Twilight Street was not a high-class business district in Marlin Castle. On the contrary, it was a place where many mercenaries and merchants liked to hang around. Here, you could drink the cheapest barley wine for three copper coins. Many workers liked to come here after work to have a drink before going home.
It was late at night, and the originally dense crowd seemed to have quieted down. There were still many people on the street, but it was no longer crowded.
Laing walked step by step on the street. He could feel that many people on the street were whispering to each other after seeing how clean he was. The street was very dark with only weak candlelight and magic lights. Many people with special professions were hiding in the dark. When they saw Laing appear, many people began to move.
The first one to walk up was an old man. He trembled as he approached and reached out to Laing. "Sir, please help me. I haven't eaten for three days!"
"You haven't eaten for a few days. It has nothing to do with me. Get lost, or don't blame me for being ruthless," Laing said with narrowed eyes.
"Please don't do this. Please don't bully an old man. Sir … Ouch, my legs are not very convenient …" The old man kept leaning on Laing. Then, he looked like he was old and weak and couldn't stand properly. Then, he threw himself at Laing.
At the corner of the street, two strong young men were ready.
If the old man bumped into Laing and Laing reached out to help him, they would pretend to be kind people and swarm up to help the old man steal things from Laing.
If Laing blocked or dodged, the two young men would use this as an excuse to stop Laing from "bullying the old man" and then take the opportunity to steal.
If Laing dared to make a move, it would be even better. They would immediately find the patrolling guards and use them as "witnesses" to accuse Laing of bullying the old man. At the same time, they would negotiate privately and take the opportunity to blackmail him.
However, what happened next was beyond the two young men's expectations. Laing sneered and directly reached out to take the wig off the old man's head. Then, he grabbed the old man and threw him away. The old man disappeared into the night sky under the two young men's stunned gazes. They didn't even know where he was thrown to.
"Ahhhh!" Only the screams in the air were left.
"Hahahaha!" The middle of the street was filled with the laughter of all kinds of workers. It was obvious that this young man had good skills and was not someone to be trifled with. He also seemed to be proficient in this kind of dark path, so the thieves quickly diverted their attention from him and began to think about the next good target.
A pedestrian on the street was stopped by Laing. "Mr. Focker? Why are you here? "
"Ah! Oh my god, it's you! " Focker, who was holding a plate of toast and barbecued meat, was so shocked that he almost dropped the food. "What brings you here?"
"What are you doing?" Laing saw that no one was paying attention to them, so he smiled and patted Focker's shoulder.
"The boss is drinking at the bar in front. He asked me to buy some supper," Focker quickly explained.
"Interesting. Lead the way. I want to take a look at the bar too!" Laing thought to himself. Then, he signaled Focker to lead the way.
"Of … of course!" Without hesitation, the guard immediately led Laing to the door of a bar.
The name of the bar was Slug Bar. The black, rotten wooden signboard was wiped clean. A big slug logo and a line of small words indicated that this was a bar.
The lights in the bar were very dim, with only simple candlelight and whispers. There weren't many people in the bar, and most of the customers were chatting with the robust bartender at the bar, complaining about the boredom of life.
Laing followed Focker to a corner and found Olivier drinking alone. "Mr. Olivier?"
In the corner of the bar, the Empire businessman was sitting alone in a small booth. There was a candlelight on the large table, illuminating the Empire businessman's chubby face. There were two glasses of apple wine and pear wine on the sturdy wooden table.
"Mr. Olivier? We meet again! " Laing appeared in front of the Empire businessman. Then, he made a shushing gesture at the Empire businessman. "Keep a low profile, keep a low profile."
"Lai … Mr. Laing?" Olivier was very surprised to see Laing here. However, the Empire businessman soon realized that Laing did not want to reveal his identity. So, he did not think too much about it. "Want a drink? It's my treat. "
"Alright, a glass of apple wine please!" Laing said to the waiter. He then took out a silver coin. The waiter took the silver coin and left. Soon, he returned with three glasses of apple wine without any change.
