After the slave owners went bankrupt, they all wanted to keep me as a mistress.

Fortunately, the young nobleman appeared to be unharmed.

However, he was not quite clear about what had happened here.

Could it be that monsters have attacked the town?

But the inn is located in the heart of Radiant City. How could a monster suddenly appear here? And there are no monster corpses or bloodstains left behind...

"She's a peak Gold-tier professional. She tried to steal the elven slave I bought, but I chased her away," Mu Qiu's voice rang out calmly.

Upon seeing the arrival of the group of black-armored guards, Vera had already retreated behind him and put the cloak she had just thrown on the ground back on.

"Such a thing actually happened?" The old steward was shocked, his eyes quickly scanning the ruins out of the corner of his eye.

The battle here should have ended quickly; judging from the destructive power, only a high-ranking Gold-level professional could have accomplished that.

They are either high-ranking professionals like Dragonborn Knights or Arcane Mages, or, as this noble young master said, peak Gold-rank professionals.

Based on that dragon roar just now... perhaps it's a high-level professional at the peak of the Gold rank!

Of course, that dragon roar could also be from this noble young master's contracted pet.

At that moment, many thoughts flashed through the old steward's mind.

While elven slaves are valuable, they are not worth a high-ranking professional at the peak of the Gold rank openly attacking a nobleman in town!

There's probably something hidden behind this...

But these are not things he has the right to ask.

Sometimes, knowing more isn't necessarily a good thing.

Since this young nobleman was able to easily defeat that peak Gold-rank professional, there must be a professional of rank 5 or higher protecting him in the shadows.

Thinking of this, the old steward was secretly alarmed.

The fact that this noble young master could send at least a fifth-tier professional to protect him means that his family must be at least a legendary family!

The old steward hunched over, bowing his head even lower, his respectful expression deepening: "Sir, it was my oversight that I failed to provide you with safer accommodations, causing you distress. For this, on behalf of Chainball Auction House, I offer you my sincerest apologies."

He paused, then a look of anger appeared on his old face, and said, "No matter who it is, if they dare to attack a VIP of our Chainball Auction House, we will make them pay a heavy price!"

Mu Qiu nodded indifferently, looked at the innkeeper who had slowly woken up, and suddenly asked, "This inn... must have cost a lot when it was built, right? How much would it cost if I built a similar inn?"

Unable to fathom the young nobleman's thoughts, the old steward truthfully replied, "Sir, this is the heart of Radiant City, where land prices are exorbitant. Just buying this 200-square-meter plot would cost 30,000 gold coins, and for an ordinary merchant, it would be double that."

"Regarding the construction costs... the main structure is made of enchanted stone. Even ordinary Silver Realm professionals would find it difficult to destroy the walls here in a short time. The cost per square meter is about 100 gold coins. The total cost for three floors is about 60,000 gold coins. Including the cost of decoration and furniture... it will cost at least 100,000 gold coins."

The old steward paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "But that's the price for ordinary merchants. The cost of those enchanted stones themselves isn't expensive. If you entrust them to our auction house, it will only cost around 60,000 to 70,000 gold coins at most."

"The biggest expense for such luxury hotels is the daily maintenance cost. Every year, they hire three mid-silver-rank guard captains and more than a dozen peak bronze-rank guards. In addition, the constant temperature array and soundproof array in the rooms... all of these cost a lot of money to maintain."

Mu Qiu nodded slightly.

One price for merchants, another price for nobles—that's very medieval.

Incidentally, the old steward also answered one of his questions: why he hadn't seen any guards in the inn. It turned out that the strongest among them was only at the mid-stage of the Silver Rank... They would probably be knocked unconscious by a single dragon roar.

"Call the hotel owner over."

Mu Qiu casually waved his hand, signaling the old steward to call the person over.

Although the old steward didn't understand why, he still jogged over there.

"Fitch! That young master called... What's wrong?"

The old steward had just squatted down, his hand patting Fitch's broad shoulder almost sinking into the soft flesh, when he was about to say something when he was startled by Fitch's appearance.

