Chapter 182: A Love Match

Chapter 182: A Love Match

On the fourth floor of Baverte Bank.

The largest shareholder of this bank is Count Holber, currently managed by Herbert on his behalf, with the Nigan family also owning a significant share.

Greke's choice to have the conversation in this place seemed normal.

But Hastur knew it was anything but normal.

Greke and Herbert were undoubtedly looking to snoop for some information, to satisfy their curiosity.

"Hastur, let me introduce you, this is Viscount Yaber from South Wilshire. He used to be a leisurely noble in South Wilshire and only came to Beckland in the past two years."

Upon Hastur's arrival, Greke briefly introduced the basic information of both parties.

After exchanging pleasantries, Hastur began to size up Viscount Yaber. He was between forty and fifty, with hair the color of the deep sea. Compared to the local nobles of Beckland, his skin was dark and rough, clearly a man who had lived where the sea breeze blew for years.

"The situation is this: I've decided to settle in Beckland. Besides my own domain, I'm interested in selling the other lands I own in South Wilshire."

Viscount Yaber was direct, stating the purpose of today's meeting right away, a trait that was quite endearing.

"I know that land prices have been falling recently, and I'm indeed eager to sell those lands. So, I won't beat around the bush—a flat rate of 15,000 gold pounds."

"You just need to pay this amount, and all the lands I've operated in South Wilshire over the years will be yours."

Frank and straightforward, such a style of conduct is usually a follower of the storm.

Hastur didn't agree immediately but looked towards Greke, who handed him some documents and a map with a slight smile and a nod.

Hastur took the documents and map, carefully checking the lands Viscount Yaber intended to sell.

Upon inspection, he realized how worthwhile the 15,000 gold pounds were.

If it were before the "Grain Law" was introduced, the combined price of these lands would have been at least 80,000 gold pounds.

Now selling for only 15,000 gold pounds, it was a significant discount.

Based on the current normal transaction price, although these lands were not near Beckland, they should be worth around 30,000 gold pounds. Viscount Yaber was offering a direct half-price deal.

It was indeed a very cost-effective transaction.

Besides the cheap price, most of these lands were near his own domain. If he could also acquire a few other nobles' lands in between, it would form a large contiguous area.

Roughly, it would cover an area the size of a thumbnail on a palm-sized map of South Wilshire.

"With such a price, I naturally have no reason to disagree."

After a thorough check, Hastur agreed to the 15,000 gold pound transaction.

Viscount Yaber sighed, "If I hadn't already decided to stay in Beckland, I wouldn't choose to sell these lands."

"If I may ask, why are you in such a hurry to sell these lands?"

"Because no one is willing to take over the lands in South Wilshire. The current market transactions mostly revolve around Beckland. Remote areas like South Wilshire don't attract nobles' interest, even at very low prices."

Hastur chose to believe this reason. It made sense—something of value with no market.

"Viscount Yaber, I have some questions about South Wilshire."

"Ask away."

The transaction completed, Viscount Yaber's demeanor was much more relaxed than at the beginning.

"What's the current situation in South Wilshire?"

"I've been away from South Wilshire for two years, so I'm not very familiar with the latest developments. I can only tell you about the general situation when I was still there."

Hastur nodded understandingly, signaling Viscount Yaber to begin his introduction.

"South Wilshire is located in the southeastern coastal region of the Rune Kingdom. Although there are no famous ports, maritime trade is frequent."

"It can be said that half of the people in South Wilshire rely on this commercial line of maritime trade. Unfortunately, with the increasing activity of pirates, some fishing villages and ports along the coast are often plundered due to insufficient defense."

"Those bastards, taking advantage of the sea nearby, would flee on their ships whenever the army came to suppress them, then move along the entire coastline."

"With limited defense forces, it's impossible to guard the entire coastline. Strengthening defense in one area leaves another vulnerable, giving pirates the opportunity to strike."

"Besides the pirate problem, the Duke of Wil, responsible for assisting in the governance of South Wilshire, has a poor reputation locally. Apart from collecting taxes, they're no different from a curly-haired baboon."

