Rolan passed through several layers of heavily guarded gates and entered the vault inner chamber of the castle area.

Back in the Border Town days, all the gold royals combined couldn't fill a few boxes. The castle basement was enough to hold the funds to keep the entire town running. Since the sale of steam engines and other magical creations, income has been rising steadily, quickly reaching an astonishing level. It would not be an exaggeration to describe it as earning gold every day.

As the territory grew, so did the expenses. To facilitate access for the Administrative Office, he ordered the construction of a dedicated vault between the castle and the Administrative Office. Although heavily guarded, as long as the procedures were in compliance, the heads of the various departments could enter the vault to withdraw funds, which caused quite a stir at the time. After all, there were almost no nobles who took out "their own wealth" to build the territory, let alone allow outsiders to enter and exit.

However, at that time, except for Barov who knew a little, the rest did not know that Rolan did not take these hard coins seriously at all. More or less didn't matter, as long as it kept up with the needs of city development. For a long time, Neverwinter's income had been greater than its expenditure, and he had not heard a report of a savings emergency for a long time.

"Your Majesty," Barov, who had been waiting in the vault, stepped forward and saluted, "You see... we now have only these last twelve boxes of gold royals left."

Generally speaking, there are about two thousand gold royals in a box, and the total amount is also about twenty thousand. Compared with the vault that used to be full, it does look a bit empty at first glance.

As for the silver wolves and copper eagles scattered in the corners, they piled up like small hills, but they were of little use.

"How long can it last?" Rolan asked.

"At the current rate... at most two months."

"Faster than I imagined," he raised his eyebrows, "Is it mainly used for paying salaries?"

"Yes, this part accounts for more than half of the expenditure—the population is growing too fast, and the increase in expenditure on the engineering team and the smelting team is the most obvious. In addition, you hire a large number of fjord merchant ships, which cost about four or five thousand gold royals every month. If this part is stopped, the Administrative Office can last until the next sales split from the Joint Chamber of Commerce—"

"Nothing can stop the transportation of people," Rolan interrupted the old chief's words.

"Then..." Barov rubbed his hands, "I remember you said at the last meeting that there was a once-and-for-all solution... is it true?"

"So you haven't forgotten," Rolan smiled, looking around the vault. Probably anticipating that this day would come, the vault was built quite spacious, and the windows were clean and bright. After clearing out the iron railings and the shelves in the room, it was basically no different from an ordinary house. Staying for a long time would not feel depressing, and it would be good for use as a printing room. "When is the next salary payment?"

"In a week."

"Store these gold royals, and don't move them for the time being," he nodded, "Come with me to the office, I have a new department to build, and the specific regulations will be discussed there."

Although this day came earlier than expected, he had started preparing for it more than half a year ago. The tokens issued to the Witch Union and Sleeping Spell were a test. If even the witches could not find loopholes or steal and imitate banknotes, then the foundation for replacing metal currency with paper money was mature and could be put into formal use at any time.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Barov seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. It could be seen that he was indeed still worried about the days when there was no money in the past. Now that he had Rolan's approval, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes eased a little, "By the way, Your Majesty, what is the name of the new department?"

"Bank," Rolan replied.

……

Five days later, the notice board in the central square of Neverwinter City was replaced with a whole new edition of notices, which caused a great wave among the residents. The Administrative Office once again sent specialists to publicize, which was a rare sight after the popularization of education.

Graycastle Weekly also published the detailed content of the notice on the most prominent front page—His Majesty is going to issue new currency to replace gold royals, silver wolves, and copper eagles!

For a time, the streets and alleys were filled with discussions about currency reform.

The hotel where Viktor lived was no exception.

He originally planned to return to Clearwater Port after watching the Shadow Demon, but the sudden appearance of the Red Moon disrupted all arrangements. Panic made the order turbulent. He immediately changed his plan and decided to stay here for a while longer—not out of loyalty to the King of Graycastle, but because he believed that if the Red Moon really represented the end of the world, other places would only be worse. When disaster strikes, the safest place on the entire continent is probably Neverwinter City.

As the King and Queen appeared to reassure the people, and the police and garrison cracked down on crime, order quickly stabilized. Viktor was also called to investigate many times as a witness to "Shadow Demon alienation", which was considered safe and sound. When he was about to break away from the gentle embrace of the maid and set off for the south, he was greeted with the news of the change.

And the release of this new policy brought him even more shock than the Red Moon.

Neverwinter City is going to abolish gold coins, the currency that has been used since the birth of the human kingdom!

As a businessman, Viktor's first reaction when he heard the news was that it was impossible. He thought it was the crazy talk of some drunkard. The four kingdoms, and even overseas lands, wherever there are people, all regard gold as a valuable thing. How easy is it to abolish?

But the newspaper bought back by the maid, as well as what the other party had seen and heard outside, confirmed the correctness of the news.

The first article of this reform is "Neverwinter City will issue new banknotes to replace the existing currency. It has the characteristic of mandatory circulation, and when used according to its face value, it must not be rejected by anyone."

This means that the King can buy all the goods of the merchants who set foot in Neverwinter with a piece of paper, which in a sense can be described as robbery.

"When I came back, I saw some people fleeing the city with goods," Linglong said in a low voice, lying on the soft couch, with a hint of worry in her tone. I don't know if she was worried that Rainbow Stone's clothes would be bought by force, or worried that he would also go far away like the others.

Viktor smiled wryly. The maid didn't know that he was actually tightly bound to the King of Graycastle. Without the seeds provided by Miss Yezi, there would be no Rainbow Stone today.

No matter what happens, he can't easily abandon the industry in Neverwinter City.

Moreover, based on his understanding of Rolan Wimbledon, these policies will sooner or later spread throughout the kingdom.

In addition, the other party's business acumen is no less than any great merchant in Dawn. The current situation is not so bad that it needs to be maintained by plundering, so he shouldn't suddenly have this idea. Thinking of this, Viktor calmed down and continued to read—

The second and third articles are related to people's livelihood.

"Neverwinter City's work salary will be paid in the form of banknotes."

"Materials sold by the Administrative Office and convenience markets, including but not limited to food, housing, etc., will only accept banknote transactions."

The fourth article obviously takes into account the number of new currencies.

"The Administrative Office will provide long-term exchange services for new and old currencies at the same value. Residents can exchange the gold royals, silver wolves, and copper eagles in their hands for banknotes of equivalent value at any time, and can also exchange the latter for the former. When exchanging new coins for old coins, the Administrative Office will charge a handling fee of 5%."

Viktor vaguely realized that there seemed to be something deeper hidden in this article...

The last article seems to be specifically aimed at foreign merchants.

"In addition, merchants who have obtained a license from the Administrative Office and operate legally can apply for identity to be exempt from the currency exchange fee."