Let's go our separate ways

Part 25

"I'm the 1 who recommended her to open an account," the King's aide says as he taps a finger on the form Flos is supposed to fill, "I will take responsibility and becomes her guarantor,"

"Ah..." the old man sounds perplexed, but he nods his head, "Let's do as the Director says,"

The stage clears, the King's aide picks up the pen and turns to Flos with a smile, "Let's fill in the questions,"

Flos is still staring at the King's aide, "Director?"

"In my defence, this is 1 of the many jobs His Majesty hands over to me," the King's aide can't help but respond with a wry shake of the head. He also moves closer to whisper only for Flos to hear, "I did say I run the Kingdom, didn't I?"

Yes. Running a bank pales in comparison to running a Kingdom. Wow. This guy is really good to be able to govern the Kingdom of Sun. No wonder His Majesty refuses to let him go. And he has only been working as the King's aide for the past 2 years? Before that, who managed the Kingdom?

"His Majesty himself, of course," the King's aide gives Flos a strange look for that question but brushes the feeling of oddness aside in favour to fill in the blank form, "Name, place and date of birth, address, occupation, power, income; let's answer these questions 1st,"

"Flos, don't know and don't know, Rafflesia Village, flower farmer, [Wood], 5 silvers," Flos answers in accordance to the questions

"You don't know your birthplace and birthday?" the King's aide looks at Flos in surprise

"I wasn't told when my parent was still alive," Flos shrugs lightly

"I see. Sorry," the King's aide apologises for making Flos recall her loss and then continues filling the form after an uncomfortable pause, "Where is the branch of the bank nearest to your address?"

Flos says the name of the Town with a branch of the bank and the King's aide jots it down. They continue to ask and answer until the end, where Flos's signature is needed. Til here, the King's aide hands the form and pen back to Flos, "Sign,"

Flos has a signature, so she just signs as usual without carefully checking the form. Flos is illiterate, plus reading can be painful, so she just chooses to believe in him and leave everything to the King's aide. The King's aide reclaims the form and looks at Flos's signature then smiles, "It's cute," he says

The signature looks like a wreath. An unusual signature, but it's not a big deal. The King's aide accepts this unique signature as Flos's. The King's aide helps Flos submit the form and waits as the bank clerk processes it. Then Flos and the King's aide are called to go into a place, where Flos has to queue to enter a room.

As Flos enters the room alone once her turn is up, she is asked to press her fingers, 1 by 1, on the glass on the table. Evidently, it is to record her fingerprints.

Does the Kingdom of Sun have such good technology lying around? Although there are things like lamps and other convenient daily use items, for there to be a fingerprint scanner is unexpected.

"It's something we obtained from the Kingdom of Star. Of course, through fair trade," the King's aide elaborates after discerning Flos's puzzlement at the technology used in the bank

"The Kingdom of Star... A technology advanced state?" Flos supposes this is a common-sense she doesn't know because she didn't study

"Yes," the King's aide releases a sigh of relief, "Fortunately, the 3 Kingdoms in this world have no intention of war. Otherwise... I can't bear to imagine it," the King's aide ends up shaking his head

"The amount of paperwork you will have to do," Flos helpfully helps him imagine it

The King's aide shudders at the imagination Flos gives him. Showing Flos a pitiful look, the King's aide asks, "My solace in the busyness of my job is good sleep. Please don't give me a nightmare,"