Chapter 1: The Great Merchant Reed

  "Please come this way."

  An attendant slightly inclined his body and led the three into a beautifully decorated cabin.

  "Wow, this is so beautiful!" Bast exclaimed in admiration.

  Not long ago, Raymond and his party were being pursued by the pirate Kurai when they were rescued by this mysterious fleet. After making contact with each other, the flagship of the opposing side signaled that the owner of the fleet wished to invite them aboard for a meeting.

  So Raymond and Dreya, the owner of the "Caelum", along with Basarte who insisted on coming along, boarded that massive vessel and arrived here.

  All the way here, this enormous ship has left a deep impression on the three of them. Not to mention the upper deck as wide as a square, the mast that pierces the sky, and the complex cabins and passages in the ship like a maze, just where they are now is enough to make people dizzy.

  This cabin, which is extremely spacious and decorated like an office, would be a main cargo hold on other ships, but here it's only used as living quarters. The arbitrary waste of space within the ship is enough to make captains who rack their brains to increase cargo capacity vomit blood in anger.

  However, the cabin was large, but its interior decoration was not at all sloppy. The floor was covered with high-quality handmade red carpets, and there were no lights in the cabin, only a transparent magic crystal core embedded on top, making the entire space shrouded in a soft and bright light.

  One side of the wall was occupied by a bookshelf that took up the entire wall, with spines of various colors forming a dazzling pattern. Several pots of blooming flowers stood quietly in the corner of the wall.

  Apart from this, the cabin walls also hang several exquisite oil paintings, a set of intricately carved ancient armchairs, arranged in positions that allow guests to sit comfortably at any time. From the open porthole, sunlight shines in, and countless tiny dust particles dance happily in the light column, filling the air with a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.

  Such luxurious and tasteful decoration makes one almost forget that they are on a ship, but rather have traversed time and space to arrive at some noble's luxurious mansion.

  Although not as exaggerated as Bastar's wide-eyed stare, Raymond also had a considerable amount of astonishment in his heart. After all, what he saw before him was not something that could be seen anywhere at any time, and it also made him more curious about the owner of this mysterious fleet.

  Just as the three of them were looking around with different emotions, a door on one side of the cabin suddenly opened and a man walked in quickly accompanied by two others.

  This man was about forty years old, with a head of light yellow hair and a well-groomed mustache on his lips. His slender and straight figure made him look quite elegant. In terms of appearance, he could only be said to be very ordinary, but a pair of bright and agile eyes made people not dare to underestimate him.

  This person's attire is tasteful, although it's clear that the value is not low, but there isn't a hint of the crass and flashy air of a nouveau riche. Furthermore, his skin is fair and well-maintained, with an air of elegance and refinement in every move he makes, exuding a sense of calm and composure.

  As he walked, the man quickly flipped through a stack of documents in his hand, looking very busy.

  As he raised his head to see Raymond and the others, a warm smile immediately spread across his face. As he walked towards the three of them, he had already stretched out his hand to greet them: "I'm really sorry, I was just held up by something small for a moment. Ah, please take a seat."

  After inviting the three to sit down, the man turned his head and whispered something. The brown-haired young man who followed him in nodded, turned around and walked towards a cabinet on one side of the cabin.

  And another tall and robust man, with a long sword hanging from his waist and a short beard on his face, stood behind the middle-aged man with his arms crossed, silent as if he were a bodyguard. However, although this person's movements were rough, there was a natural and unrestrained air of grandeur about him, his eyes were calm and quiet, and he was absolutely a first-rate swordsman.

  In a moment, the young man brought back four crystal glasses and placed them in front of several people. Soon, the cups were filled with amber-colored transparent liquor, and a strong aroma of wine immediately wafted through the air.

  "Haha, to be honest, the one at home never allowed me to bring a personal maid, so I had no choice but to have men serve the wine." The middle-aged man scratched his head with a somewhat embarrassed smile, and although it seemed like an awkward thing to say, it immediately eased the slightly stiff atmosphere between them.

  As he spoke, he himself picked up the wine glass and took a sip, then slightly raised his cup: "This is the secret brew of the Gordana Grassland Alliance on the continent of Veronika. Believe me, it's absolutely worth a try, please."

  Since he came in, the man has been talking and laughing, although it's just a common courtesy, but it can make people involuntarily feel good, even Raymond, who is good at identifying people, cannot feel any hypocrisy from it.

  Obviously, being able to possess such a large fleet, the man in front of him is not that kind of superficial person who only understands surface work, but has his own set.

  Raymond wasn't a reserved person either, and he exchanged a glance with Dreya. The two of them raised their glasses in a lively manner. What was strange was that Basset, who usually liked new things, didn't move, but instead tilted his head back, sniffing the air.

