Assimilate All Talents

Chapter 374 - 273: An Investment

Once Sol and Thorwyn left, Chloe immediately ran to the rear grounds to play with Bob, completely forgetting that she was originally supposed to set up her shop today.

Madeline watched her daughter with mild amusement.

'Should I remind her?' she wondered, but after seeing Chloe hop into Bob's carriage and happily ride it across the destroyed grounds from the battle, she ultimately decided against it.

Chloe could afford to enjoy her youth a little longer. While her part time job in the city was a valuable learning experience, there would be plenty of time for that later. Once her leveling ceremony came and she obtained her first talent, she wouldn't have the freedom to simply play like this anymore. Whether she followed in the family business or pursued another path, responsibilities would soon outweigh these carefree moments.

So for now, Madeline let her be a kid, something she wished she could've had when she was younger.

She spent a few minutes watching her daughter ride Bob around before returning inside. Making her way to her study, she settled into her chair and reached for the stack of transaction reports she had been reviewing before Sol and Thorwyn had arrived.

But as if the world itself refused to let her finish her work, a knock sounded at the door.

Madeline sighed, setting the papers aside. "Come in."

The door opened smoothly, revealing an elderly man dressed in a pristine black suit. His posture was formal, but there was an air of nervousness about him.

It was Ferdinand, her personal advisor for all Rondine Emporium business, though she knew his true purpose went beyond that title.

The old man hesitated briefly before stepping forward. "Miss Rondine... is it true that you gave away the Mimic Eye of Learning? For free?"

Madeline barely looked up from her desk. "I did. Is there a problem?"

Ferdinand cleared his throat. "Well... what should we do with the letter we received from Guildmaster Orion? He not only offered the requested amount but also proposed a prime building location for our expansion into Crestel City."

Madeline raised an eyebrow. "Are you questioning my decision?"

The advisor quickly shook his head. "Of course not, Miss Rondine! I would never doubt your wisdom. I only wish to understand, so I can better serve you and help ensure your success."

'Says the spy sent to monitor my every move...'

Madeline resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

How could she not know? Ferdinand's helpless old butler act wasn't fooling anyone, not when he had a combat value of 35,000. She knew he had been sent by the Delvania branch of her family to oversee and report on her actions.

Not that they had ever admitted it outright, but it was obvious enough.

She was from the Sapphire Scales branch, and while both branches worked together in business, there was an ever present rivalry between them. They constantly sought to outdo each other in wealth, influence, and strategic growth.

Her success in her younger years frightened them, but after the loss of her husband which left her distraught and unable to focus on her business, they left her alone. But now that she had moved to Crestelia looking for a fresh start and spent the last three years making a name for herself and leading the expansion into Crestelia Kingdom and the Frostaxe Clan had made the Delvania branch uneasy once more. Even though she had provided them with multiple assurances that her actions wouldn't disrupt the balance between the two branches, they remained wary and sent people to monitor her movements.

She had no obligation to answer Ferdinand's question. But his inquiry wasn't truly his, it came from the Delvania branch.

"The location in Crestel City can be negotiated with other things of value." She said dismissively. "The legendary item had a better use here."

Ferdinand frowned. "The Mimic Eye of Learning, valued by yourself at 74,000 gold, had a better use being given away to an unknown A-Ranker?"

Ferdinand didn't mispeak, the legendary item's true value was 74,000 and that was after being devalued thanks to having a skill already implanted into it. If not, it's worth would have been much higher.

But there was a reason she never explicitly stated its true value when discussing it with Sol.

'He wouldn't have accepted it if I had.'

She could tell at a glance Sol wasn't the type to take free handouts. He would if anything find it suspicious and think there was a catch.

So she had carefully led their conversation down a path where the bet for Thorwyn's fur became the deciding factor. It was valuable enough to be believable to him that she would desire it. Though she had slightly miscalculated and lost the bet, she still steered it toward her desired outcome, with Sol accepting both the legendary artifact and her VIP card.

She had done well to make it seem like a fair transaction rather than a gift.

Her expression remained unreadable as she answered Ferdinand's skepticism.

"Yes." She said simply. "He's an investment."

Ferdinand looked as if he wanted to ask more, but one look at Madeline's eyes made him hesitate.

She wasn't going to say anything further.

After a brief moment, he bowed slightly. "I understand, Miss Rondine."

With that, he excused himself from the room.

Madeline was absolutely certain that the moment he left, he would send a report back to the Delvania branch. They would undoubtedly start digging into Sol's background, trying to uncover what made him so valuable in her eyes.

Not that she minded.

She planned to do the same.

But she doubted anything she found would explain what she saw with her Golden Eyes.

She leaned back in her chair, her fingers lightly drumming against the polished wood.

'With my [Golden Eyes] at level 3, I can assess up to 600,000 gold in value... and yet... I couldn't assess him.'

That was an incredible feat as it meant his value, be it in power, connections or something else far surpassed that number. There was only one other person she had ever encountered who had also been beyond her ability to measure.

Lanslet, The Holy Defender of Delvania.

And though she didn't know it, a mythic talent holder.

While she wasn't sure what this would lead to, her instincts as a merchant told her it would be the most significant deal of her life.