Chapter 336: Chapter 336 Advice from the Witch Assembly_1
Aiden guessed that with the approach of Smile Scale, where they would seek out big clients on their own, there was no reason they wouldnât try to contact the witchesâ gathering. After all, Abigail was not only the saint of the "Life" authority but also held the sole authority of "Fertility."
"Smile Scale?" Abigail let out a dismissive noise, "Ah, that bunch of flies that chase food everywhere..."
"I see, perhaps those tradesmen could indeed offer the whereabouts of the Annihilating Hand." Qiqimora nodded in agreement.
"It sounds... like you donât have a high opinion of them?" Aiden asked. "You believe they know, yet you havenât bought the information from them?"
Flies, tradesmen, it didnât sound like praise. Moreover, Qiqimora had always wanted to know the location of the Annihilating Hand, yet it seemed she hadnât tried to buy any related information through Smile Scale.
"Your Excellency must have had some contact with them, havenât you?" Abigail asked. "These flies will swarm over at even the slightest whiff of something foul to find a place to land."
"It sounds like Iâm a well-preserved salted fish," Aiden said. "They did send someone to me, claiming to be my liaison... but I donât have an in-depth understanding of them."
Given how the witchesâ gathering evaluated Smile Scale, Aiden felt it was necessary to inquire about their understanding of the organization.
Most of what Sophie Carter had told him was the honest truth under the constraints of the Wordless Code, but no one could guarantee that it wasnât a one-sided truth.
"They sent someone to me too, expressing a hope to meet face-to-face," Abigail said. "I was tempted to kill that person, but he escaped. I would sincerely advise Your Excellency to do the same. Some of Smile Scaleâs liaisons apparently possess divine and authoritative power, it could be a small profit."
"Wouldnât that anger them?" Aiden inquired.
"Donât worry, it wonât. That organization doesnât really stand for anything," Abigail said indifferently.
"They claimed to me that their stance was absolutely neutral."
"Their so-called neutrality doesnât mean they donât favor any side like a referee in a game; rather, they can change their stance at any time. They are what you call fair-weather friends," Abigail explained. "Consider where their information comes from, and youâll understand."
"Indeed, they have tried to dig up information about me," Aiden nodded.
Smile Scale proactively sent liaisons to contact potential major clients, not only to attract business but also to gather intelligence.
Sophie kept saying that she had no intention of harming him, but in reality, she was also trying to uncover if he was currently involved with the "conspiring goddess" worshipped by the Blood Moon Cult.
True, even if they learned this piece of information, Aiden wouldnât physically lose anything, but if they were to sell this potentially fatal information to those attempting to harm him, that would be a different matter.
"The Smile Scale liaison also proposed coming to my residence to talk," Abigail said somberly. "As a feeble woman living alone, I naturally had to eliminate some hidden dangers."
"A feeble woman with a forest of magical beasts? Hm?" Habanis quipped.
"Quite bold of them to make such a request, truly unafraid of death," Aiden remarked.
"That liaison had the power of the âVoidâ authority, at least some means of saving their own life," Abigail spoke slowly. "I guess he also tried to scout the forest, but being able to turn invisible doesnât mean finding the way through Banquet Forest."
"Iâve also heard some unfavorable rumors," Qiqimora interjected. "There are times when Smile Scale targets weaker authority holders, proactively selling their information to those who might have the opportunity to eliminate those holders, and then sharing the divinity and power. And for the more powerful holders, they dig for their weaknesses... in a nutshell, they fan flames everywhere to increase their income. To trade or cooperate with them is to inadvertently expose oneâs movements to them, and they will sell that information."
"I guess they must have offended quite a few people then..." Aiden said.
"Many, so they often have liaisons killed, but I suppose to them, itâs just the cost of maintaining such a business. They donât care, at most they try to minimize losses. As for retaliation... if the cost is too high, they wonât even bother." Abigail stated, "The organization has no stance, no concern for dignity, only for profit. I would advise Your Excellency to avoid getting too involved with such an organization."
Aiden generally understood the witchesâ gatheringâs view of Smile Scale; these so-called information brokers were in fact a bunch of troublemakers and thieves, definitely not fit for trade. The most sensible approach was to steer clear of them.
"Thank you for the advice. The fact that youâre so concerned about my safety is quite touching," Aiden spread his hands in thanks.
"After all, Your Excellency is now our main source of income," Abigail stated matter-of-factly.
"So that means if I run into trouble... youâd be willing to lend a hand?" Aiden probed.
"Iâll try, but I canât speak for everyone else," Abigail responded.
"I donât have a problem with it," Qiqimora smiled.
"If thereâs profit in it," Lamia said.
"I..." Vila hesitated for a moment, "It depends on the situation."
"Donât count me in. Iâd actually prefer it if I could get my hands on your corpse after you die," Habanis, as always, gave a response of negative favor.
Aiden thought to himself that, at least in terms of stance, the witchesâ gathering was very likely to become a helper for him to escape trouble, with Qiqimora and Abigail being more inclined to support him... If he wanted to further win them over in the future, it would be best to focus on those two.
Especially Qiqimora, if he could help her obtain the Annihilating Hand, not only could he deprive Mr. in Red of the means to kill him, but he might also get her to help against Melissa.
"Speaking of which, Warden," Lamia suddenly started, "what do you think about that medicine I mentioned earlier? Does it have a future in making money?"
"Definitely, a lot, even though my prison canât produce it," Aiden replied. "But if you sell the formula directly to pharmaceutical manufacturers, you should be able to make a fortune... I could even try investing in it."
"Her medicine requires precious magical beast materials as a base, and, it has the side effect of temporarily turning men into beasts," Abigail abruptly interjected. "Even so, youâd consider it?"
"Um..." Aiden was at a loss for words, looking at Lamia with a hint of regret, "How about you research in the direction of more common medicine with similar effects?"