Chapter 123: A New Visitor

Chapter 123: A New Visitor

When Klein returned from Saint Samuel Cathedral to 160 Böklund Street, he saw his white-gloved butler, Walter, coming forward to receive him.

“Sir, someone delivered a calling card earlier. He said his employer hopes to visit you sometime between four and five o’clock,” Walter said in a composed manner.

Klein thought back over the possible visitors but could not find any clue. He gave a slight nod and said, “Who is his employer?”

Walter glanced left and right. Seeing that the footmen and maids were keeping their distance, he answered, “Baron Syndras.”

Baron Syndras… That multimillionaire who gained his title through the Conservative Party and Duke Negan, one of the kingdom’s most famous bankers and entrepreneurs? Previously, when I helped Madam Mary purchase Coim Company shares, our competitors were him and his friends… He is personally visiting me because of that? It was only a transaction worth around thirteen thousand pounds. To him, there is no need at all…

While thoughts flashed through Klein’s mind, he walked toward the staircase leading to the second floor.

Walter followed half a step behind and said from beside him, “Sir, if you do not wish to see Baron Syndras, I can tell him later that you were delayed listening to a bishop’s sermon at Saint Samuel Cathedral and may only return very late.”

The butler’s implication was that Baron Syndras was a believer of the Lord of Storms and could not simply go to Saint Samuel Cathedral to look for him.

Klein thought for a moment, then smiled faintly and said gently, “This is a nobleman with considerable influence in the banking industry. We are bound to have dealings in the future. I have to meet him.

“Mm… Later, arrange it in the small sitting room on the second floor with the best sunlight.”

As far as Klein knew, Baron Syndras was the third-largest shareholder of Backlund Bank and the largest shareholder of the Southville People’s Bank. In the Loen Kingdom’s banking industry, he was absolutely among its most influential figures.

“Yes, sir.” Walter did not say anything more.

At 4:10 p.m., Klein met the visitor he often saw in newspapers in the prearranged small sitting room.

The only difference from what he had imagined was that after three o’clock, Backlund’s clouds had thickened. The sky gradually darkened, and a fine drizzle had begun to fall. There was no sunlight to make one feel bright and warm.

Baron Syndras looked exactly like the photographs published in the newspapers. His black hair, streaked with silver, was neatly combed back, revealing a broad forehead and a somewhat high hairline.

His face was rather round, but lacked enough flesh to support it. His cheekbones were quite prominent, and each wrinkle was distinctly visible.

Unlike most Loen men of his age, Baron Syndras wore no beard. His cheeks were clean-shaven, and his pair of blue eyes was so pale they were nearly colorless.

Beside him stood a personal valet and a bodyguard. Both had appearances that did not attract much attention. The former’s most prominent trait was that his hair was already somewhat thin, while the latter had a very short buzz cut and a thick beard that extended from his ears to his jaw.

“Good afternoon, honorable Baron. It is an honor to have you as a guest.” Klein placed a hand over his chest and bowed.

Normally, when receiving a guest, the host would more often lean forward and extend his right hand in a handshake. But right now, facing a nobleman, he had to show more courtesy.

Baron Syndras gave a slight nod and smiled in greeting.

“No, you need not be so polite. I should have visited you long ago—a gentleman who has experienced many things and understands the Southern Continent very well.”

After brief pleasantries, the two each took their seats. Their personal valets and bodyguards stood at their sides.

Klein was just about to speak when Baron Syndras, with a peaceful and intimate air, said first, “Dantes, I admire people like you very much. Not everyone can seize wealth from the chaotic Southern Continent. One must possess sufficient courage, the bravery to face difficulty directly, and astonishing judgment.

“When I was on the verge of bankruptcy, I also considered going to the Southern Continent and starting over. Unfortunately, I am not a brave man.”

Although Baron Syndras had only become a noble later in life, he was not truly born a commoner. His great-grandfather and grandfather had benefited from colonial expansion and had earned considerable money from maritime trade, becoming quite successful merchants. His father invested in industry, accumulating sufficient reputation and a fair number of factories.

By Syndras’s generation, backed by ample family wealth, he had rushed into the rapidly developing banking industry and become one of Loen’s earliest multimillionaires.

During that process, Baron Syndras had suffered three failures, but each time, he had come through. The most dangerous one had been when the Southville People’s Bank he founded experienced a serious crisis of credibility and suffered a bank run, nearly bankrupting him.

He keeps circling the topic around my experiences in the Southern Continent… Is he trying to tell me that he has discovered a problem with my identity and background, using it as a warning? Heh, he probably cannot imagine that the Southern Continent experiences he keeps mentioning are all fake…

Klein snorted inwardly. Outwardly, he responded naturally, “That was not bravery, but recklessness.

“Most people who go to the Southern Continent do indeed possess an adventurous spirit, but only that.”

