Chapter - 58

Iron Merchant Drax stood at the bottom of the grand staircase, his heavy arms crossed over his chest. The red-haired bitch, Ryana, had fled with her tail between her legs, but the man she had exchanged glances with, he made his face twist.

Drax felt a sour, acidic taste rise in the back of his throat. He knew that face. He knew that arrogance.

This boy was getting famous among the nobles as the "Bandit Slayer."

Rumors had been spreading through the noble houses, barracks and the taverns throughout the town like wildfire over the last few days.

A commoner who had walked out of the woods, killing the Blackfang Bandits and saving the precious daughter of the lord. A boy who had reportedly taken down Sergeant Kaelen, a veteran Drax had respected for his brutality for being a traitor.

And worse, there were the whispers from the servants about the night of the party. That this boy had single-handedly slaughtered seven assassins while the nobles cowered and the castle guards died like dogs.

To a man like Drax, who built his entire identity on strength and intimidation, every whispered compliment about Leo felt like a slap across his own face. It was a mockery of his badge, his scars, and his position.

"That's him!" Drax told Gamon, stepping up beside him, "The 'Bandit Slayer' one everyone is talking about."

"That's him?" Gamon looked at Leo surprised, "He doesn't look that strong."

But Drax knew all too better. He saw it with his own two eyes.

And even right now, he had the same expressions like that night. He looked unbothered by everything around him, enjoying the show.

The disrespect was palpable. The boy wasn't cowering. He wasn't awed.

"I don't like his face," Drax spat.

"Then go fix it," Gamon chuckled, waving a ring-covered hand, "Remind him where he is."

Drax didn't need telling twice. He pushed off the man in his way and stormed across the hall. His stride was heavy, aggressive, his steel-toed boots slamming against the mosaic floor with enough force to crack the tiles.

He puffed his chest out, letting his aura flare, he wanted to crush the boy's spirit before he even reached him.

The crowd of merchants and nobles parted instantly, sensing violence. They watched with eager, hungry eyes.

Drax stopped right in front of Leo, invading his personal space. He loomed over the younger man, using every inch of his height and bulk to cast a shadow over him.

"I don't know what you think you are doing here," Drax sneered, his voice booming loud enough to turn every head in the vast hall.

He gestured around the room with a sweeping, contemptuous wave of his arm. "Look at this place. Look at the gold on the walls. Look at the crystals above your head."

He leaned down, his scarred face inches from Leo's, his breath smelling of expensive wine and rotten meat.

"Can a stray dog like you even afford to breathe the air in here?"

The hall went silent. Iron Merchant Drax wasn't holding back. Whoever the kid was, he was going to get publicly humiliated.

Leo didn't flinch. He didn't step back. He didn't even stop chewing his apple. He took a slow, deliberate bite, the crunch echoing in the quiet room. He swallowed, then looked Drax up and down with an expression of mild, polite confusion.

"Is this your merchant guild?" Leo asked calmly.

Drax blinked, thrown off by the sudden question, "What? No, but, this..."

"Then I am confused," Leo cut him off, his voice sharpening like a blade drawn from a sheath.

"I don't even know who you are?"

"Why your big ass is getting itchy?"

"And what the fuck you want from me?"

"So why did you walk all the way over here just to get humiliated in front of everyone? Do you have a humiliation kink?"

A ripple of shocked gasps went through the crowd.

Drax's face turned a violent shade of beet red. The veins in his neck bulged as his hand twitched instinctively toward the sword at his hip.

"You little piece of..."

"Drax," A voice stopped him from behind.

Gamon stepped up beside the muscle head, placing a restraining hand on Drax's arm.

Gamon hadn't been at the party; he had been busy "investing" his hard earned gold at the 'Flowers in Silk Brothel' with two overpriced escorts. He didn't know Leo's face, and he didn't care about the rumours.

To Gamon, money was the only power that mattered, and this boy looked like he had none.

On top of that, Gamon knew one thing. He couldn't let a nobody insult his guest and business partner in his own hall. It was bad for branding.

"You watch your tongue, boy," Gamon said, his voice dripping with condescension, "Do you know where you are? I am Grand Merchant Gamon. This is my hall. And Master Drax is an esteemed guess of Golden Scales."

"So don't push your luck. Or you might end up dead in some alley, only good for dog piss."

Gamon looked around the room, playing to the crowd. He needed to crush this insect socially, not physically. That was more fun.

He pointed a finger, heavy with a ruby ring, at the reception desk.

"Tilly!" he barked, "Why is this... person... still lingering here? Is he a customer? Did he buy anything? How much did he spend?"

Tilly, the flat-chested receptionist, squeaked in terror. She popped up from behind the counter where she had been hiding. She looked at Gamon, then at Leo, and decided that the man who paid her wages was the scarier of the two.

"H... He..." Tilly stammered, pointing an accusing finger at Leo, "He bought nothing, sir! He is loitering, wasting my time.!"

"And?" Gamon pressed, "Why did he come in?"

"He brought a weed to sell, sir!" Tilly cried out, eager to please, "Just a purple weed he probably pulled from the roadside! He tried to pass it off as goods! And when I told him we don't buy trash, he called me an idiot!"

The silence in the hall held for a split second.

Then, it shattered.

"A weed?" Drax howls with laughter, his anger momentarily forgotten in the absurdity of it, "He came to the Golden Scales to sell grass? Old man Gamon, you aren't switching businesses are you?"

Gamon joined in, his belly shaking, "Absolutely not Master Drax! Oh, how precious. Perhaps he thinks we are a petting zoo? Someone fetch the boy a carrot!"

The crowd erupted. The wealthy merchants, the bored nobles, the guards, everyone present there all joined in. It was a release of tension, a chance to kick someone who was down.

