The atmosphere in the This Shore room was frozen for a moment. However, the refined middle-aged man soon broke the silence first.
“Penrose, you’ve arrived quite early.”
“……”
Penrose swept his gaze over the five people seated in chairs, showing no intention of rising to greet him. Anger and displeasure flashed in his heart.
But he smiled on the surface and said to that refined middle-aged man.
“Mr. Taylor, aren’t you also early?”
“Heh.”
Taylor gave a faint, expressionless smile.
Penrose’s gaze then passed over each of these people one by one.
Taylor was the leader of a long-established aristocratic faction in Lakeside City, controlling the equally historic Abundant Harvest Chamber of Commerce.
The scarred, crew-cut man, Vincent, was the president of the White Wave Chamber of Commerce.
He controlled over 60% of the ship owners in Lakeside City.
It could be said that without him, the city’s commercial circulation would suffer a massive blow, so his position here was pivotal.
The plump middle-aged man, Cleveland, was the lord of Lakeside City, now the nominal grand president of the Chamber of Commerce Union, responsible for coordinating business affairs.
The reason he could sit here was entirely because he was a puppet propped up by others.
As for the blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman… Penrose’s gaze lingered a bit longer on the beautiful woman with a languid expression.
But this was not to admire the lady—her proud peaks and enchanting curves, or her seductive, alluring face—but because the power this woman represented strongly attracted him.
The blonde woman narrowed her eyes, meeting Penrose’s gaze.
She chuckled softly and raised her slender eyebrows slightly.
“Mr. Penrose, could it be that you want to invite me to lunch after the general meeting?”
“……”
Penrose did not respond.
This blonde woman was the regional manager of the Marigold Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Mellita Polly.
Yes, the Marigold Chamber of Commerce was not a local force in Lakeside City; it had spread here from several marquis countries to the east.
The Lakeside City branch of the Marigold Chamber of Commerce was also a major branch.
Its own scale, combined with the backing of multiple countries, was something that Penrose’s Tea Rose Chamber of Commerce could not hope to compete with.
As for the white-haired, white-bearded old man, he was a highly respected elder scholar from the land of the Three Northern Kingdoms.
Although he had no actual assets, he represented the will of the Three Kingdoms.
“Elder Horn.”
Penrose addressed the elder’s name and slightly lowered his head. Horn gave a slight nod and replied.
“Since you’re here, find a seat and sit down.”
“Alright.”
After receiving the reply, Penrose quickly glanced at these people.
There were no sixth or seventh sofas in the room, meaning there was no seat for Penrose.
In the past, he had always stood.
There was also no seat for Gro.
Not only because the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce had been deceived and excluded from the circle, but also because Gro would never come here, let alone sit down and negotiate with these people.
In Penrose’s view, this was very foolish, but he also envied that boldness…
Penrose found a chair on the side and sat down. The chair was very small, and since he was quite tall, sitting there made him look like a prisoner, still being scrutinized by the five people. After a moment of silence, he said.
“Mr. Horn, I want to know if you have any other preparations?”
The line on Parit that Horn had previously given him was now useless.
That mother and child had been hidden by the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce people, and Parit had been locked in the Estate Dungeon.
The earlier assassination attempt on Einfel had also come to nothing.
This sudden convening of the joint conference made Penrose very curious about what they intended to do—whether they already had some good method to take down the now-unstable Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce. Horn, sitting in the central seat, stroked his pale long beard with a withered hand, glanced left and right, and finally said to Penrose.
“Young man, don’t be too impatient. Opportunities will always come. Just wait. This conference is merely a prelude.”
“Elder Horn, I understand.”
Penrose smiled and agreed. He knew these words were just brushing him off. Horn had no intention of letting him know. This made Penrose extremely furious inside, but he dared not show even a hint of it here.
At this moment, the person Penrose hated most was actually that guy Ivan.
If he could cooperate with Ivan, then he wouldn’t have to kowtow to these people.
With the Zephyr Empire as a backing, as long as he managed things properly, he could be like the old Gro.
But after receiving a letter, Ivan tore up their original oral agreement and even insulted Penrose while drunk.
How could Penrose not hate him? Compared to the invisible Einfel, it was clearly the visible Ivan that attracted Penrose’s resentment.
But he couldn’t do anything to Ivan, so his hatred could only be transferred to Einfel.
The others all assumed a posture of avoiding this issue, clearly indicating they had reached a consensus beforehand.
But this also gave Penrose a suspicion—that they were encountering trouble. Was the trouble coming from… Zephyr?
“Elder Horn, everyone, can we talk about the matters at the conference?”
Penrose did not let the topic stagnate; he shifted to another subject.
