In the private chamber, Adam leisurely sipped wine with Alexander. Two maids massaged Adam''s shoulders while Alexander mumbled something to himself, looking rather miserable.


    With his eyes closed, Adam relished the moment but was interrupted by the smell of smoke. He opened one eye, intrigued.


    "A cigarette?" Adam raised an eyebrow, looking slightly taken aback.


    "Huh? You know about these things?" Alexander shook the cigarette box, and Adam frowned, recognizing the familiar design. "These have been popr in Silvana for the past two years. I remember one guy making quite a fortune selling these. Although he had some legal troubles and is currently in prison,


    "I see… Lend me the pack." Adam nodded and reached out his hand, to which Alexander looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Alicia, give our guest a shoulder massage."


    Adam turned to one of the girls massaging his shoulders, and she nodded, changing her position. Immediately, Alexander stiffened in his chair, closed his eyes, and let out a long groan.


    "Well?"


    Shhh.


    Alexander tossed the pack to Adam and closed his eyes. Adam nced at him, then rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair, twirling the pack in his hands. He frowned...


    "Somewhat like Marlboro. It''s simr to everything, even the smell... everything except the name." Opening the pack, Adam took a cigarette and put it in his mouth, lighting it up. "And the taste is simr too. What are the chances that there might be people from Earth here? Not zero... I need to investigate this."


    Adam closed his eyes and continued to smoke. It felt like more than a hundred years since he hadst smoked.


    "Every day, after work, I smoked while sitting on the balcony. Sometimes, if I had enough money, I''d have a beer too. Of course, to call that swill beer would be an insult to the name." Adam grimaced, thinking about it. Then he opened his eyes and asked Alexander, "What was the second prince''s reaction to my refusal?"


    Alexander flinched, straightening up and looking somewhat irritated. His gaze was fixed on Adam, who didn''t quite understand the reason for his anger.


    "Man, do you know what a difficult task you''ve left me with? That bastard, the second prince, kept screaming in my ear about how arrogant and self-centered you are. For three hours, I tried to convince the prince that dealing with you was extremely dangerous. Consider it as me saving your ass!" Alexander grimaced. "By the way, speaking of the prince and his ilk..."


    Alexander looked at Adam seriously and asked, "What''s your answer?"


    Closing his eyes, Adam remembered the letter. The sender was unknown, and getting involved with strangers, especially someone from Silvana would be extremely dangerous.


    "You''re asking a few tricky questions. Answering... will be difficult, considering I don''t know the identity of the letter''s sender." Adam opened his eyes and squinted, looking at Alexander. "It would be very helpful if you could exin the person''s identity to me. Perhaps that would aid the cause."


    "Man, do you think I know everything? The only thing I know is that this is an important person with great influence." Alexander shrugged. "I was only given one order: if the answer is ''yes, I will apany you politely and with all the courtesies to the capital."


    "Hmm..."


    Adam smiled and looked into Alexander''s eyes. It seemed that he was speaking sincerely, and after spending so many days together, Adam didn''t think Alexander would deceive him.


    "Then I agree."


    Slumping in his chair, Adam closed his eyes, extinguishing the cigarette.


    "The meeting will be in this city. I won''t ept any other location."


    With a gesture, Adam instructed a girl to pour wine for him. Alexander snorted but didn''t refuse.


    ***


    Sedyon City


    An entirely new city situated not far from the Three Borders. Given the abundance of goods and new entertainment options, the city quickly became popr. Although located within Elfaheim territory, there were surprisingly few elves in the city.


    Nevertheless, the city gained renown for its safety and diverse assortment of merchandise. Many wealthy merchants praised it, even scheduling important business meetings there.


    Overall, the business was thriving, and Amarantha used the proceeds to develop the city. New establishments for tourists appeared, as well as a bank.


    "I heard they opened a bank here. To be honest, I didn''t understand the concept at first, but they say you can leave money there for safekeeping and even borrow from them!" One of the guests on the first floor of the brothel enthusiastically narrated.


    They sat around a round table—three well-dressed men, all from the human race, exuding an aura of wealth, making them unmistakably extraordinary individuals.


    And the man who had spoken about the bank looked somewhat peculiar if that''s an apt description. He wore many sparkling gemstones, and his attire included a high-quality cashmere hat with a precious stone, an Egyptian cotton shirt adorned with gemstones, a cashmere coat with fur detailing and golden embroidery, elegant leather boots with embroidery, golden rings, and a bracelet.


    His name was Grishin, a wealthy merchant from Silvana and a traveler who had seen manynds and was well-versed in business. Therefore, he was fascinated by the concept of the bank proposed by the city of Sedyon.


