The Great Crestmaster

He did not know what, if he had to tell he could only say that the chapel was dead before this moment but when he upgraded that sword it came back to life.

He could feel a special quality in the sword now, something distinct. In the past the sword was excellent and reliable, but now it was even more so, like a beast waiting to be unleashed only blood count satiate it's thirst.

But Aldrich wasn't sure that he liked that, to be honest he wasn't sure of the intentions of the author of the journal.

On the one hand he said that nothing was free, and on the other he gave him a supposedly 'free' upgrade. He said there are no free gifts and yet he claimed to give him not one but two as of now.

Aldrich immediately used the seal of Tindalor on the platform to return to the base, he could have used it to return to the real world but he didn't want to bring the sword back with him.

****

Aldrich took his morning class and chatted with Frank for a bit before making his way to a non-assuming sea food restaurant where on a table that overlooked the great Yongar river he found a beautiful woman wearing a bun and silver-rimmed glasses.

Yasbel.

"I'm sorry did I make you wait, Yasbel? I bumped into a friend."

"Not at all. I was enjoying the view."

Yasbel smiled as she explained, Aldrich laughed and took a seat while placing an envelope on the table. The high winds were strong here and that was why they decided to meet here.

There were no other people here to overhear things that shouldn't be heard.

"I got most of the paperwork done, take a look and fill in the extra details." Aldrich pointed at some areas that he didn't bother with.

"As expected, the bureaucrats don't understand any other language but money. Fucking pigs."

Aldrich couldn't help but agree but he had to remind her that they weren't in the clear yet, "we're not rich yet, we're just starting."

"Give me this." Yasbel took the envelope and started browsing through the papers, "the Holy grail? I like that name. Well, let me take this home and I'll finish it up by tomorrow. For now you should have a look at this."

Yasbel took out an envelope of her own and presented it to Aldrich. He took a look at the paperwork and it turned out to be about that coffee house, it was called Dane's coffee and pastry.

"Alright tell me the short version."

"This is our target like I told you last time. The owner is a man called Marl Fizznick, he listed it for sale two weeks ago, check this."

Yasbel took out a yellow small folded paper and passed it to Aldrich. He unfolded the paper, it was an advertisement for the coffee house on the Yongar daily but there was a problem.

"He wants to sell for 30 gold? That's not what you told me."

"Obviously we won't buy it for any price he demands. You see the thing about Marl Fizznick is that he inherited the business from his father. It's a family business and it's really a good one too.

They have a good reputation and many loyal regulars, they have a place in the local community. Their coffee beans are imported by partners from Izzram, old Cistia and the heartlands in Norfgar.

And Marl himself is the man behind the making of the coffee and managing the affairs of the coffee house. They earn a near consistent 12 gold a year in profits."

Aldrich was shocked, he did the calculations in his mind, since there are fifteen months a year that's 25 silver coins a month!

Moreover she said in profits, meaning after paying for rent and costs! That was an incredibly successful business.

"So, what made them a target? I mean if I was in Marl's place I wouldn't consider selling so easily."

Yasbel chuckled, "But The family has been saddled with debt since Marl's grandfather first borrowed money to make the coffee house a thing in the first place and Fizznick is still unable to pay it in full."

Aldrich sucked in a breath of cold air, "that can't be right. How could three generations of successful businessmen be unable to pay back such an old debt?"

Yasbel shook her head, "it's too complicated, let's just say that the debt grew faster than their profits, there are also other factors but that doesn't concern us."

"And? What is our concern exactly?"

"What concerns us is, last year Marl had to move into a storage room, and this year he has to pay ten gold and pay off the debt or next year the debt will become 15 gold.

He has been frustrated so he decided to sell it off and pay the debt off with the money from the sale, thing is he added quite a bit more to make off with a hefty sum too."

Aldrich inferred that Marl's own expenses must also be significant otherwise he would still have been able to pay off the debt but since the situation progressed to this degree must mean that he's out of luck.

"Well, he's smart," remarked Aldrich, "he's using the success of his business to cover up the fact that he jacked up the price."

"He's crafty but he was unlucky that his little tricks wouldn't work on me. Especially since I have a clear look at his accounts and transactions." Yasbel laughed softy as she lampooned.

Aldrich smirked as he lamented, "poor fella, his misfortune makes for a sad tale."

Yasbel nodded, beaming, "I know, this world is too cruel. But… his misfortune is our chance."

"Hey, you sound a little cruel yourself," Aldrich reminded, "he's a fellow imperial citizen and we're going to help him out of a difficult spot by paying off his debts."

"In exchange for his family business, of course." Yasbel added.

"Not only that, we're also going to let him keep his job, the job he devoted so much of his life to."

"You know what, Aldrich? The world is indeed cruel but it's also beautiful."

"I couldn't have said it better myself."