The middle-aged fat man, slumped on the ground, was pale with fright, but the ruddy complexion left by his years of pampered life was still faintly visible. His eyes, which should have revealed a hint of shrewdness, were now unusually empty and lifeless, and a barely perceptible dark red heart-shaped rune even flashed across the whites of his eyes.

Before the old steward could see clearly, Fitch shook his fat head, turned to look at him, and asked with a confused look, "Wh...what? What did you just say?"

Is this a side effect of the Dragon's Roar?

“Fitch, I said a young master from a legendary family wants to see you!” The old steward didn’t think much of it and whispered, “Your inn was in this state tonight because someone attacked that noble young master… but you mustn’t say anything out of line, understand?”

"The young master of a legendary family? I... I know!"

Upon hearing the words "legendary family," Fitch shuddered. His massive body instantly unleashed an agility disproportionate to its size. He practically scrambled to his feet, his movements clumsy and frantic, his obese body writhing like a sea lion trying to stand on its own.

He had only run a few steps when he fell to the ground again, but he didn't bother to brush off the dust and pebbles on his body. He tumbled and crawled to Mu Qiu's feet.

"Huh...huh..."

When he arrived not far from the young master, Fei Qi abruptly stopped in his tracks. As soon as he looked up, he saw the black-haired boy in front of him lower his eyes, as if a god from the heavens had cast a casual glance down.

The instant he met that gaze, Fitch felt a jolt of electricity coursing through his body, as if a demon had taken over. He seemed to hear a seductive whisper in his ear, and an idea uncontrollably surged into his mind.

My manor was built for this esteemed man!

Fitch was completely unaware of how absurd his thoughts were at that moment.

To simply offer one's most precious asset, almost all of one's family property, and the luxurious manor that had just been completed after more than a decade of construction, to this supremely noble person before one's eyes... isn't that the most natural thing to do?

At this moment, the black-haired boy in front of them also spoke.

His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable air of authority.

"I demolished your hotel."

"Tell me, how much do you want?"

Chapter Twenty-Five: Even if you want to follow the rules, you should at least consider the dignity of the rules themselves, right?

"Ah?! No... I wouldn't dare! It was my security measures that were inadequate, which frightened you. How could I possibly ask you to compensate me?"

Fitch shuddered violently, his massive body shrinking back like a startled hedgehog, his voice trembling violently, his heart almost breaking.

He felt like his heart was about to jump out of his throat.

Asking a young master from a legendary family for money?

How much guts does Fitch have?

Even the city lord of Radiant City, upon meeting a descendant from a legendary family, would greet him with a smile and invite him to the seat of honor, treating him with great hospitality.

"Ok?"

Mu Qiu's voice rose slightly at the end, carrying an undeniable sense of pressure.

Fitch froze, a chill instantly shooting from his tailbone to the top of his head.

Oh no, this person is going to be unhappy!

He dared not refuse, much less ask for more!

Fitch's mind raced. He didn't understand the behavior of the young master in front of him. Some noble young masters would say they would pay for the damages, but that was mainly to save face for their family.

They've already compensated you, and you're still going to accept it?

Fitch knew all too well how these nobles behaved.

You can accept small sums of money, those are gifts from noble gentlemen, but you can't really accept large sums.

Of course, you have to accept the money on the surface and thank them respectfully, but you must return the money in full in private. You can't actually pocket the money.

If you actually accept it, death might come and take your life one day.

The amount of this money also needs to be carefully considered.

If you ask for too much and the other party can't immediately pay the amount, then that's your fault.

If you ask for too little and make the other person feel embarrassed, then that's also your fault.

As Fitch dug his short, chubby fingers into the rubble, he stammered, "Sir...sir, could you...could you...could you compensate me with a little...a little repair fee? I would be very grateful..."

He wasn't sure how much money this young master was willing to pay him to save face, so he offered a way out, letting the other party give an offer.

When the time comes, no matter how much money the young master wants to pay, he will agree to it.

Afterwards, return the money.

However, there is another tricky point about these young noblemen: they may not accept the money back outright because of their pride.

