Chapter 162 Guests

Once again, a series of additional chapters for donation. Many thanks to swcowboy for their continued support of the book!

Additional Chapter

3/3

Chapter 1 - Main Plot

Chapter 2: Extra - A Day in Adam's Perspective

Chapter 3: Main Plot (current)

It took a while, but I managed to finish all three chapters on time. Once again, thank you for your support!

===

Manor of Adam. More than a hundred people lived here, not counting Adam's family. It was mainly the household staff, who were all women. Adam carefully selected them, and some he rescued from difficult situations, so they were completely devoted to him. Ekaterina, serving as the head housemaid, controlled all these people.

"Maidens, stand up straight! Your posture should be upright, but not arrogant!" Heeded the beautiful, cold female voice.

It was Ekaterina. She was dressed in a maid's uniform, and in her hand, she held a ruler. In front of her, more than a hundred maids lined up in perfect posture, all wearing smiles. This was part of the daily training organized by the head maid herself to maintain the level of education for the maids.

"All right, you can start your workday. And remember! There's no need to stand and gaze at the Master! Show courtesy!" Ekaterina said, furrowing her brows. historical

"Y-yes!"

The maids responded in unison to such a sharp request, and a lone drop of cold sweat rolled down the back of one of them. The maids had one problem, though I'm not sure if you can call it a problem. They were all obsessed with Adam to the last woman and considered him their life. Ekaterina was afraid that if something happened to Adam, she wouldn't even be able to control these women.

Sounds of footsteps echoed. The maids began to disperse to their respective tasks. The cooking team went to the kitchen, while the cleaning team headed to the storage and retrieved the necessary tools. Ekaterina sighed as the maids' meeting hall emptied. She turned on her heels and headed towards Adam's bedroom.

After a while, she reached the door and opened it without waiting for permission. As soon as the door swung open, she found black eyes continuously staring at her. It was her master, Adam.

"Good morning, Master. I couldn't get up before you again," Ekaterina said with a smile.

"Good morning, my dear," Adam replied.

If the maids were to see their head maid wearing such a warm smile now, they would probably have several heart attacks. They wouldn't believe their eyes.

***

Every day, more than two hundred visitors arrived at Adam's estate. Most of them were traders, and some were particularly well-known businessmen. However, Adam didn't personally receive all of them; usually, his wives Ekaterina and Chloe did that for him. It all depended on the guests and whether they truly deserved to meet the mayor of the city of Sedyon.

You could say that today was an unusually busy day as over a hundred guests arrived in the morning alone. All of them had questions of the utmost importance, mainly related to the company Adam had recently founded. The merger of well-known brands had caused quite a stir in Avalonia and other countries as well. Everyone unanimously decided to visit Adam to express their respect and thereby ensure friendly relations.

However, undoubtedly, it was impossible to receive so many guests at once. Therefore, the maids had to work at an accelerated pace, scheduling meetings for a whole week. On the first day, Adam received three important guests who had significant businesses in Avalonia.

"Good day, Sir Adam. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. It's an honor for me," said a man with a portly build.

He was dressed in a loose white robe and had light hair and blue eyes. He was friendly. This man was named Rayen, known as a master chef and a major businessman selling seafood. He was the type of person who could sell sand in the desert.

"Greetings, Sir Adam."

"Good day to you!"

The other two guests were slim and wore classic white suits. They were resplendent, wearing too many precious items. They had a ring on each finger, and they looked almost identical as if they were twins, which turned out to be true in the end.

"My name is Ken," introduced the slender man.

"And I'm Ben. We are twin brothers," introduced the second man.

They were identical, so Adam was slightly puzzled by this. But thanks to the fact that the source of magic always differed in people, he could discern who was who. His special glasses, obtained from the roulette, helped him with this. Standing up, Adam placed his hand on his heart and nodded, smiling warmly.

"My name is Adam. Thank you for understanding my situation and waiting for a whole hour. I sincerely apologize for that; my schedule has been too busy. Before we dive into business, I think it's a good idea to get to know each other a bit. How about we do that over a cup of tea, gentlemen?"

The trio exchanged glances and then nodded with smiles.

"With your permission, Sir Adam. Please forgive us for any inconvenience," apologized Rayen, with a friendly smile.

