The Herb King

"Sir Aethelwolf, I've been looking for you everywhere." Henry walked up to Aethelwolf eagerly.

"Oh, Henry! I was so busy in the last few days. I barely even slept." Aethelwolf forced out a smile while saying this.

Henry chuckled when he heard his words. He then moved closer to him and said. "Sir Aethelwolf, the construction of your clothing shop is finally completed. You can send someone to check it later and just tell me if you want to add something to the shop."

Aethelwolf was pleased by his efficiency. "Not bad! I'll send Hyacinth later to check the shop. By the way, Henry. Do you know someone who sells an item called Soul Jade? I need it to craft something."

Soul Jade is a very rare magical stone that can only be extracted in the deepest parts of the world's crust. It is an item that is mainly used to seal souls. Aethelwolf needed it as the core material for making the item that can turn Olivia into a human.

Henry's eyes squinted as soon as the topic shifted to business. "Soul Jade, do you mean the precious magical stone that can seal souls?" He could not help but ask. It was a very precious mineral with a value that was comparable to a Unique-Rated item!

Aethelwolf nodded his head. "That's right."

Henry pondered for a moment before he said. "I know one person that possesses a Soul Jade, but you have to keep in mind that this item is very expensive. The last time it was auctioned for 100,000,000 gold coins. The man who bought it was Sir Brian Linaza. I don't know if he still has the Soul Jade, but I can ask him for you."

"Thanks. I owe you one, Henry." Aethelwolf said while patting Henry's shoulder.

Henry smiled widely and replied. "No problem! Anything for you, Sir Aethelwolf!" He could finally repay Aethelwolf for giving him the Awakening Pellet. "Just wait for my good news." Henry said before he walked away.

Aethelwolf led the others to sit down in an inconspicuous corner of the banquet hall.

"Sir Aethelwolf, do you know why Sir Brian hosted a banquet?" Janrose asked in a low voice.

Aethelwolf glanced at her and replied with a smile. "Henry said that it's an annual banquet. Perhaps this is Sir Brian's way of maintaining his place as the top merchant of the Leone Empire. All the people he invited here are elites and befriending them would be beneficial to the Merchant Association. Everyone also knows this, but they willingly came here since it is a win-win situation for them."

Janrose revealed a confused look and when Aethelwolf saw this, he rubbed her head gently and chuckled as he said. "Just stick to Alchemy..."

Hyacinth and Anton laughed when they heard the exchange between the two, while Albert and Ramiel remained stoic.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Hm?

Aethelwolf turned his head when he heard some people moving towards them.

"Eh? Grace?" Janrose exclaimed in surprise when she spotted Grace.

Aethelwolf scanned the three people. They were Grace, Julie, and an old man he never met before.

"Aethelwolf, we would like to speak with you privately. By the way, this is our father, Raven Urgel." Julie looked at Aethelwolf, her expression was hidden behind her veil.

Raven Urgel?

Aethelwolf stood up and smiled at them. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Raven." He shook hands with the old man.

"So young and accomplished. You are a perfect match for my daughter! Hahaha! This girl has been talking a lot about you in the last few days." Raven looked like a gentle neighborhood grandpa with his long white hair and a pair of murky eyes.

Julie's eyes twitched when she heard this and she immediately pulled the shameless old man to prevent him from embarrassing her further.

Aethelwolf could only awkwardly chuckle.

"Since this spot is quiet, I believe it's fine if we chat here." Julie sat in his opposite direction. "You told me that there are five steps of winemaking. I want to hear more about it. In exchange for your information, we will give you ten percent of the shares from the total profit of our wine shops. What do you think?"

Raven smirked and silently took a seat beside Julie. His daughter was so smart that she was already managing the entire business of their Urgel Household. Her strength was also about to reach his level, but her growth made him feel a bit alarmed. It would be difficult for her to find the right husband candidate because of her overwhelming talent. However, when he heard his daughter talking about a man for the first time, it made him excited. He investigated Aethelwolf and the more he learned about the young man, the more satisfied he was. Aethelwolf was the only man perfect for his daughter!

Aethelwolf narrowed his eyes when he heard the offer. It was very tempting since Julie was only asking for information related to the wine-making process. He would need a lot of money for his future plans so this was a great opportunity for him. However, he knew the true value of the information he has and it was definitely more than what Julie has offered.

Thinking about this, he put on a nonchalant smile as he leaned on his chair. "I think you don't know the value of the information I have, Miss Julie. With this knowledge, I can create my own wine shop chain and I'm confident that my wines would be more popular than what you currently sell in your stores. The ten percent you offered is just spare change compared to the true value of this information." He said while pointing at his head.

Everyone silently stared at the face-off between Aethelwolf and Julie.

Julie furrowed her eyebrows and asked hesitantly. "Then, to what price are you willing to sell that information?"

Aethelwolf interlocked his fingers as he looked at Julie with a smile. "51% of your wine shops' total profit. That is my price."