Little Tyrant Doesn’t Want to Meet with a Bad End

Arwen Dani felt that he had led quite a successful life.

Forty this year, he was born in Rosa and had the trademark red hair of a Rosaian. In his earlier years, he had traveled cross country in a merchant convoy, touring the many nations of the continent. It was only in his thirties that he finally returned to Rosa to take on greater responsibilities within the association. At this moment, he was already the manager of Sorofya Merchant Association’s Ascart City Branch.

As one of the few branch managers of the illustrious Sorofya Merchant Association in the Theocracy, Arwen’s standing was even above that of lesser nobles. Only the most distinguished customers were worthy of being attended to by him.

And the black-haired boy sitting before him right now was one of them.

“Young master Roel, the two sets of clothes you have ordered will only be arriving in half a month’s time. We’ll have our people deliver them to the Ascart House. As for the short sword you requested, I’m afraid that it’ll take slightly longer; roughly three months.”

Inside an exquisitely adorned room, a black-suited Arwen looked at the adorable yet handsome little boy seated opposite to him, as he explained the situation with an amiable smile. The comfortable vibe that he emanated showed how deserving he was of the manager’s position.

A slight aroma wafted from the highest quality red tea being served in elaborately designed Rosaian teacups on the table. Roel leaned comfortably on a soft sofa as he took a sip of the tea and remarked calmly.

“The tea is not bad.”

“Haha, it’s only appropriate of us to serve you with the best of teas. I wouldn’t bear to drink such precious tea under normal occasions.”

Tsk tsk, only a kid would believe those words of yours!

Roel continued smiling calmly while retorting disdainfully to Arwen’s remark in his mind.

Sorofya was known for its wealth, so how could a high-standing branch manager possibly be unable to afford tea? It was as good as saying that a fish was drowning in water!

This was a common tactic that merchants used, buttering the customer up to high heavens before ripping them off and taking all their money. It was particularly effective on naive youths or proud nobles who would go to all lengths to uphold their pride. Unfortunately for Arwen, Roel fit into neither of the two categories.

You have a glib tongue, but you might as well spare the effort. You’re a hundred years too late to be taking advantage of me!

Roel put down his teacup calmly. Paying no heed to Arwen’s flattery, he began speaking.

“It’s not an issue, three months is fine. These are just minor issues. I didn’t call you here for a private chat to verify these trifles.”

“I understand. Young master Roel, please feel free to speak your mind. We’ll prepare anything you need.”

Arwen still had an amicable smile on his face, making it appear as if he would be more than willing to do anything to help, but on the inside, he was already starting to feel contempt for Roel.

Yet another dirty deal. I’ve long heard that the son of Marquess Carter is a wastrel, but I didn’t think that he would get involved with that kind of stuff at such a young age.

Let me take a guess what it is this time. Is it the mirage grass or the euphoric beat? Or is it women that he wants?

Arwen pondered as he made up his mind to find an excuse to send Roel off.

While the Sorofya Merchant Association did deal with a wide variety of stuff, there were explicit rules forbidding the sales of such items within the Theocracy. It was one thing if Roel was the marquess himself⁠—Arwen might have still considered going through with the trade to fawn on him⁠—but Roel was only a successor at the moment.

One should know that Carter was a model noble, as well as a powerful transcendent. There was no way he would allow his own son to get involved in this sort of stuff. If Carter were to investigate this matter, Arwen would fall into deep trouble.

However, Arwen’s expectations were doomed to fall flat this time around.

“I wish to sell an item listed on your request list.”

“Request list?”

Arwen blinked his eyes, a little surprised that this young boy was actually here to sell something to him. However, his surprise only lingered for a moment before his professional smile swiftly returned to his face.

“Ahh, so that’s the case. May I ask which request criteria does the item you are selling fulfill?”

“Request 172. Has the effect of calming souls, suppressing the spread of curses, and preventing corpse reanimation.”

