[["Ben, hurry-up!" A young girl cheerfully urged him to hurry as she climbed up the mountain]]
"Kaitlyn sure was energetic back then… What I'd give to go back to those times" Benjamin sighed.
[["I'm coming! Wait for me…" *Huf Huf* A younger Benjamin ran after the girl, panting]]
"At first I never understood why Kaitlyn liked going up mountains and inside forests. When I was younger I would've rather sat back home and lazed around all day… But all that changed the moment I got on that mountain peak that day"
"That moment changed my life… You should have seen it! It was all simply marvelous.
The gigantic trees we passed that now looked like tiny ants before me.
The Village I considered to be my whole world became so small that I could hardly believe it was the same place I grew up in.
The setting Sun that beautifully shined it's orange glow signaling that beautiful day's end…
And her smile… her smile that beamed greater than the sun, And the moon combined" Benjamin sighed as he remembered the past.
[["Its… Its beautiful Kaitlyn!" A younger Benjamin gasped.
"See I told ya right?" Kaitlyn smiled at him]]
"As we watched the sunset that day I sneakily held her hands, hahaha…
But then she suddenly gave me a kiss on the cheek! I could never outsmart my Kaitlyn…" Benjamin giggled as he remembered the past.
"That was the moment I told myself I'll marry the girl in front of me…
And the moment we decided we'd explore the world together"
[["How much did we get? Hehehe"
This'll probably last us another three months! We're rich Kaitlyn!]]
"The two of us were pretty successful as Adventurers, sometimes we even worked as personal bodyguards for the traveling Nobles thanks to our astute reputation…" Benjamin narrated.
"Though it wasn't always sunshine and butterflies, sometimes the requests in the Adventurer's guild were too little or there was a drought in the area and the locals didn't have the Gold to set up guild requests… There were even times when we had to work as mercenaries!" Benjamin recounted his adventuring days to Duke.
[["Are you sure you counted it all" *Kaitlyn's stomach grumbled*
"Yeah… That's all the money we've got… Damn Kai! He told us the pay would at least be twice as much!" Benjamin angrily slammed on the table.
"Ben, It can't be helped… Those damn Nobles didn't hold their end of the deal. Even Kai's probably suffering right now…"]]
"But overall it was a pretty happy time…"
"And I was truly happy back then…" Benjamin's story had a lot of ups and downs, but he mostly told Duke of the happier times.
[["Look at that Kaitlyn! One day when we hang-up on all this Adventuring biz, we can set up a house over there!" Benjamin pointed to a vacant lot.
"Uhm. Then we can have 15 cute little Bens and Kaitlyns" Kaitlyn lovingly nodded as she buried her face in Benjamin's chest]]
"Sadly, I was too dumb to realize at the time. I was always either too busy with getting the next Job or getting the next payment that I never just sat down and enjoyed my time with her more…
Then one night you're suddenly an old man now and then you wake up from a dream when you were back there, young again, adventuring, with her… And then you suddenly realize:
So that was happiness"
Benjamin's words were filled with sadness and regret.
"We were never blessed with a child of our own, me and her… The Physicians said we were simply incompatible…" Benjamin shook his head.
[["It's alright, at least we still have each other…"]]
"And Kaitlyn was pretty okay with it. Or at least she pretended to be okay… I will never forget the sadness in her eyes back then. "At least we still have each other" she said…"
"Sometimes I wonder if she'd be happier if she had never met me. Sometimes I wish she had never called me out to that mountain that day… Maybe she would've been happily married with grandchildren by now" Benjamin sighed regretfully as if years of his life were leaving him.
"I don't think she would have been happier. I'm sure she would've chosen the life with you even if she was given the chance to do it over again" Duke finally talked after silently listening to Benjamin's story for a while.
"...Thank you" Benjamin earnestly thanked Duke as he continued his story.
"Me and Kaitlyn did quite well, for a while. Despite not having any children…
But then, one day… as we were walking through a forest we were ambushed by this Chimera… Later on, I find out it was a rare Southern Jungle Chimera.
It was probably the largest and most disgusting beast I've ever laid eyes on.
With that head, it had that looked like a lion, draconic bat-like wings, and that damned scorpion-like tail...
That beast stung my poor Kaitlyn…"
[["Ben! Lookout!" Kaitlyn pushed Benjamin to the side as the Chimera's stinger stung her on the arm.
"KAITLYNN!!!" Benjamin shouted, sadly it was too late as Kaitlyn was already stung by the beast's poisonous stinger]]
"I got Kaitlyn to the nearest hospital I could get to… Sadly the Doctors all told me the situation was hopeless"
[["No… NO! I'm sure there's something you can do?! ANYTHING?! PLEASE!"]]
"But the only thing the Doctor could do back then was suspend the poison for a while… And it didn't help that the medicine they prescribed her was extremely expensive…"
[["Benjamin… forget about me, you're still young… I'm sure you can find a nice wife, and have beautiful kids with her… You can never have that with someone barren like me…" Kaitlyn feebly whispered.
"No! I will not hear anymore of this nonsense! Didn't I tell you? It's not your fault we don't have kids… It's probably because we were just incompatible! Don't believe that Doctor's lies, you're not barren Kailyn..." Benjamin tried to soothe Kaitlyn's depression for a while.