"Go back to the farm, boy!"

"Check your pockets, maybe you have some mud to sell too!"

"Did you steal that coat, peasant?"

The ridicule grew louder, a wave of mocking laughter crashing over Leo. They looked at him with disgust.

But Leo stood perfectly still in the center of the laughter. He didn't look embarrassed. He didn't look angry.

He looked bored. Everywhere he wen, it was the same case. He used thing those stories were so cliched, everyone ganging up on the protagonist.

But nowhere understood. While everyone envied the 'Plot Armour', none of them ever took notice of the high nuisance attraction value. It was a real thing. He hasn't been able to take a breather since he had arrived.

'Well, apart from the nights, of course.'

He finished his apple and tossed the core over his shoulder. It bounced off Drax's chest plate, leaving a small smear of juice.

The laughter died instantly as Drax choked on his own amusement, his face twisting back into rage.

Leo's expression hardened. The casual, bored gamer vanished. The predator emerged.

"I will remember this," he said softly.

The menace in his voice was quiet, but it carried a weight that silenced the nearest laughers. It was the voice of a man marking targets.

'Aiva,' Leo commanded internally. 'Scan them. Show me the finances of the Golden Scales and the Iron Caravan, Auravale Branch. Liquid assets in Gold Coins only.'

The mechanical voice of the System responded instantly in his mind.

[Acknowledging Request...]

[Accessing Local Economic Logs...]

[Ledger Encryption detected...]

[ledger encryption weak....]

[Bypassing ledger encryption...]

[Scan Complete.]

[Golden Scales (Auravale Branch) Liquid Assets: 5,670 Gold Coins.]

[Iron Caravan (Auravale Branch) Liquid Assets: 3,079 Gold Coins.]

[Analysis: Their wealth is heavily tied up in inventory, bribes, and illiquid assets. Their cash reserves are critically low due to recent heavy "investments" in the brothels and illegal gambling dens.]

Leo's lips curled into a smirk. He looked at the two guild masters arrogantly.

He looked at Gamon, then at Drax. He didn't look at them with fear. He looked at them with genuine, deep pity.

"Not even Six thousand," Leo said aloud, shaking his head as he looked at Gamon, "And three thousand for the muscle head."

Gamon frowned, his double chins wobbling, "What are you babbling about, boy?"

"Your treasury. Dumbass," Leo said casually, as if discussing the weather, "That's it? That's all you have in the vault? You don't even have Six thousand gold coins? Che... Poor bastards."

He shook his head, clicking his tongue in disappointment, "And here I thought you were rich. I thought the Golden Scales was a powerhouse. What a disappointment."

"How dare you!" Gamon spluttered, his face turning purple, "Don't slander me with your lies. I am the wealthiest man in..."

"Shut up, fat ass! You are a pauper with a fancy coat," Leo cut him off, "You wouldn't even be able to afford it if I did decide to sell a few of my precious things here."

He stepped closer to them, his presence suddenly looming larger than Drax's.

"You are too poor for my business," Leo said coldly.

"Poor?" Drax roared, reaching for his sword, "I will show you poor when I strip that armour off your warm corpse!"

Leo didn't react to the threat. He simply reached into his coat pocket, accessing his inventory.

The air in the room shifted instantly, the guards pointed their swords at Leo.

"Relax! If I wanted to kill them, would have done it already," Leo said pulling his hand out, as he held the Moon Shade herb in his hand, "I would not waste my time humiliating them."

The laughter died. The mockery vanished into thin air as everyone froze.

A soft scent sweat smell spread through the hall.

Leo waved the herb casually in front of their faces.

"This 'weed'," Leo said, his voice cutting through the stunned silence, "Costs more than the clothes all of you are wearing put together."

He turned his gaze to Tilly, who was staring with her mouth open, her face pale.

"In fact, lady," Leo sneered, turning back to Gamon, "Your boss would have to strip naked, sell every ring on his fat fingers, and maybe sell his own ass on the street corner just to match the value of what I am holding in one hand."

He leaned in close to Drax, looking the big warrior in the eye.

"And you? You couldn't afford a single leaf."

Leo scoffed. He shoved the priceless, glowing herb back into his pocket as if it were a dirty handkerchief. The light vanished, leaving the room feeling suddenly darker and colder.

"I was going to offer you a deal," Leo said, "But I don't do business with paupers. And I certainly don't do business with idiots."

He turned his back on them. It was the ultimate dismissal.

"Make way," he commanded the stunned guards at the door.

The guards, not knowing what to do, made way for him. One even opened the door for him.

Leo walked out of the building, leaving a room full of stunned, silent, and suddenly very greedy people behind him.

The heavy doors swung shut, breaking the trance they were all in.

"What just happened?"

"I felt like my body was paralysed."

"It must be that weed."

Gamon stared at the empty space where Leo had stood. His business instincts, usually buried under layers of fat and arrogance, finally kicked in, screaming at him.

The colour. The smell. And that momentarily coolness that he felt against his skin.

He realized what he had just seen. He realized he had just let a fortune walk out the door.

"That..." Gamon murmured, sweat breaking out on his forehead, his heart hammering against his ribs. "That wasn't a weed."

His eyes went wide with a mixture of overwhelming greed and sheer panic.

"That was Moon Shade," he whispered, the realization hitting him like a physical blow, "Now wonder it looked so familiar?!"

A Moon shade herb, was the raw material to so many Mana Potions. Even the herb was worth more than 400 Gold coins. And if someone was in a dire need to breakthrough, It was priceless to the right buyer.

"Drax!" Gamon shrieked, grabbing the big man's arm with a clammy hand.

"Get him!" Gamon yelled, pointing at the closed doors, "Don't let him leave! We need that plant!"

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