NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1740
"Iwant to go shopping!" Miki declared.
"Mm! I saw something on the way here that resembled your world's malls." Carmine agreed.
After we finished eating, there wasn't much of a break before the girls selected the next location. It was only the afternoon and we still had a few hours before the welcoming ceremony, so we had time to kill. Since it was their first time in a new country and we were supposed to be tourists, I saw no reason we couldn't go out. Anything they were selling in their markets wouldn't be national secrets, but they might be things we didn't see as often in our world.
When I tried to leave payment for the meal, the waitress looked confused when she saw the coins. Marina stepped forward, pushing my money back to me.
"I'm sorry, but your coin is no good here." Marina declared.
"Huh?" This was the first time I had experienced this issue.
"Jespain has our currency. We don't accept the Imperial standard."
That had never happened to me before. I hadn't even known the gold, silver, and copper that I used to pay for everything had been called the imperial standard. I guessed that it came from the Imperial Cloud Meadow.
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I had never paid that much attention to the coins, but they had clouds on them and the image of someone who was a human that wasn't recognizably from the Aberis family. Seeing as both the Ost Republic and Aberis are brand new countries that had only existed for a few decades, it made sense that they depended on the currency of their northern neighbors. These coins had also been accepted in Esmore and Dioshin, so the only one of the five countries that had decided to have their currency was Jespain. No wonder it was so difficult to trade for their stuff.
"I see…" I responded as I pocketed my money. "Had I known, I would have had some coin from your country made up, I mean… uh… I would have used a money changer. Are there any around?"
Marina frowned. "It is against Jespain law to change our out money. Jespain money stays in Jespain. You will find no money changers. You can only afford things in Jespain by earning money in Jespain"
I frowned slightly. "I guess I could sell some things to make money…"
"That won't be necessary. Since you are guests of Jespain, I have been permitted to pay for any items you wish to acquire. These costs will naturally be factored into our trade agreement."
"I see…" My voice was flat that time.
I supposed I could understand a little bit about why they went to such an extent to protect their interests but wasn't this all a bit extreme. How could we even form a trade agreement without a change in tender? I wasn't exactly a knowledgeable economist, but even I could see the issues with this. Wouldn't we just be pumping wealth into Jespain? Furthermore, they would buy us things while holding us responsible for it and not letting us spend our own money?
If I could get my hands on a few coins, I could portal back to my dungeon, and then make as many coins as I wanted. Marina seemed to read my thoughts.
"You will not be able to replicate our currency. It is made specially." She spoke tightly.
That sounded a bit like a challenge…