Free Web NovelChapter 413: 413 Credit Business_1
The carriage clambered up the slope, its driver steering the horses at a leisurely pace for a steadier ride. The incline wasn’t steep, and the road was smooth, yet the horses seemed somewhat strained.
The driver figured that the customer who had booked this large carriage today must be a young and promising entrepreneur. Not only did he travel with a female companion and a bodyguard but also with a host of maids, headed towards the luxury estate on the outskirts of the city, presumably for a banquet.
But this entrepreneur was indeed peculiar; his companion wasn’t wearing a fancy dress but rather a canvas outfit suitable for moving around, and she seemed to be... carrying weapons, like a frontierswoman. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Those maids were also strange, wearing shackles without chains on their wrists, and one was even masked like the bodyguard. If they were encountered in a frontier or war-torn area, the driver would probably have thought this young man was a trafficker.
However, the driver had some experience and knew that some rich folks liked thrilling adventures—who knows what kind of bizarre gatherings would take place in that estate, but what did that have to do with him?
Aiden sat in the rented carriage with his arms crossed, with Presia and Daili to his right and Veronica, Asenna, and Sera opposite him, while the mercury amalgam golem curled up on the floor of the carriage.
"This golem is after all the finest work of Vila and Abigail, and this is how you treat it?" Presia remarked.
"Stop nitpicking, it doesn’t even grasp the concept of sitting," Aiden replied impassively, "Plus, this golem is heavier than all of us combined. If we let it take a seat, we would all have to squeeze on the other side. How could we sit then?"
"If we can’t all sit, I can always sit on Warden’s lap, right?" Daili said with a teasing smile.
"Hmph, you’re all enthusiasm when it comes to teasing others, but I bet you’d shrink back faster than anyone when it comes down to the real deal," Aiden said without even glancing at her.
"Quiet down, Daili, our little jailer over there looks like she’s about to pounce and bite you," Presia frowned.
"You seem quite relaxed; you must be very confident about the upcoming battle then. Perhaps you should lead the charge," Veronica said coldly, staring at them.
"It’s not confidence, just faith in the Warden," Daili replied with ease.
"Honestly, do you really plan to rely solely on Her Highness’s eloquence?" Asenna interjected coldly, "Are we here just to be her muscle?"
"If we can handle the leader, the rest are easy to deal with. Of course, it would be best to resolve this without a fight," Aiden replied calmly, "Besides, a fight might not even be doable."
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the estate. Unlike their previous reconnaissance, when the estate was heavily guarded, today the gates stood wide open, with "servants" in formal attire aligned on both sides, and the master stood with his back turned facing the mansion, beside him a gaunt "butler."
Aiden alighted from the carriage with his companions, turned to pay the driver and gestured for him to leave quickly.
"Welcome, Mr. Galord," the "master of the estate," Heinz Hofmann, stood at the entrance with a serious expression, showing no intention of coming out to greet them.
Aiden hadn’t informed him in advance of their visit, but with the estate’s vantage point, they could see an unfamiliar carriage approaching from afar.
"This is our first formal greeting, isn’t it, Earl Hofmann?" Aiden, too, made no move to enter the gate, and from across the courtyard, doffed his hat in greeting toward Heinz, "I am truly flattered to have received your invitation; I did not host you properly the last time you were at my residence."
"We will find a way to compensate for any trouble we’ve caused, ensuring you are satisfied," Heinz declared, "You’ve come all this way, I take it you are prepared to agree to the deal?"
"Of course, actually I don’t like to initiate conflicts with others at all," Aiden said with a smile, spreading his hands. "The most important thing about running a prison is to teach the prisoners to follow the rules. It’s not my style to fight like they do, with fists and brutality. Needless bloodshed should, of course, be avoided."
"It’s more than good that you think so, it’s truly a pity we didn’t come to an understanding sooner," Heinz nodded. "I would have been more than willing to entertain all guests inside for a seat. We’ve prepared a lot of good drinks, but it seems you’ve brought... a stranger with you."
"I brought six, which one are you referring to?" asked Aiden.
"The lady wearing the mask," Heinz replied. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
"It sounds as though you recognize everyone else," Aiden said.
"The last one I know is your subordinate. Frankly, considering you’ve brought your own subordinate for discussing this kind of matter, it makes me doubt whether you really have the intention to do business with me," Heinz said.
Heinz’s condition required Aiden to commit murder as a dereliction of duty, a matter that obviously couldn’t be leaked casually. Prisoners under Aiden’s control and manipulation might be one thing, but ordinary prison guards shouldn’t know of such leverage.
"It seems you’re still unaware she is my confidant," Aiden replied. "What else do you know about the others?"
"Well, according to the intelligence I’ve gathered, you’ve cultivated three prisoners within the prison as your confidants, and the other three ladies are all on our watch list. Besides, there’s an anthropomorphic magical tool, and that thoroughly wrapped ’gentleman’ must be it," Heinz remarked.
"Your intelligence gathering is more meticulous than the mob’s—truly worthy of a spy. It seems I need to find a way to make the mouths of the prisoners in the prison a bit more secure," Aiden responded.
"So who is the lady wearing the mask?" Heinz asked.
"She’s a surprise prepared especially for you," Aiden smiled.
"You just said you wanted to avoid unnecessary bloodshed," Heinz narrowed his eyes.
Aiden quickly waved his hands, "Don’t misunderstand, the surprise I mentioned is just the literal meaning. It’s a genuine surprise."
"What do you mean?" Heinz asked, puzzled.
"I find trading like a merchant too cumbersome, all the haggling, signing contracts, the need for ostentation at social gatherings, then the procedures for payment and handing over the money... We all value our time. So I propose we cut straight to the point with the trade," Aiden spread his hands.
"What are you proposing?"
"Let the two of us talk alone, and settle the matter of the trade directly," Aiden said with a smile.
"I must decline. First, I truly cannot be certain whether you are Mr. Garlot himself, and secondly, I’ve been carrying your payment all along, but you haven’t brought us what we want. We are still too unfamiliar with you to do business on credit," Heinz coldly refused.
The trade set by Heinz and Aiden was to exchange Sera Rekhsia’s mysterious death in prison for the Hofmann Family’s God’s Word. The details of the trade were known only to Heinz and Aiden, and Heinz had not informed his subordinates. The so-called "private" talk was nothing more than a request for him to teach the God’s Word first, and of course, he couldn’t agree to such terms.
