Chapter 179 Chapter 180 Young Master Es
Half an hour ago.
Marlin City.
Having just exited the Sigma Church, Young Master Es walked toward his carriage. His personal male servant greeted him and assisted him onto the vehicle. Once they were settled, the servant in black spread out some documents and said:
“Young Master Es, the situation is a bit dire. Caslan has repaid his debts on time. Many people are secretly blaming you for exaggerating the debt situation of the Caslan family. Some workshop masters have quietly made agreements with Caslan to supply him. Should we punish them?”
Young Master Es did not seem to care much, waving his hand as if to swat away a fly, saying, “It’s normal; they were always fair-weather friends.”
Outside, the sound of the old coachman cracking his whip echoed as the steed pulled the carriage forward slowly.
“Here’s a letter; your business ally accuses you of making exaggerated claims and intends to withdraw from your business alliance.”
“Oh? I wonder what price Caslan offered him.” Young Master Es had no desire to read the letter. “After all, he’s just a seasoned merchant with only one hen that lays eggs, and he can still poach talent from me.”
The servant took back the letter and said,
“My master, it’s feared that this isn’t just any hen; it lays golden eggs. The whole city is abuzz with the tale of a poor man from the slums who drank a fortune potion and truly became rich overnight. Every day, people crowd the pharmacy waiting for it to open.”
“The world is filled with people eager to get rich overnight,” Young Master Es said. “But that’s not a long-term strategy. This style doesn’t reflect Caslan; it’s filled with urgency and greed. I understand these people well; as soon as they enter the marketplace, they can’t wait to make a windfall, completely disregarding how many flaws they expose.”
The servant remembered several of Es’s ventures in recent years, which were far too mature for a young man. When the market was filled with rumors and people were hastily offloading their goods to minimize losses, he remained unshaken, selling at the highest prices.
He had a keen eye, accurately predicting that the current emperor of the empire was not just a name without substance. He staked against Marlin City, rejecting the family’s previous strategies, and fully sided with the emperor. He won.
When the emperor took control of Marlin City, he again foresaw that the emperor would definitely go to Nuern to suppress the rebellion, prioritizing stability in Marlin City. That night, he joined the other intimidated families, forming a mayoral council to negotiate with the emperor, calmly facing the emperor himself without losing composure.
In the end, the emperor made unexpectedly favorable concessions.
The servant sighed, “Few people in the world are like you, master; you were born to do business.”
“This move must be the so-called ‘brave warrior George’s’ succubus fiancée.” Speaking of George, Young Master Es’s lips beneath the golden mask uttered disdainful words. “I thought he would be qualified as a holy knight to bring happiness to Jenna. It seems now that aside from being a hero, he’s just an illegitimate child of a rural noble.”
“From the core, he is no different from an old peasant. They only know how to rely on brute force, wielding their hoes, fantasizing about marrying a flock of women when they see respectable women pass by.”
“It’s unjust. For a brute who doesn’t understand women to receive Jenna’s love is already a great fortune. He still doesn’t know how to cherish it and brings back a filthy succubus. He is just a fickle bastard; perhaps back then, his decision to fight against the demon king Kima was out of jealousy for having so many women in his harem. It’s also amusing; after saving those women, none of them were willing to follow him. He must look like a gorilla; any ordinary woman who sees him must cover their nose, which is why he wears that bucket helmet all day.”
The servant sighed inwardly; his usually calm master had lost his composure when talking about George.
It must have something to do with the handwritten letter from Jenna, which was very brief, containing only one line: “I will definitely marry George and have already shared forbidden fruit with him. Don’t mind it.”
The servant shifted the topic and asked, “How does my master plan to deal with the Golden Rolling Alchemy Shop?”
“The marketplace is like a battlefield. She underestimated the business world, thinking that using a bit of extraordinary ability to sell her goods would amount to success. This is the most despicable tactic—”
Suddenly, the carriage made a sharp turn, and both men hastily braced against the wall to avoid falling.
“Thud.”
The vehicle jolted, and a scream echoed.
“What happened?”
His coachman was an experienced driver who had always been steady, with no accidents for years. Unless someone was desperate and attempted murder.
Young Master Es bent down, gripping his longsword tightly.
The servant checked again, and then a bout of arguing came from outside. Soon after, someone knocked on the carriage window.
Young Master Es opened the window and asked, “What’s going on?”
“The coachman swerved to avoid a cat and hit a pedestrian. He clearly isn’t hurt, but he’s lying on the ground and refusing to get up, demanding compensation.”
“How much? Just give it to him.”
“Master, he wants five hundred gold coins.”
“Give it to him.”
“Yes.”
The servant took out several hundred-coin notes and threw them to the citizen lying on the ground, saying, “Take this.”
The citizen excitedly got up, carefully took the gold notes, touched them, licked them, and happily turned back to run, shouting, “The potions from the Golden Rolling Shop really work!”
Young Master Es heard this clearly. It seemed that his generosity had become a merit for a certain succubus.
The servant got back into the carriage, and they continued on their way.
The servant said, “He’s so shameless; he must be a customer of the Golden Rolling Shop.”
