"Cough, cough!"
Mimi choked on her milk and coughed repeatedly, puffing out her cheeks and shouting indignantly, "Why does Mimi have to be used as a synonym for an idiot!"
"Children shouldn't butt in."
As Grin spoke, he tossed a piece of tree cake into the air.
Mimi's eyes sparkled as she jumped from a standstill and caught it firmly in her mouth. "Awoo! Mimi really is super amazing!"
Anastasia sighed and pressed her hand to her forehead, knowing her child's personality all too well.
She picked up a brown sugar cube, dropped it into her teacup, and picked up a silver spoon to stir it slowly.
The sugar cube slowly dissolved in the warm tea, sending out ripples of light brown.
"Green-kun, is your refusal to sell this batch of goods because you've heard some rumors?"
She raised her eyes, her gaze falling on Grin's face, her tone calm but carrying a hint of testing.
"Or rather, was this a hook you set in advance, wanting to use it as a bargaining chip to get a piece of the pie in Crusch's plan?"
As her voice fell, Anastasia stared intently into Grin's eyes.
Those eyes, which usually curved with a smile, were now tempered with a merchant's unique sharpness.
A merchant's intuition told her that the man before her certainly possessed more information than she did.
As the leader of the Hoshin Merchant Guild, Anastasia's intelligence network spanned the entire Royal Capital.
She had already known that Crusch was secretly mobilizing a large amount of military supplies, gathering them at the Duke's Mansion.
Anastasia's purpose in coming here was definitely not as simple as reselling potions for a tenfold profit.
At this critical juncture, whoever controlled the requiem grass essentially held Crusch's lifeblood.
That Duchess Karsten was currently in urgent need of a massive amount of High-Grade Healing Potions to prepare for a major event.
Hearing this, Grin slowly lowered his eyelids, his thick lashes hiding the expression in his eyes, which inexplicably gave off a sense of mystery.
"For you to guess even that, I can only say you truly are Kararagi's number one merchant."
Hook, my ass. I just gave Otto some coins to earn me some pocket money.
Who knew this kid would quietly open a rat factory and hoard a mountain of requiem grass.
Anastasia showed an 'as expected' expression, feeling more and more that Grin was somewhat unfathomable.
"Since that's the case, I think we can reach a more intimate cooperation."
"More intimate? Does Miss Anna want a political marriage with our faction? But you don't seem to have any females of the right age on your side."
Grin looked up, the corners of his mouth curling into a half-smile.
It couldn't be the Guild Master herself stepping up, could it?
"Mimi can! Mimi is already a mature woman!"
The Cat Clan Beastman dragged her stool closer to Grin; that mysterious and powerful aura of his fascinated her.
Rem immediately became alert, staring at Mimi with an unfriendly gaze.
Grin, meanwhile, gave Mimi a look of disgust and stepped on the crossbar of her stool, pushing her far away with a loud "creak."
"Sorry, I don't do children."
Anastasia had negotiated with countless people, but this was the first time she had encountered someone like Grin, who wasn't even on the same wavelength.
"Green-kun misunderstood. The focus isn't on 'intimate,' but on 'cooperation.'"
"Cooperation?"
Grin gave a scrutinizing chuckle. "Could it be that Guild Master Anna hasn't even figured out Crusch's goal yet, and is already looking for a partner?"
Anastasia's expression froze slightly, and her hand holding the spoon paused.
She then nonchalantly picked up the black tea on the table and took a light sip, hiding the slight embarrassment of being seen through.
"Oh? Is it that obvious?"
After putting down her teacup, this deeply calculating woman had already adjusted her emotions. She said frankly:
"I have indeed only found out that she is purchasing large quantities of ironware and dragon carriages. Just looking at the scale, I know it's definitely no small matter."
This cunning fox. She clearly hadn't confirmed anything, yet she pretended to have everything under control.
That talk of cooperation just now was entirely to fish for the information in Grin's hands.
Grin looked around; he hadn't noticed when he came in, but almost everyone sitting in the cake shop belonged to the Hoshin Merchant Guild.
