Fourth floor of Bavart Bank.
The largest shareholder of this bank was Earl Hall. For the time being, it was temporarily managed by Hibbert, and the Negan family also held a certain amount of shares.
Greg choosing this place for their discussion seemed perfectly normal.
But Hastur knew, this was absolutely not normal.
Greg and Hibbert were definitely looking for an excuse to probe for information and satisfy their gossiping urges.
"Hastur, let me introduce you. This is Viscount Sabo from Southwell County. He originally lived there as a laid-back noble and only came to Backlund in the past two years."
Once Hastur arrived, Greg briefly introduced both sides.
After a few polite exchanges, Hastur began properly examining the Viscount before him. The man seemed between forty and fifty years old.
His hair was an ocean blue, and compared to Backlund's nobles, his skin looked darker and rougher, clearly someone who had spent many years living in places battered by sea winds.
"Here's the situation. I've already decided to settle down in Backlund. Aside from the land belonging to my own domain, I intend to sell all my other land in Southwell County."
The Viscount was straightforward, directly bringing up today's main business. This kind of personality was rather likable.
"I know the land prices have been dropping recently, and I truly am eager to let go of those properties, so I won't beat around the bush. A flat price of 15,000 gold pounds."
"You just need to pay this amount, and all the land I've managed in Southwell County for so many years will be yours."
Straightforward, no nonsense, this kind of style usually belonged to followers of the Storm.
Hastur didn't agree immediately. Instead, he looked toward Greg, who handed him some documents and a map.
Greg nodded with a faint smile.
Hastur accepted the documents and map and carefully checked the land the Viscount intended to sell.
With one look, he finally understood how worth it this 15,000 gold pounds truly was.
Before the Grain Act was implemented, the combined value of this land would have been at least 80,000 gold pounds.
Selling it for only 15,000 now was already a huge markdown.
Even at the current normal trading price, although the land wasn't near Backlund, it should still be worth about 30,000 gold pounds. The Viscount was basically cutting that in half as well.
This was indeed a very lucrative deal.
Besides the cheap price, most of the land was located near his own domain. If he could acquire the few plots in between belonging to other nobles, he could merge them all into a single large territory.
On the palm-sized map of Southwell County, it would take up an area about the size of a thumbnail.
"At this price, I naturally have no reason to refuse."
After thoroughly checking everything, Hastur agreed to the 15,000-pound purchase.
The Viscount sighed. "If I hadn't already decided to remain in Backlund, I wouldn't choose to sell this land."
"Forgive me for asking, why are you in such a hurry to sell?"
"Because no one wants to acquire land in Southwell County anymore. These days, most land transactions revolve around the areas near Backlund. No noble wants to spend money on remote places, even if the price is extremely low."
Hastur accepted this explanation. No demand despite the value, that was perfectly reasonable.
"Viscount, I have some questions about Southwell County."
"Go ahead."
After the deal was settled, the Viscount's demeanour relaxed significantly.
"What's the current situation in Southwell County?"
"I left two years ago, so I'm not very clear about the most recent developments. I can only tell you the general situation back when I was still there."
Hastur nodded, signalling him to continue.
"Southwell County is located in the south-eastern coastal region of the Loen Kingdom. While it doesn't have any particularly famous ports, maritime trade is still very active."
"You could say half the county's people rely on that trade route to make a living. Unfortunately, as pirate activity becomes more rampant, many fishing villages and ports along the coast, because of insufficient defences, are often looted clean."
"That bunch of bastards take advantage of the sea being right there. Whenever the army tries to hunt them down, they sail out to sea and move up and down the entire coastline."
"The coastal guards are limited. It's impossible to defend the entire coast. Strengthen one area and another becomes vulnerable, giving those pirates the perfect chance to slip in."
"Besides the pirate problem, the Duke Will, who assists in governing Southwell County, their family's reputation is terrible. Aside from collecting taxes, they're no better than some curly-haired baboon."
