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nOnce the two old friends broke off their bearhug and chatted for a bit, Bistro wore a pleasant smile and turned to Darius and Gunner, sizing up the two.

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"Hello there, I don't quite believe we've met.

"

nDarius reached out and shook the hand of Bistro, introducing himself immediately.

"My name is Darius Stone and this is my servant, Gunner. We are pleased to make your acquaintance, Sir Bistro.

"

nBistro smiled and shook Darius' hand vigorously.

"I'm also pleased to make yours. Any friend of Shanks', is a friend of mine. So tell me, Friend Darius, how can I help you today?

"

nBefore Darius could answer the question, Bistro was pulled in close by Shanks. After whispering something into the Land Commissioner's ears, Bistro's eyes bulged and his gaze towards Darius changed as if he was looking at a monster.

nBistro was silent for a while before nodding. He turned to his secretary:

"Charla, take these deeds and have them verified and logged within 30 minutes. Also, call on the best craftsmen we have to get ready for a huge assignment.

"

nBistro then turned to Darius, who quickly handed over the deeds. Nodding, Bistro then commented:

"I'm sure a man of your caliber wouldn't spend cheap on your new properties, right?

"

nDarius smiled.

"I would like for the construction of a castle for my estate, a four-story shop for the market square, a large restaurant

/lounge for the plot near the town's entrance, and for the property outside, I plan to have a refinery for processing various ores, hides and other resources. I'm afraid I only have 500 gold coins to invest, does that suffice?

"

nShanks and Bistro shivered at this amount and even Charla who had just picked up the deeds to execute her orders, almost tripped. They all gazed at Darius with horror as if they had seen a ghost.

nShanks and Derek began to wonder where Darius, a new face to Andrato, had been getting all his money from?! He hadn't opened his shop yet, so it couldn't be from sales or income.

nSeeing the doubt in their eyes, Darius laughed and used his long prepared story.

"Well, leaving Westerlier Empire for the Andrato Kingdom was simple enough, but I had to 'leave behind' all my family's heirlooms and wares before reaching the homestead, so…

"

nShanks and Bistro shared a look and gazed at Darius with pity. A destroyed noble family like his from such a top-tier empire should have heirlooms so valuable that even a city of Andrato wouldn't be enough to pay for it all.

nStill, as Darius had claimed, his situation hadn't allowed for luxuries. He must have been forced to quickly sell off what he had for as much as he could get. Suddenly, 500 gold seemed small in the eyes of those in the know, hence the pity.

nDerek though, was confused. Did that mean that Darius passed through the capital to sell his goods and left all the way to their meager homestead? Wasn't that a bit weird of a choice there?

nWhy not just stay in the capital and use his newfound wealth to create an identity? Derek made eye contact with his dad who could guess the thoughts of his son.

nShanks simply smiled and silently mouthed one word to his son:

"Greed.

"

nDerek felt like he was struck by thunder as the realization hit him. Of course, after showing such great items and desperation - by changing his heirlooms to money at a loss, something no one would ever do unless they were at the utter bottom of their lives - as well as newfound wealth, many would get ideas.

nDarius might be an Adept mage, but he was merely a young man in a foreign kingdom. Andrato might not have any Masters or Grandmasters, but it had more than just a handful Adepts, especially in the capital where most noble family heads had reached that stage.

nHehe, even though their own Equality Faction were the 'good guys', Derek understood that in the face of such temptation, it shouldn't be too surprising if people on their side might have attempted to make a move on Darius.

nDerek knew Darius to be clever, so their former guest must've realized this. He must have fled the city while avoiding the towns, before choosing a random homestead where the residents wouldn't know of his previous action.

nTo not arouse suspicion, he had pretended to be a native of Andrato Kingdom so that things would not be hard for him while under their care. Derek was even convinced to have found out the real reason Gunner came much later.

nHe could easily envision a scene where Gunner had to stay behind to fight off their pursuers, thereby creating a chance for his young master to escape. Only after beating back such enemies, possibly shaking off any other pursuers, did he find Darius' tracks and managed to end up arriving at the homestead a week later.

nIn fact, the scenario Derek has created in his mind was very similar to what had flashed through Shank's and Bistro's minds the moment Darius had explained the source of his fortune. The two old farts were experienced with how the world worked and how Andrato's darkness reared its ugly head.

nThis was why they had flashed him a look of pity. In their eyes, Darius must've gone through a lot to finally gain some peace and status to protect himself, so wanting to invest almost 'everything' he had on his properties made them understand his 'point of view'.

nAs for Darius, he didn't know exactly what they were thinking, but he could largely guess based on their expressions. This was a thing Darius had always found most amusing about 'smart' people.

nIf you spoonfed a smart person, they would spit it out or squeeze their face, but if you allowed them to scoop their own food, they would happily eat it and think its quality was far higher just because they picked it themselves.

nLikewise, Darius often didn't give lengthy explanations about himself or his actions. He just dropped some facts in a sentence and left a few blanks, just enough so that those 'smart' fellows would fill them themselves based on their own preconceived notions and knowledge, just like Derek and the two men had just done.

nDespite being human too, the logic of this phenomenon escaped Darius.

nWas it that people were so convinced of their mental superiority over others, that conclusions formed based on limited facts patched by their own understanding were considered superior to the actual truth?

nBasically, why was it that everyone thought that they were the only one with intelligence and everyone else was either stupider or slightly less intelligent than they were?

nWhatever the case, it was something that worked in Darius's favor oftentimes, and he would continue to exploit such flaws in people to further his own goals.

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