Upon hearing Rhine's words, both goblins looked visibly surprised—a flicker of greed and excitement flashing in their eyes.
Ragrip forced a stiff smile, his voice dry.
"Mr. Snow, I believe there's been a misunderstanding. Gringotts only handles legal business…"
Rhine couldn't help but chuckle.
"Legal or not—isn't that for you to decide?"
"Gringotts is the only bank in the wizarding world. The financial standards and regulations? You make them. You enforce them."
"No offense, but everyone knows goblins have a thing for gold. You expect me to believe that with all this liquidity at your disposal, you just sit around playing by the rules?"
"I'm treating you as friends. Don't treat me like an idiot."
The goblins exchanged a glance, then dropped the act.
Ragrip grinned.
"No wonder you're Mr. Snow."
"All right then—we can do it."
"Technically, there is a limit on how many Galleons a minor can exchange… but gifts aren't subject to those limits."
"We have certain special accounts for this kind of thing. You give us the pounds, and we gift you the Galleons through these accounts. Since it's not a direct exchange, it's not restricted by wizarding law."
"But our handling fee is fifty percent."
Rhine shot to his feet, expression turning cold.
"Fifty percent?"
"If this were the Muggle world, I might grit my teeth and accept that—money laundering is risky over there."
"But here? There's practically zero risk. And you want fifty percent? Forget it. I'll give you twenty-five, at most."
Ragrip gave a strained laugh.
"Forty. That's as low as we'll go."
Rhine's tone sharpened.
"Thirty."
"Add even one percent more, and I walk out of here."
Ragrip clapped his hands.
"Deal!"
"How much would you like to exchange today, Mr. Snow?"
Rhine scribbled out a cheque from his HSBC account.
"Let's start with fifty thousand pounds."
Both goblins inhaled sharply, stunned. Then their faces bloomed into dazzling smiles.
"Fifty thousand pounds converts to ten thousand Galleons. After deducting the thirty percent fee, you'll receive seven thousand Galleons, Mr. Snow."
"That's a fortune beyond what most witches or wizards ever dream of holding."
Rhine offered a small smile of his own.
"And you two are making quite the profit with that three thousand Galleon fee."
"But this is just the beginning. There'll be more transactions to come. Think of it as a mutually beneficial partnership."
"So then—are we friends now?"
The goblins gave wide, eager grins and performed exaggerated bows.
"Of course, Mr. Snow. It's an honor to befriend such a distinguished young wizard."
"If there are no further concerns, here's the contract. Kindly review and sign?"
Rhine glanced down at the parchment contract being drafted on the spot, but his attention drifted toward the system interface only he could see, brow furrowing.
"…System?"
"No reaction?"
"Where's my talent? Is it stuck?"
"After all this, I've definitely reached at least a casual acquaintance level with them, right? Where's my Windborne Sustenance talent?"
A moment later, the system screen displayed a cold message:
[Your relationship with Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao has not yet reached acquaintance level. Reward cannot be issued.]
Rhine froze.
"What?"
"Didn't you hear them? Just now, both goblins—I mean, Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao—said it was an honor to be my friend."
"We even said there'd be more business between us! How is that not a casual acquaintance?"
Another line appeared on the system screen:
[Sometimes, saying you're friends doesn't actually make you friends.]
Realization dawned on Rhine.
…Those two damn goblins.
So it was all just lip service? Fake friendship?
Fine. If the money had actually bought me a real connection, I wouldn't complain—but you're just playing me for a fool?
"System, can you at least tell me how much more is needed to reach acquaintance level?"
[Approximately ten more transactions of this size.]
[You may continue attempting to befriend Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao, but the chance of reaching 'Close Friend' status is extremely low.]
Rhine clenched his fists, trembling with frustration.
Ten more transactions like this?
That meant thirty thousand more Galleons in handling fees?!
Rhine wasn't short on cash—but throwing away money on people who barely tolerated him? That wasn't how he did things.
And from the system's message, even at best, he'd only reach casual acquaintance with these two goblins. Forming a true bond—let alone a life-and-death alliance and unlocking the Lost Treasure Coin Refinement Method—was nearly impossible.
Within moments, Rhine figured it out.
Goblins and wizards had been at odds for centuries—there was deep-seated animosity between the two races. Ancient blood feuds went back a thousand years.
Even in canon, Ragnok still held a grudge over the ownership of Godric Gryffindor's sword from a millennium ago. That's how bitter goblins could be.
Given all that, gold alone would never buy true friendship from a goblin.
With this clarity, Rhine's expression turned cold as he stared at the goblins.
Ragrip mistook the look for dissatisfaction with the contract and asked cautiously:
"Mr. Snow, is there an issue with the agreement?"
"If there's a clause you dislike, I can revise it at once."
Rhine abruptly stood, snatched back his cheque from Ragrip's hands, and said coolly:
"You lot are starting to get on my nerves."
"This deal's off. Keep the contract. I'm not signing."
The two goblins were stunned—then anger flared across their faces.
To a goblin, there was no greater insult than having gold snatched away at the last second.
"Mr. Snow, are you mocking us?"
Rhine smirked.
"What, just because I asked for details, I had to go through with it?"
"You think your deals are that irresistible?"
Then, ignoring their darkening expressions, Rhine simply cashed out the permitted Galleons at the main counter and left Gringotts with Hagrid.
Hagrid looked utterly confused.
"Rhine… what did you do? Those goblins looked furious."
Rhine shrugged nonchalantly.
"Nothing much. Just didn't like how greedy they looked, so I decided to mess with them a little."
Realization lit up Hagrid's face, and he gave Rhine a big thumbs-up.
"Well done."
"I can't stand that gold-obsessed lot either. They'd sell out their own kind for a pile of coins."
But Hagrid added with a note of caution:
"Still… goblins hold grudges. Be careful if you run into them again."
Just then, Rhine's steps halted as the system interface lit up with a brand-new notification:
[You had a falling out with Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao. They now bear a grudge against you.]
[Enemy relationship activated.]
[Current status: 'Open Hostility'. Beating them up once will earn you the Windborne Sustenance trait.]
[Status: 'Bitter Rivalry'. Beat them up three times to earn the Master Strategist trait.]
[Status: 'Mortal Enemies'. Kill both to unlock the Lost Treasure Coin Refinement Method.]
[Current Relationship Level: Bitter Rivalry.]