Roel calmly recited the text he recalled from the catalog, causing Arwen, who was just about to flip through the catalog himself, to freeze on the spot. His eyes narrowed for a split second.

“… Hahaha, young master Roel’s memory sure is amazing! Yes, there’s indeed such an item that we’re urgently trying to procure at the moment.”

Arwen put on an act of flipping through the catalog, but in truth, his heart was already thumping in excitement after hearing Roel’s words.

Others might not know who the buyer was, but Arwen, as a manager, was privy to some information not known by outsiders. This was a request issued directly from the central headquarters in Rosa, which meant that the buyer behind this Request 172 was likely to be one of his higher-ups.

All of a sudden, this seemingly insignificant transaction had turned into something so important that it could influence Arwen’s future career in the merchant association.

It looked as if nothing had changed on the surface, but the sharp glint in Arwen’s eyes showed that he was finally getting serious.

“Young master Roel, may I ask where the item is?”

“It’s currently at my home. If negotiations go well, I’ll drop by tomorrow and deliver the item into your hands.”

“I understand. Pardon me when I ask this question, but how much of the listed criteria does your item fulfill?”

“I can guarantee that my item fulfills the criteria of calming souls and preventing undead reanimation. As for the suppression of curses, that remains to be seen.”

As Roel quickly explained the effects of the Soul-calming Lamp, he paid close attention to the fluctuations in Arwen’s emotions. While the latter had an excellent poker face, he was unable to conceal the keen look in his eyes after hearing Roel’s description.

“It’s an item I found inside our Ascart House’s vault. My father doesn’t agree with me selling it, but you should have also heard about how I am lacking in talent as a transcendent. Those bizarre items inside our storage room are of no use to me anyway, so I might as well exchange them for something more practical instead, don’t you agree?”

Roel put a disdainful look on his face, perfectly playing out the part of a standard good-for-nothing scion.

Arwen couldn’t help but sneer on the inside upon seeing Roel's attitude, but on the outside, he nodded vehemently in agreement.

“Indeed, what you’ve said makes perfect sense. Useless items do nothing more than collect dust; it’s a good idea to trade them for gold coins now and purchase the things you really need. It’d do just to buy them back once more when you are in need of them.”

Arwen played along to Roel’s tune and even developed on his point, neglecting to explain to the ‘naive little boy’ how items that possessed transcendent powers tended to be rare and incredibly hard to source for in the market.

Roel nodded his head vehemently upon hearing Arwen’s words, looking as if he couldn’t agree more.

“I knew that Mister Arwen would understand me. My father is simply too stubborn. What’s the use of keeping those scraps back at home? If it was me, I would have had all of them sold by now!”

Roel waved his hand grandly, as if he couldn’t wait to dispose of the vast collection the Ascart House had accrued over the years.

Those words sparked a flame in Arwen’s heart.

The treasure collection of a long-standing magician house like the Ascarts was not to be underestimated. They were bound to have many rare and exclusive antiques, and those items were not things that one could buy even if one had the money! If he could seal this deal, it would be all worth it, no matter how much money he had to spend!

Besides, when had the Sorofyas ever lacked money? That was the one thing that they could confidently declare that they had in excess!

And in truth, the Sorofya Merchant Association had a special task for all of its branch managers, and that was to collect all sorts of mystical treasures from all over the world. There were some branch managers who spent years trying to get close to declining nobles in hopes of acquiring the treasures they had.

They knew that as long as they could seal the deal, their promotion would be guaranteed.

Be it the fulfillment of Request 172 or the Ascart House’s treasures, they were all invaluable opportunities to Arwen, such that he was already having trouble trying to maintain his poker face. He gulped down a mouthful of saliva as he asked with a hint of agitation.

“Young master Roel, what do you think would be an appropriate price for the item you wish to sell?”

“This is our first time working together, so I need to bring back a sum of money that my father can look at.”

Roel’s eyes darted upward contemplatively for a moment before he finally gave his offer with a smile.

“50,000 gold coins, how does that sound?”