Chapter 560: Proceeding Towards Banquet
Chapter 560: Proceeding Towards Banquet
"You want to expand your feather business?" Leo asked, interested in what the manager was talking about.
"Yes, and for that, we would like to open our first shop inside the Aurelius Beast Academy through your territory." The manager, whose name was revealed to be Oman, spoke with confident hand gestures.
"Why me? And how do you even know that I have a territory in my name?" Leo asked, a bit suspicious.
Oman scratched the back of his head with a small laugh.
"Haha, Sir Leo, it’s obvious by how you carry yourself. And no normal individual would be able to have such strong elf slaves. And today..." His eyes briefly shifted toward Thalvyr.
"...you’ve even brought such a strong, noble Lizardman combatant wearing such expensive and sturdy armour. It’s easy to guess that people with a background and strength like yours would like to lead their own force," Oman continued.
"And it’s not like you’ll gain nothing from our store being established in your territory. With the first-ever feather shop inside the academy, young girls and women will fill the area, and they’ll even proceed to buy other things you set up. On top of that, we’ll be paying the land tax for the land we occupy in your territory, as well as a reasonable goods tax on sales based on the contract we sign in the future."
Leo nodded. He didn’t see any downside to it. Not to mention—
What the hell... why are there so many females in my territory? Leo suddenly realised that if he left the Gnomes out, there were only around 6 males, including himself, Thalvyr and Thalvyr’s son, Arkvyr.
But I guess that only makes the feather shop more necessary...?
"Alright, I agree."
The moment Leo said that, Oman’s face bloomed with happiness. The owner would definitely increase his pay when he heard the news.
"But..."
Leo interrupted his happiness, and Oman immediately became attentive.
"The position of my territory will keep changing in the future. How will you handle that?" Leo asked.
"Huh? What do you mean? Aren’t student territories fixed in one place? And when they shift to a new location, the thing called Prosperity Points—which is very important—also resets?"
"That’s my problem to deal with. Just know that what I said is true. The territory’s location will keep changing. But I’ll ensure your shop stays intact, though the shop itself may change positions within my territory." Leo explained everything necessary without revealing much.
The manager fell into deep contemplation.
"How will it affect the business? Like, if the territory keeps changing positions, how will regular customers come there?" Oman asked. This was very important for establishing a well-established business—a good, well-known, and accessible location.
"We have an all-way teleportation array, and the setup is complete. People would just need to pay a small fee whenever they come and go."
Hearing that, Oman’s eyes widened.
What the hell!? A freshman has an all-way teleportation array?! Even the smallest one costs more than 500 Gold Coins! He was stunned.
Wait... on second thought, this might be a small expense for him compared to the elves...
Oman realised that what was normal for him wasn’t normal for Leo.
He still shivered at the thought of Leo destroying the shop’s wall with a single Gold Coin.
"I-if that’s the case, then there is no problem. I wonder if Sir Leo would be willing to allow people from outside the academy to directly teleport into your territory."
Leo raised a brow. This idea was great for business. But at that point, he would need an academy staff member to be regularly present in his territory to keep a catalogue of who came and went.
"Sure, I plan to."
Maybe I should have Virat or any other low-level combatant become an instructor and act as the academy staff, Leo thought. That way, no one would be able to spy on me.
On that note—
"Who will manage your shop there? I’ll tell you now: if you plan to have your own staff, they’ll need to sign a strict confidentiality agreement through a high-level mana contract. Otherwise, I won’t allow the shop inside the territory." Leo’s tone turned slightly serious.
Seeing Leo’s expression, even Oman responded professionally.
"Of course, that’s a given. Since our own personal staff, who are trained in everything related to feathers, will be necessary, I’ll have all of them sign the confidentiality contract. Not even the owner will know what is happening inside your territory."
Though the manager said this as if it were the most normal thing to do, it actually wasn’t.
Leo would be the first to sign such a contract with shop staff. Because the students of other academies were simply happy to have a foreign shop in their territory, they forgot that information itself was a hot commodity.
Alongside their feather business, the shop even ran a side hustle selling information related to every location where their stores operated and where confidentiality contracts hadn’t been signed.
"Good. Send your men to the Aurelius Beast Academy soon. My territory’s name is Leo’s Territory, and it is ranked 1st in the freshman rankings. It’ll be easy to find."
With that, Leo was about to turn and leave, but he suddenly remembered something.
"Just so you know, if any of your men try to misbehave with any of the women in my territory—even if they’re slaves—be ready for a dead body to be delivered to your doorstep."
With those words, Leo turned and departed after paying for the feathers.
The manager gulped.
"Damn... so scary..." he muttered, exhaling in relief as he wiped the sweat trickling down the back of his head before hurrying off to inform the owner about his successful endeavour.
He couldn’t believe that the business would expand in one of the top territories until now.
When Leo arrived at their quarters, Lyswenna handed him a letter first.
"Lord, someone gave me this while we were buying clothes." She even repeated the exact same words the man had told her.
"Oh, that idiot? I almost forgot about him," Leo muttered as he checked the contents of the letter.
"Eh? It’s the same as the one the city official handed me when I arrived here."
Leo compared both invitations. They were exactly the same, inviting him to the banquet at 5 PM.
Leo immediately understood that Nirvan Ember didn’t actually know who he was and simply thought Leo was some random rich wannabe.
"This is going to be interesting."
15:20, 9th March, 501 AA
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