Chapter 59: Explanation and Trouble

George spent the whole afternoon worrying about that deal. Sure, the Scale Armor fit the Minotaur body type well, but they were pullovers, not open-front garments. Minotaur heads are already much bigger than Bear Goblin heads, and with their horns, they simply could not fit into them. If he bought them back and had to modify them so much, it would be better to just have them custom-made.

The problem was that they had also left orders for other large quantities of goods. If they were truly directly connected to what happened that night, they would not have left such obvious traces. However, they might have been buying these things for someone else. After all, as long as someone paid, these merchants did not mind being middlemen, so it seemed this line of inquiry was still worth pursuing. At the same time, he comforted himself, ‘I hope I am overthinking this, but no matter how careful one is in this matter, it is never too much. After all, our side is already too deeply involved in this matter, and it is unlikely we can pull out now.’

As for the Mercenary Company, there was not too much to worry about. After all, blunt weapons still had a certain number of users. Perhaps they were preparing in advance to hunt down tough-skinned creatures like the Sadi Giant Turtle.

‘But I should still send someone to investigate. After all, given my status, investigating a Mercenary Company in Karada does not require much effort.’ George made his decision immediately. For that group of merchants, George still had some concerns about Winterhold, so he wanted to proceed slowly. However, for this group of mercenaries who basically had no backing, it was better to send someone to investigate secretly. As for why investigate secretly, of course it was to avoid alerting the enemy. Karada was currently in an extremely sensitive period.

“Sigh! If those all-steel Tower Shields had not been sold out this time! They could have been used to trade with the ‘Earth Bear’ Heavy Infantry Regiment. To some extent, it could have also brought the House Bolerum closer to the noble children serving there. But now it seems the original plan in this regard has failed. If we could quickly recover the funds without any side effects, it would not count as a loss, but now there does not look like there are no side effects at all.” Unlike Craig, who was basically carefree, and Hiren, who was not thinking much at this stage, George had too many things to worry about. Therefore, the huge sum of over 3,600 Gold Coins from selling this Loot did not bring him any good mood. However, the extra budget of over 1,200 Gold Coins that appeared at one time did somewhat optimize George’s self-reflection on his economic situation.

Anyway, this suspicious situation completely ruined the good mood George had gained this morning at the Temple of the Lord of Justice. Even the exquisite and careful dinner at sunset did not raise his interest. Of course, the food this time was not as stunning and luxurious as the welcome banquet the night before. After all, spending too much time and money on enjoyment was not very worthwhile.

After night fell, George arrived at a side hall of the Manor as agreed with Knight Val, only to find that the other party had already waited there in advance. Knight Val was sitting on an inlaid rosewood chair, and on the table in front of him was a set of bone-white porcelain tea cups and a matching teapot. The warm and snow-white tea cups and the brown liquid in them created a very strong contrast and a strange beauty. Plus the aroma coming from the steaming drink, George could be certain that it was the milk tea he had drunk at the Temple of the Lord of Justice in the morning.

‘I did not expect Mr. Val to get tea so quickly! It seems he also likes this drink very much. At the same time, this also reflects the power of his connections. After all, before this, he had no understanding of tea at all. Relying solely on one drink and Priest Gavin’s rough introduction to reach this level is truly amazing.’ In the slightly sweet scent and the unique fragrance of the black tea, George’s thoughts involuntarily wandered off.

After noticing George had arrived, Knight Val picked up the cup in front of him, took a small sip, and said: “George, what you said this morning was absolutely correct. The taste of this drink indeed becomes much softer after adding sugar. Most importantly, after eating greasy food, having a cup of… what was it called? Oh right, milk tea, makes the whole body feel much more refreshed.”

“It is really great that you like it. It seems my tongue is still very sharp. But I really did not expect you to get these things so quickly.” George cooperated by making a slightly surprised expression.

“Alright! Alright! I think you did not invite me here tonight just to compliment me. Let’s get straight to the point, and we can talk about other topics after we finish the main business.” Saying this, Knight Val put down the cup in his hand. At the moment it touched the table, the drink in the cup did not show any ripples.

George pulled out the chair directly opposite Knight Val and sat down facing him. He raised the question that had been buried deep in his heart for a long time: “On the day my Soul was severely injured, will learning the Secret Art you used to save me by accident bring any trouble?”

