Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 322 Coincidence
"This year's business is expected to grow by more than 20%, with profits exceeding 10%. Major expenditures involve some low-efficiency investment projects, as well as offerings to the royal family. Oh, and the expansion of personnel requested by the head of the family is also included."

The Rainbow Rose Merchant Guild, or the Sudar Merchant Guild, is a renowned merchant guild in Radiant City and even the entire kingdom.

It owns many physical industries, but its main source of revenue comes from the scattered investments of its various branch chambers. Some of these investments involve the operation of certain franchised goods, while others are mainly financial services such as lending and investment.

It's hard to say exactly how wealthy they are, even the head of the family probably doesn't know. After all, although they are a member of the conservative old aristocracy, their business model is very much like that of the new aristocracy. Their investments are not only diversified but also tangible, making it difficult to ascertain their exact wealth.

“Good. I’ve reviewed all your reports this year. Very good. All those who have made significant contributions and whose annual bonuses are increased by less than 10% will be transferred back to the Chamber of Commerce headquarters. Marsil, Soren.”

In a large conference room, facing the presidents and managers of various branch chambers, Sally Mann spoke eloquently.

Everyone's face was beaming with joy; who wouldn't like receiving money and getting a promotion?

Unlike some large groups and powerful organizations that conduct year-end summaries, the Sudar Chamber of Commerce conducts its annual summary relatively early each year.

On the one hand, there are too many things that need to be scheduled and adjusted. Each chamber of commerce needs time to produce reports and report on personnel scheduling. On the other hand, as a noble family, the Sudar family is very busy every year.

Putting aside everything else, the "offerings" allocated to the royal family alone would probably be an astronomical figure.

What is turned over to the national treasury is not just money and goods. Many weapons and equipment that cannot be bought with money, rare materials from other countries, and so on, all become consumables of the kingdom through this channel.

The scheduling of these items requires time. Therefore, the annual summary in the conventional sense is often done very early, and the next round of large-scale procurement and smuggling is only started after sufficient budget has been obtained.

"That's quite an exaggeration. Dania trusts you a lot, doesn't she?"

This was Rean's first time accompanying Sally Man to the annual meeting, and it was a terrible experience. He was laughing so hard his legs were numb, and yet there were always clueless people who would come up to greet him.

"Because we're like sisters in private."

Sallyman swirled the red wine in her hand, her smile radiant, and spoke in a lighthearted tone.

However, Rean suspected that there was something more to her words.

"She saved me, I trust her. Before I became the head of the family, she always called me 'elder sister'."

This is interesting. So, should you call me uncle? Wait, even though Lex ran away, how come this influence is still there?
"Uh, so you're basically a licensed merchant with official backing?"

Rean took a look and found that many strategic materials could not be bought through normal channels, but the Sudar Chamber of Commerce bought them in other countries at high prices and brought them back through its branches. These things could not pass through customs and were obviously smuggled. After passing through a "donation" process, they became strategic reserves of the kingdom's treasury.

In a sense, it seems that Sudar has taken on the role of an "overseas government-owned enterprise," which explains why he has achieved such great success.

"No, only a part of it. Some chambers of commerce specialize in this, and the actual operators are basically royal spies, including myself. But this part of the business is separate from our main business."

Today we need to get down to business, so naturally, the normal version of Suliman has arrived.

She happily shared these family secrets with Rean, though there always seemed to be a hidden meaning in her words.

"After all, even though we're sisters, what's mine is still mine, and what's hers is hers. Only when we don't cross the line can we be sisters for a long time. What do you think?"

Sallyman put down her wine glass, looked at Rean, and smiled sweetly.

She's not "Silly Liman," so there are some things she needs to be careful about.

Rean paused for a moment. It seemed there were too many rumors circulating about the Knight and the Princess lately, and the Princess hadn't denied them at all.

Even though Suliman was somewhat in the know, the fact that her fiancé and boss were having an affair, and that neither of them denied it (Danya was supporting Rean's actions), was like a slam dunk on her. No wonder that during today's meeting, the other branch chamber presidents looked at the patriarch with a mixture of respect and sympathy.

Perhaps, in many people's eyes, Rean and Suliman's engagement has become some kind of cover-up, with Suliman portrayed as a victim of keeping a lover for her boss.
"Don't joke around. She's just a little girl who hasn't fully developed yet, how can she compare to you? You're really showing off today."

Rean quickly changed the subject. He had been contacting Dania quite frequently lately, as he had too many messy things to deal with.

If your good girl has been wronged, you should comfort her and say some nice things—it doesn't cost any money.

"Little brat?! You big pig's trotter! I'm a grown man, are you blind?!"

The sudden sound from behind startled Rean.

The little mirror spirit that floated in displayed Dania's annoyed face.

