"King" Augustus Kanter

Seeing the pitiful middle-aged man trembling all over, Iver couldn't help but smile.

The King's personality is quite interesting...

Iver made it clear to him that he and Isabel were acquaintances. This was undoubtedly a gesture of goodwill, because neither the ministers nor Princess Avalon had any obligation to tell him this secret.

—But he started shaking even more violently.

What was he afraid of? Was it because he was worried about knowing information he shouldn't have and feared being silenced? Or did he think he was doomed, so Iver revealed these things to make him understand why he died? Seeing that Mr. "King" didn't dare to speak, Iver could only reach out and tap the armrest, trying to attract his attention with his voice.

"Name," Iver asked.

"Augustus Kant".

Mr. "King" replied.

... Augustus? Iver was taken aback for a moment.

What a great name! No wonder you chose the code name "King"...

He sighed inwardly.

Augustus the title of the Roman Empire emperor. In this world, the emperor of the Herasul Empire also used this title for a period of time.

The Stibium Kingdom is the country that has preserved the traditions of the Herasul Empire the best, so it's not surprising that the King knows about this historical anecdote.

The most formidable ones were indeed the King's parents.

To draw an analogy, this is similar to a child's surname being Huang, so the parents name him "Huang Shang"; or the surname being Bi, so the child is named "Bi Xia".

—If this happened in modern times, he would probably just be laughed at by his classmates.

But the problem is, the Stibium Kingdom where he lives really has King and nobles!

You have brave, yet sick, parents. Iver thought to himself.

Iver tried hard to suppress the subtle emotions in his heart and adjusted his expression to prevent himself from laughing easily.

He continued with a stern face, "Your path and profession? What are you here for? Tell me honestly."

"I am a botanist who pursues Equilibrium Path."

Augustus answered proactively, "I am now at the Second Level, and I just went through the Promotion Ritual on that ship yesterday."

He felt remorse when he mentioned this.

Just last night, a very friendly ceremonial master from the ship came over to personally guide his Promotion Ritual.

A few days earlier, the people on board had shared their experiences of the Promotion Ritual with him. At that time Augustus repeatedly praised them as kind people. They toasted each other and formed a brief friendship that lasted less than three days in a warm atmosphere.

So when the Augustus saw their new friends expertly brandishing their weapons and attacking the officials with deadly ferocity, they were completely terrified.

What happened?! Why are my newly made friends beating up the cops like crazy?!

Oh, these aren't even inspectors equivalent to the police of the Stibium Kingdom, but rather supervisors. They're more like Star Antimony's special agents, or Royal Secret Agent... Otherwise, given their seamless teamwork, if there were fewer than twenty cops, they could probably wipe them all out in an instant.

That would be murder!

This was not murder in the ordinary sense; it was even a case of actively attacking and killing them in broad daylight!

In that instant, Augustus guessed their identities.

—I don't think this ship I'm going to board is a notorious smuggling vessel from Avalon!

"Someone save me! I'm going to be killed!" "By the hourglass above, I'm a legitimate businessman! I've never committed smuggling, let alone fraud! I always give people the right weight; I've never made money by dishonest means!"

Augustus shuddered at the thought and immediately raised his hand to swear, "In the name of the Hourglass, I swear that everything I've done before has always been legitimate business... You may not know, but it was precisely because I refused to associate with those people that I couldn't survive in Star Antimony..."

"I met that person at Promotion Ritual some time ago; his code name at the time was 'Deer Antlers.' He claimed he needed a large quantity of Plant Essential Oil and ordered 800 White Crown Coin from me. That's roughly equivalent to 500 Gold Coins in our area—a huge order."

"He paid half the deposit and said that I only needed to send half of the goods first. He would pay the other half later, and I would send the rest of the goods. I've been in this business for a long time, but I've never met such an easy-going customer. Usually, it's the goods first and then the balance is paid... He acted like he wasn't afraid I would skip out on the payment at all."

—Of course, now he knows why.

Augustus immediately understood why he wasn't afraid of skipping out on his bill when he thought of the dozens of extraordinary mercenaries on the ship, each with different paths and high ranks.

If I skipped out on the bill and got caught, they probably wouldn't be so friendly...

"I just want to see if he has any other needs... It's rare to find such a generous client, so I want to sign a long-term trade agreement."

Augustus unusual sincerity, "I'm prepared to pay the customs duties! I even brought the money... Those goods are all Plant Essential Oil. According to Avalon's customs law, Plant Essential Oil are not classified as Alchemy Material, but as plant products, and the customs duty is only 12%... This is the first batch of goods, worth four hundred white crowns. I brought fifty White Crown Coin with me this time, so even if the customer doesn't intend to pay the tax, I can make up the difference myself..."

He felt very wronged when he said this.

He thought it was a windfall, a huge order. Turns out, there's no such thing as a free lunch!

It's rare to encounter a customer who doesn't haggle much, pays in advance, and orders in huge quantities, but it turns out they're involved in smuggling...

No wonder he didn't haggle. It turns out he didn't need to go through customs at all.

The import tariff on Avalon's antimony -Alchemy Product is a whopping 54%, and the Alchemy Material is 30%. Essentially, the goods can't get in.

If Mr. "Deer Antlers" can bypass customs, it means he not only has an abundant supply of goods, but his costs are also half that of others. This means that if he makes a move, he can easily monopolize the market.

Augustus was not a fool.

He now understood why the deer antlers were being shipped in such a large quantity...

This could be considered an investment in himself. After all, if he can make Plant Essential Oil, he can make other types of plant-based Alchemy Material. What he's doing now is building connections with himself; once he advances to the Second Level, he'll be able to produce some simple alchemical products, and also mass-produce Alchemy Material and byproducts... That's exactly what he's aiming for!

Simply put, all he wanted was money, but he also wanted his man! Augustus filled with regret. "Why did I suddenly have the idea to come and see for myself..."

People really shouldn't be greedy...

He didn't actually need to come along this time. The reason he came was simple: he wanted to see if such a wealthy tycoon needed anything else—things he might be able to make himself, so he wouldn't have to buy from anyone else; he could provide everything in one place, and at a lower price.

If we can successfully secure some business, we won't lack orders for at least a few years.

But now, just thinking about it makes Augustus feel a chill.

"Deer Antlers" alone has hired dozens of mercenaries.

If I find out he's a smuggler and tries to run away, I'll probably be caught and brought back...

After all, he did sell goods here and made dirty money. That will give him leverage over them.

... But it feels like the life-or-death crisis has simply moved from the back to the front. Smuggling Case over two hundred gold coins is a death sentence in Xingti. He could be beheaded at least three times.

"Minister Moriarty, please see the truth!"

The King said with a pained expression, "Whatever you require of me, I will obey your orders. Whether it's reporting that former minister or anything else, I can't go to jail—I still have a family to support! My daughter is waiting for me at home..."

Although Augustus now knew that the unusually young minister and the Princess were acquaintances he had met at the Promotion Ritual.

But at this moment, he didn't dare to be overly familiar with the other party by calling him "Fox".

Augustus had a very clear understanding of his status as a prisoner.

—Never be arrogant or think you can gain anything from this. Just surviving this wave is already a good outcome.

If this were on Xingti, he would probably already be dragged into a secret room for torture.

I heard that Avalon values the law and evidence, so there's probably still hope for him... probably.

That's a load of rubbish!

—All the evidence he could produce was in his dreams!