Without waiting for Baron Syndras to speak, he smiled and changed the subject.

“I nearly hired Mr. Riback as my butler before. He said you were a very good employer.”

Baron Syndras quietly listened to the end, then sighed.

“That is something I find very regrettable.

“I sincerely hoped Riback would continue serving as my butler, but he was unable to overcome the conflict in his position.”

At this point, Baron Syndras looked at Dawn Dantes, the refined and handsome middle-aged gentleman. He picked up the red tea sent over by a servant, took a light sip, and said, “I also sincerely hope we can become friends, and I hope you can transfer that three percent of Coim Company’s shares to me.

“I will offer you conditions you cannot refuse.”

Here it comes… But the contract between Madam Mary and me is binding…

Klein fell silent for two seconds, then sighed with a smile.

“I place great importance on credibility.”

Hearing such an answer, Baron Syndras showed no anger at all. Half-surprised, half-curious, he laughed and asked, “You will not listen to the conditions I am offering?”

Klein, in Dawn Dantes’s image, deliberately spread his hands with a bitter smile.

“I am afraid I will be unable to refuse.”

“Haha.” Baron Syndras laughed aloud at once and slowly stood. “You are as humorous as the rumors say, and you possess a firm will the rumors do not mention.”

He glanced at his bodyguard and personal valet, then smiled at Dawn Dantes.

“Having you as a partner would certainly be better than having you as a competitor. Very well, I should take my leave. I still have quite a few matters to handle.”

Is that sincere praise, or is there a threat hidden inside? Klein was not a Spectator and could not interpret such subtle meaning. He could only shamelessly reply, “I feel the same. I look forward to having opportunities to cooperate with you in other areas, Baron.”

Dressed in formalwear and wearing a bow tie, Baron Syndras smiled and nodded. He said nothing more and was escorted by Dawn Dantes, together with the butler and footmen, all the way to the front door.

Watching the ornately decorated carriage gradually depart, the butler Walter suddenly spoke.

“Sir, do you need to hire a few bodyguards temporarily?”

Huh? Klein nearly failed to understand what his butler meant.

Seeing no change in his employer’s expression, Walter added, “Sometimes, competition in the commercial field also brings problems of personal safety.”

Mr. Butler also heard the implicit threat in Baron Syndras’s words?

The corners of Klein’s lips curved faintly.

“I am not worried about that, because this is Backlund.”

Because I have already been placed on the Evernight Church’s radar, and because I am preparing to cooperate with the military… That is why I am not worried about retaliation in the Beyonder domain, not worried that things will develop like the incident with the Intis ambassador. Besides, Baron Syndras is also a successful man with status and standing. He cannot be that reckless…

Klein silently thought to himself.

Just as Walter was about to say something more, Klein laughed lightly and added, “However, caution is always a good habit.

“Mm… Hire two bodyguards. Have them provide protection in secret, and try not to let the household servants discover them.”

“Very well, sir.” Walter immediately responded.

Klein thought for a moment, then said to him, “Visit Councilman Macht’s home and invite him, his wife, and his daughter to dine tomorrow at the Intis Serenzo Restaurant. If they are not free, it can be postponed.”

He intended to tell Councilman Macht that he was prepared to accept the military’s test and complete a small-scale arms transaction.

Originally, the most convenient method would have been to visit Councilman Macht’s home directly and casually mention it. But considering that a demigod of the Marauder pathway might exist near Hazel, and that close contact could possibly allow that person to discover the gray fog aura on him, Klein changed his mind and set the location at an outside restaurant instead.

That way, according to Klein’s judgment, the one who had failed to successfully parasitize Hazel would not be able to move together with her.

…

Xio hid within the shadow of the trees, watching a brown carriage slowly pass by and turn toward a street in Queen Borough.

That carriage bore an obvious coat of arms. Its main elements were a flower and two rings. It belonged to Viscount Stratford, Chamberlain of the Loen Kingdom.

Seeing no discovery, Xio left her hiding place in low spirits, took a public carriage nearby, and returned all the way to the Backlund Bridge area before walking into the East Borough.

Upon arriving at the bar on Dharavi Street, Xio smoothly reached the counter amid one drunkard after another moving aside for her. She directly asked the bartender wiping glasses, “Any new commissions?”

The bartender immediately laughed.

“Yes. That butler Walter, the one who previously offered two hundred pounds to catch a few scammers, has issued a new commission. It is very simple: secretly protect his employer for a few days. The payment will be discussed in person and will definitely be generous.

“He was very satisfied with how efficiently you completed the last mission, so he specifically asked us to ask you first.

“How about it? Interested?”

Xio had a rather deep impression of that butler and his employer, because they had spent a full two hundred pounds searching for scammers who had cheated them of only one thousand pounds’ worth of cloth.

Very generous and very quick to pay…

After a brief recollection, Xio nodded.

“Alright.”