RinoZ
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Chapter 1673 - Shake Your Money Maker pt 3
🕑 Added 2025-09-11 02:00:04 +0000 UTCWhen Jasper awoke, he didn’t imagine there would be anything particularly special about this day. He lived alone in a small house on the outskirts of the city, cheap enough that he’d been able to buy it when land prices were still low. As a fully functioning town, Renewal hadn’t been around that long, but the speed of its development had been utterly staggering. Some buildings in the city centre were already being torn down as they were too small to accommodate the booming population.
Fortunately, his little shop hadn’t come under any scrutiny. A short walk from the square, close to the cathedral and administration buildings, there was a decent amount of foot traffic in the area and quite frankly, he liked his little corner. Having to rebuild, even if it were at the city’s expense, wasn’t something he wanted to do.
Following his usual morning routine, Jasper washed, shaved and dressed in fresh, clean clothes. He grabbed up the pants and shirt he’d worn yesterday and slung them into a linen bag. Mrs Worther’s washing service had been a life saver for him. He had neither the time nor the inclination to go to the river and scrub out his clothing, so he was more than happy to pay for the privilege, since all he had to do was drop them off on the way to work.
With his first task of the day done, he picked up some fresh fruit from the market for breakfast and then went about making sure his suppliers had followed their agreements and dropped off the required goods at his store. Some things he sourced from the Colony itself and as always it was delivered early, clearly marked and well packaged, right at his back door.
The day started early for a shopkeeper and he didn’t want to miss the morning rush, so Jasper set about getting ready to open. He hauled in the various packages, wiped down all the surfaces and brought the pastries and snacks out of the cool store and put them back out on display.
When everything was ready, he opened his door, placed out his little ‘we’re open!’ trestle sign before taking the shutters off the windows.
Feel Renewed was open for business!
With a smile on his face, Jasper went inside and made sure the boiler was heating up properly. He’d topped off the reservoir before closing the day before, so there should be plenty of water, yet sometimes the fancy enchanted mechanism responsible for bringing it to a boil didn’t function properly.
As he tinkered about the place, humming to himself, he slowly started to realise that he hadn’t had any customers yet.
That was… a little unusual. He’d been open for ten minutes, which wasn’t long, but normally there would be at least five people dropping by for their regular morning tea and scone on their way to work.
None of them had turned up? None?
Confused, he poked his head out the door again. The streets were a little empty, and he could hear a hubbub over by the square. Was there something going on over there today?
Curiosity piqued, he called out.
“Franklin! Can you watch my shop for ten?”
“Can,” the old cooper from next door replied, “but you’ll need to watch mine for twenty this afternoon!”
Always had to ‘win’. Jasper rolled his eyes.
“Done.”
He stepped out and walked toward the square, the sound of voices growing louder the closer he got. When he arrived, it wasn’t hard to see what had caught everyone’s attention. In fact, it was impossible to miss.
In the middle of the square, the little hatchling from the previous day, at least he assumed as much, had set up its own stall. Flanked by two enormous soldiers who loomed comically over the well-built wooden shop, the little ant was seated in one of those unusual ant chairs, waiting for people to approach.
Spying another ant behind the stall, Jasper had to assume that was a mage, otherwise how were they supposed to talk to any customers?
Even more curious, he couldn’t see what they were selling. There was nothing on the flat surface of the stall, nothing on display, just a little ant waiting patiently, clacking her mandibles, and a small sign on the front.
Frowning, he moved closer so he could read it.
It read: Colony Bank: Renewal Branch.
What on Pangera?
There was a large crowd gathering, but as of yet nobody seemed willing to actually go up to the table and speak to the hatchling, so Jasper took it upon himself to walk over and ask what was going on.
He had to be back at his cafe in ten minutes, after all.
When he reached the table, a mind bridge snapped into place and he recognised the mental voice of the mage he’d spoken with the day before.
[Hello and welcome to… the Colony Bank. Would you like to make a deposit?]
