The Cave

After Anduin and Sirius had taken their seats in the reception room, the Goblin Manager warmly brought them a tray laden with all kinds of drinks.

Only then did he ask with a cheerful smile, "Mr. Wilson, if there's anything you need help with, please don't hesitate to ask. Gringotts will do everything in its power to serve you."

"I'd like to retrieve something from a vault," Anduin replied just as politely.

"Retrieve something?"

The Goblin Manager frowned in confusion. Did someone as important as him really need to come in person to retrieve something?

Others might not know, but the Goblin Manager knew very well that Anduin's vault—and, for that matter, the Silver Flash Merchant's vault—held very little.

Gringotts considered the Silver Flash Merchant its biggest client not only because of their Security System partnership, but mainly because of their International Trade.

The monthly transactions flowing through Gringotts alone amounted to tens of thousands of Galleons, and the Silver Flash Merchant accounted for nearly a third of their business.

So when the Goblin Manager heard Anduin say he wanted to retrieve something, he immediately grew suspicious.

Could it be...?

The Goblin Manager's heart gave a jolt, and he cautiously asked, "Lord Wilson, the vault you intend to access... it isn't someone else's, is it?"

"You're clever," Anduin replied without hiding his intentions.

Clever, my arse. Your own vault contains nothing but air.

The Goblin Manager very much wanted to roll his eyes, but sensibly held back and put on a troubled expression instead.

"Lord Wilson, you know Gringotts' regulations. Our very purpose is to protect our clients' property. Doing something like this would hardly be proper."

At the Goblin Manager's tactful refusal, Sirius wore an expression that said he'd expected as much. He'd known this wouldn't work. It would