It was possible Anna had already bought this shop.
Grin interlaced his fingers and teased, "Going to such great lengths for an unknown matter—you really are a gossip."
"She is an overt competitor, after all. Finding out her intentions early is only beneficial for me."
Anastasia propped her elbows on the table, resting her chin in her palms. The corners of her eyes tilted up slightly, and a faint smile played on her lips.
"Well... actually, it doesn't hurt to tell you. It's also this amount, how about it?"
Grin's fingertips slowly rubbed the tabletop, finally tapping on the spot where Anna had written '6000' with tea water.
Anastasia shook her head calmly and wiped the tabletop with her finger, erasing a zero from the end of '6000'.
"Green-kun's appetite is too large. For just a piece of information, I can only offer this much."
"Deal."
Grin blurted it out almost instantly, for fear that Anastasia would change her mind.
"Eh?"
Anastasia's finger was still resting on the water stain on the table, and her eyebrows shot up.
A flash of bewilderment crossed her eyes before turning into a playful smile.
She pressed her hand harder against her chin, making her cheek look even more cunning, her soft Kararagi dialect carrying a hint of teasing.
"Is Green-kun very short on money? If you can transfer to serve under my command, I can add that zero back for you."
"Yes, yes! Mimi is the strongest, and if you add Mimi and Grin together, it's super-duper strongest!"
Hearing this, Mimi immediately jumped up and shouted her approval, then used her stool like a scooter to slide all the way back.
Anastasia doted on Mimi, rubbing her head and lightly flicking her forehead before turning to Grin with a deeper smile.
"It seems this child is quite fond of you."
Grin hurriedly moved his chair to distance himself from Mimi.
"Sorry, I have no intention of changing factions."
Besides, being a lolicon gets you the death penalty. This brat must have something wrong with her, always sniffing me.
"That really is a pity," Anastasia sighed softly and waved her hand toward the door.
An attendant dressed in the Hoshin Merchant Guild uniform quickly walked over, carrying a heavy bag of gold coins, and respectfully placed it in front of Grin.
She pushed the money bag toward Grin and said in a calm tone, "Do you need to count it?"
"There's no need for that." After saying so, Grin stuffed the money into Rem's arms.
Seeing this, a flash of understanding crossed Anastasia's eyes, and she asked directly, "Now, can you finally tell me what Crusch is planning?"
"Of course. To put it simply, it's nothing more than a fish meat business." Grin picked up his teacup and took a slow sip.
"Fish meat business?"
Anastasia's hand holding the teacup suddenly stopped, her brows furrowed slightly, a flash of confusion in her eyes, her tone full of doubt.
Grin put down his teacup, reached out his right hand, and gestured pointedly toward the sky above his head, a meaningful smile curling his lips. "The one in the sky."
"I see... that really is unexpected."
Anastasia's gaze darkened, her knuckles tightening slightly on the cup handle as she understood.
Six hundred gold coins—this deal wasn't a loss.
This guy Grin was clearly prepared and intended to participate in this matter, which is why he hoarded requiem grass in advance.
But with just these unfinished medical supplies, it probably wouldn't be enough for Crusch to hand over an entry ticket to the subjugation operation.
What exactly was his trump card?
Could it be... that Grin also possessed information regarding the White Whale?
Anastasia's gaze toward Grin became increasingly deep. He really was a difficult man to deal with.
"Let's end today's tea here. If we talk any longer, my lovely Rem will get impatient from waiting."
Grin stood up and naturally took Rem's small hand.
He had promised to go shopping with her, so he couldn't keep wasting time here.
When he reached the door, Grin turned back as if he had suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, Anna, if you're also interested, you'd better act quickly. Time is running out..."
At the thought of being able to continue his date with Rem, Grin's tone carried a hint of joy.
Anastasia watched Grin leave and slowly revealed a smile.
"Calling the subjugation of the White Whale a 'fish meat business'? It really makes me curious what's hidden beneath that handsome face of yours."
Mimi raised her small hand high. "Lady, Mimi knows! It's a super powerful demonic beast!"