Chapter 188 180: Small Talk

Bartholomew neared us with hastened steps.

"Lord Eugene, the Marquis will see you now," he said. Then, Bartholomew turned to Dawn and spoke. "And, my lady, would you like to join Lady Vienna and her guest for some tea? The lord suggested that it would be a good experience for you."

Well, well. It looked like that old man was looking to push half of his work over to his daughter.

Dawn gazed at me, and I shrugged at her. She still seemed to be confused about what to do, but talking with someone she had been introduced to before would be much better than just walking around in the Dienin Castle.

I leaned over to her and whispered. "Do whatever you want, but that is one insufferable woman so feel free to walk away if you can't stand her."

Dawn suppressed a laugh and nodded. "Got it," she turned to Bartholomew and the two of them walked away. I would have liked to take her along, but this was good too.

After the two left, I pushed open the doors of the personal study. The same old sight of Mahogany walls and carpets filled my sight as stacks upon stacks of papers and documents sat together in the room. At its center, sitting behind the table with his giant glasses hanging from his nose was the blonde old man, Ban Ket Hall.

"You're here, Eugene," he said, pointing at the chair across him while keeping his eyes affixed on a document.

I strode over and took a seat, crossing my legs one over the other. The Marquis gave me a look but didn't say anything.

"You've brought a fairy along."

Oh? What's this?

"Why, hello. So you're my Eugy's father."

"I am. It is an honor to make your acquaintance, miss fairy."

"Of course, it's a grand honor. You should dedicate your next seven generations in servitude toward me."

The Marquis looked at the top of my head, and then at me.

Was this similar to what Lethe was doing? No, it didn't seem like it. The ability to 'see' everything was embedded in the Acacia blood.

The Soul Ki level Keith could only notice her soul. In that case, the Marquis was either at the same level or a notch higher than Keith.

"Don't think so loudly, kid. It'll take a while before you learn to match me."

Sneaky bastard. He had been hiding his true strength. To the point that even I was unable to notice it. He must be someone at one of the final three realms of Ki Mastery, the level above Soul Ki. A Ki Emperor.

The Marquis signed a few more papers and placed them on a stack before finally taking off his glasses. He wiped them with a thin cloth as he turned to face me.

"Kid, next time you decide to get engaged, tell me firsthand."

"Why? Do you want to approve it or something?"

"Well whether it's a duke or a commoner, I want to contribute to such events."

"Sure, sure. I'll let you know next time."

What an outrageous man. I sighed and leaned back in my chair as the Marquis started placing the piles of paper to his sides. He picked one up and heaved.

"The war between the Traube Principality and the Pinot kingdom in the west has neared its final stages. We're making the most of the last bit of money."

"A war?" I asked.

"It started two years ago," the Marquis answered. That was around the time I had just registered as an adventurer. "Things heated up last month. It seems the battle of Chardonnay planes is going to decide the war."

I know of both Pinot and Traube. The countries were too far west in the continent for there to be much point in a lot of trade and for the news to spread all the way here.

"The resources of the dungeon were useful, huh?"

Not long ago, a dungeon had been found in the Hall territory. That dungeon was the primary reason why the original village that stood in place of Apollon and the other settlements ended up largely ignored.

A new dungeon town, much like Deep Down Town, had been built up in the Hall territory itself. I remembered that it was an underground dungeon that spat out a lot of minerals.

"The first floor of the dungeon is filled with this ore we call Caliche. We thought it was useless, but the Pinot kingdom ordered tons of it. Do you know what they made?"

Far west had a lack of magicians.

""Bombs""

The Marquis widened his eyes when I completed his words.

"Huh, so you do know."

The gunpowder I had seen here not that long ago used traditional gunpowder made from old saltpeter. The saltpeter was good for small explosions and controlled firings, but not for large blasts which were mostly handled by magic.

How interesting.

"Anyway. Since they were paying us to import all the Caliche, I decided to sell other stuff as well. Now that the war is ending, it's time to pull back."

It was natural to sell to both parties if you were going to sell in a war. Caliche aside, the other items could easily be sold to both parties without any objections.

It seemed someone witty was pulling the reins for Pinot Kingdom.

Well, I didn't care much about that.

"Next time, drop a word. I'd like to make some cash too."

"I did? Lily sold a lot of things as well?"

"Oh."

I didn't see any of those documents.

"So!" The Marquis slapped his thighs and stood up. "What were you in such a rush about? If it's about marriage I did have some other considerations but do what you want. Hades' daughter should be great."

He asked as he moved over to the side of the room. I kinda sorta wanted to punch this old man for saying my Lethe 'should be great,' she was great. No, she was the greatest. I followed him with my eyes before sighing.

"Do you recog—"

"Right, tea?"

"I'll… take a cup. Three cubes."

The Marquis poured some tea into two cups before bringing it over to the table. He placed one in front of me and sipped from the other as he took a seat.

I raised my hand and gathered my Mana and Ki together.

A small burst of energy spread into the room as the Mana and Ki combined in my palms to create a blob of dense, black energy.

"Recognize this?"

The Marquis spat his tea out as he leaned ahead.

"World's Beginning Energy!"

Wait, what?

W-why would…

Creation? No…