Game of Thrones: Second Son of House Targaryen

Chapter 37: Iron Bank

Just as Helbo was hurrying to meet Viserys, he found that Viserys was not at home. What made him even more upset was that none of the maids hired by Viserys would let him in the door. From afar, he could only see Dany practicing swordsmanship on the grass. He wanted to ask Dany where Viserys had gone, but she only waved at him from a distance.

'I'm such a fool!' Helbo cursed himself, realizing that Viserys seemed to be deliberately distancing himself. For more than ten years, Helbo had not achieved his goal of owning a proper business, and he subconsciously thought that Viserys, the "Beggar King," would not be able to achieve this goal so easily. In his opinion, Viserys was only good at fighting and not necessarily talented in business.

But now, it seemed he had completely misjudged. Meeting Moonshadow meant that Viserys’s "attempt" had won recognition. With Falia's guarantee, Viserys was able to do in a few months what Helbo had been unable to do in a decade. If Viserys had his own business, he would no longer be in the same class as Helbo. Realizing that Viserys might be an opportunity for him to move up in the world, Helbo went straight to the workshop. After all, Viserys's laboratory was there.

What Helbo didn't know was that the reason he couldn't get in was because Viserys had seen his "torture device." After Helbo left that day, Viserys instructed his maids not to let Helbo in if he wasn't home and not to let him near Dany. He also told Dany to greet Helbo from afar and not to talk to him.

Meanwhile, Viserys, accompanied by Morel, was about to arrive at the famous Iron Bank. As anyone who has watched Game of Thrones knows, the Iron Bank is famous. Littlefinger became Master of Coin because he borrowed money from the Iron Bank, making it seem as if he could conjure up money with his two fingers. In reality, the interest on these loans was passed on to the common people of Westeros. Later, Westeros was in chaos, and Stannis Baratheon borrowed money from the Iron Bank, as did Jon Snow.

Even further back in time, during the Targaryen era, there were kings who wanted to deposit money in the Iron Bank to earn interest. This shows how powerful it is. Of course, the Iron Bank can't just only have money bags; otherwise, it would just become a target for others.

It also has 'weapons,' and if anyone dares to default, it will support their opponent with money or support the rebels. When the rebels or the defaulting opponent come to power, they have to take over the mess left behind by their predecessors.

The Iron Bank got its name because its founder initially stored his money in an abandoned iron mine. But the Iron Bank, which has long since become "big and strong," has moved its headquarters away from the mine. The current headquarters of the Iron Bank is more like a heavily fortified fortress.

"Prince, the Iron Bank is just ahead," Morel said with a newfound respect in his voice. Ever since Viserys had met with Falia and struck a deal, Morel's admiration for him had grown. He had witnessed the magic of soap firsthand and knew his workshop was saved because of it.

At Morel's prompting, Viserys stuck his head out of the carriage. In the distance, he saw the tall, heavy walls of the Iron Bank, with guards patrolling back and forth. The guards were well-armed and well-built, clearly well-trained and well-fed.

The road was lined with barricades. An Iron Bank guard stopped their carriage for inspection. The guard wore a black cloak adorned with white dots, the symbol for 'money'. After checking their identities, their carriage passed through three more gates.

Beyond these gates, the two men were asked to disembark and continue on foot.

"Prince, this is where the Iron Bank conducts its business," Morel said, gesturing toward the building.

Viserys nodded. In front of him stood a tall, imposing structure that looked like a combination of a temple and a courthouse. Above the entrance was a statue of a woman with arms that transformed into wings.

As they walked a few steps further, Viserys noticed something underfoot. He looked down and saw a line of relief text written in the common tongue, Dothraki, and Valyrian: "The Iron Bank will have its due".

Suddenly, Viserys felt the gravity of the game of thrones 'scratch' up. Every faction with a name has a slogan that belongs to them.

At that moment, an Iron Bank employee with a long beard and wearing a brown uniform approached the two men.

"Lord, do you need to borrow, deposit, or withdraw money?"

"Get a card."

"Huh?"

The soul of the transmigrator couldn't resist a little joke before answering seriously, "Withdraw money."

"Okay, please follow me."

The employee took out a key from his breast pocket and led Viserys into a small room, leaving Morel waiting outside. The employee asked Viserys to take a seat and then sat across from him.

"What is your name?"

"Viserys Targaryen."

The employee bowed his head and wrote something down, then asked a few more questions, appearing extremely serious. Viserys suddenly remembered that the original Viserys had also come to the Iron Bank to borrow money, but was rejected. The reason, of course, was that they did not believe Viserys could restore the realm.

Although they did not have the technology to collect big data and check the flow of money like modern banks, they also had their own set of audit plans.

"To confirm, you want to withdraw money?"

"That's right."

"What is your account number?"

Viserys told him the account number left by Illyrio.

"The account password, please?"

"Fire and Blood."

When Viserys said the correct password, the employee's serious expression melted away and immediately became friendly.

"You have 7,000 gold dragons in your account. How much would you like to withdraw?"

"5,000."

"Do you need an escort?"

"No... Uh, how much does an escort cost?"

The employee smiled and said, "We have five levels of escort service..."

"Okay, which one do you recommend?"

After learning about some of the Iron Bank's services, Viserys paid 100 gold dragons and chose a "covert protection" package. With the money, they left the Iron Bank.

They had not gone far when the service proved its worth. The person being restrained by the Iron Bank guards looked familiar. It was Helbo!