But they can't stay put, because their families might be unhappy.

A few or a few dozen gold coins in compensation is of course no big deal, and there's no need to return the money. But the current damage to this inn is worth at least tens of thousands of gold coins. Can you really accept such a large sum of money?

Therefore, in such cases, the compensation amount should be converted into other items of equivalent value that can be converted into cash, such as antiques, jewelry, potions, etc., before being sent over.

This way, the young nobleman will gain face, and his family will be satisfied. At this point, any money bestowed as a reward, no matter how much, will truly go into his pocket.

Fitch has worked his way up from a lowly small merchant to where he is now, suffering many losses along the way, and only then did he come to understand the intricacies of these nobles.

When he was young and naive, he accepted a huge sum of compensation from the son of an earl while doing business in the capital and did not return it privately.

After that, his business was thwarted at every turn. It wasn't until someone pointed it out to him that he realized the count's son had only given him a huge compensation in public because of the face of the incorruptible law enforcement officer in the capital.

But young Fitch didn't return the money; instead, he pocketed it, happily believing he had made a profit, which displeased the count's son.

I can't afford to offend that female law enforcement officer, but what are you, a lowly commoner, to dare take my money?

By the time Fitch realized what had happened, it was too late. Even if he sent gifts to apologize, he could no longer do business in the capital.

It was then that he realized that in the capital, having a brain wasn't enough to do business; you also needed to understand human relationships and know how to humble yourself to please those noble gentlemen.

In the end, he had no choice but to leave the capital and open a hotel in this remote town. With his savings over the years and his increasingly shrewd personality, he managed to make a name for himself.

However, the thought of his hotel, which he had run for so many years, being destroyed in one fell swoop made Fitch's heart bleed.

Ugh.

I reckon this noble young master will only give me a token amount of twenty or thirty thousand gold coins. I might even have to personally deliver some gifts to return that amount…

"Repair costs... well, it depends on the extent of the damage here..."

Mu Qiu pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Three hundred thousand gold coins. That should be enough for you to rebuild this inn. Consider the extra money as compensation for the other guests."

"Wha...what?!"

Fitch abruptly raised his head, his fat face filled with disbelief and blank stare, his eyes wide like saucers, his mouth unconsciously agape, revealing a few gold teeth.

Three hundred thousand gold coins?!

This is worth far more than the entire hotel and the land it occupies!

The immense shock left his mind blank. He opened his mouth wide, wanting to say something, but didn't know how to begin.

"This this......"

[What a useless piece of trash.]

Just then, Fitch seemed to hear a detached female voice in his ear.

In that instant, his head drooped slightly, and in a blind spot where no one could see, his eyes became empty and lifeless, like a puppet that had lost its mind, with a blurry heart-shaped rune flashing in his eyes.

His thick lips were unconsciously parted, revealing a small gap, and that seductive voice continued to ring out, as if trying to etch an imprint into his mind.

This is a gift from the supreme Demon King; you should accept this money with gratitude.

However, as a wealthy merchant, you are not entitled to take this huge sum of money. Therefore, you will secretly transfer your newly completed manor to the Demon King.

This won't arouse anyone's suspicion. As a merchant, currying favor with the nobility is only natural, even if the construction of that manor cost you over 700,000 gold coins—your entire life savings.

[But a compensation of 300,000 is enough to dispel others' suspicions about the Demon King and you... It's not uncommon in this country for a nobleman to exchange 300,000 gold coins for 700,000 in assets from a merchant. Since you once offended the Earl of the Imperial Capital, and you don't have a single nobleman to back you up, you'd think it's entirely worthwhile to do a favor for a mysterious nobleman.]

You will forget all the unusual events of today, you will not remember the title of Demon King, but you will always remember that the guest before you was an extremely noble person.

"..."

The countless chaotic sounds in his mind made Fitch's eyes become increasingly dull.

But soon, the sound suddenly disappeared, and he himself was jolted awake, nodding subconsciously.

“Is…is this true?”

Fitch had an excited expression on his face.