Young Master Es replied, “Her selfish practices are the most despicable and won’t last long. Business relies on mutual benefits; only mutually beneficial arrangements endure. The potions she sells only benefit herself, and this city will eventually be harmed by her. I’ve already discussed this with the Extraordinary Committee, and everyone agreed to investigate her misuse of extraordinary abilities to safeguard our—”
“Thud!”
The carriage made another sharp turn and crashed into another vehicle.
After the servant went out to check, he returned saying, “The coachman swerved to avoid a dog and crashed into a carriage.”
“Did the passengers buy the potions from Golden Rolling?”
“Yes, they’re asking for six hundred.”
“Compensate them, and also tell the coachman that my patience is limited; this is the third time.”
“Understood.”
Ten minutes later, the carriage continued moving slowly down the street, comparable to a sightseeing vehicle in Marlin City.
Young Master Es looked out at the slowly passing street scenery, feeling irritable.
“Demons are indeed demons; they are eager to wreak havoc on my hometown. She must be whispering slanderous words into Jenna’s ear day and night, causing Jenna to deeply misunderstand me.” Young Master Es said, “From the first meeting, I realized that behind her angelic face lurked an ugly sea monster—”
“Thud,” another sound interrupted his words.
The carriage stopped.
Young Master Es was not very surprised and said, “On the way home, the misfortune brought by the succubus is truly overwhelming.”
But the servant did not have the same calm demeanor as Young Master Es. He took a deep breath to contain his anger and stepped down from the carriage.
After a while, shouts of anger came from outside:
“What small animal is it this time?”
“None? The wheel ran over a stone, and it hit someone’s ankle? You’ve taken this route for ten years; how could you not avoid the stone? I see your eyes are failing you; you’re responsible for half of this compensation!”
“What? Two hundred gold coins? That’s enough to buy your leg!”
Young Master Es leaned back against the chair, closing his eyes to rest. The sounds of haggling continued outside.
Irritated, he opened his eyes and raised a hand. Soon after, his personal servant came, “Master, what are your instructions?”
“My time is very valuable.”
“Understood.” The servant remained standing, not moving.
“What is it?”
“Master, I’ve run out of money.”
Young Master Es took a deep breath, removed a ring from his finger, and tossed it to the servant, saying, “Tell him he can exchange it for two hundred gold coins at our nearest pawn shop.”
“Yes, master.”
As a leading wealthy merchant family in Marlin City, who would believe that one day they would have to pawn a ring?
Young Master Es scoffed and resumed closing his eyes.
Having money is powerful; the carriage started moving slowly again.
A celebratory voice, akin to an annoying dog’s bark, came into the carriage:
“Yay! This potion really works.”
The servant smacked his lips in frustration, cursing, “These ruffians.”
Young Master Es’s eyelids twitched, and he slowly said, “That succubus is very clever; she knows she has a fatal weakness.”
“Her identity?”
“Correct. On the territory of the Sigma Church, how can a demon act like a clown on stage?” Young Master Es said, “I’ve already communicated with the lead priest of the Sigma Church. As long as I provide solid evidence, the witch hunters will do whatever it takes to purify her.”
“If she’s smart, she should have fled long ago.”
“Because she knows that I love Jenna deeply and wouldn’t want to kill her, causing Jenna to suffer heartbreak and misunderstand my love for her.” Young Master Es said, “She’s like a mouse on porcelain, gleefully squeaking at me. But she didn’t expect that if I got angry, I could break the mouse without shattering the porcelain—”
Suddenly, the carriage halted again, jolting suddenly. The servant hit his forehead and cursed, “Do you even want to keep this job? A monkey could do better than you!”
“Crack!”
The loud sound of a whip rang out, followed by the frightened neighs of horses. The carriage charged toward the sidewalk.
The servant wasn’t steady and fell to the ground, while Young Master Es maintained his balance, his golden mask shaking slightly.
With several horse whinnies echoing, the carriage came to a stop.
The servant covered his bruised forehead, his face turning red with anger, and said, “The coachman should leave!”
“Calm down,” Young Master Es said. “The crash was partly your responsibility, as you vented your anger on the coachman. Remember, no matter the circumstance, remain composed.”
The servant lowered his head, “Understood, master.”
Young Master Es’s tone was filled with a hint of helplessness: “Alright, let’s see what kind of potion-drinking ruffian we’ve crashed into this time.”
Outside, neighs from the horse and the terrified voice of the coachman echoed: “The horse, the horse is dead!”
Did someone dare to kill Young Master Es’s horse?
The servant was filled with rage and stood up abruptly, but then recalled his master’s teaching. He took a deep breath to calm his anger, only to hear a crisp sound of a sword being drawn.
Young Master Es drew his sword, gritting his teeth, kicked open the carriage door, and stepped down.
The square-faced witch hunter, holding a bloodied war hammer, coldly glanced at him and took the initiative to say, “The evil in Marlin City is quite rampant; how dare they attack a witch hunter in broad daylight.”
Young Master Es felt overwhelmed. He took a deep breath and sheathed his sword, saying, “This is a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding? I was just about to purify an evil, but I was attacked by you on the way.” The square-faced witch hunter bent down. “Drop your weapon and kneel with your hands on your head; I suspect you are colluding with evil.”
