After hearing her father's questioning, the young Miss Koch replied animatedly. "Yes, father. A 3rd stage cultivator participated in the Ritter Motor Company auction."
Anneke nodded and said. "From the family's information, he must be the current principal of the Morning Star Academy."
"Oh?" That patriarch opened his mouth in surprise, not expecting that such a local expert, whom so few people knew, would be involved in the same business as his daughter.
She then said. "He bought 10% of the Ritter Motor Company for the academy, father. So I don't think my judgment was wrong, or not only he and I would be wrong. Several relevant people in the province would also be, as the examples of the Frost and Becker patriarchs and the coroner Klossner."
"Even Klossner is involved in this?" This man made an even more surprised expression, noting that what his daughter had done was not just an expensive prank or been tricked.
For so many relevant people to be involved in this so-called Lothur project, what he had presented had to be truly impressive.
"How many crystals did these families pay for it?" He asked in curiosity to gauge how relevant those experts had assessed Lothur's project.
"In total, Lothur managed to raise over 22 million silver coins, patriarch," Anneke reported, shocking this person.
Twenty-two million silver coins were already almost 10% of the Koch family's annual income!
Yet this family had several estates, hundreds of members, thousands of subordinates, and many businesses throughout the province and empire.
As such, it was pretty shocking that only 49% of a company that did not even exist had been auctioned off for that amount!
'Unbelievable!' He thought silently, just before being even more surprised.
"But we will have to make a financial contribution in the next few days..." His daughter said.
"What?"
"Lothur said to prepare us to invest up to 1 million bronze coins in the next few days so he can start his operations." She explained.
That man did not understand it, but Anneke soon explained the business model that Lothur had presented to them.
After hearing everything, that man had his reservations. Still, since so many local experts had accepted Lothur's rules, he was giving this young man a vote of confidence for the time being.
On the other hand, he was anxious to get to know Lothur's vehicle and only did not leave immediately to go to this young man's house because it was already the middle of the night.
But the next day, he would pass that place where he and all the local noble powers knew Lothur was living.
But not only was he thinking about it!
Lothur had not yet let Annaliese, Viktoria, and Elke drive his kart. He had left it until the other day when he would no longer have lines of potential associates to present such a vehicle.
Unfortunately for him, he did not know what awaited him!
...
While noble families in the province reacted in different ways to their relatives' deals with Lothur, the bourgeoisie that had participated in that auction celebrated.
The bourgeois families that had participated in the Ritter Motor Company auction knew that they would not be able to compete with the large organizations on that occasion.
So they had associated among themselves, with coroner Klossner or with Elisabeth.
Because of this, some of these organizations that already had good relationships with these two people, or with each other, had gotten smaller fractions of the Ritter Motor Company than Lothur had sold.
For example, the family that had allied with Elisabeth had 'bought' from her 45% of the 2% she had won in the previous auction. As for the two families that had partnered with August Klossner, they bought 33% of that coroner's 4% together.
Because of this, someone like him had gotten a more significant fraction of the Ritter Motor Company than, for example, the Teusen family, a local noble house.
On the other hand, two local bourgeois families with no connections with those two experts had joined together. They bought 1% of Lothur's company.
Due to these victories of these powers, their leaders soon started celebratory parties at their properties, making some Peters City neighborhoods vibrate for hours into the night.
...
The next day, when the sun was slowly rising over the horizon...
Lothur awoke to feel light rays illuminating the interior of his room, which at the moment was quite messy due to his and Viktoria's previous night.
Winning coins was as exciting as winning money on earth, so the two of them celebrated with each other quite a bit after their previous training.
With that, upon waking up this early morning, Lothur had a satisfied and relaxed look on his face as he felt his wife's body embracing him.
But just as she was rousing from her sleep, before they had a chance to get excited again, a shout came from outside that property.
"Lothur! Open the door!"
"Little bastard, return my wife's coins that you ensnared!" Patriarch Teusen's voice fully awakened Viktoria, while Lothur's eyes opened significantly, with him looking in the direction from which that voice was coming.
Viktoria and Lothur then raised the upper parts of their bodies and looked at each other with strange expressions.
"I wonder what happened?" The corners of her lips slowly formed a funny expression without her understanding this unusual start to the morning.
"I don't know. Let's just ignore him." Lothur commented, but since he was already awake, he decided to get up to eat something.
Viktoria followed him, not rushing to pay attention to this morning's problem.
'Well, he came this time of the morning because he wanted to... Now let him wait until we 'wake up'...' She thought as she followed her husband into the kitchen.
Meanwhile, outside that estate, the Teusen patriarch and a dozen men from that family were waiting for Lothur.
He knew that many formations were on their way to invade that estate and that many people were watching them in the surrounding area.
The observers from the local families would not give up on Lothur so easily. So many 2nd stage cultivators were around.
Since the Teusen family was not involved in these local affairs, these men naturally had no way of knowing whether those people were enemies or guards of Lothur.
Hence, the patriarch of this family decided to wait for that young rascal who had tricked his wife.
He and his group had traveled all night to reach this place, but as 2nd stage cultivators, it was not much spending a sleepless night and waiting upright. Even more so considering how offended they felt about 'losing' coins to Lothur.
So they were standing there, shouting for Lothur, while getting the attention of this young man's neighbors, some wealthy individuals from Peters City.
"Damn, what's going on?"
"Do you know what time it is? Am I trying to sleep here!" One of Lothur's neighbors opened his bedroom window across the street and shouted at those people on the street.
But when such a cultivator saw the group of people there and the people disembarking from carriages, he turned pale and ran into his room.
At that moment, the Koch patriarch and people from the Becker and Frost families had arrived at that place!
...