Clearly, this sudden joint conference was targeting the unstable Lily of the Valley.
Seeing that Penrose did not continue to press for the aftermath of their previous moves, they also stopped withholding words and talked about the joint conference, preparing to encircle and attack the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce.
These small meetings before the conference had actually already decided things; the conference was merely for announcement.
After the topic ended, Penrose also regained some confidence.
“In Lakeside City, one must follow Lakeside City’s rules. Even if she has Zephyr behind her, she must act according to the rules.”
Horn stroked his beard and laughed. Taylor echoed.
“Indeed, no matter how capable she is, can she break the rules?”
They did not think this woman named Einfel could cause any waves—she was just a pretty puppet.
Taylor was a local old-money aristocrat, most close to a notable like Horn, especially since the latter was also a representative of the Three Kings’ will. He admired him greatly and personally strongly agreed with the rules Horn spoke of.
Horn was one who valued rules, meaning he liked the old aristocratic ways. Therefore, he was most averse to that Zephyr wind.
Cleveland, the lord of Lakeside City, said while wiping his tears.
“Everyone, after my son Anthony went to see that woman, he died suddenly. There was also a strange incident in my castle. That woman is definitely a witch. If you can find evidence, you must hand her over to me. I want to burn her alive to quell the hatred in my heart and avenge my son’s death!”
It seemed real, but everyone actually knew this guy was faking.
How could they, who propped him up, not know Cleveland’s nature? They just pretended not to see it.
Cleveland also wanted to eat a bit more meat in this feast.
He was close to Penrose precisely because he wanted to seize the opportunity to regain some capital befitting a lord, rather than being just a figurehead lord who had to fawn and beg like a dog, dependent on others’ favor.
Vincent, the president of the White Wave Chamber of Commerce, and Mellita, the branch head of the Marigold Chamber of Commerce, said nothing and just watched from the sidelines.
Although there were six people in this room, their scheming absolutely exceeded six.
“Then, Elder Horn, everyone, I will go take my seat first.”
Penrose rose from the chair and withdrew.
After the door closed, the atmosphere in the room once again fell into silence.
Under this kind of mood, Cleveland’s days were not easy, while the others each had their own thoughts.
Vincent, the president of the White Wave Chamber of Commerce, looked at Horn sitting in the center.
“Elder Horn, what exactly happened to the Hall of Shadows? I have some news; it seems they encountered some trouble.”
“The City of the Other Shore has closed.”
Horn shook his head.
Although he knew the inside story, it was not convenient to say it publicly.
Even though they were all sitting together now, it did not mean they were of one mind.
The City of the Other Shore was a very special place. Its specialness lies in the fact that it does not exist in the present world; it is located in another world.
Without the guidance of a “lighthouse,” ordinary people cannot enter.
To the north of Lakeside City, it does not border the Northern Mountains but another territory. That territory has a city named This Shore City. To go to the City of the Other Shore, one must first go there.
The City of the Other Shore being sealed off means that people inside cannot come out, and people outside cannot go in. This definitely means something major has happened.
Vincent tactfully did not press further.
“Hello, madam, please show your invitation… Ah! You, you are Ms. Einfel of the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce?!”
The waiter at the door was greatly surprised after receiving the invitation, but his excellent professionalism made him quickly bow his head and apologize.
“My sincere apologies, honored madam. I did not mean to offend you!”
Enya couldn’t be bothered to respond.
However, Lucia’s slightly vacant black eyes fixedly stared at the male waiter who had committed the offense.
The male waiter only felt a slight discomfort rising within his body.
“Ahem…”
Enya coughed lightly, interrupting Lucia’s death stare.
The death stare was a real death stare… That night, Lucia’s Evil God Curse power, after being severed from its original owner, was coincidentally confined within her eyes.
Now, whoever she stared at would be eroded by that power.
It could be said she had gained a pair of Cursed Demonic Eyes.
Of course, it also had certain limitations: it had to stare for a sufficient amount of time for the effect to start, and it could not be interrupted in the middle.
Lucia withdrew her gaze.
She actually didn’t know about her eyes; she just felt that her vision had become much clearer.
Wendy looked around. Humans, so many humans! She observed the various humans with vastly different appearances, thoroughly enjoying the sight.
Elves’ appearances were somewhat templated.
For elves themselves, aside from color differences, there were almost no memorable features.
So, humans who looked bizarre and diverse were very interesting to Wendy.
After the male waiter felt the coldness on his body disappear, he noticed that his back was soaked, which made him feel bewildered.
He called over a female waitress to lead Enya and the others inside.
The male waiter’s exclamation earlier also attracted many gazes, and they began to talk about the three beauties of different styles.