“Who are you… What is your name?”
“Cyrus Pamortis, My Lord.”
“Pamortis?
Are you Illyrio’s son?”
“Yes, that is exactly who I am.” Aegon said with a smile.
This magistrate had also heard a thing or two about Illyrio.
More than a decade ago, in order to marry a woman of unknown origins, Illyrio had even rejected a marriage proposal from the Prince.
Even if the Prince was merely a puppet, he was still a Prince nonetheless, and he had angrily declared that from then on, Illyrio was not allowed to step foot inside the princely palace even half a step!
The relationship between the two parties had turned very sour, a matter known to many at the time.
It was a pity that the woman he married passed away from a plague less than two years after giving birth to Aegon.
Aside from this relationship, there was only this’son’ of Illyrio’s.
Everyone within the magistrate circle knew very well that Illyrio doted on this son immensely.
Therefore, pulling out a sum of money just to buy a piece of land for walking horses seemed completely reasonable in everyone’s eyes.
A man’s renown precedes him, much like a tree casts its shadow; that was probably what this meant.
“Then how much do you intend to offer?”
“For this plot of land, even one thousand Pentos gold coins would be considered too much.”
“What?
One thousand?
Then let it rot in my hands.”
With that, the magistrate walked toward his sedan chair without looking back.
The price of one thousand gold coins was not something he couldn’t accept, but once word got out, it would be far too humiliating.
“Are you truly not going to sell?” Aegon asked.
However, the other party had set his mind against accepting this price.
“Let’s go!” He dropped those words, not even bothering to reply to Aegon further.
“If you won’t sell, then would you be willing to rent it out?”
Hearing this, the man raised his hand in a gesture, and the servants carrying the sedan chair immediately stopped in their tracks.
“I was just thinking, perhaps in less than two years, my father will have me take over his business, and by then I won’t have any leisure time to come out and play.
Since you are unwilling to sell, then rent it to us for a period of time.
Let us agree on an annual rent of one hundred Pentos golden dragons, and you lease it to me for three years, how does that sound?
Three years later, this piece of land will still belong to you.”
“Rent?”
The man pondered for a moment, feeling that this might indeed be a decent solution.
After all, this plot of land had been sitting idle here all this time, unable to generate any revenue.
“Very well.
Tell your father later that he can come over to my mansion for a few drinks when he has free time.”
Otherwise, it would mean a complete fall from grace in social standing.
As for Aegon choosing to rent rather than buy, it was mainly taking into consideration what kind of state this world might be in three years later.
Even two years from now, things would become turbulent.
Another reason was that leasing could save some money; he wasn’t yet self-sufficient at present, and keeping a sum of money for emergencies wouldn’t hurt.
Both parties drew up a written contract and signed their respective names.
The exact moment Aegon put pen to paper, the system immediately sent back feedback: Obtained the first territory.
[Obtained Territory — Southern Suburbs of Pentos, Dominion +1]
[Territory Rating: E]
[Reward Obtained: Freshwater Well.
You may choose the location of the freshwater well yourself.
The water volume of the freshwater well can supply the daily use of two thousand people.]
[Reward Obtained: Level 1 Skill Card * 1]
[Reward Obtained: Grade C Charisma Fragment * 2 (4/5), Grade C Physique Fragment * 1 (1/5)]
After all, it was a territory obtained by clever means, so the rewards received were utterly ordinary, but still not bad.
The reward ‘Freshwater Well’ could appear anywhere within the territory according to Aegon’s will.
The Racetrack would need to raise many racehorses in the future, and having a freshwater well would also make things much more convenient.
Speaking of which, the reason this land was priced so cheaply had a lot to do with its lack of easily accessible fresh water.
If there were a freshwater well here, then multiplying its price threefold would be a breeze.
Aegon looked at the other rewards again and chose to apply the newly acquired skill card to swordsmanship.
After all, a Level 1 swordsmanship level was truly somewhat mediocre, at most allowing him to deal with two or three untrained ordinary people in one go.
Add even one more, and he would simply be beaten to a pulp.
Strengthening himself from a physical standpoint as soon as possible would allow him to lead his soldiers better.
Right now, those soldiers relied on him more than they respected him.
Aside from the fact that he hadn’t led them to a victory yet, his personal martial arts level was also a huge limiting factor.
In this world, abundant martial virtue was the primary virtue.
It was just that if he wanted to build a Racetrack, the money in his hands was still somewhat insufficient.
It looked like he had to find Illyrio once more.
…
…
Learning that Illyrio had returned, Aegon went downstairs to welcome him for the very first time.
This even made Shamira feel it was unbelievable.
“Yo, Master Illyrio is back.
Did everything go smoothly today?” Aegon blinked at Illyrio, a joking tone carrying in his words.
When Illyrio saw Aegon, he was stunned for a moment.
It was an indescribable feeling.
There was a bit of frivolity in Aegon’s words, but in every gesture, there was unexpectedly an inexplicable aura of grace.
At first glance, one would really think he was a prince who had walked out of a royal palace.
Seeing the astonishment and even restraint in the other party’s eyes, Aegon knew that the four newly added charisma fragments were taking effect.
Grade D Charisma and Grade C Charisma were not on the same level; upgrading would bring about a qualitative leap.
However, the increase in charisma fragments would also drastically boost his personal charm.
Not only did Shamira become much more docile, but from Illyrio’s attitude, it was also clear that this was a solid, tangible enhancement.
However, Illyrio had after all seen grand scenes and was a man plotting ‘grand schemes’, so he quickly recovered from Aegon’s impact.
Especially upon knowing that Aegon’s purpose in finding him was to ask for money, his entire attitude immediately grew cold again.
“Why are you asking for money again?
How many days has it even been?
My money didn’t fall from the sky.”
“Hey, I know.
Rest assured, this will be the last time I ask you for money this year.”
“Huh?” Seeing Aegon make such a statement, Illyrio found it hard to believe.
“What are you planning to do?
Asking for money again?” He said, scratching his yellow beard.
“I want to build a Racetrack.”
“A Racetrack?
What kind of thing is that?
A casino?
Let me tell you, running a casino won’t do.
Right now, the casinos in the city are mostly controlled by the Freyga family.
If you rashly meddle in, you’ll only end up in a big mess.”
Although Pentos had forty magistrates who could participate in politics and government affairs, there were only three families with true power.
The Freyga family controlled the casinos and banks; of the other two families, one controlled all the ports of Pentos and over seventy percent of the ships, controlling shipping and trade, while the other controlled sixty percent of the land, making it the largest landowner in Pentos.
The Freyga family had backing from Braavos, while the other two families fought openly and covertly, maintaining a sort of balance of power.
“Aiyah, it’s not that kind of casino.” Aegon briefly introduced the operating rules of the Racetrack to Illyrio.
This speech managed to stir up a bit of his interest, and inwardly he felt that Aegon wasn’t entirely foolish after all.
Seeing that he finally no longer only knew how to spend money blindly, but instead pondered ways to make money, Illyrio’s view of him underwent a slight change.
At the same time, he grew vigilant.
If he hadn’t taught Aegon any real things and yet could reach this level, goodness knows what it would be like if he received the same kind of tutoring as Griff; if he became too strong and too smart, he wouldn’t be able to keep a rein on him anymore.
‘If I can’t keep a rein on him…’ A flash of murderous intent flickered through Illyrio’s heart.