"You were always so gentle, Ben… My strong and reliable Ben…" Kaitlyn gently caressed his face. It was one of the many happy yet bittersweet memories Benjamin had]]
"I tried to loan money from everywhere I could, but sadly no bank trusted an old Adventurer like me…" Benjamin sighed.
"Until, when I thought all hope was lost, I was loaned money by old man Rufus, my master, the previous Bank Manager before me, they called him The Southern Bank's Will of Stone, he kept the almost bankrupt Southern Branches at that time afloat by his sheer will alone!" Benjamin's face beamed with respect and admiration as he talked about his past Master. But then his face returned to its former miserable state.
"…Sadly even the medicine lost it's effectiveness"
[["I'm sorry Kaitlyn! I'm so so sorry…" Benjamin cried into Kaitlyn's arms like a little baby, still unwilling to let her go.
"Haha… Why are you crying? It's not your fault my body's finally rejecting the medicine…" Kaitlyn tried to look happy for Benjamin, she didn't want him to remember her last moments as a sad moment.
But it looked like she couldn't convince Benjamin to be happy right now, and so her honest feelings came out.
"I'm sorry for burdening you with that debt" Kaitlyn couldn't cry with Benjamin anymore even if she wanted to.
Her body was already dying.
"I just… I just wanted to stay with you for a little longer! Even if-if it was just for a second!" Benjamin wept.
"It's alright" Caitlyn caressed Benjamin's head.
"It's alright…" Kaitlyn quietly said her last words as her hands let go of Benjamin]]
"Although my Master knew I didn't have the means to repay the bank he still kept loaning me the money, saying: "As long as the money we loan saves one life! One life! I'm sure Emperor Setaran's soul could rest easy knowing his money was being put to the benefit of the people!"….
I admired that man" Benjamin sighed.
"Starting then I dedicated my life towards the Bank he cherished so much…"
"And what it stood for!" Determination temporarily appeared in his eyes again as he remembered the Bank's mission.
But then Benjamin remembered his current miserable state and became sad again…
"And so here I am, a sad and old relic of the past. Powerless as I watch the Bank my master and I cherished and worked so much for, get destroyed and corrupted from within!" Benjamin angrily shouted.
They kicked me out in favor of that sniveling Sevilius" Benjamin sighed as he watched Corruption and Nepotism eat up the Bank from within.
"Then why were you shifting in the garbage for food!" Duke couldn't help but shout due to the logical leap Benjamin's story had.
"I'm sure as a former Regional Bank Manager you surely have SOME savings left?! Right?! Right???" Duke cried out.
"Hehe about that…" The old man twiddled his fingers.
"I kind've gave it away" Benjamin shyly explained.
When Benjamin told Vivian that the Gold he gave her was all he could spare, HE WASN'T JOKING!
But since he didn't want to burden Duke, the chubby young man, kind enough to listen to an old destitute begar's ramblings, Benjamin decided to leave out Vivian's name.
"Kuh-! Such a kindhearted and noble old man! I cannot bear it anymore! Come back with me to Maine if you don't have a place to go!" Duke shouted as he couldn't watch Benjamin shift through the garbage for food any longer!
"Y-You'll take in an old man like me?..." Benjamin felt touched by Duke's kindness, completely forgetting he mistook Duke as a corrupt villain during their first meeting.
"No, more importantly, aren't you two currently buried in debt? Are you sure getting another mouth to feed would be a wise choice?" Benjamin worried for Duke and Vivian's finances.
"Of course! We already managed to get a loan!" Duke enthusiastically told Benjamin.
"My golly! I see... Congratulations!" Benjamin gave Duke an early congratulations.
Even Benjamin, a veteran Banker titled "The Iron Hand of the Bank" praised Vivian's business plan. He knew the moment Vivian got her hands on a sizable capital she had already won the game of life.
[A girl with a brain worth diamonds and a boy with a heart of gold. No other couple deserves to be called perfect other than these two!] Benjamin thought as he looked at Duke and Vivian.
"Then... If you'd let an old man like me serve once more... I'd be honored to serve someone like you" Benjamin sincerely bowed to Duke.
"Oh don't be like that, we're more friends than master and servant, right?" Duke pulled Benjamin up.
On this night, the very same night he was humiliated, was the same night Duke managed to gain The Iron Hand of the Bank as a loyal follower...
As Duke and Benjamin were about to leave, they were interrupted by a shout.
"Agh! It's you! Didn't I tell you these trashcans were my turf?!" Another old man appeared, challenging Benjamin Kastark, Iron Hand of the Bank!
"YOU!!!" Benjamin made a battle-ready pose.
"You little! I told you the thrown out chicken here was the best! And only the BEST deserves to eat the best. And that's me!" The old man shouted.
"Y-You greedy buffoon! Not today you won't! I'll eat this chicken even if it costs me my life! EN GARDE!" Benjamin fought back to get a taste of that Legendary Garbage Chicken!
"..." Duke watched the two old men fight over the pile of garbage...
He couldn't believe such great men were fools in front of the Chicken inside that trashcan.
*Grumble* Duke's stomach grumbled as he thought [Maybe I should get a taste of some of that garbage chicken too. I mean, it must taste great if they've been fighting over it...]
"Y-You even brought a fat lackey into this fight?! I can't believe you planned to go 2 versus 1 on me!" The old man shouted at Benjamin as he pointed to Duke.
Duke recognized the second old man.
It was Galleo La Vinsilica Diovanni Davinci!... Philosopher-Candidate of Venicia!