Chapter 249: Quiet Before The Storm 1

"Bro. It's good to sit down with you again." Broderick commented jovially while raising his glass towards mine that a servant had brought previously.

"I agree. Thanks for always being so hospitable. You've made our life significantly easier in Braedon with your guidance." I decided to be quite amicable since I knew that this guy is a certified etiquette freak. Well, at least as far as my antics are concerned. He doesn't care much about how he acts, evidenced by his rude comment regarding Aurora being my hottest girl.

"Don't mention it. How have you been, it has been a while since we met."

I gesture towards my underlings who are chatting with his wives. "All is good. As you can see, our life is on the upturn. What about you?"

"Great to hear! I've been recovering from the orc mission where we met. It's not smart to do much when you are weakened by injuries."

"I see. Well, I know that you are rich as hell, but here, please take this as a token of my gratitude." I grabbed a high-tier health potion from my bag and handed it over. Ever since Aurora began concocting in earnest, our supply had been slowly piling up. It's a gift I can happily provide.

If I keep taking from this household just because we sort of saved Broderick's life once, their goodwill will start to slowly dry up, so if I want to continue enjoying their help I should do at least this much.

"Oh! Thanks, bro!" He chugged it down instantly, with no hesitation whatsoever. I wonder if he has some way to check its contents just from a simple glance or if he trusts me to this degree.

"No worries." We chatted for a few minutes about unimportant stuff until I decided to speak up regarding my worries. "I've been meaning to ask your opinion about the strange monster material merchant pair with black hair who appears to be close to their fifties. They had a business proposal for us, but I'm a bit worried about their trustworthiness."

He looks at me and then nods after a bit of thinking. "Sylvie and Jack. I know them. They are retired Adamantite adventurers who opened up shop. Jack is a level 40+ warrior-type while Sylvie is a level 40+ wizard-type. I don't know their exact classes and levels, it's classified.

As for their trustworthiness, they seem good people. I sold our goods to them a few times without issue, but we had no major deal beyond that."

"Beyond level forty?!" Ayame yelped with shock. Although I haven't spent much time in this world yet, I can say with certainty that they are extreme powerhouses.

"That raises the question as to why they want our help in the first place. They themselves could just escort the carriage without hiring any additional guards." I couldn't help but comment.

Broderick grimaced, and with a sad expression revealed the truth. "They are people who are more than 300 years old and have been retired for over 50. Adventuring in pairs is not a common occurrence, especially at their rank. They also had a bigger team. Sadly, their comrades had passed over the years, leaving the duo emotionally scarred. Sёarch* The nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

They made a personal oath not the engage in combat unless their lives were threatened, that's why they even had to hire me and my wives to deal with the orcs instead of going out there themselves. They settled down, opened up shop, got married, and have been living as civilians ever since.

Due to the help of their myriad of connections, their establishment quickly became the primary monster material shop in the city."

"Now that makes more sense. They've offered us three times the market price for materials we bring from Aldoria, do you think they're being fishy with such a favorable deal?"

He shook his head. "No, that much is reasonable. If you supply them in these trying times, they will be the sole supplier of this giant city since the other shops are similarly understocked. They might even become a monopoly that forces the others to close up shop for good."

It's good to see that this goofball can be so serious and reliable when needed. "Great. I will trust them this once, then." An opportunity to establish a monopoly is something worth throwing gold at, I believe.

"Then one other thing I wanted to get your input on, Vesper Phenom. Do you think it's a good idea for the current us to attempt the trials, and to become one in the first place?"

Before responding, Broderick thought about the question for a few seconds; "The syndicate is an organization that resembles something like a collective leadership, rather than a dictatorship. Their seven Circle Members vote on all important decisions, thus to maintain their prominence they need fresh blood to replace the old ones that have become nuisances.

Most of their greatest ranks have been prodigies who were once Phenoms, so it's kind of mandatory if you want to climb the ladder to the very top. Think of it like the academy for nobles. They will not get anywhere in the government unless they graduate from the Royal Valerion Academy. As for the trials themselves, well, mathematically the chances of you failing are high." He didn't mince his words.

"Could you elaborate as to why?" Ayame asked.

"Sure. All people under thirty years of age can become Phenoms by attempting to impress the top brass through participation at the trials. As you've barely just started fighting together, you will be disadvantaged, fighting against teams that have been raised since birth just to succeed at this trial, and they are also made up of people who are older than you.

A lot of members of the Consortium who are stuck in their position because they weren't Phenoms try to birth children who become one while putting all their support behind them."

Oh. Then the Cedric guy, I think his name was, was probably his mother's attempt at raising the family in the ranks. I believe he said his mother was a relatively high-ranking member of the drug faction in the Braedon branch.

This is going to be a fierce competition, but I'm confident we have good chances. Broderick isn't aware of everything about us, and we have a month to get better as a team.

I've gotten permission to use their training grounds until the trials, after which we slowly said our goodbyes and got back to the inn.

Naturally, we stayed long enough not to give off the image that we were only there for his help once again. I know he would call me a rude little shit while laughing if I was obvious about it.