"Thank you very much!" Ken and Ben expressed their gratitude.

Adam just smiled and said they shouldn't worry about it. In his mind, he sent a message to Ekaterina, asking one of the maids to bring them coffee and the sweets he had received as a gift from Avalon. Sitting down at the expensive table, the guests were amazed by the quality of the chairs.

"Oh, Goddess of Light! What incredible softness!" Rayen exclaimed, "Sir Adam, forgive me for disturbing you, but I would like to know where you purchased these chairs!"

"Of course, of course!" Adam replied with a laugh, pointing to the armrest of the chair, "If you look closely, you'll find the initials 'VeR.' See here."

The guests squinted and carefully examined the spot Adam had indicated. And indeed, they found the initials with the same content as Adam had mentioned.

"Indeed! I saw these initials, but... Sir Adam, may I ask a question?" Ben raised an eyebrow. Seeing a nod from Adam, he continued, "Thank you. So, the initials 'VeR' are unfamiliar to me. Maybe I'm just not informed, but could you enlighten us about this brand?"

Adam was tempted to roll his eyes and say, "Well, you know everything," but decided to refrain from sharp expressions. He looked at his guests and, seeing their expectant faces, spoke cheerfully.

"Oh, of course, gentlemen. I'll explain everything. You see, I recently decided with my colleagues to merge our brands. As a result, we came up with the name Veridia, and the initials are an abbreviation we will use to mark our products. Of course, we'll still keep the old initials, but they will only appear on the more elite items."

"Oh, I see..."

Moans of satisfaction could be heard. The three traders showed a noticeable interest and satisfaction on their faces. It seemed they wanted to confirm the rumors about the merger since Adam hadn't made any official statements yet. Although...

"I've just been spreading rumors about it to attract investors," Adam thought, smiling as he watched the maid set the table. "Even though I have plenty of money, why not use others and expand my connections if I have the opportunity, right?"

The three guests were visibly delighted and began devouring the pastries, washing them down with expensive, aromatic coffee. Their reaction was understandable to Adam since everything he offered his guests was made from the most expensive ingredients and elite brands. This way, Adam created an impression of a generous and benevolent person.

And the traders greatly appreciated it. After half an hour of conversation, they dropped the formalities and openly shared their plans.

"Well, I, Adam, really wanted to open a new pastry shop, but damn, I have no talent for it, you know?" Rayen complained while gobbling down pastries one after another and washing them down with expensive, aromatic coffee. "I tried to create a good place and even hired skilled workers, but I just couldn't make it work."

"Rayen, you were trying to open a pastry shop in a place where it's not popular at all. In the south of Avalonia, people prefer spicy over sweet, so you could have just combined the two. But it seems you didn't agree with my advice," Ken interrupted, snorting, "That's why you lost a ton of money, and your store was so pitiful that it couldn't even be sold."

Adam smiled and occasionally nodded as he listened to them share more and more about their pasts. Gradually, he formed brief descriptions of them.

Rayen: His family has an ancient history and is in the business of selling seafood. He was born in a coastal city in Avalonia. He learned about trading from a young age, and tried to open several businesses, but nothing worked because he was stubborn and didn't listen to anyone. His character appears carefree at first glance, but in reality, he's cunning. He had attempted to learn Adam's identity, but he failed.

Ken and Ben: They are more professional at hiding their identity, but they let slip that they come from the south. Their business involves building materials, and their last name is K?lt. According to Wikipedia, their family has a long history in the business. They are located in Alnis, a resort city in southern Avalonia. Their characters are serious, vigilant, and kind, but also greedy. They have a dislike for the current government of Avalonia, and they have known Rayen for a long time.

Of course, it wasn't just Adam conducting an analysis; they were evaluating him as well.

"Adam. Not much is known about him, but the early stages of his career began in the city of Sedyon. He suddenly gained the support of the Queen of the underworld, well-known in the criminal underworld. With her financing, he was able to rebuild the city, which is now one of the most developed cities in Avalonia, and it has the largest influx of goods," Ben thought, narrowing his eyes. But soon, he returned to smiling, "Nothing is known about his personality. It's unclear what kind of person he is."

To be continued...