16: Chapter 16 Lord Loren, you are a good person

Loren's strategy of advancing by retreating directly changed the situation this morning, which should have been a fierce battle of words.

These chamber of commerce presidents, who had weathered many storms, were pinned to the ground by him, unable to move a muscle.

He firmly controlled the pace of the negotiations, implementing them one by one according to his own ideas.

In order to reach an agreement as quickly as possible and prevent Loren from going back on his word, the presidents were extremely straightforward, not even bothering with many of the smaller, negotiable conditions.

For example, they would provide funds to lease a manor in the city as the headquarters for the Bauhinia Trade Alliance and would purchase the necessary administrative staff to work there.

If Loren needed any supplies, they would sell them to him at cost and help transport them to his territory.

The cooperation agreement, consisting of thirty or forty articles in total, covered all aspects.

Two hours later, the terms were put down on paper.

Loren and the five chamber of commerce presidents signed six copies, and Loren also stamped his family crest on them.

After all this was done, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Loren was in a very good mood.

This time, a total of 25 million currency in franchise fees was collected, ensuring the funding for the territory's development.

At the very least, there was no need to worry for the next three months.

The five chambers of commerce were also extremely excited.

Once the contract was signed, there was no need to worry about Loren reneging on his word like he did this morning.

For the coming year, they would enjoy the privilege of conducting business with low tax rates.

Moreover, once the Bauhinia Trade Alliance was established, they would have the protection of the Bauhinia Family and could develop without restraint.

Both sides gained something and were extremely satisfied with the cooperation.

When Fiana took the cooperation agreement that Loren had asked her to put away and saw the figure of 25 million currency, her expression was somewhat dazed.

Yesterday, Loren was still a loser who went to the Fairy Bank for a loan and sought support from a noble friendly with the Bauhinia Family, only to be rejected and left sitting on the floor of his room crying.

In just one short night, he had conjured up 25 million out of thin air.

Although the cooperation was achieved because of his noble status as a descendant of the Bauhinia Family, isn't status a form of one's own strength?

Is it only correct to abandon one's noble status and act like a peasant adventurer, rolling around on the ground for a few hundred currency?

Moreover, she understood clearly that it was Loren who had made this cooperation happen in just one night.

If it were someone else, even if they had a more noble status than Loren, these shrewd merchants would likely have dragged it out for ten days or half a month, sending people to the capital of the Falcon Kingdom to investigate the situation clearly before agreeing to pay.

But when facing this extraordinary young man, those shrewd merchants had no room to resist and were firmly kept in his control.

Loren's precise manipulation of human psychology allowed the cooperation to be successfully accelerated to just one night.

In just this one day, the surprises Loren gave her were more than in the two months they had spent together—no, in those two months she hadn't felt surprise, only disappointment...

The girl's cold expression softened significantly, and there seemed to be light in her eyes once again.

Perhaps, there was still hope for everything...

After signing the agreement, they had to go to the City Hall for registration.

After registration, the chamber of commerce would receive special documents.

In the future, whenever taxes were audited, they only needed to show these documents to receive corresponding tax exemptions.

Of course, this registration needed to be handled by the noble personally.

As a direct descendant of the Bauhinia Family, Loren had 5 quotas for chamber of commerce tax exemptions, and this time, he had used them all at once.

After the registration was completed, the chamber of commerce's tax-exemption quota would be reported to the Noble Council of Elders.

The Noble Council of Elders would update the list of noble chambers of commerce every half month and distribute the list to various territories of the Silver Moon Kingdom.

This completed the nationwide tax-exemption registration.

The process for cancelling a chamber of commerce registration was exactly the same.

Clatter, clatter~ Clatter, clatter~

Six carriages, driven by coachmen, headed toward the City Hall.

In the middle carriage, Loren and Fiana sat inside, while Arnold sat with the coachman just like last night.

Only now did Loren have time to size up this Thief, whose aura had undergone a transformation and who was permeated with the scent of blood.

Eye of Truth.

Arnold.

Level: Bronze Intermediate.

Bloodline: Human Bloodline (B-Rank, Awakened).

Bloodline Talent: Presence Concealment (B-Rank). When silent, one's presence is extremely low, capable of avoiding the perception of ordinary people.

Class: Shadow Thief (B-Rank).

Class Skill: Invisibility (B-Rank). Makes oneself completely invisible.

After the strength reaches Platinum Rank, Invisibility will allow one to become intangible and pass through walls.

Loyalty: 92.

