Chapter 025: Anastasia Hosin

When Arthur and Otto enter the restaurant there is no one except for the worker

"Why there is no one here? I check the time and we're not late at all"

"Just take a seat for now" Arthur already take a seat when Otto still confused

"But how you can seat nonchalantly like that? Isn't it was your own trading company, you're not thinking if they're looking down at us? Isn't it was a norm to arrive ahead of the promised time? Moreover, they're the host here-"

"If you won't stop talking then I will throw you out of the restaurant right now, stay behind me and look at how you must act in this kind situation. It's no wonder you're still single"

"Why you said something like that! This and that is two different things!"

"It's same you know... oh, from now you mustn't speak without my permission" Arthur give a signal with his chin pointing at the outside of the restaurant

When Otto looks at the direction that Arthur pointed out there is a petite woman with blue-green eyes and long, wavy purple hair that extends to her hips. She wears a long white dress with a fur hat and scarf along with a large purse shaped like a wallet and she also wears a star-shaped hairpin on her hair. If he didn't wrong then she must be Anastasia Hosin.

Although he heard about her previously it was a first time for Otto meet with Anastasia ao he wants to confirm it to Arthur but Arthur just reminding him to shut his mouth

"It's an honor for me to have a chance for dinner with the famous Anastasia Hosin"

"The honor is mine being invited for a dinner by a person who makes a trading company from nothing and expands it into Kararagi, Vollachia, and Gusteko from Lugunica in a very short time is just you alone who can achieve it, Arthur Spencer" Anastasia emphasis the part of 'being invited' to make it clear if Arthur needs to treat her for the dinner

After exchanging some pleasantries, Anastasia and Arthur enjoying their food. Nor Arthur or even Anastasia speaking about business things but hey just talking about an ordinary topic.

"Then let's move to business part" Anastasia "Are you here as an owner of Emi-Life trading company or as representative of that half-elf?"

Arthur's eyebrow twitches a little before he opens his mouth with a wry smile "Why you make a problem over her origin? At least she didn't do any harm to you and it's not like you're born from prestigious family either, right?"

"...It seems you're doing your homework very well"

"Your story is very inspiring you know? An orphan who works as a waitress and then works for a large trading company, you bought the company with your amassed wealth in the end and renamed it into the Hoshin Trading Company. It will be a waste if you become prejudice to someone who never does anything wrong to you"

"... I'm sorry, you're right. But this is just the instinct of people to hate whatever that related to the witch"

"I can't change your mind about that but I hope you can hold it back a little when you meet with her"

"Well, I will try. Can I know what your intentions for meeting with me tonight?" Anastasia back to her business mode and look at Arthur with her confident smile "I'm just trying to expand my business to Lugunica before meeting with Julius so it's probably not business for Lugunica's products, it is something to do with Kararagi? But you have a headquarters in Kararagi too"

"I want you to help me acquire talented slave" Arthur decide to interrupt Anastas because if he let her lead the conversation then he will make a loss

"Slave it is...?" Anastasia squinting her eyes and look at Arthur's eyes "I must remind you if-"

"I need them to teach the commoners for some basic knowledge like reading the writing and calculating"

"This is for school things? Isn't it was something that you do with the Duchess of Karsten? As an ally, I think she is more reliable than me if it was for something that happened inside Lugunica"

"I want them to teach anyone who wants to study no matter what the students' background is, this kind of thing is difficult to achieve even if with Crusch's help. There is a possibility for the teacher didn't teach anything to some group of kids because of their bloodline or status if I hired a normal teacher, but it was different if it was a slave"

Anastasia looks at Arthur's eyes before she opens her mouth "are you her relatives?"

"Huh?" That question really come out of nowhere and too sudden

"No matter how much you invest the possibility for her becoming the queen is nearly zero that's why I really can't understand why you do so much for someone who can't bring any benefit to you" for her it was just a waste of resources to support someone who is hated by the mass, but then there is a playful smile on her face "don't tell me... you're pursuing her?!"

Although she never meets with Emilia, Anastasia received information and pictures of every candidate including Emilia, if she thinks about it carefully Emilia is a beautiful girl so maybe there is someone who didn't look at her as a split image of the witch.

"I didn't know if you like to gossip..."

"Haha... Gossip is a nature of a girl, and from gossip, a merchant can learn about a lot of things, gossip is good things"

"In other words, you as a successful merchant girl is a very deadly combination"

"Hehe... well, with the fact you didn't answer about it there must be something that makes you want to support it, I will leave it for now. I can agree to help you with the slave issue but I will make it clear now if I will charge you some administration fee"

"Don't worry, money is not a problem"

"Then that's good. Now I agree to help you, isn't it was a time for you to give me some benefit?"

"Oh, let's hear what you want" Arthur decide to hear her proposal first ao he can decide what is plausible and what is not

After a long conversation Arthur agree to sell goods from Gusteko and Vollachia with some discount to the Hoshin trading company, but this deal is just valid in the headquarters of Emi-Life trading company in Kararagi.

There is still profit even if Arthur sells it to Anastasia cheaper than market prices.

"I heard your alliance with Crusch is not formally from yet?"

"Well, Emilia and Crusch need to meet and discuss it personally to make our alliance is valid"

"How envious...." although she has a lot of people that she can depend on in her mercenary group, but after seeing Arthur who prepares anything for Emilia's need in this election without her knowing about it, is very enviable.

After Arthur bid his farewell to Anastasia and leaves with Otto, Ricardo who is waiting outside of the restaurant enter and walks to Anastasia.

"How it is, Ojou?"

"Everything is good, we help to gather what he wants and we will receive quite a lot of profits from this deal"

"So, there is no possibility for friction happen between us and him?" Ricardo asking the most important question for him

"Although we can't dispose of such possibility it was very very small as long as we didn't discriminate Emilia, although he didn't look like a proper knight if we do anything to the one he pledged loyalty on, it will be the time we turn into an enemy. What is your opinion about him?"

"A dangerous person" that's just how Ricardo can describe him, from the moment he looks at Arthur his feelings give him a warning to not underestimate Arthur or the price is very high

"Is that so... let's leave then" Anastasia believe if it was what Ricardo said about Arthur

Although when she talking with Arthur she didn't feel any danger from him, she chooses to believe in Ricardo's judgment rather than herself if it was related to battle instinct.

"It's like what Ricardo said, that person is very dangerous" there is a female voice speaking inside the dragon carriage, and the source of the sound is very near to Anastasia but inside the dragon carriage there is just Anastasia and no one sit with her there

"You think like that too?" Anastasia didn't fluster or anything because of this sudden sound because she knows who is speaking to her

"He didn't radiate any type of energy from his body but I think it was just like how ocean when the weather is very good, it best if we didn't have any conflict with him"

"It's not because he has a defective gate?"

"No... it's not a defective gate" it was more likely he didn't have any gate at all. But the sound didn't say the rest of it because for someone without gate appears in this world is very impossible.

"Don't worry I understand about it, I will not doing anything that will not bring benefit to me" Anastasia lean her back to the seat before looking at the outside of the carriage "But it's really enviable.... how good... to have someone taking care of anything you need without you knowing anything about it, it's like have a guardian angel, right?"

There is no one who answers her but she didn't bother with it and just close her eyes to take a short rest.

'It seems the hardest enemy is not the candidates itself, but the one who is standing behind her. I will anticipate our next meeting'

With that thought appear inside her heart, Anastasia is fallen asleep