After hearing this question, even with Knight Val’s years of cultivation, his expression inevitably stiffened. Although his facial expression basically did not change, George still saw from the irregular movements in his eyebrows and nose bridge that his heart was not calm. It felt like a long time had passed, but in reality, it was only a matter of a few dozen seconds.

“I will find a way to solve this problem together with Lord. You are still a child, so do not have too much psychological burden in this matter. Besides, this cannot be blamed on you. At that time, you were completely driven by the instinct of survival. Since it was not stealing in a subjective sense, the matter is much easier to handle. We cannot blame you for having such great talent in this area,” Knight Val said with a somewhat bitter smile. However, whether from his expression or his tone, George could feel that the matter was not as simple as he said.

George silently took out the Scroll he had been copying during this time from his bag. After handing it to Knight Val, he spoke in a polite tone: “Actually, it is not that my talent is so good. You will understand once you see this. That is why I learned your Secret Art so quickly.”

“Oh! This one?” Knight Val pointed to the Scroll placed in front of him with his left hand. George nodded and extended his right hand in a gesture of invitation. Then, with a confused expression, Knight Val opened the Scroll and began to read. But soon, Knight Val’s expression began to become unsettled. It was the first time George had seen such a rich variety of expressions on Knight Val’s face.

For this, George felt puzzled in his heart, ‘Could it be that the Qi and Blood Separation, which is not a particularly outstanding Secret Art, has some special feature that makes Mr. Val shocked?’ After a long while, Knight Val put down the Scroll he had finished reading. Looking at George with a complicated expression, he suddenly blurted out, “You figured this out yourself, didn’t you!”

“Uh-huh!” George, who could not expose the System’s secret, could only go along with Knight Val’s misunderstanding and confirm this matter. When he decided to copy this Secret Art, George had already started thinking about how to explain its origin. However, he had lived almost entirely under the watchful eyes of these knights in the Territory for these years. If he made up something randomly and the other party figured it out, it would cause a lot of trouble.

If he said he had bought it at a second-hand market, then the notes George himself had written on the Scroll would be hard to explain. Even if he said he had copied it again, he might still be asked about the original draft. In short, it would become quite troublesome.

As for claiming that a white-bearded old man secretly taught it, their first reaction would definitely be that there was some conspiracy involved. At that time, they might even turn the Bolerum Territory upside down, or even issue wanted posters.

But if he said it was figured out by George himself, someone would believe such an incomplete Secret Art. At worst, he would just get the title of a genius in small circles.

“Rogue’s Stealth ability, incomplete Barbarian’s Frenzy ability, and techniques used by warriors after training to accelerate recovery. A Secret Art developed on the foundation of these techniques and abilities that Nobles can easily obtain. Most importantly, you walked a path that few predecessors have taken. By using methods to control heartbeats and blood, you combined them, making their use relatively simple and efficient. Although it is not a powerful Secret Art, it wins in practicality and universality.” Knight Val first stated the analysis he had imagined in his mind.

Then he immediately let out a sigh of emotion, “Seeing this, I have to say, George, you are truly a genius! At the same time, this also explains the situation at that time very well. After all, before that, you already had strong abilities to control blood and heartbeats.”

“If we use this as compensation and explanation, will the previous problems be easier to solve?” George asked tentatively.

Knight Val immediately understood George’s thoughts: “With this! Everything will become much easier. But George, are you really determined to use this to exchange for the previous set of Secret Arts? Actually, there are other ways in this regard. After all, that set of Secret Arts is not very useful for us Knights. And yours, although still very imperfect now, has great development potential in the future.”

“Let it be! After all, I am the one who caused this trouble. Besides, I am very interested in that method of nourishing the Soul with one’s own Spirit Light,” George said insincerely. Actually, George always felt in his heart that he had made a profit, after all, the path he walked required very high demands on the Soul.

Discovering that George’s mind was made up, Knight Val said: “Then good! After we finish dealing with this matter, I will teach you the remaining part of that set of Secret Arts.”

‘That set of Secret Arts actually has other parts! It seems I really made a huge profit this time.’ George’s heart was like a fox that had stolen a chicken.