It was clear the Viscount harbored deep resentment toward the Duke, openly expressing his disgust.
"Their reputation is indeed quite bad. Even in Backlund, I've heard about it. But the current Duke Will has one virtue," Greg added.
Although he didn't say it outright, both Hastur and the Viscount knew that virtue was loyalty.
Because he was absolutely loyal, as long as no one rebelled en masse, the royal family turned a blind eye to many things.
The Duke was clever in his own way. He stayed in Southwell County, enjoyed himself, and had no ambition.
Such a vassal, though useless, gave the king great peace of mind.
Afterward, Hastur asked many more questions, and the Viscount answered them all, even promising to send him a map of Southwell County's power distribution.
With Greg as witness, Hastur finally paid the 15,000 gold pounds in exchange for a large pile of land.
The payment would be made in three instalments of 5,000 each, since he still needed to send people to Southwell County for verification.
Splitting the payments greatly reduced his risk.
With Greg as the guarantor, the Viscount had no objections.
After all, the wealth held by Duke Negan's heir was far beyond what 15,000 gold pounds represented.
Once business was finished, Hibbert, who happened to be handling matters at Bavart Bank today, invited Hastur out for some fun that evening.
"No, I still have things to take care of." Hastur would definitely not fall for Hibbert and Greg's trap. The two of them were absolutely planning to ask about him, Earl Hall, and Audrey.
…
By a little past nine, Hastur finally escaped.
He couldn't withstand Greg and Hibbert working together. He had originally agreed only to dinner, but they dragged him into drinking until he finally broke free just now.
As for their constant gossiping questions, Hastur could only dodge, pretend not to understand, and play dumb.
He genuinely had nothing to say anyway. After that day, he had not met Earl Hall or Audrey again.
"It's still a bit early."
After checking the time, Hastur decided to head to the Braveheart Bar. He hadn't visited in several days.
It wasn't far, only a ten-minute carriage ride.
The moment he stepped into the Braveheart Bar, Hastur spotted Leonard.
He had planned to greet him, but the moment he saw the woman Leonard was speaking with, his steps halted.
If he remembered correctly, that woman in the black dress was the Demoness of Black who saved that witch that night!
A genuine Sequence 3, Ageless Witch!
If he had known she would be here, Hastur would have rather stayed with Greg and Hibbert drinking.
Being teased by them was far better than facing a Sequence 3 head-on. But he had already walked in. He couldn't turn around and leave now.
In front of her, even the slightest movement could not escape her senses.
Fortunately, he had approached that night in spirit form, wearing the armor formed by the War Emblem. She had not seen his true appearance.
Hastur slowly walked in, sat at the edge of the bar, and ordered a cocktail, drinking quietly.
Leonard noticed his arrival but was in the middle of something important. He couldn't split his attention, so he only gave Hastur an apologetic look.
Hastur shifted slightly and couldn't help giving Leonard a mental thumbs-up.
This guy actually dared try flirting with a Sequence 3 witch!
With his inexperienced techniques, how could he possibly match someone like her?
It looked like he was doing everything he could to win the beauty's heart, but in reality, she was the real master angler.
She was merely pretending to be an innocent young girl, enjoying Leonard's performance to satisfy her… unusual tastes.
'Hm? Strange.'
Leonard couldn't detect her identity, but the old man in his body definitely could.
'Why didn't he warn Leonard?'
'Tsk tsk… So he wanted Leonard to experience a witch firsthand, huh?'
Hastur wanted to laugh but also spared Leonard a moment of silence.
Then he joined the silent crowd of onlookers.
Even from the edge of the bar, he could still hear Leonard's deliberately deep, mature-sounding voice.
And the witch's crisp, sweet voice like that of a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl.
What should this scene be called?
A seasoned playboy battling a master seductress?
Or a romantic poet facing off against an ageless witch?
Tsk. One trying to be a young bull charging an old carriage, the other an old cow eating young, tender grass.
This round… both sides were evenly matched.