  "Ah, there's a hint of heart over there." Suddenly, the cat girl let out a cheer and jumped up as if she was about to dash out.

  But Raymund was "quick on his feet", and with a swift movement of his right foot, he stepped on her tail.

  The cat was caught off guard, its tail suddenly stiffened, and with a thud, it fell to the ground.

  "What are you up to now? Behave yourself." Raymond pulled her ear.

  "Meow, ouch, ouch...!" The cat girl cried out in a series of meows: "Master, but I still haven't had lunch yet, and I'm really starving."

  "Shut up." Raymond said irritably: "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll send you back."

  A middle-aged man said with surprise: "This little friend is a cat person, nowadays it's rare to see beastmen walking outside."

  Raymond pressed down on Bastar's head: "Really sorry, she is a woman of poor breeding."

  A middle-aged man burst out laughing: "Haha, it's really interesting. When I see her, I feel like I'm seeing another person. She also has an abnormal obsession with food, uh..."

  As he spoke, several black lines suddenly appeared on the man's face, as if the person he remembered was not entirely a pleasant memory.

  The man turned his head and ordered, the young man who was attending him beside him turned around and left, soon carrying a large plate of exquisite pastries, put them on the table.

  Bast immediately cheered and, without paying attention to Raymond beside him, started devouring the food. While eating, he didn't forget to give the man a thumbs up: "Meow, it's delicious! Compared to your big ship, I like your pastries more."

  Raymond could only shrug his shoulders in a gesture of apology, unable to say anything else. The middle-aged man, however, seemed completely unbothered and instead looked at the young man before him with great interest, as if Raymond's demeanor, which was never arrogant or humble regardless of the situation, had piqued his curiosity.

  "So, this time you..." The man was about to speak when he suddenly seemed to remember something and slapped his forehead. "I'm really being very rude, please let me introduce myself first."

  The man leaned back in his chair with a very comfortable posture, smiling at the three of them and said: "I am Reed, the president of Lovell Merchant Association. Welcome to my flagship, 'Magnificent Mary'."

  "What, Reid!?" Raymond's heart skipped a beat. This was the legendary merchant he had heard people repeatedly mention in the taverns of Plaza.

  No wonder the emblem on that flag looked so familiar - it was the same as the one on his own sword, the crest of the Lovell family.

  At this time, Dreya, who had been somewhat stiff due to tension, stood up without regard for etiquette: "I was right, you...you are indeed Mr. Reed."

  His expression was quite agitated, which is not surprising. For these businessmen, Reed was a dazzling name like a star, and countless merchants regarded him as a model to pursue.

  It's ironic that the one who saved him is actually his long-time idol, no wonder Dreya was so flustered.

  It seems that the reaction to Dreya was already familiar, Reed smiled and waved his hand: "Too much praise, I'm just an ordinary merchant serving Lord. So, what should we call you?"

  "Ah, Dreya!" he exclaimed, only then remembering that he had gotten excited at the sight of his idol and hadn't introduced himself. Just as he was at a loss for what to do, Raymond spoke up and said, "I'm Raymond, and this glutton is my attendant, Bastard. He's the captain of that ship, Dreya."

  "Nice to meet you." Reed nodded at the two, then said something strange: "In this season, all merchant ships are docked in the harbor. Why do you want to take risks and set sail? And how did you manage to get Kurai to personally hunt you down?"

  "As it happens, this does have something to do with you." Raymond said bluntly.

  "What's going on?"

  So, Raymond took Jenkins hostage on the Qingyun ship, preparing to disguise himself as a merchant ship, but because of his greed for wealth, he unexpectedly led himself and others onto the ship, and finally turned against each other, but was driven into the sea.

  He finally said, "I think their goal is probably you. The pirate's plan was probably a trick to disguise themselves as a merchant ship being pursued and approach your fleet, then launch a surprise attack. It just didn't occur to them that we would ruin it, and in the end, the fake play became real, and they were actually rescued by you."

  "Who would have thought?" Reed was shocked: "No wonder I received intelligence that a group of pirates were targeting my fleet, I didn't expect them to use this method."

  He said with gratitude, "This time I returned from the continent of Veronica and brought a batch of important goods for our territory. Fortunately, you destroyed Kure's plan, otherwise who knows what would have happened."

  Dreya hastily said: "Please don't say that, didn't you save us in the end?"

  "No matter on the high seas or on land, when fellow merchants are in trouble, lending a helping hand is a matter of course. This has been my principle since I started doing business and it has never changed."

  No wonder Reed received so much respect from many businessmen, not only because he did a great job in business, but also because of his attitude towards all businessmen, regardless of their size or wealth. Otherwise, with such a large fleet, how could they have rescued a small merchant ship being chased by the pirate captain?

  It can be seen from here that he has achieved what he is today, and it is not accidental.