[You forgot the name?]
[I did. I’m not exactly sure what is going on here.]
The little hatchling clacked her mandibles happily, antennae wiggling with excitement as she stared at him eagerly.
[She… wants to know if you are making a deposit.]
[A… a what?]
[Will you give her money?]
A few more happy clacks of the mandibles.
Jasper smiled, though he was quite bewildered.
[What am I giving her money for? Is this a donation?]
[She says… no. She will take your money and, for a small fee, store it inside the nest for safety. You will never have to fear that your wealth will be taken ever again.]
That was… his initial instinct was to say ‘silly’, but… the more he thought about it… Right now his savings were hidden in the wall of his house. A decent hiding place to be sure, but he’d be lying if he said he felt completely secure about it….
[How small is this fee?] he asked suspiciously.
[A one-time copper sovereign to open your account with the bank, then a yearly handling fee of nine copper and nine iron.]
[Isn’t that basically a silver?]
[But it isn’t, she says. The emphasis is hers.]
[Right.]
He thought about it for a moment before he realised he was more tempted than he probably should be. If his money was stored inside the Colony, who would ever steal it? Theft was basically impossible! The ants weren’t going to take it, they literally didn’t even use money.
[She says… you will also receive a monthly payment based on the amount you have stored in the bank. A… percentage of your savings will be paid back to you.]
He would be paid?
[How much?]
[Two percent.]
So he would be paid, but not much.
[Wait,] he said, [is that payment calculated on how much I give you, or on how much is in there at the end of the month?]
[The end of the month.]
[So that means the payment for the second month will include the payment from the first month?]
The little ant rubbed her antenna together.
[Only if you leave that money in the bank, she says.]
But that meant he would be receiving extra money based on the extra money he was given…. It could even add up to enough to pay the yearly fee, which meant his money would be perfectly safe, all year round, and it wouldn’t cost him anything.
Now he was really tempted. There had to be a catch.
[How do I get my money back if I want it?] he said, eyes narrowing.
The little ant ducked down and grabbed a large, leather bound book with her mandibles from below before placing it on the counter and opening it to the first page.
[She will keep a record of all money stored in the bank right here, and anyone can come to this stall and withdraw their coins whenever they want.]
[What if I want all of my coins at once?]
[They won’t be stored far away. It will take an hour or so to retrieve it all if there isn’t enough at the stall to cover your request.]
Jasper considered it a moment longer, then turned and started running back to his house. People called out to him as he went, asking what was going on, but he ignored them. Which wall had he hidden that darned money behind again?!
Comments
Kirk Foster
More like inventant lol stockant
Sly Trickster
She’s not an Accountant, she’s a Tellant
Slapjack
Things are going to get real crazy when Merchant starts giving out loans.
kingoff00ls
Accountant appears!
alt31415
Ants would never be philosophers, ants actually contribute to their society.
alt31415
They are not right. We've had an Accountant before. This is no doubt the Merchant we've seen teased in a pre-chapter blurb.
alt31415
What do you mean sigh? What's wrong with it?
Chien Do
Welp, called it. Sigh.
Tyrunex
Dude really?
Gabus Deux
You could say the same for brilliant lol
Gega Dela Geňa
This must be Jewant!
Caleb Herring
Love!
Nathan Patrick
Whoever was saying "Accountant" in the previous chapters, you are quite right.
Littleme02
[Isn’t that basically a silver?] [But it isn’t, she says. The emphasis is hers.]. Using that underhanded pricing tactic is very non ant like
Mick Govers
Scrooge McAnt
CherMi
Waiting for Tolly to open an account
David Eddy
Ergotant would be a fun champion...or a mediocre philosopher ant that might have a hard time explaining what they are contributing to the colony.
Buck
There already is an Accountant. She has been referenced in earlier chapters.
