"Mayer," Richard said with a smile.
"My Lord." Mayer bowed.
"Do you know? I'm suddenly a little disappointed in you."
"My lord... can you tell me why?"
"Of course. It's actually very simple. I originally thought you possessed several important qualities required of my subordinates, but the facts have proven otherwise."
"My lord!" Mayer cried out sincerely. "I am absolutely loyal to you. I can swear it in the name of my ancestors."
Are you trying to become a second Alex, that unscrupulous merchant from White Stone Tower...? I've dug up his ancestors' graves more than once... Are you planning to do the same? Though your ancestors' graves probably don't contain the Black Spirit King's Treasure... so they wouldn't be worth digging up.
Richard raised an eyebrow and met Mayer's earnest gaze. "I don't really doubt your loyalty... Actually, even if you weren't loyal, it wouldn't matter. I have more than enough ways to make you loyal. Believe me."
Richard nodded at Mayer with great conviction. After a pause, he continued, "Compared to loyalty, I value intelligence more, and your score in that regard is very low. First, the fact that you secretly supported the Bandit Group's raids in the Economic Union Area to obtain bloodstained money proves your stupidity.
"After all, supporting bandits in their plundering may allow you to accumulate a great deal of wealth in a short time, but in the long run, commercial development will stagnate or even regress. It simply cannot last. On the other hand, if you had enough foresight, you would see that maintaining public order and allowing commerce to flourish would bring astronomical sums from long-term trade taxes alone. Not to mention that, using your own power, you could seize a monopoly in one or several commercial sectors and reap enormous profits.