Damian understood the reason why Gabriel was hiding his face—or at least he thought so. Gabriel was quite popular, both for good and bad reasons.
The good reason was because of the reputation he had built during the competition, while the bad one stemmed from the numerous enemies he had made along the way.
It could be either of the two; however, Damian didn’t really care. He was just glad that Gabriel was here now.
Shortly after, they entered his family’s office, and when both of them were seated, Damian spoke.
"Before we proceed, I want to tell you that I’ve agreed to become part of your guild."
Gabriel’s reaction remained neutral, as if he had expected it. Deep down, he had already considered Damian part of the Broken Dawn Guild.
"Now that’s out of the way." Damian exhaled as though he’d just released a heavy burden. "What do you have for me?"
Gabriel smirked. ’Business first, huh,’ he thought inwardly. It appeared that Damian Graves had something important to tell him, but his business seemed to take higher priority.
Gabriel wasn’t in a hurry either, so he decided to humor him. He calmly retrieved a golden coin and placed it on the table.
"It’s been a while since I saw one of these." Damian’s eyes sparkled as he picked up the coin, bringing it close to his face for inspection.
"This is real gold... where did you get it?" he asked curiously.
"Somewhere," Gabriel replied, not bothering to elaborate. Knowing the origin of the coin wouldn’t help with what he wanted to request.
"Oh, I see." Damian wisely decided not to press further when he realized Gabriel wasn’t willing to talk about it.
"Apart from Tianlan and a few primitive settlements out in the wilderness, these are only useful for jewelry," Damian commented, tossing the coin and rolling it through his fingers skillfully.
"I’m already aware of that," Gabriel nodded. "That’s why I brought it to you instead."
"How would I be of help?" Damian frowned, stopping his playful motion with the coin.
"I need you to see if there’s a way to trade this—maybe for food, treasures, or something else."
"Just this one?" A puzzled expression crossed Damian’s face. "If it’s only this, I can give you a few Valerian Dollars for it."
"No, not that... I actually have thousands of these, and they’re just gathering dust back at the camp."
"Thousands?" Damian’s voice carried a trace of shock. Gold was rare—how could Gabriel possibly have thousands?
’Was it from a dungeon? Or did he rob a bank or something?’ Damian thought, giving Gabriel a long, sidelong glance.
Knowing Gabriel, he wasn’t exactly a man bound by ethics or morality.
In fact, in a world plagued by monsters, immortal adventurers, and Awakened individuals who wouldn’t hesitate to backstab their own friends for treasure, it was rare to find an ethical person.
"Hold on, let me make some calls," Damian said after a moment, then retrieved a device that looked like a phone from Earth—but here, it was referred to as a comelink.
’I need to get one of those too,’ Gabriel mused, narrowing his eyes at the sleek black device. He had been in this world for over two months and still didn’t have one.
Having a comelink would make it far easier to stay in touch with the natives. As for players, he wasn’t too concerned; he could contact them easily through the tech feature in his system.
Gabriel watched as Damian made a series of calls.
After about thirty minutes, Damian returned to the table wearing a wide smile. Whatever business deal he had been arranging seemed to have gone well.
"I contacted a friend of mine in Tianlan," Damian said, the corner of his mouth twitching upward. "She runs a private exchange floor. She can help trade the coins."
"What’s the catch?"
"She’ll take ten percent for arranging the buyers and transport. Five percent if we deliver to her vault ourselves instead of her people picking it up." Damian spun the coin once more and set it down. "But if the quantity really is in the thousands, she’ll shave another two percent off either way. Volume discount."
"Name?"
"Madame Huo." Damian’s smile thinned. "Don’t let the ’Madame’ fool you. She’s a viper in silk. But when she gives her word, it holds."
"Delivery window?"
"Forty-eight hours for the first batch. Settlement in Valerian Dollars or trade notes exchangeable for weapon stocks and enchanted textiles. Food, too—she has a line into the Eastern Granary."
Gabriel nodded once. "We’ll deliver ourselves. Five percent. And we’ll take payment in weapons credit, thirty percent in food, and the rest in notes."
Damian blinked, then nodded slowly. "Agreed." He exhaled, as if he hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath. "I’ll draft the ledger—"
"Do that later." Gabriel flicked the coin back toward him. "You said there’s something about your family."
The smile fell from Damian’s face immediately.
He hesitated, then pulled a black envelope from a drawer. A grave lily was pressed into the wax seal.
"The Graves family is holding a banquet," he said quietly. "All the heir branches are invited... including me."
Gabriel’s brow rose slightly. Wasn’t Damian banished? That’s what he remembered from his past life. Or could the timelines have shifted? Could meeting Damian this early have changed the plot?
"I thought you were—" Gabriel began.
"I was," Damian cut in sharply. "Which is why this is... odd. The invitation says the family will ’consider reconciliation for the sake of the family’s name.’ It also says each heir must present a guest of merit."
Gabriel watched him silently.
Damian met his gaze. "I want you to come with me."
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