Description: A human with decent talent as a Thief; perhaps he can steal something while others are asleep.

Arnold had actually awakened?!!

And the bloodline rank this guy awakened was B-.

With such potential, he could even reach Platinum Rank in the future.

But what made him curious was, what happened last night?

Subconsciously, he opened the system panel and pulled up several messages that he had ignored because he had fallen asleep.

"Ding~ Your subordinate Arnold killed an enemy (Bronze), gaining 1 point of Soul Power."

"Ding~ Your subordinate Arnold killed an enemy (Silver), gaining 5 points of Soul Power."

"Ding~..."

Apart from these messages, the Soul Power panel, which he had never known the use of, had risen to 32 points.

This made him thoughtful.

Soul Power didn't seem that simple...

"Arnold, why did you suddenly advance to Bronze Intermediate? The Bloodline Power in you seems to have awakened... Are you not going to tell me about what happened last night?"

Arnold hadn't returned until nearly dawn last night, and after appearing this morning, he had looked murderous.

Loren looked at that thin, small body and rubbed his chin.

Could it be that he was cornered in a small alley last night by several big men with peculiar hobbies, and then in a fit of rage, Arnold successfully activated his Bloodline Power and ended up taking their first blood??

Hearing this, Arnold turned his head, looking at Loren with eyes full of gratitude and worship.

"Lord Loren, this is all your gift..."

"What does this have to do with me?" Loren was confused.

Afterward, Arnold recounted in detail what had happened at the Orphanage last night, finally saying with a fanatical tone.

"Every time I kill an enemy, I feel myself getting a little stronger!"

"If it weren't for your gift, I fear I would have already been thrown into the sewer by those damn bastards to be gnawed on by rats."

"It is your radiance that shines upon me, allowing me to awaken my Bloodline Power at the critical moment!!"

"It is your gaze watching over me from afar, preventing me from losing my fighting spirit when I fell!!"

"It is your trust that gave me infinite power, allowing me to bravely face powerful enemies!!"

"Praise to the great you, I will be eternally loyal to you, my master..."

Loren's mouth twitched as he listened.

If you want to flatter me, just flatter me, but why use parallel sentences? Just because you've written essays, huh...

Listening to this, it seemed that Arnold had obtained the upgrade after killing enemies, relying on the system's upgrade feature.

"Are you sure that after killing an enemy, you gain power?"

"Yes, Lord Loren, I am sure. This must be your magic, right? I knew it, you are not an ordinary noble lord!"

Looking at Arnold, who was almost obsessed, Loren's mouth twitched.

After slightly regaining his composure, he also felt some emotion.

This world was truly not ordinarily chaotic; there were actually people who dared to brazenly abduct children from such a highly sensitive place as an Orphanage.

"How are those children now? How have you arranged for them?"

Upon hearing this, the excited expression on Arnold's face disappeared for the most part.

After a moment of silence, he gritted his teeth and said.

"Lord Loren, they have no family left in this world.

Each of them was brought back by me from outside, so I hope to continue raising them..."

"Of course, you don't need to worry too much.

They will go out to beg for food.

For the older ones, I will arrange for them to work as helpers in shops.

They will always find a way to survive..."

They will always find a way to survive.

Loren chewed on this sentence, his eyes softening significantly.

"After the Trade Alliance is established, find a new place nearby to settle those orphans.

I will find someone to teach them to read and write, and they can stay in the Trade Alliance to help out in the future."

Arnold's heart trembled, and his nose suddenly felt sore.

This Thief, who hadn't made a sound last night even with several broken ribs, now had red-rimmed eyes.

He said chokingly, "Thank you for your kindness, Lord Loren... You are the best person in this world."

Damn it, why is a grown man giving me a "good person" card?

Loren glared at him crossly, then leaned back in the carriage and said no more.

Fiana, with her cold gaze, softened slightly upon hearing Loren's words.

This man was not entirely without merit.

But thinking of how, after she scolded Loren yesterday, his attitude toward her had become very bad, that slight change in her heart was thrown a hundred thousand miles away.

She turned her head away with a cold face and stopped looking at him.

Loren glanced at Fiana, feeling baffled.

He hadn't said a word to her, so why did this girl have an expression as if he were a sinner?

Afterward, he couldn't be bothered to pay more attention and began to close his eyes and rest.

Years of experience rolling in the waves told him: never try to figure out what a girl is thinking, because sometimes they don't even know what they are thinking themselves.

They don't understand, yet they crave for you to understand...