"Pfft, there's such a thing?" Laing stared at the three glasses of apple wine in front of him for a while. Olivier laughed. "I forgot to tell you, Mr. Laing. In a place like this, as long as you don't tell them in detail, the waiter won't give you any change. How much money you take out represents how much you buy. These greedy shopkeepers won't give you any change."
"Alright." Laing raised his glass. "To our health!"
"Cheers to our money bags!" Oliver also raised his wooden goblet.
After drinking a few glasses of wine, along with freshly baked bread and barbecued meat, the two men soon started chatting.
Olivier was not as smug as he was at the city hall. He was now in a very bad mood. After chatting for a while, Olivier found out that not long after Olivier left the banquet, the family members of his guards took the opportunity to block the Empire businessman at the entrance of the city hall and asked for a large sum of money. The merchants of Marlin Castle were the most trustworthy, so Olivier had no choice but to give it to them. This large sum of money almost cost him every single gold coin he had.
"It's a heavy loss, Mr. Laing. You know that I lost a lot on this trip to Nord. Losing the goods is a small matter because I can sell them from Marlin Castle to Nord to offset some of the losses. However, too many people died on the way back. Just the compensation alone is a huge expense. Let me put it this way, Mr. Laing. I've worked for nothing this year." Olivier found an opportunity to complain to Laing. "Fortunately, I'm still alive. I didn't lose everything."
"Being alive is the best business. If you lose your money, you can earn it again. But if you lose your life, you really can't save yourself." Clayon laughed. Oliver nodded as he listened, and the depression in his heart dissipated. "That's right, that's right! Mr. Laing is right! "
"Recently, our Empire defeated the barbarian army. The merchants who lent His Majesty money made a fortune. The empire seized a large amount of gold and silver from the barbarians. This was supposed to be another round of money-making opportunity, but I missed it again." Olivier became sad again as he spoke. The Empire businessman leaned back in his chair. "Such a big business opportunity was right in front of me, and I missed it. Now, all the shares have been taken by the big merchants. I don't have a chance anymore. I lost a lot of money again! Heavens! Has the Lady of Wealth abandoned me? "
"Haha!" Laing suddenly laughed. He raised his head and took a big gulp of cider. The quality of the cider in the slug bar was average. Compared to the mellow taste of the fruit wine, the sourness and astringency of the cider was more prominent. Smacking his lips, Laing thought that the failure of Olivier's business trip had something to do with him. It also had something to do with Olivier's bad luck. Although Laing didn't feel burdened, he suddenly felt that he could give Olivier a hand. So, he straightened his collar and whispered, "But Mr. Olivier, you will lose even more from now on!"
"What?!"
"Next, the merchants who chose to support His Majesty in the war will make a fortune. They will be able to buy the spoils of war from His Majesty at a suitable price. The futures market will soar because of the large influx of funds from His Majesty to repay his loans. The price of copper and iron will also rise. Many merchants will become rich because of this." Laing whispered the terrifying truth. "Mr. Olivier, because of your lack of information, you have already missed this precious opportunity to make money. He will lose even more now."
"Oh! No! Don't do this! " Olivier painfully covered his eyes. The merchants of the Empire could feel countless riches slipping through their fingers. This was the most painful thing for a merchant because they would only think of what they earned as their own. What they didn't earn was a loss.
"You can't just sit here and wait for death, my friend. You should take action now! Otherwise, you will only lose even more from now on. " Laing suddenly whispered, "The villages of Nord are in ruins. The abandoned and destroyed towns need to be rebuilt …"
"Yes … Yes!" Olivier immediately understood what Laing meant. This was another huge business opportunity. The merchants of the Empire could already smell the scent of gold. "I have to get ready to act. I can't just look at the losses in front of me. Otherwise, the losses in the long run will only be greater."
The candlelight on the wooden table flickered slightly as Olivier spoke.
After a brief moment of excitement, the merchant of the Empire quickly connected with reality and suffered another blow. "But I have a fatal problem, Mr. Laing. I don't have enough money on hand. I still have two deals on hand. Of course, the reconstruction of the land is a lucrative job, but …"
"I can lend it to you." Laing's words were like heavenly music to Olivier's ears.