    "I don''t want to offend you, gentlemen, but doesn''t it seem highly unreliable to entrust our hard-earned savings to a group of unknown people? We''ve earned our wealth with blood and sweat." A concerned young man of Asian appearance, dressed in a white robe, asked


    "Yakutosaki, you always speak like this, but then you''re always left behind! Tell me, wasn''t your paranoia that nearly drove you to bankruptcy" Another man, simrly dressed as Grishin, expressed his displeasure. "For your information, sir, we''ve already entrusted our funds to this bank! I''ve also invested money in their new project!"


    "New project, you say. Arnold, you never told me about this!" Grishin smiled and yfully squeezed the chest of one of the prostitutes, eliciting a flirtatious moan from her. "With your permission, I''d like to know more about it!"


    "Grishin, we''re friends for life, and we''ve coborated extensively. We''ve been through thick and thin together, like brothers. So...," Arnold looked around and waved his hand, summoning them closer.


    "Hmm?" Grishin and Yakutosaki exchanged nces and then leaned forward.


    "This is confidential, honestly, but... You''re my friends, so I''ll tell you." Arnold smiled and ced the paper on the table. "Just don''t mention it to anyone, alright?"


    Grishin and Yakutosaki nodded aggressively and then snatched the paper, almost tearing it apart. Apologizing to each other for their roughness, they began reading together.


    Idorvam Bank offers you, our valued client, an excellent way to increase your wealth. The essence is to deposit a certain amount of Dragon Stones, and we will invest them in developing business ventures.


    What do we offer?


    1. High-profit rates: We guarantee substantial returns from your initial investment.


    2. Rapid growth: One year? Two years? Be assured, within a month you will already see ie!


    3. Risk: We guarantee no risk, and your funds will always be preserved and returned ording to the contract terms.


    To demonstrate our sincerity, our bank will provide you with a guarantee certificate, and in case of any breach on our part, we will gratuitously pay 10 tinum Dragon Stones.


    For further details, please contact our main office.


    Thank you for being our valued client.


    Idorvam Bank]


    (A/N: This is not a tutorial. Just making it clear.)


    The two men were astonished and impressed by this project. If they weren''t mistaken, they wouldn''t need to do anything other than invest their funds.


    "No, wait... doesn''t this sound too good? Firstly, what rational businessman would agree to multiply the funds of theirpetitors, even with high-interest payments, and officially stipte such a substantialpensation amount?" Yakutosaki frowned, trying to dissuade the two men. "Gentlemen, just so you know, there''s no such thing as a free lunch. And I''d like to warn you about the danger!"


    "No, everything is fine. I''m sure we can make a profit from this."


    "Yakutosaki, if you don''t want to, it''s your choice." Arnold suddenly said this and squinted his eyes. "But if you end up bankrupt again, we won''t help, alright?"


    "You...!"


    Yakutosaki trembled with anger and disappointment, realizing that his words were not taken seriously. He clenched his teeth and breathed heavily, feeling irritated.


    "Fine! I ept your challenge. But just this once!"


    "What a braved, bing a true man."


    "Gentlemen, the path to being a great trader is tough, and it requires taking risks. But rest assured, they will pay off!"


    "Let''s drink to that! My treat!"


    "Haha! Do you have enough money for that?"


    The three businessmen spent a jolly time in the brothel, apanied by the prostitutes, not sparing any expense. They even ordered a striptease show and eventually headed to the second floor.


    But they weren''t the only ones aware of the investment project. Everyone who invested more than 200 tinum Dragon Stones in Idorvam Bank received such an invitation. And 87% of these businessmen decided to invest their money.


    As a result, the cash flow was so overwhelming that Adam spent a long time figuring out the issue and couldn''t sleep for a week, organizing documents and overseeing the bank''s development. Amarantha couldn''t help with this, as she didn''t quite understand the concept of a bank.


    Thus, Adam had to take on 90% of the work and simultaneously teach the employees the craft. Given that Amarantha provided him with intelligent workers, Adam already saw results.


    And so, two days after the conversation with the merchants,


    "Ha-ah. Tired as hell." Adam grimaced when he helplessly slumped onto his desk. "How I want to sleep. But I need to endure for the sake of money."


    Although Adam could exchange money for real currency at any time, he wanted to preserve Seduction Points for other tasks.


    Closing his eyes, Adam immersed himself in the system space and saw a choice before him.


    [Royal Arena] | [Hall of Meditation] | [Skills] | [Chamber of Commerce] | [Inventory]


    [Avable Lucky Blocks for today: 20]


    [Open x1] | [Open x10]


    "Huh... It''s been a while since I''ve been here."