Sitting on the soft sofa, Banno looked tense. He sat with his back straight, staring at the floor before him without saying a word.
"Mr. Banno, you're way too nervous."
Seeing Banno like this, Mein spoke up curiously.
"Don't worry, Mr. Fang Zheng is very easy to talk to. He's a very nice person."
"Is that the issue here? You foolish girl!"
Hearing Mein's words, Banno felt his temper flare. As Mein's nominal employer, he knew more or less about her circumstances. He also knew that she had gone to live in Fang Zheng's castle. At the time, Banno had merely assumed that a noble had taken a liking to Mein—after all, commoner children with powerful mana were easily noticed and adopted by nobles. And if Mein wanted to cure her illness, that had been her only path, so Banno had not found it strange.
But back then, he had only thought Fang Zheng was an ordinary noble.
Yet after arriving at this castle, Banno understood that the person he was facing was absolutely no ordinary noble!
This kind of lavish decoration and these rooms... honestly, he would have believed this was the Royal Palace!
No, even the Royal Palace was probably not this luxurious!
"Tell me while we still have the chance: just who is this Lord Fang Zheng? And what exactly is your relationship with him?"
After checking that no one was nearby, Banno hurriedly asked. As a merchant, negotiating with someone without knowing their background was practically fatal. One wrong move, and he might end up being swallowed whole instead.
"Um... Mr. Fang Zheng and I? I suppose we're friends. Mr. Fang Zheng is an amazing person, but as for his status... I don't really know."
You little fool!
If he had not been worried that Fang