I just connected and I heard people talking badly about me, even though I was busy with Rean's affairs.

"You," Rean looked at Suliman subtly, but what he saw were bright eyes that were hiding a smile behind a fan. It was obvious that Suliman was doing it on purpose; that smile wasn't faked at all.

As a psychic with precognitive abilities, she is one of the few extraordinary individuals who can sense beings like mirror spirits.

This was a small act of revenge against the man who annoyed her but she couldn't retaliate.

The busy Dania took the initiative to come to him, not to complain. She wasn't actually that angry, but she had scolded Rean before as revenge for the ever-increasing workload he had given her.

"I've had someone send you the basic information about those organizations you requested."

This was indeed trouble that Rean had caused for the other party. They were international organizations that had absolutely no connection with each other, yet Rean suddenly wanted detailed information about them.

"The Radiant Guards in the front-line town have returned to their posts. I've discussed it with the archmages, and we should be assigning two archmages to be stationed permanently in that town. As for the mage tower, we don't have the money or resources to repair it in the short term; we'll have to wait a few months."

This shows that the Kingdom and Radiant City probably have some serious problems. Because they just built a mage tower, they can't come up with the resources for a second mage tower in the short term. This is a whole country.

The real problem is that some countries can't get their hands on resources even if they try.

"The candidates for hero have entered the arena. There are a few troublesome individuals among them, and I doubt I can control them even if I were to personally intervene. I've only sent out invitations to the class reunion; you can go and meet them yourself at your own pace. You can leave them alone, but in reality, some of them are so powerful that they're beyond my control."

The heroes who crossed continents to become candidates for Rean have finally begun to enter the arena one after another, which means that the exploration of the underground ruins is accelerating, which is undoubtedly a good thing for Rean.

If these people cause trouble, the kingdom might not be able to control them, which is actually adding to Rean's troubles.

“I know there are a few good plots of land in the dock area that have been bought up directly. The way they're building them makes me suspect they're going to build a fortress.”

Among the brave candidates were some who were rich and powerful. They were too lazy to communicate with the local nobles. After learning that the dock area was the passage to the deepest part of the underground ruins, they simply built a "fortress barracks" there. This was similar to stationing troops and building a fortress on the outskirts of the city, which was quite a subtle matter.

Judging from their appearance, they have enough financial and military resources, and may even be able to build "exclusive outposts" and "private towns" directly underground.

Dania's complaints were not without reason. She was indeed too busy with her own affairs. Every day, she had to listen to her subordinates' complaints. Rean was the focus of recent reports. His crackdown on the slave market had offended many old nobles.

"Take it easy." In the end, she could only sigh and say words that she herself didn't believe.

Rean has always been easy to talk to. But once he's made up his mind, he's never compromised.

However, Dania's position became increasingly delicate. As the royal family that had begun to take charge, she was like a "middleman," suffering from all sides.

The "church" above her paid lip service to her, while the nobles below her were filled with selfish desires. Even the "dark elves," who should have stood with her in the same trench, questioned her because of their "race."

Everyone has their own thoughts and interests, and it's already a blessing that we're still on the same ship. As the nominal captain, Dania is having a really tough time.

Like a seamstress, she painstakingly pieced together this kingdom that was on the verge of falling apart, forcibly keeping it afloat. Even with the lower half of the ship submerged in the water, the captain still had to shout, "All is well!"

"And those Beast Orders. It's so unfair. They can fail countless times, but if we mess up once, we're completely finished."

There was a reason why Dania mentioned the Beast Order at this time.

"We've found some clues among these prisoners. Several noble families may be sponsors of the Beast Order. You can handle that."

In a sense, Rean has become an expert at dealing with the Order of the Beasts.

More importantly, if his position is merely to mobilize his people, there is no need to worry about intelligence leaks.

"Is the news confirmed?" Rean was a little surprised. The cultists involved in that terrorist attack were basically expendable pawns. What big fish could they possibly dig out?
"I'm not sure, but it's quite a coincidence that those guys are all against us." Dania smiled rather subtly, but it seemed that apart from a very few loyalists, most of the nobles in the city were only paying lip service to you.

Now that you mention it, it's actually quite possible that the opposition and cultists are mixing together.

What a coincidence, isn't it? Enemies have come together; let's just wipe them out in one fell swoop.

Arrest them first, then interrogate them. Surely you can find something out. Are any of these people clean?

"Oh, what a coincidence. I'll go right now. I'll bring the Knights with me and see if they're clean enough." Let it be a coincidence, they're all villains anyway, let the investigation of evil decide everything.

"Uh... I guess I did overuse it. I definitely won't overuse it next time!" And so, Paladin Rean promised again.

(End of this chapter)