Chapter 925: Unsettling Night (1)
âMiss Emily?â
Rhode revealed an uncharacteristic surprised expression. He had never expected to meet Emily here.
Emily Edward, daughter of the chairman of Edward Trade Association in the southern Munn Kingdom, Fiat.
The most unique and memorable thing about her was that she successfully became a merchant and yet, was determined to become a Travel Merchant instead. Back then when Rhode went to Fiat to eliminate the enemies, he disguised himself as Miranda and interacted with Emily for a period of time, which he eventually triggered the hidden mission. But for the sake of the bigger picture, he had to abandon the mission and it became the first ever mission that was marked with an âIncompleteâ in this world. If Rhode were a perfectionist, he would have felt uncomfortable every time he saw the grayed-out mission. But he didnât take it to heart and initially thought that that was the end to that matter. However, never did he expect to meet her again.
Rhode scanned the young lady curiously. Compared to when he first met her in Fiat, Emily seemed much more mature now. It was apparent from her confident smile that she was satisfied with her life. It seemed like she had sneaked out of her family and fulfilled her dreams. But he didnât know what happened in between though.
Shane was gentlemanly enough to make an excuse and left as soon as âMirandaâ and Emily met each other. Shortly after, they found a relatively empty spot and reminisced about the old times. But before thatâŠ
âMiss Miranda, she isâŠâ
Emily gazed curiously at Angelina who had been following quietly behind Rhode. Rhode waved his arm casually.
âSheâs my servant.â
âI seeâŠâ
Emily scanned Angelina from head to toe. The latter was resentful because it felt extremely insulting to be looked at by lowly humans as though she was an animal. If it were in the past, Angelina would have let her have a taste of her foolish mistake. But now, she could only lower her head and adopt a humble stance.
âYour servant is really beautiful, Miss Miranda.â
Emily looked at Angelina and gave an admirable sigh, totally unaware that she had just escaped death. She recalled when âMiss Mirandaâ came to Fiat, she had also brought two servants in the name of Celia and Celestina. Those two servants were absolute beauties and Emily didnât expect to see yet another adorable servant.
Emily was thrilled to see âMirandaâ again and Rhode learned from her about the situation after he left Fiat.
It was after the end of the internal battle.
After the North-South internal battle ended, the Reformist Party was swept into trash cans while the South experienced social and political unrest. Although Fiat wasnât closely related to the Reformist Party, it was still seriously impacted. But Rhode didnât know if they were fortunate or not, because after he crumbled Edward Trade Associationâs mine, which forced them to stop providing ores to the Reformist Party, it in turn helped them to escape a catastrophe from the clearing of accounts. But he had in fact gone too far, which caused the entire mine to collapse and made it impossible for them to dig up new mines. Besides, their competitors seized the opportunity and snatched many of their businesses which forced them to reconsider other business opportunities.
On the other hand, Emily convinced everyone in the trade association to allow her to travel. Thereafter, she had been traveling in the identity of a Travel Merchant with the experiences that Rhode had given her and thoughts that she mulled over. She performed outstandingly in the Light Mainland over the past two years. However, unlike the Travel Merchants who settled down after earning a fortune, she preferred to roam the continent in search of more precious and rare goods. This story wasnât too different from what Rhode experienced in the game.
It was due to this that after Emily heard about the situation between Highland City and the Void Territory, she came to try her luck for some interesting business opportunities. Of course, she knew that her basic sword skills could only protect her from minimal dangers and besides, as a Travel Merchant, she also carried several expensive items with her. If she didnât have that little bit of brain, she would have been taken advantage of by others a long time ago. Therefore, she studied the situation in Highland City before arriving and paid Shane a visit who was in charge of the Alanic Family in this city. Shane was interested in her identity as a Travel Merchant which led to him mentioning about Miranda who had left him with a deep impression.
Emily didnât expect to hear her name in this city at all and was over the moon. After she became a Travel Merchant, she did look for Miranda and indeed had some relations with the Seren Trade Association. Fortunately for Rhode, Gillian had reorganized the Seren Trade Association and started working on their intelligence network and the members didnât know much about Miranda. In fact, most of them didnât know her whereabouts at all and all they knew was that Miranda seldom returned to the trade association. Although this response left Emily dissatisfied, this also resolved Rhodeâs crisis from another aspect⊠At least his identity wouldnât be exposed.
Emily was like a student who learned lots of things with great pains and was eager to find her teacher to prove her progress. Besides, she had indeed benefited from the knowledge that Rhode imparted her in Fiat. It was especially after she became a Travel Merchant when she realized how important the knowledge was. Although it didnât make her an overnight millionaire, it gave her clearer judgment to work in safer environments just like what âMiss Mirandaâ saidâmoney can be earned again, but one only has one life. Emily remembered this advice deeply by heart and gave up decisively on decisions which eventually saved her from trouble. If not, no one knew where her dead body would be at right now.
Judging from another angle, Rhode could be considered her âlife saviorâ and not only once.
âBut⊠Youâre really fortunate. It hasnât been peaceful recently and it is really dangerous for a merchant to travel alone.â
Rhode said with admiration. It was true that it hadnât been peaceful in the Light Mainland. After the internal battle between the north and south, the attack that the Country of Darkness launched on the Light Mainland was also incredibly fierce. It could be said that the area was in turmoil and chaos of war. It was especially so for the Country of Light, where problems arising with the refugees, bandits and thieves also wreaked havoc everywhere. Under such circumstances, it was remarkable that Emily achieved such results while being alone.
