Hearing the words Wayne had blurted out without thinking, the veiled mysterious woman paused briefly, blinking in confusion.
"My name is Mailita Pernie. The pronunciation may indeed differ from names common in the northern realms..."
Wayne hastily reined in his derailed train of thought. "Oh, sorry, never mind, never mind. My pronunciation was off."
Then he cleared his throat twice, trying to reclaim some gravitas (and salvage the atmosphere). "So then, Miss Agent of the Mithril Treasury, what brings you here in the dead of night, through a window no less?"
The woman hopped down from the windowsill and stood before Wayne. "The window was a necessity. Who knows how many pairs of eyes are watching this place right now, and what you left in the Mithril Treasury is classified at the 'Top Secret' level. Per the original agreement, whether depositing or withdrawing, the process must be conducted in secrecy."
As she spoke, she fixed her gaze on Wayne with eyes that glimmered faintly purple in the darkness. Though her expression was hidden behind the veil, those eyes were unmistakably appraising.
Wayne's mind was already racing.
He knew about the Mithril Treasury, or rather, the memories in his head contained records of it.
The Mithril Treasury wasn't some secret organization. In fact, the vast majority of intelligent beings in this world knew of its existence. But at the same time, not a single person could claim to truly understand the "Treasury's" real nature.
On the surface, it was a comprehensive vault. It could store your money, safeguard your treasures, as long as you paid the appropriate fees, you could confidently entrust anything to their care. At least, that was the Mithril Treasury's official pitch, and indeed, to this day, no one had ever heard of anything deposited with the Mithril Treasury going missing.
The Treasury also provided lending services. They had countless agents and agency points throughout the world, and as long as you met their credit standards, anyone could easily locate them and borrow money or other things, with two caveats. First, how much you could borrow depended entirely on the Mithril Treasury's "rating" of you, and they had never publicly disclosed their rating criteria. Second, you had to pay it back.
The Mithril Treasury ensured that every last copper it lent out was recovered with interest.
Just as no one had ever heard of items deposited with the Treasury going missing, no one had ever heard of anyone evading a Mithril Treasury debt. Supposedly, a cunning fire elemental lord had once attempted to challenge this rule. Though elemental beings had no use for money, this eccentric elemental lord had borrowed a massive sum from the Mithril Treasury, then retreated to the Elemental Plane to watch the mortal world's joke unfold. But it ended up repaying every last coin.
On the third day after the repayment deadline, the elemental lord's core and elemental fragments appeared at a northern auction house. The proceeds from the sale matched the sum of its outstanding debt and late fees exactly.
This illustrated that the Mithril Treasury dealt with far more than humans. It transacted with every intelligent race in the world. Anyone with a financial need was a potential client, even the mystical elves of the south and the stone-hard dwarves of the west were no exception (reportedly, Mithril Treasury outposts could even be found in kobold warrens).
No one knew whether the organization had been founded by humans, elves, or something else entirely. It had simply always existed. Even the Dark Tide of seven hundred years ago hadn't disrupted its operations, in fact, the founding of the Kingdom of Andraste had involved a loan from them, though at least Charles Martell had eventually paid it back.
The Treasury agent was still watching Wayne with curiosity. He, meanwhile, had silently finished organizing the jumbled thoughts in his head. He realized that tonight's unexpected visitor was probably here because of a transaction from seven hundred years ago. The original Gwayne Seawright had clearly been a Mithril Treasury client. But the critical problem was...
There were no memories of this!
Wayne had absolutely no idea what the Seawright ancestor had deposited in the Mithril Treasury seven hundred years ago!
His mind spun furiously. His instinct was to fabricate an excuse to cover the gap in his knowledge. But just as the words were about to leave his lips, he caught sight of Miss My Little Pony's scrutinizing gaze, and a thought stopped him cold. He swallowed the bluff.
This woman was shrouded in mystery. Until he understood her better, he needed to minimize variables. Lying could cause problems, because certain special races possessed special talents that could detect falsehoods.
He calmed himself and met Mailita's eyes. "What did I deposit back then?"
"You don't remember?" Mailita's eyes curved slightly, as if smiling. "Perhaps from sleeping too long?"
"I slept for seven hundred years. I suppose I've forgotten a few things," Wayne tapped his own head. "By the way, you keep holding onto deposited items even after the client dies?"
