained with a sigh. "The family wants someone experienced to escort the money back to the forest, because they are worried that the younger recruits are not alert enough for the journey." Normally, this would have been a simple task for one experienced family member. Unfortunately, everyone else had already handled the job recently, leaving them as the unfortunate volunteers.
"Yes, he is unfortunately right," Bertho added as he began putting away his equipment. "So get ready, because if four of us are being sent, they clearly expect trouble." His expression became more serious as he considered the implications. Normally, sending four family members for a simple money transfer would have been excessive. Sending Arin in particular suggested that the family believed something unusual might happen along the road.
"Wait, is he actually serious?" Bill asked with a long face. He had only recently returned from the forest and clearly had no desire to immediately find himself involved in another potentially dangerous situation. Arin nodded before answering him. "Dad briefed me on the specifics, and the police in town received information that a suspected criminal gang was spotted around the outskirts before disappearing into the swamp two days ago."
"That would explain why they want us to escort the money," Arin continued. "We are basically the only group regularly using that road while transporting a large amount of money." Everyone in the family understood why the road was so important. Their family was effectively the reason the town existed in the first place, and every month the profits from their shop were transported back toward the forest because their own facilities were considerably safer.
"Hey, Arin, do you know if it is true that we have an agreement with the Bank of Europe?" Bertho asked. "I've heard that they have stationed a branch here and that some of their money is being stored in our facilities, but nobody ever confirmed it." He looked toward Arin expectantly. If anyone in the family knew the answer, it was probably him, considering how closely connected he was to the family's senior leadership.
"I don't know," Arin admitted. "My brother probably knows more about that than I do, because he is much more curious about the family's business arrangements." He looked toward Johny, who was already preparing for the journey. "Johny, do you know whether the bank is using our vault in town to store the money they need secured?"
"Why do you want to know?" Johny asked with an amused expression. He seemed to already know where the conversation was going. "Because I don't want you taking the wrong amount of money," he answered before Arin could say anything else. "But don't worry, everything is straightforward this time."
"Grandpa Bennie is traveling with you as well," Johny continued. "He needs to sign a new agreement with the European Central Bank regarding the storage of their money." He smiled when he saw the realization spread across Arin's face. "So yes, that is the answer to your question. The bank is using our vault."
"The reason is actually rather simple," Johny explained. "The new branch does not yet have enough trained personnel to provide the level of security required for the amount of money they intend to handle." The branch had been constructed recently and was expected to serve a large number of wealthy customers. However, the bank was still hiring employees and rewriting its procedures to account for the completely changed world.
"As you have probably noticed from the news, bank robberies are becoming common again," Johny continued. "The arrival of mana has changed the equation because numbers matter again, especially when advanced technology can no longer be relied upon." The bank therefore had two choices. It could either trust the family's security system or spend an enormous amount of money constructing a completely new underground vault that would still be weaker than what the family already possessed.
"Our facilities have around one hundred recruits stationed around the vault and its surrounding buildings," Johny said proudly. "With that many people guarding the location, an attacker would have a much harder time getting anywhere near the money." He folded his arms as though the superiority of their security system was obvious. "The bank decided that paying us for protection was considerably cheaper than trying to recreate the same system themselves."
"Now, onto the cart," Grandpa Bennie called from nearby. He had apparently been listening to the conversation while making the final preparations for their departure. "If you have questions, ask them now." Dennis immediately began ushering his brother and nephews toward the waiting cart before they could get distracted again.
"Good day, Grandpa," Bill said as he climbed aboard. He stopped when he saw the two horses standing at the front and immediately smiled. "Are we playing fancy today? Two horses?" The animals were magnificent examples of the new generation of horses being bred throughout the world. Even with everyone investing heavily in horse breeding, however, producing enough animals to meet demand remained difficult, which kept good horses extremely expensive.
"You know it," Bennie said with a laugh. "We are expecting to bring at least twenty thousand silver coins home this month." Several whistles of appreciation immediately came from around the cart. The family had known their bows were selling well, but even they had underestimated just how quickly demand had grown. Their business had become far more profitable than anyone expected when they first began producing weapons for the new world.
"Grandpa, why are we still making so much money?" Arin asked with genuine confusion. "I expected sales to have slowed down by now, because our bows are not exactly cheap." Their standard bows cost around five silver coins each, a price that was completely unreasonable for the vast majority of ordinary customers. Yet the orders continued arriving at an astonishing rate.
"Oh, you are right that the price is high," Bennie replied. "But the new proving grounds are beginning to become operational, and that has created an entirely new market." People who wanted better results needed better equipment, because their performance inside the proving grounds directly affected their cultivation progress. "A person who wants a better score is willing to pay considerably more for a weapon that they know will not fail them."
"Our bows are also the only ones available in sufficient quality and quantity that people genuinely trust," Bennie continued. "Once a customer sees our brand on a bow, they know what they are getting." He smiled proudly at the thought. The reputation of their workshop had become almost as valuable as the bows themselves, and Bennie considered the establishment of that brand one of his greatest commercial accomplishments.
"Have we had problems with counterfeiters yet?" Bertho asked. He enjoyed knowing what was happening around the family but had never been particularly interested in the commercial side of the business. His question nevertheless made Bennie sigh. Counterfeiting was an obvious concern when a product became both expensive and popular.
"No, thankfully," Bennie answered. "The System sells tools that allow us to place our official brand on items, and the mark can be checked when someone identifies the bow." He paused before explaining the drawback. "Unfortunately, using the branding tool is incredibly tiring, to the point that a person can only properly brand around three items per day before becoming exhausted."
"So even if we haven't crafted anything else that day, someone still has to use the branding tool to stamp at least one bow?" Bertho asked. Bennie nodded with a faint expression of frustration. The System's method was extremely effective at preventing counterfeiting, but it also meant that the family had to carefully organize its production schedule. "Yes," Bennie said. "The System clearly did not design it with mass production in mind."
"Well, that sounds useful and incredibly inconvenient at the same time," Bertho replied awkwardly. He looked at the others as if expecting someone to disagree with him. Nobody did. The cart finally began moving away from the archery range, carrying the group toward the town and the money waiting at their shop.
The afternoon sun was already beginning its slow descent as the family left the forest behind. What should have been an ordinary trip to collect the month's earnings had suddenly become more complicated because of rumors of criminals hiding near the road. With four experienced family members and Bennie accompanying them, however, nobody expected the journey to be completely helpless. Still, Arin kept one hand near his bow as the cart rolled toward town, quietly watching the forest around them.