novelraw Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Chapter 7. Mills
After leaving the villa, Kyle did not immediately go to find O’Brien. Instead, he first headed to the headquarters of the Silver Moon Chamber of Commerce at the port to look for Mills—that fat man.
For a vampire like him to negotiate this kind of matter personally would look like outright provocation.
Your mortal enemy introducing you to a disciple—it was simply asking for discomfort on both sides. Besides, he had not given up on the possibility of monetizing his sister’s ‘undying romance between human and vampire’. It was the perfect chance to have a good talk with that commercial genius of a fat man.
However, the fat man should currently be at home, snoring away in his wife’s arms. Still, during working hours, he would definitely be at the Chamber.
So Kyle simply sat down in the fat man’s wide, comfortable office chair and waited for his arrival.
When the sun was already high in the sky, Mills waddled in with his protruding belly, yawning as he pushed open the door to his private office. Just as he was about to take off his coat, the corner of his eye caught sight of someone sitting in his chair. His whole body shrank abruptly like a sponge.
But he quickly calmed down. He was just a small fry, responsible for handling affairs for big shots. No one should make things difficult for him.
When he clearly saw the familiar mask on the visitor’s face, he hurriedly bowed.
“Your Excellency, is there some task you require this humble one to carry out?”
“Sit first. There’s quite a bit to discuss. Let’s take it slowly.”
The two moved to the sofa by the second-floor window and sat down. Kyle took out a crystal ball and placed it on the tea table.
“There are two matters in total.”
“For the first matter, I need you to come forward and persuade a Master-tier Paladin to test a boy’s talent for becoming a Paladin—preferably give him a chance to become an apprentice!”
Kyle had not entertained the unrealistic thought that the other party would accept Dean directly as a disciple.
But as long as the two made contact, Kyle could use the threads of causality to search among countless futures for the most promising possibility—the price being the immense effort he would have to expend.
But for his sister’s sake, it did not matter.
Moreover, if it succeeded, his family might gain the endorsement of a Paladin. That would bring considerable benefits to many of his future development plans.
As one of the representative races of dark creatures, vampires truly did not fare well in this world. Whatever they did had to be done in secret. Fortunately, the world was vast. Aside from places like Coral Thorn City, which hid crouching tigers and hidden dragons, it was difficult to encounter experts above Elite rank in other regions.
If they could obtain a Paladin’s endorsement, the situation would improve greatly. At the very least, they would not be hunted down or extorted at will under the pretext of being ‘dark creatures’.
“Hiss—!”
Mills rubbed his ears fiercely, suspecting he had heard wrong.
He knew Kyle’s identity. It was commonplace for vampires to conduct transactions with human nobles and merchants.
But what had he just heard?
Was this vampire planning to directly ‘invade’ the stronghold of his mortal enemies? This was no longer infiltrating Witch Hunters—this was aiming straight at the very lifeline of humanity!
Mills’ expression shifted continuously.
Kyle knew what he was thinking and spoke directly:
“Mills, relax. I’m not asking you to betray humanity or whitewash vampires. After all, most of my kind truly aren’t much to speak of.”
Kyle himself had killed quite a few vampires—especially half-blood vampires. These hybrids, transformed through The Embrace, often became intoxicated by the sudden power they gained, enslaved by that power. The evil thoughts in their hearts would be infinitely magnified, and in the end they would become bounty targets under some Witch Hunter’s blade.
Seeing that Mills still hesitated, Kyle pushed the crystal ball in front of him.
“Look at this first. It’s also related to the second matter I mentioned. Perhaps after watching it, you’ll have a different view!”
Within the crystal ball, a vast snowy night slowly appeared. A boy of three or four nestled among several older brothers and sisters around ten years old, going from house to house, begging with difficulty for food.
…a warm little house… bright, resounding reading voices… playful laughter under the sunlight… a werewolf…
When the scene froze on the boy’s hoarse cry of “I would rather die,” this big fat man Mills was already crying even harder than the boy’s sister. It truly looked as though tears were spurting like a fountain. Fortunately, he had plenty of ‘water’ in him—an ordinary person might have already dehydrated.
The handkerchief in his hand had long been tossed aside. Mills directly grabbed the tablecloth to blow his nose.
Kyle had already retreated behind the desk; the sight of this fat man with tears and snot streaming down disgusted him to no end.
“Puh—puh—”
Mills blew his nose fiercely twice more before finally restraining his surging emotions.
“Your Excellency… are you… are you looking to find a Paladin mentor for this boy?”
Mills wiped his face hard with his sleeve. His round face was unusually flushed, whether from excitement or from rubbing it too many times.
“That’s right. This very boy.”
“Rest assured, I will do everything in my power to facilitate this! Even if that Paladin refuses, I will personally write a recommendation letter to the Royal Knights of the Crescent Empire, giving this boy a chance to come into contact with more Paladins!”
Although Mills was only a lowest-tier Formal professional, being born into a collateral branch of the royal family, coupled with his exceptional talent in business and social dealings, had granted him some connections within the Empire. He was equally optimistic about this boy. Combined with his relationship with the intelligence merchant, what the boy lacked to soar to the heavens was merely an opportunity.
This was simply the highest-quality investment—guaranteed profit with no loss. If he were truly chosen by a Paladin, it could no longer be called a quality investment, but rather a ‘legendary investment’!
Kyle disdainfully used a cleaning spell to wipe the tears splashed onto the crystal ball. “And the specific plan?”
“If I’m not mistaken, the second matter Your Excellency wishes me to handle should be to monetize this story, correct?” Mills asked cautiously but confidently.
“Correct!” Kyle put away the crystal ball under Mills’ reluctant gaze.
“This story is extremely good. If polished well enough, it would certainly sell tremendously. Noble young ladies would never begrudge the gold coins in their hands. But I’m afraid now is not the right time for this story to appear!”
“Oh?! Go on!” Kyle was quite curious why this fat man, who had just cried himself half to death over the story, would say such a thing.
“Before that Paladin decides to take on a disciple, widely publicizing this story would be no different from using public opinion to morally coerce the Paladin’s will! It would surely make that lord feel threatened and manipulated, possibly even provoke resentment and ruin a good thing! The risk is far too great!” Mills emphasized.
“It would be best to wait until the Paladin officially accepts the disciple, and then let that lord decide whether the story may be adapted and promoted.”
Kyle nodded thoughtfully. “Makes sense! Then we’ll do as you say—resolve the Paladin matter first.”
He then revealed a strange expression and glanced toward the port.
“However… you may need to set out immediately. That Paladin will soon be heading out to sea to help an adventurer named Zack salvage a shipwreck.”
He had just peeked at the threads of causality and had not expected Zack to move so quickly. This old adventurer did have some ability—he had prepared all the supplies for departure in just one day.
“Hmm?” Mills froze.