Viscount Yaber clearly harbored great resentment towards Duke Wil, not hiding his disdain.

"Their reputation is indeed not good. Even I, residing in Beckland, have heard of it. But the current Duke of Wil has one advantage," Greke also commented.

Although he didn't specify, Hastur and Viscount Yaber knew that the only advantage was loyalty.

Because of their unwavering loyalty, as long as there was no mass rebellion, the royal family turned a blind eye to many things.

That Duke of Wil was also smart; he stayed in South Wilshire, indulging in pleasures without ambition.

Such a subject, though incompetent, was reassuring to the king.

Then, Hastur asked many more questions, which Viscount Yaber answered one by one, even promising to send him a map of the power distribution in South Wilshire.

With Greke as a witness, Hastur ultimately paid 15,000 gold pounds for a large amount of land.

The payment was divided into three installments, 5,000 gold pounds each time, as Hastur still needed to send someone to South Wilshire to verify the specifics.

Paying in installments significantly reduced his risk.

With Greke as the guarantor, Viscount Yaber had no objections.

After all, the wealth held by the heir of Duke Nigan was incomparable to these 15,000 gold pounds.

With the official business concluded, Herbert, who happened to be at Baverte Bank handling affairs, invited Hastur out for some fun tonight.

"No, I have matters to attend to."

Hastur wouldn't fall for Herbert and Greke's trap; they surely wanted to pry into his affairs with Count Holber and Audrey.

…

At a little past nine in the evening, Hastur finally made an excuse to leave.

He couldn't resist the combined efforts of Greke and Herbert. Initially agreeing only to have dinner, he ended up being dragged into drinking quite a bit before finally escaping.

During this time, faced with Greke and Herbert's probing questions, he could only dodge and feign ignorance.

He really had nothing to say; since that day, he hadn't met with Count Holber or Audrey again.

"There's still some time left."

Hastur checked the time and decided to visit the Brave Bar, having not been there for several days.

It wasn't far, just a ten-minute carriage ride away.

As soon as he entered the Brave Bar, Hastur spotted Leonard.

He intended to greet him, but upon seeing the woman Leonard was talking to, Hastur stopped in his tracks.

If he remembered correctly, the woman in the black dress was the Black Saint who saved the witch that night! A Sequence 3 ageless witch! Had he known he would encounter the witch here, Hastur would have preferred to continue drinking with Greke and Herbert.

Even if they teased and joked with him, it was better than facing an ageless witch directly.

But he had already come in; he couldn't just turn around and leave.

In front of a Sequence 3 ageless witch, any slight movement couldn't escape her perception.

Fortunately, when he had gone there in spirit form, wearing armor conjured from the war emblem, the ageless witch hadn't discovered his true identity.

Hastur slowly walked into the bar, sat at the edge of the counter, ordered a cocktail of Golden Wheat Waves, and drank silently.

Leonard also noticed Hastur's arrival, but he was in the midst of an important conversation and couldn't split his attention, only giving Hastur an apologetic look.

For this, Hastur turned away, inwardly giving Leonard a thumbs-up. This guy was actually trying to woo a Sequence 3 ageless witch! With his naive tactics, how could he possibly match up to the ageless witch?

It seemed like he was trying his best to win the beauty's favor, but in reality, she was the true master of fishing.

She was just pretending to be an innocent and naive girl, enjoying Leonard's performance, satisfying her unusual hobby.

Huh, strange.

Leonard couldn't detect the ageless witch's identity, but the old gentleman inside him should see through it all.

Was he deliberately not reminding Leonard? Tsk tsk, he wanted Leonard to experience the taste of a witch!

Hastur wanted to laugh and mourned for Leonard for a second.

Then, he too became a silent onlooker.

Even sitting on the edge, he could still hear Leonard's pretentiously deep voice.

And the ageless witch's voice, sweet and clear like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl.

What should this scene be called?

A playboy in the field of love battling an experienced hand among the flowers?

Or a romantic poet up against an ageless witch? Tsk, one is a young bull taking on a big car, the other an old bull eating tender grass.

This round, both sides are evenly matched.

(End of Chapter)