âEh heh heh.â
Emily stuck out her tongue in embarrassment.
âActually⊠Iâve been traveling with someone. Just like what you said, Miss Miranda, it hasnât really been peaceful. I think that life is more important than everything else since money can be earned again. Ah, by the way, allow me to introduce to you Miss Miranda.â
Emily quickly scanned the surroundings and spotted her target. She ran up and dragged her out of the crowd.
âShe is Miss Stefania. Iâve been traveling with her all this while, Miss Miranda. Sheâs just like you, a Travel Merchant.â
âOh?â
Rhode revealed a curious expression but in fact, he was shocked and had even prepared himself for a fight. On the other hand, Angelina instinctively took a step back and stared at the young lady. Both of them discovered that before Emily pulled that young lady out from the crowd, they didnât detect her presence at all!
This was an absolutely strange phenomenon. Rhode was the dragon soul heir while Angelina was a royal vampire. It went to show how unimaginably powerful she was to be able to conceal her presence before them!
âGreetings, Iâm Miranda Seren.â
Rhode showed an elegant smile and extended his hand. The young lady smiled and held his hand in response.
âGreetings, Miss Miranda⊠Iâm Stefania Yulia. Glad to meet you. Iâve heard a lot about you from Emily⊠And it seems like youâre truly as interesting as she said.â
The young lady revealed a gentle smile while Rhode cautiously scanned her from head to toe.
She had fair complexion, a pair of pitch-black eyes, and pitch-black long hair that reached her waist. She could be considered a beautiful young lady who left a deep impression. But unlike Emilyâs outfit, she was wrapped in a large black cloak. What was strange was that her weird outfit didnât capture any attention among the luxuriously-dressed guests. Other than Rhode and Angelina, it seemed as though no one noticed her presence, not even Shane who was currently chatting with the two fat merchants nearby.
She was in the Peak Legendary Stage at the very least.
Rhode knitted his brows. The moment he held her hand, he instantly detected the massive amount of strength inside her. Not only that, but he also sensed an indistinct demon aura exuding from her. Given the reaction which Angelina had toward her, there was only one answer.
A half-demon? Thatâs rareâŠ
But why would a half-demon be here?
Not only that, but Rhode also realized the undoubted glint of shock in Stefaniaâs eyes. It was apparent that she had seen through his true identity.
Could she be an unexpected trouble?
A half-demon in the Peak Legendary Stage who he didnât recognize. Now that he was in Highland City, this definitely wasnât any good news.
He had no intention of investigating her immediately. On the contrary, he chatted casually with her, found an opening to greet other guests, and headed off. Although Emily was unwilling to part with him yet, she knew that this sort of relationship between merchants was necessary.
âSigh⊠I finally got the chance to meet Miss Miranda and was hoping to speak to her a little more⊠Miss Stefania, what do you⊠Huh?â
As Emily turned around helplessly to seek her companionâs opinion, she discovered that Stefania was nowhere to be seen.
âReallyâŠâ
Emily didnât seem that surprised by her disappearance. After all, she was just a peculiar person and Emily was used to it already. Emily shifted her attention to the sumptuous food since she hadnât eaten after arriving at this city.
At the same moment in the quiet corner, Rhode gazed silently at the young lady standing before him.
âHey, Miss Stefania, is anything the matter?â
Without Emily around, Rhode displayed a calm and rather cold expression. He lowered his right hand, ever ready to summon his card spirits. On the other hand, Angelina stood behind him and stared sharply at the young lady.
âDonât be so nervous, Your Majesty Rhode Alander. I have no intention of being hostile to the ruler of this territory.â
Stefania didnât show any sign of fear to his ice-cold gaze. Instead, she revealed his true identity with a smile.
âInstead, I just want to make a small deal with you.â
âDeal?â
Rhode twitched his brows.
âThatâs right. After all, one doesnât get the chance to meet the dragon soul heir anywhere, isnât it? Donât worry. I come with no ill intention. Iâm only curious to know if youâre interested in my small little dealâŠâ
Stefania reached out for a pendant from her pocket. It had a weird pattern made from three interconnected circles. Rhodeâs eyes glinted at the sight of the pattern.
âYou are a plane merchant?â
âWow, youâre aware of that? I thought Iâd need to spend some time explaining everything to youâŠâ
Stefania revealed a look of astonishment. Upon hearing her answer, Rhodeâs heart was crashing in huge waves. He didnât expect that he would be this fortunate to meet a plane merchant!
The so-called plane merchant, also known as the plane-of-existence merchant, was one who traveled between planes of existence for business transactions. In the game, plane merchants were extremely rare to find and their spawn positions and locations were never fixed. It could be said that players had to rely solely on luck in order to meet one. Not only that, but the items that the plane merchants sold also werenât ordinary. Although the items werenât exceedingly powerful, they were incredibly strange and mysterious and most of them didnât belong to this world. There was once a player who purchased from a plane merchant an enormous biped robot!
Rhode recalled how bewildered the other players were when they witnessed that player riding the robot onto the plaza for the first time. It was ever since then that the legend about the plane merchant was proven. Players tried to search for plane merchants but the plane merchants were too secretive and didnât leave any traces of their existence. But the items that they sold werenât invincible. For instance, the player who purchased the biped robot brought it into a dungeon. After a BOSS fight, the robot suffered damage that was beyond repair and self-destructedâŠ
Rhode was full of surprise at the sight of this young lady. He didnât meet a plane merchant in the game but was presented with a chance now.
Iâve struck gold.