"Are you serious?!" Olivier felt that happiness came too suddenly.
"I don't like to lie. Besides, this is a business partnership between us, Mr. Olivier. Let's not talk about other places, but in Nord, my name is more important than the warrant of many lords." Laing narrowed his eyes, the corner of his lips curling up. "So this is a business deal. You need money and the trust of the lords. I need profits and your management skills. We need each other, don't we?"
"Your words have won me over. Indeed, Mr. Laing. I will let you know my talents and my management skills." With a suitable target, Olivier immediately lost his interest in drinking. The merchant of the Empire immediately said that he wanted to buy a large number of goods and hire mercenaries to protect him. Nord's shipping port was about to be closed, and he could not miss this opportunity to make money.
After the discussion, the two of them were about to get up. Suddenly, a few women barged into the tavern from the entrance.
These women had makeup on their faces and wore revealing clothes. When they walked, they swayed and flirted. The smell of low-grade perfume on their bodies was especially disgusting.
They were the prostitutes of this street.
These women all had one characteristic: they were not beautiful. They either had eyes that were too small, nose that was too high, or mouth that was too big. But they still walked towards Laing and Olivier. It was obvious that they had planned this beforehand.
Laing noticed that the waiters and bartenders in the tavern did not react to the arrival of the prostitutes. So, the women walked up to Laing and Olivier. "Gentlemen, do you need someone to accompany you? Or do you need someone to accompany you through the lonely night? But drinking is not a good idea! "
"Sorry, I'm not interested. I have a lot of important things to do. Let's go! "Olivier immediately waved his hand to show that he was not interested. He wanted to rush back to gather his men.
"Mr. Laing, do you want to join us?" Olivier asked Laing if he wanted to join them. Obviously, he wanted to help him get rid of these prostitutes.
"No, I can handle it myself." Laing waved his hand, indicating that Olivier did not need to care about him.
"Then, Mr. Laing, see you later!" Olivier hurriedly left with his guards.
"Hello everyone! Ladies, if you don't mind, how about I treat three lucky ladies to a cup of barley wine? " Ryan rolled his eyes and casually pointed at the three prostitutes standing on the street. "You, you, and you. Just the three of you stay behind!"
So, the three prostitutes sat down. The waiters took the copper coins from Laing and served each of them a cup of barley wine.
The woman leading the group was called Sarah. She had a pair of large hands and a sharp face. Other than that, her appearance was passable. "This handsome man, are you alone? You called three at once. Are you that confident in yourself? "
"Of course, haha!" Laing was very handsome, and his clothes were clean and tidy. It was not easy for him to appear in this street.
"Where are you from, handsome?" Sarah took a big gulp of barley wine.
"I'm from Brunswick. I'm a merchant. My name is Rhodes," Laing said casually. "I'm friends with Olivier!"
Laing did not look like a typical blonde Nord. His black hair and blue eyes were typical of the core people of the Empire — the Aachen people. The royal family and some of the nobles of the human Empire were all Aachen people. Laing's low Gothic was very standard, and it was not strange for him to say that he was a citizen of the Empire.
After a few cups of barley wine, Laing gestured for them to go to the inn. "I think we can continue our 'chat'. I have a treasure that I want you to see."
"Oh! Of course! "The prostitutes wanted to do business with Laing anyway.
And so, the group went to find an inn.
Laing's eyes squinted inadvertently, because in his mind, a holy white light appeared.
"Laing, my champion, what are you doing? Do you really think that these wanton people are worth getting in touch with? " The beautiful figure of the goddess in the lake descended in Laing's mind. The goddess's voice was calm, but there was a strange sense of danger. "Or do you have another purpose?"
"Of course I have another purpose, my lady. I really have no interest in having anything to do with these prostitutes, but …" Laing's blue eyes rolled around, and the corner of his mouth was raised high. He was very confident.
"I just think that whether we can find out the relationship between the Fallen Hunters and the Aesthetical Society, and whether we can find out what kind of existence the Aesthetical Society is, it all depends on these street girls!" Clayon's tone was very certain. "Are you interested in supervising them, my lady?"
"Interesting. Then I will witness it all."
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