Chapter Twenty-Six: Damar

“Haha, you don’t think I can’t pay the bill, do you?” As he spoke, Chu Tian took out a transparent crystal card from his spatial ring and waved it before Damar. “This should be enough to cover it, right?”

Damar’s mouth fell open wide as he stared in awe at the crystal card in Chu Tian’s hand, nodding with envy. “More than enough—it could buy the entire hotel!”

In the beginning, the continent’s currency was largely stored on crystal cards, divided into purple, gold, and silver. Each color corresponded to a minimum deposit: hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands of gold coins. The purple crystal card was the highest tier, requiring at least ten thousand gold coins to use.

But as the wealth of the continent’s magnates grew, even the purple crystal card’s minimum could no longer satisfy their needs. So, thirty years ago, the richest families and powerful nations joined forces with the Magic Guild to launch the colorless crystal card with a minimum deposit of one hundred thousand gold coins. The advent of the colorless card caused a mad rush, but few could muster such funds, and its application process was exceedingly stringent—only those of considerable power and fortune could acquire one. In all the Caesar Empire, there were barely twenty such cards in existence.

Thus, possessing a colorless crystal card now signified the highest status. Chu Tian’s acquisition of the card was thanks to the first batch of smuggling profits.

Once Barbosa resolved the issue with Chu Tian’s servants, Chu Tian focused his efforts on making money. Although the Misty Lake route could function without his involvement, Chu Tian was always diligent when it came to his own profits. So, throughout the empire, especially among the priests responsible for hazardous materials inspections, Chu Tian granted three generous holidays within a single month. Department heads received publicly funded trips, and those remaining began a furious campaign against drug smugglers outside Pampas.

Consequently, the Pampas family’s trade caravans, once furtive, now swaggered openly through Pompeii, sending disguised shipments across the continent. Other smugglers, battered by Chu Tian’s crackdown, surrendered their profits to Pampas, granting the family near-complete monopoly over Caesar’s drug trade.

With Chu Tian’s vigorous assistance, annual profits soared from eight or nine million to over ten million gold coins in the blink of an eye. Reggie could barely contain his joy, and Duke Brenda now truly regarded Chu Tian as a brilliant business partner rather than a mere investment prospect. And so, the first batch of profits—one hundred thousand gold coins—was delivered to Chu Tian alongside the colorless crystal card.

This windfall brought Chu Tian another unexpected benefit: he sent a slew of drug lords to the Imperial Minister of Justice, who paraded them through the streets for public humiliation. Such actions elevated Marquis Vladino’s reputation among the Caesarian commoners to unprecedented heights.

As for Ludy III, he valued Chu Tian even more, for he was an employee who could bring rich dividends to the major shareholders...

With a smile, Chu Tian returned the crystal card to his ring, raised a glass of exquisite Vostert, and toasted to Damar: “Your Excellency’s magnanimity surely won’t hold a grudge against my servants. Let this glass of wine serve as my apology!”

He drained the glass in one gulp.

“Cough, cough!” Chu Tian, never much of a drinker, was immediately choked by the liquor, raising his head to look at Damar, who was still staring at his own cup. “Why aren’t you drinking, sir? Are you unwilling to forgive me?”

“No, no!” Damar hastily waved his hands and swallowed, his cheeks reddening. “I’ve just... it’s been so long since I tasted such fine wine, I can hardly bear to drink it.”

“Hm? With your salary, you still can’t afford this sort of wine?” Chu Tian leaned in, slinging an arm around Damar’s shoulder and joked, “Don’t tell me you spent all your gold on women! Haha!”

“Absolutely not!” Damar’s face flushed, veins bulging on his forehead, his breathing quickening—a picture of indignation. Seeing his expression, Chu Tian was about to explain, but Damar suddenly lowered his head bashfully and muttered, “I... I’ve never been married...”

Pfft—Chu Tian had just taken a mouthful of beverage to relieve the burn, but Damar’s words made him spit it all out. Never married?! The Minister of Magic, one of the empire’s five chief ministers, never married?! Chu Tian could hardly accept this revelation.

“Praise be to the Goddess of Life! With your power and wealth, you couldn’t find a wife?!” Chu Tian looked Damar up and down, astonished.

“It’s not that I couldn’t find one—it’s just... she’s too far away...” Chu Tian realized: so the old fellow had someone in mind, but she wasn’t close by. Damar had stayed single for the sake of this distant, mysterious beloved.

“Hehe! Who is she, then? Who could make you pine so, remaining unmarried for decades?” Chu Tian asked with interest, gazing at Damar’s graying hair and aged face, thinking to himself: This portly old man is rather devoted!

“No... no one, I was just... just talking nonsense!” Damar’s blush deepened as he rubbed his hands and ducked his head, stammering out his denial.

Seeing Damar’s reluctance to speak, Chu Tian laughed heartily and asked indirectly, “Why didn’t you marry her back then?”

Still nervous and shy, Damar responded without thinking, “I... I had no money when I was young, and her family was high nobility from the Kingdom of Erson! Ah—no, that’s not...” Realizing he’d let slip the truth, the unfortunate Damar quickly shook his head, face crimson, struggling to explain, “That’s... that’s not how it happened, I mean...”

Under Chu Tian’s amused gaze, Damar fell silent, unable to continue. He tugged Chu Tian’s sleeve and leaned close, whispering into his ear with a rush of hot breath, “Please don’t tell anyone! Otherwise I’d be laughed to death.”

“Hahahahaha~~~” Chu Tian couldn’t hold it in anymore, bursting out laughing. So it was Damar’s youthful escapade—his beloved must be a grandmother by now. How peculiar! Other nobles had wives and concubines aplenty and frequented the pleasure houses openly, yet Damar shyly blushed for the sake of an elderly lady.

Damar looked a little annoyed at Chu Tian’s laughter, so Chu Tian composed himself and pressed further, “So why didn’t you seek her out once you had money?”

“Ah! When have I ever had money?” Damar sighed, aggrieved. Then, as if recalling something, he tugged at Chu Tian’s hand, avoiding his gaze, and said meekly, “You’re so wealthy—could you lend me some?”

That was odd—where had Damar’s money gone? Chu Tian wondered. With Ludy III’s rewards and his own position, Damar should have saved at least ten thousand gold coins over the decades—how could he be so poor?

“It doesn’t have to be much! Ten thousand would be enough.” Seeing Chu Tian deep in thought, Damar thought the sum too high and quickly corrected himself: “Ten thousand is too much—five thousand... would five thousand do?”

“Heh, five thousand’s too little! Let’s make it fifty thousand!” Chu Tian squinted and smiled, generously offering half his fortune on the spot! Vladino Marquis, with an annual income of over ten million, didn’t care about such pocket change. Besides, being the Minister of Magic’s creditor was nothing to scoff at.

“Hmph! Who would’ve thought the Marquis of Vladino could afford such a luxury establishment!” Just as Damar was dazed by the shower of gold, a discordant voice of provocation echoed through the hall.