"Under normal circumstances, the client's death terminates the commission. After that, there are two ways the deposited item is handled. if a clear inheritance designation exists, we deliver it to the heir. If there is no legal heir, the item becomes Mithril Treasury property," Mailita was indeed smiling, and she raised her hand slightly. A delicate small strongbox materialized out of thin air in her palm. "But what you deposited was special. You specifically purchased our indefinite storage service, which means that as long as the Mithril Treasury continues to operate, your item will be stored permanently, and only you yourself may retrieve it."
She added. "You paid quite a premium for this service, I should note. After news of your death arrived, we assumed it would become a troublesome dead account. But as it turns out, nothing in this world is certain."
Wayne furrowed his brow, realizing this matter was probably more complicated than he'd initially imagined.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. He needed to get the item first before he could make any further judgments.
"Can I have my things back?"
"Your inability to recall the original deposit does present a minor complication, but rest assured, the Mithril Treasury has encountered every manner of situation. We have ample experience handling the unexpected," Mailita held the strongbox in both hands. "Memory is a small matter. Please place your hand on this rune. The ancient magic within will verify your identity."
Wayne considered for two seconds, simultaneously activating the knight class's [Danger Sense] talent. He detected no threatening aura from the strongbox, and the rune itself showed no fluctuation of curses, poison, or other negative energies. Only after confirming this did he place his hand on the claw-shaped rune.
A faint warmth spread across his skin. The strongbox clicked, and the lid popped open a crack.
"That's all it takes?" Wayne asked, somewhat surprised.
Mailita smiled. "Maximizing client convenience is the Mithril Treasury's guiding principle. It helps clients settle their bills more smoothly. Of course, your bill was settled seven hundred years ago."
She opened the box fully and handed it to Wayne. He looked inside and found it contained nothing but a single crystal that had lost its luster.
Wait, this crystal looked somewhat familiar?
Wayne set aside his questions for now and looked up at Mailita. "Why did you choose to approach me now, of all times? Was this part of the original agreement?"
"Not exactly," Mailita shook her head gently. "We simply needed some time to verify your resurrection. I'd originally planned to meet you on the road to the capital, but your route was so... meandering that I couldn't tell what plans you were executing, so I decided to simply wait for you here in the capital. Incidentally, I've been waiting here for quite a while. The price of rice in the capital is steep, and rent isn't cheap either, but since you're a VIP client, I won't charge you for those expenses."
Wayne: "..."
Then why bring it up at all?!
Wayne turned his head and said coolly. "Rice in the capital is indeed expensive. That bodyguard of mine eats a great deal as well. Now that you've injured her, the medical bills will be considerable. I won't be charging you for those either."
Mailita: "..."
Miss My Little Pony appeared to have smiled stiffly a couple of times, hard to tell clearly behind the veil. Finally, she shook her head and extended something toward him. "Well then, Lord Gwayne Seawright, this transaction is now complete. And as a VIP client of the Mithril Treasury, you will receive a gift."
Wayne took it curiously and found it was a silvery-white ring. "What is this?"
"A Mithril Ring. Every VIP client receives one upon completing their first transaction. Through it, you can contact your dedicated agent, your VIP specialist, at any time. If you encounter financial difficulties in the future, or have valuables that need safekeeping, simply contact me directly. Of course, for routine small-scale services, you can also bring this ring to the nearest Mithril Treasury agency point for a range of discounts."
With that, she turned and walked back toward the window she'd come through.
Wayne raised the ring. "Then I hope I never have occasion to borrow money from you."
Mailita had already stepped back onto the windowsill. Hearing Wayne's words, she turned her head with a smile. "Believe me, Lord Gwayne, everyone encounters financial difficulties eventually. The Mithril Treasury's doors are always open for clients in need."
The moment Wayne heard this pitch, identical to the credit card salespeople from his previous life, he waved her off. "Yes, yes, I'm sure. Miss My Little Pony, you'd better hurry back. Rice here in the capital is quite expensive."
Mailita's foot slipped, whether because of the rice prices or because of My Little Pony was unclear, but this time she didn't look back, simply vanishing into thin air.
A moment later, her figure materialized in a small attic at the top of the residence.
It was a spot where virtually no one would come to disturb her, normally used for storing odds and ends. But now it also contained some bedding, pillows, pots, pans, bowls, and utensils.
Mailita hadn't been lying. She really had been waiting here for quite some time...
As she packed up her belongings, the agent shook her head.
"At least I was eating your rice."