Chapter 109: Fashion Trends

“Dad, are you still holding on?”

The eight-year-old little Mallory was pedaling the bicycle hard, occasionally shouting in a mix of excitement and fear.

“No, I’m not!”

Duke Mallory was walking briskly behind the bicycle, having long since let go with his hands.

In a corner of the garden, the Duchess, the lady, and the maids were all smiling silently.

“Dad, you haven’t let go, right?”

“No, just ride without worry.”

Duke Mallory answered, walking until he stopped.

Watching his son pedal off into the distance.

Little Mallory pedaled his bicycle around the garden, lap after lap, until after the second lap he suddenly noticed his father standing by.

“Dad, hold me! Hold me!”

Little Mallory instantly panicked, the bike wobbling, making him too scared to look at his father, only daring to stare straight ahead, trying hard to maintain balance.

Duke Mallory laughed, “Aren’t you riding well?”

“Dad, hold me—”

Little Mallory started crying, pedaling as he cried, struggling around the garden lap after lap.

He wanted to stop but didn’t know how to.

“Dad, hold me, I can’t get off… Mom… Help me…”

Little Mallory’s desperate cries echoed in the garden, yet everyone was laughing except for him. His sister, Manancy, was even laughing, bent over.

After a while, Little Mallory couldn’t hold on anymore and made a mistake, “thud” he fell to the ground.

This time he didn’t cry but quickly got up, wiped away his tears, and shouted angrily at his father, “Dad, I hate you!”

After yelling, he ran off angrily.

Duke Mallory smiled as he watched his son run off, a hint of sorrow flickering in his eyes.

“I always thought you were holding him with Mage’s Hand?”

The Duchess approached, giving her husband a glare. Despite being over forty, she was still charming.

“He has to face challenges on his own; I can’t always protect him!”

Duke Mallory reined in his smile.

In that moment, the loving father disappeared, replaced by the majesty of the Empire’s second-largest mining owner.

Lately, Duke Mallory’s mood was like using fifteen buckets to fetch water—half-calm, half-turbulent.

As the Empire’s second-largest mining owner, the sudden outbreak of war in the Empire led to a boom in demand for weapons and armor, filling his coffers.

Unexpectedly, just as his good mood was barely two days old, the Internet God mysteriously established the Internet Bank.

Originally, this had nothing to do with him, but Archmage Dundar suddenly issued orders requiring him to settle large transactions through the Internet Bank.

Upon hearing the order, Mallory’s first reaction was anger and resistance.

The Empire interfering in transactions between nobles, that’s simply taboo!

He wasn’t even bothered to think about whether it was beneficial for him; the mere act was enough to cause disgust and anger.

Because if they can interfere with his settlement methods now, they could interfere with more in the future.

However, since Archmage Zimor and Besse gave similar orders to their followers, he had no opportunities to use his connections and had to reluctantly comply.

However, it wasn’t until he used the Internet Bank for settlement that he was startled to find business became easier.

He no longer needed to dispatch large numbers of guards to escort gold coins, and even the funds staying in the bank account continuously accrued interest.

You should know that his funds were often in the ‘ten thousand’ units, and the daily interest growth was very substantial.

Under the lure of profit, though he cautiously didn’t deposit all his assets into the bank, he already got used to placing his business transactions’ funds in the bank.

He told himself, this was, after all, a bank of the Internet God.

Why would a God be greedy for his gold coins?

The only thing he couldn’t figure out was where the God got the interest from?

However, when Ajef, a follower of the Internet God, founded the ‘Dragon Factory’, he finally understood how the interest was generated.

As he knew, all the funds used for Ajef’s Dragon Factory were borrowed from the Internet Bank at 3% interest.

This news nearly made him curse!

You must know the bank loaned out his money.

If the loan couldn’t be recovered, wouldn’t his money be gone?

Just as he was pondering whether or not to withdraw his money from the bank after each transaction—came the appearance of the bicycle.

That day, Lord Ajef was riding this marvelous metal creation through the streets of Vis Els.

Overnight, it stirred the Internet, dazzling Quever!

Some magicians used capturing magic to record Lord Ajef’s biking moment.

In the picture, Lord Ajef’s face was all smiles, the strong wind lifting his hair back flowing.

Behind him sat a graceful woman, shyly clinging to Lord Ajef’s back, with three thousand strands of black hair fluttering in the wind.

The virtual screen signs on Vis Els’s streets were stretched into splendid, shimmering lights flowing between the two, blossoming.

At that moment, white robe like snow, red robes like flowers.

That god-like couple, carefree moment, struck countless hearts.

Countless nobles and civilians desperately inquired about what Lord Ajef was sitting on?

Thus, the bicycle stirred the Empire overnight!

Numerous noble merchants sought to inquire and purchase, imitating Ajef’s behavior.

During this period, the young noblemen and wealthy merchants of Vis Els were no longer riding carriages or showing off unicorns.

Everywhere were scenes of biking with a lady onboard, the trendiness causing a nationwide fashion trend.

Many civilians also vied to imitate.

One thing the nobles found unsatisfactory was that the bicycle was too cheap!

The cheapest was only 998 copper coins, less than 10 silver coins.

In Quever, a skilled blacksmith’s daily pay was about 100 to 200 copper coins, which meant just seven or eight days’ wages could buy a bicycle.

This simply disgraced the nobles!

Fortunately, the Dragon Factory understood the situation and quickly launched high-end custom bicycles.

They were prettier, more stylish, made from superior materials, and customizable in detail.

In the sunlight, it was like a piece of art.

Most importantly, prices started at 10 Quever Gold Coins, a sum commoners couldn’t earn in a lifetime.

Finally, the nobles were satisfied.

Mallory was satisfied as well.

The prosperity of the Dragon Factory meant its great debt repayment ability, so he naturally didn’t need to worry about the Internet Bank suffering losses.

What satisfied him was not only the bank savings being secured but also the Dragon Factory needing a massive amount of steel to produce bicycles, and he was precisely the Empire’s second-largest mining owner.

It’s said the Dragon Factory’s orders were booked until next year.

And his orders also poured in like snowflakes.

Here, Duke Mallory couldn’t help but praise the Internet God!

The Internet’s existence made doing business astoundingly convenient.

Before, his clients needed to contact his steward directly to discuss business.

Now even if his clients were on the Empire’s border in Tweett, they could contact him remotely via the Internet and place orders at any time and place.

What?

What if there were fake orders?

No worries!

Just ask for a deposit!

With the Internet Bank, depositing was just a matter of moving a finger, no longer needing lengthy journeys or expending high costs to use a teleportation array.

Moreover, with the Internet Bank keeping transfer records, neither party could renege.

It’s safe to say, the appearance of the Internet and the bank increased his business efficiency manifold.

“I heard that the apprentice magician assessment is about to start this year, a rare unified exam. I’m a bit worried about Xi.”

The Duchess watched her daughter, Manancy, chase after her brother, showing worry.

The apprentice magician assessment has always been quite dangerous.

There are always cases of aristocratic children falling in such assessments, and this time being a unified exam, the difficulty must be greater.

The Duchess wanted to help her daughter, but in Quever, even as a noble Duchess, it was very hard to influence the magic assessment—this was Quever’s founding principle, not allowing any interference.

“Don’t worry, I heard the apprentice magician assessment will be held in the [Conquest Sub-Dimension].”

Duke Mallory said, unable to refrain from praising the Internet God again in his heart.

“Is the news reliable?”

When the Duchess heard this, her eyes shone, suddenly surprised and delighted.