FroggingurMom
...kinda makes sense when you consider what the other champions have done, like Solant becoming the ant equivilAnt of Sun Tzu almost immediAntly after she was born or Brilliant becoming an incredible arch mage pretty quick as well. Ant
Colin C
and dont forget the most powerful force in the universe - compound interest
יותם רוזנטל
Brother if someone told me the next champion was going to be a banker l would think his insane. Rinoz does it again!
Roombot
Cryptant HA
Roombot
Investments, loans etc. it doesn’t HAVE to be predatory fees. Human-run banks are just evil like that.
Roombot
Hah fine-ants is a good one maybe that will be one of her followers
Roombot
The colony has plenty of wealth, they could make up the difference with cores or smth
Roombot
Yup this has gotta be her
Roombot
Classic Colony champion tbh. Nice she found her obsession she mastered it at lightspeed
John Pratt
She's promising a return on savings, so it's not just banking, it's fractional reserve investment banking. That's 0 to 100. That's like hearing about birds and building a space shuttle.
Zerdiron
Banks are trust-based, and in their territory ants are the most trusted beings. It's genius
Buck
Wow! No hesitation from Merchant! Straight into the financial deep end with “antstitutional banking”!! Love it!
Ranger Dave
A bank backed by the Colony... the concept is terrifyingly effective
SleepingNight
She did, lol. The .99 is a marketing tactic. Due to how our brain works, around numbers. Our brain focuses on the first/leftmost digit in a number. So 9.99 is processed as being in the 9 dollar range, even though it's just one cent away from being 10 dollars. Our brain says that 9 is significantly lower than 10, since we focus on the first/leftmost digit. Even if we know 9.99 is basically 10.00. I believe I remembered everything correctly, but I'm not exactly an expert. Just did some reading about it a year or so ago.
Nachotoad
So one day in and Merchant has spotted the value in consumer banking, compound interest & marketing price tricks. I’m looking forward to the Barathians meeting her so very much
Ez
Thanks for the capitalism… I mean chapter
James Seymour
I like aacountant
Riley John Chadwick
I believe there was an opening a ways back that mentioned there was a future champion named Merchant
McMax
Shut up and take my money
A Reader
What happens if there is a bank run? That would be fun to explore, at least at a later time.
ShyviaAngel
Investment investant Bant Vaultant Accountant Hoardant I like last one and first one because said ant just wanna make the money grows might not mind giving back some but her only little goals is ever more money
Néstor Rocha
Holy cheese and crackers! Merchant just invented the $9.99. Isn't that just $10? She says it isn't, actually. The actually is important, I think.
Alex Shinall
I was thinking this was the origin story of Merchant, but now I see that this a far more powerful champion. ALL HAIL THE RISE OF BANKANT! MAY THY INTEREST RATES BE LOW AND CREDIT SCORES HIGH!
Aaron Willard
Accountant
Taijusoup64
Accountant? Finance-ant? Fine-ants? Investment - investant?
Samuel Lim
FiANTce?
alt31415
Haha, nice! Of course there is the trick of, where is this extra money coming from? Banks, after all, are not charities. (It's people spending loose on loans and stacking up fees, that's where they get it!)
Anthony Romanov
Wait till hatchling starts giving out money for percentage that have to be returned with full amount!
jeffrey niski
Holy shit. She's going to stabilize the economy and boost it and it will actually work because the ants won't embezzle or skim off the top.
john
This is what I like about this webnovel. The side chapters that makes the world more unique and interesting.
Brandon14754
Colony loans incoming
Huy Ngo
Finance /financial + ant = ? Maybe ?
Zappsid
Dark Anthony would convert merchant into rug-pullant
Koala Man
Oh so good ! Safest bank ever!
Pockman
The First Colony Bank, Renewal Branch Yesterday, that little grub had no idea what money was. The week before that, I don’t think it was even an egg Now it’s planning ambitious money plans and projects
shawn B
Bankant?
No_Creative_Name
Oh no. She’s centralizing!
Napalm078
WOOOOO
