Isaac and Birger were currently making their way to the market, ready to use the notes they had created.
"Hey, Birger, we used up all the paper right?"Asked Isaac.
"Yep." Replied Birger.
"So yeah, how any notes did we make?" Asked Isaac.
"I think around 10 lakh Finn?" Replied Birger.
"Wow...one hefty magazine made that..." said Isaac.
"Yeah...but what was that type of paper again?" Asked Birger.
"I read around, and found that Finns are made from 45 GSM." answered Isaac.
"45 GSM...we'll have to send in a letter to order that right?" Asked Birger.
"That's the problem. It's a restricted paper. We'll have to give our details to order it, so if they think something fishy is going on, they'll be able to easily send their Knights to our doorstep." Explained Isaac.
"Oh..." said Birger.
"That's why I was showing it to Anees in the first place! With his more than likely connections, he'll be able to get us someone who can get us that paper, and presumably other resources too!" Said Isaac.
"Oh...so are we gonna have a chat with Anees today?" Asked Birger.
"Yep. You've got that right! We'll get our usual groceries and then talk to Anees." Said Isaac.
Isaac and Birger quickly bought up all their groceries, using their fake notes of course, before approaching Anee's table.
"Ah! Isaac! Birger! My buddies! It seems you've taken my Grandpa's advice to heart! Already spreading these notes!" Exclaimed Anees.
"Birger I'll handle this one." Isaac told Birger, and Birger obliged before moving away a little, as Isaac continued "so, let's cut the chit-chat, Anees. Any takers for our notes?" Asked Isaac.
"Yeah, I sent these notes to Sketch Manja and he was able to get a taker." Said Anees.
"Who?" Asked Isaac.
"It's some local gangster from the neighbouring town, said he wants a test of your notes." Said Anees.
"Oh really?" Said Isaac.
"Yeah. The only thing ya'll gotta do is go get some animal caravan tickets, go to that town, show him the notes, impress him and he'll back your needs." Said Anees.
"That's it? No catch?" Asked Isaac.
"Well, Manja told me that the man wanted you guys to bring all of the notes with you." Said Anees.
Isaac thought it was a little suspicious, but he had to adjust. This was their first taker after all. "Anything else?" Asked Isaac.
"Well, that's all Manja told me. Here, that's the address of the guy after reaching the town, and then you'll have to handle it." Said Anees.
"Thanks." Said Isaac dryly, as he went back to Birger, as he would have to explain all this to him as they went home.
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Today was the Financial Department's Monthly Regulation Meeting, where the Financial Minister and other delegates were the accountants or financial advisors of the Producer Heads.
Richter had heard from his father during his term, at how boring and long they would go on and there would mostly be no avail from it. And Richter was now experiencing that exact same thing.
The only thing he was probably looking forward to the Pitching session of the meeting, this was his first after all...but up until now, almost all of them had been boring. There was only enough time for one more pitch until the meeting officially ended, and Richter expected this one to be boring as well...until his adopted sister walked in, with a small, compact wooden contraption in her hands, before setting it down on a table in front of them, and standing before them professionally.
"Hello to all the respected Financial Minister and all the respected delegates present here, my name is Elara Gahlot." She gave a proper introduction of herself, as Richter keenly listened, ready to hear his sister out, while some of the delegates were stealing glances at him, recognising their sibling relationship.
"As we all know, the Finn note is a strong currency, drawn to perfection, it is a very good step in our Kingdom's development, but unfortunately it is plagued by a crime called counterfeiting, where people try to replicate it's likeness to use it for themselves. It is a big problem which is not only plaguing our nearby towns but inside the city walls as well! Where counterfeiting cases are found everyday! And we don't have a good and sufficient way of recognising counterfeits. So, why not have a small device which can easily detect counterfeits, and not only useful for the Kingdom, but small businesses and the common peasant himself!" Elara spoke very quickly, as Richter's interest quickly died, again with the counterfeiting?
"So, I introduce you to Finn SAP or FSAP!" she introduced her product, gesturing her hands towards her product.
There was silence among the delegates...it seemed they shared the same thoughts as Richter.
"How it works, is that we insert a stack of notes into this section, and then we crank this small lever, and it sends the notes through the FSAP. and on the other side the notes will come out and you will be able to recognise a counterfeit." Elara explained how FSAP works. It looked like the delegates were still not interested. Richter didn't want his sister to not be completely embarrassed by the silence, so he decided to ask a question.
"So...how exactly does it recognise a counterfeit?" Asked Richter.
Elara seemed to beam at the question, excited to answer it, "so what it basically does, is that it coats the notes in a small layer of Spy Sap, which is a liquid used to decode secret messages on paper and ink, now it also dampens the paper and besmirches the ink we mostly use...except the ones used to make a Finn, the ink may be a little common, but the paper used is restricted only to our department, so the Spy Sap will spoil the ink, dampen the paper and even reveal the security features...or the lack of them on a counterfeit!" She explained as quickly as she could, wholeheartedly excited to tell all of this to them.
"So, are you all ready to get us one step closer to stamping out counterfeiting?" Asked Elara.
There was a silence of disinterest among all the delegates, as Richter tried to save face for his sister, "This is a very good idea, we'll think on this and then get back to you, and it seems we have come to the end of this month's Regulation's Meeting! So to everyone here, Thank You! Goodbye! Long Live the Veldt." Blurted out Richter as he and the delegates walked out, leaving Elara more dejected than yesterday...
Richter made his way towards his office...only to find Dame Catarina and her Squire sitting outside...oh god, was this about that stupid anti counterfeiting unit again? He decided that he was going to finish this matter here and now.
He immediately sat down beside Catarina, and waited for her and her squire to realise he was sitting there.
As soon as they did, Catarina started to blurt out, "Sir! Please just hear me out! An anti counterfeiting unit can be perfect for us-" before she was interrupted by Richter putting his hand forward, as if to silence her.
"Dame Catarina, we're currently going through a lot of bad will towards this department, from the public and from the Royal Family as well, they want us to spend less, and I don't think they'd want us to spend it on a unit for finding out one, a single way of crime. So please, this is the last I want to talk about this matter with you, Thank You! Goodbye! Long Live the Veldt." Said Richter as quickly as he could, in an irritated tone.
He quickly rushed into his office, leaving Dame Catarina and Squire Charlesley sitting there outside his lobby.