Important Matters

Chapter 17: Important Matters

Richter's Curiosities was especially deserted in the morning. Though it had already opened, hardly anyone came in. After all, it was morning. On weekdays, people hurried off to work; on weekends, they slept in. So at this hour, shops other than markets and breakfast joints had little business. Besides, even if someone had watched a collection of American and Japanese horror movies the night before and gotten so scared they wet themselves and lost their minds, they should go to the hospital instead of buying a protective charm. And Chinese horror movies didn't count—they could only be watched as comedies. So it was perfectly understandable that no one came around at this time.

But if things were like this twenty-four hours a day, that would be a sad story. To be honest, Evenson had thought of ways to attract business and increase revenue when he first started out, and he had put in the effort.

For example, in the dead of night, he would stop some single women in secluded alleys, then... heh heh... then use his Magic to create terrifying light and shadow effects. Or he would sneak into the homes of wealthy people and cast a Fear Spell on sleeping tycoons. He had thought this would make his protective charm and exorcism business boom.

But, heh heh.

The only results of those actions were feeding a group of tabloid reporters, bringing in revenue for psychiatric hospitals, and providing material for urban legends. Sigh, life really was unpredictable.

So there was hardly anyone in the shop now. More precisely, there was only the owner, Evenson Richter himself, his four employees, and one dog.

Sitting behind the counter, Evenson read the newspaper with a cup of coffee beside him, taking a sip now and then. Naturally, it was instant coffee. Why not tea? Heh, when he could only afford cheap instant coffee, did anyone really expect him to drink tea imported from China?

After finishing the coffee in his cup, he casually handed it to Sarah, who sat beside the cash register. "Did things go smoothly last night? You didn't leave any loose ends, did you?"

Sarah picked up the coffee pot and poured him another cup. "It went perfectly. I may not be a combat-type demon, but dealing with a few ordinary people is easy enough."

Evenson took the coffee, found it a little hot, and set it aside for the moment. "No bloodstains? And the bodies were disposed of cleanly?"

Sarah took out a cup and poured herself some coffee. "I don't think snapping someone's neck with a whip requires any blood. As for whether the bodies were dealt with cleanly, that depends on Dumen's digestion. I stuffed them all into him anyway."

"No one saw you, right?" Evenson was still uneasy.

"Please, I went there invisible." Sarah looked like she was saying, I'm a total professional, you know.

"Then I'm relieved." Evenson let out a long breath.

"By the way, Boss, why did you suddenly take the initiative this time?" Sarah was somewhat puzzled. In the past, unless the Deadlock Gang came to their door looking to die, they followed the rule of not provoking others unless provoked. So why had they struck first yesterday? And this was right after he had assured S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that unless someone came all the way over to hand him their head, he would stay home and absolutely not go out causing trouble. Yet the moment they left, he had gone on a killing spree—an unstoppable one at that.

"I think the reason our shop's business is so bad has a lot to do with how rampant the local gangs are. So I've decided to start cracking down on crime. Once public safety improves, I believe we'll get more customers." Evenson spoke with a straight face as he looked at the newspaper.

"Tch. Fine, don't tell me." Sarah curled her lip, not believing a word of it. But she had no interest in prying further. As a Sorcerer's demon, if the boss told you to kill someone, you just went and killed them. What was the point of asking so many questions? Besides, no Sorcerer ever explained such things to their demons.

"I'm telling the truth. Believe it or not." Evenson shrugged. It was true, of course, but only part of the reason.

Evenson flipped the newspaper to the front page, intending to see the headline. But if he was only looking at the front page now, what had he been reading before? The business section, naturally. Most of Evenson's income now came from dividends on stocks he had bought in the past, so he treasured them dearly. They determined whether, in the coming months, he would have to use his dwindling stock of soul crystals to go to the Twisted Nether and trade with demons for Gold Coins and gems to support the household.

Speaking of which, rumors had started spreading through the part of the Nether he frequented about some idiot, money-grubbing Sorcerer. A group of weaker demons had even begun hoarding Gold Coins. With their strength, they normally had almost no trading value. Now that there was finally a Sorcerer who wanted neither power nor knowledge, how could they not seize the chance? A brain-dead Sorcerer like that would not live long. If he died, they would lose their opportunity. As for the powerful demons, they declared that they would resolutely fight this corrupt trend and never join in.

But when he saw the front-page headline, Evenson was visibly stunned. It read: Tony Stark had won this year's Apex Award, and the ceremony would be held in Las Vegas tomorrow night.

Seeing that, Evenson felt it seemed familiar. After thinking carefully, he realized that Tony Stark was about to face a major disaster. It seemed that not long after receiving this award, he would be kidnapped in the Middle East. Then, in a cave, with a pile of scrap metal, a hammer, and a welding torch, he would assemble a suit of combat armor. With it, he would wipe out the dozens of armed terrorists guarding him. It could only be said that Tony Stark truly lived up to his name. He was not the sort of person who got high grades but lacked practical ability. He was a real genius, with broad knowledge and incredible hands-on skill.

But aside from making Evenson think such pointless things as This guy is ridiculously lucky and Could he be a goblin reincarnated?, he knew he had something extremely important to do.

Evenson immediately put down the newspaper and shouted frantically at Sarah, "Sarah, hurry! Sell all our Stark Industries stock. Buy Justin Hammer instead."

Sarah looked horrified. "Boss, have you lost your mind? Do you want us to live on instant noodles all next month?"

"Hmph. The greatest hardships forge the greatest men." Evenson said mysteriously. But under Sarah's look that clearly said, Did Hubbs chew your brain out?, he finally couldn't keep it up. "Anyway, don't worry about it. If we score big this time, we'll make a fortune."

"Hmph. This is exactly how some rotten gambling men trick their hard-working wives out of all their savings." Sarah said with a look of contempt and disgust.

Evenson thought about it and had to admit that it did sound rather similar. But he quickly snapped back. "What the hell am I tricking you out of? It's my money. What's it got to do with you?" Then he immediately grabbed the computer and began operating it himself.

Sarah, meanwhile, felt that they could only eat instant noodles next month. Looking utterly dead inside, she discussed it with Tyler, and in the end they decided that if things really came to it, they would stew Hubbs.

P.S. Recommendations come on the fifteenth, so tomorrow—uh, today—and the fifteenth will both have two updates.